Embrace the wonder
Everyone that shines a light on your journey through life plays a part in shaping you. Some of those lights aren’t really positive but we learn from every experience whether good or bad and happy or sad. We’ll all have good times and challenging times. We are never gonna agree with everyone’s opinion or decisions.…
The accidental blether (a recipe for a memory)
We all have memories of moments that happened during this journey, the friends we gained and lost, the adventures we went on, the meetings for the first time and the meetings for the last time. Sometimes memories are all we have left. But memories will never go out of fashion, lets embrace them, we made…
You asked for a tree
Scientists say the odds of us being born are at least 1 in 400 trillion. So why are we hell bent on division and arsing it up for future generations. We take every breath we take for granted, along with every day we awake, every action, every vista, everything we touch, feel, smell and experience. Great…
A short life
In this life, we’ll all end up losing loved ones, people who meant so much to us and people who pointed us in the right direction. In the scale of the universe, our life is indeed short, yet you have the opportunity to make it a great life and you need to pack in as…
Shelter from the Storm
Its appalling that in the last recorded year, there were over 60,000 incidents of domestic abuse raised in Scotland, not just against women and 50 years after I witnessed abuse. My dear mother suffered from domestic abuse for a number of years through the 60s and 70s. But you can escape it. She did, in…
Underneath the bridge
When coming through those difficult teen years, we often have challenges and often make bad choices. I made my fair share. Kestrel Lager was one. When I was 15, 16, 17, I was a tare away. As were many of my friends. We weren’t really disrespectful to the adults, who passed us, whilst we had…
I might draw, I might no
When not at work or engaged in your usual daily routine, try to be creative. Try to find a mindful pursuit which engages you and provides balance. Write, draw, run, walk, watch, paint, sing, bake, swim, puzzle or try some gardening. Being creative provides another focus, can nurture us in so many ways and reduces…
and then winter comes
A bit like nature through the seasons, through our life, we evolve. We start as innocents, and then develop and prioritise our values, learn from our experiences and others we share chapters with and the environment we inhabit. Many are transitioning through that journey towards retirement, with apprehension. But why? We have been lucky enough…
A wee tear has passed
At a time of loss and grief, negativity bias is in all of us, naturally. We are conditioned to focus on the negative elements of a loss. But there is no need to dwell on it, if you can. If you work hard, you can turn the trauma of loss upside down by focusing on…
At the end of your street
I should have known when we didn’t even have enough leftover wallpaper to cover my jotters for school, that we were living near or on the breadline. Imagine being embarrassed by a naked jotter. And when I had to turn a v neck into a crew neck to go to the school disco, alarms bells…
Square sausage and shortbread
Square sausage and shortbread Many things around Scotland make me proud and frankly I adore square sausage. Who’s doesn’t. Square sausage and shortbread is a light hearted view of all things Scottish. Its a f**** tattie scone Bit of fun about the humble Tattie Scone . It’s a F***** Tattie Scone Lets start off the…
The teacher that doesn’t teach
Values don’t fall from trees. We shake it and make ours at the University of Life. In life we learn so many things but not necessarily through qualifications. We are aspirational. Through our diverse experiences, knowledge and understanding we shape our thoughts and values which we pass on to our friends, mentees and children which…
A walk towards the winter
A walk towards the winter A walk towards the winter is a collection of poems about the journey we all have in life, as we get into our winter chapters. Often people have such significant challenges to deal with that they end their life early, people die prematurely, and fail to embrace the golden years,…
Reflections of a pensive mind
Reflections of a pensive mind At some point we all reflect in our life. We reflect on the good and bad, positive and negative, and happy and sad elements of our past that can help shape our future. I believe all of the above make us who we are and understanding this can help us…
The boy who didn’t get a purple chopper
The boy who didn’t get a purple chopper Growing up in the 60s, 70s and 80s in New Farm Loch, a housing scheme in Kilmarnock , when my parents relationship imploded was far from privileged and wasn’t easy. My mother struggled to hold the family together, whilst my father who was a miner struggled to…
that shade of blue
Bumped into two American dudes in Northumberland National Park earlier this month whilst walking the dog. They were deep in conversation about suicide, and I overheard an inspirational conversation about one guy who felt imprisoned whilst he was young within the family group, felt imprisoned whilst he was married and felt imprisoned when he became…
Sunglasses
I guess I was 6 or 7 when I realised sunglasses don’t only block out the sun. In the 70’s they hid a multitude of emotional and real scars from domestic abuse. Travelling in a blue A1 double decker bus from Kilmarnock to Saltcoats every other summer was fun for kids but wasn’t all about…
Oor Maw
Oor Maw Silly things remind us of our parents, when they are gone. For me its an old broken tattie masher amongst many other things. And not just one masher, we seemed to have a series of broken tattie mashers in our house. Probably over worked. Oor maw lived on Tatties and Mince, and her…
Different Lens
Ever wondered what life would be through a Different Lens. If you had turned right/left/said hello/said goodbye one day, it could well be different.
Being Benny Rooney
This came to me shaped in a traumatic but nostalgic moment from the 70s, when I was heading towards my teens. I had an ever so brief period of being a Morton fan and invented fantasy football league (another time for that full story) to deal with my anxieties which grew as my parents toxic…
1978
Who remembers TCP? Seemed to be a snake oil salesman’s cure for all and sundry, when I was growing up. And the smell. Apparently, originally it was the phenol which supported its magical cure abilities. Memories and the emotions linked to smells can increase your happy hormone levels and trigger a positive feeling in the…
Campsie Hills
The wording had been mulling around in various forms for a few years but 2020 felt an appropriate juncture to finalise this reflective piece. Coping with the loss of someone or something you love is no doubt one of life’s biggest challenges. Acceptance: The healthiest option for our Wellbeing is for us to face it,…
A two bar fire for a family of six
Be thankful for what you’ve achieved. Grown ups of a certain age, will remember two bar fires. Fighting your sister or brother to get near it. For long periods in the 70s, a two bar fire was all we had. With ice covered windows, 2 duvets or crocheted covers and extra jaickets were how we…
Sanctuary
Bearing in mind what the wee ones have been through in the last few years, lets make sure they are well balanced, safe and happy. Lets ensure we acknowledge them and how important they are to us as we struggle to home school, whilst working from home. As a kid, like many, I was bullied…
Imagine the Energy
I started full time work when I was 25, the month that a local mine (Barony, Ayrshire) closed. My father worked at the mine for most of his working life until retiring a few years after the miners strike of the mid 80s. He like many miners, steelworkers, fitters and others based in the heavy…
A Better Tide
Happy fulfilling relationships come to us all. You may have to crash through a few waves first, but its just water, so bide your time, you’ve got this. A happier you, moves you along the positive spectrum of your mental health continuum, and connects with other health benefits for you. A Better Tide is about…
Its a F* Tattie Scone
Bit of fun about the humble Tattie Scone Its a F***** Tattie Scone Lets start off the way we mean to go on It’s a tattie not a tottie, It’s a scone not a scone (scawn). It should be thin and not thick, and kinda triangular in shape Never ever ever round, It’s a tattie…
Remember You
Sometimes we’re too busy supporting others. Try to remember yourself, it’ll help. Self care is essential to an improved wellbeing. Remember You Away take a wander by Low Gameshill View, to where the track and the hedgerow subside, Look west through the three trees, the old and the new, where the clouds and Goatfell collide.…
Campsie Hills
Penned to a conclusion during Covid 19 in 2020. The wording had been mulling around in various forms for a few years but 2020 felt an appropriate juncture to finalise this reflective piece. For those that didn’t get to say goodbye. Embrace the message. Safe passage, you’ll meet again. The Campsie Hills On the day…
These Drapes
We all reflect on who we are at various pivotal points in our life, be it when you get married, your 30th, have a child, get divorced, lose a loved one. At some point in your life, you will understand who you are and that hopefully you are comfortable in your own clothes. Might take…
The Kelloggs Effect
Pensive poverty We know about the butterfly effect, the phenomenon whereby a small localised change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Where minute insignificant issues in the here and now can impact significantly in the future. Sustainability in action. I grew up with a thing I termed the Kelloggs Effect which still…
Why here, why now?
Why write, why publish in this form? Why not. I was born in the 60s in Kilmarnock, Scotland and have been writing throughout my life journey. Often, I have written from a darker space (which I have only recently realised) when I have been suffering from life’s anxieties, stresses and challenges but over the last…
The Mindfulness Gap 