Feel-Good Times Required

A spell of warm weather has come and gone and it was very pleasant while it lasted although most of it was spent in the office but the effect on the garden has been wonderful and has really brought things both into flower and created new green growth. A birthday has come and gone spent with friends and life goes on apace.

Although I can't explain this at all, life is a little unsettling for people who are sensitive at the moment. This has been going on for some time and everyone I speak to who I know is sensitive is going through a soul searching time. This has inevitably meant that our spiritual activities and concentration has increased somewhat as people seek some calm and answers to personal questions.

In the UK, this has not been helped by a particularly long damp grey season and a huge increase in uncertainly on the political scene. Even if you are not political or are not particularly interested in politics, it affects all our lives, not just here in Blighty, but globally.   As costs and taxes increase, employment becomes more tenuous, pressures on families that are not well off is biting and pressures on public services cutting front line services to those who need it most makes people feel nervous.

Brightness and relief comes from people. People who are kind and considerate. People who are thoughtful and compassionate; people who give hope and comfort in a way that is either tangible or intangible. The human spirit, for as long as it has free will, coupled with the elements of love, has the ability to overcome he worst of uncertain times. I have said many times that friends are a crucial element of our lives - be that as a close personal friend, or the good neighbour who keeps a look out for the vulnerable, or someone who cares for their environment or community taking into account the needs of individuals within it - they are so important to us.

Friends of course also include family because families should be friends within the unit. To share the good and not so good times, to offer the support where needed and to show that certain level of understanding that often only family can show should be the minimum goal for us all.

A chink of light in these strange times is the Jubilee celebrations this weekend in the UK. Although the weather is mixed, street parties, people getting together and having fun is happening all over. Bunting is abound in most streets you walk down and it's not just about arguments over monarchists and anti monarchists, whether you are a citizen or a subject - its people, communities and a country getting together.

This is an important year for the UK: the London 2012 Olympics proper is just round the corner and the Olympic torch is already winding its way around the country, through towns and villages; England is participating in the Euro 2012 football championships being held in Poland and the Ukraine. The English cricket team have started the summer's sport well with a series win over the West Indies although a greater challenge against South Africa is coming up.  Championship Tennis at  Wimbledon arrives in June and the UK have a potential contender in Andy Murray.

Sport means more than most people believe. When the country is doing well in sport, there is a feel-good factor around, a bit like when you get good weather, the country has something to believe in and relax with.

All my plants are in the ground now or in baskets or tubs and they are all doing well. Begonias and petunias, geraniums and dahlias and a few perennials are growing well. Sadly, I just watched the weather forecast a few minutes ago and there is a risk of a frost overnight Monday into Tuesday although this will be largely confined to open countryside.

Anyone who uses a phone to send texts will inevitably use slang or 'text speak' - abbreviations to save finger tapping (for example, a topical one is LOL - Lots of Laughs). However as I am now officially in mid fifties, here is some senior slang used by senior citizens:

ATD: At the doctors;

BFF: Best friends funeral;

FWIW: Forgot where I was;

GHA: Got heartburn again;

HGBM: Had good bowel movement;

BYOW: Bring your own wheelchair;

CBHI: Covered by Health Insurance

FWP: Friend with pacemaker;

JFO: Just fell over;

LMWO: Laughed my wig off;

MDPBD: Must dash, pacemaker battery dead;

GGLKI: Gotta go, laxative kicking in!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.