It's Happy Tag Time!

Yippee, I've been tagged!  Now the tagged I'm referring to has nothing to do my with blogging parole tag. The tag that means I can't write beyond my blogging curfew which starts now and ends later.  So, please don't inform the blogger police.

Three amazingly nice people have laid a happy tag on my shy and humble self.  It's the, "Five Things That Make Me Happy", tag.  You might have figured out that I have to list five things that make me happy.  The three amazingly nice people that bestowed this upon me are Jeff, over at, Stands of Pattern, Yolanda, over at, DEFENDING THE PEN and the ever smiling Tammy, over at, Tammy Theriault . Thank you, you three fabulous folks, very much and now I shall list five things that make me happy.

1 : My son, Tristan, made this snowman on March 29.  This made me happy and I was happy to add the scarf and the Vancouver Canucks toque, eh.                                                                     

2 : Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar, has her very own special award that she sends out every once in awhile. No rules, no links required back to this site. Just spreading happy wishes around the world.  This makes me happy.

3 : Tresaith beach, mid-Wales. This brings back fond memories of a perfect early August day last year.  It was a happy day on a happy beach with happy friends.  And now you can click on this photo to make it larger and have a wander around the beach. That would make me happy. The recollection makes me happy.

4 : A view from my garden.  A drop of moonlight falls from the leaves.  A magical site on a magical night in my magical garden.  This makes me happy and at peace with nature.

5:  The fox I observed in my garden from the living room window last summer.  This vision, along with the beaming smile that returned to my son's face, made me very, very happy.

I now have to pick five folks for tagging purposes and if they so wish, submit five things that make them happy.  I know that Jeff, Yolanda and Tammy have made me happy picking me to reveal five happy thoughts.  So who the heck shall I pick?  *Taps fingers on table.*

1 : The lovely, the adorable and gosh darn nice, Joylene.  Joylene Nowell Butler, Suspense Author

2 : The man who may also be a cat.  How about that.  Time to rhyme five happy thoughts?  I eagerly await your poetic reports.  Pat Hatt is all of that.   He can be found, with rhyming abound, here, me dear :  It's Rhyme Time

3 :  And here's my friend who calls me "quotidian."  Dave, are you ready to put up five happy thoughts?  A Day in the Life

4 :  Perhaps Elise would partake in this?  Five happy thoughts to make your day.  Elise Fallson

5 :  Okay Rob, what do you reckon?  After this, we can have a blogfest about not having a blogfest.  Five happy thoughts to share with us, Rob?  ...The Slightly Eccentric Diary of Rob Z Tobor...

Just wanted to let the five incredibly lucky recipients know there is no obligation to do this. I leave it up to your good selves.

Thank you, Jeff, Yolanda and Tammy for tagging me in such a happy tag.  That's it, I'm going for a lie down now.....

Steps In The Right Direction.

There have been times when I felt like a distant spectator, too scared to be part of it all.

The torment of clinical depression means I have good days and I have bad days.  With determination and reaching out for positive resources, positive distractions, the bad days are further apart.
It takes a lot to challenge my fears, to get out of the house, get out on the road and find the destination that brings the tantalising magic of adventure.
I first met my friends, Julie and Philip, who now live in Cardigan, Wales, when we all worked for a mental health charity based in Stoke on Trent.  We are no longer involved with that charity and we have our various reasons.  I, for one, got disillusioned by the lack of support and encouragement.  I was vulnerable and that was exploited.  I felt taken for granted and the awful irony was that the charity actually reinforced my mental health issues.  Instead of feeling empowered, I felt used and disrespected.  My genuine empathy for those who needed help and reassurance, was undermined by a charity that seemed to put funding before the powerful ideals of empathy.  I moved on and we all moved on.
Julie and Philip have now set up a new mental health charity in Cardigan, Wales and I'm trying to be, from a distance, an integral part of it.  We are determined to show compassion and understanding to those who are needing a helping hand.  We are determined that this charity will demonstrate that there is no shame in having mental health issues and that one doesn't need to feel alone.  Time to eradicate the unfair stigma, the stereotypes, the labels, that still surround mental health concerns.  We are, very much, all in this together.
If you are needing support, or know of somebody who might appreciate support and live within a twenty mile radius of Cardigan, Wales, Julie and Philip have meetings that can be of mutual benefit.  No matter what, if you are struggling, need someone to 'chat' to, there are various resources online that can be of help.  I used to be the moderator on a mental health 'chat room' and it was the stepping stone for a number of those who wanted to pursue other avenues in their recovery.

Here is the link to the charity that Julie and Philip have started:  STEPS TO MENTAL HEALTH   They welcome your interaction, whether it be via a meeting, or if you just wish further information.

Please realise that mental health concerns can happen to anyone.  Those who would stigmatise, must understand that a negative environment can overwhelm any of us.  That's why it's imperative that we reach out and be here for each other.  I am not ashamed of who I am and through further awareness and understanding, we can finally remove the stigma still surrounding mental health issues.  Yes, we are all in this together.  All different and all equal.  Help each other, we help ourselves.

More Tales From Wales.

On Wednesday afternoon, August 8, I set out for my latest adventure to Cardigan, Wales.  From Leek via Market Drayton, Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Newtown, Llangurig, Aberystwyth and finally, Cardigan.  A distance of about 157 miles and a driving time of slightly over 4 hours.
Yes indeed, driving in Britain can be quite the long, drawn out process.  Unless you are near a motorway.  Even then, a motorway can seem more like a gigantic parking lot.  And thus, with little choice and with no satellite navigation, I encountered the occasional mystery roundabout.  This would be the roundabout where I'm expecting to see a name of a place I've mapped out.  Only to find that the roundabout indicates I'm heading for 'Upper Lower Piggy Bottom'.  This means I end up going around and around and around the roundabout until I decide to follow that very slow moving tractor.
For the next few miles, I'm stuck behind a tractor, going uphill, on a narrow, winding road.  There is now a long line of cars behind me. Finally, there is a safe opportunity to pass the tractor. Just as I'm about to pass the tractor, the driver behind me overtakes me and the tractor.  I still have time to overtake and now I'm starting to accelerate to an amazing 40 miles per hour.  Then I get stuck behind a motorhome, going uphill, on a narrow, winding road.  

However, the journey was worth it.  My friends, Julie and Philip, took me from their home near Cardigan, to this location, Cenarth Falls.  A distance of about 9 miles south of Cardigan.

Here is the bridge at Cenarth Falls.

The next day, August 10, we headed to Tresaith beach, about a 10 minute drive north of where my friends live.  Here is the signpost to the beach.  Getting to the beach from the nearby town of Aberporth, entails walking down a steep path along some very high cliffs.

A view from the cliff on our way to Tresaith beach.

My friend, Philip, taking in the breathtaking panorama.

And a couple of canoeists on such a glorious, sunny day.

A first glimpse of Tresaith beach.  Do you see the waterfall in the middle of the photo?

Tresaith beach.

The waterfall.

A look back towards the beach from near the waterfall.

Evening was drawing in and the sun cast sparkles of light upon the sea.

On this, the third day of my journey, I looked upon the reflections in the sea.  And yes, fleeting glimpses of dolphins, brought on a sense of excitement, of awe, of wonder.  There they were, a trio leaping in and out of turquoise waters.  I listened to the crashing waves and the crying of the seagulls.  I dipped my toes in pristine seas and I knew, I just knew, that the positive journey that I felt in Wales, was only the beginning.