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.....

Despite The Glare.... I Made It There.

Ah yes, last Tuesday I went to Wales.  Remembering which side of the road to drive on, the left side, was one heck of a good and vital start.  Yes indeed, I can imagine the following situation.  Driving along and some British police dude indicates to me to pull over.  "Excuse me sir, but you are driving on the 'right' side of the road!".  To which I reply, "That's okay then."

I don't have satellite navigation in my car.  No voice of Mr. T telling me, "At the next roundabout, sucker, take the first left.  I said the first left, not the second left, fool!"  Or the alluring voice of  Joanna Lumley stating, "You've arrived, darling!"

Tuesday was a very sunny day.  The entire trip from Leek, Staffordshire, England to Cardigan, Wales, was a matter of driving directly towards the sun.  No, not literally.  However, the glare off the road was so bad that I could barely make out the direction signs at roundabouts.  This meant, even though I mostly knew how to get to my destination, some roundabouts were guesswork.  

And some roundabouts where I could almost make out the name of a place I needed to head to next, suddenly became mystery roundabouts where the names I could almost make out, made no sense at all.  What happened to 'Upper Lower Piggy Bottom'?  One roundabout got me so confused, I ended up getting dizzy as I went round and round and round....until finally I gave up, took a chance and much to my relief, discovered I was on the correct road.

To go from my place to Cardigan, Wales, is a distance of 162 miles.  Being mostly on single lane roads and getting stuck behind tractors on winding, uphill roads, meant it took 4 1/4 hours to do 162 miles.

The last part of the journey is from the town of Aberystwyth.  From Aberystwyth to my friend's house, near Cardigan, is a total of 37 miles.  During the entire 37 miles, a Welsh police car followed behind me.  Weird, even though I wasn't doing anything wrong, I kept waiting for the lights to flash and get pulled over.  I start thinking, "Did I pass that last tractor at a correct place, do I maybe have a burnt out break light...I gonna' end up in jail....." Then I pulled into my friend's driveway and thankfully, the police car didn't follow me into the driveway.

From late Tuesday afternoon until noon on Saturday, I stayed with my friend.  I like to think that we created positive distractions as both of us are going through some challenging times.

Every time I go out, I have to confront my social fears.  To drive a car without any company just compounds my anxiety.  Yet, once again, I was determined to challenge my inner critic and I'm so glad I did.

I am deeply, profoundly grateful for your support.  I'm very sorry I've not been as interactive on other blogs as I would like to be.  I will do my best to rectify that.

I reflect back as night fell upon the harbour in Cardigan, Wales.  No matter what the oppressors try to impose, they will never get the better of me, or you.

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.

The Cardigan That Suits Me.

No, not that type of cardigan!  Never see me in a tacky cardigan, complete with pipe and comfy slippers. Oh no, not me.

No, I'm referring to Cardigan, Wales.  This is a photo of the harbour in Cardigan, Wales, I took last July.  I've been wanting to visit my friends again for just over a year.  Yet my concern for my son's well being, made it difficult for me to contemplate even going away.
Now that he has some upcoming temporary work, I can finally feel okay about heading to the Cardigan that suits me.

And through the field of maize, once again, I shall cast my eyes upon the enchanting beauty of Cardigan, Wales.

Once again, I shall look out beyond the beach and drift away to the island of positive thoughts.

Can you sense the gentle, soothing ambience?

My journey back to this wondrous place begins on Wednesday morning.  I shall be staying with my dear friends, Julie and Philip, who have set up a new mental health charity.  Now is my chance to finally be a part of their worthy endeavour.  Now is my chance to start living my life again.
I shall be gone for the next few days.  I'm staying away from a computer and going to my own "klahanie".  Klahanie, a word from the Chinook tribe of the Pacific North West coast of North America meaning, "the great outdoors".
Peaceful and positive wishes to you, my friend.

Where The Sea And The Sky Embrace.

Down through the field, through the field of maize....oh how I love to gaze....Down through the bay, on a summer's day, where little boats rest and wait for the crest.... that's just over there....there to the west.  If you click to enlarge on this tranquil scene, you, my friend, will know what I mean.

And thus, there they wait, wait for the waters of yonder sea.

And the tide rolls in.  Some are free.  Some are yet to be.

And through the leaves, beyond the sea, there is a magical place, for you,  for me.

Let your thoughts drift away.....drift through the green....drift through the sand and take my hand....come with me to that magical place....where the sea and the sky embrace....