Ups and downs

I have driven past two nasty accidents on busy roads in the past 2 days. There was nothing I could do to help and the emergency services were at the scene in both cases. I can't pretend that this doesn't affect me. It wasn't that long ago that I was in a nasty accident myself and these crashes serve to remind me how quickly accidents happen and the consequences can be significant.

After today's crash I was trying to put it out of my mind and was listening to the radio and was heartened to hear that it looks likely that Jeremy Corbyn will become the Labour leader. Young people have been inspired by him as he listens to their needs and he cares. It will be exciting if he does get in and gives politics the shake-up it badly needs.

Today is significant for me. I am not at school tomorrow. From now on Fridays are dedicated to writing and establishing my coaching business. This marks a turning point in my career. It is exciting!

The garden

The garden at Lydd is starting to get more established. A lot of this is thanks to two wonderful friends who love gardening and who have donated plants that they believe will survive in rather harsh terrain.

The little plants I bought are all still alive and getting bigger. If the weather is reasonably kind through the winter they could make it!

The plants that grow wild around here are remarkable. I see them every day when I walk Ollie. There is a sea-poppy with beautiful yellow flowers that seems to flourish amongst other things.

I have never been excited about growing plants before and I think I was missing out.

When I was younger I didn't think I had time for growing plants but now I realise that if I had made time for them I could have had a beautiful garden in my last house. 

It is lovely that every age we experience has its new pleasures as we learn about the things that truly make us happy. 

These plants were grown by my friend. Aren't they lovely?

Making a difference.

I was at my holiday caravan earlier this week and I noticed that someone had put a collection of home grown vegetables out for sale together with an honesty box. The donations went into a charity tin.
I really enjoyed eating the runner beans and the courgettes I selected knowing that someone had taken the time and trouble to do this.
Every day I see examples of people going out of their way to show that they care.
It is inspiring!

The ripple will turn into a wave!

I felt happy when I heard that our government will accept more refugees. This shows that every person who spoke out, signed a petition and raised the profile of the Syrian refugees has been able to influence the situation in a positive way. The Scottish Government have been prepared to nail their colours to the mast and be specific about the number of people they will offer sanctuary to. I applaud them for this and would like our government to do likewise.
This positive step would never have been taken if it wasn't for people taking action and making their voices heard.
Never feel that you are insignificant.  You have an enormous potential to help make our world a better place! 😊

Dean Beadle is inspiring

Dean is in his 20s and has autism. He talks to parents, teachers and carers about his experiences growing up and how he developed strategies to help him succeed in life. I have been lucky enough to hear him speak today at our INSET day and I saw him a few months ago too. He reminds us of the important role humour plays in helping us to diffuse conflicts and points out people with autism do have unique challenges but in the end he reminds us that humans have more similarities than differences.
It is so important for us to remember this during these difficult times with refugees seeking a release from torture by fleeing their home desperate to find a place of safety for their family.
 We are basically human first before we start categorising people according to nationality, religion or condition.
We need to ask ourselves before we judge or condemn people for their actions.
What would we do if we found ourselves in a similar situation?

Our words and our deeds.

I was walking the dog listening to the birds and the sheep and I realised that the dogs, birds and sheep have a skill that they lack. they are very good at living in the moment. I am not. It is something I am getting better at but this is a skill that they have mastered.

I realised that to be a good teacher you need to be good at learning. We can learn from everyone and everything around us if we are fully present in the moment.
I also realised that:
To be a good writer you need to be good at reading.
I acknowledge the power of our words. We are each unique and have our own special talents to share with the world and so have the people around us.

What we say to another person has an enormous impact even if they don't immediately show it.
Our actions speak louder than our words so what we do for others has an even bigger impact.

If today we can positively influence 3 people by smiling at them, helping them in some way or just really listening to them they are more able to do the same for others and we create a ripple effect that could potentially change the world almost overnight.

releasing my inner hippie and cleaning the caravan!

One of the many lovely things about living in a caravan is the time it takes to clean the house and weed the garden. The garden took me 30 minutes yesterday and today I did all the cleaning and sorting in 25 minutes!
Those of you who know me well realise I am not really into housework.
I then decided to reward myself with a nice cup of tea. I went to the kettle and started to laugh. This puzzled the dog who came over to investigate.
I appear to have released my inner hippie big-time in the form of stocking up on copious amounts of fruit and herbal tea. I have Chai Latte, Moroccan Mint....you name it.
Today I have settled for a nice strawberry tea.
Cheers!

As I write this the sun is beaming down and all of a sudden I heard heavy rain. The sun is still shining.
I am off to look for the rainbow.
(Told you I am a hippie!)