Recently, after a few years living in the dark recesses of mental health, I have begun to venture out for evenings of beer, fun and music. I must say its like being reborn and a breath of fresh air. Yes I do like it.

I have  noticed, however, a change in attitudes of people especially the young. Maybe its my age, the way I look or just a mixture of everything that was there always but I didn’t notice it.

Take last night for example, I was walking home and a very pretty young girl (on her own!!!) stopped me and asked if I had a spare cigarette. As it happened I did so one was passed over. Then I was asked for a light which I also could oblique. Nothing too strange about that but we started chatting and laughed and had fun (in the biblical sense and a chaperone, if present, would have been happy with our behaviour). Another situation of note was a week or so ago. I stepped out to walk into town and a young lass asked me to walk with her as she was nervous about being whistled at by some kids from an open window. So I accompanied her to safety.  No drama and no funny stuff; just simple help but what made her think I was a safe bet? In my mind I must have been the archetypal example of someone to steer away from and told by teachers and parents to be wary of.

My point is that why me? Does my aura give off “Mr. Trustworthy and no Mssrs Threat” or are these kids just living on the edge of danger without thought for their safety? Even friend’s children find an affinity with me and I get called uncle Frog for just being me and easy going. I place no judgement or shock at their revelations and I do get to hear some truths that they say they can’t talk about with friends or family. So why choose me? I’m no priest or monk. I don’t display angel wings or have a saintly halo hovering above my noodle. I’m simply a man with a round belly and a small stature.

Its beautiful and humbling but strange as I look like every other geezer who happens to be out and about but I don’t see them receiving the same attention. The girl yesterday walked passed two or three single men and women so why pick me out from them? Yes I was flattered and she said I was handsome (bonus points for that) and I did find her pretty but way too young but grown up for her age. She poured out her darkest and brightest feelings though which I listened to. Did I judge or hand out advice? No but gave her my life’s experience to give examples of how I dealt with similar situations.

Maybe my calling is to be a man of the cloth or a councellor?

I think I could have a mild form of touretes though as I just can’t help complimenting girls on being pretty, having nice hair, liking their clothes or just being sexy at random times. I’ll even comment on guys too but only in a non-sex way. But the most startling thing is that almost everyone smiles and finds it brilliant. It cheers me up and them. Is it confidence or just a brain chemical inbalance? Who knows or give a …..? They don’t (hopefully) and I certainly don’t.

I guess it keeps me from being alone.

Anyway, I just thought I would share my thoughts and adventures with whoever bothers to read my bore.

I am not meaning to tread down the path of doom and gloom. Far from it. I just find it a  question of cynicism but maybe the truth.

The UK used to be at the forefront of innovation, technology and development but it appears to me that this is no longer the case in many areas. Can our leaders be so careless and narrow-minded? Have I missed the point or is there a bigger picture? Why and how do we have to put up with things that are so out-dated and poor?

Its mainly in the service industries that I feel we lag behind. Take for example the Internet. Whether  it be a new build or an upgraded service, why don’t we have fibre to the house and not just to a cabinet miles away? Speeds in some areas a woeful and a disgrace. Then there is wireless technology which could be brilliant but we are let down by being way down the list of countries where things are released or updated. Smart meters for one’s electricity and gas sound a good way of monitoring personal use but no one is singing from the same hymn sheet and as a result one can’t switch suppliers as their service is not compatible with another’s meter. This should be standard across the board. It should have been a basic remit.

Recycling is a joke and I am certain that a vast majority ends up in landfill even when households and businesses take the time and trouble to separate it. The Germans have been doing it for decades and seem to have a good handle on this so why can’t the UK adopt a model from them? We waste so much and huge amounts are avoidable. Does a product actually need three layers of packaging in the first instance? I can’t believe our nation is so far behind when it comes to this.

For foods sake! The tonnes of food thrown away every hour of every day is shocking and I am sure that it has a knock on affect to lowering our immune systems. Something that is near it’s shelf life or display life doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad to eat. Cut the mouldy bits off and the item can easily be used. Are we that dumb that we can’t use our eyes and nose to tell if something is bad? Places like India and Africa would cry out for our leavings, misshaped vegetables, beyond sell by dated produce and unused stock items in every household throughout the country. Its meant to be progress but all I see is waste and backward thinking.

Our new home building is outrageous and so basic that we are laughed at by our neighbouring nations. We could be building “Smart Homes” with energy efficient products such as solar panels, ground and air source heat pumps, rainwater catching and reuse of our daily water, energy saving sockets and fittings, properly fitted and energy wise windows but no we can’t do that Like our Canadian or Swedish counterparts. We end up with one up from a mud hut which costs the earth and even a rabbit would feel cramped in because its so  small and badly designed.

Our roads are a criminal disgrace but should be so much better and user friendly. We are constantly bombarded with campaigns of keeping fit and healthy yet footpaths cycle routes and pavements are non-existant in some areas. Just travel to Holland, France or Germany to find an example way ahead of us. And fix the damned pot holes so driving is not like having to travel across a rural outback. We will all have to have four-wheel drive utility vehicles if our present attitude carries on.

Hospitals and health care is a lottery in today’ UK towns and cities. What was once an envy of the world is now a very poor relation. Here are a few ideas to bring us up to speed. Clean them properly, employ well trained health practitioners and not pen-pushers, stop employing so many foreigners who can’t speak English and stop abandoning the elderly and leaving so many to cope in the non-caring communities.

I do think however, is not all bad. Our music, comedy, television, radio and writing is still probably some of the best in the World and our scientists and scholars are all world beaters. So the UK can be proud of that. Oh and our armed forces, albeit a dwindling affair, are amongst the best trained and elite throughout the globe.

I have no answers as to  how to remedy the endless list of our nations failings but I do still live in hope that things will improve otherwise we will be left as a forgotten and humbled state.

Smile as I salute the future.

There are times that spare time allows us to do things. Sadly, most spare time is taken up with sleeping, relaxing and generally living but one can make space in their lives to do something creative.

Yes it is easy to buy a sliced loaf of bread and life won’t end if you do. However, take the time to make your own and taste suddenly comes into the experience and  that good feeling of achievement  flows through your body.

Taking time to design and create a shelf and then hang it on the wall can give so much pleasure and will be a unique installation. This may be slightly more expensive but if recycled materials are sourced then the results are often cheaper.

Preparing that evening meal from scratch seldom causes death and normally brings a new and different taste to the plate but fish fingers, chips and peas (one of my favourite meals for a Friday only) is only right when  bought from the super market.

Learning new skills is rewarding and leads to knowing one’s limits and failings and this seems true. It can also open new doors an an unexpected new path.

Okay, take for example my friend Lucy. She started making things when life bowled her the misfortune of becoming limited in movement. Experiments and trial and error produced some very interesting results. One day her pal, Jan, introduced knitting to her world of crafting. Slowly Lucy became more confident in her abilities and now the clip, clip, clip of needles is a constant chorus to the room. So it just goes to show. Oh and card making is another of Lucy’s latest notches to her skill stick. Brilliant and well played to Lucy.

Apart from bread, a roast dinner, making a box from wood and drawing some childish and naive pictures I am bereft of artistic skill and I find pleasure in others’ abilities. Thats not to say I will not give something new a go but time and costs do tend to harass that process.

Just try and make something rather than buying what other people have made.

The craftmanship and engineering that goes into creating, well weapons is what they are, items is staggering and each has its own beauty and worth to the user or guardian.

How people throughout the ages have taken these discoveries and inventions to turn them into killing aids is utterly mind-blowing and sad.

Even bows and arrows have become a menace.

None of them kill discriminately or destroy lives and families by themselves. It takes a person to wield or aim them at another to cause damage. However, the weapon is often portrayed as the criminal or bad egg. Yet they can be a thing of artistic beauty in the eyes of some and make the perfect ornament.

There is massive debate around the world as to their relevance in society today and a greater movement wants to see them banned. On the one hand I must agree but what happens when something is banned or made illegal? It goes on anyway but within the dark recesses of our society and that is a fact is the simple answer. With that comes a deregulation of manufacture and production resulting in poor quality, illegal marketing and finally even more tragedy.

People point fingers at the American culture that anyone can bear arms and thus readily do. So long as one passes the criminal and health checks then knives, bows, pistols and rifles can be purchased and carried. Okay some states are stricter than others, I am sure, but the bottom factor is that they are out there. I think it should be law to restrict and make gun ownership harder but the sad case is that they are out there anyway and I am sure to get a “clean” weapon is not that hard for the right amount of greenbacks.

Certainly, weapons used correctly and safely are fine. There are many clubs around that offer tuition, storage, advice and places to have fun without endangering people, wildlife and property. The sport can be very demanding and uplifting. One will learn discipline, calmness and a discovery of humbleness at the hands on experience if allowed to use and learn properly. It does not mean that everyone or anyone has to become a killer.

Its does however, make me  sad to think that more police officers around the world have to carry increasingly more powerful and better weapons so they can put down the mad few. A bit like having to equip vehicles with bigger engines, body protection and cameras to chase and catch the criminal on the move.

But I think the maddest aspect is being able to own a gun at home and use it. It only takes a bad argument fueled with drink and or drugs to get out of control. Boom!!! Game over and not only is the life of the victim lost but the grief of the shooter will ruin their life too and friends and family associated with the ones involved.

A beautiful picture in an ornate frame is something of pleasure and reflection but when removed from the wall and hurled at another suddenly becomes a missile of deadly proportions.

Idiots and the irresponsible should not be allowed cars, tools, kids, animals or have access to drink or drugs but the sad truth is that we cannot discriminate and anyway who is to say one person is safe and someone else is a danger?

So be safe, report the ones who are not and respect the art but don’t hide away from weapons as the less one knows the harder it is to protect.