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It has long been recognised and accepted that listening to and taking part in musical activities has an effect on our feelings and emotions.  We all have pieces of music or songs which reminds us of a particular event or time in our lives and most of us can recall when the hairs on the back of our neck stood up, we had goose-bumps on our arms and shivers down our spine at the musical sounds we were hearing. I am fortunate that I was brought up within a family who loved music - my father a pianist and church organist, my mother a pianist and a member of numerous choirs. I have lovely memories of singing 'around the piano', duets with my mother, especially at bath time, and my attempts at harmonising from the age of about 3 years old.  Musician Billy Joel once said "I think music itself is healing. It is an explosive expression of humanity and something we are all touched by. No matter the culture, we all love music". Most of us, I'm sure, agree with this statement ...

Here we are, already on the 3rd day of the new year of 2023 and I have been berating myself over the weekend for not having a thought or two worth expressing here about anything at all.  Anyone looking back over the 14 or so years of this blog will see that this is by no means a new 'thing' for me, and a simple search of " New Year" "Christmas" or even "Time" finds me castigating myself for not writing a post, the timing of a post or for the feelings and thoughts that I should or shouldn't have had about the season.  (I have posted handy links for some of these posts to save the reader searching themselves, which is a thankless task :) )  So where does Mr Micawber come into this ? He is a character in Charles Dickens' book "David Copperfield" and is renowned for many sayings which we use in everyday situations, such as "Something will turn up". Here, I need to explain that his quotations come about due to his inability t...

Do you lie awake at night thinking of everything that’s happened that day and wondering what’s going to happen tomorrow?  Are you finding it difficult to remember things? Do you worry constantly about conversations and actions far longer than is helpful?  Do you get stuck weighing the pros and cons to the point of being unable to decide? Answering yes to even one of these questions could mean that that you are ‘overthinking'.                       Most of us do this at some point.  Some of us do it much too often.         Thinking about the things that could go wrong when going to a job interview, or an exam or a driving test.  We all know the numerous possible scenarios – you may want to talk to someone you don’t know well at an event but as soon as the thought enters your mind, you just can’t help thinking about how the situation could suddenly spiral into chaos. What if you trip up as...

The Observer She sits, motionless yet alert  Eyes wide and searching Wings folded, feathers smoothed. Relishing the remaining tastes of vole or rabbit. She waits. As wind blown leaves drift into sight Her gaze stays on the gloved hand  which she knows holds treats. Then the call and in one majestic moment, with wings spread,  talons ready to grip  She soars from her perch  Landing with open mouth to snap the morsel.  

As King Charles III assumes the role of monarch his views and opinions on 'faith' will no doubt again be discussed. From those he has voiced in the past, and most recently since the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, these views could be different enough to affect the 'established' Church of England, so could "all faiths and none" be workable in practice, within the monarchy?  A royal wedding or funeral, without doubt, reminds us that the official, established Church of England continues, with the monarch as its Supreme Governor. Since Queen Elizabeth’s death we have seen it in the ascendance of Charles, yet there are signs that the late monarch and the Church of England have recognized the need to make some adjustments.         In 2012, the then queen spoke from Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. She said that the Church of England's role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions, but...

Her Majesty the Queen died yesterday afternoon at Balmoral where she had been staying since earlier this summer.                     Though we know that death is an inevitable part of life, when the time comes for a loved one, family member or friend, we are shocked and numerous emotions engulf us as the grieving process proceeds. The Queen had a special place in our hearts, not least because she was 96 years old and had reigned for 70 years.  Waiting for the official announcement of the Queen's death was a strange and unsettling feeling, for me and for many others. When it was made, the sense of shock was no less than if I had known her personally and this is what made our Queen so special. She has been a constant in our lives, during good and not so good times over the years. She has been here for the whole of my life. She has been loved as a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother and I am reminded of my own mother and...

Storytelling - the Ultimate in Self Preservation What is a story ?  A story or narrative is a connected series of events told through words, in the case of a book, written words. Stories can be told about anything, and the events can be real or imaginary, fiction or non fiction and cover every topic, genre or style imaginable. All things and all times, past, present and future can be described and explained in stories and are therefore  of great value to humans and some of the oldest, most important aspects of life.  Stories are how we learn about each other, our past, and our cultures. Whether they are created for entertainment or to recount a real-life event—new stories are literally being lived, told, and created every second of every day. History of storytelling As modern humans, we have the convenience of information available at our finger tips, and often take for granted a time when communication and access to knowledge was not instantaneous. Knowledge of history, ...