The Urban Dictionary has this as I came, I saw, I shopped – and whilst that is true. For me, it is “I came, I saw, I got a visa”… In my Glastonbury blog I mentioned that I couldn’t go to a certain country because it was on the United States of America’s black list which, if I had gone, would almost certainly have meant at immigration in Dublin for the US, I would have been turned away – no flight for me. But there was a way to get to Syria and the USA without trouble. A visa obtaining … Continue reading Veni, Vici, Visa Part 1

Growing up I was taken to plenty of concerts mostly in the Ulster Hall, Waterfront Hall and Ballymena Town Hall when a family friend was the Mayor for the town- classical music concerts. I have also been to some of the great world music venues – Carnegie Hall, Albert Hall, The Concertgebouw and Sydney Opera House. My appreciation for classical music isn’t as strong as Martin’s who confesses that his general knowledge of music stops in the 19th Century or thereabouts. Eleanor isn’t a lover of classic, but she has a record player in China and also in NI, vinyls … Continue reading “If music is the food of life, play on”

When I resigned and knew we would be in the UK for a period of time, I wanted to travel with Eleanor. New York was an obvious choice as somewhere in her future she would like to live there! I had been to New York twice before. Once with uni friends, Gillian and Tina when we lived in Utrecht, The Netherlands and the second time as a co-leader with 8 guides from South West England on our way back from a camp on Vancouver Island. I remember more about the trip in 2002 than I do the trip in 2006! … Continue reading New York via Stoke on Trent April 2023

It takes courage to do something new, meet new people and put yourself out of your comfort zone. Sometimes we have to do this out of choice, other times the decision is made for you. We all have the fight, flight or freeze response which is triggered by the amygdala when the brain thinks we are in danger. The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for the reaction with fear, anger, anxiety, and aggression being common triggers. In evolutionary terms, it is the oldest part of the brain. So with that in mind, it really isn’t surprising that … Continue reading Being Brave and Always Active

This is probably the most difficult blog that I have written. Difficult to write because it is more personal than I have ever written before, and maybe difficult to read because the majority of you know me as this strong, resilient woman. By the time I post this, I will have spent several weeks, maybe months on this (started in a hotel bar on 27th December 2022). When something or someone is affecting your wellbeing you can’t ignore it, because it eats away at you. By the time of the flight out of the mainland it was obvious that we … Continue reading Mental Health.