Yes, I’m back…….. you didn’t realise I’d gone? Cheers, I love you too. Grief is anything but good and having lost my brother and sister last year it felt as though I’d been hit by a freight train and then tied to the back and dragged along. After bumping along for 7 months I realised I needed to cut loose, so I did, and bruised and broken I’ve been wandering aimlessly ever since……..
I once wrote a song with the lyrics “Tarmacked roads left steaming long after the day is done and I’m like a beetle rolled on its back drying out in the evening sun. After a while the limbs stop flailing and you wait for whatever will be, come be a hero, a brave heart a saviour, oh won’t you come rescue me? ”
It was originally written in reference to living a shackled life with the illness M.E, but I’ve been reminded of it once again due to the added shackles of grief, but in grief we have to eventually move again even if it is just flailing about because it’s only by doing so that we give ourselves a chance to get back on our feet again at some point.
I still have absolutely no clarity but I’m back writing the column every fortnight so I guess I’m still flailing about if nothing else? in fact it feels as though someone has stuck half a pound of Marshmallows up my nostrils filling my cranium but then most of you are used to my ramblings so you probably won’t notice any difference? And if the recent shock spate of celebrity departures is anything to learn by it’s that we need to enjoy every day, every moment and just keep going and getting on with the things we want to do.
So yes, I’m back and there will be the usual honest ramblings although I still draw the line at sharing bowel movements or what I had for breakfast…… unless of course either just happen to morph into the face of a saint or celebrity in which case I’ll be hoping it goes viral, makes national news and I get my 15 minutes.
And to celebrate the Columns return I’m giving away two of my Runnin On Empty T-shirts. http://wwwmamachill.dizzyjam.com/ . All profit from sales goes to charity. If you win you’ll get to choose the colour and size you want. So, for that chance to win just sign up to the Watford Observer if you haven’t already and leave a comment below, just keep it clean, it’s a fam friendly paper and I’ll announce the winners in the next Column on Friday 6th May. Good luck.
Onto Gizmo/gadget/gift of the fortnight which is “ Sugru”,sounds like something you stick in your coffee huh? But it’s an uber super soft putty type glue the manufacturers liken to play-dough that’s revolutionizing the way we can stick things.
It’s made from silicone but once hardened can fix just about anything. There’s even a whole Sugru community that you can join & post photos of what you’ve used it for. As some of you know I keep my mother under the floorboards? And I thought I’d try the Sugro out by covering her from head to toe in Ginger nuts while she was asleep. I did try to take a photo but it’s rather dark down there so you’ll have to make do with my other creation of a bird bath made from a tin planter, plastic tray and an old frog instead. You can check out Sugru for yourself by going to their website http://shop.pe/1f4w7
I’d like to welcome the charity Invest In ME on board http://www.investinme.org/ as they will be keeping you updated every fortnight with ME news. I thought it made more sense to hear it from the horses mouth, so without further ado…
Watford in the FA Cup final? …… almost, Just a final push and the team is at Wembley against all odds.
The same ingredients required for a winning cup run are similar to those for a small charity with a BIG Cause aiming to change the world for people with ME and their families, good management of limited resources with a clear vision, great teamwork and great supporters. Above all a passion to achieve what we set out to do.
Invest in ME’s (IiME) FA Cup equivalent is to establish a permanent European foundation for biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
But whilst fielding a football team that includes a high percentage of foreign players may not be to everyone’s liking it is essential for research into ME if we are to find the cause.
IiME helped establish the European ME Research Group (EMERG) as we need European (and Overseas ) collaboration amongst researchers.
For a small charity we have managed to build a great team with few resources and lots of effort. And just one final push and a comparatively small amount of funding could see us achieve the dream of a real victory for ME patients and their families.
In little over a month’s time Watford could be in the FA Cup final.
At the same time delegates from eighteen countries will come to London to participate in two international events arranged by the charity .
- a 2-day biomedical research colloquium which aims at encouraging collaboration and sharing of knowledge and ideas;
- and our annual public conference – a unique event which for 11 years has allowed patients, carers, researchers, clinicians and politicians to mix and network and learn about ME.
All of this underlines the achievements of the charity and supporters, a great team.
Few would have given Watford a chance of reaching the FA Cup final at the start of the season.
Few would have given Invest in ME a chance when we announced our plans to establish a foundation of biomedical research and a Centre of Excellence for ME. Yet both are within reach and achievable. Good luck to the Hornets.
Rolling onto a new section “Word Pilot” The study of words and their origins is called Etymology . I have always been a lover of words and ironically it was only after my sisters passing that I realised it was something that we shared & in fact “Words” was the nickname her work colleagues at https://holdensagency.com/ had given her. So every fortnight I will be revealing a word and it’s beginning and use. And what better word to start with than….er…WORD? Meaning, to express something spoken or written.
It’s thought the first use of “Word” was from the Gospel of John “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth”
To “Eat Your Words” first came to light in 1571 in a translation of works by French Protestant theologian John Calvin “ God eateth not his words when he hath once spoken”
“A Word In Your Ear”- Comes from Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing, “ Come you hither sirra, a word in your ear sir
“A Word To The Wise” meant that the person was already knowledgeable so only a hint of an explanation was needed , the wording has changed over the centuries but first came to use in the English language at the start of the 16th century in the form of “Few Words May Serve The Wise”.
Phew! are we done already? Ah, Couldn’t end the Column without some local news, so put Friday 29th April 7pm-10pm in your diaries because Lucien’s Library take over Watford Museum to play various toons from their upcoming Blind Faith E.P plus some of their past creations. They will be joined by special guests Stuart Oconnor and also the band Luxford , It’s free entry and if that isn’t awesome enough, there’s a bar, yes alcohol and good music, what could be better?
I’m sure all Watford Footy fans will be biting their nails on Sunday when the boys take on Crystal Palace at Wembley in the F.A cup semi-finals . They will win…I say that as a woman and as we all know women are always right? Come on you ‘Orns……
Hope to see you here 6th May
Til then Stay Blessed
Back Before Elvis x
https://twitter.com/RunninOnEmptee
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