rivers2cross

The last few days have been busy busy busy! The start of bowel cancer awareness month and what would have been my parent’s 62nd wedding anniversary. Big deals and had to take their rightful place in my journal posts. So going to see The Alarm in Leeds on Friday was slightly overshadowed. It’s weird because probably only a couple of months ago I couldn’t see me going to any gigs with the Covid situation being the way it was. If I am honest I needed something to shift inside me as well as for restrictions to be lifted. I needed to start feeling like I could live again, and going to the two gigs over the last week or so has been a big game changer for my outlook and perspective on life. I’m not going to go into Covid as such, because every has their own views and opinions. I’ve had a challenging time with my own mental health (not because of Covid), which is down to a number of reasons, and after taking real steps forward over the last six months, beginning to go out to live music again is perhaps the biggest step I have taken so far. I think this photo with Helen and Dave sums up just what it means to me. I can be too cautious by nature and sometimes can forget that you only get one go at this life. I realise that I have the opportunity to make it bloody brilliant. I’m sure that I well might f**k up from time to time, but what use are regrets. They have not done me any good over the years. Watch this space!

Going back to The Alarm on Friday… I am incredibly fortunate to have made many new friends in recent years in part through my fundraising. I can now potentially go and see The Alarm almost anywhere in the UK and be guaranteed to know a friendly face or two. The gig on Friday night was every bit as good as London the week before. Two hours of non-stop tuneage blasted out by the band in fine form. The Beckett University Student Union is a great venue. It was my first time there and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Next up for me is seeing the band in Oxford this Saturday for a third time on the tour! Can’t wait…

It’s so good visiting my brother Noel in Leeds. He has been living there for the last three and a half years, and is very happy there. Before the pandemic we would make regular visits, and this little park is a firm favourite for Prince for him to stretch his legs and have a pit stop! Noel went to university in Leeds many years ago, supports the football team and has always had friends in the city and surrounding areas, so the move back there has worked out well for him. I must admit that I would not rule out moving up this way in the future. Life remains an open and unwritten book.

Having driven up to Leeds on Friday and going straight to the football ground to do some teddy bear photography for bowel cancer awareness month, Prince naturally needed to stretch his legs. The photo with bloody Leeds United behind me was of course my brother’s idea! They are certainly not my team 🤣 Seriously though we had a great time. A brief overnight visit, but always good and enjoyable.

Today was pretty quiet at work. I received a delivery of boxes, which was just about as exciting as it got! I have returned the new mobile phone I ordered as my current phone started to work again, so I have decided to keep using for a while longer as it does me just fine… when it works! 😆 The increase in postal charges has got me thinking. I don’t want to put up the prices of the charity items that I am selling, including the bears, so I am seriously considering switching to the Parcel2Go website where I can use companies like Hermes and Yodel. Their prices at the moment are about £0.80 cheaper than the Royal Mail. This year alone that saving so far would represent somewhere between an extra £150-£200 for the various charities. I’ll probably test the water and see how I get on. Today finished with a new Kindness Vs Cancer teddy bear order, so all is good.

Finally a quick shout out to all the members of the bowel cancer community. The posts over the last few days have been amazing. I think you are all bloody brilliant. The many people who are sharing their difficult and traumatic experiences in the hope that others might not have to is incredible. I salute you all x Until tomorrow x