A Lad from Featherstone

  BBC news: 28 th  January 2021 Thank you so much to my son Christopher. He has been an inspiration, and true motivator over the past fourteen months. Please be patient: Motivational theory can be viewed from many perspectives. Search the net and Abraham Maslow – an old favourite of mine – fills the screen but doesn ’ t address where I am going. Chris ’ s needs, in Maslow speak; we not only met, they were exceeded to the point of him becoming a spoilt brat. He scraped just enough GCSE ’ s to do A levels at KEVICC ’ s (King Edward VI Community College) Totnes, Devon. He grew his hair, had his face pierced a dozen times, played the drums-on stage at the Dartmouth music festival – and failed all his exams. A term later we rented a one bed flat for him in Totnes, so he could fail his A levels again. My only memory from that period is a phone call from Chris late one night, “ Dad, dad, what ’ s every man ’ s ultimate fantasy, ” he excitedly asked. “ Well for me it was a long and successf

  “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” – Martin Luther King Jr.  This quote (I subscribe to a writing site Medium.com) caught my attention today:  There are many folks who feel their lives are ending right now and silence is becoming the accepted norm. I have no interest in politics; my years of silence having been indoctrinated and imposed upon me from birth, ‘big boys don’t cry’; ‘don’t say that be quiet’; ‘be seen and not heard’; ‘change the subject’. These were all part of growing up. It took me ten years to share, with another the abuse at the hands of the babysitter. I was told masturbation was bad and sent you blind. Kerry, my first wife, told me once; “now you have me you don’t need to masturbate” and then proceeded to withhold sex unless I had ‘done as I was told’, and not annoyed her. She physically abused me (twice I called the police) for over thirty years and openly ‘gaslighted’ me, as did her family, and latterly my own children who w

  3rd January 2021. Elba Sarah beach resort Fuerteventura . I climb into the driving seat of a VW Polo. Harold, my new German friend – who forgot his driving licence - in the passenger seat and we are about to explore the island. I have driven an automatic car for forty years, this one has five gears and I am daft nervous. In 1339 the Mallorcan navigator Angelino Dulcert, referred to the island as "Forte Ventura”. The island's name is a compound word formed by the Spanish words for "strong" (fuerte) and "fortune" (ventura). Traditionally, Fuerteventura's name has been regarded as a reference to the strong winds around the island and the resulting danger to nautical adventurers. However, it might have referred instead (or also) to wealth, luck or destiny… The island's conquest began in earnest in 1402, commanded by French knights and crusaders… In 1424 Pope Martin V, through the Betancuria Brief, edited the establishment of the Bishopric of Fuertoven

Leafy.com Jack Herer (1939-2010), sometimes called the "Emperor of Hemp", was an American cannabis rights activist and the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes (1985), the  book—now in its fourteenth edition -  has been continuously in print for 35 years—frequently cited in efforts to decriminalise and legalise cannabis and to expand the use of hep for industrial use. Herer also founded and served as the director of the organisation Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) [Wikipedia] April 1983; I am about to sit my final law exam [Surveyors & Lawyers sit almost the same exams in the early years] and have 104 cases to memorize for tomorrow; Snails in ginger beer (Donoghue v Stephenson 1932) lease or license (Street V Mountford 1985) and the rest. Home is 302 Liverpool Road, Islington. I am working as a trainee surveyor with Donaldsons, 70 Jermyn Street W1. My children; Christopher four months old and Emily now two. My daily routine involves four tube journeys -Highbury

Sheila taught me the benefits of fasting. She would fast on Mondays with water only for 24 hours. Lambo is about to lean the difference between a cycle and a bicycle. Please be patient. Despite its recent surge in popularity, fasting is a practice that dates back centuries and plays a central role in many cultures and religions. Defined as the abstinence from all or some foods or drinks for a set period of time, there are many different ways of fasting. Intermittent fasting, on the other hand, involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting , ranging from a few hours to a few days at a time. Fasting has been shown to have many health benefits, from increased weight loss to better brain function. [Here are eight good reasons] 1. Promotes Blood Sugar Control by Reducing Insulin Resistance 2. Promotes Better Health by Fighting Inflammation 3. Enhance Heart Health by Improving Blood Pressure, Triglycerides and Cholesterol Levels 4. Boost Brain Function and Prevent Neurodegen

I am in a funny place today; a sixty minutes spinning class and four lengths of a cold pool didn't improve me. Hey ho. Firstly, I must start with an apology to all that took offence to my last blog, as it would appear to trivialise (not sure it does) the predicament many of you caught in because of the lockdown. I wish at no point to make fun of anyone trapped in their home or suffering the effects of the virus either directly or indirectly. I do feel a sense of unease escaping the UK currently. I also feel a sense of unease for leaving Featherstone aged 19 and never returning to play for my beloved Rovers. The same goes for quitting Harlequins -Lambo walked out and made the sports headlines -, I quit teaching on one months (head agreed) notice, I walked out of Lamberts Surveyors, my own company, with all my stuff in a bin liner, I walked away from my first marriage and on many occasions have simply made a U turn and left. I flew here in December, away from the anxiety creating sit

   Lambo was born on a full moon. The poor Lad was doomed from his first breath. Wednesday 13th January 2021. 2359h: Along a Volcanic dust & hard bits track somewhere near Gran Tarejal, Fuertoventura. It’s a new moon and Lambo lays flat on the ground, blood trickling from his left knee and his dodgy left shoulder is throbbing. He has just fallen off his ‘new’ (secondhand 250 Euro) bike attempting to cycle home from a woman’s apartment. He did have lights but couldn’t see the edge of the road, so panicked and swerved. That was his story ... Six hours earlier he cycles four miles into town, visits the Spar supermarket and two packs of nicotine juice, (for his vape kit) later, he takes a seat at the bar. He orders a pint, then another, two becomes three and all washed down with a pepperoni pizza. Pints four and five slip down easily. Helga is just lovely; Austrian; nearer size sixteen than fourteen, loves the sun, hates all sport but paints - her artwork, all for sale, covers the wall