The Shamans Horse
The shamans horse, my cosmic steed Worlds to explore, through the door we leap The mirrors of me the beat unleashes A circle of ash to root me in the world A horse wild and free - my steed of light A kaleidoscope of truth within me A soul alight with eagles flight...
You’ve Done What?
If I came out and said I’ve given up smoking, or decided to go on a diet I’m pretty sure the response would be a total 180 to the one I seem to get when I say I’ve decided to give up alcohol. What - for good? Surely you’ll have a drink for your birthday? Why...
The End And The Beginning
Yesterday marked 14 days since I consciously gave up alcohol and started counting how many days it’s been properly thanks to Alcohol Change’s Try Dry app. I have taken sober breaks before here and there but I think this time might be for good. Cards on the...
Keeping The Black Dog At Bay Through Cold Water Swimming
The below post was originally shared on the Zoggs website as part of their series on Mental Health Swims. I’d been following Mental Health Swims since October 2019 but only found the courage to attend one in 2020 when the Margate swim started up at Walpole Bay. With...
Fire and Ice
Some times it's nice just to take a break from life and escape to something different and yesterday that happened to be a Sauna and Dip session with a friend at Divers Cove. It's the kind of experience you need the chilling waters of winter to be able to do properly -...
A Running High
Last Sunday I ticked off another goal on my running and triathlon journey…. My first Half Marathon - and a heavy one at that as the final official distance was 14.1 miles. Two of my friends were kind enough to buy me an entry to the SVN Charity Donkey Challenge...
Learning To Dip
I think it's safe to say, 2020 did not go the way many of us expected and the less we say about that the better. Sadly 2021 is not looking much better, but hey, we will get through it and out the other side. By my nature, I am very competitive – set me a...
And The Beat Goes On
Ok, let’s get one thing out of the way before I go on…. I have a small dislike of people who can sing or play an instrument…. And when I say dislike, that could be translated as hatred. Ok, not hatred…. but jealousy. Extreme jealousy – total, I’m going to throw gummy...
Dear NHS
Dear NHS, We’ve not been strangers, but I probably haven’t paid as much attention to you as I should. But listening to “Dear NHS – Stories To Say Thank You” by a group of celebrities carolled by Adam Kay, I realise how very few names I remember from our time together....
World Mental Health Day 2020
Saturday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. And this year is the most important one yet. The months of lockdown and loss have had a huge impact on us all, and prioritising mental health has never been more important than it is now. Swimming has been my happy...
Polar Bear Challenge 2020-2021
2020 has been a year of meh – I started it off with a year full of events planned so something to work towards. However, thanks to COVID, everything has been cancelled or postponed to next year. With nothing to train towards my mojo did a fast exit from the door and...
The First Try
And just like that…… my first ever “proper” Triathlon is done….. sprint distance around Warden, Leysdown and the Isle of Harty. Now lockdown is easing, and the local swimming lakes are open, my Tri Club decided to set up a Virtual Triathlon/Duathlon Challenge. The...
The 1000 Mile Challenge
I probably should have written this a month or so ago, but the madness that is COVID19 seems to have thrown everything up in the air. So here goes..... a lot of this was written pre-lockdown when races were still going ahead and we were all still out training at full...
Walpole Bay New Years Day Swim
I’ve wanted to do a sea swim over the festive period for a long long time…… originally it was heading down to Brighton to jump in the sea on Boxing day. But, I just never got around to it. With my dive into open water swimming last year, the actual dangers of that...
Injury Is A B!tch
Injury is a bitch, especially for athlete's. However much we might kid ourselves, when we start to train and compete we put our bodies under stress and something is going to give eventually - be it a simple twisted ankle, a sprain or something more serious. I was...
Castle Swim Series 2019 – Hever
28th September was the final race of the year for me, doing the Castle Swim Series at Hever Castle. Given I started this year with no plans to do anything more than give open water swimming a try, I’m slightly chuffed I’ve done two Aquathons, two river swims, far too...
The Bulge Fear
I have a small confession…. I don’t like showing a bulge in my trousers. I don’t know why…. it’s not something I have thought about much bar just knowing I like my trousers loose enough that it’s not noticeable. Since putting on weight I’ve been a bit self...
The Black Dog Pays A Visit
The Black Dog decided to pop by for a visit earlier in the week. It’s been a while since he’s been over. It took me by surprise as I’d had a good night's sleep, got to the pool as normal and was getting my head into work mode. For some reason he felt it was a good day...
My Journey So Far… An Annual Appraisal
I started my current fitness journey about a year and a half ago, while having a mini mid-life crisis sorting through photos and seeing how skinny I used to be. Fast forward to now and I thought it was probably a good point to have an “annual appraisal” of my progress...
Grumpy Old Man In The Pool
Swimming is meant to be one of those easy but effective ways of getting fit. Less stress on the joints, full body workout and a great “mindful” activity to help you de-stress. Now on the whole I agree with most of these points. I am fitter than I have been in a long...
Honesty or Not?
The biggest thing with mental health issues is we don’t talk about them enough. As with anything, the more people talk about them and normalise them - the less of a stigma there is. The only downside is, sometimes the issues involved are very personal. I decided to...
The Subtle Moments
I’ve been doing a lot of courses at my local Apple Store in the past month (I know….. a little on the sad side possibly but it’s getting me out of the house and interacting with real life peoples). One I did recently was a Studio Sessions: Photography one. On the...
Pride Month 2018 – Can You Hold The Hand Of The One You Love?
June is Pride month around the world. A time when LGBT+ people join together to celebrate not only the opportunities and freedoms they have nowadays, but also to carry on raising awareness that we do not still experience the all the same rights. In the world we...
Song For The Ex’s – Part 2
And here is the second part of the two part set of poems.... Each of you was there, a part of my life Loving each and every one of you in your own way You opened a door into my heart, never to forget you But the time has come to say goodbye To close these doors...
Mental Health Awareness Week 2018
This week was Mental Health Awareness week, a time to reflect on and raise awareness of all the various aspects of mental health issues that affect us all. In a little bit of kismet I have just finished reading (well listening to….) a book called This Is Going To Hurt...
Song For The Ex’s – Part 1
So, a little know fact about me is I did the whole teenage angst phases and wrote some poetry many years ago. I even went as far as to self publish and I believe a copy of it is even in the British Library. Song For The Ex's - Part 1 and 2 were a twin part set I wrote...
The Libation Contention
It's one of those contentious areas - drinking alcohol and mental health. The general consensus is its on the side of naughty to drink alcohol when you are experiencing a visit from the Black Dog. But a lot of people, myself included, will flout that rule from time to...
The Not So Normal Normal
What is normal? It’s that annoying thing I think we all strive to be - and for some of us to the detriment of our mental health. For years I’ve struggled with the thoughts in my head and how they are abnormal, making me different and not “normal”. It’s only after...
Medico Misgivings
So anyone who knows me knows I have had plenty of experience with the NHS over the years, from when I was born with a hair lip and cleft palette right up until my myocarditis recently. On the whole I cannot fault it - where else in the world has such an amazing...
Them Pills, Them Pills
Given my current regular play dates with the Black Dog I thought it was time to revisit another old blog post. One thing that is synonymous with depression is anti-depressants. They are often seen as the cure-all for depression and something that anyone suffering from...
Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Also Hurt Me
We are always told – “sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can never hurt us”. But words have far more power than most people give them credit for. The impact of the words you say may not be obvious – but they run deep. It may be a simple comment...
Digital Worlds
Ask anyone who's met or worked with me and they would probably describe me as a fun and outgoing person (well..... I hope they would). But meet me in person or find me on a conference call with you for the first time and you will probably find me quietly sitting in...
Welcome to the Matrix
2016 is not a good year in any way, shape or form. We have lost some of our most celebrated actors, actresses, comedians and musicians. We have seen atrocious attacks of violence against varying cities, countries and groups in society. The most striking thing...
Vigils vs Actions
Over the weekend, 50 people were killed and 53 were injured in a mass shooting in the LGBTQ nightclub, Pulse I Orlando, Florida. Many people people have expressed their concern and worry, using the hashtag #PrayForOrlando. They have said those victims, both those who...
Even The Strongest Falter
Sometimes even the strongest of us falter or have doubts in what we are doing or believe in. At the same time I would worry if we didn't question our beliefs or actions to ensure we are correct or justified in our beliefs. Sometimes the cause we believe in and are...
Why Does It Matter
I often have to argue why LGBT rights matter. Why should who I love matter, why should it matter who I go to bed with when it comes to work. To put it bluntly, it matters to me. I don't expect you to start work and stop thinking or commenting about your different sex...
Confessions
So I'm digging out some of my old blog posts that I had saved and re-posting them...... If I'm honest, what I'm about to write makes me think back to the days when I first came out. Though, this feels like a 100 times worse. And that is something that really needs to...
Automatic Assumptions
Is it easy to automatically assume someone is gay or lesbian when they are part of an LGBT group? I know I have in the past and it’s a habit I am now actively trying to break. Having grown up and discovering who I was via mainly male homosexual role models, my...