Category: Life

Find your tribe

Joey JonesLeave a comment

What’s something most people don’t understand?

Maybe there are some people who don’t realise that their voice, their time and energy matters. That alone they may feel inadequate, but joing a group of like minded souls can make a huge difference in the world. By giving they will receive ten-fold and some.

One group with 30 years of campaigning behind them are Surfers Against Sewage. A Cornish based charity who work tirelessly for marine conservation and all other sea related issues. For example they mobilise thousands of UK volunteers to sweep the beaches clean. Their aversion to plastic is legendary. I take off my hat to anyone who supports this amazing charity, in any way they can. It’s like paying rent for the privilege of living on our beautiful planet with an apology for all those who don’t give it a second thought. sas.org

One organisation close to my heart is LACS …League Against Cruel Sports. Their focus are animals, which are constantly abused at the hands of man. They stand side by side with these voiceless persecuted souls. Dog fighting, bullfighting, snaring, shooting, hunting any which way an animal can be harmed these fabulous people are there to put up a fight. For someone who loves animals this maybe the charity they may wish to get involved with. Again there is a wonderful website which explains everything. league.org.uk

As Autumn approaches each year I find myself getting vocal about ‘ Leave the Leaves’. A group who want to discourage folk from raking up all the fallen leaves and instead distribute them to under trees or over flower beds to act as a natural fertilizer as they break down and also a safe haven for insects and invertebrates which need somewhere to go to hibernate. If speaking up changes just one person’s mind it will have been worth it.

And that is why I say I really don’t think people believe their one voice can make a difference. There are endless causes to be fought for, everyone can find somewhere to go to join others in making a noise.

( I don’t mean making a noise and being disruptive like the Say No To Oil lobby…Who in the past have disrupted the lives of so many in their quest to get their message across. But all they have done is be disrespectful and troublesome to those who amongst other things may have missed their only chance that day to attend a Hatches, Matches or Dispatches moments.

Edit. Just Stop Oil have just announced they are disbanding.

So I shout out to anybody who feels that alone they can change nothing. Find your cause, join the group and you will never look back. Your tribe awaits.

Frog March

Joey JonesLeave a comment

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals? (A tad off piste)

  ‘ A frog decided to reach the top of a tree.

All the frogs shouted ” it’s impossible, it’s impossible.

Still the frog reached the top of the tree.

How? Because he was deaf and he thought everyone was encouraging him to reach the top.

Be deaf to negative thoughts, if your aim is to reach your goal.

Anon

Pic credit Lisa B-D With thanks JJ

Dogs and polecats

Joey Jones6 Comments

What is your favorite type of weather?

In the UK there are many ways to describe rain and how it is falling. Colloquially we might say bucketing down, pouring down and chucking it down. All rational examples. This idiom we have all heard said at some stage, but the etymology is unknown.

In a play written in 1652 Richard Brome called City Wit, it was said ‘ It shall rain dogs and polecats’. Brome was known for being heavily influenced by the works of others ( perhaps not quite plagiarism?) So it was no surprise to learn that a year earlier in 1651 Richard Vaughan’s had a collection of poems published in one of which he describes a roof secure against ‘ dogs and cats rained in shower’. But why Vaughan should imagine / use that expression remains a mystery.

Leaving all negative connatations about wet weather to one side. I find a certain beauty in rain. The way it cleanses and refreshes. How it leaves puddles in the streets for the wildlife to access. To see a bird taking a bath at the roadside is an absolute joy to me. But best of all is lying in bed at night, cosy and warm, the dog by my side and rain beginning to pit pat on the window. Steadily the velocity and volume increase and forever I could lie there listening to this magical sound, that conjures up absolute peace….

Crushed

Joey Jones2 Comments

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

I was about twelve years old when I learnt that’ good energy’ was a Thing.

Mr Grant, my English teacher. The epitome of cool, as I realise now. No, not a school girl crush, but a moment of clarity. It was when for the first time ever I knew that some souls are a bit different. I was all ponies and boaters but sent to a school that clearly wasn’t.

Stepping into his classroom was electrifying. I emphasis again, for you to be sure, this wasn’t a girly heart thing. I knew and know the difference.

Every word he spoke resonated.

Tall, with a slim build, long layered hair sweeping the collar of his corduroy jacket. His moeskin trousers and moccasins. Nah, I was making that up for effect. They were probably desert boots.

I remember he had asked us to bring in a book from home. I took the Politics of Ecstasy which belonged to my eldest brother. I wondered what my English teacher would have to say about that. He said not a word.

After the summer holidays we returned to find he had left ( along with the maths teacher, who was fiercely strict, but I respected a great deal) I was absolutely devastated. His replacement could not hold a candle to him. It changed everything.

Watch paint dry

Joey JonesLeave a comment

What do you wish you could do more every day?

I wish I could paint, full stop!

To be that artist in a big lofty studio with the perfect light. A huge canvas waiting to be brought to life with an array of colours.

The whole day would be stretching ahead of me. With only the birds, easily audible outside in the trees, for company.

Thanks, but no thanks

Joey Jones5 Comments

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

Thanks all the same WordPress but I have no interest in getting inked up. If piercings had been a Thing back in my day, I may considered something. But that ship has sailed… Instead let me tell you about Otzi, the mummified body of a man, thought to be over 5000 years old, found in ice in The Alps. It was September 19th 1991 on the the North Italian/Western Austria Border that two German tourist came across his remarkably preserved body.

Historians/researchers now believe he was shot behind with an arrow. There was a hole under his left shoulder, which was destroyed.

What is absolutely extraordinary about this man is he is the first body ever to be found and recorded with tattoos. The scientists believe the 61 tattoos had been made with a pointed tool and filled with either soot or charcoal ash.

Testing has come along way since 1991, when they found his DNA to be so degraded, but since have revealed their fascinating conclusions. Otzi suffered joint and spinal degeneration. The black lines and crosses which make up the extent of his tattoos appear on his lower back, kneecaps, hips and wrist, suggesting they were from an ancient medical practice ( much like acupuncture) rather than decorative purposes. They suggest he was lactose intolerant and had suffered Lymes Disease. The contents of his last meal found in his stomach included Ibex and red deer. Both of which could and to this day carry ticks. They also found traces of a toxic bracken which could have been used to wrap the food or as a supplement.

But who was the tattoo artist?

What an amazing find and how much does it make you wonder about the ancient medical practices which we have lost?

*Otzi and his artefacts have been exhibited at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, in Bolzano, Italy since 1998. Not that far from where he was found. RIP Otzi.

Thank you kind lady

Joey Jones2 Comments

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

Compliments are lovely things, aren’t they? I’m not sure I’ve had many over the years, boo hoo. Poor me, lol.

I got one recently though, here on WordPress. My first subscriber to this blog. The lovely lady said she liked my writing style. It meant a lot. It means a lot. I thank you x

Road trippin’ edit

Joey Jones2 Comments

You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?

Oh WP DP, I love the moment when I read what it is you have come up with for us to ponder.

A cross country trip in the UK. Lands End to John o’ Groats is the most famous, one end of the UK to the other. 603 miles, 970km as a straight line between two points. By car the shortest distance is calculated as 837 miles. A long way by our standards. Nothing if you come from vast sprawling countries.This isn’t a trip I’ve ever done, or likely to do. I’m not a huge fan of sea travel, but a trip right around the edge of the UK I think would be awesome.

I digress. Back to DP. By bike? Nah, not gonna happen. As far as I recall I’ve had two. Once when I was around 11 years old and at the weekends would cycle miles, alone, uphill, to get to the stables where I could horse ride. I loved it! Midnight, he was called. But that ended when the stepmother decided I would be better off at home bringing her and my dad breakfast in bed followed by cleaning the house. Sad, but true. Thanks dad for that. What happened to my blue and silver bike, I wonder? I also had an old fashioned racing green bike with a basket on the front when I lived in Kew Gardens, a suburb of London. No idea where that ended up, either.

Train? Tis has been a very long time since I took a train journey, and I took many. Travelling for work interviews ( another story) or down to Cornwall to see friends.

Airplane? What fine memories I have of those days! Often lucky enough to turn left on boarding. I thank NA for those days. But its not something I have in my vision at present. I do want to go and visit cherished friends, but now I have this old boy, it’s not going to be possible. His past life has left him far too traumatised to be with anyone else, safely. But the day, his day,  his last day will çome.

That leaves me with my car. I love the freedom it allows us. To stop and start, come and go at will, on a whim. The only way I can get said dog from A – B, without any hassle.

A journey this afternoon was horrible when I hit a dawdling pheasant. I wasn’t going that fast. But sadly he wasn’t fast enough. I looked back through my mirror and could see him floundering on the roadside. I turned round to go and see him. It didn’t look great. In the back of my car I had a soft single Indian print sheet, from the dog’s last adventure. I crossed the road and could ascertain quickly this beautiful bird was breathing, twitching. Had I hoped he was dead? A quick death. I scooped him up. Him? Yes, his magnificent colouring told me so.

Back in the driver’s seat of the car and swaddled in the sheet I held him to me. His breathing laboured. We sat and I waited. I like to think the warmth and the security helped him. I expected his breath to stop. I sat and we waited. Slowly he appeared to regain some strength. His eyes looked clear and alert and his breathing became more regular. When he shuffled about I didn’t want him to feel anxious in captivity so I  got out of the car and carried him deep into the hedgerow. As I put him down he seemed keen to get going but his tail appeared crooked and a wing held low. I felt I had made a mistake letting him go and clamoured through thick hedginging to get him back. When I finely broke through I was amazed to see his tail feathers had straightend and his wings in place. He toddled off, a bit dazed, but seemingly intact. I thanked the gods.

I was shaken up by this and happyI had a bottle of wine in my shopping bag. I couldn’t wait to get home and pour myself a nerve steadier. Which I did.

The last few days have been weird anyway… And then a pal asks how I am. I say ‘ pretty rubbish, actually ‘ or words to that effect. She goes on to tell me my oldest friend has been whisked from a small town to a city hospital with unknown issues. ……..Think he’s ok, for now

And there we are… You wake up. All seems good and then the shit hits the fan.