Thistle Foundation

September 8, 2017

Fran features: Federation of Writers (Scotland) – September

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Fran features: Federation of Writers (Scotland) – September

I’m delighted to be this month’s featured writer in the Federation of Writers (Scotland)  September 2017 newsletter.

The Federation is a collective of enthusiasts of the written and spoken word and welcomes writers of any complexion into its ranks: poets, writers of prose and short stories, bards and lovers of the spoken word. To quote from their header:

The Federation of Writers (Scotland) is an organisation dedicated to making the written and spoken word available to the public of Scotland, with respect for diversity and recognition of additional support needs.

The Federation is run by volunteers and membership is free. It is very easy to join the FWS by visiting the website, which is a mine of useful information and contacts. A monthly newsletter offers a comprehensive round-up of events happening around Scotland and includes a very useful digest of submissions being sought and upcoming competitions.

Each month I look forward to catching the latest news.

Anne Clarke generously gives her time to organising the monthly newsletter and sending it to our IN boxes. However, I first met her in person, when, at the invitation of the Events Convenor of the FWS, Rose Ann Fraser Ritchie (who also facilitates our writing group, Thistle Scribblers), she came to the Thistle Foundation’s Edinburgh Headquarters , to share some of her poetry with us and to hear about the writing that Thistle Scribblers enjoy each week.

I was so inspired by hearing Anne read her own poetry. No-one needs special or particular qualifications to express themselves, and poetry, that sublime form which can say so much with a few words, hints at the complexities of life in ways that few other mediums for self expression can match.

Thanks so much to Anne Clarke for featuring me this month, and for all the encouragement I have been offered by the Thistle Foundation and the Thistle Scribblers.

 

 

 

 

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August 16, 2017

Swimming in the Aegean

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Swimming in the Aegean

 

The soft Aegean

Rocks and salts my palid skin

Burned red by hot sun

A haiku for my writing group, the Thistle Scribblers. Thanks for revealing and sharing the mystery of haikus.

Comparing notes with my sister yesterday, we agree that the Aegean is unusual – soft, it moves slowly. It appears to have no swell or breakers to speak of, the shoreline disrupted instead by waves generated by those in speedboats offering rides and thrills out in the flat waters just beyond the swimmers.

Where we were staying, on the island of Thassos, it proved easy, once beyond the pebbly shoreline, to swim in the cool, remarkably clean and clear water, which never felt very deep. There are platforms of rock everywhere to make it easy to stand upright in the waves, and the only hazard I found – apart from the sneaky hot sun – was in swallowing excess amounts of salt with the water.

We were warned to swim wearing sand shoes, which we did, to avoid the prickles of sea urchins, which I never saw up close. I could see those black spikeys hugging the less disturbed rocks directly below the lit-up terraces at our hotel in the evening. I suspect they need still waters to thrive best.

Which left me wondering – sometimes I wish I didn’t wonder so much – how much of plant and animal life is disturbed by the presence of swimmers, boats, dinghies, and water speeders of various sorts. They cross the surface of the ocean harmlessly enough, and relatively close by, but as I say, the Aegean is soft and slow, and I wonder whether even the smallest disruption has adverse effects.

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June 20, 2017

Where would I be without my friends

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Where would I be without my friends?

When I sit to think about how my life has changed in the last ten years, I am almost overcome with gratitude.  My friends…are everywhere.  I go to Meeting, I go to church, I go out for a walk, and always, someone will stop and say hello, and nice to see you.  It is a pleasure to stroll, admiring the flowers, watching the little kids and their parents; and doing such things as this, the joys of friendship are like a gift.

I used to be so embarrassed by the way I walk, that I would sit for hours, for days, in a chair, or about a room, I would wonder what other people were doing, but not be doing much of that myself.  I missed chances, I missed the opportunity to feel part of something.

But now, when I am sitting, it’s usually because I’m doing something fun, or on the web, replying to emails, sending encouragement, feeling part of a bigger story worldwide.  I have friends everywhere, and can even phone them using the Facebook phone.  (Thanks for that tip, Gaston, I’m glad I was wearing headphones when you rang.)  To think I can phone my friends on FB, and I can speak to someone in Australia or America in seconds.  Amazing.

Last night we had our book launch at the Thistle Foundation and it was a great success.  I wasn’t counting, but we probably had about fifty people who came, some we know through our church links, and some from Thistle and from our neighbourhoods.  Thank you so much (!!) to everyone who came and made it such a lovely, happy event.  I am more grateful and pleased than I can express.  And thanks again to Thistle Foundation for their generous hospitality and organisation.  It’s so lovely to be the beneficiary of such kindnesses from all over Edinburgh and beyond.

 

Many thanks for reading.

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June 19, 2017

A heartfelt thank you

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A heartfelt thank you.

When my first book was published, the silence was … not exactly deafening, but… I got a hug from a friend, which I remember because it was unexpected and welcome, but nothing else happened.  No streamers, no party, no ‘welcome to the world post-publication’.  I hadn’t expected anything else, really; and when another friend offered to host a book launch in my usual venue – the Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh  – I had to decline her kind offer, because I was unable to source any copies of my books at that time, and ordering from my publisher would have taken perhaps six weeks and cost a fortune in postage.

It’s amazing how much there is to learn about the practicalities of publishing, and by dint of noticing the gaps in expectations, in the last three years I’ve learned a great deal about the challenges and the politics of this process.  I am still learning – do we ever stop? – and I am very grateful to have acquired what little knowledge I have; and relieved to have avoided most – but not all – of the pitfalls waiting to catch the unwary.  (Though pitfalls bring their own lessons…)

So when Rachael Cloughton  Editor of Scottish Art News Magazine and events co-ordinator at Thistle suggested that we have a book launch for my latest book, Happiness Matters – which goes on extended distribution today – I was moved almost to tears.  Her enthusiasm is amazing.  She encourages me always to also do my best; and her belief in me feeds my own self-belief.

We are having a launch at Thistle this evening, starting at six, and anyone who would like to, is most welcome to come along.  I look forward to the evening, and to sharing with you all, our diverse experiences of what it means to be happy, and how we can achieve that in today’s challenging world.

Thanks Rachael, and thanks to Diana and everyone at Thistle who make Thistle such a welcoming, wonderful place to be.  If you haven’t already discovered the work that Thistle do, now would be a good time.

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June 12, 2017

You are cordially invited – Book Launch for Happiness Matters

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You are cordially invited to the official launch of my new book Happiness Matters. 

 

To coincide with the extended release date, next Monday 19th June, you are cordially invited to a book launch for Happiness Matters. We are having an evening get-together at Thistle Foundation’s Edinburgh offices from 6 – 8pm. There will be drinks and snacks, conversation and books! You are all most welcome to come along.

Writing a book about happiness is not everyone’s flute of bubbly, nor even their cup of tea. What, after all, can another book contribute to the extensive self-help literature that already exists around this and a plethora of related subjects, all inviting us to get a better, more meaningful, a happier life?

I have had the experience of being depressed for the best part of twenty years – which is a big chunk of time I wish I could have lived through more joyfully. But more importantly, I no longer get chronically depressed. Sad, sometimes, anxious occasionally, but not depressed as I used to, for days and weeks at a time.

Despite having faced more challenges than I wanted to – and we all have challenges to deal with  – I have found a way out of depression that does not involve long and complex analysis.  Happiness Matters has taken ten years to reach publication; in this time I have had lots of time to test out different theories, to see what works and what don’t. I don’t have any magic formula; but perhaps I can reassure anyone who is unhappy, that there are things we can do to help ourselves feel more powerful, in control and pleased with life.

So if you would like to know more – or if you are sceptical and would like to challenge me on what I write about – you are welcome to join us for an evening’s contemplation of the lighter side of life.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

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March 3, 2017

Visit to Thistle Foundation

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Visit to Thistle Foundation Edinburgh

I wish to extend a very special Thank You to Diana Noel-Paton, Chief Executive of Thistle Foundation who invited me along to Thistle’s Edinburgh headquarters on Wednesday 1st March for a tour of the new premises.

Bright, airy and welcoming, Thistle’s new headquarters at 13 Queen’s Walk, Edinburgh have been recently rebuilt, and extend a warm invitation to service users and anyone who, with a long-term health condition, would benefit from the health and wellbeing services that Thistle offer. As they say on their Facebook Page

‘We are a health and wellbeing organisation that supports people with long term conditions to manage life better. We work with the person, not the condition, to improve their health and wellbeing.’

There are so many activities on offer, all of which we can get involved in, if we choose. For example, there is a gym we can join and there are meeting rooms where different activities are organised. When I visited, I was introduced to a writers’ group that has recently started up; and I shall be going along to their meetings when I can, as well as trying out the gym to get some much needed exercise.

In so many ways the holistic, open and accepting atmosphere feels like what I’ve been looking for all my life. If I hobble, fall, or get lost, no-one is going to look askance or worry, and I will not feel out of place here, I just know it. The staff work with person centred planning, and finds solutions based on what people would like to do and to achieve, rather than making assumptions about what life-long conditions apparently entail. Wow. I’m so pleased to have discovered Thistle, which adds a new flavour to my life.

Thanks, Diana! And thank you to everyone who made me feel so welcome.

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