Tag: Life

Always look on the bright side: Five things that made me smile in May.

Another month and another attempt at finding the odd little things that bring an unexpected sliver of happiness into my life. And of course happiness is always a good thing to keep topped up! So here’s what I found last month. I hope it makes you smile too!

Welsh nans befriend wrestler. No, you read that right. This is the story of a group of Welsh grandmas who ended up becoming friends with a wrestler after sharing a flight with him. The group were heading to Las Vegas to scatter the ashes of one of their husbands and were initially fuming with the wrestler who was sat in what they believed to be one of their seats on the plane. But after discovering that this was their mistake one of the nans struck up a conversation with the wrestler, DeReiss Gordon. This in turn led to an invite to his bout at Wrestlemania in Vegas and a continuation of the friendship once they returned to Wales as DeReiss has now invited the group to a show in London. In a month where I was approaching the end of another gruelling half term, the unlikely nature of this friendship just really stood out for me!

Mani’s Mural. For anyone who doesn’t know, Mani – Gary Mountfield – was the bass player in The Stone Roses, a band who changed my life. Mani died last November and it was a real shock. Another one of my musical heroes gone, but this one being someone who it felt like I grew up with. However, when news of the completion of a mural for him broke last month, it just really made me smile. I’m a big fan of this kind of thing anyway, but seeing Mani’s beaming smile on the side of one of his favourite Manchester pubs just felt really fitting and a really happy thing to happen.

Year 7 and Year 10 speeches. I’ve always felt lucky to be a teacher. And not just for the holidays. I work with a lot of vulnerable children and sometimes just to help them through a tough day is enough to raise a smile eventually. However, in May two of my groups had to do speeches in class, which I think is a tough gig for anyone, really. My Year 10 group are the nurture group so the name might give a hint about their vulnerability. And my Year 7 group has some really quiet kids in there too. So, I was concerned for them having to perform speeches. Year 7 were defending Shakespearean villains, while Year 10 had to speak about something issue based, like whether AI is a good thing for instance. Across both groups some shook, some stuttered, some giggled, some were barely audible, some looked on the verge of tears, while others appeared full of confidence and performed really well. Two particularly shy boys in my Year 7s made me smile; one got up and spoke eloquently for over 3 minutes about Richard III, belying his fear, while the other struggled to read his own writing and needed me to stand up at the front with him just to get through. But their pride and relief was palpable and a joy to see. Meanwhile in Year 10, where their efforts were filmed for the exam board, it was a similar story, but at the same time an absolute triumph. Some of them only managed 30 odd seconds, but others gave it a real go and having taught them for two years now, I was just really, really proud of them.

Unofficial Landmarks. This was the story about stuff in certain cities that had become almost unofficial landmarks because the residents had just fallen in love with them over the years. So there were purple wheelie bins in Liverpool, a cone on the head of the Duke of Wellington’s statue in Glasgow, the Headington Shark in Oxford, a vampire rabbit gargoyle in my home city of Newcastle, a Big Fish in Belfast and the Big Apple (kiosk) near Mumbles Pier in Swansea. I loved them. You can judge for yourself below.

The sun! In one of the most unpredictable turn of events ever, the sun came out just as we were breaking up for half term! This meant that we had 7 days of lovely warm weather. A veritable heat wave and in a half term where all I really wanted to do was rest and relax, that’s what we did. Sometimes, you simply can’t beat lazing about in the garden, reading in the heat!

So, another month with another few reasons to crack a smile. Those little moments of joy are always there; you just have to look!

Always Look on The Bright Side – Five things that made me smile in April.

Another month, another shot at finding those lighter moments that might make you smile or could even be so good that they make your heart sing. So, what did April do to make me put on a happy face?

Art at Oakwell Hall. I’ll keep this short and sweet because I’ve written a piece about it elsewhere. However, a local country park – and also the place where I volunteer as a Parkrun marshall – is hosting something called ‘Art on your doorstep’, meaning that 12 notable works from the National Gallery can now be found in the grounds of the park. They’re larger versions and copies, obviously, but I must say, they brighten every Saturday at the moment!

Blossom! That’s right folks, it’s that fantastic time of year when some of us are lucky enough to have blossom on trees all around us. I was reminded of this when I read an article on ‘Sakura’ or cherry blossom season in Japan. But while I have been out running locally, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer amount of blossom trees around where I live and some of them are spectacular. And talking of blossom, or indeed just noticing it, never fails to remind me of arriving in Washington DC for a trip a few years and our lovely taxi driver cheerily informing us that it was a shame we hadn’t been there a week earlier as the whole place was covered in blossom. Well meaning I’m sure, but maybe not something to tell your new arrivals about in a kind of ‘here’s what you could’ve won’ way! I don’t think he got the job with the Tourist Information office…

Saltaire. Saltaire, just outside of Bradford in West Yorkshire is a place I have a little bit of knowledge about due to frequently driving through it on my way to visit in laws. Built by mill owner Titus Salt in the 19th century, it was a place where his workers could live a happy life. But an article I read last month revealed a lot more to smile about with Saltaire. The article told how Titus Salt was ‘meeting every possible human need’ a century before the welfare state by providing education, improved hygiene and even pensions for his workers. Salt’s workers were known for their long service and within the village infant mortality improved along with lifespans extending. Saltaire is still a very picturesque place today, but dig a little deeper and we find that from its inception it vastly improved lives. Now isn’t that something to smile about?

An axolotl in Wales. I must admit that while I knew the name, I would have struggled to actually tell you what an axolotl was. So I was fascinated reading an article about a girl finding one in a stream in Wales. It was found near some rocks under a bridge as 10-year-old Evie Hill played in the water. When she noticed that it had damage to its tail and stomach she quickly caught it and took it to safety. Apparently, estimates reckon there are at most 1000 left globally, so while I wasn’t sure about the family keeping it as a pet, it does feel like a good news story.

The Boston Marathon. This was the story of the two runners who sacrificed their chance at personal bests in order to stop and help a stricken runner in the latest Boston Marathon. I understand the feeling of wanting to run faster only too well, so it was brilliant to see two runners sacrifice themselves in order to help someone who was obviously in so much trouble. The runner in question had collapsed just after the 26 mile mark and literally couldn’t get back to his feet. As more and more runners streamed past, kicking for the finish, two thought better of it and stopped to help. The three then finished together. Sometimes, people are just fantastic.

A day in Roundhay Park. With our school Easter holidays being in April it meant some much needed time off. It also meant the chance to do the type of things I don’t often have time for in term time. As she’s now living in York for her studies I don’t get to see my daughter that much, but as she was home for two weeks we decided we’d find a gap in her busy social life and have a day out together, like we used to when she was much younger. This time though there’d be less wellies, ball games and running around in the hope of tiring her out. So, off we went, just a dad and his grown up daughter, for a day out at Roundhay Park in Leeds. Roundhay Park was designed and built by the Nicholson family in the 1800s and now covers over 700 acres of land in north Leeds. In short, it’s beautiful and quite a popular place with our family. While we’d normally take a picnic, on the day in question we went on the hunt for somewhere to eat locally. However, after a wander around Roundhay itself, we decided it was a bit too posh and just doubled back to get something at the café at the Mansion restaurant in the park. It’s amazing what a sausage roll and a portion of chips in the sun will do for your mood! After lunch we went for a walk in the park, but unfortunately lost our bearings and took a wrong turn. It actually led to a lovely walk through a beautiful part of the park that we’d never discovered, but it also meant that we ended up a little bit lost and having to have a brisk walk across the local golf course while a bunch of people waited on the tee! All in all, a lovely day out in beautiful, sunny surroundings and in the company of someone who’s absolutely precious to me. Plenty of reasons to smile!

And there we have it once more! Another instance of ‘Five Reasons…’ where in fact, there was so much to smile about that I couldn’t just leave it at five. I hope you enjoyed reading!

The Pontefract 10k 2026.

Having written about getting my hopes up about running in this event a few days ago, it’s quite nice to be able to sit here writing about the actual thing and not feel in any way disappointed. I mean, I’d have liked to run slightly faster, but in reality I’m totally satisfied with the time I achieved and the way I ran.

It was an early Sunday wake up to get out to Pontefract and then a rush to the start to pick up my number and get stretched and ready for a 9am start to the race. It was also one of those days where I curse my build; my skinny little legs really don’t enjoy the cold! Still, as we were counted down and the clock clicked over to 9am, the sun had just about come out.

Pontefract is a hilly course and although I’ve now done it five times, I had still forgotten just how hilly that actually was. I was fully prepared for the two big hills that follow on straight after the halfway point. I knew they’d be a slog, I knew that my legs would be like jelly by the time I reached the top and so I was okay with that. However, after that more hills just seemed to keep on coming and as positive as I tried to keep, I was actively swearing at them by the time I reached what turned out to be the last one! And yes, I know that swearing at hills won’t achieve anything, but believe me, somehow it helped!

My plan for the race was just to stay positive and determined and to keep checking on my pace. I had it in mind that I could afford some 9+ minute miles, but that in the main, I had to be running more of the 8 minute kind if I could. I suppose it’s not rocket science. I was also aware that some of those hills might take me above 10 minute mile pace and I really couldn’t afford that, even briefly.

The first half of the race went better than planned, although I did go out far more quickly than I’d wanted for my first mile. But by the time we turned to head towards the finish for the second half and those hills hit, my plan was coming slightly undone. The sun was also now firmly fixed in the sky and it was getting a little bit hot. There was nothing else for it than to grit my teeth and just keep plodding on, staying as close to those I’d been using to pace me as possible.

For the second time running in a 10k I missed the water station, which was a bit of a disaster. I did ask if there was another further on and was told ‘yes’, but it turned out that they meant that there were two other volunteers just across the road. And I missed them too!

By the time I’d got myself to the final mile or so I was parched. However, I’d had an energy gel – the first time I’ve used one, disgusting by the way – and so just kept on going. The plan was to attack that final mile, but usually I’m not capable until around the latter part! However, today I’d found another gear pretty much instantly.

Much of the final stretch at Pontefract is downhill, which means you can pick up some pace if there’s any energy left. I wanted to be running somewhere in the 7+ minute mile pace, but I was still a little surprised to see just how quick I was going; I was close to 6 minute pace. And the added bonus was that by the time I spotted my wife and son at the roadside I felt like I was really travelling! In my head I must’ve looked great, but I’m sure their eyes would tell you something very different!

At the bottom of that final hill you almost turn back onto yourself and into Pontefract park towards the finish, which you guessed it, is up a slight hill! I must admit to feeling knackered at this point but I just kept pushing myself to keep that sprint finish going. And with spectators on either side of the course cheering you on, it’s really pretty cool provided you’re not in a complete mess!

In the end I clocked in for a 55 minute run. That much hoped for 54 wasn’t too far off and where usually I might beat myself up about missing out, today I was just happy to get around a tricky course and feel like there wasn’t a great deal more that I could have given.

I bumped into a couple of old friends afterwards once I’d met up with my family again, so that put an added sheen on the day. Both had run way quicker than me, but both also said how tough they’d found the course. Maybe it wasn’t just me swearing at those hills then!

Same time next year? Why the hell not!

Getting my hopes up again…

On Sunday I will take part in my latest 10k race. Regular readers will know that I’m under no illusions as to actually winning. Or even placing in the first thousand, as it goes. Finishing is always a little bit of a surprise.

However, it’s fair to say that I’ve been getting my hopes up again.

Recently, while viewing my latest run statistics on Strava, I scrolled down my feed to find an ‘On this day 4 years ago’ notification, letting me know that this time (April) fours years ago I’d ran a 51 minute 10k. Now for a lot of people that’s not particularly quick, even for some in my age group. I was staggered though.

I’m not one for remembering personal bests and stuff like that, but I was taken aback at this 51 minute revelation for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I couldn’t remember being this quick. Secondly, this would have been under 6 months before I would collapse with heart issues (in the security queue in Manchester airport!) and I would have been suffering with the palpitations that would ultimately lead to having a pacemaker fitted 7 months later. And finally, because since having said pacemaker (and being ‘fixed’) I’ve struggled to break 55 minutes, let alone 51!

It left me feeling perplexed, to be honest. A little bit amazed that I’d been running so quickly (for me) at that time, but also feeling quite annoyed at what having a pacemaker has done for me. That’s a feeling that I can get quite often and I’ve decided that there’s no point dwelling on it. After all, it most likely saved my life, so running a bit slower shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Which is where getting my hopes up comes in…

This coming Sunday I’m running the Pontefract 10k. I’ve had 7 whole weeks of training and have been able to get out for most of that on more than one occasion per week. For each of those weeks I’ve managed at least a 10k training run as well as another shorter one and sometimes even a bit of something else like yoga or a walk. In short, training has gone pretty well, which is far from usual for me. For the last couple of years it seems like I’ve been either ill or injured coming up to a race and have rarely stood on the start line feeling like I’m going to do myself justice. And so I’ve been getting my hopes up.

Sunday’s weather doesn’t look too bad. A suggestion of rain, but barely any wind. I know the course quite well and although it’s hilly so are my training routes. And training has gone well over these last 7 weeks. I’ve not got a cold, nor am I feeling signs of any sickness at all. I’ve even got a new inhaler! I’m not hopeful of getting anywhere near that 51 minutes, but if I could get in under 55 then I’d be thrilled. Fingers crossed that after what can feel like endless uphill sections during the last 3 miles, I’ve still got enough in the legs to put in a big finish over that final mile or so. I’ll let you know how it went. Wish me luck!

The Art of Parkrun at Oakwell Hall.

Most Saturdays, I spend a couple of the morning hours volunteering as a marshall at one of our local Park Run events. Apart from the early start, it’s easy enough and usually quite good fun as well as being set in the wonderful surroundings of Oakwell Hall Country Park. Even in the rain, it’s a beautiful place to be.

So, as usual I was looking forward to our walk up to our marshalling point a couple of weeks ago. We tend to take the long way round – got to get those steps in! – which takes us over a couple of streams and eventually up through the woods and up to the highest point of the park with its brilliant view of the surrounding area. But this week there was something new to feast our eyes on. Art. Art, everywhere!

We’d noticed some new additions a few weeks ago as what appeared to be the ‘legs’ for new signage was in place. But now, things had been completed with the addition of massive replicas of some old classic works of art. So, before we’d walked more than a few yards we’d been treated to a bit of Van Gogh!

A bit of research revealed that this was part of the ‘Art on your Doorstep’ exhibition which is running at Oakwell from April until September this year. Apparently there are 14 reproductions of National Gallery paintings now positioned around the park. Each one features some accompanying text which is a collaborative effort between Batley Girls School, Ravenshall School and a local walking group called the Friday Wanderers.

I’m a little bit of an art fan and we’ve been known to visit the odd gallery across the years, including going to the Alte Pinakothek in Munich a few years back where we saw Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. So, imagine my surprise when we turned a corner at Oakwell and there it was again!

When we reached our marshalling point we found that right opposite where we stand was another painting; this time it was Turner’s ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ which I’d never seen before and was an obvious attraction for many of the runners as they passed. It must have made a nice change from our faces and inane clapping, I suppose!

Once the running was done we took a slight detour on our way back to the start in order to search out any more art and were lucky enough to stumble across Monet’s ‘The Water-lily Pond’…you know, the one with the bridge!

We only managed to see 5 of the available artworks during our time at Oakwell that week but we’ve managed to search out a couple more in the last couple of weeks. And we’ve been tipped off as to the location of a few more! It’s a brilliant initiative and well worth a look if your near the park any time between now and September. It certainly brightened up our rainy morning.

Always look on the bright side – the things that made me smile in February.

With Winter almost over the horizon and turning to give its last wave until it sees us again at the back end of the year (or sporadically from August if you live in the north), Spring had undoubtedly brightened things up. So, last month had a few more than just the regular five things to smile about!

My birthday. One of the first things I had to smile about was my birthday. I normally don’t really care about it that much and find that the family make much more of a fuss than me, which in its own way is of course very nice. However, this year felt different. Firstly, we didn’t make any plans to go out because there was torrential rain for the whole day. In turn, that made things all the more relaxing. One of my presents was tickets to see The Shawshank Redemption at a theatre in Leeds, which I was really pleased with. But then I realised that I’d never watched the film. None of us had. And so, we spent my birthday afternoon together, snacking and watching what is largely felt to be one of the greatest films ever released. It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday.

Local paper steals my headline! I could have got quite annoyed about this, but in the end it just made me smile. It came about because a local journalist put a story out on Twitter (sadly now X) about Newcastle’s Champions League tie in Baku. The story referenced a song that our fans have been singing for years, to the tune of Que Sera, Sera – ‘Tell me mam, me mam, I won’t be home for tea, we’re going to Wembley’. So, a celebration of a certain achievement where the ‘tea’ and ‘Wembley’ rhyme. But for his headline the journalist had just ended it with Azerbaijan, which doesn’t rhyme with ‘tea’…or with much at all! So, I left a comment saying wouldn’t be better as ‘scran’ (a dialect word for food) instead of ‘tea’. The journalist got back to me saying that I was right. Later however, the newspaper that said journalist writes for sent out a link to an article about our fans being in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, using my version of the song as their headline! Have a look for yourself!

Abandoned island for sale. This was a story I read about an island that has been put up for sale. It’s in the Dwyryd Estuary in North Wales, very close to where we go on holiday every year. Apparently there are 17 acres containing a farmhouse that is in need of major renovation. Had I have been 20 years younger – and a lot richer – I’d have been tempted to have a look and maybe even put in a bid!

Spring. Plain and simple. The nights are getting lighter. As are the mornings, come to think of it. Having had the last few months where I’ve been leaving for work in the dark and then heading home in the dark, it’s very much smileworthy to not have to do it anymore! Spring also means that I can see new life everywhere and – old romantic that I am – I really like seeing buds come back on to plants, flowers appearing and the like. They’re just a sign of better things to come.

The Alternative Guide to Qarabag. As I mentioned previously in this column, Newcastle United played a Champions League tie in Azerbaijan recently. And, as I write for a Newcastle fan site, I was inspired to write a piece on this. However, rather than write a straightforward preview of the match I wanted to do something different. Many years ago I wrote for another Newcastle website and what we wrote was largely silly, imaginative (made up) pieces that looked at the club in a very different way. So for my Qarabag piece I decided to write an alternative guide which mixed a small amount of factual stuff with loads of made up bits about Qarabag. It was just a piece that I hoped would raise some smiles and maybe even a few chuckles. More than that though, it gave me the chance to write something completely different as well as rolling back the years a bit and remembering writing in my twenties without a care in the world. The piece is on the link below if anyone fancies a read.

NUFC in the Champions League – The alternative guide to Qarabag.

The Qarabag result. Qarabag 1 Newcastle United 6. The game was played over two legs and we won by an aggregate score of 9-3 in the end. However, that first game was superb and we were absolutely ruthless. Suffice to say, after all of the build up, it left me with a big smile on my face!

Marsden Moor. At half term me and my son ventured out past Huddersfield to take a hike across the beautiful Marsden Moor. It was a cold wet day, which was bad enough, but when we got up onto the moor it wasn’t long before we encountered snow. We were well equipped for what we were doing though and so the snow didn’t really provide an obstacle. What did hinder us was some badly worded instructions and a wrong turn that not only took us about a mile out of our way, but also led to us tackling some very narrow and steep paths. And of course it was at this point that the rain decided to properly lash down as well. Despite the conditions, despite painful feet and ankles from my boots and despite how tired we both were, the day was brilliant. Spending that time with my son was time incredibly well spent and there were smiles throughout the day.

Jigsaw puzzle lovers raise £15k for charity. This is a great story. During the first Covid lockdown Lynn Pearl and her husband Gideon started a puzzle library where people could lend jigsaws. This has now grown from the 80 they started with to over 3000 mainly donated jigsaws that are lent out at £1 a time. On average 40-50 jigsaws per day are loaned out at their village hall and this has led to them donating over £15k to local food charities across the years.

Chris Ramsey. Chris Ramsey is a fantastically funny comedian and we were lucky enough to go and watch one of his gigs last month in Halifax. Obviously you’d judge a comedy show on how much you laughed, but when you come out and your face aches with laughing, you know it’s been a brilliant night. Handily, I’ve added my review of the gig below, if anyone wants to find out about the gig! Comedy Review: Chris Ramsey at Halifax Victoria Theatre.

So, lots of positives found in February, which was a good job because the weather was horrendous! I hope some of it made you smile too. On to March and to see how much I’m smiling once that’s out of the way!

Back on the roads again…

Just under a couple of weeks ago I took part in the Dewsbury 10k and having had time to reflect, as well as rest my aching legs, I thought I’d write a few thoughts down.

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that I love running. I don’t think I’m quite at ‘running bore’ stage just yet, but I’m having a good go. And if you’re a regular reader you’ll know that for around the last year or so I’ve struggled to train consistently through illness and injury. For Dewsbury I was running on the back of only three training runs, brought about because of a chest infection and sinus problem that knocked me flat for just over a month.

In my final training run I’d dragged myself around a 10k route in just under an hour. It was horrible and I felt like death warmed up, but I’d gotten round. My attitude to Dewsbury was that I needed to just get round…and try and be a little quicker and less embarrassing!

Despite it all I was genuinely excited about running the night before and I woke up feeling pretty optimistic too. Better still, I felt reasonably healthy.

Thankfully it was a decent morning, weatherwise, with the sun making a rare February appearance and the wind barely blowing at all. Perfect conditions for running!

As ever with a race it was a battle to get through the start with a crowd of us just plodding forwards as the numbers gradually cleared in front of us, but once I got through the start line and into my running I felt pretty good. I’d decided to go out steadily and then up the pace as we turned for home at the 3 mile mark, but on the few occasions that I checked my pace I was always quicker than expected and I knew that this would probably catch up with me.

The Dewsbury course is reasonably flat though, with the first half going slightly uphill and the second half heading back down. Still though, I was right about my legs! It wasn’t long before I was feeling the strain, but it helped that I knew the roads and was obviously aware that every step was getting me closer to that 10k mark. So it was just a case of gritting my teeth and getting on with it.

The final mile felt like it might never end and frequently checking my watch wasn’t helping! But I managed to stay focused and ignore the fact that one of my hamstrings was cramping a bit and kept going.

As ever, seeing my family at the side of the road gave me a welcome boost and spurred me on a bit, so as I got to the final third of a mile or so I was really pushing myself. The trouble was, I couldn’t see the finish! At Dewsbury the finish is around a corner at the end of a long straight road and if I’m honest, it was killing me not being able to see it! Even when I rounded that final bend it still looked far too far away! However, knowing that I’d be finished the race in a matter of seconds, I just decided to sprint as best I could.

I could hear footsteps behind me; obviously anyone with any energy left is trying to sprint in these circumstances, and a glance over my shoulder told me that several people were intent on getting past me. Despite my age and lack of fitness these days I’m still very competitive though, so only one person passed me before the line, a young woman who was literally flat out sprinting! Fair play to her!

In the end, despite the lack of training, I finished in just over 54 minutes and although I’d have loved to have gone quicker, I couldn’t help but be pleased with my efforts. In fact, such were my efforts that when I came to drive home I couldn’t lower the clutch without my calf cramping up, resulting in about another 15 minutes spent stretching by the car before it was safe to go home!

Next up is the Wakefield 10k on 22nd March, which gives me a decent amount of time to increase my fitness and be ready to give things a real go. Well, that’s the plan anyway!

A Christmas Fuddle.

It was Helen Keller who once said that “Life is either daring adventure or nothing at all”. And after receiving an email at work just before Christmas I was pretty sure that I was going to end up on some kind of daring adventure while knowing nothing at all about what was going on. So, she was right in a way…

This was the email.

Hi Graham,

We are going to have a fuddle for Kayleigh in the department meeting next Thursday.

If I send the list of what people have already agreed to bring, please could you let me know what you will be able to bring so I can make sure that we have a variety?

Many thanks,

Sophie

P.S. You’re my hero.

The hero thing was no big deal. I find that happens regularly, especially when I make it up. But my reply to the rest of it was more a less just a massive ‘WHAT THE HEY?’

A fuddle. A fuddle? I must admit that I took a deep breath and clutched my pearls at such an unknown entity. And not only were we having a fuddle, but I had to bring stuff in order to make sure we had variety in our fuddle. This wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to be part of. I mean, I’ve only been at this school for just over a year and I’m really quite a shy boy.

It turns out though that a fuddle is a Yorkshire term that refers to ‘a communal bring and share buffet’, apparently. These are especially common in workplaces at times like Christmas, so at my Yorkshire workplace we were ticking every box imaginable with our fuddle.

The funny thing was that I’d never before heard the word ‘fuddle’. I’ve lived in Yorkshire for almost 30 years and no one has ever mentioned fuddling, let alone invited me along to one. The lack of a previous invite bit doesn’t surprise me at all as I try to cultivate a face and attitude that says, ‘don’t include me’ throughout every waking moment. But it felt weird that everyone was so free and easy with their fuddling and yet I’d never heard it mentioned once until now.

The fuddle still felt adventurous to me though, despite just being a bit of a gathering. I still over thought how much fizzy drink to get and what flavours and I still had, as usual, an acute sense of dread at mixing with other people in such a setting. I wasn’t very well though, so kind of kept my distance and just sat quietly eating the odd chocolate based snack despite my lack of appetite.

My fuddle induction was complete a couple of weeks later when our shower stopped working and we had to call in an electrician. When he arrived he was with his wife and explained that he didn’t do many jobs anymore, but just liked helping people out. He’d stopped working so hard due to health issues and his wife had given up her job to help out, which I thought was an amazing thing to do. Later though, he made a joke about taking his apprentice – his wife – out for a Christmas fuddle as a reward for all of her hard work. It was a good line, but I fear he must’ve been a bit quizzical about how much I laughed! I mean, how was he to know that this was only my second fuddle ever?

Anyway, happy fuddling to you all!

NB: Thanks to Sophie and Ruth for their fuddle expertise!

Always look on the bright side; Five Things That Made Me Smile in November.

Another month, another search for the little moments of happiness that are always waiting to be found. With daylight in a bit shorter supply this is the time of year that has the chance to affect my mood the most. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, which isn’t very good, really. So, what made me smile last month?

Puffins return! This was a story I read about a colony of puffins returning to the delightfully named Isle of Muck in County Antrim for the first time in years. Apparently, following a programme of rat eradication that started in 2017, combined with the fact that the council now keeps the vegetation low, thus providing less cover for predators, a small amount of puffins has been seen nesting on the island. Puffins are an at risk breed of seabird, as well as being really cute, so their return and attempts at breeding is a real plus. This made made smile, but nearly as much as when the article also informed me that baby puffins are known as ‘pufflings’!

Football and a bin brings joy to lunch break! Another story I spotted, this one. This is the tale of workers at a factory who have livened up their lunch times by devising a football based game that they spend playing on their break. It was something that they came up with about ten years ago, but a video of it went viral and now the world knows all about it. One of the organisers of the game, Connor Fathers explained that they had just thought, “we’re spending every lunch break just staring at our phones, not talking to each other, not doing anything. There’s got to be more to lunch than this.” And so, bin game was born, the premise being that if the group can keep the ball up four times they can have a shot at the bin to score. You maybe have to watch the video to understand the joy behind it, but this really made me smile because it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d love to be doing in literally any spare moments, let alone lunch times!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mgm9s3

“Do we have to keep renewing this?” Every year, as part of our efforts to promote reading, the school where I work gives every Year 7 student a free book. They get to choose which book they’d like from a selection and then we order them and have to endure “When’s my book coming?” for several weeks after! My class got theirs in the middle of November and despite the questions and the fact that they all knew that they were getting a book, the reactions were priceless. What made me smile the most was the disbelief that they’d just get to take it home and keep it, with more than one of them going up to our librarian and asking, “Do we have to keep renewing this?”. Let’s just hope that they carry on reading as a result!

Garden mural. This was a story I read about a 94-year-old woman in Somerset who had the front of her house painted over as a garden scene, featuring flowers, a lawn and even insects. The woman, Muriel Baker, says that she can’t garden anymore and so the mural on her house makes it seem like she’s living in a garden instead and gives her the enjoyment that she would get from tending one. All round, just a nice story, really.

Running! The final thing that made me smile last month came on the very final day of November. However, it was a ‘smile’ that had been in the making for a full month or so beforehand. On November 30th, I ran the Leeds Abbey Dash, a 10k race in central Leeds, taking us up past Kirkstall Abbey and then back down to Leeds for the finish. Running wise, it was fairly successful. Given prior illness and injury I was more than happy to run it in just over 54 minutes. Even then though, it was only thanks to the staggered start times that I even made it to the start line as the traffic going into Leeds meant that it took me well over and hour to get there. Thus, I missed my actual start time and had to start two times later, if you get what I mean. Still, I couldn’t help but smile given that I’d only managed to complete two 10ks in training – one at 56 minutes and the next at 55 minutes. Sadly, a day later I put my back up reaching down to pick up some washing! Then I picked up some kind of chest infection which is still refusing to budge more than a couple of weeks later. Sometimes, if you don’t just smile at these things, you’d end up crying!

So, there we have it. Proof positive that there’s always something to turn that frown upside down!

Always Look on The Bright Side; Five Things That Made Me Smile in September.

It’s that time again! Time to remind that despite the gruff exterior, there are occasions that make me crack a smile! I write this piece every month in order to remind myself and anyone else who needs it, that there’s always a reason to smile. September was a decent month too, so there are more than just the usual five too. You might call it a bumper edition!

Period 6 Frees! As a teacher, I sometimes find myself living for my free periods. The job is never not demanding and having my room to myself just to sit and work is always a blessing. This year, I’ve been rather fortunate, depending on your point of view. We have 6 lesson days at my school and on three of those days I’ve been lucky enough to be given the last lesson of the day free! I love it! Firstly, it gives me a goal to get to. I’m in my 50s and this job tires me out, so if I’m finished teaching before the end of the day that is just wonderful. I can relax and just get stuff done and this also means that I spend a little less time after work planning and marking. I also get to avoid some of the worst behaviour of the day too! And the best part? I have last lesson on a Friday free…all to myself…just me, the radio, an empty classroom and as much work as I can get through to start with planning for the next week.

Fantastic Forests. I’m a sucker for a lovely view. And I love a walk in the forest, having sampled a fair few across the world over the years. So an article on the BBC website about the most fantastic forests across the globe was right up my street last month. There were some that I’ll never actually see; the Jiuzhaigou National Park in China and the Amazon are either too far away, too dangerous or both for someone who might only explore them in retirement. However, the Hallerbos Forest in Belgium with its bluebell woods is close and very appealing.

The end of the Transfer Window! As a massive Newcastle United fan it felt like the whole focus of this year’s summer transfer window was on us and the sale of Alexander Isak, who memorably sulked and went on strike in order to force a move to Liverpool. A great role model for today’s youth, right there! Every day of summer was dominated by the story and it became quite exhausting really. In the end, he was sold for a British record transfer fee and, to be honest, it was just a relief in the end. Good riddance!

Couch to Team GB! This was the story of mum of two, Emma Broadhurst who recently captained the Team GB Triathlon team at the European Triathlon Championships in Turkey. Now that might not seem like that big a deal until you find out that Emma only started exercising again a few years ago after putting on weight having had two children. However, after not being able to stick to her exercise schedule she then entered a triathlon and joined a local triathlon club. With the camaraderie and support that she received Emma found that she was doing really well and then, two years later, found herself being called up to Team GB having finished second at an event in Cardiff last year. Emma is only 35, yet still a bit of a veteran in athletics terms and so this was a story that was bound to make an oldie like me smile!

Wor Flags. For the uninitiated, Wor Flags is a fan funded group that organises flag displays (tifos) at Newcastle United home matches. They’ve been going for a few years now and have held some incredible displays that help with the atmosphere in the ground on matchdays. Basically flags of all shapes and sizes are dotted around the stadium with frequent appearances by themed surfer flags that can sometimes cover entire stands or levels of stands. In my humble opinion, Wor Flags create the best displays in the UK. The one that made me smile last month – and once again feel incredibly proud to support my club – was displayed before the home game against Barcelona in the Champions League. Rather than banging on about it, I’ll just post the photos below. A thing of beauty.

Colourful towns and cities. I read an article about towns and cities that don’t shy away from a bit of colour and it made me smile. To get to our favourite beach when we’re on holiday we have to walk through the harbour of said town and most of the houses are painted different, vibrant colours. It’s just a lovely, lovely place. Then, about a week after reading the article I read that they were bringing back the children’s TV classic, Balamory. If you don’t know of it, Balamory was a fictional Scottish town full of happy-go-lucky characters who lived in a place where the houses were painted different colours. There was a lot of singing of catchy songs too. Again, just the mention of Balamory and the thought of all of that colour and remembering singing the songs with my kids when they were much younger made me smile!

And there we have it; a bumper (2 smiles more than usual!) edition of ‘Always look on the bright side…) and hopefully at least one thing to make you smile. Until next time; keep smiling!