There is nothing better than keeping a few chickens aside of their lovely fresh eggs they really are quite entertaining. All children should have the opportunity to love and care for animals and not just those wanting a career in veterinary!

However, ensure you have plenty of space for them to roam free and preferably well away from your beloved plants as they will ruin anything and everything. What used to amaze me was the force they could summon up to dig for worms. I was constantly replacing all my garden soil and pebbles. In no time at all we didn’t have a lawn we just had mud!

Joking aside it was a great experience. My daughter and I hand-reared ours when they were just a few days old. The local vet said  ‘Daisy was the best behaved chicken she had encountered’. Right from the start she was well-loved and regularly handled by my daughter who used to sit with said chicken on her lap.

My own chicken Dolly used to sing very loudly and it sounded like the tune from Star Wars – my only regret being I never recorded her as nobody believes me! Or was that the Spring (old bird) madness??

Fellow pet lovers will fully understand how our animals are part of our family and as such we care about them and look after them when they are ill and often stay with them right until they pass away.

I remember fondly one cat, the runt of the litter lived to a ripe old age of 18.5 years against all odds. She was diagnosed with cancer and I could ease her pain and prevent any unnecessary suffering. 

As my local vet explained recently often our animals have clever ways of bringing to our attention that something is wrong by doing something out of character when they are unwell. My own cat did just that and quickly got my attention and giving me the opportunity to get her to the vet and be treated thankfully without a serious operation, but the first few days I was reminded just how special a place she has in our family unit.

I often accompany friends to the vets if they have to have a pet put to sleep. It’s a horrible thing to have to do but sometimes we have to make that choice when a pet is seriously ill and too old to carry on fighting.

As with humans I remind the owners to remember the joy the animal has brought and how well they looked after it giving it a wonderful loving home… and really that’s all of us can ask for.

What we mustn’t forget is that for some people living a lone their pet is also a real companion and the void left is huge.

In this day of emails and texts I was thrilled to receive a proper letter yesterday and one which contained good news…even better!

I have spent so many years in marketing and business development happily marketing clients’ services and goods, but as most writers will tell you the ‘door knocking’ at publishers with our beloved manuscripts is a painful and arduous task.

For fear of jinxing I won’t name said publisher but I really hope their team of editors like the full book as much as the sample chapters. ‘A Mother’s love’ has been a project of love for me and it’s not about the success of being published in this instance, it’s about sharing my own Mother’s wisdom.

Hard to type my blog with fingers crossed.

It’s always a great feeling when somebody likes what we do whatever our skills.

Keep writing and keep pitching…off to do a bit more of both.

We know once  Easter has passed we will be in the run up to election fever. For anybody living especially in a rural area please please consider voting for your local Independent Councillor.

Having spent many years dabbling in local politics and supporting those that do it never fails to amaze me how people confuse local and national politics! This ‘confusion’ often encourages people to vote for a political party member rather than consider the best man/woman for the job who may just happen to be Independent. Locally it is just as important to elect the person who will serve your community well.

The best thing about electing somebody Independent is they really do work in the best interest of their community and not just follow the party line! They are also more likely to keep the promises they make in the lead up to the election rather than the party candidates that make promises before an election and then conveniently forget after they are voted in!…If you think this sound familiar…it’s because it is!

For my local followers; you all know who works the hardest in our ward/village and now is the time to say thank you and show your appreciation for many years of dedicated time..with results.  Don’t waste your vote.

Only so much fun we can have at weekends and the chores beckon. A hater of ironing I set myself up and watch a film. This weekend have revisited ‘Pearl Harbour‘ an amazing war film I’ve only watched it about ten times!!

Just listened to the great speech given by Alec Baldwin to the aircraft pilots before their mission to Japan; ‘Victory belongs to those that believe the most’ and that can be applied to all areas of life.

He then goes on to speak to a fellow officer; ‘Nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer’ think last time I watched this film it inspired me to write about the benefits of volunteering.  Not forgetting the eye -candy girls of a young Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett eh?

My tips for ironing and paperwork are well-known within my circle of friends and include:

Shred the ironing and iron the paperwork.

Place the paperwork under the ironing and set fire to both.

Fill a charity bag with said ironing – it’s a no-brainer!

I will dedicate today’s blog to a certain gentleman who kindly follows my blog. Sharing is such a good thing to do providing it feels right of course!

I wonder how many men  don’t share as they can’t get a word in edge-ways with talkative women? I can say that girls as I am well-known for having something to say and not afraid to voice it…I couldn’t run a blog if I couldn’t let’s face it.

Earlier this week U3A members were treated to revealing tips on Body Language from Vic Botterill. Not a member myself but as a visiting writer I have written up his talk for the area newsletter. Extract giving food for thought:-

‘As far as signs to watch out for in personal relationships Vic certainly got a few laughs from the audience and, sometimes at the expense of his fellow man, but well received by the ladies.  However I am pleased that he also took time to remind us that men do not talk about their feelings and how sadly many men are now confused about their place in society and depressed. We modern day women have to take some responsibility for that one.

Vic and I engaged in a more serious discussion after his talk; it is well documented that sadly there is a very high suicide rate among men. I personally am always asking female friends to encourage their husbands, brothers and sons to talk more. Sharing feelings and our problems is not a weakness in my book and bottling up our emotions is unhealthy in oh so many ways.  We agreed that bereavement and especially suicide still remains a somewhat taboo subject to many and this attitude within society is of no use whatsoever to the bereaved.’

It’s good to talk!

I read with interest the article in the St Albans review last night about The Ollie Foundation set up by Stuart Falconer a grieving father who lost his own son Morgan only last year.

I salute anybody who turns their grief into positive action and male suicide is something which I often cover on my blog. Indeed only yesterday I was discussing this very subject with a colleague and how important it is for young men to be encouraged to share their emotions, feelings and fears.

This particular foundation aims to fund intervention training within schools in Hertfordshire and help remove some of the stigma attached to suicide. Having written two books on bereavement I purposely did not shun away from raising the subject of suicide nor the fact the families need even more help with coming to terms with their loss and that society generally needs to improve the attitude towards suicide.

With my own counselling training and experience preventative rather than cure always gets my vote. If you would like to find our more please visit:

http://www.theolliefoundation.org. 

Today I attended and enjoyed a further talk given by the talented Vic Botterill ‘Liars and Lovers’ his second appearance at Redbourn U3A and a follow up talk on body language.

Vic manages to deliver an interesting talk amusingly so and always pitched at the right level of his audience.

He revealed secrets about sex signals, desire and lust. What makes people attractive and how to spot when somebody is lying.

Formerly a Chief Inspector within Hertfordshire Constabulary where he was active in delivering training this man knows his stuff. Definitely recommend him to any groups looking for an informative yet entertaining speaker.

Visit http://www.afterdinnerspeaker.co.uk for further information.

Rarely a day goes by when one or other of my friends will remind me that parenting is such a rewarding role but such a challenge too.

As I repeatedly remind friends and family members that even when we have the tools and skills when the situation involves somebody that we love and care about our sense and logic can be in short supply as our emotions take hold.

Compound this with the fact that no two children are the same and any child with the best parents can take us by surprise and/or even disappoint us at times. Indeed I was reminded by a life coach colleague that as parents when we over-congratulate our kids that puts pressure on them too. It’s a tough job to get right all the time!!

Parenting really is a case of learning on the job, then forgetting everything you have learned thus far! Seriously though I still maintain my daughter was my best project to date and remind myself how fortunate I am to love and witness her achievements. But I do have an increasing number of grey hairs…that’s called parenting too!

Since becoming a parent aside of how one’s sense of perspective changes I have also found increased respect for my own Mother who brought five of us up as a widow..now that was parenting at its best!

The loss of a child is grief beyond comprehension to most parents. I know my aunt never really recovered after my cousin was killed tragically in a car accident just age 18.

This weekend sees the 20th anniversary of Dunblane. I watched the emotive BBC documentary earlier this week and was amazed at those families sharing their experiences.

I was particularly impressed by the Headmaster both in interviews featured at the time of this terrible event and in taking part in the documentary. His own words he described how difficult it is to keep the box in his head with those memories closed.

The ripple effect of grief was also mentioned which people often forget, aside of the family and close friends tragedies such as this affect whole communities.

How wonderful it was when all the children returned to school just nine days after and what moved me was how one of the surviving children, although shot, refused to allow it to define who he is..it is just what happened.

I always encourage those going through bereavement not to define their loved ones by how they died but by how they lived their life and who they were.