Posted on by Liola Lee · 2 Comments

Have a great day!

Our choices and actions can have a huge impact on those around us as well as the rest of the World. We are all connected but there are times when we feel the connection has become intermittent or totally lost altogether; a bit like when we lose the signal on our wi-fi and are unable to ring someone.  Sometimes, more often than not we forget that we are a part of something bigger. There are many times when we feel isolated and alone, as though nobody  really cares about us or even knows that we exist. Goodness knows there are many times when I have felt that I must be wearing Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility. Quite recently I deleted permanently my Facebook account for this very reason! In my mind at the time, I felt , what is all this virtual relationship stuff anyway? I truly felt like nobody cared about me! And so, I pressed the delete key and made it final or at least that is what I thought! I was truly feeling sorry for myself  and forgetting just what a wonderful world we live in.   We are all of us  valuable in the grand scheme of things whatever that may be. We do have something to offer, and it does not matter whether it is some grand gesture or just a small token gesture. We have it within us to make someones day; a smile here and there or maybe just even a ‘hello’ or maybe just a thank you to someone who has brought our bins in or maybe even mowed our grass. A couple of days ago as I was walking down the high street to have breakfast in one of our favourite cafes, a guy ran past us smiling, and as he passed us he wished us a great day and then said  make someone smile today’. I thought that was wonderful! He actually made my day! My husband was a little more cynical and said that maybe this guy had won the lottery. And of course, just maybe that was true but I like to think that he was genuinely wishing us a great day! 

© Liola Lee 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on by Liola Lee

Could it be forever…

According to my darling daughter I am one of Life’s happy hoarders. I have accumulated a great deal of ‘stuff’ shall we say over a good many years. The problem is that I find it very hard, almost impossible to let go of some, if not a lot of this stuff that has become a part of me. I am pretty certain that this is inherent in my make-up, and that I am in fact genetically disposed to this condition for want of a better word, though I am sure there are many levels of hoarding, and it is only by degree that it can become a problem for some people. My parents were the same, and my sisters also seem to share this tendency to gather all manner of gubbins. The words that come to mind are ‘…it may come in handy one day’; or ‘…I may need it one day’; or ‘…aw this has sentimental value’.  Also, I have to confess to having all manner of items that I have never used or worn which I have bought on a whim only to realise later ‘…what on Earth was I thinking?’, in addition to those items of clothing that I will wear again when I drop a few pounds. I have birthday cards, Christmas cards, Valentine’s cards, and anniversary cards stored in what I refer to as my treasure chest which in reality is a big white plastic box. Not only have I saved mine but I have also saved cards for my children, telling them that they will be grateful one day. Naturally, numerous drawings, letters and school reports have been preserved as any good modern Mum would do, would n’t she? Or maybe I am a little weird, and just perhaps a tadge too sentimental. I have a huge Cd collection as well as a large suitcase full of my old LPs and singles which I just cannot bring myself to sell or throw out, and somewhere in the garage, there is a record player but just now I cannot see it for other stuff that is in the way. I have the first record I ever bought. I was just ten or eleven at the time. It was David Cassidy’s Could it be forever with a B side of a song called Cherish . To many it may just be a couple of songs which I can now download on Spotify. To me though, this small seven inch vinyl disc conjures up childhood memories, and is a small part of the soundtrack that is my life. In every room there are piles of books, and  magazines which at some stage I may manage to read. Many times I determine to declutter to create more space and equilibrium. I roll up my sleeves to wrestle with this mammoth task only to find a few hours on, I am reminiscing over old times and happy memories, and just maybe I will delay the declutter for another day.  These things that I have gathered have made me laugh, made me cry and are part of the archives. So maybe I am not really a hoarder but rather a caretaker of cherished times and memories, and just maybe in the future these things for what they are worth will show and tell the stories that are mine and make someone smile. If like me they love family history and ancestral tales then just maybe I will have made someone’s day!

(Please note that this is just  an image of the picture sleeve. I am not sure who captured the image for the sleeve photograph. I did try to Google it but without success. If anyone knows the Photographer please send details so that I can give credit correctly).

© Liola Lee 2018

Posted on by Liola Lee

Rainy Days are not so bad…

Umbrellas are up and the rain has been pouring relentlessly on this saturated Sunday in September 2018. It is a far cry from the sizzling sunshine, and soaring temperatures of a few weeks ago; when  Summer was scorching my lily white skin, and attempting to transform me into something akin to a sun-ripened human tomato (…think red, think  burnt, think a ‘is that sore? sort of scenario). Fast forward to now, and we have returned to the oh so familiar territory of wind, rain and wellies. What is this obsession we have with the weather here in ‘old Blighty’? I mean it is nearly always, more often than not the general topic of conversation we have between ourselves and anyone else we care to stop and chat to whether we know them or not, pun most certainly intended. That said, we have enjoyed a spectacular Summer season with day after day of rocketing temperatures. The last time I recall such a hot, dry sunny spell without flying off to some distant shores was back in the Summer of 1976 when we officially had a drought  declared no less. There was even a Drought Act passed in Parliament that year, and a Minister for Drought duly appointed just to demonstrate  the seriousness of the situation.  Hot weather is great on the most part but when the heat becomes extreme, things can become heated or more to the point overheated. In 1976, there were standpipes in the street where people carrying buckets were having to queue for water. I am sure there are many of the Baby Boomer generation that recall this only too well. I remember Second hand bath water only too well, as water was such a cherished commodity for that short and sticky period of time, ‘ew’ I hear some of you younger ones cry but that was the way it was. You did what you had to do without question and without wingeing.  So today, many of us will have bemoaned the return of the rain but without the rain we would not enjoy the sunshine half as much! Rainy days are not so bad…but we do like a bit of Sunshine too!

© Liola Lee 2018