Lots of tragedy and struggles, some recommendations, a helpful strategy...
A couple of sad stories before some recommendations...
Tragic to read this morning that war widow Christina Schmid is battling hard to clear the name her husband Olaf a bomb disposal expert who died on the last day of his tour of duty in Afghanistan in late 2009. Talk about heaping insult... evidently they're trying to suggest that he put his men in danger by leading them when he was exhausted. Yes, he was exhausted because he was doing the job of five disposal experts!
I hope she realises how many of us are thinking of her and I hope she continues her good work raising this issue of our soldiers having appropriate equipment and support.
Onto another sad story - on Radio 4 this morning I heard a Libyan hospital doctor described the numbers of killed and seriously injuring Libyan citizens he and his colleagues have been treating. He sounded desperate and a broken man. Gadaffi's response has been brutal - let's hope the Libyan people have the resolve to get rid of him.
Over to TV - boo - read that Simon Cowell’s leaving X Factor - he makes compulsive viewing. I never watch the early rounds - hit some of the cruelty to some guests who are quite frankly deluded - but always gets hooked on them later live shows. Basically he's irreplaceable.
Finally got to watch the first couple episodes of Boardwalk Empire with Steve Buscemi having let it stack up on the Sky planner for the last few weeks - loving his weak-willed, nasty character that also has a soft side. Recommend it! Wonder how closely they’re sticking to the facts of prohibition in the 1920s.
Enjoyed The Lucana by Barbara Kingsolver... another book that mixes historical fact with fiction. Having been hooked on Robert Harris’s books that do this it was interesting to get a feel for post 30s Mexico and onwards in her novel.
TODAY’S THOUGHT: actually this style of writing - that mixes fact and fiction - reminds me of the strategies I sometimes recommend as a life coach - that clients write down what has happened that’s made them unhappy or upset (the fact). Then they write down a second version of what they should’ve done differently (the fiction).
Why do this? It's a good learning experience to do so. It forces you to "think in ink" and often prepares you to do something differently in the future. It can help break that habit of relating or behaving.
Right, despite my cold I'm off to sort things out for our Sunday dinner - planning not to poison our friends! Happy Sunday, Pam X