“And sweet, sweet as a mountain stream, we'll look toward to a new day breaking ...”

 

(Roy Harper and David Gilmour 1978)

 

Now that doesn’t sound, very much like the Phil v2.0 that we’ve come to know ... 

 

Indeed - this is rather, a novel post.  Its motivation is, however, some very “sweet” things, and they deserve a markedly positive response. Don’t worry - no doubt, I’ll go back to being “Mr Miserable”, in subsequent posts!

 

Not only sweetness, but I’ll try to keep it brief - short and sweet!

 

So, what are these “sweet things”?


Prompted by the most recent one, I am coming to the realisation, that we are only two thirds of the way through 2021, and it has already borne witness to some wonderful happenings:

 

·      My daughter has got engaged and given birth to lovely Noah.





She and her partner, look to be turning into a great mum and dad. Noah is, clearly very well loved - and he knows it!

 

·      My eldest son has obtained a First-class acting degree, from one of the most prestigious drama schools in the world.

 

And, if that isn’t enough:

 

·      Last Thursday was GCSE results day. On that day, his younger brother received some of the best results in the country - no exaggeration! I’d like to say that it was all down to his father, but in truth it was a product of his own talents and incredibly hard work.

 

As you will have gathered from earlier posts, I have a real tendency towards feeling sorry for myself.

 

Note the word, “myself”.

 

So many of my emotions concern what has happened to me.

 

Me, me, me, ...!

 

This approach is necessarily introspective. 

 

As such it doesn’t do me a lot of good - if I don’t like what’s inside, then why look at it so long and hard?

 

Rather more importantly, it is selfish, and positive emotion ought to be directed, more in the direction of and be generated by others.

 

My children have generated immense feelings of pride, and in return, much love and admiration is pointed in their direction. 

 

For obvious reasons, 2021 has been a very difficult year for us all. But, certainly for my children:

 

“The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades”

(Pat MacDonald 1986)

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  This one isn’t so much about me – more, my youngest son, and his recent triumphs.   That is not to say that my other children have underachieved.  Quite the opposite . They have provided me with (and continue to do so) very many sources of pride.   Given that the following events are very recent though, in this post , the spotlight falls on their younger brother...   First, his A level results:   Perhaps needless to say, he didn’t achieve  an  A grade.   He got  three  of them, and has secured a place at Cambridge, to read English.   In the past, I’ve told him that, rather than striving for academic excellence, it is better to be a star footballer and fearsome fighter. As you can tell, he didn’t heed this advice!   Jokes apart , I am immensely pleased for him .   And, if that isn’t enough...   Last month, the theatre company , that he founded presented a play at Edinburgh Fringe   I understand that acceptance by the festival is, something of an honour.   But:    Not only did he act t
Read more
Image
“That's how grateful we are, that's how grateful we are That's how grateful we are, that's how grateful we are That's how grateful we are, that's how grateful we are That's how grateful we are, that's how grateful we are”   (Chumbawamba 1990)   I have previously mentioned, my involvement with  the South Manchester and Stockport branch of Headway – the brain injury association.    Our branch is charitable and non-trading. Accordingly, we can only spend for the benefit of our members, money that we can raise from charitable sources. Perhaps needless to say, we are on the  constant lookout for charitable funds.    An obvious source of these, are  donations.   Saturday 7 October, saw the culmination of a fundraising exercise, that generated donations, amounting to  more than £800!   A team of three senior corporate lawyers (old colleagues of mine), competed in my local parkrun, and obtained sponsorship for their efforts.   They gave up their normal Saturday
Read more
Image
  The “star” of this post is my eldest son. As you might recall, he is an actor.   This Christmas, I had the delight of seeing him in the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Christmas presentation.   It was a theatrical adaptation of the Noel Coward film, “Brief Encounter”.   Despite its immense acclaim, I have never seen the film, nor had any burning desire, to do so.   I did, though, thoroughly enjoy the play, and might check out the movie, accordingly.   First, I really took to the story, with its bittersweet connotations.   For those who know the story, here’s a question for you...   Is it a happy or sad ending?   I accept that the course of action taken, was the “right” thing to do. Nevertheless, I tend towards “sad”.   Perhaps I am, intrinsically immoral?!   More important than the story though, was the immensely high standard of the acting  - and that includes my son!   As a Christmas production, an element of levity was introduced, through the inclusion of live music, songs, and dance.  
Read more