Phil version 2.0

  Not a lot about brain injury in this one!   More a case of things that have kept my mind occupied, of late   And without further ado...   Here’s a question for you...     What is the connection?   And the answer is...   Believe it or not, these things are  related!     ·        On most Wednesdays, I attend a South Manchester and Stockport Headway session.   ·        We meet in a place called the Bridge Hall Community Centre.   ·        That building is next door to the primary school.   ·        Former pupils, include both Phil Foden and Angela Rayner – indeed, she launched her bid for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, from the Bridge Hall Community Centre!   ·        The site of the pictured, and former “Bridge Hall” is now the primary school’s...

“ When a man moves away from nature    his heart becomes hard”     (Native American proverb)   I appreciate that to many a “Stockport Man”, being “ded ‘ard” is a good thing!   Certainly, so far as the “heart” at least is concerned, I must however, beg to differ and advocate (where possible), calm and sensitive thoughts/action  -  soft,  and not hard!   Those who know me will, be very surprised to hear me say this! I might not get it right (most of the time!), but it is nevertheless, a personal aspiration.   In accordance with the above proverb, I am coming around to believing that an increased immersion in the natural world, is truly facilitative of a  softening .   I guess that one thing that has made me think about this, is a book that was recently given to me, about, so called “green man” carvings. You will no doubt have come across one or more of these, and here is a picture, which provides an example: T...

“ Don't let your indecision   Take you from behind”       (Andy Hill and John Danter 1981) As for the second picture – geddit?    I have just, spent a morning with one of my care workers.   At the end of each week, he is required to complete and submit to his employers, a document containing the answers to some pro-forma questions.   One of these, is a statement of any examples  of independent decision making , on my part.   Being the cynic that I am, for a long time, I considered decision making, by myself, to be an irrelevant thing to identify. For me, I felt that the issue wasn’t so much about my ability to decide – more about whether the decision itself is appropriate.   Over the last couple of days, I have pondered the issue a little and have reached the (probably obvious!) conclusion that in many circumstances, this question is not pointless.   Some of our abilities, might look straightforward, but on close...