7 Things

by Dee Harrison

A post prompted by a challenge laid down over at Kittie Walker‘s website.

Within me there’s a natural shyness (yes, really) that makes me wonder why anyone would be remotely interested in seven things about me. Probably, the seven things you would find most surprising are things I wouldn’t share here but rather in quiet company, over a bottle of finest red. So the challenge is to make this interesting whilst honouring the discomfort I feel as I sit here writing.

Finding Lost Things

For some reason I am very good at finding things others have lost. I don’t know if it is because I am observant, pedantically logical or just persistent! It’s a useful skill, even though I can’t explain it. I just wish, as I get older, I could apply it to myself and the things I manage to lose.

Absent Fathers

I spent my childhood and teen years aching to be with my father and being obnoxious to my mother. It wasn’t until I had a child of my own that I was able to see things as they were and appreciate my mother for the stalwart she was and is. It remains a cause of profound sadness in my life that I allowed early events to taint so much of the rest of my life.

flyingI Can Fly

Until family responsibilities made it too difficult to have two pilots trying to meet their individual work commitments I was a pilot. I hold a commercial pilot’s licence and an instructor’s rating. They were very happy days and I loved the challenge of being a woman in what was then still very much a man’s world.

Italy

I just love Italy. I love the language, the food, the lifestyle…….. One day I think I might live in Italy. It’s just a feeling I have.

I Participated in 3 Seasons of the Historic Rally Car Championship as a Co-Driver/Navigator rallying

My husband a long time, keen, rally driver found himself without a co-driver one Bank Holiday August weekend so I found myself dressed in fire proof overalls and strapped into the co-driver seat with instructions to hold tight! Much to his (and my) surprise I was able to read the map and call notes and get us round without crashing so I found myself with a job until we rather spectacularly rolled the car and wrote it off in 2001. Husband has been rebuilding it ever since but I don’t think his heart is in it.

Opera

Perhaps linked to the love of Italy – my favourite music is opera. If I had £10 for every time I had listened to La Traviata I would be a wealthy woman . I just wish some of them had happy endings!

A Pagan Buddhist

Deeply suspicious of organised religion but aware of the value of spirituality in life I am best described as a Pagan Buddhist! I find living in synch with nature to be effortless and am drawn to the cycles of the moon and changing of the seasons. My spiritual life has been enhanced by an interest in Buddhism being encouraged by a dear friend, Ron Rink and his writings over at Buddhist Belief

And that’s me. The more salacious and interesting stories are reserved for one of those quiet evenings in…………

And now I hand over this baton to

Ron Rink

Jess

Lisa Hartwell

Ruth Hartman

LuAnn Schindler

{ 1 comment }

Focus by Jurgen Wolff

Thumbnail image for Focus by Jurgen Wolff

You’ll find several articles about personal productivity and organisation on this blog. The books and tools reviewed here have all helped me to improve with regards planning, prioritising and not over-committing. But, procrastination remains a problem. Some years ago I bought Focus – The Power of Targeted Thinking by Jurgen Wolff and can only think [...]

Continue Reading

Uncertainty, Apathy and Honesty. A Writer’s Rant.

uncertainty, apathy, honesty

Sometimes it’s OK not to know. It really is better to be honest, stick to the facts and resist the temptation to spin stories around those facts when there’s no evidence to support them. If others are to be courageous enough to admit they don’t know we in turn must not mock them. We should [...]

Continue Reading

F1 and the BBC and Being a Victim of Your Own Success

F1

I’ve let the dust settle before posting this. To catch everyone up, just before the last Formula1 race in Germany, the BBC announced they had ‘done a deal’ with Sky for 2012 onwards and would only be showing half the race season, live, on ‘regular’ television. F1 fans who want to watch the whole season, [...]

Continue Reading

The Gift of Reading

The Gift of Reading

Reading is an ability we take for granted – we don’t even call it a skill or a talent. There is an assumption that those we meet in everyday life can read. But, pausing to challenge that assumption, we remember the newspaper reports we’ve read about adult illiteracy levels and we begin to appreciate that [...]

Continue Reading

Google Plus and Book Groups

Thumbnail image for Google Plus and Book Groups

It’s hard to avoid the stream of chat surrounding the new Google+. The social network offered by Google that is something of a cross between Twitter and Facebook. Whilst both of the older, more established sites have offered groups and lists and ways of sorting those you follow, I have to say that the Google [...]

Continue Reading

Poke The Box by Seth Godin

Poke the Box

I am a fan of Seth, in awe of his seemingly endless stream of wise words and erudite observations, I read whatever he chooses to publish and have yet to be disappointed. Poke the Box starts with a story about Annie Downs, an ‘initiator’. In fact, it’s not so much the story of Annie as [...]

Continue Reading

Information Overload and Mental Obesity

Thumbnail image for Information Overload and Mental Obesity

We understand the concept of physical obesity. It occurs when we regularly consume more calories than we need to survive (yes, that’s a simplistic definition but it will do for now). When we continue ingesting food, even though we are sated, our bodies lose the ability to process and eliminate the additional calories and, instead [...]

Continue Reading

Whose Rights are Right?

Thumbnail image for Whose Rights are Right?

Before getting into what I want to say here, it’s important to clearly state that I have no personal axe to grind. I was brought up in a Christian family but in adulthood subscribe to no organised religion. I have friends who are Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. I have friends who are pagans and [...]

Continue Reading

The Trance of Scarcity by Victoria Castle

Thumbnail image for The Trance of Scarcity by Victoria Castle

At the bottom of all our suffering is the Trance of Scarcity So states Victoria Castle at the beginning of her book. The premise of this book is that we have a genetic pre-disposition to believe that the Universe isn’t a friendly place and this leaves many feeling alone, fearful and unworthy. Our life force [...]

Continue Reading

Writing is Never Easy

Thumbnail image for Writing is Never Easy

I get a lot of email and queries sent through websites, asking for advice on the easiest way to become a writer. The word ‘easy’ features heavily in these requests. There’s nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith The first thing worth [...]

Continue Reading