Happiness/enjoyment

[QUOTE="
I consider pretty much everyone on here a friend, even the ones who hate me.
[/QUOTE]

I don't think anyone hates you. (That's a strong word.) At times your negativity on most things surrounding the club need be controlled imho. It can't be good for your health. And your responses to some of those with a different view do not deserve being called arse lickers.
I for example,take on each item from within the club at face value and comment appropriately. WE MOSTLY ALL have our football club at heart. No more, no less than the vast majority on here.
My honest view is you attempt to seek out the negative In anything attributed to the club. I could be wrong I apologise if so.
Do any of us support the owners to the hilt. Not one person I would guess.
As I say Hate is reserved for those who warrant it. In my case. I hate what tories stand for. ( even more so. now given what this shower of s41t pour out). It might not be how some others see it. But what they stand for in general fecks me right off. That now extends to those who vote for the feckers.

 

Thanks for that.

 

An excellent post ST, but I’d like to politely challenge your assumption that you mean nothing.

I’m more of a ‘bundle of atoms’ rather than a spiritual kinda guy too. But occasionally I meet someone from my childhood who tells me what a hero my dad was. He started a youth football team, and loads of blokes my age and older tell me that if it wasn’t for my dad, they may have ended up in jail or worse.

That leads me to thinking about all the people who’ve touched my life too, and all the people I know who have helped others in a myriad of ways.

I suppose I’m saying that of course your existence touches others, and in the wider context of the thread, for those looking for some meaning in their lives, think about a bit of volunteering if what you do for work doesn’t impact others positively.

 

That's not good. Maybe try something new if you've lost interest in things you used to enjoy? Do you have any pets?

 

Love this, it's like It's a wonderful life. No man/woman is an island.

 

I'd focus on the things you used to enjoy first as that is the depression that is influencing that, not just a change in taste etc... then if that doesn't work, use it as an oppportunity to explore new interests or combine the two. I wouldn't abandon those things though as it perpetuates the avoidance behaviour and goes against the evidence base.

 

This is the type of help I was alluding to above. I know it's part of your day job @TitusMagee but you go out of your way to help people on here and offer advice, and you're a good 'un

 

Ah thank you if it helps someone a bit then it's worth taking a bit of time out. I know myself when I get low all the things I enjoy start to fall away and it is making sure you reconnect with those even if you don't feel like it. It does work and just need to persist with it, obviously very hard though and everything feels like climbing a mountain at times.


Books I'd recommend:

Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/1462520421/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_9DV1QN93A5EG7BKS6GQD


Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook): The New Behavioral Activation Approach to Getting Your Life Back (Overcoming Books) https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/1572243678/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_CZEBN10VRY3T7WFPJM7H

 

On Saturday, we had a wander round Mayfair and did one of the London Walks that we'd not got round to. It was about 3 miles starting and ending at Piccadilly Circus. We'd often do these walks (across 3 books) pre pandemic and gladly wander 10 miles across parts of London we'd never trodden before, with a few stops for refreshment along the way.

The walk on Saturday was hugely enjoyable. And I'd not really considered why, so given this thread I thought I'd think about what things I particularly enjoyed and why.

We got to London Bridge quite early and as a result, there were very few people around (which was our aim). The first enjoyable moment was on the approach to London Bridge. There's a vista over Tower Bridge Road where you get to look down the length of Tower Bridge as the train passes. It's made all the more enjoyable as there is a game of chance as other trains pull out of the station and others approach. So sometimes the vista is shielded, others its visible. Other times you see a train approaching and you eagerly encourage your own train to get to the vista before the other train does. We've played this game for 15 years, and its still as enjoyable today as it was the first time we did it.

We then headed to Charing Cross, another quiet train and wandered through Trafalgar Square and up towards Piccadilly. Looking up at the lions on 3 of the plinths at Traffy Square still makes me smile. Maybe because one featured in our wedding pictures. A look up to nelsons column and a vague echo of the memory of the Chemical Brothers gig a decade or so before.

Then towards Fortnum and Mason and Burlington arcade. A gourmandise pastry and coffee from Paul. Signs of Christmas in some windows and looking up marvelling at the buildings dating back a century and more. All the things they've witnessed. But all familiar to me.

Then the first new discovery of the walk. An old members club for eligible bachelors. Remnants of the past include Huxley, Byron and Gladstone. The origins of the Grand Old Duke of York and nearby at the Royal Academy of Arts, the first reading of origin of the species to a random selection of 30 people back in the mid 1800's.

Then a detour past Browns, the oldest hotel in London where the first ever telephone call was made and another new discovery, the Royal Institution of Great Britain where scientists such as Faraday (of Electricity fame) and Davey (of Miners lamp fame) worked.

The walk turned into narrower lanes, passing a beautifully old ornate traditional barbers with a beautiful window that may not have changed much in 70 years and then into a crisscross of narrow streets dubbed Shepherd Market. Out the other side and a disused underground station used in several films including Die Another Day and where Winston Churchill sometimes slept during the bombings. A blue plaque celebrating Sir George Cawley, the father of aerodynamics, and past the huge out of place Hilton clipping Park Lane. A place where the Krays discussed aligning forces with an American mafia group.

A sharp turn, a narrow staircase, more untrodden streets and past an apartment where both Mama Cass and Keith Moon died, years apart.

Through squares and gardens, past huge buildings, some retained, some replaced. Anabels, another private club, the front covered as a giant gingerbread house. Minutes taken, smiles created.

Another new street, onto Mount Street, high end shops tucked away, an old italian coffee shop, christmas wreaths aplenty, before a narrow alley and into a churchyard with a delightfully tucked away area of green. Suddenly silence before cutting back through to the main street to find a lamp post used by soviet agents to pass messages in the cold war.

More turns and a blue plaque signifying Handel and Jimi Hendrix connections and finally winding through to Savile Row. A shop that had dressed Churchill, Napoleon, De Gaulle and Dickens. A roof where the beatles played their last every performance before local workers complained about the noise and the police made them stop. And then the oldest tailor property still there from the 18th century.

So things I enjoyed are listed. But why? I think one of the things I liked so much are treading on streets that don't have another soul on them. That just metres away will be crazy busy streets with people barging there way through oblivious to what sits just one street away. That there is serenity amid bustle.

Then just the depth of history. People who have changed our world (some better, some worse) being in our foosteps, but decades or centuries before.

Then there is taking joy from the craftsmenship of some incredibly old and ornate buildings. Maybe a window, a door, a frieze a park, a lamp. but just appreciating the skill and time going into make something that has lasted generations and a wry smile hoping they'd appreciate that people so long after still found enjoyment from their craft.

I said in my previous post I like to take joy from as much as I can. Just walking around one of the busiest cities in the world could easily be daunting and much of it seen negatively. But instead I force myself to look. To look up. Around. Down. Drink it all in. Create as many memories as I can. Find moments. Of peace. Of pleasure. Of appreciation.

Because when it all comes down to it, our lives are made up of moments.

 

I don't think anyone hates you. (That's a strong word.) At times your negativity on most things surrounding the club need be controlled imho. It can't be good for your health. And your responses to some of those with a different view do not deserve being called arse lickers.
I for example,take on each item from within the club at face value and comment appropriately. WE MOSTLY ALL have our football club at heart. No more, no less than the vast majority on here.
My honest view is you attempt to seek out the negative In anything attributed to the club. I could be wrong I apologise if so.
Do any of us support the owners to the hilt. Not one person I would guess.
As I say Hate is reserved for those who warrant it. In my case. I hate what tories stand for. ( even more so. now given what this shower of s41t pour out). It might not be how some others see it. But what they stand for in general fecks me right off. That now extends to those who vote for the feckers.[/QUOTE]

I actually like you . You're one of my favourite posters.

 

Excellent post. I learnt to not take myself seriously and realised I wasn't going to amount to much a long time ago. My life was going nowhere until I met Laura. Even with Laura my life plateaued until we had George. He's made our world complete. I have dips and troughs all the time and can relate to the emptiness @SouthCoastTyke feels. I've distanced myself from friends and family. However, I have the sanctuary of Laura and George. It helps me put the trivial things to the back of my mind.

Thanks for sharing.

 

I actually like you . You're one of my favourite posters.[/QUOTE]


Don't know what happened there. Was a response to a supertyke quote lol.
As for voting tory Stephen I hope you've seen the light by now.


Edit
What's happening ? It's morphing posts lol.

 

You might know these two, you might not. If you don't, have look in on your next wander. Should tick all the boxes.

Can only be reached via a very small alleyway off Hatton Garden and dates from 1574…

https://www.yeoldemitreholborn.co.uk


Hidden away round the back of Harrods…

http://www.thenagsheadlondon.co.uk

 

I've been in the old mitre a long time back. One of the other walks I really enjoyed some time ago was the Inns of Court. Theres a Sam Smiths near high holborn, Cittie of Yorke which is old and has a really good atmosphere.

Not been to the belgravia one that I can recall, though til covid goes or is severely neutered, going inside in a pub is pretty remote unless its well ventilated and pretty empty.

 

The Nag's head never seems full and you can sit outside. Although not in this weather.

Here's another. Worth popping in just to see the clock...

https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk/secret-london/dolphin-tavern-clock.htm

 

cheesy snacks

 

I think there are two Sam Smiths quite close to each other. Ones a really ornate former gin palace, which I think may be that one, and one thats a dark hovel that doesn't look open (we're talking a fair few years ago when I went in though).

Also a decent one on the bus route between Kew Gardens and Kingston, just past Richmond, just on the fringes of the park and not far from a sweep of the Thames. They seem to have a fair few places in London.

 

Is that the Rose of York (on the righthand side) or the Dysart Arms on the right on the way to Kingston?

The Dysart used to be a real dive. Sticky red carpet, dark wood panelling and a suit of armour in the corner. The few people in there must have known Henry VIII.

The Rose is a bit dull and seems to cater for people from the Petersham Hotel. Once when they drained the Thames at the Richmond Lock, me and a mate went walking out on the river bed. We found money - big money. We managed to clean it up and went in the Rose and found we’d got enough for half a pint. The barman wasn’t impressed.

 

The Rose of York. It is a bit dark inside, but fair few seats outside. The food menu looked like something from 1982 mind you and the service last time we went in sullied the good name of bobbins! But i'll forgive that for a Sam Smiths wheat beer!