Things will Get Better

Normal is as normal does – right? Well, my version of normal seemed to be quite unique. Compared to friends I’d always be the one with the hilarious stories. My friends would flock to hear them, tall tales about my misadventures and awkward encounters with men. 

However, at university, these shenanigans began to take their toll. Euphoric highs and dramatic lows were exhausting and had nearly taken my life.

I’m sharing some of these stories which will definitely make you laugh out loud as well as cringe so you can better appreciate that mental health (good or not so good) is normal.

Hold on in there – things do get better.

Thinking reeds

Thinking Reeds is an evocative collection of contemplations, delving into the vast tapestry of human existence and the intricacies of our emotional landscapes. Through ‘Thoughts,’ ‘Second Thoughts,’ and ‘Afterthoughts,’ readers are invited on a profound journey, exploring the depths of love and hate, the complexities of life and death, the shadows of friendship and enmity, and the stark contrasts between wealth and poverty, truth, and falsehood. This introspective compilation captures the essence of the human experience, painting a vivid portrait of our shared vulnerabilities and illuminating the myriad shades of our collective consciousness.

Thirteen Months of Sunshine

Ethiopians have not completely put that historical famine – of ‘Live Aid’ times – behind them and they struggle to understand or to keep up with the Western world, including their ever-advancing technology. Education there is seen as a key to success but balancing developments alongside embedded tribal and superstitious beliefs is not easy. At least now schools have moved from drawing in the dust under a shady tree, into purpose-built structures – with or without resources.  

It was into this environment Valerie was placed when, following the dramatic changes in her circumstances, she made her momentous decision to put her comfortable English life on hold and to replace it with a year in that developing country. At 58, not only did she use her life skills and teaching experience in the northern town of Mekelle, but she lived through a potentially dangerous political time. Valerie used in-country transport to visit some amazing places which included her medal-winning run in Addis Ababa! Partly to record every little detail but also to maintain some sort of sanity, she kept a detailed diary throughout that roller coaster year. This book gives the reader a combination of an entertaining personal read of diaried key events, alongside her own Ethiopian life with its water conservation, frugal diet, wind, dust and much more. Valerie records an honest and sometimes harrowing insight into the little-known everyday existence of Ethiopians.

This Is 1808

Harriet, Jake and Mathew are enjoying a holiday fishing trip when suddenly a strange mist descends and surrounds their boat. As it clears, the three children find themselves mysteriously transported back to the year 1808. Anchored majestically ahead of them is the mighty sailing ship, The Intrepid, a great man o’ war. Sea shanties echo across the waves as eleven-year-old Jake is captured and taken to serve in the Napoleonic Wars.

Will Harriet and Mathew be able to rescue Jake and bring him safely back to England?

Will they be able to assist the desperately wounded soldiers from the carnage of the battlefield?

Will they survive the grim battles and storms at sea before they are once more returned to twenty-first-century Britain?

Thoughts

Incisive views and comments on news of the day, couched in humour and unfailing compassion.

Rt Hon Baroness D’Souza CMG The Lord Speaker (2011-2016)

Lord (Indarjit) Singh’s talks on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’ have inspired many including Royalty, Prime Ministers, Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders.  

One of Indarjit’s talks in 1999 provided the impetus in setting up the Lambeth Group to celebrate the Millennium by setting up a Faith Zone at the Millennium Dome and to Indarjit hosting a National Service of Reflection and Reconciliation in the Queen’s Gallery of the House of Lords. Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister described it as the most moving celebration of the Millennium he had witnessed.

Rt. Hon. Clare Short MP

Secretary of State for International Development

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme on December 2004, on who she would like to nominate in the Programme’s competition ‘Listener’s Lord’, the person listeners would most like to see in the House of Lords.

I would like to nominate Indarjit Singh. He contributes regularly on Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’, and he gives impressive homilies drawing on the wisdom of Sikh teachings to help us think through the moral issues of the day.

Lord Singh came a close second to celebrated musician and human rights activist Bob Geldolf.

Thread of Fate

A friendship first made on a 1950s holiday, a document unsigned at the last moment, the suggestion made by a stranger, a photograph taken in Spain, all elements in a chain of events leading to a totally unexpected romantic encounter quite late in life.

This is the story of a childhood in the 1930s, taking us through carefree days at the seaside, when it is never too young to fall in love. An account of wartime on the east coast and day-to-day work behind a pharmacy counter in those long, dark years, is interlaced with notes on severe winters from a daily 80-year record kept by a dedicated amateur weatherman.

Along the way there are accounts of incidents of a supernatural nature, how a smoking habit may have saved a life which it took away in later years, encounters with fire, in one case a little too close for comfort.

Readers can form their own opinion as to whether the happenings set down in these pages are just a matter of random chance, or is there indeed a guiding thread of predestination leading to a totally unexpected change of lifestyle.

Three Little Words

This book is designed to help provide daily or weekly guidance through journaling. Journaling has been a fantastic and invaluable support tool for many years across many professions, but journaling is also something that anyone can do. In a nutshell, it is writing down your thoughts and feelings so you can understand them better. It’s not always as easy as it sounds, and some people find it hard to decide what to write!

If you’re struggling or having a bad day, need to gain control of your emotions, maybe you need some inspiration, want to improve your mental health, or some reassurance that you’re going the right way, then this book is for you. It’s a book that brings you comfort, and a helping hand to set you up for the day.

This book, when opened at the page you come across, has been channelled to help you work on one thing for that day.

Read the passage and think about how it relates to you. Then open up your journal and write about it. See what happens! There will be an individual hidden message for everyone on any given day.

Through the Eyes of a Security Operative

The author, T Mogford, after working within the security sector for over 25 years wanted to write this book to give the public an insight into the work and things that they see on a day-to-day basis within this industry. From his time working as a doorman to eventually working as a Crown Court Security Supervisor, it is filled with insights of the author’s years working in this environment and in his opinion how two days are never the same, where one quiet day could turn very volatile on the turn of a sixpence. ‘You just never know who is going to come through the front doors’ is just one of his sayings. How he works on the front line with his staff so they are the first point of contact. The author explains the qualities you need to be able to do this work to the best of your ability. Terry has written this from extracts from his diaries that he has kept over the years as well as from memories.

Through Withered Weeds Flowers Bloom

There is a lot I still don’t know about life or about what the future might bring but I do know who I am and how to incorporate life being more about where we choose to go and not just about where we come from. I believe you can throw out the script we get handed during childhood and make different choices whilst implementing determination and positive affirmation. I have used my faith to demonstrate where I found my strength, this can be applied to any type of belief system someone may have. I hope this book can be an inspiration regardless of who you are or where you are in your own life journey and to encourage that it is not where you start but where you finish that really counts. As a result, I accept the idea that through withered weeds it is truly possible for flowers to bloom.

Thursday’s Child Had Far to Go

Training Indian village children to look after buffaloes, instructing girls to use a sewing machine, running adult literacy classes for rural women – Did Betty Robinson in her Youth Employment Office in Dunfermline in the 1950s and 1960s realise where her application for missionary training with the London Missionary Society would take her? Three years of missionary training did not prepare her for that. A buffalo and a sewing machine can literally save a village and give its children a future.

Then romance and marriage to a fellow Scot, Leslie Robinson, General Surgeon and Medical Superintendent at the Church of South India’s hospital in Chickballapur, Karnataka.

Thy Will Be Done

The book Thy Will Be Done presents a bible-based exposition on the will of God for every human life, marriage, family, business, career, government and the church. The book lays emphasis on the government of God on earth and the superiority of God’s will over human will, and the need for every man on earth to find and submit to the will of God.

Tiffins & Chanawallahs

Oonagh’s story takes us on a vivid journey through her post-colonial childhood in India, full of color, vitality, and unforgettable memories. However, as she leaves her birth country in 1962 to move to England with her family, Oonagh’s cherished childhood recollections take on a surreal quality. Determined to rediscover her roots and emotional identity, she embarks on a poignant quest.

From the roots of her maternal family, where ‘Staying On’ was in her grandmother’s blood, to the adrenaline-fueled excitement of gleaming gun barrels counted and stacked in pillars by the light of hurricane lamps, Oonagh’s journey uncovers both the beauty and harsh realities of her homeland.

Through her Ayah Ruth’s captivating stories, she experiences the intoxicating fragrance of jasmine on the day of Rinqu’s marriage, and the deep bonds of love and loyalty that define family life in India. With rich detail and compelling prose, Oonagh’s tale takes readers on a breathtaking journey of self-discovery and a celebration of the cultural richness of India.