Friday 30 January 2009

Three Things

Three very important things have happened since my last post:

1 PC Speaker System

On Friday night a week ago I was looking at a DVD I might use in my housegroup on my laptop. I thought to myself "I could hear this better if I had one of those speakers system specially made for computers." To cut a long story short, next morning I found myself unexpectedly helping with a Coffee Morning in Bentham, a nearby village. At the end, when they were clearing up I saw the very thing I needed and got it for nothing. AND it has the most amazing tone. Our God doesn't deal in cheap rubbish.

2 Sunday AM @ IMC
On Sunday I preached at IMC (Ingleton Methodist Church) in the morning service for the first time in a year. The feedback I got was amazing. It's been almost overwhelming but most welcome too. It made me realise I really do have a gift in that way.

3 Appeal Hearing
On Monday afternoon I attended a hearing into my appeal against the stopping of my Incapacity Benefit in September. I had to answer questions from a specialist doctor and an independent adjudicator. They allowed my appeal so my benefit goes up.
It's a bit of a win and lose situation. I have won my case but it means I still have mental health issues to deal with.

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Writing more

I was encouraged by the response to my what I wrote last time. Your interest and encouragement has made me want to write more.

There is an idea for another article at the back of my mind, but what really makes me fizz is the lives of those who inhabited Ingleton in olden times. I just can't get enough of them.

If I could write about them in a way that would capture the interest and imagination of The Girl on the Train, I would have it made.

The Girl on the Train? She's the one I have to sell to if I'm going to make anything from this. She rides the train into the city everyday to a boring and insecure job and to while away the time she reads a novel. If I could get her to shift from romance or chick-lit to The Ingleton Chronicles I would have it made.

God show me how to do it!

Friday 9 January 2009

Writing a bit

I have at last started to write more than just this blog. It all began when I started attending a writers group at the Looking Well in Bentham.

Since then I have written two book reviews for a magazine published by the Depression Alliance and have just sent one off to another published by a mental health group in Lancaster. It's great to start again.

Once I get going I really enjoy it.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Show me the money!

I like films and try to keep up with them but there is one scene I keep hearing about and have no idea what it is.

It includes the phrase "Show me the money!" and I think it is in the context of bank raid. But I don't know any more than that. If anyone could enlighten me I would be very grateful.

But to go on to what I really wanted to say - that is I have been forced by my lack of income to be very careful with money. I now think before spending anything, no matter how small the amount.

I don't have a credit or a debit card so I have to pay for everything with cash. This is a good thing as it helps me realise how much things really cost. I used to put it all on a card before I gave up my job and never thought about the reality.

Also, I have learned to make a little go a long way. Living on benefits is an eye-opener. The money just isn't there, so I can't spend it. Every purchase, however small, has to be weighed against what's coming in.

This has been a good exercise for me and I am beginning to appreciate the value of money.

Saturday 3 January 2009

And so this is Christmas...

Well, I had a good Christmas but now I'm going down with a fluey cold.

Nathan's girlfriend Laura came over from Hull to spend New Year with us. She went yesterday at 1414 and at 1907 Emma arrived back from Edinburgh with her new boyfriend, Andrew, in tow.

Interestingly this is a short little fellow with strong Scottish connections. My sister Sheila is married to a man named Andrew who could be described in just the same way. How about that?!

Oh, and I could be described
thus too, but I am Peter. Do genes influence our choice of a mate?