Fair to middling and Great Escape No3

So my ‘mediocre day turning into a wobble’ has progressed to a ‘not bad’ level. Went into Diss and bagged a few bargains including a Weird Fish jacket brand new for £9.95!! I drove home in Lucille and had my music on. I have been tearing up the country roads in a quite reckless manner and had all four wheels off the road at one stage. I was listening to Ahas’ ‘Take on me’ as I hit a large bump at 90 mph. I slowed down after that and calmed down. It was ridiculous to be driving like that. I got home and tried to watch the Webinar on Emotions. Unfortunately I couldn’t turn the chat off and was being constantly triggered by 2 people who had monopolised the chat function, rather than privately messaging the presenters. So I didn’t get much out of it today. Some small snippets got through about primary and secondary emotions and fusion and defusion. I will have to do my own reading as I always do anyway.

Just had my last food parcel delivered and for the first time I opened the door to see who had been making sure I was ok over the past few months. I’d always thanked him by shouting through the door.He was a nice young man who I thanked and who replied ‘I bet you’re loving all this aren’t you mate!’ If only he knew what I’ve been through.

So it’s getting on for the late afternoon and evening. I still look forward to 10 o clock so I can take my pills of forgetfulness and hopefully rest a while. I will learn in time to control my emotions and understand what my old brain is doing to my new brain!

Going to go for a walk along the river this evening. It’s a fact that the sound of running water relaxes the brain. Unfortunately, the part of the River Gipping that runs through Stowmarket doesn’t so much flow as ooze. It’s shallow and there are numerous pieces of debris floating in it, discarded from the local hostelries. I would love to sit under some of the trees that line the steep bank, but fear I would catch something from either the human excrement or discarded sex balloons….it’s not that bad but it is shallow and isn’t running at all at the moment. I have never seen any fish in this part of the river. They always are further up towards Needham Market and Ipswich….. even the fish don’t like Stowmarket!

Great escape No3.

I was serving in the Blues and Royals in Germany in 1987. I was due to go on leave at the beginning of March and booked my coach and ferry tickets and packed my bags all ready to go home to Blighty to see my family and my girlfriend. Unfortunately, I had been at the Grolsch and Remy Martin brandy that I kept in my room the night before. Consequently I got up late and missed my coach trip to Zeebrugge. So, I headed back to barracks and went back to bed. Unbeknownst to me the Ferry I was due to sail on, The Herald of Free Enterprise, had sunk in Zeebrugge harbour killing 193 people on board. My family and girlfriend were frantically trying to contact the emergency services and it would be hours and days before anyone knew who had been killed. It was only when I went across to the NAAFI later that day on March 6th 1987, that my face turned white as I watched the news. In a time before mobile phones I had to use the pay phone and let everyone know that I was alive. It is ironic that I always take great pride in never being late for anything and the one time I was late, I was spared what must have been a terrible ordeal. For the first time ever I had booked a cabin, it’s unlikely that I would have made it out. I remember getting another ferry a few days later from the same port. Seeing a ship of that size on its side with all the windows smashed open where they had tried to drag people out was a sobering experience. It took just 4 minutes for the ferry to go over and it was only luck that it didn’t completely capsize, killing everyone on board. A sandbar had stopped that happening. I’ve had my fair share of scrapes but I consider myself lucky that I am still here to write about it!

I have lots of other tales to tell!