The Charred Sanctuary: Perhaps what the Devastation of Dunwich Heath Means for Our Mental Health and Climate

 

For generations, Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast has been more than just a nature reserve. To Us who have walked its winding sandy tracks, it is a refuge. In late summer, the landscape usually transforms into a vivid canvas of vibrant purple heather and golden gorse, framed by our wide East Anglian Big sky and the gentle murmur of the sea nearby.

That landscape sits unrecognizable. A catastrophic wildfire, tearing through over 150 hectares of rare lowland heath and adjacent woodland at RSPB Minsmere, has reduced a sanctuary to ash and blackened earth.

Beyond the devastating ecological toll on rare species like the Dartford Warbler and nightjar, the fire has perhaps inflicted a quiet, profound wound on the human community that relies on this space week in week out, these Spaces are precous.

To understand the full impact of the devastation at Dunwich Heath, one must look at how deeply ingrained it was in some peoples mental health routines.

For local residents, holidaymakers, and dog owners like myself, walking the heath was an anchor. There is a specific kind of solace found in the ryhthm of putting one foot in front of the other while a dog happily sniffs through the heather. Occasional Green and coastal spaces act as biological reset buttons for many of Us.

• Nervous System Regulation: The combination of open horizon, fresh sea air, and natural soundscapes actively lower cortisol levels and eases chronic stress, I think this has been evidencec in Papers over the years.

• Routine and Connection: Daily dog walks force us outside, encouraging movement, mindfulness, and perhps quiet social encounters with fellow walkers.

• Grounding in Chaos: When life feels overwhelming, these green sanctuaries provide a reliable sense of permanence and perspective for all of us that use them however occasionally.

When a place like Dunwich Heath burns, those who loved it experience a very real form of psychological distress known as solastalgia, the grief caused by environmental change or destruction experienced in one’s own home environment. How much more of this will we all, especially our younger memebers of our families have to experience as the years go by.

Are these situations Alarm Bells.  Is what happened at Dunwich Heath an isolated tragedy; or it is part of a frightening, accelerated trend. For years, wildfires felt like distant news stories happening in the Mediterranean or California. Today, they are breaking out across the British countryside much more often that we are used to.

The conditions that enabled the Dunwich blaze to spread so rapidly, weeks of soaring summer temperatures, prolonged regional drought, and extremely dry soil and grassland, feel like direct symptoms of our changing climate. Lowland heath is one of Britain's rarest and most fragile habitats, holding great ecological value but becoming exceptionally combustible during extended dry spells.

Do we need to observe but channel some of that into Action?  /or/ accept all the nay saying against Net Zero & the like???

Theres a fund for restoration been raised by the National Trust, see following link:-

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/appeals/dunwich-heath

--- fin ---

Sixty. ( A celebration of my favourite show, a poem )

 Sixty

====

In the vast expanse of time, a tale unfolds,

Sixty years of journeys, on the time winds, the TARDIS rolls, 

Doctor Who, a traveler through the cosmic sea,

Regenerating, evolving, a Time Lord's legacy.

In the echoes of Gallifrey, where the Time Lords reside,

The Doctor strides, with compassion as a guide.

Across the epochs, a hero emerges clear,

Defender of worlds, in the face of any fear.

Through the corridors of time, corridors of space,

The Doctor's journey, a captivating chase.

From the Dalek's shriek to the Silence's hush,

Captain Jack making other companions blush

In each regeneration, a rebirth anew,

Yet two hearts endure, steadfast and true.

Adventures in time & space are told,

In the depths of the vortex, mysteries unfold.

60 years of TARDIS blue, a rescue is planned,

The Doctor's presence, as he takes your hand.

The universe explored, countless lives saved,

Though the chances slim and the prospects were grave.

So, here's to the Doctor, through time and space,

60 years of adventures, some companions Ace,

There are some odd villains In the tapestry of time, 

Voord, Ood, Chumblies, monsters of every design.

From Hartnell to Gatwa, the faces change,

Yet the essence remains, a conceit so strange.

Valeyard, Davros. the Master, the villains abound,

Across galaxies, the Doctors speeches profound.

The sonic hums, a sonic screwdriver trance,

River Somg brings a little romance, 

A celebration of moments, across times span,

Six decades of wonder, for devoted fans.

Companions and foes, entwined in the plot,

Temporal twists, where past and future clot.

60 years of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey glee,

A journey through time, on the BBC.

As the time vortex titles swirl for the Anniversary,

Raise a cheer for the Doctor, whoever they might be.

Through time and space, the adventures continue,

Happy 60th, Doctor Who, Happy Regeneration to You

—— Finish ———

On retirement & being comfortable in your own company

So I’m retired now, retired in late December 2019 which meant my retirement started during COVID basically which led to lots of guerilla practices in carrying out hobbies.  I managed during COVID to perform music,  improv,  stand up,  kitchen disco,  quizzes using Zoom, not the same as in the flesh but a means to an end.  Lots of people did these things I’m sure though but it was a rude awakening regards starting retirement with COVID in the air.   We had the same issues with Johnsons behaviour that others had in that when my Father in Law died we had 8 people present for his Funeral.  

Though the biggest rules of retirement that I’ve found are threefold,  1.  You need to accept a comfortableness with your own company at times    2.   By all means volunteer but volunteer in ways that you will love so that it becomes something that you don’t find a chore.    3.  Don’t feel guilty about a hobby that others might find childish.  I love graphic novels and comics and I don’t feel I need to be an Apologist. 

Friends are a very important part of retirement too, as is family, keeping up with friends means you keep your social circles turning over Gigs, Pub Nights, Festivals or Nights in can save you pennies as well.

I’m very lucky to have very socially and community active friends which means there’s things to go to, things to help with & plenty to reflect on.

In having a comfortableness with your own company I find listening to music & reading come to the fore.  I read lots and I like to read varied stuff though I favour Science Fiction of course and Pulpy Doctor Who titles as well.  I am an oddbod in that I can have a Book Club in my own head without anyone else present.  I find writing my poetry helps with this as well even though I throw away 75% of what I write, I still enjoy coming up with ideas.   Look here for some recent poetry:-   www.tonyamis.com

I’m also very lucky to have a supportive Wife and supportive family and I do understand not everybody has that, that’s a real bonus but don’t ever feel guilty about things you love doing being not everybody else’s cup of tea.

Be Lucky,   Tony

— fin —

I didn’t think I would ever be Wise?

 So.

A few people recently said they missed me blogging and I thought, that was over 2 1/2 years ago now, it seems like another country to me and so I asked ‘What do you miss about it specifically?’ and I got the response, ‘being inside your head, you seem to think things through more than I can’.  That’s very sweet and so I thought, ‘what could I blog about?’.  I didn’t have an immediate answer.

After a while though, I thought about what was the most important aspects of my life since I had retired and I came up with 2 things.

Kindness

Guiltlessness

2 ‘nesses’ and I’m not even sure the second one is a real word!   Kindness is something that people I respect have in spades, they ooze it, they are selfless at times, I say at times because you can’t just pay out selflessness on a 24/7 loop but I think working to be kind doesn’t do anyone any harm. 

Acts of kindness I think ought to make the world a happier place for everyone, they can encourage others to be kind when they have received kindness themselves.  They can be little kindness bombs in communities that enable that community to be more than it was.  I think they can also boost confidence, control, happiness and perhaps even lead to renewed optimism.

We find ourselves at the moment at the pinch point of many negatives, the news is full of pessimism, I’m very guilty of being glass half empty after Brexit, Covid and with Ukraine, Yemen and Syria bouncing around in my head but the odd little kindness bomb distracts from those things.

I think practising kindness can lead to a more meaningful life, research has found that being charitable, volunteering, acting kindly,  improves wellbeing and even delivers a meaningful life for people.  (a) You don’t have to be religious, a politician or a billionaire to live a purposeful life.  

Frank Turner recorded a whole album of songs that extolled being more kind.  It was a great use of songs to push a message that isn’t divisive like most things we debate across the right/left politik divide.  Being kind is something that you can hopefully do without dropping into conscious or unconscious bias, simply keeping alert to opportunities to be more kind.

By the way I’m not saying that I’m some kind of kindness exemplar, far from it, however it is an important aspiration for me since I retired.

Now Guiltlessness is something that probably sounds selfish and the opposite of kindness.  I think it’s something when you are navigating mental health you need to be careful to adopt, the worse cul de sacs in your own headspace are often when you chalk up all sorts of blame and guilt for yourself so stop giving yourself a hard time, you probably don’t deserve a hard time and it’s that old story that you need to love yourself to be useful to family and friends.  

Im unsure that I’ve got this across very well but Guilt doesn’t feel very productive though obviously there’s no get out of jail free card and owning mistakes is fair generally.  Being wracked with unnecessary guilt doesn’t sound positive.  I’ve never subscribed to the Roman Catholic ethics of guilt.  Emotional Intelligence is something a lot of people seem to be missing along with Common Sense.  Guilt can often be wrapped up in jealousy, low self esteem, inadequacy, resentment, lack of kindness from others …….. and so the circle is squared.

Just remember, none of us are perfect, we all mess up, we all have moods.  I’ll stop waffling now :)

Tony     X

Reading and Listening Advice:-

Frank Turner - Be More Kind ( Music Album )

Ruby Wax - Just About Coping ( You Tube )

Matt Haig - Reasons to Stay Alive ( Book )

Lizzie Velasquez - Dare to be Kind  ( Book )

(a) Ovul Sezer, Harvard

—- FIN ——

Covid-19 poem

Poem a Day: Day #1

The Human Condition ( thinking on Covid-19 )

==================

Is it true,

is it any wonder,

I’d rather be six feet apart,

than six feet under

Will clap the workers on a Thursday

They risk their health each and every day

From Posties to Delivery drivers

Come what may

I've got bin juice in my bin

Flies and shit and stuff

But the bin men will still empty it

Even though its a bit rough

Shop workers behind their panels

And in their Robocop masks

We thank you for your help

With our weekly shopping tasks

To all the essential workers

Whatever it is you do

Sometimes your job must suck

It must be tough being you

When we get to the other side

Of the Coronavirus outbreak

Let's hope that claps on Thursdays

Especially by Politicians were not fake

I hope you will be recognised

Even though some of you have been abused

I hope you get the credit deserved

And you’re not just yesterday's news

We all have the human condition

This much will always be true

Better to be nice with it

Rather than a Dick who’s being rude ………………..

***END***

There is madness in some, kindness in others ...........

Hello folks.
I haven't blogged since my retirement in October 2019.  Thats nearly 6 months.   Partly because I didn't want to crow about how wonderful retirement is when I've been lucky to retire early in life.   I felt I had a position of privilege in retiring at 55.

Yesterday a friend coined the above expression that 'there is madness in some, kindness in others' as a reaction to the corona virus outbreak.  This hit a note with me and as I mainly post about mental health from this account I was aware that I was having a lot more self talk regards my headspace with the corona virus impacting lives.

From Paris to New York City, from Madrid to Hoboken, from Moscow to Baghdad the conrona virus means that cities are closing restaurants, theatres, schools and other 'non essential' services to help limit the spread of the disease and though that is probably the best thing to do to flatten the peak of this virus for national health services it will be adding to the anxiety of people and affecting peoples mental health.

I don't have a silver bullet for peoples mental health at this time but I would encourage people to think outside the box at this time, I've already seen friends create hubs on the Internet for creativity, theres a Social Distancing festival in Canada where creatives are live streaming their work, there is a break room that a friend has created on facebook where the C word is not allowed for people to gather themselves - https://www.facebook.com/groups/3329526810410649/?ref=group_header and also another friend is preparing for a Virual Improv Jam on Thursday evening using Zoom.  This is all great thinking and puts the Socialmedia into Social Distancing.  We have more technical options in this crisis than anyone has ever had before, we have lots of ways of sharing at this time in all sorts of ways.  I'm sure that Theatres, Schools etc will all need to be creative to keep creatives working and children and students learning but hopefully there are ways.   Im really looking forward to taking part in the Improv Jam online on Thursday.

One of the things I would encourage people to do whilst navigating their mental health at this time is to think about options and ideas that will give you some social interaction at this time whilst the World feels like its closing down around us.  I've just looked into some Apps on my iPad and found that a number of boardgames that I love to play with friends at my kitchen table have free online versions that I can play online and some of them are available relatively cheaply for 3.99 / 4.99 as paid Apps as well.  We may be able by being creative to keep playing together at this time and that must be better than doing nothing, variety of our spare time is probably a good things to consider at this time.  Varying what we do, if you have a garden, gardening is not disallowed at this time, I hate gardening but I imagine its a panacea against boredom and is a very different place to the front room sofa.

You could also take an online course as something different to attempt at this time, something practical from a job point of view or just something interesting maybe.

Also remember that this time is no different to any other time when navigating your mental health, you still have your toolbox to help you with that navigation, mindfulness, CBT, friends, hobbies, creativity.  You can still dip into those things to help you along the way.

I appreciate I've probably just stated the obvious above but rather than be the hoarder of toilet rolls, lets not be the madness during this lets be part of the kindness, that means being kind to yourselfs as well as others.

#bemorekind

Tony x

https://zoom.us/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/g2210/the-10-best-board-games-apps/
https://www.theatretrip.com/watch-theatre-online/
https://www.gofasterstripe.com/cgi-bin/website.cgi?page=club
https://nextupcomedy.com/watch-stand-up-comedy/
https://www.udemy.com/topic/improv/
https://www.futurelearn.com/
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/covid19-novel-coronavirus
https://www.365escape.com/

*-* END *-*

Regrets, I’ve had a few but then again too few to mention...... ( Retirement )

So now comes the ‘art’ of retirement. I’ve got to work out how to grow old disgracefully ( and at times gracefully ) without getting bored or wallowing in my headspace.  As some of you will know over recent years I have struggled to navigate my Bipolar condition, and of late have taken on more family responsibilities.  After much discussion with my family I’m going to retire on Wednesday 9^th October 2019.

Regrets, I’ve had a few but then again too few to mention.  I wish I had possibly gone contracting when I was at the height of my Oracle Development powers but having said that, that’s not the person I am, I’m not a risk taker and one thing that I think retirement will bring is the ability to try a few things with the aide of a safety net.  At the top of the list of things that are important though are self maintenance, I’ve got to navigate my Mental Health carefully and ensure that I can enjoy retirement, I think that’s where my friends are going to come into it big time.  You may not have time for me but I’ll now have more time for you and that probably means I’ll be that irritating retired colleague who is hassling you to meet up for coffee so that I can tell you about any new string to my bow. Be prepared.   I’ve got to remember that there is a social aspect to a job, it provides acquaintances and friendships itself, the job will have provided a degree of self worth though I’ve felt that in recent years I wasn’t as good at the job as I had been previously  ( that’s not held out in all the kind things people have said about me ) but I need to remember that I have to get my self worth from somewhere.  I’m pretty sure that one of the key things will be structure, I’ll need to ensure that I generate enough structure in my days, I think I’m going to task myself with 1000 words of writing a day and 12000 steps a day as well, Millie the dog can help me with part of that.

Retirement does mean that I become a man of leisure, meeting friends for coffee and hopefully not forgetting who they are in between those meetings as my short term memory fades.  I’ll probably find that I now wake up more than once a day !!!   I’m going to do the best with the aide of my dog Millie to make sure that the days are not full of watching Antique Roadshow repeats.  Also  I guess I’m going to have to be kind to my children as they will eventually choose any Nursing home I get sent to  !!!  They say Old Age is when work is a lot less fun and fun is a lot more work, i'm unsure thats true as I'm going to make sure that I have fun.  I also expect to have quite a few opportunities for creativity outside of work, poetry, writing stories, music, improv, travel ………….. probably lots more trips to see my Grandchildren in the USA and Norwich.

Regards my career at Aviva/Norwich Union, I hope I’ve had some sort of impact on the company and on people, I have always tried my best to be helpful and open and honest in the workplace. I think I’ve always been a good team player rather than that high flying individual.  I’m hoping that I can take that team player from work and throw that into the Improv group I attend in Norwich and the shows we do, I think I have a possible long term goal of getting an Improv troop going in Great Yarmouth but I’m not at a level where I could make that happen at the moment.

I appreciate that the last few years have been difficult and I did take a reduction in my grade from a D to a C to navigate that better.  I think retirement is an extension of that, its pulling the levers that I can to give myself a full and rewarding life, I also want to make sure that I can be the best version of myself for my family and my friends and I think taking ‘work’ out of the equation really is the right outcome at this point in time.

I hopefully get to write that poetry book I keep promising, I get to write the childrens stories up that I told to my Sons and then to my Grandchildren.  I guess I’m about to start building one of those cliché but fun bucket lists as well, mines probably going to be a Skip list as the length keeps growing.  I did 5 minutes stand up comedy earlier this year that I wrote all myself, which I’m doing again in December which was a bit of a bucket kicking moment. 

Here I want to thank all my family, friends, colleagues that have helped me get this far down the road, I’m sure you all know who you are.  Thanks to some really supportive managers as well down the years.

My advice in these highly polarised political times is to just be kind to each other.  #bemorekind   ( that old adage, treat others as you would like to be treated )

Some will have said that I’ve never grown up, especially with my life long love of Doctor Who, but some say that You have to put off being young until you can retire.  Here comes the future at 100 mph ...................

    kind regards & peace

         Tony