Forever Wonky



                                                                                                         
Happy Boxing day,  I hope you're all stuffed with sprouts? ....not literally obviously, that would just be weird.....& smelly, so yes we're back.......again.....er..... I know I said that  in the last piece I wrote on the 17th of August before disappearing into the female equivalent of a man cave (bed, covers over head, sorted) but the truth is I'm still Wonky.............

Christmas isn't a wonderful time for everyone for many different reasons, and I wouldn't be presumptuous in speaking for everyone but I hope some  of you will be able to relate?

While leaving you in peace and quiet these past few months,  I've still been contemplating & struggling to find a way to go forward, just as I did when grieving 26yrs ago on discovering I had Myalgic Encephalomylitus (M.E).  Then, I lost my job, social life, hopes dreams, plans and identity, I didn't think anything could ever be that bad again, but how wrong I was. 

It's been just over a year since losing both my brother Michael and sister Michele and their deaths have blown a massive hole right through the middle of me just like a polo mint, and having yet another huge part go missing means that like a bike with only one stabilizer, a toy car with three wheels,  a doll with one leg, I can no longer function  the same...... I am now Wonky, or should that be Wonkier?  

I've only just recently come to realize that yet again I won't ever be the same person I used to be, and it's all about learning to live as a Wonky person. I've stumbled and fallen so many times over this past year and will probably continue to do so, after all learning anything new is never easy, but that's okay.

There are no rules when it comes to grief, it doesn't come with a "Best before date", when you lose someone  you love, grief becomes a forever thing, and it's not always easy to manage, we won't always get it right, but that's okay too.  

Christmas afternoon I'd just stepped back inside after feeding the birds when suddenly from nowhere something tapped on the window.  I turned to see a beautiful butterfly, it flew to the back door and fluttered its wings on the glass. I can't recall ever seeing one in December before and wondered if my mind was playing tricks on me?  As if picking up on my thoughts it flew back slightly  & hovered for a moment so that I could see it in all its glory and then it flew south and was gone. Both siblings used to phone Christmas afternoon so I'd like to believe it was a sign from them still wishing us Merry Christmas, just in a different way.

And as we roll into 2017  I can only continue trying to get to grips with living life as a Wonky person, & hope that you will keep forgiving any wobbles, especially if my stabilizer falls off?   

With the sad news of George Michaels death yesterday & Rick Parfitt the day before and all the other amazing people we've lost this year, its certainly unsettling, but while sad, it should remind us all that death is a natural part of life and that life is for living, it's short and we should make the most of every single day with the people we love. Be happy, make memories and don't put off the things you want to do, which brings me onto.....

Gizmo, Gadget, Gift, I just had to share this personalized hammer with you .


Meant as a gift for newly weds or couples setting up home together, I couldn't help thinking that after a year or so they'll be using it to hit the other over the head with?  I wonder if that's why i'm still single? Anyhow, if you want to chance your luck?  you can get one from  "Getting Personal" for  £16.99.

Stress balls anyone?  They might stop you hitting someone over the head with that hammer? Anyway, I loved the little faces on these , very cute and expressive and available from  Amazon for £2.59  which is rather a bargain.  




What? Another one? Oh okay then , if you like music and you like quirky you're going to like what this guy does, he takes old instruments and customizes them into home items. This  guitar light/ display shelf is made from a full size hollowed out accoustic guitar £65.


Also check out the awesome clock and tables made out of a drum, great pieces to have in the home studio for sure.
They are from MJ Creative Design, this is his Facebook page  & he also sells on Ebay 


I'm not the only one making a come back  "Straight from the horses mouth" is back too.  I've made no secret that Invest In M.E are my favorite M.E Charity so I was extremely happy that they are going to continue keeping you all updated with what they are up to, so without further ado.
2016 - A year in which Invest in ME Research saw the lowlights and the highlights just as in the year’s politics, in the ME world we experienced events bringing us together, and attempting to drive us apart.

From seeing an uglier side of ME politics Invest In ME - to organising a very successful 6th Biomedical Research Colloquium] and an 11thInternational ME Conference where the emphasis was on collaboration and which produced numerous new collaborative initiatives and teamwork.
From witnessing actions of others that we see as part of the problem – to working with great people (such as Dr Vicky Whittemore of NIH and Professors Carding, Wileman, Edwards, Cambridge, Davis, Hanson, Mella, Fluge, Marshall-Gradisnik, Staines, Bergquist, Blomberg and Oltra etc.) – whom we feel are part of the solution to ME.
From seeing a major academic organisation spending hundreds of thousands of pounds trying to prevent PACE Trial data from being released for independent review - to seeing ME patients overcoming these obstacles and showing PACE up for the failure that it was, with critical questions even being asked in the UK parliament about it.

Such was the world of ME in 2016 –   where even mainstream politics seemed to be a field of sanity compared to the dystopia of ME perception and treatment.


So let us finish on a positive note for this year –with our Christmas scene showing some of what was achieved and some of what is to come.
The world of Invest in ME Research and great supporters - where nobody wants to be a celebrity and everybody wants to make progress, working happily behind the scenes as long as the result of the work we are involved with produces benefit and progress for people with ME and their families.

Merry Christmas to All.

So have you ever wondered where the term "Boxing Day" originated? Wonder no more, As far back as the 17th century here in the UK a Christmas present used to be known as a Christmas box. Servants used to have to work on Christmas day but were allowed the next day off, & this is when they were given a Christmas box by their masters/boss. The servants would then go home to their own families to give their own Christmas boxes, hence this day became known as Boxing Day.  And there's me thinking it was  because families were so bad tempered and short fused after Christmas day together that by the following day they were ready for a punch up.

Before I go, if you love music and you're on Twitter then make sure to follow
@limey59music he is a great supporter of Unsigned music and i've discovered some fab stuff via him and was excited by this weeks discovery of  Tidelands, a duo from San fransisco California  and especially their track called "Dog named Bart" its brilliant, but don't take my word for it, have a listen. 
If you're more into your Urban Music then Sheffield band Post Collide blowing up on the scene big time this year might be your thing?   As a thank-you to fans they've knocked up this rather awesome Christmas track as a free download. Exciting times ahead for this duo for sure. 


And lastly thanks to journalist Simon Rickets for sharing this beauty, which pretty much sums the year up, but will hopefully make you smile at the same time? 

Well that's it from me. Feel free to get in touch, comment below or inbox. Now Lets go and make 2017 a good one, wishing you all a very happy  new year and I'll see you back here Friday 6th January.  Right, off to get my Nut roast ready ......                              
                            Stay Blessed, 
                   
                     Back Before Elvis X   

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