Snow and Ice

I don't know why it's been a couple of months since I last blogged! Maybe I've been winding down with the year and getting into the doldrums of inactivity.... watching too much tele... not to mention too much eating and drinking!  I suppose that when I'm not travelling, with the excitement of new experiences and challenges, its all too easy to settle into a comfortable rut, although I quite like hibernating in my cosy room, like an old bear, as the days shorten and the temperature drops.

 The weather, meanwhile, has overcome us all, as you no doubt know and this picture was taken yesterday (Sat) on Llandudno Promenade.  Here by the sea, we never have it as bad as elsewhere and whatever snow falls rarely hangs around for long. However, this time it's stuck and frozen, as it has everywhere. Another Ice Age?

Lovely to look at but a pain to live with... sound like a relationship! Nevertheless, it does transform the landscape and affords beautiful pictures.

In training

I've been introduced to hospital radio by my new friend Marie and now I'm in training for one hour a week, learning how to use the controls and find the music on their computer system! This is voluntary and I'm loving it... writing my script, which includes subtle sugestions for reframing attitudes and playing old favourites... Sinatra, Ella, Nat King Cole and other jazz greats.

 This was my introduction, being interviewed by Marie last month. As yet we've had no feedback from the wards so I do hope someone is listening. Most patients now spend the minimum of time in hospital so its unlikely that the same people will be listening from one week to another.

Anyway... I trust its doing some good as I'm surreptitiously introducing the concepts of relaxation and EFT.

Autumn leaves

 A beautiful day out... visiting Bodnant Gardens... that's the famous Pin Mill and water lily pond.















Trees are beginning to put on their vibrant colours before the leaves fall... which reminds me of the poem by Jenny Joseph...

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
Witha red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

 I shall sit down on thepavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick al;ong the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
 ............................................................
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Love that!

The view from the top of the Sychnant Pass looking down to the Menai Straits... quite spectacular.

Revisiting memories in the Lakes

I've been very lackadaisical about keeping up this blog, although I always enjoy writing about my experiences, so here's a recent update. At the beginning of the month I joined my lovely sister on our annual holiday and enjoyed the last few days of an Indian Summer (without going to India!) in Cumbria... otherwise known as the Lake District.


It's many years since either of us visited here, but as Lancashire lassies, we have wonderful memories of trips to the Lakes with our parents, so this was a nostalgic revisiting of many familiar places... Keswick, Ambleside and Borrowdale, where we found the Bowder Stone, balanced on edge, where I'm sure we used to be able to shake hands from each side at the base... but not now!

We had some lovely sunny days, but as always, some cloud and rain, which only adds to the particular quality of this mountainous county.

We were based near Keswick, which has its own charm. The Museum is exactly as I remember it, with the amazing musical instrument of Slate keys, which the inventor played before Queen Victoria. When I spent my first honeymoon here, the ancient curator played it for us, which inspired my musical husband.
The week flew by but it was a holiday to treasure, as we realised how much we appreciated our parents' love of the countryside and enthusiasm for walking and exploring by bus and train, as in those days we had no car. Not such a bad upbringing.

Summertime... and the weather is... WET

Well, it rained on Saint Swithin's Day and true to form it's hardly stopped raining since. We did manage a Birthday picnic for Julie and Rich and the sun even made a brief appearance. So a good time was had by all!

I feel for the many families who choose to holiday in this country and recall camping experiences with my own young family so many years ago!

Caught in a sudden squall on the cliff-top camping site above Whitby, we all had to hang onto our frame tent to stop being blown away, which happened to other unoccupied tents.And Julie, who was wet, experienced a mild shock when she touched the metal pole.

On another memorable holiday with family and friends in bonnie Scotland we were literally blown out of Glen Coe at 10.0'clock at night, when a sudden wind riccoche'd (?) around the surrounding mountains. Sitting in our converted ambulance nursing a seriously sprained an ankle, (which happened while taking a short walk) I watched as the large frame tent, in which the young men and boys were bedding down for the night, suddenly disappeared, leaving a couple of young men standing in their underpants and the younger ones struggling in their sleeping bags, wondering what had happened!  The tent was recovered, but as night descended there was nothing for it but to bundle everything and everyone into the two vans and head south, braving the fierce gale that was bringing down branches from the trees. We stopped once, in eerily deserted Glasgow, to use public toilets, but as dawn broke over the Lake District, magically the sun broke through and we completed our holiday with tent repaired, in brilliant weather!

And the moral of this story? (There always has to be some moral for me.) So how about this one? Behind every cloud is a silver lining.
It gave us all a memorable experience and something to chuckle about ever since!

Memories are the glue that hold friends and families together and shared stories form strong emotional bonds; whether loving and joyful or unhappy and fearful.
My work in helping those with emotional issues is often through re-forming those memories and and releasing the bonds that have held them back and this is more easily achieved with EFT... the Tapping solution.
See www.patricia-wynne.co.uk for more information.

EFT at Findhorn

On the road to The Isles... Loch Tummell.

Julie shared the long drive with me to bonnie Scotland to visit Findhorn, a Spiritual/ Personal Development centre that we've known about for years, but never managed to visit until now.


While she stayed at the Findhorn community in The Park, near the small and pictureque fishing village of Findhorn, I had accommodation at Cluny Hill College, a very large, former plush hotel that now hosts many courses throughout the year.

I was there for a four day course i n EFT and what a great course we had, due in a very large degree to EFT Master, Rue Hass, who came from the US to impart her perspective on the Highly Sensitive Person. The setting was impressive, the group enthusiastic and I really appreciated the opportunity to experience Rue's inspiring approach to EFT.

Wisdom

I was interested to read in the Daily Telegraph last Friday, that according to the latest research, WISDOM comes from the brain slowing down in old age, making us elders less impulsive and driven by emotion. We may not hear so well either, so can take our time ponder over responses instead of simply reacting. If younger people get impatient with our lack of fast repartee, it's so they can learn patience, which is a great virtue!

Some have commented on my title of 'wisewoman' as being somewhat egoic, which I really must refute. What I aim for, in the words of this popular saying, is... to have the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change... the Courage to change the things I can... and the Wisdom to know the difference... and I believe that comes with maturity, whatever one's age.

'Wisewoman' is really a tongue-in-cheek reference to my business logo of the wise old owl. During the many years of my life I've learned much from study, training and life experience, which I'm able to pass on to help others if I can and that is my passion in life!!! Actually, I'm often not very wise at all, but don't tell anyone I said so.

Any comments will be gratefully received... to add to my wisdom... :)

Yoga in the mountains

I spent last weekend at Triganos, a centre for interesting workshops within sight of Snowdon, practising Yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gong. The weather was wonderful, our teacher Rose inspiring and the company congenial. (That's Snowdon in the centre background.)

After delicious vegetarian nosh we relaxed in the garden to soak up the warm sun, so welcome after weeks of cold north wind.

it was a most relaxing and inspiring time, without TV, Internet and interruptions.

Roll on my next journey to Scotland next week!

Zummer is a'comin' in... at last!

Sunday dawned without a cloud in the sky and produced the hottest day since last year, at least!

Not a day to exert oneself too much, at least in the heat of the midday sun. So it was mid-afternoon when Phil, Julie and myself were inspired to go for a walk from Phil's caravan in the hills.


After meandering through boggy fields and negotiating barbed wire fences, we finally found our way to the waterfall, which Phil promised would be cool and refreshing. As you can see from these pics, we made the most of it, skinny-dipping in the wonderful cool water.

Even I got in with Julie's help, and Phil took this one on his phone to prove it!

And below... Calender girl for May?

THE FOG

Yesterday, which was supposed to be hot and sunny everywhere, brought a thick fog to Llandudno.


The Orme couldn't be seen from the promenade, as you can see in the first picture but holidaymakers were out doing their thing anyway!


The Fog stayed around most of the morning, finally lifting by late afternoon to let the sun shine through, when I went for a walk along West shore, though you can still see remnants of fog against the hills.

Re-branding

At last I've decided on who I am... and how to market what I have to offer! I have to admit it's not been easy to be objective about myself and over the past few weeks I've tried various ideas only to reject them as too pretentious or whacky. As my sister now has her new website... www.dianeholliday.co.uk, we are no longer under the name of WHO2, which apparently nobody could relate to anyway.

I've been working on my new website... www.patricia-wynne.co.uk and I'd love to know what you think about it. For instance, does this section of one of my photographs convey the idea of freshness and growth? Does the wording tell you what you'd like to know about who I am and what I do?

After all the training I've done and clients I've helped, I've come to realise that my passion is in the area of Personal Development and I think I do have a lot to offer to anyone who desires a more than ordinary life... and is prepared to tread the road less travelled.

I'm offering courses and workshops on the 7-Step Strategy for Transformation, also available as an ebook and online course. My invitation to women to Come to the Edge with me, to discover their true potential, is on again. I hope to hear from anyone who'd appreciate a 1-5 day therapeutic breakthrough intensive in my home in North Wales.

Please feel free to comment or email me at pwynne22@googlemail.com. (I haven't got the email linked to the website as yet.) Thanks for following my adventures... I love you!

Best Laid Plans...

Earlier this year I declared my intention to sell up and buy a motorhome to live in. My Prime Intention was to be able to travel; (one passion,) while visiting people who want to learn how to make their lives better, introducing EFT as far and wide as possible; (my other passion.)

Now, as any coach will tell you, the idea is just the start. Before any goal can become feasible, there is much preparation to be done. Before undertaking any journey, you must assess the cost, investigate the best mode of transport and decide on the time scale, among many other details.

Then you would plan the route, set the SatNav or buy the tickets. Finally, you'd be ready to actually set off. At this point anything could happen to delay your departure; the car might break down, there may be a rail strike, you could oversleep and miss your flight, or a cloud of volcanic dust could appear to ground all aircraft! The best laid plans can go awry, as Burns put it, and the only thing to do is to return to base and start over again.

I still have my goal in sight, but because of the slump in house prices, among other considerations, the plan has to be modified. I would have to raise funds to buy even a small campervan, in order to attend the summer festivals, to raise awareness of the healing power of the mind through EFT.

So I'm still focussed on my INTENTION while working on other projects; networking, seeing clients, writing and my own personal development, while keeping fit by walking and cycling and enjoying the company of my family as much as possible.

I'm progressing one step ata time and am open to whatever happens... and miracles do happen, all the time!

Spring is Springing

It must be spring... in spite of cold winds, the sun is shining, buds are budding, daffodils are blooming and it is gradually warming up.


So instead of writing this blog or anything else, I've been getting out and about... walking and cycling around this peninsula... not too far afield, as yet.

This blog is simply about my gratitude for my life and health; my appreciation of nature in all its aspects... from benign calm to the wildest storm. We did have stormy seas a couple of weeks ago, when the coast was battered about a bit and it was awe-inspiring to see. Didn't get any pictures though.
Spent a couple of days with Julie in her 'hovel in the hills'. (Just joking!) It's very cosy.

Mark's been here and gone again. We had a visit from long-lost 'cousin' Phil and a good time was had by all.

So I trust you're enjoying this spring as much as I am.

A NEW VISION

Well, I've not blogged for a while. The weather is still very cold while being bright and sunny almost every day! The light has been incredible... see recent pics.

This has coincided in the last week with an operation to remove a cataract from my other eye.

It's incredible to see clearly again after the gradual deterioration over recent years. Now I can see clearly again, I'm feeling a surge of energy, ready to put my plans into operation. I'm getting fit again, walking every day and ready to Spring forward.

I have a new vision of future possibilities and am open to miraculous success. Anything is possible and miracles are happening all the time!


Tell me what's happening in your life and what you want to happen... email: pat@who2.co.uk (just ask Pat) and I'll reply ASAP

Home to SNOW

Wrapped up well for a walk in the hills! But I have to say that I'd rather wrap up to keep warm than swelter in too much heat; I'm a real northerner. Its good to feel cool again.

Snowdonia living up to its name! This is the famous view of Snowdon from the old bridge at Bryn Refail.

Next is a long shot of the tucked-away corner of a Welsh field that Rich can call his own!

DOHA

Saturday 3.am local time and I'm here for 6 hours before the final leg of my journey home. The 'quiet room' where one can stretch out on loungers, is overflowing tonight, so I'm sitting in an airport cafe with no food because I have no local money and only Vietnam Dong in my purse! C'est la vie. I did eat on the plane anyway and it is the middle of the night. It's really impossible to sleep here, even in the quiet room, because of constant announcements over the loudspeakers.

I had a taxi to the airport in HCMC, getting there 3 hours early because of fears of serious traffic jams, this being he beginning of Tet, which fears were proved groundless. The flight from Saigon was an hour late setting off but otherwise uneventful, if you can call sitting in a metal tube several thousand feet above terra firma while the world revolves below, uneventful! It seemed that the only moving events were the movies on every screen, many of which were very moving.

I should be landing at Manchester airport in12 hours time, with another hour or so to get home, which makes my total travelling time I think, 32 hours. Oh well, only 14 hours to go... it beats weeks and months at sea anyway. Isn't life amazing in this modern age?

3 days to go...

As I prepare to leave this tropical hothouse and wing my way back to freezing Britain, Vietnam prepares for the Tet New Year holiday.


This morning Ms Hahn and her friend Miss Ha took me to the flower market, which seems to be an important part of the Tet preparations. Miss Ha is an English teacher and her speaking is excellent. She seems to be interested in getting to know Mark a little better!


The Year of the Ox, or Buffalo as its known here, is ending and the Year of the Tiger will begin on Sunday 14th Feb... so for me this is very significant. I'm an Ox, slow and methodical, so I'll be needing the Tiger energy to achieve what I want to do in the next year. The Tiger symbolizes the female Yin energy and I'll be grounding myself in practical matters.

As I pack I'm getting rid of superfluous clothing to make room for trinkets for my grandchildren and hoping they're not in tiny pieces by the time I open my case at home!
At the moment I'm just glad to be in the air-conditioned comfort of Mark's room.