Sunday 12 January 2014

Back in the world.

When I started writing this blog, a friend of mine, who'd been instrumental in helping me set it all up in the first place, told me I shouldn't attempt to blog about absolutely everything I do, as it would simply be impossible to keep on top of. And, while I certainly took that advice on board, inside I kind of considered it to be something of a challenge: of course I could do it if I really tried ... couldn't I? But ultimately, the truth of the matter was, my friend was right. With two jobs that collectively take up six days of my week and a social life that once prompted Matt Brown, founder of the Londonist website, to once remark to me "Even I don't go out that much!", it was always going to be an uphill struggle finding the time to write about my activities.

Initially, the blog writing started fairly well, but then tapered off a bit as I became busier and busier. This continued for a few months, and then, something terrible happened. Completely unexpectedly, in the middle of last year, my mother had a fall at her home and was taken to hospital. A very difficult period followed, culminating, sadly, in her passing away in September. She never made it back home. I was devastated. I had spent the last six days of her life by her bedside. In the months leading up to that moment, I had endeavoured to continue with my cultural/social pursuits. I was aware she derived pleasure from the fact that I wasn't taking life for granted and that I was always out and about and this knowledge kept pushing me forward, as I tried to continue with normality. And it was nice from time to time to be able to tell her all about my activities and she seemed to enjoy hearing my stories. Now, she has gone, and it's more important than ever that I keep busy and continue doing the things I love.  

In terms of the blog, which had already been quite a demand before, after my mother's fall, it naturally dried up altogether. But now, here we are, a new year just begun, and I have finally reached a place where I feel ready to begin writing some new entries again. 

People still seem to be reading the older entries, which has been a very pleasant and unexpected surprise, but I hope I can now provide some newer posts for those who enjoy them (and it appears there are one or two of you out there). I hope you'll bear with me while I get back up to speed. 

It's good to be back in the world again.