Welcome to justthoughtsnstuff

I started posting to jtns on 20 February 2010 with just one word, 'Mosaic'. This seemed an appropriate introduction to a blog that would juxtapose fragments of memoir and life-writing. Since 1996, I'd been coming to terms with the consequences of emotional and economic abuse that had begun in childhood, and which, amongst other things, had sought to stifle self-expression. While I'd explored some aspects of my life through fiction and, to a lesser extent, journalism, it was only in 2010 that I felt confident enough to write openly about myself. I believed this was an important part of the healing process. Yet within weeks, the final scenes of my family's fifty-year nightmare started to play themselves out and the purpose of the blog became one of survival through writing. Although some posts are about my family's suffering - most explicitly, Life-Writing Talk, with Reference to Trust: A family story - the majority are about happier subjects (including, Bampton in rural west Oxfordshire, where I live, Oxford, where I work, the seasons and the countryside, walking and cycling) and I hope that these, together with their accompanying photos, are enjoyable and positive. Note: In February 2020, on jtns' tenth birthday, I stopped posting to this blog. It is now a contained work of life-writing about ten years of my life. Frank, 21 February 2020.

New blog: morethoughtsnstuff.com.

Sunday, 1 January 2012

cycling, ailments, flea, 2012





Good to cycle this morning--very refreshing.

Feeling much better now--my cold has pretty well gone and problems with my left foot that flared up, painfully, the day after our Badbury walk, have almost subsided.

(Incidentally, it was during the first morning on which my cold was noticeably better that the foot trouble started--I couldn't believe it. Minor ailments have just about spanned the whole holiday but come Tuesday, I shall be as fit as a flea...in time to go back to work.)

Meanwhile I was looking at my New Year post for last year, which was rather gloomy-looking and downbeat about the future. Listening to the news on the radio today, the outlook for 2012 is much worse, but speaking personally I can't imagine that this year will surpass 2011 in terms of family unhappiness and shock. I certainly hope not. Having said that, 2011 was also marked by love and friendship that more than counteracted the sadness, which I am very grateful for.

I'm looking to the future now.

Have a great 2012!

(Pics taken in Jess' garden 1st January 2012--from top: cavolo nero, hebe, winter salads.)
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