Blog Archives - FordeFables

June 29th, 2014.

30/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Don't put things off that ever need doing, for as my dear old mum used to say, 'There is no time like the present, Billy!' As for youngsters today, the sooner they discover what job they would like to persue upon leaving school, the better!

Had I never become a Probation Officer in earlier life, I would have most certainly taken time out to be a teacher of children. I don't know about you, but I reckon that the profession earns good money, enjoys holidays as long as a politician's promise and rewards the retiree with a gold-plated pension package before they get past middle age and still have the physical wherewithall to enjoy it.

I would have thought that in today's economic times that such a salary package is a good enough incentive to work at the chalk face. My dear old dad also worked at the chalk face for ten years of his life at one third of the pay that teachers earn, but he was only extracting coal from the rocks and not sense from a little one's head.

I have just been looking up the recent pay scales for teachers in England and Wales (excluding London). By September 1st, 2013, they started at £21,804 for snotty-nosed graduates and unless sacked (which is as rare today as snow storms in Jamaica), they receive an annual pay scale rise up to £37,124 which is automatic. Then, (wait for it), they can apply for, and usually receive additional pay for 'Teaching and Learning Responsibilites.'

This additional 'top up' amounts to an annual minimum of £7,397 or £12,517 maximum. When I tried to ascertain what such 'additional responsibilties' were defined as, I was simply flabbergasted. They are in short, no more than a circuitous means of giving more money to stressed staff who the head of school doesn't want to lose for simply being seen to do their teaching job well. I was also surprised to discover that the head has extensive power to interpret such responsibilities and that even teaching toddlers to tell the time could possibly qualify for a minimum 'Teaching and Learning Responsibilty' pay grade being added as a little monthly bonus.

I don't know about you lot out there who are filling the shelves at McDonalds (Yes, you without CSE grades and those graduates who cannot find employment upon leaving university), but I reckon that most good teaching merely involves a bit of preparation, a smidgen of knowledge and the limited ability and skill to apply; along with having the proper tools for the job of course!

I taught all my children in less than five minutes each how to tell the time before they were two years old with the aid of my special kiddie's clock that I purchased at Woolworths for a few shillings in the 1960s. They all picked it up as easy as the teacher's collect their fat monthly pay packets." (Tongue in cheek 'Thought for today. Only joking, Miss Wigglesworth!'). William Forde: June 29th, 2014.

June 28th, 2014.

29/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Many hands and positive minds are capable of performing immeasurable acts of boundless love. The spirits of the depressed can be lifted with no more than a gentle touch of sensitivity and a bit of understanding. Life friendships can be formed in one moment of kindness to a stranger's needs, lifting heavy hearts to heaven with an abundance of unmeasured love. Helpful hands and hopeful souls can shape the world into eternal happiness and entwine the vast goodness of human resources for common good.

But break this love bond and the same hands are capable of killing and doing all manner of heinous deed. The power of love is infinite. It is the source of all things positive in life and lives in the heart of 'goodness.' For it is only love that makes the world go round and which will keep it spinning in perpetual motion. It is only love for each other that truly redeems and saves mankind. It is only love which God made us born to be." William Forde: June 28th, 2014.

June 27th, 2014.

28/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Today is the birthday of my youngest brother Michael who is the spitting image of the Irish comedien Dara O'Briain.

While my brother Michael was born in England and not Ireland, I have it on good authority that we enjoy the same parentage, which is more than could be said for many a chap, wherever he was born.

The four boys in the Forde family have a perennial joke as to whether or not all four of us were born of the same dad. I keep telling them that I know who my parents were and where I was conceived as my mother told me when I once asked her; but as for the parentage of any of my mum's other three boys, I couldn't place my hand on the bible in all truthfulness. For all I know she could have once bumped into Dara O'Briain's father in the emerald Isle and they might have done this or that for a bit of craic?

Happy Birthday Michael. I love you Michael. Your big brother Billy x" William Forde: June 27th, 2014.

June 26th, 2014

27/6/2014

Thought for today:
'Reflections' A short poem by William Forde: Copyright June, 2014.

"When I look back to my youth, did the budding being I then saw clearly emerge to my satisfaction or was I disappointed with the man who eventually turned up?

When I am breathing my last, shall I be able to look favourably upon those figures and faint images at the end of my bed, knowing that I loved and served them as 'a good man' or will I expire this life knowing myself as nothing more than the sad apology of that potential being I first saw in the puddle of my youth?

Who truly can measure the accuracy of one's memory and the machinations of one's mind as past is often coloured with false recall and future with deceitful hopes.We can but trust in self to steer the true course."

" Copyright: William Forde: June 26th, 2014.

June 26th, 2014

26/6/2014

June 25th,2001.

26/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Yesterday was a good day in many respects. It started off great with lunch in the park, followed by a trip to Knaresborough with Sheila and my son Will and his wife Eve who are visiting from Australia. This was followed by a nice cafe break and then an hour being rowed on the river. Then it was a nice ride to the Dales with a lovely hour spent outside a Grassington pub.

By the way home on the windy Dales roads all the toxins inside my body started to play up so I stayed at home in the evening while they went out for a meal. By bedtime I felt washed out and quite shitty. I had to re-look at the calander to reassure myself that it was a Tuesday and not a Friday the 13th which had just rounded off an otherwise super day off with a vengeance.

For all of you superstitious folk out there who haver never walked beneath a ladder, stepped on a pavement crack or crossed a black cat, then you can relax for a while longer yet. You will be pleased to learn that it will be next year; in the month of February 2015 before a Friday the 13th next comes around.

So in the meantime, try to unwind a little and attempt to get a more rational perspectve on your life and your lot in it. The next time that a flock of birds fly overhead (whatever day or date it happens to fall on), just take a deep breath and tell yourself in a non-chalant way that it is in the 'manna' of all things that fall from heaven that occasionally 'Shit happens.'" William Forde" June 25th, 2014.

June 24th, 2014

24/6/2014

Thought for today:
"I can never understand why those psychologists and matrimonial guidance counsellors in the West think that they were the first ones to come up with the concept of advising rowing couples to 'Take time out' as a means of resolving domestic issues.

There's nothing new in this. Men with wifely ear-ache have been seeking refuge in the pub, in their garden shed or down at the allotments for centuries past while wives have visited friends houses or other establishments to rid themselves of their hysterical husbands.

I even understand that couples in Indonesia and the Polynesian Islands have found it just as effective to achieve their 'time out' during the past four hundred years simply by sitting at opposite sides of a tree trunk. This process inevitably leads the warring couple talking to each other with their backs to each other. During this process, they 'get it out of their system' what they think is currently wrong with their relationship, even if it involves hurtful truths. They believe that giving criticism comes easier when one isnt looking directly at the person they are criticising. They also believe that listening to severe criticism of oneself with backs turned, forces the offending person to be less dismissive of what they hear and leads them to consider their action from a more balanced perspective; thereby being more willing to amend their ways. They found that this method of 'time out' makes it possible to look at life from a different direction and finish up happily looking at one another again!"

It is in short what modern therapists would call 'emotional distancing' and charge you £40 for the knowledge and which is totally unnecessary, especially in these economic-lean times. In fact, it could be said to be a 'rip off.' Far better instead to simply advise both disputing partners to find an old tree trunk and sort it out on your own and save their money for a celebratory drink and make-up meal out afterwards." William Forde: June 24th, 2014.

June 23rd, 2014.

24/6/2014

Thought for today:
"There are some days in our existence when we may start to feel that we are too far away from where or who we want to be. It's as though our lives and dreams are turning to dust and we feel powerless to change anything bad in this often cruel world we live in.

Yet, even during the bleakest days of our recent history when Man's inhumanity towards their fellow being seemed to have been abandoned in the cesspits of desolation and despair; even then the birds sang out their song though they sang their warning in vain as the rest of Europe closed its ears and eyes to the horrors of war that was taken place on their continental doorstep as six million Jews were executed in the Nazi concentration camps.

And when the war was over and the trees surrounding the Belson Camp grew new greenary and the nearby fields and meadows were populated by wild flowers once more, then the birds sang out a new song of hope and lasting peace as they nestled among the branches. Yes, even after the heaviest of storms, birds start singing once more, and why they sing is simply because they have a song to sing; as do we all.

So take heart in the future of mankind and in your own destiny. Take a deep fresh breath into your lungs and sing out your song of life; a song that is unique to you and what you stand for, because you believe that such and such is worth standing for and singing about. Have a lovely day." William Forde: June 23rd, 2014.

June 22nd, 2014.

22/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Unhappy people always tend to focus upon time ahead instead of the time they are currently living. Consequently, much of their Sundays will be wasted thinking about 'horrible Mondays.' When a person hates the start of their week, they are often unknowingly expressing a dislike for their life in general as opposed to having a distinct preference for weekends in particular.

People unhappy at home will always take their unhappiness into their job or school with them every day; particularly on a Monday morning. Unfortunately, people unhappy at work will also take their unhappiness back into their homes with them, especially every weekend. It isn't that they choose to do so, but merely that they cannot help doing so! Indeed, Mondays will become a scapegoat for their otherwise unfulfilled lives; yet weekends won't prove any different despite their constant wishing for it to come round again.

Consider for one moment their week. They will hum and har and fart about all Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, constantly expressing a wish for Friday to 'roll on.' It will usually be Thursday before they force themselves to do a proper day's work and they will only do that in the certain knowledge that tomorrow is the last working day of their week and they have the full weekend to relax.

On Friday evening they will eventually get back home after battling with the traffic congestion. Upon arrival home they will find the house dimly lit. They will not find a table set for two when they open the house door, no meal ready to be served and eaten in the pleasant ambiance of soft lighting, no scented candles and loving music playing in the background as the cork on a new wine bottle is popped open and the contents slowly poured. Instead they will return to an empty house and an unhappy home.

On the mantle place will be a scibbled note that simply says, 'See you later after evening class.There's a pork pie in the fridge if you get peckish before I'm back.See you around 9.30pm.'

If I'm peckished?' It is at this precise moment that the weekend atmostphere is suddenly filled with all manner of swearing and profanity as the lonely husband thinks about his missus attending her yoga class with her girl friends; she who hadn't the time in her busy daily schedule to even leave him a simple sandwich prepared before she went off galavanting with her friends!

With the pork pie partly eaten, he flops onto the sofa to watch a bit of footie on the tv and relax. No bloody chance! The door bell rings and cousins he hasn't seen for fifteen years and couldn't care less about decide to make a surprise visit, accompanied by their four snotty-nosed kids and cocker spaniel who has developed the unfortunate habit of mistaking human legs for lamp posts.Then the telephone starts ringing.

As he allows his long lost cousin and tribe to come in and trash the family home while he answers that blasted phone again that will just not stop ringing after 6pm every Friday evening, his ears are filled with gentle hatred. He hears a pleasant and jolly voice at the other end of the line from some call-centre sale's-worker who is just starting his weekend shift on minimum wage. This friendly caller seems very eager to tell him his Christian name and expresses a desire to know his in return before he feels comfortable continuing with his sales chat. The caller seems desirious to tell him about his firm's latest offer which is just 'too good' to miss, especially as their number has been selected for preferential consideration from all the people in their area.

The harrassed husband tries to end the call, but having just made his acquaintance, the call-centre caller seems most reluctant to lose such a 'close' relationship so quickly, especially before he's had the chance to promote his 'offer of the week' and clinch a sale.

He pretends that there's someone at the door and slams the phone down, only to find that before the phone hits the receiver, the door bell has rung again. This time it's the window cleaner who wants his money as the missus
had no change on her when he washed them on Tuesday afternoon. Of course she didn't; I mean why should she? Why should any woman ever need access to a purse she never opens in her husband's presence? Why waste time having any money about her when all she wants can be acquired by the mere production of a credit card or a few whispered sweet nothings in her husbands ear on a Friday night in bed?

After paying off the window cleaner yet again, he sighs and returns to his settee and football match which he now finds is filled by his long, lost cousins enjoying the match between hushing their kids and watching their dog piss in the geranium plant pot by the window.

By the time the missus returns home at 10.30pm having had a quick four gin and tonics with the girls after class before coming back home, the poor chap is in bed snoring his head off when the bedroom light is switched on and he hears a babbling in the background as his missus starts telling him about something or someone who he couldn't care a tinker's curse about .

Saturday morning arrives and the birds tweeting in the garden wakes the man up. His thoughts instantly focus on a relaxing Saturday, but quickly vanish into the distant mist as the missus wakes him up and gives him a list of weekend jobs that need to be done without fail and won't stop talking until he acknowledge that he's heard her and will promise to do them.

Saturday chores tire him out and by evening he is completely washed out and goes to bed early without even watching 'Match of the Day.' As he sinks into the sheets for a good night's sleep' his wife decides to join him for an early night. She slips off her clothes and throws them on the floor and starts whispering sweet nothings in his ear. He turns his back on her and feigns a blinding headache before pretending to be asleep. It might be her Saturday night to her, but to all intents and purposes, it's no different than his Monday mornings!" William Forde:June 22nd, 2014.

June 21st, 2014

22/6/2014

Thought for today:
"If you stick by me and watch and listen carefully, then you too shall grow up wise, Olly because I will teach you everything that Miss Wigglesworth has taught me in class.

My teacher, Miss Wigglesworth says that the wisest birds of all are those who get up in time for school, wash behind their ears, eat all their porridge placed before them and take pride in their daily appearance. And she ought to know, because Miss Wigglesworth is my teacher. She is a brain box and she knows absolutely everything!

Miss Wigglesworth says that to succeed in life you need three things. You need a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone. Miss Wigglesworth makes me laugh! She gave me a wishbone yesterday and said I already had the other two. Last week I fell in the playground and grazed my knee. Miss Wigglesworth gave it a magic rub and made it better. Miss Wigglesworth says that sometimes bad things happen in life and that she once knew a little girl who got a splinter in her bottom sliding down a rainbow. Miss Wigglesworth is a brainbox and knows absolutely everything there is to know!

We had Sports Day at school last week and me and Katie Brown came last in the three-legged race and cried. Miss wigglesworth gave us both a cuiddle and said, 'Well done, Rosie and Katie.' I told her that I wish we could run it again and if we could we'd run faster, but she said, 'There's always next year's Sports Day Rosie and Katie. We can't turn the clock back, but we can always rewind it and have another go.' We told her that our mums were watching the race and it would have been so nice if we could have finished anywhere except in last place. Miss Wigglesworth said that we should forget about it and not worry because things turn out best for those people who make the best of the way things turn out. I didn't quite understand that but it sounded clever!

Miss Wigglesworth knows how to talk properly and while I can understand her nearly all the time, sometimes she talks funny. In class yesterday we were talking about our pets and I told her about my puppy dog Patch. I told her that I'm sure he's clever, but he won't learn to take the ball from my hand when I hold it out for him. Miss Wigglesworth said,'If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it and put the ball in his mouth to start with.'

Miss Wigglesworth may be a clever brainbox, but even she sometimes says stupid things. I wasn't talking about ships or going swimming. I wonder if she was tickling my funny bone?'' William Forde: June 21st, 2014.

June 20th, 2014.

20/6/2014

Thought for today:
"In today's age of instant gratification, the 'must have now' mentality in virtually all things has supplanted one's ability to wait for the right moment.

Given that immediate consequences can now be prevented and forstalled by the birth control pill, any other contraceptive, the morning after pill or in the final anaylisis, abortion, 'not waiting' seems to hold little sanction and therefore militates against all young men and women 'holding out' longer.

And yet, who can dispute that the best things deserve the wait and invariably reward one ten fold for having done so. This is illustrated graphically by both the concept and description of love by today's youth. No longer is there a place for 'Falling in love' as falling implies a wait until one eventually arrives at one's destination. Today, one is either 'in love' or 'out of love' with no inbetween.

As the accomplished parachutist knows 'falling' is not the only part of the jump. Preparation and safe landing are also crucial parts of this combined experience. However, 'falling' is the sheer thrill one feels and also provides the crucial experience of looking around and familiarising oneself with the landscape and territory one is entering. This is vital if one is to avoid any unneccessary pitfalls upon landing. Landing safely on one's feet after a sometimes bumpy ride is undoubtedly the accomplishment of a job well done. Marriage is no different when one thinks about it, is it?

Falling in love enables a man to delay his gratification until the flower is ready to blossom, for as any true gardener knows, it is only after full bloom can one delight in seeing the petals fall to ground. So hold off until that time when final commitment is inevitable if you've got the will power and the flower will smell all the sweeter for having waited for the show.

On the other hand, if you have no will power and care not where you end up, then content yourself with nothing more but the bare stem of married conjugality. That's like having the soul mate without the soul or a fallen angel without wings." William Forde: June 20th, 2014.

June 19th, 2014.

19/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Today is a good day all round. This evening I collect my son William and his wife off the Manchester plane from Australia. They are staying with us for three weeks. So if England win tonight, it will be especially good.

Also today is my sister Eileen's birthday. I won't embarrass her by disclosing her age apart from to say that she is still on the far edge of her sixties and approaching the precipice of her seventies.

When we were growing up, of the seven children born to our parents, me, Mary and Eileen were born in Ireland. Indeed, were the same laws to have applied then as apply today, my parents would have undoubtedly been sent to prison for making me, Mary and Eileen share the same bed until I was aged nine in our three bedroomed council house in Liversedge, West Yorkshire. Such a practice was considered common then within large families as was the covering of coats upon the bed to act as covers along with numerous other practices that would undoubtedly be frowned upon today.

I can honestly say as a person having grown up three-in-a-bed that the three eldest in our family grew up happy and well balanced individuals despite any material privations. I am also of the opinion that being so close to each other then probably kept us closer ever since. One particular nightime activity we engaged in was the scratching of each other's backs. We would scratch the back of the person to our right one hundred times and then turn round and scratch the back of the person on our left one hundred times before we went to sleep. Naturally, the suggestion of this practice came from myself as I always slept in the middle.

The most dangerous game we ever played in bed though was seeing who would invoke the wrath of my father by being caught shouting. I would go first and whisper the words 'Stupid dad.' Then our Mary would go next followed by Eileen's turn. The only two rules to this game was that each person who said 'Stupid dad' had to say the words louder than the person before them. Fail to say the words louder than the person before you had said them and you had to say the words an additional time before the challenge was passed on to the next sibling in line. The one that my father 'heard' shout out ,'Stupid dad' was always the one who he clouted when he ran up the stairs to chastise his noisy children.

Unfortunatly, it always seemed to be our Eileen who was caught in the act shouting the loudest and while she got a right whalloping, myself and our Mary would pretend to be asleep as we held tight our fits of laughter which we let out after dad had returned back downstairs.

Poor Eileen. How strange is the difference that a year can make when one is third in line of the family pecking order. Happy birthday little sister. I love you Eileen......I LOVE YOU EILEEN.......I LOVE YOU EILEEN......I LOVE YOU EILEEN.....I LOVE YOU EILEEN...I LOVE YOU EILEEN." William Forde: June 19th, 2014.

June 18th,2014

19/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Never place in doubt for one moment the pulling power of a loving hand, whether it be seen in the arms of protection, the affection of a pet, the family bond of sisterhood or even in the most famous of stranger meetings of the century where one public embrace to celebrate the end of the 'Second World War' will endure in image form for a hundred years to come.

All the unspoken feelings conveyed in a cuddle, every benefit derived from one and any positive communication one could possibly make; all can be captured in the short time it takes to embrace one another in love and peace.

So stand not on ceremony the next time you want to be 'as one' for a moment in time with the person next to you." William Forde: June 18th, 2014.

June 17th, 2014.

18/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Today is my sister Mary's 70th birthday. Initially me and Sheila were due to spend a week in Cornwall with her and Richard, but unfortunately my current six month course of chemotheraphy put paid to those plans.

Being the eldest girl in the family, our Mary (far left on the front row), seemed to naturally slot into place and take over the role that was once exercised by our mother when she lived; that of organizer, planner of all family party dos and chief bottle washer. Any newcomer into the family such as a brother or sister's new partner, whilst needing the collective approval of all seven siblings before social acceptance was granted, without the moral approval of our Mary (who has never as much parked on a double yellow line or walked on a pavement crack without crossing her fingers), the newcomer to the family will never have their name inscribed within the family bible.

Happy birthday sister and have a marvellous day. Please note Mary, that Sainthood may still be a distance off yet as in this rare family snapshot of the seven of us, it seems to be your younger sister Eileen beside you who is wearing the halo. Love you. Your older brother Billy xxx Ps You don't look a day older than your younger sister Eileen and please note that all my three younger brothers are now weightier than me and are balder!" William Forde: June 17th, 2014.

June 16th, 2014.

17/6/2014

Thought for today:
"I say Rory, will you pass along a message the new guy Fred at the end; him who's hanging on to that girder like a long lost sheep who's just found a new grazing patch to park his ass. Just tell him that he got my sandwich order wrong and that I asked him to get me a ham on rye in brown bread and not a ham and cheese stromboli. Tell him to nip back to the delicatessen and change it before our lunch break ends and they've sold out. These new guys are hopeless!" William Forde: June 16th, 2014.

June 15th, 2014.

15/6/2014

Thought for today:
"One of the most powerful messages that one can ever truly receive is that, 'Jesus loves you.' For what it's worth, I tell you that if you can let Jesus into your life, you will allow everyone into it and keep none at bay.

I don't particularly consider myself a bible basher or bible pusher for that matter, and having read the good books from Genesis through to Deuteronomy and the Book of Revelation when working as a Mill Manager on night shift for four years merely promped me to ask more questions as I grew older as opposed to providing me with answers.

There is simply no way though that I could ever conceive the creation of the earth and planets through any scientific answer alone without there having been some divine or spiritual dimension to 'The big bang.' All one has to do is to look at nature, the cycle of the seasons, the procreation of all animal and marine life, the birth of a baby, the genetic link between the past and the present; even the compassion of one stranger towards another to know that mankind exists for some purpose beyond themselves and for some reason that no logic can ever explain to one's complete satisfaction.

And should it turn out that there is no God, then surely living a Christian life wherever possible cannot have harmed a living soul and will have instead made the life of others far better than worse. After all, when one makes the ordinary come alive, the extraordinary takes care of itself.

Only those who die truly know if there is a life hereafter, but it certainly fits my way of life and comforts me enormously to believe that there is." William Forde: June 15th, 2014.

June 14th, 2014

15/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Even clowns can fall in love, but it is no less sad for them when the relationship breaks up than it is for you or I. Beware the tears of a clown!

Have you ever wondered whether clowns are indeed happy people or do they simply paint themselves a smiley face to disguise the deep sadness they hold, but do not share with any audience? Is that big red nose they wear no more than a mask of their amusement; a form of cosmetic concealmeant of the anguish they genuinely feel?

I have worked with and known a number of life's constant jokers in my time, but have never yet come across one that I could describe as being a happy and truly satisfied individual. I recall working with one Probation Officer called 'S' who was the life and soul of every office party and outing we went on. He was a happy go lucky chappie. He was forever joking and pulling pranks and came across as being casual and carefree in a crisis where others might usually panic. He was a non-threatening man whom everyone instantly liked upon first meeting. Not once did I or any of my colleagues ever meet his wife to whom he'd been married for thirty years. Everyone loved 'S' and I don't ever recall anyone ever saying a negative word about him apart from the occasional joke about his laid-back manner which some thought to be too casual on occasions to be true.

As most things that look too good to be true inavariable aren't, neither was his disposition. Suddenly one week we learned that 'S' had packed in the job without serving out his notice on the grounds of ill health and had left the area. It later transpired months after his sudden departure that he had a mountain of problems of a personal, financial and professional nature that would have demoralised and depressed anyone.

We later learned that his wife had been bedbound for five years or more with a dibilitating and wasting muscle disorder and that he'd borrowed heavilly to pay household and additional medical expenses. His wife would be cared for during his absence at work by his a neighbour whom he paid for this supervising service. His debts had mounted and mortgage foreclosure had been looming for nearly eight months. Throughout these years he had maintained that sham that all was right in Denmark and never once did he fail to pay his round in the pub or miss contributing to a colleague's leaving do or birthday present.

We also learned that 'S' performed his job and lived his daily life under a handicap that none of us could have possibly imagined. For many years he had suffered with bi-polar disorder which used to be more commonly known as manic depression. As the name suggests, someone with bipolar disorder will have severe mood swings which can often last several weeks or months and which are far beyond what most of us ever experience. During such periods when this genetic condition is at its worse, it invariably produces intense feelings of depression and can even lead the sufferer to have suicidal thoughts. The most common feature however, is the severe mood swings it produces between a manic high and a despairing low; between total restlessness and frenzied overactivity.

For over two years of the time that I knew 'S,' he used to volunteer to work as an assistant in my weekly 'Relaxation Training Group Sessions' that I ran for over twenty five years. I now realised why he found this involvement very helpful, although he never indicated his own condition to me apart from saying, 'I wouldn't mind being able to relax a bit better, Bill.'

The next time you see someone who always seems to be clowning around or who comes across as the life and soul of the party, beware of the heartache they might be shielding behind that mask of a clown. Below is one of my favourite songs by the late Robin Gibbs of The Bee Gees which epitomises my 'Thought for today', called. 'I started a joke....' Please enjoy:" http://youtu.be/KSxuvNGSrmc " William Forde" June 14th, 2014.

June 13th, 2014.

14/6/2014

Thought for today:
"I was reading in the newspapers yesterday that the whole of Great Britain is in for a full month of scorching summer weather. While I know of the great strides which have been made in the field of weather forcasting accuracy since Michael Fish made that blunder when he missed the great storm of 1987, I still find the forecasts harder to believe in than an athiest may find God.

My advice to all and sundry is as soon as you see the sun cracking the flags and a fine day in prospect, go for it and enjoy it to its fullest!" William Forde: June 13th, 2014.

June 12th, 2014.

13/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Today I go into hospital for the day to start my third monthly cycle of a six-month course of chemotherapy treatment and so far I have been pleasantly surprised that my side effects have been minimal. Indeed, apart from being largely confined to the house while my immunisation is virtually nil, a bit of tiredness and the occasional bout of nausea, I have absolutely nothing to complain about and much to celebrate.

This weekend I shall be visited by my children, Adam from London, Becky from Sussex and Matthew from Mirfield for Father's Sunday and next week my son William and his wife Eve will be visiting from Australia for a three week stay with us along with Eve's parents. I look forward to seeing them all. There is also a family barbecue next week at my brother Peter's house to celebrate the birthday of four siblings this month.

It is during such trying times in one's life that one's perspective is placed under closer examination and is reappraised. According to Chinese tradition, the year 2014 is the 'Year of the Horse' and having been born during a previous Chinese 'Year of the Horse' (1942), this year is my lucky year.

The most important thing which I have learnt this year is the simple truth that there is never a need in this world for anyone 'to be alone.' I have been reminded of the true importance of family and friends who are always there for you during times of trial, providing you don't actively keep them out of your life. To have the support system of people for whom you care and love is an immeasurable asset in one's armoury of survival and is the most precious of all one's possessions. To know that you are cared for and loved in return is equally priceless.

I am blessed to be loved and cared for by so many people and I'd go so far as to say that discovering this anew has almost been worth having cancer for. I want to thank all of my family and friends who are making sure that I do not travel this road alone. I am truly grateful for all your prayers, touched by your concern and greatly appreciative of your advice and ongoing support. Knowing that there is always someone beside me to turn to is the most reassuring of blessings to have and is an experience which isolation can never allow. Above all, I thank my wife Sheila for her love and constancy of goodness in all she does for me; she is my rock.

One thing about having a diagnosed terminal illness is that it does provide an additional opportunity to truly help another in their time of doubt. I want to remind everyone out there who has a health or happiness issue that there is never any reason why any person in this world should ever feel alone 'unless they wish it so.' I want to say to anyone out there who is concerned about their health or happiness in any way to keep family and friends forever close, especially if you want to remain close to your heaven on earth and your God in heaven. I love you all. Thank you for being there for me." William Forde: June 12th, 2014.

June 11th, 2014.

12/6/2014

Thought for today:
"In a world where forgery so often stands alongside the genuine article, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the two. However much others may seek to deceive and fool us though, true love never will deceive, for it cannot be concealed in the confetti of a sham marriage or conterfeited in the coin of deceit.

Your children will sense when it is within their parents' relationship and also when it isn't. Its presence or absence in their innocent eyes will mould the characters they will one day become and how respectful and sensitive you are in your marital relationship will determine the essense and quality of bond which they establish with their partners in life. I include below my poem,

'Love is.....' by William Forde: Text Copyright June 2014.

Love is good, kind, gentle and sincere.
It is given freely and is given best when it is given without expectation of return.
It cares, but never minds and is capable of enduring all trial and tribulation of the heart and soul.
Love is a treasure to behold.
It endures long after it has been passed on to another and in its growth anew, it will always pass the test of time.

If love be anything, love is bold; for if bold it be not, then love it isn't.
Love is to truth, what sun is to moon and earth is to sky and you are to me. Love is my soul mate and forever shall be
my shadow of protective purpose, my eternal destiny.

I love you most dearly and I always will.
Sleep ever so tight my love and stay still in my arms.
Stay wrapped warm around me throughout this next night
and if I wake up beside you to start a new day,
I'll know heaven once more.'"

William Forde: June 11th, 2014.

June 10th,2014

11/6/2014

Thought for today:
"When I was young all things were possible and I could skip across the sky. Now in my seasoned years of retirement, I can recall my past as though it was yesterday and place my body in readiness to accept the advancement of old age when it arrives upon my doorstep. For it is only when you try to hold back the passage of time that you realise it goes too fast. However, accept its passing gracefully and you shall stay forever young in your mind's eye." William Forde: June 10th, 2014.
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June 9th, 2014.

10/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Whether one be born squaw or brave, all sexes and all peoples from all nations have the right to sit inside the tepee of judgement, wisdom and understanding and make the decisions for their tribe. For it is only through full access and equal rights and regard in all things that all laws made can be justly applied to all men and women in the land: thereby ensuring that the Nation's freedom continues and that the tent of civilisation and progress will not collapse about us" William Forde: June 9th, 2014.

June 8th, 2014.

8/6/2014

Thought for today:

A poem for children called, 'A Child's If?' : Copyright William Forde: June 8th, 2014.

"If polar bears could read out loud and girls skip across the sky,
If only life went on and on and man was never born to die.
If hearts were never broken,nor stomachs left unfed,
or harsh words never spoken against the living or the dead.
If man could love his neighbour and East truly meet the West,
If no one ever learned to fail and no one was the best.
If such a place were ever found where all were free to go,
We'd find a heaven here on earth beneath the starry snow." William Forde: June 8th, 2014.

June 7th, 2014.

8/6/2014

Thought for today:
"So often we spend so much money travelling thousands of miles to see beautiful sites when we have an abundance of beautiful places on our own doorstep to see in wonderful Yorkshire. The flowers to be found in the highlands of the eastern hemishere may be rarer and more exotic, but do they smell any better than the wild heather on Halifax moorland or look as fetching to Nature's eye?

Whatever other places outside Yorkshire has to offer the happy rambler, I doubt they are as accessible than can be found within a twenty mile radius of Haworth. Who could possibly doubt that the views we offer in Yorkshire can ever be beaten whatever the weather or the season? Allgäu in southern Germany may well be regarded by many as the gateway to the Alps, but can anyone doubt Haworth in West Yorkshire with its easy access to the Dales, the Lakes, the Pennines and surrounding moorlands is any less than the gateway to God's country?

So hurry on summer, for we have waited far too long to taste thy wild and wonderous walks across Yorkshire and its countryside. All hail and hearty ramblers from Haworth Heath await your coming." William Forde: June 7th, 2014.

June 6th, 2014.

7/6/2014

Thought for today:
"Today is the anniversary of 'D-Day,' a day that should never be forgotten in the annals of British History. On this day seventy years ago, the Allies launched their combined invasion of the Beaches of Normandy. The calendar at the time read, June 6th, 1944.

During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. The battle began on June 6th, 1944 and was known as 'D-Day.' The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment, along with an airborne assault and the landing of 24,000 British, US and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Within the next day, over 4,000 deaths and almost 8,000 casualties would have been inflicted upon the Brtish and Allied forces.

In this amphibious landing of the sands, a combined Allied force of 156,000 soldiers landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called 'the beginning of the end of war in Europe.'

Let us all who enjoy democracy and freedom today never forget the debt owed to and the price paid by all of those valiant soldiers who took part in this invasion. Let us also remember with pride, all of the British and their allies who lived through and served in the 'Second World War' both on the battle fields abroad and in the factories and on the streets at home. Without their magnificient efforts in the munition factories, mills, on the farms and in the country's fields, victory abroad would not have been possible and neither would life at home been tolerable and sustainable, nor the country's morale held high in times so low.

If ever the British young of today should seek reason for pride in their country and respect in their pensioner, look no farther than those who lived and died in June, 1944 and those who live on in this country today into grand old age. Do not forget!

During the 1990s, I wrote 'Robin and the Rubicelle Fusiliers', a story which recounts London during the Blitz and is suitable for the 9-90 reader. This was one of my books that Dame Vera Lynne read to school children in her area of Ditchling, Sussex. It costs a nominal price of $1 from all reputable e-book providers. All money goes to charity" William Forde: June 6th, 2014.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94818