Thought for today:
"I have to visit the hospital again today; this time to have a marrow biopsy. This will determine along with my recent node removal for biopsy, how advanced my condition is and whether or not my cancer has spread to the bone. While there are a number of things that one doesn't necessarily look forward to facing, there are fortunately so many things in one's life that one derives much comfort in looking back upon.
There are things in one's life that mean something 'special' to each of us. For once, I refer not to family, people or their qualities of character or their beliefs and values. In the main we all hold these aspects of our life as being 'special.' Instead I refer to special loves in one's life which relate to things that bring great pleasure; things that greatly enrich one's life by their presence in it, things which would represent a significant loss in your life if they were no longer there or you could never experience them again.
For me, such loves which I would find unbearable to be without would be books, art and music, to name but three. Isn't it strange how important a book, a work of art or a piece of music or song can be in shaping the very the very person you started as, who you are presently and the person you will become.
I was a Probation Officer for over 25 years and it was reading the story by Victor Hugo of 'Les Miserables' as a 13-year-old child who was prone to steal which inspired me towards the type of work that was to mean so much to me. I also recall seeing a religious painting of 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci as a young boy. Having been raised an Irish Catholic, I grew up knowing that whilst English ladies and gentlemen didn't discuss certain aspects at the dinner table that the Irish, Italians, French and many other countries didn't practice such constraints, and nor did the Jews in the time of Christ. Hence, I have always believed in the importance of sitting down as a family to eat and talk together about whatever matters most to whomever at the time.
While there are so many beautiful pieces of music or songs which have meant so much to me over the years, one which holds a precious place in my heart is the song that my dear friend, Stuart Merry (a musician and former Head Master from Huddersfield), composed and wrote for my musical play, 'Douglas the Dragon' which the National Lottery paid for me to write and produce in the New Millennium. While I didn't write or compose this song, I was able to produce it to a high professional standard in the recording studio and do it full justice, I believe. The song is sung by my friend; a music teacher and professional singer, Kevin Carville who now lives abroad.
The song is entitled,'You on my mind'. There is a sad section in my 'Douglas the Dragon Musical Play' (which can be freely downloaded from my website) that required a song and piece of music that was suitable for a bereavement scene. In the play, a village is destroyed by an earthquake and half of its inhabitants are killed. Whilst looking through the ruins and rubble of his destroyed home, a man who lost his wife in the earthquake finds a framed photograph of her and as he looks upon her image, he sings to her all of those words that her sudden death deprived him of telling her before she died. Never leave unsaid what you would like to say, as it matters oh so much to the ones you leave behind.
I love the song so much that I would be very pleased to have it at my own funeral." William Forde: March 31st, 2014. Please use the link below to hear.
http://www.fordefables.co.uk/uploads/1/0/1/5/10153721/03_you_on_my_mind.mp3
"I have to visit the hospital again today; this time to have a marrow biopsy. This will determine along with my recent node removal for biopsy, how advanced my condition is and whether or not my cancer has spread to the bone. While there are a number of things that one doesn't necessarily look forward to facing, there are fortunately so many things in one's life that one derives much comfort in looking back upon.
There are things in one's life that mean something 'special' to each of us. For once, I refer not to family, people or their qualities of character or their beliefs and values. In the main we all hold these aspects of our life as being 'special.' Instead I refer to special loves in one's life which relate to things that bring great pleasure; things that greatly enrich one's life by their presence in it, things which would represent a significant loss in your life if they were no longer there or you could never experience them again.
For me, such loves which I would find unbearable to be without would be books, art and music, to name but three. Isn't it strange how important a book, a work of art or a piece of music or song can be in shaping the very the very person you started as, who you are presently and the person you will become.
I was a Probation Officer for over 25 years and it was reading the story by Victor Hugo of 'Les Miserables' as a 13-year-old child who was prone to steal which inspired me towards the type of work that was to mean so much to me. I also recall seeing a religious painting of 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci as a young boy. Having been raised an Irish Catholic, I grew up knowing that whilst English ladies and gentlemen didn't discuss certain aspects at the dinner table that the Irish, Italians, French and many other countries didn't practice such constraints, and nor did the Jews in the time of Christ. Hence, I have always believed in the importance of sitting down as a family to eat and talk together about whatever matters most to whomever at the time.
While there are so many beautiful pieces of music or songs which have meant so much to me over the years, one which holds a precious place in my heart is the song that my dear friend, Stuart Merry (a musician and former Head Master from Huddersfield), composed and wrote for my musical play, 'Douglas the Dragon' which the National Lottery paid for me to write and produce in the New Millennium. While I didn't write or compose this song, I was able to produce it to a high professional standard in the recording studio and do it full justice, I believe. The song is sung by my friend; a music teacher and professional singer, Kevin Carville who now lives abroad.
The song is entitled,'You on my mind'. There is a sad section in my 'Douglas the Dragon Musical Play' (which can be freely downloaded from my website) that required a song and piece of music that was suitable for a bereavement scene. In the play, a village is destroyed by an earthquake and half of its inhabitants are killed. Whilst looking through the ruins and rubble of his destroyed home, a man who lost his wife in the earthquake finds a framed photograph of her and as he looks upon her image, he sings to her all of those words that her sudden death deprived him of telling her before she died. Never leave unsaid what you would like to say, as it matters oh so much to the ones you leave behind.
I love the song so much that I would be very pleased to have it at my own funeral." William Forde: March 31st, 2014. Please use the link below to hear.
http://www.fordefables.co.uk/uploads/1/0/1/5/10153721/03_you_on_my_mind.mp3