I’ve been suffering off and on with neck pain since I had a fall two years ago and for the past three months it’s been unbearable at times. One day last week it was the worst it’s been since it began so I phoned the surgery and, to my amazement, secured a face-to-face appointment with a GP! This has been virtually impossible since the Covid Era began! And it wasn’t even a life-or-death thing. I’d simply explained that I would like to discuss a referral to a Pain Clinic with a GP and Voila! Appointment next Tuesday! I checked my online account at the practice and there it was in black and white. I hadn’t dreamt it.

I am hopeful that I’m heading for the end of a period of utter misery of self-management that hasn’t worked. It feels like a light coming on after 12 weeks of physio exercises, 4-hourly painkillers, herbal heat patches (from China – useful as it turned out!), a posture corrector, a neck stretcher, and any other thing short of chopping my head off. 

I can recommend the herbal patches as an aid to pain relief that will offer comfort enough to induce several hours sleep.

Two things I’ve hated most about this debilitating episode are that I haven’t been able to indulge in my passion for circle-dancing and have had to cut down my writing time because both activities cause me too much pain. My brain is mushy because of lack of sleep so I’ve been a bit fed up with myself.

However, January is always a bit of a weird month.

My memoir in progress news…

I did manage to complete a short memoir course I signed up for in January – 3 sessions on Zoom – but missed the first one as I had to come off a few times and go back in – the internet was an awful connection. I learned quite a lot of interesting and useful stuff and had some good feedback on my assignments, one of which was my first chapter. The tutor, a memoirist, offered her email address for me to send work in progress to her for reading after the course ended…if I wanted to.  Of course, I did! Thank you very much!

I learned so much on this short course and intend to use the knowledge gained to improve what I’ve written so far by editing out incidentals I don’t need where I’ve been inclined to lead the reader rather than let the reader into the story. 

I’ve decided to include poetry within my story to enhance the richness of the emotion felt by the characters and, hopefully, the reader(s). This was something I wanted initially and now know how better to include this more naturally. I’m looking forward to gathering in the related poems I wrote during the living experience. Likewise, photographs and a map of the childhood area I talk about in the memoir authenticating the bus route through the village and places I frequent as I tell the story. 

I think I’ve overcome my immense dislike of online courses enough to embark on further courses if I need to, but I will always seek out face-to-face sessions as my first choice.

At the moment, rather than use the computer, I’m handwriting a list of my chapters to highlight the characters and check their storyline involvement within the memoir so I can see where they are attached to that invisible golden thread that runs through the story, as well as adding a brief comment on the chapter’s aim to marry it against the story as a whole… if you get my drift. 

Breaking off from the memoir briefly, I submitted three 100-word stories to a competition which was passed on to me by a member of the Scarborough Writers’ Circle.  Not holding my breath but I thought it would be rude not to enter seeing as I hail from the area of the publication.

The light is slowly making its way toward darkness as the day draws to its close and I am pondering the hope that tomorrow I may wake up pain-free following a good night’s sleep.

January is now over and onward we go.

Here’s a thought for the 1st February from Patience Strong’s ‘Thoughts For Every Day’ Anthology. A book I often turn to for nourishment of my soul.  

On this day, I attended a soul-filled worship event entitled ‘Awakenings’ at Wydale Hall with a group of friends and experienced these hints and glimpses for myself in the grounds surrounding the hall. Inside the hall were many hints and glimpses of glory as the crowd of believers shared a wonderful time of nourishment for the soul in the presence of God.

What a difference a day makes!

With love for the journey,

Julie