1st August 2016 Issue 4

Staffordshire Life Links Richmond Fellowship

Pure and Simple WELCOME TO THE 4TH EDITION

Hi all,

This month’s edition comes to you from sunny Stafford!

Inside we have a selection of quirky material that will hopefully entertain you with breath taking artwork, lively stories and fabulously fun games!

Song of the month: ‘Lovely day’ By Bill Withers (1977)

Sun, rain or hurricane, it doesn’t matter what the weather is doing; cue up this classic gem from revered soul man Bill Withers and you’ll agree that it is indeed a lovely day.

Fun fact: Near the end of the song, Withers holds a single note for 18 seconds, which is purportedly the longest note in a U.S. Top 40 single in history. We can only assume the tune’s inescapable buoyancy is what lifted him to such a feat.

Don’t forget to check out page 9 for upcoming events, and see if you can spot

the 2 creative competitions inside this issue!

Be good to yourselves,

The Pure and Simple Team

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

The Water Molecule ................ 2

Not so bad days ........................ 3

Nature ...................................... 4

Nick’s Healthy Living .............. 5

Kingfisher ................................ 6

Word search ............................. 6

Walk of Life .............................. 7

Upcoming groups ................... 9

Useful Contacts………………….10

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Service user artwork!

Your questions answered!

Updates and inside information!

Above: Both Sides of the Fence by Matthew Clendon

We are looking for someone to design

a front page logo that will be used for

the next few issues. All entries must

be handed in by 3pm Friday 26th

August and must be an original

design.

The winner will receive a £10

Voucher!

As I was walking down the Niagara Parkway towards the famous spectacle of what is called Niagara Falls; I spotted a secluded area ahead, an opening really, in the trees that lined the Niagara River. It beckoned me. Through the silhouette of the surrounding trees, I could make out the white-capped rapids, the turbulent tons of water which would soon make its way over the brink of the great cataract. It made me wonder about that water. Further up the river, that same water was moving gently along the winding shoreline. Soon its immensity would be scattered across the wide horseshoe of the falls to crash with a roar into the gorge below. Some of it would then be lifted into the sky in broad billows of mist, becoming clouds that would drift off into the States, which I could see on the far bankside of the river. I decided it wasn’t enough for me to just imagine what it might be like to be the water I saw before me, so I decided to experience it. No, I didn’t leap into the water. Instead, I sat myself down on a flat piece of limestone rock by the bank of the river and closed my eyes. I was doing two things: I was trying to experience what it might be like to be a water molecule in the river before me; and I was also grounding myself in nature using my senses. I could smell the broken bits of limestone and shale about my feet, which smelled like… wet mud. That brought me into the river, the incessant roar of which filled my ears with stereophonic white noise swirling from ear to ear. I could hear water crashing off of the jagged rocks below the surface and I could almost feel myself leaping into the air with each splash. There was already a fair bit of mist-like spray upon my cheeks and I became aware of squirrels squabbling to my right high above me in the surrounding trees. Beneath the noise of the rapids before me I could feel the deep bass notes of the falls to my left. When 10,000 tons go over the rim each second it’s bound to make a big splash when it hits the bottom. I was at a free concert, and the conductor, I imagined, was some kind of Beethoven-like fellow, whose rage could be heard and felt through my whole body. There was even a kind of salty fish taste in my mouth as I listened to seagulls and other birds that sprang out like popcorn from every conceivable direction. I felt powerful. After all, it was MY ancestors (as a water molecule) that helped forge Niagara Falls AND the gorge! We carved it right out of stone – erosion at its finest. Finally, I decided to open my eyes. When I opened my eyes I suddenly felt in touch with my surroundings, at one with the violence before me, the serenity of the rising mists, the dampness of the rocks, and the sound of distant thunder that made my heart race with excitement. Why am I telling you about this? Well, it’s because we must never forget that we are part of nature, our senses allowing us to enhance our understanding of its many secrets – and we must allow ourselves, despite our busy schedules, to ground ourselves in our surroundings, be a clod of earth, a raindrop, a heron, or perhaps even a water molecule. Why? Because nature offers us the finest lessons in life: patience, resilience, adaptability, forbearance, and an understanding of ourselves and our surroundings. When the Roman poet, Horace, wrote “carpe diem” (seize the day), it was good advice – but to do it justice you must open yourself completely to nature’s abundance and splendour. Rich Roach

THE WATER MOLECULE OF NIAGARA FALLS

2

CREATIVE COMPETITION

Use this space to have a go!

It can be anything that

relates to the newsletter,

reminds you of Staffordshire

Life Links or positive mental

health. The winner will be

revealed on the next issue of

Pure and Simple!

You can post or email entries

to the Newsletter, or hand

them to your link worker.

Ensure your entry has your

full name attached.

BAD DAYS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM NOT SO BAD!

Now here at Pure and Simple we are all about keeping things light and up beat; and I

intend to do just that even with the focus on something we all struggle with. BAD

DAYS!

OK first of all, we ALL have them, you are not alone in having them at all. Here are a

few things that can help make them easier to handle.

1. Use the bad days as a "me time" day. Stay in bed for a couple more hours, take a

long soak in the bath. If you are up to it; take a trip out and get some pampering like

a hair cut or buy a new t-shirt. Don't feel like you are being selfish on a bad day, you

need to focus on you and making yourself better.

2. Call someone. Your link worker, a friend, a volunteer, or go to one of Life Links

many support groups. We are all here to help one another and sometimes a 5

minute chat can make things much better, it can make it so we don't feel alone.

3. Chill out relax and don't feel guilty. Bad days are the way your brain tells you to

have a break. You don't have to feel bad. If you made plans to be somewhere, just

call or text them and say you are not up to it. Someone who cares won't make you

feel bad for not going.

Take those days and see them as a holiday for your mind and just rest. The world

will still be here tomorrow, you can re-join it when you feel better.

Lisa Jones

AVAILABLE COURSES IN AUGUST

Mondays

Colouring with Kevin

Stafford 11am-1pm

Tuesdays

Peer Support with Iris and Sarah

Codsall 9.30am– Midday

Wednesdays

Knit and Natter with Alison and

Lisa

Stafford 1pm-3pm

Drama Therapy

Stafford 1pm-3pm

Peer Support

Kinver 1pm-3pm

Thursdays

Peer Support with Elaine

Rugeley 9.30am-1.30pm

Peer Support

Stafford 10am-1pm

Peer Support

Stone 11am-2pm

Pottery with Tracy

Stafford 1.30pm-3.30pm

Diversity in Mental Health

Stafford 1.30pm—3.30pm

Fridays

Peer Support with Iris

Codsall 9.45am-Midday

Music with Richard and Vicky

Stafford 10am-Midday

Peer Support with Iris

Wombourne 10am-2pm

Peer Support with Denys and Sarah

Cannock 11am-2pm

Saturdays

Peer Support with Sarah and Iris

Wombourne 10am-2pm

Above: Seaside by Alison Bailey

3

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

4

NATURE BY MATT CLENDON

Nature for me is a release.

Just to be out there in the hills or forest with a friend or just simply by myself seeking out

a new (or most likely old) trail to add to my knowledge of a wildlife area, and to have that

sense of being a part of something bigger, bolder and timeless in its beauty. Feeling the

fresher wind in your face, air that is not mixed with the town or city or casual neighbours'

voices (I like my neighbours, but sometimes I have to get away from hearing similar

sounds daily), and the instrumental rustle of the leaves in the trees as you walk a familiar

path that you may have walked any number of years. I wonder if individual places have

signature sounds from their leaves at their treetops, as distinctive a sonic fingerprint as

the landscape they inhabit? I've never really considered that before, but I'd like to think it

were possible. I'm sure they have their own whispered songs passed down from old oak to

young sapling. All this combined with the smell of the earth and the ever shifting seasons.

I often feel on a personal level these days that I need change, and on a seasonal level it's

very much a thing I welcome in, and hanker for. Change is all around, and it is where I

consider to be where the energy of life is.

There's something about being on foot, and at a higher ground level after resting having

walked up a hill or a slope, without a single human element in sight, that just feels so very

connected to everything else in nature, and to yourself. Before that point, all you could

concentrate on was one step at a time, and the increased pounding of your heart beating

thud after thud in the background of your head, accompanied with the sound of

exasperated breathing (I need better fitness!) Then you stop at the top, it all calms down

and other residing sounds take precedence. It's a pause at the top to gain your breath and

feel the bristle and tingle of life surrounding you. In a sense, you've reached the place you

wanted to reach mentally, there's an equilibrium there that always was, always will be. It

makes me want to continue on, no matter what my mood was when I began that climb.

It all combines into something memorable, something I want to revisit time after time.

The self and all the various, temporary daily junk and problems that may have been

fretting around just prior to entering those places, they don't seem of any substantial

importance then, you can just be. Well, I can just be. I can simply be one of the elements.

For me, those places and walks, are the equivalent of my 'time-outs'.

Matt Clendon

“Just to be out there in the hills or forest with a friend...and the ever shifting seasons.” “It all combines into something memorable, something I want to revisit time after time.”

Above: ‘Just Around The Corner’ by Matt Clendon

CANNOCK PEER SUPPORT

GROUP DAY OUT

Cannock Peer Support

Group are an interactive

crowd, and through sheer

determination and many

raffles, they have managed

to raise enough money to

take the group on a day trip

to Llandudno, North Wales.

They have booked a mini

coach to take them there

and back, and they are going

to spend the day visiting

shops and possibly going to

Great Orme. There is even

money in the budget for

fish’n’chips for all!

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Healthy living can be made difficult by hidden foods and healthy living myths. It can be hard to judge what you’re supposed to do and when. So this month we will try to help you tackle some of

the common problems that may be having an impact on your lifestyle without you even knowing about it! One of the main myths is that cutting out snacks can help you lose weight. This

isn’t necessarily true. Having the odd snack can actually be beneficial, if you choose correctly that is! For example a banana would help tie you over until tea time and it would even give a good helping of potassium while doing so. This oppose to a few of those chocolate biscuits that may end up mak-ing you feel more lethargic!

Another misconception is that your food has the same benefits no matter what form it is in. This is a complicated one! Take tomatoes for an example,

when cooked they actually release more nutrients. This is the complete

opposite to most other fruit and veg, as other products tend to loose some of their nutritional value the longer you cook them.

C h a l l e n g e

t i m e ! This month try to:

SWAP

Cooked meals for uncooked/steamed. For example, try swapping oven baked veg for steamed. By steaming the vegetables you can retain more of the nutrients.

ADD

Breakfast. Skipping meals doesn’t help with healthy living or losing weight. It has been shown that people that don’t eat breakfast can’t concentrate as well as those who do. It has also been demonstrated that those who skip meals can actually gain weight as a result. Nick Reaney and Laura Sadler

NICK’S HEALTHY CORNER

5

Amateur photographers are invited to send in Community Based photographs for a

chance to show their work in the very first Staffordshire Life Links Calendar!

Community based could be a group you attend, an event in town or even just a local

activity.

There will be 12 winning photographs chosen to signify each month but to also show the

community values of Staffordshire Life Links. The photos can be sent to the Newsletter via

email, posted to the Stafford office, or even handed to your Link Worker! Make sure to

attach your name and contact details so we can get in touch if you win! Send all entries for

the attention of ‘Photography Competition’.

Competition entries must be handed in by 3pm on Friday 30th September

FUN FACTS

So I met this bloke with a

didgeridoo and he was

playing Dancing Queen on

it.

I thought…

that's Abbaoriginal!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

6

Electric Blue and Orange Bright , Dash the Silent Cool . Of waters where he Fishes , Perched to Spy, to survey, to Prey, Pricked up and out from the Spray . Another Catch from the Bright.

‘KINGFISHER’

BY C. MORRIS

KINGFISHER BY IRIS BRAZIER

WORDSEARCH

HAVE

FUN!

Addition

Answers

Artwork

Calendar

Camera

Colouring

Community

Competition

Confidence

Contract

Control

Entries

Facebook

Healthy Living

Kingfisher

Link Worker

Me Time

Mental Health

Mood Boards

Nature

Newsletter

Photography

Positive

Protein

Public

Publish

Pure and Simple

Questions

Relax

Scenery

Seaside

Staffordshire

Support

Swap

Twitter

Upcoming

Events

Walk of Life

Walking Group

Wildlife

WORDS TO FIND

Try to find

the words

below. They

may be

placed

diagonally,

forward,

backward,

up or down!

7

THE WALK OF LIFE BY IAN KNOTT

I created this picture out of a page of multiple shapes, it had the original road in it and a bare horizon and sky with nothing but the vague pattern

of shapes on the ground. Not being fond of patterns and shapes I looked beyond the page to see something more interesting than the basic

appearance of a featureless landscape. I saw an expression of my idea of a British road a thousand years ago, a world unspoiled by the railway

tracks, motorways and the concrete and steel world we live in today. Something in keeping with my escape to the country thoughts of last

month. I added some trees and bushes but to add more colour I threw in some heather type shaping and colouring.

What occurred to me was the parallel idea of “the walk of life”. Artistically the idea has been very well represented by Dire straits 1985 song, a

song apparently about busking in the underground stations and underpasses. Accompanied by the excellent video imagery giving a different

slant on the idea of the walk of life of an American football player and influences and pressures upon them.

From the moment we are born the world starts influencing us, pressuring and telling us how to behave and “fit in”. We get certain colours of

clothing put on us as babies and are given certain toys to play with to reinforce gender as we grow. This stereotyping continues into where we

should live and what we should do. We are expected to learn, love, work, marry and have children, all within the bounds of our social standing

or physical sex. The result is we feel pressured to live up to others standards, to “fit in”. We are constrained and contained. If we go against this

stereotyping, for whatever reason, we are made to feel somehow lesser people. It is also suggested repeatedly that we can't change it or break

out of the box ourselves. BUT; sometimes we put those feeling upon ourselves and we don't need to.

In the world as it is today there is more tolerance and opportunity than ever before, these days we can walk the life we want to, more or less.

However that doesn't mean life is easy, or it is easy to overcome the boundaries put upon us by our upbringing, life experiences or our own

mental beliefs. That is how the “walk of life” fits this up and down road in the picture. Sometimes we are on top of the world, and sometimes in

the very depths of a valley of despair. Our lives will take colour from

what we surround ourselves with as we pass through, again

reflected in the picture, but these colours can be very dark or “Blue”

as we mentioned a few articles ago. We will also meet people from

all (different) walks of life and they will add colour, warm colours of

love and hope, or cold colours of control, constraint and depression.

A line from the Dire straits song says “After all the violence and

double talk” and that is the crux of where I am going with this

thought. That line is the ‘over to us’ bit, we decide what we do with

the worlds efforts to stop us being us. Whether we have

experienced physical violence and mental abuse or prejudice and

stereotyping, it is US who decide what to do with the information

the world is throwing at us; and WE who decide whether to keep

accepting it or to walk away toward a more positive life. We have

the right to disagree with what other people, or society, say. We

CAN walk the walk we want, as long as it isn't hurting anyone else of

course.

That is the point at which it becomes hard for me. I can talk the talk

here but the battle to “Walk the Walk” is much harder. Being

around other people who have been battered by life I can see I'm

not alone. I'm here to find a better me, somewhere along the

journey of my life, and because I realise I can't find that other

positive me on my own.

But at least I can say I'm adding some colour to my life.

I have to admit when I started this course I was sceptical. I was not at all sure how relaxation and art were going to help with confidence building. As time went on it became obvious that it was because I was relaxing and felt safe that I felt more confident.

Tina is a lovely tutor, and is very much of the belief that the students lead the way. She showed good paths for us to follow as individuals. It was a lovely course and I hope to take part in another soon.

Recently we did a hand over of the culmination of our course which is 2 mood boards that we all had input into. These boards intimately reflect our mental health.

One is positive and jolly showing our brighter side, the other is stormy and cloudy showing the opposite side per-fectly. The two boards are on display in the Cannock office for everyone to see and enjoy.

Lisa Jones

CONFIDENCE BUILDING THROUGH RELAXATION AND ART

8

The quote above I like, as it's a way of saying that you have to let some things go, control wise and life wise, for certain things to work as they probably should. It could be said, that there's an opportunity in the eventual fortune or placement of events that only happens then, and wouldn't have occurred otherwise. A good outcome may actually require this mentality.

In the case of the throw of the ball - learn to let go before you let go.

Matt Clendon

Above: Nick, john and Andy holding Positive Board Left: Nick and John holding Negative Board

Above:

Hare by Iris Brazier

“I cannot throw a ball as long as I am holding onto it so as to maintain perfect control of its movement.” Dorothy Rowe

It’s difficult to re-enter

A time before that afternoon,

The first rain laden sortie

Into the hush of here.

The storm, it flung pebbles

From off the kerb,

And us too,

Unwitting chess pawns

Pushed upstream

To land within a cathedral.

We were the first, as it were,

To cross into a newly

Secured space,

Awaiting the next move

Played by an unknown hand.

That only came in its own

Time,

As the weather

And our hearts lightened.

Tracing plainly adorned

Columns,

I felt sure a withered vine

Climbed to the ceiling,

Only to resurface near the

Vaults,

Where unexpected, it lit up,

Bloomed

A stained-glass sunflower.

‘ANOTHER WINDOW’ BY MATT CLENDON

UPCOMING EVENTS

9

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.blurtitout.org

www.mentalhealth.org.uk

www.samaritans.org

www.ssnmentalheallth. btck.co.uk www.richmondfellowship.org.uk www.dalepinnock.com

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

This month’s question comes from an anonymous service user that is

having another common problem.

If you have any questions

or concerns, feel free to

contact us. You can email,

phone or post us your

queries on the details

below! We now have

Twitter and Facebook accounts if social media is more

your thing!

Useful Contacts

Staffordshire Mental Health Helpline

0808 800 2234

CALM Helpline (Men Specific)

0800 58 58 58

Staffordshire Women’s Aid 0870 2700 123

CAHMS (Young People Specific) 01785 221 665

FRANK (Advice on Drugs)

0300 123 6600

Samaritans 116 123

Or

01785 24 33 33 (Stafford Specific

Branch)

South Staffordshire Network for

Mental Health

01543 301139

Staffordshire Life Links

Suite 2 St John’s House

Weston Road Stafford

ST16 3RZ

Phone: 01785 227020 E-mail: Info.StaffsLL@

Richmondfellowship.org.uk

www.twitter.com/RfStaffordshire

www.facebook.com/

RFStaffordshire

Feel free to get in touch! Any story, or true life event. Any questions or queries. Maybe you have done some artwork you are proud of? Get in

touch and we will get it published!

Try breaking your day down into smaller chunks, and deal with each problem on it’s own.

You could try making a list of everything that needs to be done in the day, and then focus on one at a time then tick them off as you go along.

Also try to concentrate on the positive scenarios rather than the negative. So although it may be stressful going out of the house, focus on the fresh air and the possibility of seeing friends.

Day to Day Well Being

How do I cope with the stresses of day to day life?