Category: Sussex

Health and Well Being. Changes.

Twenty twenty three has been a time of change for me. I kicked it off with Dry January.

https://dryjanuary.alcoholchange.org.uk/

Then I started looking at my diet and cut down on my sugar intake- eating healthier. I never ate badly but there was room for improvement.

Green smoothies for breakfast. Cheap to make: handful each of frozen spinach, broccoli; half a banana, squirt of lemon juice and water. Blitz.

I started making my own breakfast/ energy bars: Peanut Butter Chocolate bars, Fruit Pemmican, Grab and Go Breakfast Bars. All made with no sugar. The sweetness comes from the dried fruit and the honey.

Then I started looking at my fitness. Again I have always kept fit; I’m a keen trail walker; I have done HIT training for a few years now. Online trainers Daniel and Alex Bartlett’s Team Body Project make High Intensity Training a delight- they have loads of free YouTube videos. Fitness doesn’t have to involve money. You can join up if you want a more structured programme.

Home B

Then I started looking at my mental health and well being. I needed to take time out, stop trying to do everything, taking on everything. I took up Yoga; again online. I didn’t want to do regular classes. I would rather spend money on travel. Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube is accessible and a delight with her dog Benji:

https://yogawithadriene.com/yoga-complete-beginners/

Other health check ins I took on board was to eat more mindfully. Notice and enjoy what’s I was eating. I cut my caffeine intake and sleep so much better now. Less anxiety.

We are now approaching the middle of March and although I do have the odd drink at weekends, it is nowhere near what I was drinking.Again I drink mindfully; enjoy it and limit to one or two.

My whole mental and physical well being has improved a hundred fold and my new regimes have brought total joy to my life.

The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay.

Photograph courtesy of The Grove Theatre.

Gulwali Passarlay was at The Grove Theatre Eastbourne last night talking about his book The Lightless Sky, a Q&A event put on by East Sussex Libraries.

Gulwali, who fled Afghanistan and endured a terrifying journey in the hands of people smugglers talked about his passage to the UK, life in the UK in the early days of his arrival and of his life now. One of the most charming people I have met, the evening was relaxed, informative and a delight.

The Bullet that Missed (Thursday Murder Club #3). By Richard Osman

Back at Coopers Chase Retirement Village with the Thursday Murder Club and all their shenanigans: Elizabeth, the former spy; Joyce, the former nurse; former psychiatrist Ibrahim; and Ron, the famous trade union leader. They solve their crimes and we follow their detective work and learn a little bit more about each of them along the way. It was nice to be back in their company for a few days!

Devil’s Dyke. Brighton.

Devil’s Dyke is a 100 metre deep V-shaped dry valley on the South Downs in Sussex in southern England, 5 miles north-west of Brighton. It is managed by the National Trust, and is also part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Wikipedia.

Steep but beautiful. With the gradient I felt like I had walked 10 miles! In fact it was 4.5.

Included was a stop off in the lovely little village of Poynings for a pint at the pub.