End of Month Review

So it is now the end of my first month of blogging, seems to have gone pretty quickly! My intention here, in order to give myself some structure and reflecting time, is to write an entry at the beginning and end of each month to reflect on what was achieved, then do another to think about what I might do going into the next month. Or not, after all it is April Fool’s Day tomorrow!

Writing

It was certainly a very experimental month which I’m coming out of with more confidence in what works and what doesn’t. ‘Confidence in Dancing’ and ‘An Acceptable Predator?’ I feel were the best out of what I’ve written, for differing reasons. However I really didn’t feel the Top Gear article, my first attempt at a current event, was up to the standard I’d have liked it to be, and so I’ll be reconsidering my approach to those in future.

That said I’ve enjoyed writing them, and also I’d like to share that it has felt liberating. I’ve found that blogging lets you write and share with others in a way that isn’t always possible in everyday conversation, and because of that writing about topics I wouldn’t normally, such as finding my confidence with dancing or promising myself I’m not going to let myself be inhibited in my interactions with others, helps me be more open, and it’s a great feeling!

Website Design

The website design is getting there, with the main hold-up being the banner. I have at least made a start on this now which, while I have some ideas for the images I want to include, may be something I need to wait for a decent bit of flora and sunshine for, so I’ve made it a long-term project.

One thing I’ve been mulling over is the creation of a static front page. The form this would take I’m not sure yet, however I think it would be a better initial greeting to the site than that big wall of blogs that it currently is. The other detail that needs attention is the favicon, which again is another design element, yet one that feels a lot more doable and I could do in the short term. It is a small thing, but the place it should be when I see it bothers me so I’ll probably get that done early April.

Making images to head each entry using photoshop is something I feel I want to continue, and might even encourage me to get myself a camera to enhance them. It adds a creative outlet to the articles and its an outlet I’m more than happy to indulge, especially if I start writing more often or start some side projects, speaking of which….

Side Projects

Now I have the hang of the features available to me, I’m pondering over the idea of starting a side project. I enjoy writing and so was wandering if I might start a little story series on a separate page, or maybe make a journal that describes days in my life that I feel have significance in some way. Whatever it is I end up doing, the thought behind it is that, should I get stuck for ideas for my main blog I can simply work on the side project instead, or do both should the mood whisk me serenely in that way….

Response

I have to say, more people have viewed and liked articles I’ve written than I initially expected, and it’s warming to think that people have enjoyed some of what I’ve released, so thank you all who have read and enjoyed my articles, and also thank you to those who’ve followed me, that says a lot!

Overall Feeling

I’m incredibly happy with how this is going, and I feel the only way is up at this point. I’ve made mistakes in some cases, and I intend to learn from them. Yet the main thing is that I feel enthusiastic for more, though admittedly getting the site done design wise will make me ecstatic, though like I said, some of that is a long term goal.

Still, I’m going to end there, so…… Happy Blogging all!

Down Geared Top Gear

As I’m sure many know by now, Clarkson has been dropped by the BBC. Not surprising considering the unprovoked attack on the producer of the show, especially one that meant he had to go to A&E. The fact the cause was no hot food being available after a days filming just exemplifies how petty this was, and being kicked off his own show will probably be seen as the inevitable outcome, or at least something that was going to happen one way or another.

While I’m a fan of Top Gear and enjoyed the show immensely, Clarkson deserved his punishment because, frankly, he needed a reality check. We don’t go to work expecting differences of opinion to be resolved by who can hit someone else harder, we go in expecting to solve problems sensibly by being reasonable. Sure, things don’t always go to plan and its frustrating, but in this case what was stopping Clarkson going out somewhere else to get some hot food? After all, he could have just driven out somewhere and even filmed some more on the car he was working with that day at the same time with those internal cameras they always have. Call it killing two birds with one stone.

At this point though, the real question is what is the future of the show? It certainly can’t continue around a format that was made to fit the presenters, as well as the cars that featured in it, and despite what the million or so people who think it’s okay to assault your boss think, signing a petition to reinstate Clarkson is the least likely answer of the lot. I remember that there was an article about how the petition for ‘No more Page 3’ was outdone by one to reinstate Clarkson in a few days, and frankly I have to agree that it isn’t a good indicator of the mindset of parts of our society. Getting back on topic though, if James May and Hammond don’t renew their contracts, which seems likely, then Top Gear would have to be rebuilt more or less from scratch.

Then there’s the issue of what Clarkson does next. While the BBC doesn’t want him any more other channels likely will, and there would be nothing stopping him doing something new that pulls the viewers with him, simply because he does have a considerable popularity going for him, wrong reasons or otherwise, that mean simply starting something will get him an instant viewer figure that puts the seal of approval on what he does, not to mention it’ll likely pull viewers away from Top Gear if it doesn’t reboot successfully enough.

I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen. Top Gear is going to continue but its hard to see it being as popular as it has been without the trio being on there doing it, but I don’t want Clarkson being just as successful from here on out as he’ll assume he’s untouchable and can do as he pleases which doesn’t set a good example for the rest of society. That all said, I hope May and Hammond go on to do well for themselves, as far as I know they’ve not done anything to the extreme of dumb like Clarkson has and they’ll hopefully do well in whatever they choose to do next.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

A Vow To Stand Where My Heart’s Waiting

Before I begin, I hope you all like the blog header image. I wanted to try making an image myself so I decided to try something simple for the first attempt. Hope you enjoy the read 🙂

It sometimes surprises us where we find ourselves in our lives, sometime literally but more often in a metaphorical way. Yet its sometimes scary just how we strive to achieve something in our lives. Then it falls flat in front of us, and for some aggravatingly inhibiting reason we don’t feel we can follow through with it, not helping the fact is usually those opportunities come entirely out of nowhere.

Personally, I get that dreaded feeling where relationships get involved, of any sort. Unless I’ve known someone for a long time its difficult trying to anticipate or work out what others think of all kinds of issues, but just as, if not more importantly, I want to know what they think of me, and that’s where I fear falling into a quagmire of issues where you simply can’t know if someone says something to simply be polite, if they’re not being entirely truthful or any myriad of other reasons that make me uncomfortable being around other people.

I guess in a some ways I was spoilt by having more or less the same group of friends throughout school, and so didn’t really interact with others as much. Truthfully, I didn’t particularly want to get to know anyone else then, but those are reasons that I’ll spare you. In short, I only really became interested in getting to know new people when I hit university age, 18. However, I realised that in choosing to study with the Open University, I had essentially cut any natural social interaction I may have had off at both knees due to it all involving studying at home.

So, eventually I found some university clubs that worked for me revolving around dancing, and while it isn’t exactly social I got a gym membership which I’m starting to feel is becoming a natural part of my routine. Yet as times gone on I can’t say I’ve really progressed all that far in understanding others.

I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, the light being an enlightened understanding of others and that big set of social rules I apparently missed the lecture and the class notes on. Truth is, no matter my best intentions I always seem to get something wrong at some point in the day, but I can’t honestly say I always go through with what I want to do either, and the kind of thing I never go through with revolves around conversations I find hard to start and interactions I find hard to make even though I know in my heart I want to.

So, as of now I’m making a vow with myself to go through with those interactions, for better or worse, when they occur to me. I won’t learn anything otherwise, and while I know starting conversations more frequently is going to involve some skill learning, I can’t let that stop me from ever trying. My heart has been waiting long enough, and in admitting I need to do better I hope to be able to stand alongside it, just as confident as it seems to be.

One day, starting today.

An Acceptable Predator?

I read an article the other day about reintroducing the Lynx (which can weigh anything up to 40kg) into the British countryside. According to the article the Lynx went extinct here about a millennia ago, probably due to us hunting them, but that does mean we have a gap in the ecosystem to fill, and as these creatures hunt deer, they might control the deer population which would save on having to artificially control them and also reduce excessive damage done to forests caused by them.

The intriguing part of this for me however is how people would respond to having a real predator in our woodlands, even if its main food source is smaller mammals.

For those of you not from the UK, we don’t have any predators here in the larger range. In fact, you’re more likely to get a household cat threatening the wildlife than anything else. So, the Lynx would change the dynamic of the countryside in a subtle yet helpful way, yet as elusive creatures you might not see a whole lot of them, though could they threaten livestock or people? Well measures could be taken to protect livestock and in the unfortunate cases of animals being killed a compensatory scheme could be implemented to subsidise any losses. Yet reading up on the Lynx, they’re not fond of open spaces anyway as their hunting methods involve ambushing their prey, and of course there isn’t a whole lot of cover in an open field.

While reintroducing the Lynx may be very successful, it opens doors to the possibility of other species that used to live here long ago that we also made extinct. Wolves and anything else that may have gone extinct here could potentially see reintroduction, although large apex predators are a different kettle of fish entirely, as they are animals that could well attack livestock, not to mention people. That said, could anyone imagine, for a blatant example of what reintroduction could mean, Bears suddenly being reintroduced to our countrysides one day? It makes the Lynx being reintroduced look like a non-issue for sure, as even Wild Boar are known to be more aggressive towards humans than the Lynx. So far there has never been a recorded incident of a Lynx attacking a human being.

In my opinion however, even larger predators could be reintroduced successfully so long as they have a good source of food and people are educated about their new neighbours. I’m sure many of you could easily name a place in the world that lives alongside larger predators successfully. Our ancestors used to do this of course, and even managed to domesticate many animals into the pets and livestock we share our homes and farms with today, so maybe we need to relearn how to live alongside wild animals once again, and I’m sure there are plenty of places in the world that can teach us how to do just that.

If you’re interested in having your say on the Lynx issue and you live in the UK, I’ve left a link at the bottom of this blog to the Lynx UK Trust site where you can take a survey and get your views heard. I have also added an article from wildlifearticle.co.uk down there as well, who I give credit for the image used for this blog entry, it is a gorgeous picture of the Eurasian Lynx, a candidate for the kind of Lynx you might one day see roaming the forests of the UK.

To end on a personal note, I would love to see the UK become more rich and diverse in its wildlife, although even if that was to happen in full, I doubt I’ll be around to see it happen as young as I am. However, I do hope I’ll be able to see the Lynx reintroduced if nothing else. I would give anything to see one up close and, more importantly, where it truly belongs out in the wild.

BBC Article: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31813207

Lynx UK Trust: http://www.lynxuk.org/

Wildlife Articles: http://www.wildlifearticles.co.uk/eurasian-lynx-reintroduction-in-the-uk/

Blog Progress Reflection

Instead of writing another blog entry, I’ve decided this is going to be a small update for how I feel the blogging experience is going so far, and where I think I’m headed next.

Site Design

Getting there, is probably the term to use. Some changes have been made to improve user friendliness and some background stuff to make behind the scenes work simpler. What’s holding me up is the site banner, as I don’t know what to put on it, and while I have the dimensions to work with it isn’t going together naturally, and so I could be a while on getting the final look of the site finished.

Blog Writing

Although I haven’t got many articles under my belt yet, I feel that Confidence in Dancing was probably the better written of the two, and is probably the benchmark to work from. I’m pleased that they’ve not been repetitive within each article, and I’m also pleased I can write at length reasonably easily. I do however want to expand on the type of stuff I write, some ideas including opinions on wider issues and concepts, for instance I’d like to write something on aspirations.

Wider Blogging Awareness

I’ll concede, I’ve taken notice of a handful of blogs but I could do with looking around and seeing what else is on offer. What I’ve found so far has been varied and interesting, from personal thoughts to a story writing blog, and so far all very interesting, but I do need to look around more and see what else is here for sure!

Overall Feeling

On the whole I’ve enjoyed the experience so far, however I know I won’t truly relax into it until I’ve got the look of the site where I feel happy about it. Funnily enough I had the account for a while before I first posted, purely because I couldn’t get it to look right and gave up on it for a while. I then came to the decision that I may as well get experience posting and let the visuals sort themselves out in their own time.

So that’s it for this one, short but to the point. It’ll be interesting to reflect back on this one day in the future when I feel more established. Until then, here’s to what’s to come!

Outdoors Inside My Soul

Continuing in the theme of the background of my interests and passions, I’m going to dedicate this article to the outdoors, which unlike dancing which I have only been doing a few years, the outdoors is a passion I have been indulging since my early childhood. I’ve included a few pictures this time, hope you all like them 🙂

Some of the earliest outings I remember involved going to Bestwood, Sherwood Forest and other places to go on all manner of walks and courses, including but not limited to mushroom hunts, den building, animal tracking and plant identification. We also went out on holidays around a lot of places in and around the British Isles, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and more recently going to see the Black Forest in Germany, all of which exuded their own character and environment that was a pleasure to explore.

This image was taken near Bradwell in the Peak District. Picture courtesy of Hannah de Val.

A few other contributors to what was already an outdoor friendly upbringing, included learning to swim early on, a benefit not only due to finding being in water therapeutic, but also my underwater confidence being as good as my own two feet on land. Another was time spent in the Scouts, including a Survival Camp where we learnt and made practical use of den building, cooking and some fire making skills. We also learnt about preparing fish and animals for cooking, which was a rare treat to learn as it isn’t often opportunities like that present themselves. However, one experience that forever changed my perception of how best to go about being out and about for prolonged periods was the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and not for the reasons that might immediately occur.

The story goes like this. During our A-Levels we got the opportunity to take part in an extra-curricular activity. Out of the options available it made the most sense that I should shoot for the DofE for the Gold Award. As it came up to the walk that mattered in the Lake District, it seemed we had everything ready. Routes had been written up and plotted, food was sorted, bags packed with everything on the lists, plans had been made in the event of an emergency…. in theory everything was good. However, getting towards the last day I was beginning to notice a real pain in my lower back, and up until then the pains I had were where you’d expect them, feet and legs. On the last day itself I knew something was very wrong, and it didn’t take long before, in a rare show of humility, I decided it was time to stop.

Now I’ll be honest I did loose faith at that point, not only because I’d failed and felt I’d let the others down (they went on to complete the course), but my confidence in my outdoor abilities had taken a sizeable knock, and at the time falling under that mindset was a lot easier as my self-esteem wasn’t exactly the best anyway (if you read my last entry about dancing, you’ll know dancing was what helped me find my confidence, that happened about a year after this event). I went home wandering what on earth I’d done wrong.

A picture taken by our group while out in the Peak District on a training exercise for the DofE. It’s sights like these that make the climbs worthwhile.

Not willing to let myself stew over it for too long, I quickly established that most the issues I’d experienced during the trip all coalesced into a singular issue, the weight of my bag. Going over the contents and what in academic terms would likely be termed “Critically Assess the Weight of Your Bag and How It Might Be Reduced”, I came to the conclusion that about 30-40% of the contents was of no practical use or additional dead weight, even though the DofE list insisted on using a good chunk of it. Essentially, I could replace or outright remove a lot of stuff and cut the weight hugely, I could even use a smaller bag. This spoke volumes to me, and just to name a few of the things I could easily do without or change and why:

• 2 Fleece Tops (As you already have a warm, waterproof coat, and sensible warm tops I tended to find these were either making me too warm or adding to the weight. It’s worth mentioning some coats with warm insides can actually be separated into two, thereby giving you more options)
• Food (Honestly, assuming its an area that doesn’t allow fishing or anything, you’re better off buying food at local shops as you pass by, because the weight of food quickly adds up for whole days. Buy for up until you can get more ideally. This is a tricky one admittedly, however if you know your route in advance you should be fine. Always remember to carry spare food in case of an emergency though)
• Map Cases (Easier to have laminated maps)
• Nightwear (Personally, I found having dedicated nightwear is just another set of clothes that go stale after one night. I prefer to just wear whatever is appropriate from what I wore that day of walking. Saves bag space, not to mention you go through less clothes and keeps weight down. Save the fresh clothes to make you feel good the next day)
• Rucksack (Easily use a smaller and lighter bag thanks to removing all the above)

What I learnt from this was that, while some may have their own idea of what constitutes necessary packing, it wasn’t working for me. It also occurred to me, going back to the Scout Survival Camp, I took only what I felt I needed then and, while I did miss a few things, it was a lot less than what I took on the DofE, and so I happily returned to that way of thinking.

So that’s the story of my passion for the outdoors in a nutshell (granted a rather large nutshell). I hope you didn’t feel too exhausted getting to the end of that, I seem to be progressively writing longer articles! As a final note, this is the inside of a cave a Hannah and myself found on one of our outings. It wasn’t really on the OS maps either.

It is a lot bigger than this, however what stuck out for me was the clarity of the water here, as it clearly must filter through the rocks well to be that way. Anyone noticed why I might study Environmental Studies for my degree yet? 🙂 Picture courtesy of Hannah de Val.

The cave mouth itself must have been a good fifteen feet wide and maybe ten feet high if not more. It was a very lucky find which we could easily have missed if we hadn’t been looking right at it from across the other side of the valley. Yet sights like those in the pictures and many others I could have linked are one of the main reasons for going to these places in the first place, you just never know what you’ll see or discover.

On that note I shall end, thanks for reading and hope you all have a great day!

Confidence in Dancing

Okay, I couldn’t wait a whole week to write another blog entry as it turns out, even though I wasn’t actually sure what I wanted to write about. It has occurred to me however that I would enjoy writing about how I got interested in certain aspects of life, and so now I have that thought in my head that’s what I’m going to do, beginning with dancing!

Now dancing hasn’t always been a passion of mine, in fact it is quite recent compared to many of my interests at only three years. I was simply too shy and self-conscious before to even consider the idea of becoming a dancer, however that’s where the positive side of peer pressure and a will to improve yourself can get the better of you (Not to mention a noticeable sense of admiration for how quickly people seem to learn on Strictly). For those who read my first blog entry, you’ll know I have interests in fitness, the outdoors and healthy eating, which don’t exactly automatically lend themselves as social interactions as I’m sure you can imagine, but I shall cover those another time, as now I’ll tell you about my first real dancing experience.

I’ll be honest I was a bit shaky with apprehension, I had no idea what to expect apart from a quick Google search for the meaning of the word Ceilidh, which as it turned out was a traditional Gaelic social gathering which usually included folk music and dance as part of the entertainment. It didn’t help my apprehension when I realised just how many people took part with numbers easily reaching towards 100 people. That all said, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable nights out I had the pleasure of partaking in for a long time.

It took me another year or so to shed a lot of uncertainty I had around asking others for a dance, even when I had started Ballroom and Latin dancing, especially when going up to ask meant asking people huddled in groups of friends. Eventually however, I had one of those moments where you realise that everyone else is there to do the same as you, and they are expecting to be asked!

“Well done for finally understanding the blatantly obvious Alister!” Would’t be too far off the phrase that went through my head at that particular moment. Funnily enough, there was one wonderful lass I spent over a year trying to drag up the courage to ask to dance, the reason being was because, while ceilidh dancing is very forgiving and accessible to just about anybody (heck, even seen someone in a wheel chair do it), this lass was so good at it I simply didn’t feel worthy of asking. After I finally asked and we’d developed a strong friendship, she told me one day that (lightly paraphrased) “It took you bloody long enough to ask!”

She was right of course. She’d noticed me looking early on as it turned out, not that I’d have ever guessed if she hadn’t told me, but it did put the final touches on what was already a stark and real reality I had come to realise about myself that I wanted to engage with people more confidently, and not be held back by shyness again. So between asking people I usually didn’t know to dance at Ceilidh, and realising I could make a reasonable job of Ballroom and Latin as well I’ve found a confidence in myself that I scarcely knew I had, and knowing I had it allowed it to spill into other areas of my life, so thank you to those of you who encouraged me to go to my first ceilidh, be they my parents, co-workers or friends, that day undoubtedly changed my life and I’ve made good friends because of it, thanks again!

Knowing I had that confidence has essentially allowed me to own it, and on that line I think I will wrap this up.

I’ve been writing this for about an hour and a half now and honestly, it turned out differently to how I was expecting. I figured this would be a fairly factual account of my experience of how I began dancing. In truth, writing this has been a small recount of a journey that found my confidence, and while I don’t know if I could become more confident, I have dancing to thank for starting me on a journey that lets me find out.

A final word, I hope anyone reading this never feels shackled by a lack of confidence. If you do, know that it doesn’t have to be that way, and in fact you could try something new too, and hopefully if you tell yourself you can do it, you’ll find the confidence to keep it up like I did.

Credit to an unknown user on picgifs.com for the image used for this entry.

Putting Fingers to Keys

Good Afternoon Folks!

My name is Alister Harman, and I’ve recently decided to (finally) start blogging, and while I’ve been uming and arring over the idea for a few years now and even suggested the idea to family and friends that I might start, I’ve finally decided to put fingers to keys and the board where my mouth is and get stuck in.

So what can you expect from a blog written by myself? Well, to keep it simple how about I make a bullet-point list of my interests?

• Camping, Survival and the Outdoors
• Ballroom, Latin and Folk Dancing
• Fitness and Healthy Eating
• Current Events
• Mental Health
• Comedy

Just to name a few, though in fairness I’ll probably end up posting about just about anything interesting or thought provoking. Ideally, I’ll also be aiming to put out a blog roughly once a week.

Now, some of you may be wandering why I chose the name Raving Over Sweet Nothings for the blog. It’s actually a bit multi-faceted but I shall explain one of the reasons behind it.

Usually I find myself running mental gymnastics over things that I imagine many people would consider nothing worth worrying about, and so one could say I’m making a fuss over nothing. It also has a few other meanings for me, but I’ll maybe mention those another time.

Now, my goals for the coming weeks will involve sprucing my page up to make it more visually appealing, getting some more posts in the works and getting my wordpress account sorted with a profile picture and better ‘About Me’ section.

So with those goals in mind I shall get to work and endeavour to deliver. I hope anyone here on out enjoys what I write and feel free to comment!