Now that 2021 has arrived, I aim to use this website to write a short piece every two weeks or so which offers my reflections on the events of the previous fortnight, or perhaps a review of a play, book, art exhibition or film or maybe, who knows, a poem.
2020 has been a year like no other and for some of us it has been a catastrophic period in which we have lost loved ones or suffered ill health due to Covid or other maladies. Many of us have been massively curtailed in terms of our work, our studies or the leisure that helps keep us on an even keel in a fraught modern world.
It is a common theme in the media that Covid has created a range of mental health issues due to these anxieties. In many cases our isolation from the usual sources of companionship and affection has been profoundly distressing. So, this year I am being relevant in undertaking a diploma in counselling skills in St Albans as a follow-up to the certificate I recently acquired during a very special nine-month period at the Norwich Centre. All of this while trying to keep up my writing, bring out a new book and maintain a home base in both Northern Ireland and Hertfordshire.
I trust that I can meet the challenges of the course and in due course practise what I have learned. I’ll keep you posted as the months go by.