STAK:

STAK is a local charity, catering to vulnerable, needy and homeless people in our community. To help increase recognition in the wider world, and more importantly to help raise much needed funds, STAK are looking to prospect to businesses in the area.

By way of a Time Bank Exchange, prospect data, business data and telemarketing lists are being provided, free of charge, by Responsiva Data Services. If you know anyone who needs telemarketing lists, please ask them to contact Responsiva through their website.

With A Little Help From My Friends:

Busy few days, catching up on all that has been allowed to slip over the last few weeks. Returning from Droitwich/Miidlesbrough it is clear that sorting out my mum's affairs has actually taken a lot more of my time than I realised.

The first and most important catch up was to mend some bridges that had been broken, and to this end me and my very special person are making new efforts to steer an old relationship in a slightly different direction, one that is free of the past. As with all things that restart, it is one step at a time.

Catching up on all paperwork for STAK (Website and Facebook) - a committee secretary really shouldn't get a month behind on the minutes. Still, as an understanding charity it is good to know that there is trust in the fact that these things will be done.

Jumpstarted my search for work again, with a couple of requests for application forms being sent out. To make this effort more successful I have 'resigned' my post as a volunteer tutor at Link into Learning. It was a great fifteen months, but after three promises to be put on the tutor bank, for paid work, and three let downs, it is clear I am not going to progress any further there.

New lives, and new futures ... time for me to have some fun and enjoy my new found freedom. This weekend I will be going to see the boys, and hopefully catch up on some lost quality time with them. The following weekend is Manorcon, something I haven't been to for about ten years, and then in August I will be off to World DipCon in The Hague, thanks to some cajoling from my eggy little brother.

Talking of Toby, let's get a little plug in for his business. If you need any data lists, business data lists, telemarketing data, telemarketing lists or business prospect data lists then check out his webiste, www.responsiva.biz.

Rip It Up and Start Again:

An old favourite by Orange Juice ... whatever happened to them once Edwyn Collins left?

The doors to the past were finally laid to rest on Monday at noon, and my life was able to begin again unencumbered. I have a lot of lessons to learn, mainly about myself, and how I deal with situations, but finally I am in the position whereby the past cannot crash with the present anymore. What a lucky chap I am.

Whilst things on the domestic from may be less than harmonious perfection, dealing with all the admin and paperwork seems to have received a lubricating shot of oil, and progress is being made daily. I now need to knuckle down, decide where I want to go from here, what I want to do, and start to lay some solid foundations.

One of the first things on the agenda is a new mobile 'phone - perhaps a Sony Ericsson Cybershot ... I hear it can do cool things, and is great for keeping up with my Blog.

Move on:

A weekend ahead for closing chapters in the book. Tuesday will see new chapters opening, and new directions being taken. It's very scary. I'm stronger. I have my life to live.

Tracks of my tears:

I've discovered Stat Counter, which enables me to see how many visits my Blog gets, and indeed roughly where in the world the visitors are coming from. Unfortunately the URLs only show from either my Blog or Facebook accounts, so I don't know who is reading.

If you are happy to say so, it would be nice to have a comment, saying who you are and where you are from. Only a little something to humour me.

Thanks,

Spicey.

Ashes to Ashes:

Sorting through old letters, cards, photographs and trinkets, and deciding what to put in the casket with my mum's ashes. So far I have decided on the following:

• Her pocket dictionary and bibles
• A couple of photographs of the three children together
• A couple of pictures of my mum with her dad
• Some of her music and dancing certificates
• Birth announcement cards for us children
• Her birth certificate, first driving licence and first passport
• A couple of pictures and paperwork from her wedding day (don't ask!)
• Some bits of jewellery
• Her dad's medals/awards from the first world war
• Her Butlin's staff badges - they were a surprise!
• Two small crucifixes

That's it, being sealed at lunchtime, ready for taking to Middlesbrough this weekend.

# Casket was actually quite small, so some of the larger photos, as well as the dictionary and some trinkets didn't make it. Still, I think that what DID make it should serve as a happy set of reminders.

Keep talking:

It's good to keep talking, even if it may be a little fractious. Talking helps to heal rifts and clear up misunderstandings. It may even mend the cracks that appear in nice and shiny vases.

New beginnings, old endings:

I knew today was going to happen, so hence the balance.

STAK opened for business in the new premises on High Cross Street. A great day was had by all, and much needed money was raised in donations and raffle ticket sales. A new and positive beginning. www.stak.org.uk

An ending - I am now single once again, and expect to remain so for a very long time. My pearl and I could not resolve differences, but I have no sadness over the end. She helped me on my path to getting my life back, and I guess that we'll be talking again, once the dust has settled, and before too long.

Short entry, few words, no tears.

To clarify - having no sadness is not the same as being happy about the situation ... I'd prefer things to be different, but I have gained so much in the last year that it is hard to feel sad about any one thing.

Turning back the years:

After fifteen long and hard months, running just behind thirty long and painful years, I finally have my life back. It may be a chaotic mess, but it's my chaotic mess, and for me to sort out as I wish. The chaotic mess isn't a bad thing, it's just that there are so many things to do, and not enough time in which to do them.

However, I've now got everything I want, and being something new it will take some time to find a proper balance to these things.

The world is truly my oyster, and already I have the biggest pearl.

Just wanted to thank Responsiva for some help in sourcing business data leads for STAK.