Boxes, Pain and Mistakes…
This year I attended the BBQ as a volunteer as opposed to a member of staff and it was very strange! I loved it, I loved being hands on again, I loved driving the truck, lifting the hay bales and helping put together a significant event! I loved seeing old friends and working on something practical with them all again. At the same time I found it overwhelming as emotions and memories came flooding back. I even shed a tear or two when the lights were off and nobody was looking. You see, I often have the sub-conscious mentality that when something hurts badly its best to cut it off dead. It’s bizarre and I’ve had to fight it many times but in some respects that’s what I’ve been doing with YFC. Leaving the organisation was the right thing to do but I miss the organisation sorely and still care for it and its people dearly.

Sometimes it’s the wrong thing to do to, shut things down and put them in a box at the very back of your mind to gather dust. A very understandable and perhaps male-ish thing to do but in this case a mistake! My point - value self awareness especially the link between your emotions and behaviour. Often you may be communicating something you didn’t want to or place yourself in circumstances you wish you hadn’t!!

I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch more with my mates in YFC and I promise you coffee soon!

Complaints
Some readers have been complaining that there has been too much of a focus on Linfield of late! Shocking as these complaints are, we at petemartin.org have no apologies to offer, no comment to make. Other than Blues Brothers are born not made and if you find yourself outside of that camp our commiserations...