Last Thursday, I joined my wife in going to a local tai-chi class. a first for me, though not for her. The group was small, just eight, including the two teachers, Juliette and Bobby. The exercises weren't too testing physically, though as with anything new my mind and body spent most of the 2hr class out of sync with Juliette's, watching and trying to follow as she weaved an imaginary ball through a series of continuous flowing movements. I like to think that by the end of the 2hr session I was more relaxed, although if I was it certainly didn't last long on account of the bitter easterly wind which met us outside the venue, the Royal British Legion hall in Port Erin (which for anyone who doesn't know, is a small coastal town at the southern end of the Isle of Man). 'You won't feel the real benefit until you go to bed,' the lovely Lorraine (my wife), said confidently, later in the evening. So did I? Well yes and no is the answer. I certainly slept, and quite well I think, but did I have the deep, undisturbed, and satisfying sleep I can still recall having when I was younger, absolutely NOT! There's just way too much clutter (old and new) stashed away in the back of my soixante-neuf old mind to allow eight hours of undisturbed sleep to occur ever again, or so I thought, until this week that is when I opened up a new online course in BBC Maestro, but we'll get to that in a minute. Night after night when I close my eyes, one, maybe two or more bits of that clutter forge their way to the forefront of my troubled mind to pester the hell out of me. Selfishly, I take some comfort in knowing that, as a guess, most 69, and older bodies go through the same semi-conscious turmoil as I do. I use the word turmoil because most of what stops me from sleeping well is made up of very weird stuff. Stuff that mostly manifests itself in a way that forces me to seek escape from it, by way of waking up. The trouble is, that's when the endless tossing and turning begins! So what's the message here, I hear you ask? Why am I bothering you with my rant on the subject of sleep deprivation. Well, the thing is, irrespective of normally planting my size 10 feet on our fashionably, grey-coloured carpeted bedroom floor each morning, feeling a little hard done by, I like to think that I remain positive to finding new techniques (of the organic type only), when it comes to improving both my physical and psychological wellbeing. That's why in the last week, I've been studying a course featured on the BBC Maestro online learning centre by Dr Ranagan Chatterjee, entitled: A Blueprint For Healthy Living. Basically what Dr Chatterjee is selling in his course, can, for a simple soul like me, be summed up in just one word - Empowerment. And I love it! Empowerment to take control of, and improve, our bodies and minds health in a way that makes perfect sense, is readily achievable, and here's the big one, it's backed up by sound scientific research. In each of his four life pillars (relax, move, eat, sleep), Dr Chatterjee provides easy to follow advice/exercises, that if adhered to, can only have one outcome; A better understanding of how our minds and bodies work, and a healthier physical version of who we were before starting the course. Organic body empowerment baby, and who wouldn't want some of that. I know I do. And to demonstrate how effective these life lessons can be, I've been honed into following Dr Chatterjee's advice on how to get a better night's sleep. It may surprise you all to know that the secret to sleeping well actually starts first thing in the morning. One of the best things we can do to gain a better quality sleep is to expose our eyes to natural light first thing in the morning. When we do this we start to kick into place a whole series of processes within our bodies that will help us sleep better at night. Who would have thought it. Now, along with a whole raft of simple to follow tips and tricks to help us gain a better quality sleep, including eating our last meal several hours before we go to bed, putting all electronic devices away earlier, and writing down a next day 'to do' list to help clear the clutter from our worried minds, Dr Chatterjee also endorses a breathing technique that turns out to be the perfect set-me-up to having a settled sleep. And guess what? Last night, for the first time in too many years for me to recall, I had a sound, undisturbed, eight hours of sleep. In fact, it was so good that I was transported back to that younger me, when getting a solid night's sleep was something that just happened as soon as I lay my head on the pillow. And so to the moral of this tale. It's as straightforward as what Dr Chatterjee is selling. Never think you're too old to learn something new and never close your mind to the power of learning. I never have and I hope I never will. Sleep tight! .

The Good, The Bad &  The Ugly!

Al's world

If a nation's wealth were to be calculated by the size and proliferation of its Digitarias and Taraxacums Officinale; to name just two, then there is no doubt in my mind that the Isle of Man, would literally, overnight, become a world superpower! Furthermore, and borne out of personal, backbreaking, often, daily experience, I also proclaim that the area known as Derbyhaven would be crowned the epicenter of the new world order. In their innocence, or ignorance, (I'll leave you to decide), non-gardeners might be thinking that I'm referring to the discovery of some amazing new minerals, which could be used to power up the trillion new EVs, coming our way, but alas, I'm actually talking about the blight of nearly all gardeners lives. BLOODY WEEDS! Note: I say 'nearly all,' only because the Wokey gardening mob at the BBC, would have you believe that these monsters from hell are a blessing to be cherished, even NURTURED! And this year, Chelsea was awash with the buggers. Mind you, we shouldn't be too surprised at their attempt to be 'so in vogue' - It wasn't that many years ago that they were inviting us to cover every inch of our gardens with either concrete or decking, often, both! Ah well, at least the decking made a very comfortable new home for all those neighbourhood rats! Three cheers for auntie beeb. I digest. When we moved into our current abode, in the aforementioned epicenter of the beautiful island of the Isle of Man, an unexpected, but joyous find for me. was a greenhouse! And I instantly knew from the first moment I saw it what I was going to attempt to grow in it; replicate the huge, juicy red tomatoes my dad used to grow in his much smaller greenhouse in Leatherhead Surrey, back in the 60's. If memory serves me well, I believe the variety were called 'big-boys.' And boy, were they big! Now my dad certainly wasn't an allrounder in the garden, by that I mean he didn't grow pretty flowers or have neatly crimped hedges, but he could grow veg, and big-boy tomatoes were definitely his forte! My own vegetable growing experience to date could probably be summed up on the back of a fag packet, so it will be interesting to see how 2023 pans out. Certainly, my failures, of which I am sure will be more abundant to an abundance of delicious crops, won't be due to the lack of effort. I've read, and read, opting in the end for a no-dig strategy; apparently, it's better for the land, so vis a vis, the world, (yes alright, I admit to being on trend here - so put me in the stocks and douse me in rotten veg). And how are the tomatoes coming along, I hear you ask. Well, the honest answer is I'm not sure. Seeing the ones in Monty's greenhouse last week, I think I may have been a bit later sowing my seeds. Anyway, they're coming, so all I can say for now is - Watch this space and happy gardening!