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A 75 year study (yes, 75 years!) by Harvard University shows that long life and happiness is reflected by strong relationships. This remarkable study is still going after all these years. Over 700 men started out being interviewed. Over 60 are still alive and in their nineties, and still being studied. It’s not money or fame that gets you a long and satisfying life, its good relationships. Loneliness is a killer. Family feuds take a terrible toll on the person that holds the grudges. A happy marriage adds years to your life. This is not rocket science- but it is social science. A real study over 75 years is hard to argue against. It’s not the first time I have heard this either. Dr JohnTrickell did a study of various societies around the world that lived the longest. His conclusion as to what brought long life? Fun, friends, family and faith. To have good friends throughout life is a blessing. To have a faith that brings about a friendship with Christ is even more precious. So, lean i...

Well, hate’s a bit strong really. Maybe ‘dislike’ is better. 1. Games. Please- don’t ask! No, I’m not going to build an imaginary farm, join pretty shapes in a row or shoot anybody. I don’t like guns. And I’ve got games thanks. Risk. Trivial Pursuit. Ever played Mexican Train Dominoes? Come on over. 2. Emotional threats. It reads like a caring Facebook post. And then it changes. You get to the bit that says ‘I bet nobody really cares’. Or ‘I will know who really cares if you reply to this’ or ‘I bet I can guess what few friends reply to this’. Or ‘if you post a message you are one of the few who care’. And so on. I don’t respond to emotional threats. Neither should you. 3. Avoiding commas and apostrophes. What have they done to offend people? They’re needed. Especially with “You’re” and “Your”. It annoys me. As someone recently posted, commas are essential and can save lives: - Let’s eat Grandma ...or perhaps... - Let’s eat, Grandma 4. Facebook posts that can go on too long. Oops. 5. ...

This is a letter sent to the Daily Telegraph, recorded in The Week Magazine: Dear Sirs I was assisting my 16-year-old daughter with her homework when she received a text from Mum, which read "What do you want from life?" This was an unexpected and profound question for an exam-sitting teenager. We debated various answers - wealth, fulfilment, love, all three. Five minutes later, she received a second message, blaming predictive text for correcting the word "Lidl".

A few years back I had the privilege of attending a pension’s event in Australia. (Stay with me- I know pensions is pretty much a ‘click to the next article’ subject). One of the guest speakers was Dr John Trickell. He was discussing longevity- a hot topic for us pension geeks! Dr Trickell said we had to start using the ‘F’ words – fun, family, friendships and faith. It is these four ‘f’s that give us long life. He went on to prove it with research and data. It makes sense. A good combination of a healthy lifestyle with lots of family and friends around. And linked to a real faith that there is more to life than just the latest paycheque or the newest gadget. (Which is why I HATE Black Friday by the way). So it was interesting to note a new article on the BBC website today, investigating a community that lives a lot longer- and a lot healthier- than most. They are a church community in California. Fun, family, friendships and faith. Try it. It works.

A reminder -   it’s a personal selection. Of course it is. And it reflects a certain time period as well. But you wouldn’t go far wrong in seeking out these albums/downloads and adding them to your collection….. I’ve excluded compilations and they are kind of in an order, but can pretty much change at will, depending upon the mood you’re in. Here are the next ten; there could have been so many more! Let me know what you think! 1.        PINK FLOYD – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Floyd at their best. ‘Time’, ‘Money’, The Great Gig’…. If you’ve not heard them, you’re missing one amazing album. 2.        ADELE – 21 A new and prodigious talent. A mix of folk and soul with most of the tracks written by Adele, who was only 21 when writing! ‘Rolling in the Deep, ‘Rumour Has It’ and ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ are just three of the brilliant tracks, with no weak ones in sight. Now famous the world over - with reason. 3.   ...

OK, it’s a personal selection. Of course it is. And it reflects a certain time period as well. But you wouldn’t go far wrong in seeking out these albums/downloads and adding them to your collection….. I’ve excluded compilations and they are kind of in an order, but can pretty much change at will, depending upon the mood you’re in. Here are the first ten; the others will follow. Let me know what you think! 1.        EVA CASSIDY – SONGBIRD The artist never knew fame in her lifetime. Her version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ was picked up by Radio 2, and this, the best of her albums, sold millions. A clear as crystal voice makes for moving listening. 2.        MIKE OLDFIELD – TUBULAR BELLS It was so different when it came out in the early seventies. Aside from earning a fortune for Richard Branson and his new record label, it’s a great fusion of classical meets pop. 3.        FLEETWOOD MAC – R...

If all safety video's were like this we'd all pay more attention! One of the highlights of our trip!  

I didn't realise just how patriotic I was until I watched the London Olympics Opening Ceremony last night. Well done to Danny Boyle for getting it just right. He produced a show which was self effacing, humorous, full of pathos and with a good dose of pride in our achievements. There was no doubting the message - as a country we don't always get it right but we have brought the world the industrial revolution, sporting achievements and invention, pop music, Shakespeare, Peter Pan, Harry Potter, David Beckham, James Bond, the NHS, Chariots of Fire, the World Wide Web and - oh - Mr Bean?! I loved his performance of the Chariots of Fire theme song. Great drama throughout, so much going on - I'm sure at one point I saw Lord Voldermort being zapped by Mary Poppins! The lighting of the flame was particularly powerful. From Beckham to Redgrave to seven young people lighting 205 copper petals, each petal having been carried in by a participating country. And then for each of the pe...

The latest results from the Office of National Statistics happiness survey – carried out earlier this year and interviewing over 4000 adults- shows money doesn’t make for happiness. The survey shows that as a nation we have a happiness index of 7.4 out of 10. The same score as last time, despite a real downturn in the economy. What did show up was what a lack of a job did. Here the index went right down to the low 6’s. People need to be valued, to have a purpose, to be able to provide for others. We are a ‘people’ people. Work is what is valued above money. As we’ve been told over the years, riches can’t buy happiness. And the statistics show it to be true. Money can buy a house, but not peace; medicine, but not health; amusement, but not joy; therapy, but not healing; a bed, but not sleep; allies, but not friends. A final word from the writer of Proverbs: Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better retu...