A big mug of tea and possibly a ginger biscuit

Well, I’m planning on a big mug of tea and possibly a ginger biscuit to help me concentrate on our piece about Bath. I’ve driven through but never stayed. There was always a rumour that The Royal Crescent was the backdrop for the wonderful ‘Who Will Buy’ scene in Oliver. I loved that film so much growing up, Mark Leicester was my 8 year old crush and I so wanted it to be true. Sadly they used a backlot at Shepperton Studios and the beautiful houses were all made out of chipboard!

I think we’re all interested in our dreams especially the ones that repeat. I know I dream every night but forget them on waking, I definitely don’t have scary nightmares, but a recurring theme of being ill-prepared, either arriving at a location without my script, the right clothes, hairdryer, makeup or just loosing something. Soho our French Bulldog is the dreamer, he makes whimpering noises and his little legs twitch – we think he’s finally catching the girl of his dreams or the mouse that’s somewhere in our house and helps himself to no end of goodies. 

I know Paul McKenna and once went to him while having a meltdown. I sat in his chair unloaded all my fears and anxieties, he listened intently, explained how hypnosis worked and what it aimed to do which was to rewire my damaged switchboard and give me the tools to put my jumbled head back in workable compartments for me to deal with. He asked me to look at my watch and give permission for him to hypnotize me “Yes”

But all the time I remember thinking, this isn’t working I’m not going under and how am I going to tell him he’s failed. After what felt like a few minutes I felt the need to confess that although my eyes were closed, I was awake, but then he was telling me to wake up. As I began apologising, he smiled and said, “look at your watch” I’d been somewhere else for 30 minutes.  I did walk out calmer, less confused and over the coming months the tools came to me from ‘somewhere’ to fix my own mind.

I love and have used on many occasions the wonderful line by 

Joseph Pilates “You are only as young as your spine is flexible.” He also said, “If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. If it’s completely flexible at 60, you are young.” 

If there’s one exercise, I work on its my flexibility I’ve even made my 91 year old father get on the floor and practice getting up without help, there’s a knack to it and the more flexible you are the easier it is. But why did we lose our flexibility, why did we stop moving around with the fluidity of our younger selves, who stopped us, or did we stop ourselves?

No one wants to fall over but as we get older it frightens us because we worry, we can’t get up. So, take that worry away and start loosening up.