Square Dog Black Peg

There has been a great deal of trauma within our family during the last seven years since my stroke. Judith and I have admitted defeat on our marriage. I moved out of the family home to a bungalow not far away, earlier this year. Judith and I remain friends and she is a great support. Although there has been some incredible highs (DIY SOS and Maggie from Dogs for Good) the majority of the last 7 years has been filled with sadness! I have since discovered that all wasn’t actually well before my stroke and as a result have a painful look at the trail of destruction of broken relationships that i have left behind as i selfishly lived my life. I intend to apologise for any upset that i may have unwittingly caused and restart my life ensuring that I don’t make the same mistakes again!  ,fe

An invite to a garden party at Buckingham Palace representing Leonard Cheshire disability was a honour and was as spectacular as you can imagine. Thanks to the gorgeous Black Dog enticing the royal family, Square Peg was able to meet the entire monarchy that was on display. With the support of the Leonard Cheshire Opening Doors project (Fiona and Lorraine) Tony and myself became their ambassadors, creating and developing SPA. (Square Peg Activities) We were the last leaving the palace, cheekily waiting for the corgis who had gone for a stroll! Leaving unaccompanied through the main Palace gates, sharing a joke with the armed Police Officers on guard. With the public snapping photos believing that we may be someone special, not a raggy lad from Holmfirth and created in leicester!

For quite a while now it seems as my life has been in turmoil. I have a great deal of difficulty showing  my emotions and this also expresses itself in written messages too.As a result of my stroke I suffer from emotional liability, (common in stroke survivors) not only do I find it difficult to hold my emotions, but I sometimes laugh when I’m upset. I can also shriek and cry hysterical too! I also spent a long time finding it impossible to communicate. After that I could only blink or nod my head, eventually I was able to use the e-frame. (This was awful to use, often I would spell it wrong or the user would forget what I was trying to spell out! On one occasion I was visited in hospital by a bunch of football friends, we were talking about football players and I was using the board to communicate but try as hard as they could they just couldn’t name the exotic sounding surname “YOURESATONMYLEG” It was a revelation progressing onto the computer that I operated with my eyes. Thi...

For a while I have found myself in dark place. When I find myself in this state of mind, I find it very difficult to concentrate on much else. My activities have continued but I have not been able to write    about them! But I'm now back and I'm eager to concentrate on my rehabilitation! After a difficult year, the only way is up for 2019

Regular readers will know that I wasn't too impressed with my recent admission into rehab. Some great work from my carer meant that we were able to meet with the senior physiotherapist at the Police Treatment Centre. As a serving Officer I had visited the Centre, however now I must assess the facility for wheelchair access. Future prospects of a visit appear promising, watch this space!

Square Peg enjoyed an entertaining talk from hypnotist John  Richardson. John encouraged us to open our minds and told us about the mystery around hypnotherapy.  Judging from the feedback received the peggars would like to hear more from John. One peggar did manage to convince his fa mily that he still remained under John's spell upon hearing certain words.

I travelled by train from Sheffield to Leicester to have a lunch date with my mum. As I waited for my train I decided it would be a good idea to enjoy a coffee.  So I entered the cafe and began attempting to select my beverage of choice, fortunately a good Samaritan in the form of TV personality Denise Welch sprung to my aid. Thanks to modern technology I was able to thank Denise via Twitter, whilst I continued my journey and enjoyed my coffee.

My muscles in my left calf are tight and this can be treated with botox injections. In order to maximise the results they should repeated every 3 months. Unfortunately I have struggled to obtain them with any regularity. On this occasion the treatment was due to take place at Halifax Royal Infirmary. However the surgeon had a different point of view and felt that the results could be achieved with electronic stimulation. However he did inject my left arm arm, his explanation made logical sense, but I was surprised that this treatment should take place six years after my stroke. The optimum results should take effect between 7-10 in the meantime there is only minor difference, although my arm looks younger!   

It took a while but eventually my two younger sons agreed to go to the cinema with me, whilst Judith had a deserved rest. As soon as his mum left, Oscar's behaviour completely changed. His Diva personality had been transformed into something much more caring towards me and his younger brother. We enjoyed the Jonny English film, to me its a modern version of Frank Spencer

Regular readers will be aware that Square Peg Activities, well captained by Michael are trying to improve Holmfirth's access to all. We have been influenced by some excellent initiatives utilised at Hebden Bridge. This part of the imitative was to show the councillors our proposed access map. This was very well received by all of the councillors but they failed to see the irony in my apology for not being prompt. The reason for my poor punctuality - the automatic door was out of order and I couldn't get in!

I feel upset as I recall this incident. Several people plus an Army of volunteer are responsible for making Square Peg Activities the success that it is today. I purposely avoid naming individuals but on this occasion I will, Fiona is one (perhaps the main one?) of the reasons that Square Peg Activities exists today. I met Fiona over a coffee, to try and help her to justify her job with positive evidence of the 'opening doors' project.  Following this meeting I had decided to make the most of a lovely bright, blustery day. I headed to a nearby picnic site, so square dog could enjoy the adjacent stream. At this point I dropped my wallet and I incurred a 'Frank Spencer moment'. Although the ever dependable Square Dog came to my rescue. As she picked up my wallet, it opened and my cards fell out and they were blown around. Square Dog came to the rescue once again, she picked up the cards with only a few teeth marks added! As I pointed out the windswept articl...

Once again I find myself about to lose my temper, I find so hard to direct my frustration. Deciding that I wanted to be on my own, (with my square dog) this meant missing a family outing to the John Smiths Stadium. Instead I opted for a trip to Holmfirth where meant that I stimulated my football addiction whilst Square dog frolicked in the river. It was hardly Premier League quality but with 6 goals and a sending off before half time, it wasn't short of excitement.

I have only had my phones glass repaired for around 3 weeks but yet again I managed to kill it. Not only did I managed to break the new screen but I wasn't content with that, so I also spilt a minute amount of liquid in the small hole. It would appear that electronics and coffee don't mix well, the phone is no more!