The Boreham Woodpusher

Pre lockdown,  I used to commute most workdays to and from the office. Quite astonishing really, looking back. Train from Borehamwood to West Hampstead, walk a few minutes past Starbucks etc. to catch the London Overground to South Acton. Then down the road, cross a level crossing and enter Chiswick Business Park. On a good day, maybe catch the 8.22am from Borehamwood, and alight at the destination around 9.01am. By default, clock up a few thousand daily steps. Over the years, I subconsciously recognize a lot of track-side graffiti, rust patterns on bridges and buddleia bushes which bizarrely dominate overground railway lines, plus one in my front garden. And people watching: Still have no idea who the person with a beard and floral skirts is, and 'bookman' now mostly uses a kindle. My company office hosts a nice empty desk with 3 screens for my use, plus a bijou view of the artificial lake and deckchairs. But nostalgia does not get a free pass. In truth, both brief train journ

Borehamwood and Elstree enjoyed at least 7 different pop-up garden services during summer 2020. Here is the story of one of them.....   Lockdown - pasta shortages and soughdough proving. The maximum 6 people per garden rule came into force on June 1st, 2020.  At last, a chance to socialise with a few friends, and partake in tea and cucumber sandwiches on the patio. Admission strictly via the side gate. For those looking to start an outside minyan, it was simple: 6+6=12. Within hours, garden minyanim sprang up. Fence panels were removed and privit bushes pruned to create a neighbourly link. Back garden owners and renters, armed with WhatsApp (and a weather app), began to juggle who would attend the services. Late additions, pleas for Bosman transfers and last minute drop outs needed to be managed. 13th (or even 14th) men sometimes hovered outside the gatepost to stay within the letter of the law.  No permissions were asked. "Don't ask, don't tell"  - for very differen

I read a lot or articles about climate change, but make no claim to be an expert. I dislike the polarization of sources and lack of sensible debate. The BBC and Guardian believe there is a catastrophe, and will not, as a matter of policy, allow any debate about this. Some mainstream more right of centre publications (the Telegraph and The Times) are firewall protected, which also stifles debate in the UK. If you don't agree with the 'consensus', you are a denier, a skeptic. If you are a so-called denier or skeptic, you are no-platformed from conferences. Only having one public narrative leads to group-think which is dangerous.    A recent study by researchers at Brown University found a quarter of posts about climate change on Twitter were written by bots. The finding showed 25% of tweets on climate change were likely posted by bots, mostly tweets centred on denials of global warming. There is a lot of fake news around. Sometimes, I see Facebook friends unwittingly sharin

Sar-el Volunteering in the Israeli Army was founded in 1982 and attracts an eclectic mix of around 4,000 people every year from over 30 countries. Despite being a regular visitor to Israel, I only heard about this scheme 2 years ago. I enjoy doing meaningful volunteering, but dislike committees, so it sounded ideal. Volunteers range in age - 16 to 80+! - including both Jews and non-Jews. There are heath and personal forms to fill in before you go, including agreeing not to discuss religion or politics on base (yippee). You pay your own way, and hand over a 200 shekel fee for the privilege. I volunteered over the winter bank holiday period for the last 2 years, being sent both times to the medical logistics base. Tasks like maintenance, painting and even putting away sukkahs can wait for another trip to a different base. Arriving on base, a pile of army uniforms greeted us from which to pick our work apparel. Personally, trouser length was OK, but waist size was appropriate for someon

I have no ambitions to be a Mental Health blogger - that does not define me. This one-off blog looks at my recent journey to address Costochondritis, and its ugly sibling, Anxiety. Costochondritis  is an inflammation of the cartilage in the rib cage. It affects females more than males (70% vs 30%), and bloggers and vloggers on this condition are predominantly  younger women. When it is severe, it causes unpleasant discomfort in the chest, and lifting objects causes pain.  This blog by Welshmummy   sums it up the very well. She has gone down the CBD oil route to alleviate it. Very best of luck to her, but CBD Oil only addresses the symptoms, not the underlying cause. I first had Costo in the Summer of 2007 and needed 6 weeks off work, acupuncture  and medication (antidepressants, propralonol) to get back to work. I had  generally  been OKish for the next 12 years, but October 2019 saw an nasty flare up in the centre and side of my ribs, that moved around. This caused waves of anxiou

As a Risk Manger at a large Insurance Company (AXA), my work covers a broad range of areas. I recently attended a Mental Health Forum organised by Cover Magazine, as it was sponsored by 5 insurers, and was of professional interest (OK, and Continuous Professional Development credits were available). Mental health is perhaps a lesser known area within the overall gamut of insurance coverage. However, to the applicants and policy holders in the Income Protection (IP) space, it can be vital part of any package. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Travel insurance are 2 other important areas of coverage. It was noted that Physical Health and Mental Health tend to invite different conversations. People ge nerally to talk positively about their excercise regime and successes in dieting. But mental health in conversations usually often to be have negative association: schizophrenia, depression, anxiety etc. In truth, people participate in activities like jogging and badminton