Brighton Reiki - Rifa Bhunnoo

I don’t really need to be reminded what England was like in the 1970’s and 80’s as a child of immigrants in proper working class London. But ‘This is England’ is an incredible film, although the violence really affected me. I got freaked out by the trailer for Shane Meadows’ previous film. Violence of any kind really bothers me at the moment. The chemical reactions to violence on the TV or in films are the same whether it’s real or not. It’s not conducive for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Sometimes it’s good to have a break from the news and have a rest from the negativity in the media. It used to be easier to go on holiday to get away from the news but now we’ve got 24 hour coverage in even the most remote places. It’s so difficult to do, but I avoid the TV news, rarely buy a paper and don’t have the BBC news as my home page. It’s amazing how well informed I am despite all these precautions. The most important stories get through to me somehow. One news story about a couple who look different who got attacked, has been haunting me for weeks now. I had to watch a few episodes of the Mighty Boosh to feel better.

As well as a negativity detox, this Easter weekend has given me a break from all the different ways I can be contacted. So far I have:

2 phones

1 blackberry

4 email addresses

1 contact us form

MSN messenger

a messageboard

Facebook

a Facebook group

Linked in

43 things

3 Myspaces

3 websites

Do I really need a blog?

so it’s only 3 days into the new year, I am back at work trying to sort out a load of mess that isn’t my fault, again. and quite frankly if the client can’t be bothered to check their own site why should I care? Apathy is catching. It dawned on me that if i go on a winter holiday before christmas, I missed out on the whole run-up to christmas but felt jet-lagged and fed up over the new year and then still got SAD by mid Jan- beginning of Feb. So this time, I stayed in the UK in Dec with the idea that I would go to Cuba for 14 nights in Jan with my hubby. having avoided the christmas run-up for the last 3 years, i quite enjoyed it this year - i felt quite christmasy and cosy and had such a fun and relaxing time with my in-laws that I thought I might not need another break afterall in jan. But oh no, the first week back to work has just made me more determined i need a proper holiday. I haven’t had even a short break for over a year, becuase as a freelancer, I am almost always too busy to take a holiday. And because my hubby mainly works weekends or is away for long periods of time at awkward times of the year, I really have to make sure I book flights well in advance so that he can’t get out of it. He really is a workoholic but don’t tell him i said that. So I thought we were both going to be happy going to Cuba. A nice luxury resort for me, the chance to swim with dolphins, and he would love Havana - the romance of revolution, the rum, the coffee etc. anyway, i had my doubts about going there for some reason, and I always go with my gut instinct now, when it comes to travelling - it’s much easier in the long run (I’ve managed to avoid the London Bombs and the Glastonbury floods for example) and I’ve just booked flights to Los Angeles instead as the hubby had such a great time last year when he went out there “for business” and it does feel as if California could be our next spiritual home - maybe we’ll get a chance to go to San Francisco too. And even though we’re flying with Virgin, i just know we’re going to be alright.