Friday Feeling [12] – above and beyond the call of duty at Glastonbury

A friend of mine liked a link to a blog post on Facebook this morning so I had a read, and oh my God!

It doesn’t sound much like a Friday Feeling when you start; it’s about a girl who has been sexually assaulted by two “friends”. She was supposed to be going to Glastonbury with said friends and others, which obviously wasn’t an option after the attack. What happened when she contacted the Glastonbury team to ask about the possibility of a refund will warm your cockles.

Read the full blog post here.

This poor girl has gone through a hellish time, and nothing can change or erase that, but the kindness and humanity showed to her by a group of strangers who didn’t need to do anything at all will have gone some way to restore her faith in people.

Glastonbury

Image from the NME

Bravo Glastonbury, incredible.

Thanks, as always, for reading.x

Friday Feeling [11] – puppy love

Have a whole dose of canine shaped cuteness for this week’s Friday Feeling! A google person was trekking around a remote island to record it for Google Maps (because there aren’t any roads for the Google car) and this little dog adorably followed him around and photobombed most of the footage!

Google maps dog visitor

The island, belonging to South Korea, is just 734 metres long and 482 wide and has only 2 residents. Presumably the dog isn’t one of them…

Read the full story and see more pics.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Friday Feeling [10] – it’s all about you

We all know that Instagram can be, and mostly is, a self serving narcissistic platform for people to garner likes and approvable from those they may or may not know (I am no exception in this <shameless plug> you can follow me on instagram here).

So just how cute is this older gentleman who uses his instagram account to post pictures of his good lady wife throughout the years, talking about just how much he loves her?

Cute old couple instagram

Isn’t that just adorable?

Heart. Melting.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [9] – people power

Despite all the horrible things that have been going on in the UK recently, the thing that’s stood out to many (including myself) is the sense of community spirit, people supporting each other, strangers reaching out to other strangers, and the general feeling that we’re stronger together.

Nothing sums that up more than this story. Not connected to anything that’s happened in the past couple of weeks, it’s the story of a group of people – all strangers – holding on to a man who was trying to jump from a bridge to take his own life. They held on to him for 2 hours, until emergency services were able to take over.

Always look for the helpers

It’s easy to think that no-one cares about us in life, that we’re all alone in the world and no-one would miss us. But this story proves the power of human compassion and that everybody has somebody – even if they don’t know it.

Be kind to people – you never know the difference you might make.

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Feelgood Friday [6] – First Dates on Channel 4

Did anyone see First Dates this week? (for anyone who’s not familiar with it, or not in the UK, it’s a dating program where single people are matched up and get to go on a dinner date in the First Dates restaurant. Everything is filmed and some couples are featured more heavily than others in each episode. At the end the two people are put together in a room and asked how they thought the date went, and if they’d like to see each other again. Sometimes the outcome can be rather awkward, as you can imagine!)

This week’s episode featured the fabulous Jeni and Eric, both in their 80s, both widowed after marriages spanning 50+ years and both wanting to meet someone to share things with.

I had a vested interest in this episode as I know Jeni. I first met her when our friends renewed their marriage vows last year (she’s the “mother of the bride”), and I sat next to her at some other friends’ amazing wedding in October. Jeni is bright, fun, vivacious and sharp. She’s also incredibly creative (she, along with her daughter, were responsible for creating many of the beautiful skull and spooky decorations and dressing the wedding venue, and an amazing job they did).

I’ve said it before, but I love love! And I don’t think age or loss should be a barrier to finding love. Of course there are people who lose their partner and have no intention or inclination to ever meet another person, and that’s ok too, but happiness and companionship is as important in later life as it is when we’re younger. It was quite clear from the episode that Jeni and Eric both have an incredible zest for life and a space in their hearts where their beloved partner used to be. That doesn’t mean they’re replacing them or forgetting them, just that the heart has a huge capacity to heal and feel.

They had a lovely, chatty dinner date and decided that yes, they’d like to see each other again.

Just look how cute they are together!

First Dates Jeni and Eric

You can still catch the episode on Channel 4 on Demand

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Feelgood Friday [5] – something to live for

I was in Heathrow airspace when the London Marathon was taking place, but I still caught enough of this story for it to be part of my regular Friday slot.

Part of the story may be familiar to you; a suicidal young man was ready to jump from Waterloo Bridge but was talked down by a stranger who told him that death was not the answer.

The (previously) suicidal guy went on to launch a nationwide appeal to find and thank the gent who had talked him out of his mortal destiny.

In an unexpected next step the two have recently gone on to run, and complete, the recent London Marathon in aid of mental health charity Heads Together, which has some of the younger, more progressive Royals, at it’s core.

What a beautiful story. From the end, to a new beginning, to a burgeoning support network looking after multitudes of people in need.

Good work Jonny and Neil.

Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn marathon runners

Read the full story here.

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Feelgood Friday [4] – real men love each other too

This story is a couple of weeks old now, but definitely deserving of a Feelgood Friday spot!

Two gay teenagers were attacked in Anaheim, Holland, for holding hands in public. They were on the way home from a night out when a group started shouting homophobic slurs at them, before launching a physical attack which left them both hospitalised.

It’s all the more shocking as The Netherlands has a reputation for being a very liberal country, and was the first country to legalise same sex marriage in 2001.

In a show of public support for the teens, and in condemnation of the attack, Dutch male politicians took to the streets holding hands.

Alexander Pechtold and Wouter Koolmees holding handsAlexander Pechtold, left, leader of the Democrats D66 party, and Wouter Koolmees, financial specialist of D66, hold hands as they arrive for a political meeting

Read the full story here.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x