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Opinion: When the world is in turmoil, can we really get too wound up about our everyday concerns?


By Karen Anderson

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Karen Anderson.
Karen Anderson.

Firstly, on the PIP saga – further phone calls and queuing eventually resulted in confirmation that the form is in the system!

They are now deliberating, which can take up to eight weeks. But the form is there and the threat of them stopping the boy’s benefits is removed. There is still no guarantee of a successful outcome, even when you are dealing with a life-long incurable condition. Watch this space….

It is hard to write about day-to-day stuff in our lives when there are uprisings, Covid outbreaks, vaccination sceptics and all the other issues that are dominating the media. How do I comment on the delay in delivery of our new mattress (and rescuing the old one from the bulky item pick-up) when there are people on our screens who are so desperate to flee Afghanistan that they clung to the outside of a plane as it taxied down the runway and were then seen to fall to their deaths as it took off?

The sense of being unable to do anything constructive in the face of such desperation and destruction of democracy is overwhelming. And the government appear to have been incapable of organising the basic holiday rota that every other organisation uses, so how can we influence them in the humanitarian efforts required? As we gaze on in horror, perhaps all we can do is to try to live our lives with care and love and hope that sense will eventually prevail?

Last week, the boy and I spent a few nights in Falkirk, touring the central belt, and because both he and his Falkirk friend are over 18 and really not interested in having me trailing behind them as they go in search of lifts and buses to spot, I got my first respite holiday in the whole 19 years our boy has been on the planet. I delightedly booked online tickets for museums and art galleries.

Taking some time to enjoy art is a huge privilege for some – and one not to be taken for granted.
Taking some time to enjoy art is a huge privilege for some – and one not to be taken for granted.

I love looking at paintings and sculptures and imagining how the artist got their ideas and executed them. I have been known to wave a paint brush across a canvas, but I am very much in the Bob Ross school and would never be able to aspire to public display of anything I have done.

There is one up in the living room at home (to cover a hole perhaps? – No, by choice!) but that’s hardly public, especially not recently.

It was lovely to be free and alone to have time to indulge myself and stare at something for ages if I wanted or move along quickly if I didn’t. I particularly enjoyed an exhibition in Edinburgh’s Modern Art Two of the work of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. He’s the stop-go animation genius who did the skeleton army in the 1963 Jason and the Argonauts film, and also the effects in the Sinbad films, and Clash of the Titans.

I’m sure all of you of a similar vintage to myself will have been affected by the scenes of the skeletons rising out of the ground and battling to defend the golden fleece.

Apart from being transport and provider of payment for food, my time was very much my own and I loved it! I realise that for my own good, I need to make such time for myself in the future as it has been transformative for me. The blue skies and pleasant temperatures were an added and unexpected bonus.

Karen is mum to an autistic teenager and campaigns for the rights of unpaid carers to be supported in their caring role and involved in decisions. You can find her on Twitter @Karen4Carers.

When you need to be on form, make sure the hugs are ready


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