Are you a woman or a blacksmith?

It's Valentines Day. Here at TRB I'm not a big follower of the celebration except as an excuse to buy a silly card and go out for a nice meal (which is something we do regularly as a couple anyway). So, for those who don't care for the day here's an amusing guide on how to spend this twenty four hours with some help from the annals of Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein.


1. Establish some basic details about the object of your affections before you promise anything...

2. Choose words with care.

3. If words fail, there's always body language.

4. Remember all is fair in love and war...

5. A little modesty goes a long way.

6. Never underestimate the merits of subtlety.

7. If you have someone to spend time with on Valentine's Day, don't brag. Nobody appreciates it.

8. If you haven't, moaning on at those who have about how stupid the whole thing is is almost as annoying.

9. The advice of friends might not always be what you want to hear....

10. Find a good soundtrack, preferably as inappropriate as possible for maximum irritation.

(Queen's We Will Rock You, a little-known medieval hit, and I will engage in fisticuffs with anyone who so much as whispers the word "anachronistic".)

11. If all else fails, just have fun!

Whether you celebrate Valentines Day or not, I wish you lots of fun and many spoons! xxx

*Credit for all images goes to those folks of excellent taste in the Tumblr "a knights tale" tag!

 

30 Day Chronic Illness Challenge: Day 16

Day 16: What's your favourite inspirational quote?

(Anybody any idea what the heart on the fence is about? Good, glad it's not just me.)

I think I first came across the quote in a film as a teenager, and it took me a long time to come to the realisation that it not only applied to other people, but to yourself also.

I often think (speaking as someone who was a neurotically insecure teenager) that we’re our own worst enemies in this regard. Human nature often dictates that out of one hundred experiences, we’ll ignore the ninety-nine positives in favour of paying attention to the one negative one. I definitely possessed an unparalleled ability to talk myself into believing this sort of thing. It’s taken me until recent years to discover that I’m just as capable of flipping the coin and arguing the other side of the issue.

Whilst you have the power to not let what other people say affect you and make you feel inferior, you also have the power to stop yourself perpetuating the problem. This certainly applies to the chronic illness experience as I know I’ve been guilty of allowing myself to be convinced it’s all my fault and spiralled downwards from there. However, I don’t allow myself to do it any more.

Time we were a bit kinder to ourselves, I think.

Although I must admit in passing it's not my absolute favourite quote. That one is from A Knight's Tale, which as gleefully anachronistic historical comedy goes is hard to beat in my book. It makes no sense out of context, so you'll have to take my word for it that it's funny. Better still - go watch the film!

(Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer: The Lily Among the Thorns
Image from cinelstudio.com) 

 

"Yes I lied, I'm a writer - I give the truth scope!"