A port in the storm.

Last week was National Mental Health Awareness Week. The airwaves were overwhelmed with so many people, from all walks of life, including many public figures, talking openly about their struggles with mental health issues. It is encouraging that mental health can now, on the whole, be discussed openly, without stigma, and received with kindness and understanding. There are many resourses available, but the Mental Health Foundation seems to be especially knowledgeable and engaged. Here is a link to their site.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work

What it is to be Human.

If you can remember the exhibition of astonishing ariel photographs that radiated out from Millenium Square many years ago, you will already know the artist Yann Arthus-Bertrand. I was lucky to get a ticket to see his film "Human" at The Watershed this Sunday, as part of the Festival of Ideas. Three years in the making, involving thousands of participants from 60 countries, it was a powerful documentation of the bitter-sweet experience of what it is to be Human. The one-off showing was so over-subscribed that Mark Cosgrove at Watershed wants to bring it back for further screenings this month, so keep your eye on the Watershed website. I cannot recommend this film more highly, as witness to humanity way beyond our tiny local interactions. Arthus-Bertrand is now 6 months in to his next project "Woman". Expect it to be another thing of wonder.
http://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/7990/human

Dear Residents of the Chandos Road area,

Spring is with us, and so it is time for the Great Chandos Sunflower Measure Off. Kits are  available from Mabel's Greengrocer , Chandos Rd, from Saturday 8 April for 50p, with details of the judging dates in June and July.
Links to handy hints for us less green--fingered can be found on our Facebook Page, search Chandos Neighbourhood Association.

 All you need to do is buy a kit, plant the seed provided and get growing. Everything is provided except a bit of water and a bit of time and patience!

 We have 50 kits ready and waiting to go, so why not give it a go? Let's get the area a-glow with sunflowers this summer!

With Best wishes,

Diana Swain (Chair)

Just what's waiting to come and bite us on our (sedentary) behinds.

Once again, the perils of a sedentary lifestyle have hit the headlines, and rightly so. According to the British Heart Foundation, the average person will spend a fifth of his or her lifetime, that's over 70 days a year, sat down! This is a staggering figure, and we are setting ouselves up for a whole lot of trouble unless we get up and get moving. This article from the BBC gives us some sage advice. For all too many of us, it's not going to be old age that gets us, but being static.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39457993

Chandos Friends & Neighbours... a round of applause!

Woo-hoo, look who Jay Rayner reviwed and praised so highly in yesterday's Observer. None other than our very own truly wonderful "Wilsons", 24 Chandos Rd, so close I can almost lean out the door and high-five them! As many of you have commented, Chandos Rd seems to be in a state of flux of late, keeping the builders and refurbishers happy, but leaving the rest of us a bit combobulated. So it's just great when we have neighbours who are so fine and garnering such rave reviews that they are hopefully here for keeps. We Chandos Clinic folk enjoyed our works Christmas meal there and it was exceptional. Jan the chef always waves when he walks passed our window on his way to grab something from the equally wonderful Mabel's www.mabelsgreengrocer.co.uk So if you haven't yet visited Wilsons, I recommend you do, and soon; you're in for a treat. And remember to wave at us as you walk passed our window!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/wilsons-bristol-restaurant-review

"Embrace"... showing at a cinema near you.

Just a few hours ago the winners of the 2017 Oscars were announced and the red carpet will have been adorned with bodies unimaginably, dazzlingly beautiful. For the majority of us meer mortals, those lovlies bear no resemblance to who we see looking back at us from the mirror. For young girls especially, this display of unrealisic perfction and glamour can be a daily battering on their self confidence and self worth.

In an attempt to counteract this and celebrate the real and rich diversity of being female, there is a wonderful new film out called "Embrace". Barbara has already seen it, and said it is absolutely brilliant, a must-see, especially for teenage girls. It is being re-shown in Bristol again on Weds 8th March at The Odeon at 6.45pm, which is International Women's Day. Scroll down on the link below, watch the trailer, and find details for tickets.

https://uk.demand.film/embrace/?gclid=CjwKEAiAuc_FBRD7_JCM3NSY92wSJABbVoxB8kBrktmWCE8S8SwhRjGI3sNLcZWBZleB9hhAW8OrNBoCvKvw_wcB

Time to dim the lights!

I do think that some of us are naturally night owls or morning larks; my family has a very definite split (3 owls v 2 larks) so that the heads and tails of our clocks are often several hours out of synch. Although this doesnt really matter, when conventional working hours and school timetables are ruling the day, we can all do with some help to get a good nights sleep that enables us to rise at an hour compatible with our schedules. This article from The Guardian has many useful hints, so read beyond "going camping" and see what you can do day-to-day within your home to aid top quality shut-eye.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/02/having-trouble-sleeping-grab-a-tent-and-go-camping-suggest-researchers