This afternoon I gave a talk on the benefits of having a Circle of Friends and the audience were lucky I turned up. I don’t mention that for egotistical reasons, but simply because I am geographically challenged.

Driving anywhere outside my comfort zone is usually off my agenda.  However, having invested in one of those GPS things where a voice speaks as an arrow on a map points you in the right direction, I made an exception and amazingly found my way there and back safely.

I was asked to arrive about 12.30 p.m. so I could have lunch before I spoke. As it was half term, I took my autistic son with me, and he was delighted to try the various sandwiches, cakes and nibbles.

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I must confess I’m not one for “diets”. Have you ever wondered why there are so many different types around? Could it be they just don’t work?

Now before you say, “Ah, but I lost three stone on the cut out everything you enjoy diet”, just consider whether you put it all back on again, and more, once you stopped. Or maybe, you haven’t stopped and are still consciously thinking about, and cutting out, certain things from your daily diet.

How boring!

Of course there are certain foods, which really are junk foods and do you no good at all, but some of these fad diets are quite ridiculous. If you really think about it, the manufacturers of the diet products don’t actually want you to lose weight anyway otherwise they’d lose their market. Weight loss or gain is big business.

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On Saturday I played an incredibly healthy game of Bingo.  Yes, I did say Bingo!

You see I have an autistic son and at the weekend we attended a Festival of Inclusion.  It was a wonderful opportunity for people with disabilities to have fun, make friends and socialise.

Open to the general public, there were bands, entertainers, crafts, workshops, games, therapies and bingo.  However, this bingo had a special twist.

Instead of having numbers, the large laminated cards had pictures of fruit and vegetables on them displayed in two rows, and above each row was a strip of Velcro.

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