9 minute read
Health & Beauty
In Pursuit of Happiness
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(for International Happiness Day)
How happy are you? On a score of one to ten, where do you stand? Does your happiness level change day to day, even hour by hour? Do external events, and people have a bearing on how happy you feel?
That’s a lot of questions that I bet you rarely, if indeed ever, ask yourself - but you should, because all of us deserve to be happy…don’t we?
One of the most important things I think anyone can learn is that happiness has to come from within you. You have to learn to be happy before you can be happy. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true! Think about the times you’ve thought to yourself, things will be better when - I’m thinner, richer, have a bigger house, better car; or when any of the other myriad things on your wish list have been satisfied. Then pause and consider - did you feel better, happier, or more fulfilled when you achieved one or more of them? The chances are that you did for a while, and then you simply moved on and started to focus on something else that would make you “feel better”.
The truth is that no amount of money or stuff can ever make someone happy - or at least not for long. Of course there is the transitory joy at having something new, but newness fades and along with it the joy, leaving you empty again and craving the next fix of “happy”, the next new thing.
There is a reason that so many religious orders take vows of poverty and eschew material possessions, they already know that “stuff” isn’t the route to happiness, and that looking inside themselves is the only way to achieve peace, and joy. It’s essentially what prayer and meditation are all about, block out external distraction and commune with yourself (or God, or some other deity) - and you don’t need a flashy car to do that.
International Day of Happiness is a global event arranged by the United Nations annually on March 20th. Why not choose that day as the day you start to work on your mindset? Move yourself away from the concept that things, money and other people make you happy, and instead begin to listen to your inner voice, the one that always, always tells you the truth. If that little voice is usually drowned out by other people, constant noise, or distractions, try heading out into nature. Go for a walk in the country, or a local park, or even just sit quietly in your own garden; let your mind quieten, ignore the monkey chatter, stop thinking about your to-do list, and just BE. It’s a start towards learning to be happy with yourself and for yourself without the trappings of belongings and external influences - try it and see, I’m sure you’ll soon find out that your internal happiness will become contagious and affect the rest of your family!
These articles are researched and written by Laura Billingham, a local content writer and author. Laura moved to the Peak District several years ago to pursue her passion for writing.
To find out more visit www. landgassociates.co.uk or contact Laura on 07736 351 341
HEALTH & BEAUTY
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INTRODUCING BRITISH DIVERS MARINE LIFE RESCUE
British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) is a nationwide charity dedicated to the rescue of marine mammals - seals, porpoises, dolphins and whales – around our coastline. The organisation has over 2500 volunteer ‘Marine Mammal Medics’, ready to respond to any of the 2000+ callouts the charity’s hotline receives every year.
With emphasis about going to the coast for mental and physical health benefi ts this can unintentionally bring with it greater confl ict between people and wildlife as they compete for space. Climate change also appears to be having a growing impact on our wildlife, with some species like dolphins shifting their distribution around the coast as sea temperatures change.
BDMLR Medics also deal with whales, dolphins and porpoises when they are stranded alive on the beach. Like seals, they can sometimes be in poor health, but other times may simply have been caught out by fast moving tides or enclosed areas like estuaries. After expert veterinary assessment, these animals can be refl oated back into the sea if deemed suitable. Marine Mammal Medics and rescue equipment are also based near Alfreton. In 2018 it was found that Midlands medics formed the link between East and West coast rehab centres and medics often relay seal pups through Derbyshire. Almost thirty seal pups had travelled through the area this year alone, for vital treatment and rehab before being released. Midlands medics also respond to rescues on the coastlines, this included seven Sperm Whales which stranded Christmas Eve 2020, a four metre Basking Shark and two Porpoises. One of the porpoises was named by the coastguards as Annie. Annie stranded at Chapel St Leonards in August 2020 and medics from Tibshelf responded to the urgent call out. With heavy rain, thunder and lightening they made it to the coast as night fell. It was found that not only had Annie stranded, but she was pregnant and in labour on the beach. Medics entered the water with Annie and with coastguards holding onto the medics to try and stabilise them in the two metre waves crashing about them, Annie was given medical aid and assessed. Medics and coastguards clung to each other in the terrible weather, shielding Annie from the worst of the battering sea for more than an hour, whilst crews from RNLI Skegness battled their way through the storm. Annie was gently loaded onto the lifeboat and with medics on board she was taken out to sea where the water was much calmer, here she was re-assessed before being lowered gently over the side. Both Annie and her baby survived.
If you are interested in joining our team then please check out our website on www.bdmlr.org.uk for more information.
Pinxton & South Normanton History Group A HISTORY OF SOUTH NORMANTON
In the early Assize Rolls, relating to the village, there is an interesting entry, connected to the Le Poer family who were the Lord of the Manor of Pinxton and South Normanton, dating from 1269. This was during the reign of King Henry III (1207 —1272).
The entry states that Thomas, who was the son of the Parish Priest of the Manor of South Normanton’, and Ralph Senche, who slew Ralph le Poer. This is most likely the same man who obtained and inherited, lands from the family of de Alfertune (Alfreton). The dastardly deed happened in the field of `Bentley’ which, unfortunately, hasn’t been identified. It must have been local because the pair immediately made their way to Blackwell Church where they sought sanctuary (shades of the Hunchback of Notre Dame).
This shows the changes brought about to the country following the Norman Conquest, because until then there was no ‘sanctuary’.
The former English justice system involved a Mass or oral customary rules. These were different in different parts of the country. The Jutes who had settled in the south of the country had different rules to Mercian England in the Midlands.
It was King Henry II (nicknamed The Cleric’) who changed this and institutionalise the system of common law and created a unified court system. The concept of ‘sanctuary’, however, prevailed until much later. Sanctuary predates Christianity; going back as far as Greek and Roman times. The early Christian Churches needed to compete with the pagan temples by offering their own protection. The Church was deeply suspicious
about punishments meted out by secular authority. Sanctuary was introduced to address this.
Fugitives who were not ‘of the faith’ were supposed to convert. They could not bring any weapons into the Church, nor attack their pursuers or defend themselves.
They were supposed to negotiate an agreement with the people who had been wronged, and then leave for safety. This often meant making their way to the nearest port and negotiating their passage to foreign shores, never to return.
At least they were still alive.
No record exists of what the locals thought of their Parish priest, the father of a murderer!
This account is indicative of the very early joint interests of early inhabitants of the two villages of Pinxton and South Normanton which continues today.
