Welcome back. It reminds me of Michael Palin's 80 Days Around the World , where after meeting all sorts of friendly and extremely accommodating people all over the world, he gets back to the UK and is rudely shouted by a newspaper seller to "turn the ****** camera off" -)
You are so right. If we do not keep in touch with those thing which essentially make us human, we will surely end up at the soulless cyborgs out "betters" would wish us to be.
Aug 20, 2022·edited Aug 20, 2022Liked by Joel Smalley
Morning Joel,
Love this.
I was going to ask you after your eloquent post about expectations and duty of care from the NHS 'had you ever thought of standing for public office?'
And here you are candidate for Reform. It takes balls to stick one's head above the parapet. To mix lots of bodily analogies. We love to throw things at those braver than ourselves.
I would love to build such healing communities here too. Zanzibar looks truly beautiful, but I admit to feeling a bit queasy about coming in as relatively rich and moneyed ex pats in someone else's country.
I had an image in my head of what it would look like if everyone woke up. I mean everyone. We would have no one to rail against. What we do all day. We would be growing our own food, which takes a lot of hard work, but we would be doing it together in cooperation with everyone.
It's a lot to get ones' head around not having an 'enemy'
I wish you all the best - I don't think we should have a prime minister at all; but imagine if you were!
Being a relatively more wealthy expat does not mean you have to take advantage of the indigenous communities. Wherever possible, I am doing joint ventures with locals, focussing on skills exchange rather than any kind of exploitation, no matter now "legitimate".
Heheh - I lived in Bali for 7 years... and it worked the other way around -- the expats are massively taken advantage of on pricing.
When we moved there we hired 6 people from the village to work for us + we paid a couple of grand to have a mobile eye surgery do check ups on hundreds of villagers - provide meds/eyeglasses for those in need and carry out cataract surgery (4 blind people from the village could see again after this). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHufCxu4Ic
Down the road our neighbour tapped into our water supply and was running the bore hard (no idea where all the water was going but our power bill was off the charts) without asking --- we found the tap and told him if he needs water to let us know.... he didn't like that so a few weeks later we found our cat decapitated and a few days later our dog failed to come back as he usually did at dark. I found him just outside our driveway with his back broken and a large boulder next to him.
Fast forward and we needed to cut a large tree that was rotten and would have fallen on our neighbour's guest house --- we asked the other neighbour (who tapped our water) if it would be ok to drop the tree in his direction onto an empty piece of ground --- we'd cut up all the wood and he could keep it. Nope -- he wanted $600 as well.
I reminded him that we welcomed his entire family to have their eyes sorted (one had cataracts removed) and didn't expect anything for that but we perhaps he's return the gesture...
He turned his back on me and walked away -- I think we ended up paying $200.
That was the final straw and we sold not long after.
It was a constant battle trying to get fair prices for work done --- most of the time we'd end up paying many times more than the work was worth --- and often the work was sub standard (there are not tradesman regulations ... you can just say you are an electrician - and you are an electrician!)
We had to replace all the wiring on our outdoor lighting - we paid for conduit and a certain gauge wire -- we got no conduit and the lighter gauge (of course).
The horror story of all horror stories involved a couple we knew --- they'd just finished their house and had a built in BBQ --- the gas cylinder was in a space below the BBQ --- the fitting was not installed properly and the gas was leaking into the cabinet so that when they lit the BBQ for the first time it exploded --- the wife was burned very badly and had to be airlifted to Singapore.
Of course it was not all negative and Bali is probably a worst case scenario because there are so many expats living large + loads of tourism $$$ coming in.
We had a superb relationship with our staff and to this day we keep in touch with our pembantu. She did a stellar job holding everything together when we left - and waited nearly a year to find a buyer. We gave her a 2 year salary bonus + she got our motorbike so she was very stoked (and was crying when my wife informed her).
True! In Zanzibar, there is "mzungo" pricing! It's about double the local price. I don't mind paying it given the massive disparity in earnings. Typical wage there is as low as $300 per month.
Sorry about the unfortunate neighbour you had. There's always going to be some rotten apples.
Actually, don't have to go overseas; have very nasty rotten apples next door as well as tradespeople who rip us off. "UnAustralian?" No, very typical Australian.
People are very tribal. When the shit hits the fan, who do you think the locals are going to kill first? It is insanity to think you can go to a completely foreign place and will be safe in the coming years. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I think thousands of Europeans are happy and safe here in UK... I know some people moan about immigration but that's UK all over, moaning *}@*s and no action, except going on strike or blockading roads and generally only succeeding in pissing everyone off
You thinking about yourself as an expat and rich, is what places it in the consciousness of others. Maybe they have a bad history with people like you describe, and so they might begin more cautiously, but since you don’t have a history with Zanzibaris, you shouldn’t be anything but yourself [keyword: might]. If you preemptively act as if they they inevitably will act “weird” you’re the one causing it to manifest.
I’m not saying, I don’t understand why you say that, but as an expat and a past world traveler, I’m just sharing my perspective and observations.
Aug 20, 2022·edited Aug 20, 2022Liked by Joel Smalley
I’m in scary Naz i Canada. I feel a lot of despair because of what’s going on. And fear. So many ‘asleep’ people.
I want to start to make such changes as you do in my small city too. I started with a presentation to city council about ‘backyard chickens’ and beginning to create a town that places importance on such human activities that supports our people, our food security during these difficult times, and as a way to teach skills that unite us with nature. I researched it well, and it went over well. They had a city planner and we had a zoom meeting ( I had submitted a written proposal package first ). They are going to approve allowing backyard chickens ( I made the entire thing based on the key to ‘no problems ‘ being animal welfare and education. They asked me if I’d write the information pamphlet that will go to anyone applying to have chickens in their backyard). The presentation also included possibilities for expanding community ‘agriculture’ and gardens into school and classroom involvement , as well as involving the elderly and nursing homes, and education about nutrition, preparing healthy foods ( related to school programs and their cafeterias and classroom involvement in growing food, and preparing the food for the schools as a learning experience. A lot of kids have no idea of even something like what an asparagus plant looks like, or the life cycle of a tomato plant etc). Anyway. It’s a start. I also just hooked up with a person who has great ideas for all the businesses ( and the many farms that surround our city) ; he has some good ideas to build on. I’m just a retired teacher. Anyone can research and approach your city or town council and try to start such ventures. Promoting such ideas at the farmers market, and through posters etc is always good. Community petitions in support go a long ways to getting things approved too. Such projects could often attract financial support and donations from community groups too ).
Do you really need to have permission to keep chickens in your own back yard though? It's a step, sure, but it's a helluva way to go to get to a free society?
I agree. But I believe in strategy. We’re at war actually. The resistance can work in many ways, and sometimes subtle is the way, in a given time and place. We want to win hearts and minds. This is how change begins. Just setting up chickens and getting busted is going to have the opposite effect. Though I agree, it should indeed be ‘my right’. We’re still living in these communities and not everyone is up to that speed though, are they. Draw them in. Convince them. Show them a different way. Give them introductions to new ways of living. I actually think it’s better than the ‘save yourself’ and try living ‘off grid’ or something like that, and hope they don’t get you. Leaving the system takes a lot of skills , most of which most people don’t have and it will require a very steep learning curve,, money to buy land ( mortgage free or you’re a fool) , lots of equipment, building outbuildings, a well that doesn’t rely on electricity, setting up and maintaining alternate energy sources, and probably at least 5 acres of woods to supply energy that way. Hmmm. Not cheap or even doable for the majority of people I’d say. Hell of a way to keep chickens in your own back yard ( after learning how to keep them and figuring out how you’ll feed them; of course relying on gas to get to town to buy things you aren’t producing yourself, like animal feed, will be important too; cooking oil, salt, flour, rice, cornstarch, baking power, or whatever basics you aren’t wanting to do without, or produce yourself. Self sufficiency is a wonderful thing. But we’re, at this point, stepping off a cliff. We have to start from where we find ourselves I think.
Canadian relatives and friends have blocked my emails as I warn them about Trudeau/WEF and especially C. Freeland, on the board of trustees of the WEF, along with M. Carney, also trustee, hoping to be PM one day, over a country ruined by Trudeau and Freeland. Good Luck. Bonne Chance.
Thanks Donna; I'm DownUnder. We are having a LaNina year supposed to continue which means too much rain, floods, etc. Have not had success in the garden and commercially similar; lots of gaps on the shop shelves.
Stay strong my friend. Truth is the Daughter of Time. Keep spreading the Truth , even in the face of opposition. Do whatever you can to prepare to get through to the other side. Be at peace.
Think global. Act local. That's probably THE message of the moment. We neglect our local communities at our peril. We're so captured by this assault upon humanity right now that I think we forget sometimes that the only way WE are going to build back better is to start local. There's a storm coming for sure and the only way we're going to survive it is to pull together locally, relying upon friends, family and neighbours. That is, after all, how we started out on this long journey from tree-dwelling, to plains-dwelling, bipedal apes to town-dwelling, city-dwelling, technologically advanced and fully 'civilised' human beings.
Twatter is a moral cesspit of bots and trolls. It has, unfortunately, captured the hearts and minds of good people who cling to it hoping that they can make a difference to the world 'out there' by giving their voice a global reach. I think that was once the case, but no longer. They're closing down the shutters. It's a virtual prison domain now.
Enjoyed your musings...Have you ever looked into Fairfield, Iowa, USA? Have spent some time there in the past, for me the most therapeutic community I have seen. Sometimes as many as 2,000 people practicing Transcendental Meditation together twice daily. There are organic regenerative farms, eco-villages, and thousands of people trying to make a difference in big and small ways. The nicest people I have been around...worth taking a look at IMO.
Pretty strange isn't it...need a jab based on spike protein that no longer exists in nature. And doesn't work. Have to mandate it...
Here's a link i found on youtube about Vedic City which has been built adjacent to Fairfield. Keeps growing. And more such communities are being built. Haven't watched it yet, but probably will give some insight. Or: MIU.edu for the university there...Best wishes!
Aug 20, 2022·edited Aug 20, 2022Liked by Joel Smalley
Joel, please do not go back to Twitter. If you had a friend that kicked you out because of something you said, over and over, and you keep going back, the problem isn't the friend, its you. Do not reward their abusive behavior, they love it when you go crawling back. Do you really feel Twatter is the future, or is it the past?
I know. You are so right. But I can succumb to these weaknesses just like everyone else, and despite its toxicity, it's still really the only "town square" platform with any real traction. I need help!!
Aug 20, 2022·edited Aug 20, 2022Liked by Joel Smalley
Thanks for your honesty, Joel. There is probably good reasons folks keep going back to Twitter that have to do with deeper mind control. A writer here at Substack literally called me a coward (!) yesterday when I made the analogy about an abusive friend (or lover) who keeps banning you then allowing you back in, and how one shouldn't keep going back, and how the abuser loves that power. So, I have to say, I have been branded a coward because I do not use Twitter, by a (also deplatformed) Twitter user who demanded I fight with her to use Twitter too. I am still enjoying the lunacy of their argument. Best and good luck, maybe we need a new type of abuse hotline!? 1-800-TELL-US-MORE-OF-YOUR-DEEPEST-THOUGHTS. Glad I am just addicted to Substack.
I definitely spend more time on Substack than Twatter too! Maybe you're right, I should really abandon Twatter before they have the pleasure of deplatforming me again (for the sixth time!!).
Such an important issue you’re addressing in your article! And, cheer up, there are already therapeutic communities in the UK that you can join or model. Some are new – due to the worldwide insanity going on right now – and some are up to 60 years old, like the wonderful Findhorn Foundation nearby Inverness in Scotland based on the lifestyle of Steiner Rudolph’s Waldorf schools and their Anthroposophic communities. I suggest contacting them at www.findhorn.org to get to know more about their community and ask for advice on how to find or start something similar in your area. Then there’s Dan Astin-Gregory’s Together movement and their new Elevate network in London. And a brand new project called The Primal Fathers or something similar somewhere about in England. Feel free to reach out for more info on the Findhorn Foundation – my family’s been part of one of their sister groups in Norway since the 80s. There is hope. We just need to find and continue building those therapeutic communities.
Maybe we all underestimate the effect we have on other people's lives...because we seldom get feedback anymore( a bit like the ease of help in Zanzibar vs difficulty in the UK?). You have been a great source of energy for me ..you make a difference to my life...thank you..keep doing your stuff in all spheres!
I'm just down the road from you in Epping Forest. I had two trips to Zanzibar from Oman. We were looking at possible sustainable fisheries developments at the behest of the old Omani Sultan (Qaboos). Sadly, they came to nothing due to the ineptitude of the Abu Dhabi based company (Asmak) that the Omani's (Sayyed Haitham - now the Sultan) were in a then JV with. Asmak was a mad French/Greek JV Offsets setup that I managed to 'unravel' after joining later on. Basically, it was an Offsets (Dassault) scam. Mad, mad days. The Abu Dhabi movers-and-shakers then got fed up with fisheries/aquaculture and bought Manchester City football club - as you do.
Hi Joel, No, I'm in North Chingford, but basically in the forest itself - if that could be understood (the forest is a patch-work, as you may well know). I'm really am from just about everywhere really. I'm a bit of an old school expat itinerant. but have two daughters and 4 g'kids hereabouts and 4 more g'kids in i'nt Yorkshire - which could be considered something of my homebase. Like you I am very much unvaxxed, and Robert Malone (et al) is a bit of a hero of mine!
So much LOVE for this post. Tree houses and nice people.
Welcome back. It reminds me of Michael Palin's 80 Days Around the World , where after meeting all sorts of friendly and extremely accommodating people all over the world, he gets back to the UK and is rudely shouted by a newspaper seller to "turn the ****** camera off" -)
You are so right. If we do not keep in touch with those thing which essentially make us human, we will surely end up at the soulless cyborgs out "betters" would wish us to be.
Morning Joel,
Love this.
I was going to ask you after your eloquent post about expectations and duty of care from the NHS 'had you ever thought of standing for public office?'
And here you are candidate for Reform. It takes balls to stick one's head above the parapet. To mix lots of bodily analogies. We love to throw things at those braver than ourselves.
I would love to build such healing communities here too. Zanzibar looks truly beautiful, but I admit to feeling a bit queasy about coming in as relatively rich and moneyed ex pats in someone else's country.
I had an image in my head of what it would look like if everyone woke up. I mean everyone. We would have no one to rail against. What we do all day. We would be growing our own food, which takes a lot of hard work, but we would be doing it together in cooperation with everyone.
It's a lot to get ones' head around not having an 'enemy'
I wish you all the best - I don't think we should have a prime minister at all; but imagine if you were!
Jo
Being a relatively more wealthy expat does not mean you have to take advantage of the indigenous communities. Wherever possible, I am doing joint ventures with locals, focussing on skills exchange rather than any kind of exploitation, no matter now "legitimate".
Heheh - I lived in Bali for 7 years... and it worked the other way around -- the expats are massively taken advantage of on pricing.
When we moved there we hired 6 people from the village to work for us + we paid a couple of grand to have a mobile eye surgery do check ups on hundreds of villagers - provide meds/eyeglasses for those in need and carry out cataract surgery (4 blind people from the village could see again after this). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHufCxu4Ic
Down the road our neighbour tapped into our water supply and was running the bore hard (no idea where all the water was going but our power bill was off the charts) without asking --- we found the tap and told him if he needs water to let us know.... he didn't like that so a few weeks later we found our cat decapitated and a few days later our dog failed to come back as he usually did at dark. I found him just outside our driveway with his back broken and a large boulder next to him.
Fast forward and we needed to cut a large tree that was rotten and would have fallen on our neighbour's guest house --- we asked the other neighbour (who tapped our water) if it would be ok to drop the tree in his direction onto an empty piece of ground --- we'd cut up all the wood and he could keep it. Nope -- he wanted $600 as well.
I reminded him that we welcomed his entire family to have their eyes sorted (one had cataracts removed) and didn't expect anything for that but we perhaps he's return the gesture...
He turned his back on me and walked away -- I think we ended up paying $200.
That was the final straw and we sold not long after.
It was a constant battle trying to get fair prices for work done --- most of the time we'd end up paying many times more than the work was worth --- and often the work was sub standard (there are not tradesman regulations ... you can just say you are an electrician - and you are an electrician!)
We had to replace all the wiring on our outdoor lighting - we paid for conduit and a certain gauge wire -- we got no conduit and the lighter gauge (of course).
The horror story of all horror stories involved a couple we knew --- they'd just finished their house and had a built in BBQ --- the gas cylinder was in a space below the BBQ --- the fitting was not installed properly and the gas was leaking into the cabinet so that when they lit the BBQ for the first time it exploded --- the wife was burned very badly and had to be airlifted to Singapore.
Of course it was not all negative and Bali is probably a worst case scenario because there are so many expats living large + loads of tourism $$$ coming in.
We had a superb relationship with our staff and to this day we keep in touch with our pembantu. She did a stellar job holding everything together when we left - and waited nearly a year to find a buyer. We gave her a 2 year salary bonus + she got our motorbike so she was very stoked (and was crying when my wife informed her).
True! In Zanzibar, there is "mzungo" pricing! It's about double the local price. I don't mind paying it given the massive disparity in earnings. Typical wage there is as low as $300 per month.
Sorry about the unfortunate neighbour you had. There's always going to be some rotten apples.
Actually, don't have to go overseas; have very nasty rotten apples next door as well as tradespeople who rip us off. "UnAustralian?" No, very typical Australian.
People are very tribal. When the shit hits the fan, who do you think the locals are going to kill first? It is insanity to think you can go to a completely foreign place and will be safe in the coming years. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Well, the hope is that the shit doesn't hit the fan there! They simply aren't on the same grid that we are which is the main attraction.
I think thousands of Europeans are happy and safe here in UK... I know some people moan about immigration but that's UK all over, moaning *}@*s and no action, except going on strike or blockading roads and generally only succeeding in pissing everyone off
Never in doubt Joel, still makes me feel weird x
You thinking about yourself as an expat and rich, is what places it in the consciousness of others. Maybe they have a bad history with people like you describe, and so they might begin more cautiously, but since you don’t have a history with Zanzibaris, you shouldn’t be anything but yourself [keyword: might]. If you preemptively act as if they they inevitably will act “weird” you’re the one causing it to manifest.
I’m not saying, I don’t understand why you say that, but as an expat and a past world traveler, I’m just sharing my perspective and observations.
♥️
Well said.
I’m in scary Naz i Canada. I feel a lot of despair because of what’s going on. And fear. So many ‘asleep’ people.
I want to start to make such changes as you do in my small city too. I started with a presentation to city council about ‘backyard chickens’ and beginning to create a town that places importance on such human activities that supports our people, our food security during these difficult times, and as a way to teach skills that unite us with nature. I researched it well, and it went over well. They had a city planner and we had a zoom meeting ( I had submitted a written proposal package first ). They are going to approve allowing backyard chickens ( I made the entire thing based on the key to ‘no problems ‘ being animal welfare and education. They asked me if I’d write the information pamphlet that will go to anyone applying to have chickens in their backyard). The presentation also included possibilities for expanding community ‘agriculture’ and gardens into school and classroom involvement , as well as involving the elderly and nursing homes, and education about nutrition, preparing healthy foods ( related to school programs and their cafeterias and classroom involvement in growing food, and preparing the food for the schools as a learning experience. A lot of kids have no idea of even something like what an asparagus plant looks like, or the life cycle of a tomato plant etc). Anyway. It’s a start. I also just hooked up with a person who has great ideas for all the businesses ( and the many farms that surround our city) ; he has some good ideas to build on. I’m just a retired teacher. Anyone can research and approach your city or town council and try to start such ventures. Promoting such ideas at the farmers market, and through posters etc is always good. Community petitions in support go a long ways to getting things approved too. Such projects could often attract financial support and donations from community groups too ).
What a great way to make some positive change.
Do you really need to have permission to keep chickens in your own back yard though? It's a step, sure, but it's a helluva way to go to get to a free society?
I agree. But I believe in strategy. We’re at war actually. The resistance can work in many ways, and sometimes subtle is the way, in a given time and place. We want to win hearts and minds. This is how change begins. Just setting up chickens and getting busted is going to have the opposite effect. Though I agree, it should indeed be ‘my right’. We’re still living in these communities and not everyone is up to that speed though, are they. Draw them in. Convince them. Show them a different way. Give them introductions to new ways of living. I actually think it’s better than the ‘save yourself’ and try living ‘off grid’ or something like that, and hope they don’t get you. Leaving the system takes a lot of skills , most of which most people don’t have and it will require a very steep learning curve,, money to buy land ( mortgage free or you’re a fool) , lots of equipment, building outbuildings, a well that doesn’t rely on electricity, setting up and maintaining alternate energy sources, and probably at least 5 acres of woods to supply energy that way. Hmmm. Not cheap or even doable for the majority of people I’d say. Hell of a way to keep chickens in your own back yard ( after learning how to keep them and figuring out how you’ll feed them; of course relying on gas to get to town to buy things you aren’t producing yourself, like animal feed, will be important too; cooking oil, salt, flour, rice, cornstarch, baking power, or whatever basics you aren’t wanting to do without, or produce yourself. Self sufficiency is a wonderful thing. But we’re, at this point, stepping off a cliff. We have to start from where we find ourselves I think.
You don’t need roosters to raise chickens for eggs ( or meat).
Canadian relatives and friends have blocked my emails as I warn them about Trudeau/WEF and especially C. Freeland, on the board of trustees of the WEF, along with M. Carney, also trustee, hoping to be PM one day, over a country ruined by Trudeau and Freeland. Good Luck. Bonne Chance.
I know. Me too. I’m in Belleville, Ontario. If you’re anywhere near me, I’d be very happy to connect with you my friend.
Thanks Donna; I'm DownUnder. We are having a LaNina year supposed to continue which means too much rain, floods, etc. Have not had success in the garden and commercially similar; lots of gaps on the shop shelves.
Stay strong my friend. Truth is the Daughter of Time. Keep spreading the Truth , even in the face of opposition. Do whatever you can to prepare to get through to the other side. Be at peace.
Think global. Act local. That's probably THE message of the moment. We neglect our local communities at our peril. We're so captured by this assault upon humanity right now that I think we forget sometimes that the only way WE are going to build back better is to start local. There's a storm coming for sure and the only way we're going to survive it is to pull together locally, relying upon friends, family and neighbours. That is, after all, how we started out on this long journey from tree-dwelling, to plains-dwelling, bipedal apes to town-dwelling, city-dwelling, technologically advanced and fully 'civilised' human beings.
Twatter is a moral cesspit of bots and trolls. It has, unfortunately, captured the hearts and minds of good people who cling to it hoping that they can make a difference to the world 'out there' by giving their voice a global reach. I think that was once the case, but no longer. They're closing down the shutters. It's a virtual prison domain now.
The penny has dropped re. Twatter - at least among Gab users. Check out the most liked replies to this post:
https://gab.com/BreckWorshamOfficial/posts/108855173955014164
Thanks Joel.
I needed a lift.
A few days ago I had "full time carer" dropped on me. My wife exited hospital, with drains still in place.
Great people and care from what I'm told. They just forgot to ask or mention.
She's just another damaged walking wounded.
We need more communities.
Anything to help, Richard. Wishing wellness for your wife. 🙏
Love from the USA! All of our souls are having a human experience. I guess we’re all stuck. ✝️✝️✝️💪💜
Thank you for all your work.
Enjoyed your musings...Have you ever looked into Fairfield, Iowa, USA? Have spent some time there in the past, for me the most therapeutic community I have seen. Sometimes as many as 2,000 people practicing Transcendental Meditation together twice daily. There are organic regenerative farms, eco-villages, and thousands of people trying to make a difference in big and small ways. The nicest people I have been around...worth taking a look at IMO.
Afraid I'm not allowed into the US because I did not succumb to the medical experiment.
Pretty strange isn't it...need a jab based on spike protein that no longer exists in nature. And doesn't work. Have to mandate it...
Here's a link i found on youtube about Vedic City which has been built adjacent to Fairfield. Keeps growing. And more such communities are being built. Haven't watched it yet, but probably will give some insight. Or: MIU.edu for the university there...Best wishes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaE6oC_RcR8&t=22s
Joel, please do not go back to Twitter. If you had a friend that kicked you out because of something you said, over and over, and you keep going back, the problem isn't the friend, its you. Do not reward their abusive behavior, they love it when you go crawling back. Do you really feel Twatter is the future, or is it the past?
I know. You are so right. But I can succumb to these weaknesses just like everyone else, and despite its toxicity, it's still really the only "town square" platform with any real traction. I need help!!
Thanks for your honesty, Joel. There is probably good reasons folks keep going back to Twitter that have to do with deeper mind control. A writer here at Substack literally called me a coward (!) yesterday when I made the analogy about an abusive friend (or lover) who keeps banning you then allowing you back in, and how one shouldn't keep going back, and how the abuser loves that power. So, I have to say, I have been branded a coward because I do not use Twitter, by a (also deplatformed) Twitter user who demanded I fight with her to use Twitter too. I am still enjoying the lunacy of their argument. Best and good luck, maybe we need a new type of abuse hotline!? 1-800-TELL-US-MORE-OF-YOUR-DEEPEST-THOUGHTS. Glad I am just addicted to Substack.
I definitely spend more time on Substack than Twatter too! Maybe you're right, I should really abandon Twatter before they have the pleasure of deplatforming me again (for the sixth time!!).
Such an important issue you’re addressing in your article! And, cheer up, there are already therapeutic communities in the UK that you can join or model. Some are new – due to the worldwide insanity going on right now – and some are up to 60 years old, like the wonderful Findhorn Foundation nearby Inverness in Scotland based on the lifestyle of Steiner Rudolph’s Waldorf schools and their Anthroposophic communities. I suggest contacting them at www.findhorn.org to get to know more about their community and ask for advice on how to find or start something similar in your area. Then there’s Dan Astin-Gregory’s Together movement and their new Elevate network in London. And a brand new project called The Primal Fathers or something similar somewhere about in England. Feel free to reach out for more info on the Findhorn Foundation – my family’s been part of one of their sister groups in Norway since the 80s. There is hope. We just need to find and continue building those therapeutic communities.
Thank you, Marthe (and for connecting with me on LinkedIn). I know Dan well and am part of Elevate. Lots of cogs turning!
Maybe we all underestimate the effect we have on other people's lives...because we seldom get feedback anymore( a bit like the ease of help in Zanzibar vs difficulty in the UK?). You have been a great source of energy for me ..you make a difference to my life...thank you..keep doing your stuff in all spheres!
I'm glad to have helped you, Andy. 🙏
Sometimes the road ahead seems full of barriers, but as you say 'for the children' - we will keep going and climb mountains.......
On point. The only way forward is to detach from the toxicity before it consumes the best of us.
Zanzibar is such a wonderful break to have had. Some problems there, but the people are very warm spirited. I just love the place. Glad you do to!
I'm just down the road from you in Epping Forest. I had two trips to Zanzibar from Oman. We were looking at possible sustainable fisheries developments at the behest of the old Omani Sultan (Qaboos). Sadly, they came to nothing due to the ineptitude of the Abu Dhabi based company (Asmak) that the Omani's (Sayyed Haitham - now the Sultan) were in a then JV with. Asmak was a mad French/Greek JV Offsets setup that I managed to 'unravel' after joining later on. Basically, it was an Offsets (Dassault) scam. Mad, mad days. The Abu Dhabi movers-and-shakers then got fed up with fisheries/aquaculture and bought Manchester City football club - as you do.
Yeah, this has to be done independently of those types of money people. Takeley end of the forest? In my constituency then?! Or further south?
What am I saying?! I'm confusing with Hatfield Forest! Only lived here 50 years!! Doh!
Hi Joel, No, I'm in North Chingford, but basically in the forest itself - if that could be understood (the forest is a patch-work, as you may well know). I'm really am from just about everywhere really. I'm a bit of an old school expat itinerant. but have two daughters and 4 g'kids hereabouts and 4 more g'kids in i'nt Yorkshire - which could be considered something of my homebase. Like you I am very much unvaxxed, and Robert Malone (et al) is a bit of a hero of mine!