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Why am I blogging?

Sunday 17th January 2021, nothing particularly unusual about today: a morning walk on the beach with my fiancée Holly, my daughter Ottilie and our two dogs Freddy and Finley; preparing the usual Sunday roast which normally accompanies Ottilie's fortnightly visit; and twenty minutes spare in which I'm going to scratch the itch I've had for a few weeks to start a blog.

In the interest of complete transparency (and of course not wanting to make promises one cannot keep!), I cannot guarantee anything to readers of this blog beyond honesty and a passionate case for causes that matter (to me anyway). I guess that is likely to be the USP of this blog, unfettered honesty and of course, the odd spelling mistake here and there.

I have many interests, some significant and others less so, some which most will find commendable, others less so:

- Depression
- Alzheimer's
- Sport
- Politics

There are more, but this somewhat eclectic mix of four are the ones which consume a sizeable chunk of my interest regularly and about which I spend much of my day pondering. I can't say for sure I'll ever confine my blog content to these four hefty subjects, but they'll certainly feature more regularly than others.

It is crucial that at this stage, I set some ground rules for my new blog. This will help keep me on track and avoid my routine temptation to waffle and disappear off down 'rabbit holes' of no relevance, but they'll also give any prospective readers a flavor of what to expect, a framework if you will, within which pretty much anything goes:

1). I'll always keep it brief - no more than 1,000 words per post
2). I'll be totally open about my own experiences (within reason, of course) - although I'll avoid naming third parties where is isn't appropriate
3). No blogging simply for the sake of it - a post should either educate, encourage, relate, or provoke debate
4). Undiluted passion, always
5). Opinion twinned with fact/supporting evidence

All relatively simple boundaries, some might say obvious, but they will help set the tone for my future content.

Ask, argue, engage, feedback and enjoy.

Speak soon!

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