I spend the best part of yesterday (28th) and today (29th) speaking with Phil Valentine the guy behind the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR). We clicked from the outset and it’s been as if I’ve always known him. We’re both of us at critical stages in our spiritual developments and we’re being challenged in differing ways to ‘let go absolutely’ and to trust the process come what may. I think we’re helping each other in this and being true to the basic precept of the 12 Step programme: i.e. that recovery occurs when two alcoholics sit down and talk to each other. Before retiring to the On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina for lunch we’d long conceded that beneath us both were God’s everlasting arms bearing us up and that all distractions, all temptation, all evil thoughts and desires, all our anxieties and hidden fears would be cast out by His perfect love.
And what did we eat? Phil had a chicken Fajita and I ate a steak one. Bliss!
Earlier I’d recorded Cheryle Pacapelli, the Director of Operations at CCAR, who gave me an overview of the services they provide. Cheryle it is, incidentally, who has helped plan my itinerary whilst in Connecticut; she’s also arranged for me to hire a car; provided me with a BlackBerry; treated me to lunch yesterday; has escorted me hither and thither and has generally mothered me! I don’t know where I’d be without Cheryle!
Curtis Kolodney is Recovery Housing Manager at CCAR, and he recorded a piece for me about the Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut. At a time when access to affordable, quality recovery options has been significantly diminished, the Recovery House movement is a bright light on the horizon. Across the state individuals in recovery have quietly created a number of dignified, safe recovery environments where people in early recovery as well as those who have a history of recovery, are given the time needed to rebuild their lives. Recovery Houses not only help to develop the tools necessary to embark on a life of recovery, but also positively impact on the quality of that recovery.
Curtis also introduced me to the writings of Steven Levine and, in particular, a piece that had been and still is of great comfort to him following the recent death of his beloved mother. Meetings at the Edge: Dialogue with the Grieving and the Dying, the Healing and the Healed. The piece which Curtis read out to me was a letter written by Lobellia’s mother’s best friend at the time of Lobellia’s mother’s death. The letter ends:
“Your mother and my mother can never leave us; the temple of their lives may change, but the theme of their vast love, still throbbing in us, will only be continuing somewhere, and it is my simple, strong faith that we are never, never to lose contact with that love motif. Somewhere again our hearts are to stand still in ecstasy as we recognise those familiar, lovely notes of our beloveds and find them – a little farther along in their scores than we, perhaps, but intrinsically the same fine symphony.”
I then drove to Willimantic to appear in a live TV public service broadcast by CCAR. Before that, however, I met Diane Potvin, Director of the Willimantic Recovery Community Centre (WRCC) and Kathy Wyall, Volunteer Coordinator at WRCC. They seemed fascinated by my Welsh accent – in particular, Kathy who began imitating me! Suffice to say I had the time of my life with these two wonderful ladies. Two who are totally dedicated to recovery advocacy and are grateful, living examples of what can be achieved when we surrender our self-will to a Power greater than ourselves.
As Diane concluded “A grateful drunk will never drink again. And I truly believe that. I was homeless; I was unemployable. I came into recovery with black eyes, cracked ribs and I have not had one single day that I have not been grateful. And it’s as simple as.... not gagging when I brush my teeth. It’s all of these little things ….that I still, every day, when I go to brush my teeth, I realise that…I’m not gagging, where before I used to do that all the time.”
I was privileged to present Diane and Kathy with a Sir Winston Churchill Commemorative Crown and a tea towel, a gift from Churchill Fellows Wales, in appreciation of the wonderful work they are doing in Willimantic and as a thank you from me to them.
As I finish this blog at the end of a long and tiring day I’m listening to the dulcet tones of Michael Buble singing Cry me a River.
Incidentally, Markus, Kathy's boyfriend, has invited me to go fishing with him next week. It can't get any better can it?
Nos dawch pawb, a diolch am ddarllen y blog. Good night everyone and God bless.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Monday, 27 September 2010
Frankie Giammonta and the medicine drop-offs that could save lives
I caught an earlier than expected Amtrak train from Newark Airport, New Jersey to New Haven Connecticut yesterday (26th) where the 1st stage of my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship begins today when I meet up for lunch with Cheryle Pacapelli, Director of Operations to the Connecticut Community of addiction Recovery (CCAR) and Curtis Kolodney, CCAR Recovery Housing Manager.
Since 1998, CCAR has been organizing the recovery community to do two things: to put a face on recovery and to provide recovery support services. In order to achieve these two goals CCAR run the following programmes: Telephone Recovery Support; Recovery Housing Project; Volunteer Management; Recovery Orientated Employment; Recovery community Centres; Recovery Coach Academy; Recovery Training Series and Advocacy.
I hope to look at their Addiction Recovery Housing Project whereby Recovery House owners are invited to participate in the Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut which, evidence suggests, elevates recovery outcomes. I’ll be fascinated to learn how the Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut has ‘become a group of very passionate owners who want to ensure the quality of recovery houses in CT’.
I’m also interested in learning how their Recovery Community Centres serve a clubhouse function in terms of recovery fellowship, but also how they offer a much wider spectrum of recovery support services than would be available in a typical AA clubhouse, and how they serve as an organizing place for recovery advocacy activities.
But more of these matters on another day and in a future blog.
Whilst travelling yesterday I read an interesting article in the New York Times, which cost me $5 and the environment a whole forest-full of trees, I’d say. It described an initiative in Worcester, Massachusetts whereby residents were offered a drug amnesty and invited to empty homes of legal but dangerous drugs that the authorities say are driving addiction and crime around the country.
According to the NY Times reporter, some of the people who showed up did not want to identify themselves or discuss what brought them out, silently dumping their pills into boxes provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and hurrying off. Others said they were dropping off drugs that had belonged to relatives who were now dead, or elderly people who had let medicines pile up in their homes for too long
This is an initiative that could so easily be replicated in Wales and throughout the wider U.K. and at little cost. In my book, No Room to Live, (see www.welshcouncil.org.uk or www.amazon.co.uk!) I describe how, when I was younger, I became a friend of the elderly in my village. This was when I was 12 or 13 years old and already psychologically addicted to my mother’s strong sleeping pills. I’d visit these old women late at night and, while they’d be out the back preparing tea and biscuits for “the kind minister’s son”, I’d be frantically rummaging through their cupboards looking for any drugs I could get my hands on.
During this period, I swallowed all kinds of pills – for high blood pressure, low blood pressure, water retention, kidney, bladder, bowel problems, etc – and suffered all kinds of side effects!
I don’t think many youngsters today begin their journey to oblivion and misery by doing what I did. But I’m sure that some of them at least begin experimenting with drugs by stealing them from their own parents’ medicine cabinets. Providing drop-offs, similar to the ones in Worcester, Massachusetts, could be an effective and long overdue way of clearing out all medicine cabinets in Wales and beyond. And who knows, an initiative of this kind might even end up saving lives.
On the train, I got chatting to Frankie Giammonta, a 17 years old New Yorker who was travelling up to Boston where she’s a High School pupil at a public school there. Frankie plays for the Boston Shamrocks, a women’s ice hockey team, so her place of education kind of followed her chosen sport. Next year she hopes to major in Physical Education at one of the many U.K. universities who specialise in her subject.
Frankie’s dad, a fire-fighter, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist atrocity, and most of Frankie’s spare time is taken up with helping others whose lives are or have been affected by terrorism acts. Frankie herself refused all counselling offers of help at the time. She hated that “formal” relationship which sometimes exists between therapist and client. She hated also the language used and the therapist’s inability to empathise properly. “Nobody could possibly comprehend what we went through” she said. “So why pretend they could?”
She organises weekend camps for young people affected by terrorism from all over the world. “We encourage them to engage in all kinds of sports activities: water skiing, soccer, playing pool, gymnastics and tennis. We even play Gaelic football!”
“Gaelic football!” I said rather surprisingly.
“Yes, one of the counsellors comes from Ireland and he taught us how to play the game.”
“But I thought you said you hated counselling.”
“Oh I do” she said. “But his type of counselling is different and it definitely works. You see, we’re not even aware that it’s going on. It happens naturally whilst we’re engaged in other activities. We also surround these kids with people who’ve had similar experiences to them – with people who can genuinely empathise.”
We then talked about drug use in her sport. “The use of performance enhancing drugs definitely does not go on in ice hockey sport!” she retorted.
“What about your friends?” I asked rather gingerly, “do they take drugs?”
“My friends come from New York where there’s plenty to do – they don’t take drugs. It’s the people who live in places like Billerica, for example, where there’s nothing to do – that’s where drug taking is rife.
I’ve been lucky” she went on. “I have a very good group of friends: I don’t do drugs; they don’t do drugs. We’re all pretty active kids doing all kinds of other things: sport, going to the movies, eating out – I like Italian food” and she laughed and pointed to a pack of spaghetti protruding from a bag above our heads on a rack.
“Who’s your favourite actor?” I asked.
“Ryan Reynolds…..he was in Proposal and Just Friends….?”
“Never heard of him” I said.
And with that the train pulled into Hartford and our conversation had to end. As I exited the train she shouted after me, “It’s our involvement in sport - that’s been our biggest saving grace from drugs.”
“I’ll tell everyone about it” I said. And I have.
And what piece of music am I listening to right now? It’s Wild Horses (Susan Boyle Tribute Version) from Emotional Moment. Exquisite!
Good night everyone.
Mae'r tywydd wedi oeri'n arw ers nos Sadwrn gyda'r glaw yn syrthio'n gyson yma drwy'r dydd heddiw. Mae popeth yn mynd yn dda yma a minnau'n setlo yn y gwesty. Am logi car yfory. Mae'n amhosib teithio yma heb gar. Rydw i wedi cael ffon symudol (lleol) arall hefyd gan fod costau'r un sydd gen i mor uchel. Un cysur yw fod y cyswllt rhyngrwyd i'w gael am ddim yn y gwesty hwn. Nos dawch.
Since 1998, CCAR has been organizing the recovery community to do two things: to put a face on recovery and to provide recovery support services. In order to achieve these two goals CCAR run the following programmes: Telephone Recovery Support; Recovery Housing Project; Volunteer Management; Recovery Orientated Employment; Recovery community Centres; Recovery Coach Academy; Recovery Training Series and Advocacy.
I hope to look at their Addiction Recovery Housing Project whereby Recovery House owners are invited to participate in the Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut which, evidence suggests, elevates recovery outcomes. I’ll be fascinated to learn how the Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut has ‘become a group of very passionate owners who want to ensure the quality of recovery houses in CT’.
I’m also interested in learning how their Recovery Community Centres serve a clubhouse function in terms of recovery fellowship, but also how they offer a much wider spectrum of recovery support services than would be available in a typical AA clubhouse, and how they serve as an organizing place for recovery advocacy activities.
But more of these matters on another day and in a future blog.
Whilst travelling yesterday I read an interesting article in the New York Times, which cost me $5 and the environment a whole forest-full of trees, I’d say. It described an initiative in Worcester, Massachusetts whereby residents were offered a drug amnesty and invited to empty homes of legal but dangerous drugs that the authorities say are driving addiction and crime around the country.
According to the NY Times reporter, some of the people who showed up did not want to identify themselves or discuss what brought them out, silently dumping their pills into boxes provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and hurrying off. Others said they were dropping off drugs that had belonged to relatives who were now dead, or elderly people who had let medicines pile up in their homes for too long
This is an initiative that could so easily be replicated in Wales and throughout the wider U.K. and at little cost. In my book, No Room to Live, (see www.welshcouncil.org.uk or www.amazon.co.uk!) I describe how, when I was younger, I became a friend of the elderly in my village. This was when I was 12 or 13 years old and already psychologically addicted to my mother’s strong sleeping pills. I’d visit these old women late at night and, while they’d be out the back preparing tea and biscuits for “the kind minister’s son”, I’d be frantically rummaging through their cupboards looking for any drugs I could get my hands on.
During this period, I swallowed all kinds of pills – for high blood pressure, low blood pressure, water retention, kidney, bladder, bowel problems, etc – and suffered all kinds of side effects!
I don’t think many youngsters today begin their journey to oblivion and misery by doing what I did. But I’m sure that some of them at least begin experimenting with drugs by stealing them from their own parents’ medicine cabinets. Providing drop-offs, similar to the ones in Worcester, Massachusetts, could be an effective and long overdue way of clearing out all medicine cabinets in Wales and beyond. And who knows, an initiative of this kind might even end up saving lives.
On the train, I got chatting to Frankie Giammonta, a 17 years old New Yorker who was travelling up to Boston where she’s a High School pupil at a public school there. Frankie plays for the Boston Shamrocks, a women’s ice hockey team, so her place of education kind of followed her chosen sport. Next year she hopes to major in Physical Education at one of the many U.K. universities who specialise in her subject.
Frankie’s dad, a fire-fighter, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist atrocity, and most of Frankie’s spare time is taken up with helping others whose lives are or have been affected by terrorism acts. Frankie herself refused all counselling offers of help at the time. She hated that “formal” relationship which sometimes exists between therapist and client. She hated also the language used and the therapist’s inability to empathise properly. “Nobody could possibly comprehend what we went through” she said. “So why pretend they could?”
She organises weekend camps for young people affected by terrorism from all over the world. “We encourage them to engage in all kinds of sports activities: water skiing, soccer, playing pool, gymnastics and tennis. We even play Gaelic football!”
“Gaelic football!” I said rather surprisingly.
“Yes, one of the counsellors comes from Ireland and he taught us how to play the game.”
“But I thought you said you hated counselling.”
“Oh I do” she said. “But his type of counselling is different and it definitely works. You see, we’re not even aware that it’s going on. It happens naturally whilst we’re engaged in other activities. We also surround these kids with people who’ve had similar experiences to them – with people who can genuinely empathise.”
We then talked about drug use in her sport. “The use of performance enhancing drugs definitely does not go on in ice hockey sport!” she retorted.
“What about your friends?” I asked rather gingerly, “do they take drugs?”
“My friends come from New York where there’s plenty to do – they don’t take drugs. It’s the people who live in places like Billerica, for example, where there’s nothing to do – that’s where drug taking is rife.
I’ve been lucky” she went on. “I have a very good group of friends: I don’t do drugs; they don’t do drugs. We’re all pretty active kids doing all kinds of other things: sport, going to the movies, eating out – I like Italian food” and she laughed and pointed to a pack of spaghetti protruding from a bag above our heads on a rack.
“Who’s your favourite actor?” I asked.
“Ryan Reynolds…..he was in Proposal and Just Friends….?”
“Never heard of him” I said.
And with that the train pulled into Hartford and our conversation had to end. As I exited the train she shouted after me, “It’s our involvement in sport - that’s been our biggest saving grace from drugs.”
“I’ll tell everyone about it” I said. And I have.
And what piece of music am I listening to right now? It’s Wild Horses (Susan Boyle Tribute Version) from Emotional Moment. Exquisite!
Good night everyone.
Mae'r tywydd wedi oeri'n arw ers nos Sadwrn gyda'r glaw yn syrthio'n gyson yma drwy'r dydd heddiw. Mae popeth yn mynd yn dda yma a minnau'n setlo yn y gwesty. Am logi car yfory. Mae'n amhosib teithio yma heb gar. Rydw i wedi cael ffon symudol (lleol) arall hefyd gan fod costau'r un sydd gen i mor uchel. Un cysur yw fod y cyswllt rhyngrwyd i'w gael am ddim yn y gwesty hwn. Nos dawch.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Sadness, Bed Bugs and deep foundation drilling
I felt very sad saying goodbye to Meira my wife and Rwth, my youngest daughter, at Heathrow airport yesterday. It reminded me of the countless times when, as an actor in a previous career, I would stock up on new clothes and toiletries and leave the family home to live in hotels and bed-sits whilst touring and performing in halls and theatres up and down the country. I’d miss out on home comforts and the warm secure feeling of having a loving family around me. It’s so much easier for everyone if we stick to the familiar and stay in our comfort zones, isn’t it? However, recovery involves risking; taking life by the horns and learning to confront the burden of being human. And, for me, it involves using the fear I’ve experienced lately as I prepare for this Winston Churchill Fellowship as a reason to DO things rather than as an excuse NOT to. I did allow myself to cry, incidentally, as I kissed Meira and Rwth goodbye. Showing such feelings of vulnerability is the biggest risk of all for me – demolishing that façade of invulnerability that I hid behind for so many years takes courage and is imperative, I believe, if recovery is to flourish. I have to accept my humanness else I’ll always be in hock to some or other mood-altering substance or behaviour. I’ll also miss seeing Bethan, my eldest daughter and, in particular, my two darling granddaughters, Begw and Efa. Saying goodbye to them was something else and I best not remind myself of it now or I’ll start crying again…..!
My flight (number V5001) from Heathrow to Newark in New Jersey was faultless. I’d splashed out an extra £50 for a seat by one of the exits so that I could have more leg-room. Well, I am over 6 feet tall after all and, damn it, I’m worth it! I also had the company of Jide Bada who was sitting next to me, a London-based solicitor who works for one of the leading banks, and was heading for New York for a 9 day break with his wife, who would join him later. We discussed the world-wide financial crisis and how more and more people were suddenly waking up to the awful reality that ‘people, places and things’ (money in particular, he said) would never satisfy their needs and provide them with that sense of security that they so obviously craved. A religious man, Jide proffered that only some kind of spiritual interference in these peoples’ lives would ultimately satisfy those needs. In the main they craved wholeness, he believed (as did Carl Jung), and it was this sense of separateness - from themselves, from their fellow men, and from God - that accounted for the spiritual bankruptcy and the resulting emotional pain which he said so pervades society these days. Jide had a dilemma, however: how to get these people to recognise their need of God without them having to suffer too much first.
I told him that we in the Substance Misuse field had much the same problem: how to get people who are dependent on alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or other dependencies and problematic behaviours to recognise their need of help without them also having to suffer too much first and, in many tragic cases, dying.
It is very hot here in Newark. New England is currently experiencing a heat wave. And what clothes have I brought with me? You’ve guessed it!
Before retiring for the night at my hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, I went for a short walk just to unwind after the long journey. Outside an IHOP Restaurant I met Adam and had a coffee with him. Adam is working in nearby New York as part of a team drilling test bores for a proposed new bridge spanning the Hudson River. He’s going to be away from his partner and two children for 4 months and that sense of separateness was beginning to get to him as well – that natural human condition of loneliness. We talked for a while and both of us felt better for it. Adam was also concerned about bed bugs! There is an infestation of bed bugs in New York hotels apparently and he’s been spraying his room and all his bed clothes in an effort to avoid being attacked by the mites. I checked my bed linen when I returned to my room but couldn’t find any evidence of bed bugs. When I got up this morning after a long, restless night, however, I can tell you what I do have - jet lag!
Maybe listening to some music will help. Courtesy of my friend Colin Macdonald, who’s a member of the Policy Advisory Group at the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs and who leads our ‘Love and Forgiveness’ retreats (there’s another one from 3rd to 5th December at Trefeca in the stunningly-beautiful Brecon National Park, incidentally – so book early, places are limited!), I’m currently listening to music on an iPod he sent me. And the piece that’s massaging all the right emotional spots for me at this moment is the Adagio in G Minor played by the Limar Lapinsch & Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. It’s exquisite, and it’s quickly restoring me to my usual, peaceful state of mind.
Later today (26th) I’ll be catching a train from Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey to Hartford, Connecticut. And tomorrow I’ll be having lunch with Cheryle Pacapelli, Director of Operations at the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), who has been my contact there. That’s when we’ll schedule out the first two week stage of my 2 months visit to the States.
That’s all for now folks. I’m now going out to treat myself to a full American breakfast with four strips of bacon, two eggs (sunny-side up), golden hash browns and two cinnamon-apple compote pancakes with whipped topping!
***********************
Hoffwn ddiolch i'r holl bobl sydd wedi cysylltu yn anfon eu dymuniadau gorau i mi ar gyfer y Gymrodoriaeth hon. Diolch arbenning i'r nifer ffyddlon sy'n gweddio drostaf a thros lwyddiant y daith hon a'n gwaith yn y Cyngor.
My flight (number V5001) from Heathrow to Newark in New Jersey was faultless. I’d splashed out an extra £50 for a seat by one of the exits so that I could have more leg-room. Well, I am over 6 feet tall after all and, damn it, I’m worth it! I also had the company of Jide Bada who was sitting next to me, a London-based solicitor who works for one of the leading banks, and was heading for New York for a 9 day break with his wife, who would join him later. We discussed the world-wide financial crisis and how more and more people were suddenly waking up to the awful reality that ‘people, places and things’ (money in particular, he said) would never satisfy their needs and provide them with that sense of security that they so obviously craved. A religious man, Jide proffered that only some kind of spiritual interference in these peoples’ lives would ultimately satisfy those needs. In the main they craved wholeness, he believed (as did Carl Jung), and it was this sense of separateness - from themselves, from their fellow men, and from God - that accounted for the spiritual bankruptcy and the resulting emotional pain which he said so pervades society these days. Jide had a dilemma, however: how to get these people to recognise their need of God without them having to suffer too much first.
I told him that we in the Substance Misuse field had much the same problem: how to get people who are dependent on alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or other dependencies and problematic behaviours to recognise their need of help without them also having to suffer too much first and, in many tragic cases, dying.
It is very hot here in Newark. New England is currently experiencing a heat wave. And what clothes have I brought with me? You’ve guessed it!
Before retiring for the night at my hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, I went for a short walk just to unwind after the long journey. Outside an IHOP Restaurant I met Adam and had a coffee with him. Adam is working in nearby New York as part of a team drilling test bores for a proposed new bridge spanning the Hudson River. He’s going to be away from his partner and two children for 4 months and that sense of separateness was beginning to get to him as well – that natural human condition of loneliness. We talked for a while and both of us felt better for it. Adam was also concerned about bed bugs! There is an infestation of bed bugs in New York hotels apparently and he’s been spraying his room and all his bed clothes in an effort to avoid being attacked by the mites. I checked my bed linen when I returned to my room but couldn’t find any evidence of bed bugs. When I got up this morning after a long, restless night, however, I can tell you what I do have - jet lag!
Maybe listening to some music will help. Courtesy of my friend Colin Macdonald, who’s a member of the Policy Advisory Group at the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs and who leads our ‘Love and Forgiveness’ retreats (there’s another one from 3rd to 5th December at Trefeca in the stunningly-beautiful Brecon National Park, incidentally – so book early, places are limited!), I’m currently listening to music on an iPod he sent me. And the piece that’s massaging all the right emotional spots for me at this moment is the Adagio in G Minor played by the Limar Lapinsch & Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. It’s exquisite, and it’s quickly restoring me to my usual, peaceful state of mind.
Later today (26th) I’ll be catching a train from Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey to Hartford, Connecticut. And tomorrow I’ll be having lunch with Cheryle Pacapelli, Director of Operations at the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), who has been my contact there. That’s when we’ll schedule out the first two week stage of my 2 months visit to the States.
That’s all for now folks. I’m now going out to treat myself to a full American breakfast with four strips of bacon, two eggs (sunny-side up), golden hash browns and two cinnamon-apple compote pancakes with whipped topping!
***********************
Hoffwn ddiolch i'r holl bobl sydd wedi cysylltu yn anfon eu dymuniadau gorau i mi ar gyfer y Gymrodoriaeth hon. Diolch arbenning i'r nifer ffyddlon sy'n gweddio drostaf a thros lwyddiant y daith hon a'n gwaith yn y Cyngor.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Winston Churchill Fellowship supports Cardiff-based Drug & Alcohol Recovery project
I will begin my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship on Saturday as I fly out to New York. The Fellowship will enable me to visit a number of new recovery community centres in the US. These centres stand out as they have achieved long-term recovery from severe alcohol and other drug related problems.
A network of such centres exist in Vermont, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Virginia and visiting these centres will provide me with ideas on how to better build a strong "peer culture" into the services I am establishing as part of The Living Room Cardiff project which hopes to open its doors in 2011.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is the national memorial and living tribute to Sir Winston, who died in 1965. The Trust’s objectives are to encourage the advancement and propagation of education in any part of the world for the benefit of British citizens of all walks of life. The aim is such that this education will make its recipients more effective in their life and work, whilst benefiting themselves and their communities, and ultimately the UK as a whole. Each year approximately 100 Fellowships are awarded for wide range of projects.
The reason I'm visiting this particular part of America is because there have been some extraordinary success stories emanating from these centres and if their successes can be replicated in Wales it would significantly relieve the huge social problems currently being experienced as a consequence of drug and alcohol misuse.
Getting a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship is a fantastic boost for The Living Room project in Cardiff. My itinerary will expose me to a broad spectrum of recovery advocacy activities in the US including many of the faith-based programmes. I owe a debt of gratitude, incidentally, to William (Bill) L White MA, a world renowned academic and expert in the field of substance misuse, who has mentored me and been a great source of wisdom and support as I've planned my itinerary.
The benefits obtained by this Fellowship will enable me to establish a recovery centre in Cardiff by 2011. This will establish sustained recoveries, free from cross-addiction. I will also be filming a video diary which I hope will be a permanent and valued resource to testify to the effectiveness of these innovative approaches.
You can follow my progress over the next two months on this blog and on the Wired-in Community Blog, www.wiredin.org.uk, and on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust website, www.wcmt.org.uk.
Wish me luck!
A network of such centres exist in Vermont, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Virginia and visiting these centres will provide me with ideas on how to better build a strong "peer culture" into the services I am establishing as part of The Living Room Cardiff project which hopes to open its doors in 2011.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is the national memorial and living tribute to Sir Winston, who died in 1965. The Trust’s objectives are to encourage the advancement and propagation of education in any part of the world for the benefit of British citizens of all walks of life. The aim is such that this education will make its recipients more effective in their life and work, whilst benefiting themselves and their communities, and ultimately the UK as a whole. Each year approximately 100 Fellowships are awarded for wide range of projects.
The reason I'm visiting this particular part of America is because there have been some extraordinary success stories emanating from these centres and if their successes can be replicated in Wales it would significantly relieve the huge social problems currently being experienced as a consequence of drug and alcohol misuse.
Getting a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship is a fantastic boost for The Living Room project in Cardiff. My itinerary will expose me to a broad spectrum of recovery advocacy activities in the US including many of the faith-based programmes. I owe a debt of gratitude, incidentally, to William (Bill) L White MA, a world renowned academic and expert in the field of substance misuse, who has mentored me and been a great source of wisdom and support as I've planned my itinerary.
The benefits obtained by this Fellowship will enable me to establish a recovery centre in Cardiff by 2011. This will establish sustained recoveries, free from cross-addiction. I will also be filming a video diary which I hope will be a permanent and valued resource to testify to the effectiveness of these innovative approaches.
You can follow my progress over the next two months on this blog and on the Wired-in Community Blog, www.wiredin.org.uk, and on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust website, www.wcmt.org.uk.
Wish me luck!
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Art Exhibition Launch a big success
Agoriad ardderchog i'r arddangosfa gelf yn y Senedd yng Nghaerdydd ddoe. Y teitl yw: DIBYNIAETH. Mae'n werth ichi fynd i'w weld.
The launch of the art exhibition at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay yesterday was a big success.
Dr Dai Lloyd AM, who hosted the event, welcomed everyone and Wynford Ellis Owen, CEO of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, who sponsored the event, chaired proceedings.
Heulwen Thomas gave a recital on the violin and Jenny Randerson AM spoke about The Living Room Cardiff project, a free, bilingual day-care centre offering treatment to people experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency or problematic behaviour. The 1st stage of this exciting new initiative will open on 22nd June, 2011, and the art work on display will, eventually, be auctioned to raise money for this new Centre.
Sally Varrall, a lecturer at UWIC, directed Louise, Cherie and Katherin, in their silent dance interpretation of the late Angharad Jones' poem, Negative Print. Denzil John, chair of the Welsh Council then said a few words, before Wynford announced the names of the 9 Trustees who will steer The Living Room Cardiff project to its successful conclusion. The 9 are:
Jenny Randerson AC; Angharad Mair; Dr Morfudd Keen OBE; The Rt Hon Alun Michael MP; Jeff Zorko; Maldwyn Pryse; Mr Dai Lloyd AM; Ifan Roberts and Denzil I John.
Wynford gave a special thanks to the artists who contributed so readilly to the exhibition: Nia Jones; Kathy Williams; Dewi Tudur; Karen Jones; Elfyn Lewis; Ingrid Pett; Iwan Bala; Eugene Sullivan; Ogwyn Davies; Carwyn Evans, Dewi Glyn Jones and Aneurin Owen.
These art works will be taken around schools and libraries in the new year and will enable the Welsh Council to approach the difficult subject of addiction from an entirely new perspective.
The event ended with everyons enjoying a lavish buffet.
S4C's Wedi 7 programme recorded the event and an account of the launch was broadcasted last night.
The exhibition will be at the Senedd building until 23rd September.
The launch of the art exhibition at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay yesterday was a big success.
Dr Dai Lloyd AM, who hosted the event, welcomed everyone and Wynford Ellis Owen, CEO of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, who sponsored the event, chaired proceedings.
Heulwen Thomas gave a recital on the violin and Jenny Randerson AM spoke about The Living Room Cardiff project, a free, bilingual day-care centre offering treatment to people experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency or problematic behaviour. The 1st stage of this exciting new initiative will open on 22nd June, 2011, and the art work on display will, eventually, be auctioned to raise money for this new Centre.
Sally Varrall, a lecturer at UWIC, directed Louise, Cherie and Katherin, in their silent dance interpretation of the late Angharad Jones' poem, Negative Print. Denzil John, chair of the Welsh Council then said a few words, before Wynford announced the names of the 9 Trustees who will steer The Living Room Cardiff project to its successful conclusion. The 9 are:
Jenny Randerson AC; Angharad Mair; Dr Morfudd Keen OBE; The Rt Hon Alun Michael MP; Jeff Zorko; Maldwyn Pryse; Mr Dai Lloyd AM; Ifan Roberts and Denzil I John.
Wynford gave a special thanks to the artists who contributed so readilly to the exhibition: Nia Jones; Kathy Williams; Dewi Tudur; Karen Jones; Elfyn Lewis; Ingrid Pett; Iwan Bala; Eugene Sullivan; Ogwyn Davies; Carwyn Evans, Dewi Glyn Jones and Aneurin Owen.
These art works will be taken around schools and libraries in the new year and will enable the Welsh Council to approach the difficult subject of addiction from an entirely new perspective.
The event ended with everyons enjoying a lavish buffet.
S4C's Wedi 7 programme recorded the event and an account of the launch was broadcasted last night.
The exhibition will be at the Senedd building until 23rd September.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Dear Friends/Annwyl Ffrindiau,
Please come and view this exhibition. More importantly, please come to the launch at 12.00 on 21st September at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay. There'll be a buffet as well!
Dewch i'r arddangosfa. Yn bwysicach dewch i'r lansiad am 12.00 ar y 21ain o Fedi yn adeilad y Senedd, Bae Caerdydd. Bydd bwffe yno ar eich cyfer hefyd!
ELFYN LEWIS / CARWYN
EVANS / CARWYN
EVANS / IWAN BALA /
OGWYN DAVIES /
EUGENE SULLIVAN /
DEWI TUDUR / BRIAN
DAVIES / HEULWEN
THOMS / KAREN JONES /
INGRID PETT / KATHY
WILLIAMS ET AL...
cyngor cymru ar
alcohol a chyffuriau eraill
the welsh council on
alcohol and other drugs
FE’CH GWAHODDIR GAN DR DAI LLOYD A.C. I LANSIAD
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
BY DR. DAI LLOYD A.M. TO ATTEND THE LAUNCH OF
DIBYNIAETH/ADDICTION
ARDDANGOSFA GELF ARBENNIG GAN RAI O ARTISTIAID ENWOCAF CYMRU I GEFNOGI
PROSIECT YR YSTAFELL FYW CAERDYDD
A SPECIAL ART EXHIBITION BY SOME OF WALES’ LEADING ARTISTS IN SUPPORT OF
THE LIVING ROOM CARDIFF PROJECT
Y SENEDD, BAE CAERDYDD, CF99 1NA
12.30YP DYDD MAWRTH Y 21ain O FEDI
BYDD BWFFE CYMREIG A CHROESO TWYMGALON YN AROS AMDANOCH
Y SENEDD, CARDIFF BAY, CF99 1NA
12.30PM TUESDAY 21st SEPTEMBER
A WELSH BUFFET AND A WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU
Mae’r arddangosfa ar agor i’r cyhoedd o’r 21ain – 23ain o Fedi 2010
The exhibition is open to the public from 21st – 23rd September 2010
R.S.V.P. ERBYN MEDI 15ED 2010
Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, 58 Richmond Road, Caerdydd CF24 3AT
R.S.V.P. BY 15th SEPTEMBER 2010
Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 58 Richmond Road, Caerdydd CF24 3AT
T. 02920 493895 E. info@welshcouncil.org.uk
Addiction as seen through the eyes of artists
A number of Wales’ leading artists are contributing works to a unique exhibition to be unveiled at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay at 12pm on Tuesday, September 21st 2010
Dibyniaeth – Addiction will display new works by some of the country’s finest creative talents including Iwan Bala, Ogwyn Davies, Elfyn Lewis, Carwyn Evans, Kathy Williams, Karen Jones and Dewi Tudur. Most of the artworks have been created specifically for the exhibition using the theme of addiction in the widest sense. The exhibition, hosted by Dr Dai Lloyd AM, will be at the Senedd until September 23rd before embarking on a tour of other venues in Wales in January and February 2011. Proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be donated to The Living Room Cardiff Project. The Living Room Cardiff is a free, bilingual day-care centre that will offer treatment to anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency. The first stage of this exciting new project will be officially opened in June, 2011.
The story of one artist in particular who worked closely with an addict in recovery is particularly inspiring. Ingrid Pett composed a poem which was subsequently taken up by Ogwyn Davies as the inspiration for his particular piece.
Ingrid Pett, said, “I would never have though in a million years that something I had written would eventually end up as a piece of art on display in the Senedd. It is quite something and has given me an incredible sense of achievement. I hope my experience will inspire others looking for a way out of their addictions. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs who sponsor the event, added, “I am very grateful for the support I have been given by these fantastic artists. I have been looking for a long time for a creative way to get the message of what addiction means and what it can do to people. I hope this exhibition will get people thinking and Ingrid’s example is testament to what is possible with positive thinking and the right type of support.”
Dibyniaeth drwy lygaid artistiaid
Mae nifer o artistiaid mwyaf blaenllaw Cymru yn cyfrannu gwaith i arddangosfa unigryw yn y Senedd ym Mae Caerdydd sy’n cael ei lansio am 12pm ar ddydd Mawrth 21ain o Fedi 2010.
Fe fydd Dibyniaeth - Addiction yn arddangos gwaith newydd gan rai o artistiaid mwyaf talentog Cymru gan gynnwys Iwan Bala, Ogwyn Davies, Elfyn Lewis, Carwyn Evans, Kathy Williams, Karen Jones a Dewi Tudur. Mae rhan fwyaf o’r gwaith celf wedi cael eu creu yn arbennig ar gyfer yr arddangosfa gan ddefnyddio’r thema dibyniaeth yn ei ystyr ehangach. Cynhelir yr arddangosfa, sy’n digwydd ar wahoddiad Dr Dai Lloyd AC, yn y Senedd tan 23ain o Fedi cyn cychwyn ar daith i ganolfannau o gwmpas Cymru ym misoedd Ionawr a Chwefror. Bydd holl elw o werthiant y gwaith celf yn mynd at brosiect Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, canolfan driniaeth ddyddiol, ddwyieithog sy’n cynnig triniaeth am ddim i unrhyw un sy’n cael anhawster gydag alcohol, cyffuriau (ar bresgripsiwn neu yn anghyfreithlon) neu unrhyw ddibyniaeth arall. Agorir yn swyddogol rhan gyntaf y datblygiad cyffrous hwn ym mis Mehefin, 2011.
Mae stori un artist sydd wedi cydweithio yn agos â rhywun sy’n brwydro dibyniaeth yn hynod o ysbrydoledig. Ysbrydolwyd darn celf Ogwyn Davies gan gerdd a gyfansoddwyd gan Ingrid Pett.
Dywedodd Ingrid Pett, “Wnes i fyth gredu y bydda rywbeth wnes i ysgrifennu yn ysbrydoli darn celf mewn arddangosfa yn y Senedd. Mae’n dipyn o beth a dwi’n teimlo fel fy mod i wedi cyflawni rhywbeth nawr. Gobeithio y bydd fy mhrofiad i yn rhoi gobaith i bobl eraill sy’n brwydro dibyniaeth. Mae ‘na olau ym mhen draw’r twnnel.”
Ychwanegodd Wynford Ellis Owen, Prif Weithredwr Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill sy’n noddi’r digwyddiad, “Rwy’n ddiolchgar iawn am y gefnogaeth gan yr artistiaid bendigedig yma. Dw i wedi bod yn meddwl am amser hir am ffordd greadigol i esbonio beth mae dibyniaeth yn ei olygu a beth yw ei effaith ar bobl. Gobeithiaf y bydd yr arddangosfa yn cael pobl i feddwl ac y bydd enghraifft Ingrid yn destament i’r hyn sy’n bosib trwy feithrin meddwl cadarnhaol a derbyn y gefnogaeth gywir.”
Please come and view this exhibition. More importantly, please come to the launch at 12.00 on 21st September at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay. There'll be a buffet as well!
Dewch i'r arddangosfa. Yn bwysicach dewch i'r lansiad am 12.00 ar y 21ain o Fedi yn adeilad y Senedd, Bae Caerdydd. Bydd bwffe yno ar eich cyfer hefyd!
ELFYN LEWIS / CARWYN
EVANS / CARWYN
EVANS / IWAN BALA /
OGWYN DAVIES /
EUGENE SULLIVAN /
DEWI TUDUR / BRIAN
DAVIES / HEULWEN
THOMS / KAREN JONES /
INGRID PETT / KATHY
WILLIAMS ET AL...
cyngor cymru ar
alcohol a chyffuriau eraill
the welsh council on
alcohol and other drugs
FE’CH GWAHODDIR GAN DR DAI LLOYD A.C. I LANSIAD
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
BY DR. DAI LLOYD A.M. TO ATTEND THE LAUNCH OF
DIBYNIAETH/ADDICTION
ARDDANGOSFA GELF ARBENNIG GAN RAI O ARTISTIAID ENWOCAF CYMRU I GEFNOGI
PROSIECT YR YSTAFELL FYW CAERDYDD
A SPECIAL ART EXHIBITION BY SOME OF WALES’ LEADING ARTISTS IN SUPPORT OF
THE LIVING ROOM CARDIFF PROJECT
Y SENEDD, BAE CAERDYDD, CF99 1NA
12.30YP DYDD MAWRTH Y 21ain O FEDI
BYDD BWFFE CYMREIG A CHROESO TWYMGALON YN AROS AMDANOCH
Y SENEDD, CARDIFF BAY, CF99 1NA
12.30PM TUESDAY 21st SEPTEMBER
A WELSH BUFFET AND A WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU
Mae’r arddangosfa ar agor i’r cyhoedd o’r 21ain – 23ain o Fedi 2010
The exhibition is open to the public from 21st – 23rd September 2010
R.S.V.P. ERBYN MEDI 15ED 2010
Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, 58 Richmond Road, Caerdydd CF24 3AT
R.S.V.P. BY 15th SEPTEMBER 2010
Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 58 Richmond Road, Caerdydd CF24 3AT
T. 02920 493895 E. info@welshcouncil.org.uk
Addiction as seen through the eyes of artists
A number of Wales’ leading artists are contributing works to a unique exhibition to be unveiled at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay at 12pm on Tuesday, September 21st 2010
Dibyniaeth – Addiction will display new works by some of the country’s finest creative talents including Iwan Bala, Ogwyn Davies, Elfyn Lewis, Carwyn Evans, Kathy Williams, Karen Jones and Dewi Tudur. Most of the artworks have been created specifically for the exhibition using the theme of addiction in the widest sense. The exhibition, hosted by Dr Dai Lloyd AM, will be at the Senedd until September 23rd before embarking on a tour of other venues in Wales in January and February 2011. Proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be donated to The Living Room Cardiff Project. The Living Room Cardiff is a free, bilingual day-care centre that will offer treatment to anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency. The first stage of this exciting new project will be officially opened in June, 2011.
The story of one artist in particular who worked closely with an addict in recovery is particularly inspiring. Ingrid Pett composed a poem which was subsequently taken up by Ogwyn Davies as the inspiration for his particular piece.
Ingrid Pett, said, “I would never have though in a million years that something I had written would eventually end up as a piece of art on display in the Senedd. It is quite something and has given me an incredible sense of achievement. I hope my experience will inspire others looking for a way out of their addictions. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs who sponsor the event, added, “I am very grateful for the support I have been given by these fantastic artists. I have been looking for a long time for a creative way to get the message of what addiction means and what it can do to people. I hope this exhibition will get people thinking and Ingrid’s example is testament to what is possible with positive thinking and the right type of support.”
Dibyniaeth drwy lygaid artistiaid
Mae nifer o artistiaid mwyaf blaenllaw Cymru yn cyfrannu gwaith i arddangosfa unigryw yn y Senedd ym Mae Caerdydd sy’n cael ei lansio am 12pm ar ddydd Mawrth 21ain o Fedi 2010.
Fe fydd Dibyniaeth - Addiction yn arddangos gwaith newydd gan rai o artistiaid mwyaf talentog Cymru gan gynnwys Iwan Bala, Ogwyn Davies, Elfyn Lewis, Carwyn Evans, Kathy Williams, Karen Jones a Dewi Tudur. Mae rhan fwyaf o’r gwaith celf wedi cael eu creu yn arbennig ar gyfer yr arddangosfa gan ddefnyddio’r thema dibyniaeth yn ei ystyr ehangach. Cynhelir yr arddangosfa, sy’n digwydd ar wahoddiad Dr Dai Lloyd AC, yn y Senedd tan 23ain o Fedi cyn cychwyn ar daith i ganolfannau o gwmpas Cymru ym misoedd Ionawr a Chwefror. Bydd holl elw o werthiant y gwaith celf yn mynd at brosiect Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, canolfan driniaeth ddyddiol, ddwyieithog sy’n cynnig triniaeth am ddim i unrhyw un sy’n cael anhawster gydag alcohol, cyffuriau (ar bresgripsiwn neu yn anghyfreithlon) neu unrhyw ddibyniaeth arall. Agorir yn swyddogol rhan gyntaf y datblygiad cyffrous hwn ym mis Mehefin, 2011.
Mae stori un artist sydd wedi cydweithio yn agos â rhywun sy’n brwydro dibyniaeth yn hynod o ysbrydoledig. Ysbrydolwyd darn celf Ogwyn Davies gan gerdd a gyfansoddwyd gan Ingrid Pett.
Dywedodd Ingrid Pett, “Wnes i fyth gredu y bydda rywbeth wnes i ysgrifennu yn ysbrydoli darn celf mewn arddangosfa yn y Senedd. Mae’n dipyn o beth a dwi’n teimlo fel fy mod i wedi cyflawni rhywbeth nawr. Gobeithio y bydd fy mhrofiad i yn rhoi gobaith i bobl eraill sy’n brwydro dibyniaeth. Mae ‘na olau ym mhen draw’r twnnel.”
Ychwanegodd Wynford Ellis Owen, Prif Weithredwr Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill sy’n noddi’r digwyddiad, “Rwy’n ddiolchgar iawn am y gefnogaeth gan yr artistiaid bendigedig yma. Dw i wedi bod yn meddwl am amser hir am ffordd greadigol i esbonio beth mae dibyniaeth yn ei olygu a beth yw ei effaith ar bobl. Gobeithiaf y bydd yr arddangosfa yn cael pobl i feddwl ac y bydd enghraifft Ingrid yn destament i’r hyn sy’n bosib trwy feithrin meddwl cadarnhaol a derbyn y gefnogaeth gywir.”
Thursday, 2 September 2010
So, what's a spiritual experience like?
Having a spiritual experience feels as if we are 'floating in the womb of the universe and being taken care of always at every moment'.
Cael profiad ysbrydol yw teimlo fel eich bod yn arnofio yng nghroth y bydysawd ac yn cael eich gofalu amdanoch yn wastadol a bob amser
Cael profiad ysbrydol yw teimlo fel eich bod yn arnofio yng nghroth y bydysawd ac yn cael eich gofalu amdanoch yn wastadol a bob amser
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