Your cheerfully calming Heyday Friday newsletter
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
WITH YOUR
HEYDAY FRIDAY NEWSLETTER
What with a new job (I've joined the team on THIS brilliant website) and an unfortunate number of loved ones being poorly in various ways, the demands on my poor little brain have been in full-on overload mode in the past couple of months.
And I know from conversations with various Heydayers, I'm not alone in feeling more than a bit mentally overwhelmed from time to time. Which is what prompted me to investigate and compile this week's blog.
In it you'll find ten simple but effective ways to help you calm down your beleaguered brain. Each one is a tried and tested strategy for tackling those times when what's happening in your head feels as if it's teetering towards unmanageable.
To find out what they are CLICK HERE and I hope you'll find them as useful and successful as I have.
Tuneful Heydayer Graham and I share the same the brain calming activity that features in tips three and four in THIS WEEK'S BLOG. Find out what that is by CLICKING HERE
WORDS OF WISDOM
I was listening to the unfailingly fascinating Life Scientific (where leading scientists talk about their life and work) on Radio 4 this week, and Professor Rebecca Kilner, Professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Cambridge (who was a lot less stuffy than that title makes her sound), said something that really made me think about how important and stimulating life-long learning is.
SMART SAVE TIP OF THE WEEK
Comes courtesy of lovely Heydayer, Elspeth, so thank you to her!
(Picture sourced from t'interweb. Though, ahem, it could just as easily be one of my drawers....)
If, like me, you have all manner of old technology - mobile phones you no longer use, tablets that have been superseded by newer models, ditto kindles, smartwatches, XBoxes and Play Stations etc - cluttering up your cupboards and drawers, and are reluctant to throw them away because of the impact that has on the environment (quite right), then Elspeth has the perfect solution. Not just for your home and the planet, but brilliantly, for your bank balance too.
All you need to do to ensure that your past-it tech is safely and usefully disposed of is.....to sell it. And the super-simple way to do that is to go to one of these two websites (I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones Elspeth tried and recommends) musicMagpie where you can not only sell or trade in your unwanted tech items, but buy or rent other bits of kit you might be after. And Tradein which specialises in trading your unwanted Apple products for cash.
In both cases, the process for valuing, preparing (wiping the contents etc) and sending in your tech cast-offs is thoroughly and clearly explained. They even take damaged items in some cases. And if your tech turns out not to be worth anything, you can still send it to them and they'll dispose of it safely.
How brilliant is that?
THIS WEEK I'VE BEEN....
.... WATCHING
Bank of Dave won't trouble any awards ceremonies, but this heartwarming, unashamedly feel-good comedy drama is the perfect viewing for a winter evening. The formulaic, frequently cliche-ridden film is more than saved by an irresistibly likeable performance from Rory Kinnear and the fact that it is (at times very loosely) based on a true story.
Self-made millionaire car dealer Dave Flitwick, is appalled at what he perceives to be the failings of the old-boy-network riddled banking system which he believes is not lending enough money to individuals and small businesses, so he decides to set up an independent lending company to help the people living in his home town of Burnley in Lancashire. That much is entirely true. Indeed, it was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary.
Now Dave's story has been turned into a film by Netflix and the central story is fleshed out with the addition of various side tales which feature Hugh Bonneville as the dastardly embodiment of the entrenched wanker-bankers, horrified by the upstart banging on their corporate door, who come up with ever-more nefarious schemes to prevent Dave from achieving his ambitions, and Phoebe Dynevor (best known as Daphne in Bridgerton) in a predictable, irrelevant but nonetheless sweet will-they-won't-they love story.
You may set out determined not to be won over by the warm charm of Bank of Dave, but I predict your defences will have crumbled by the end of this genial film. Oh and if you're a Def Lepard fan - as the real life Dave Flitwick, who appears in the closing credits, is - there's a treat in store for you.
PS - the real Bank of Dave (actually rather more prosaically named Burnley Savings and Loans Ltd) has lent to thousands of customers since it was set up and, as he promised he would, Dave donates all the profits to local charities including food banks, community centres and schools.
You can watch BANK OF DAVE on Netflix
Bizzarely though, there isn't a trailer for it
FRIDAY FUNNY
My birthday cards were all fabulous, of course, but this one from my perennial favourite creator, Rosie Made A Thing, made me laugh the most
If you have any smart save tips, like Elspeth's, or favourite fail-safe recipes you'd like to share with the rest of the Heyday gang, please do let me know what they are. I look forward to featuring them in future newsletters.
See you next week
Diane x