Macron has a huge grin on his face these days, he looks across the Channel at the chaos and now and then twists the knife just to prove a point.

Perhaps he would do better to look within his own country and the EU itself, for all is far from we’ll. This has been a very messy divorce with no winners. However far from both sides trying to compromise we have entered into a tit-for-tat battle which will end up in tears for both sides. As I said, there are no winners only losers.

Sadly in all of this, the leaders will lose nothing. It is we the people who suffer from this game of brinkmanship. Holidays are ruined, food rotting on lorries and shortage of medicines.

Somebody needs to come up with some answers and soon because when winter starts to bite desperation will hit and desperate people will do desperate things and I don’t just mean strikes etc. Violence is already on the up, people no longer feel safe on our streets. Chaos can very soon turn to anarchy. Solutions must be found quickly, but with these two wannabes don’t hold your breath!

Today we are expecting a visit from my son Kev and his two youngest children, Emma and Tom for the weekend .

Apart from Marshall we have got out of the habit of having people to stay even if it is family. So it was up early, well early for us to do a bit of extra housework, floors cleaned, beds changed etc, now I am knackered before they even arrive.

On the whole our lives have become very sedentary , so a houseful of humans will no doubt be quite a challenge as far as energy is concerned. Having said that we had another first this week, we were out in town for a meal and few drinks with friends on Wednesday night, I say a few drinks, some had more than others which in turn made for an interesting journey home by train…..I will say no more😂😂

Don’t get me wrong I am looking forward to seeing them, thankfully like us, they are never in a hurry to rise in the morning. Can’t remember the last time we had teenagers staying, one of which is a Vegetarian so I hope I have managed to meet her needs, her dad on the other hand will eat anything!

Not sure how to engage with teenagers these days, I am told they will be glued to their phones so no need to worry! Either way, I am sure it will be enlightening and I can always spend next week sleeping.

Nearly everybody has experienced bouts of depression in their lifetime, but bouts are not the same as being prone to depression or living with it.

Living with it affects your daily life and the lives of those around you and when you are at your lowest everything around you seems hopeless.

So, what are the triggers? Stress is one of the major triggers as is family history, combine both of these and the problem intensifies therefore finding the triggers is important.

On a personal level, as one who fortunately only tends to have short bouts of depression I find so often my mind is the trigger, a thought that I allow to grow can take me into a dark place very quickly. I say ‘allow’ because I have had to train myself to recognise the negative thought quickly and stop my mind from taking control by changing the thought quickly. It does work!

However, for those who are prone to depression, it’s not that easy because very often the cause is not just a thought but rather a chemical imbalance, therefore medication is required and, this is very important, an ear to listen! Often the thoughts of those suffering feel scrambled. So many different thoughts very often with no connection whirl around in your mind and you see no escape. Therefore having someone to sit and listen and unravel some of those thoughts does help.

Small things become big things, even overwhelming at times because there seems to be so many problems to deal with, but once you start prizing them out one at a time the fog clears.

Sometimes the problems we see ahead of us are indeed problems we will one day have to face and sometimes not.

I find that the word ‘problem’ in itself is a problem because that immediately suggests I might not be able to figure it out or get through it so I am defeated before the incident even starts. This is were others can help by reminding their friend of all their past achievements, the big things in life that once seemed unthinkable were conquered.

Age should not define our determination to go on living and achieving. Pain whether physical or emotional will ebb as the days go by, it may take a little longer, but go it will.

So walk with your friend and be that ear!