I AM NO LONGER ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT THAT I HAVE OCD!

Posted on October 10, 2017 by SCARFMAN

To mark World Mental Health Day, October 10th 2017, I thought I would do a blog about me no longer being ashamed or embarrassed at openly admitting that I suffer with OCD!

About six to seven years ago, I was having a course of CBT(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and I can remember asking my therapist if she thought I should start blogging about my mental health?

I asked her this question because I was a bit scared to do so.  I wanted to attack the stigma around mental health illness that existed in society back then, however deep down I was unsure of myself.  You see, I was incredibly ashamed and extremely embarrassed to suffer from OCD(obsessive compulsive disorder).

I was ashamed and embarrassed, exactly because of this stigma regarding mental health.  If I started blogging about my issues then wouldn’t people think less of me I thought?  Would it harm my jobs prospects if people from work read my old blogs?  What if somebody I fancied read about my mental torture, surely they’d run a mile and never see me as desirable wouldn’t they?  I wanted to be brave and put myself out there but again half of me was too scared to.

Finally, I did take the bull by the horns and duly did my first mental health blog (I can’t remember the exact title of my OCD blog).  I then did a second and a third blog about my mental health, but each time just before I pressed ‘publish’, I would become all ashamed and embarrassed again.  I still worried too much about the stigma and what people might think of me in a prejudicial manner ,i.e that I was nutjob, fruitcake, somehow a lesser human being because I had a mental health illness.

How did I stop feeling like this? Well, up to that point I had never spoken to anybody else who had a severe mental health illness like mine.  I felt like ‘Andy the special one’ and this made my OCD feel so isolating and soul destroying.  My OCD is like an irrational bully at times, therefore non-suffers can only relate to my feelings so much.  It was only when I went on to Twitter and hooked up with people on there who were in a similar position as myself, that my feelings of shame and embarrassment began to lessen thank goodness.

Social media quite rightly gets a bad press at times, however the finest aspect of it for me has been becoming friends with people on there in the mental health community.  I can distinctly remember reading some direct messages from a fellow sufferer and weeping in relief that I no longer felt alone.  This person experienced life the way I had been for years and as upsetting as it was to read their suffering too, it was also immensely comforting to no longer feel on my own.

The more time I spent on Twitter, then the more and more I communicated with people who had similar issues to mine.  The love and support on there(from relative strangers lets not forget), has truly been incredible.  I have done certain exposures these past few months and their lovely response has been overwhelming at times.  These wonderful people made me realise that I should never feel ashamed or embarrassed in admitting to people that I suffer with mental health issues………NEVER!

As I have become less scared about openly talking about my mental health issues, I have thus now started blogging more and more about my recovery journey.  The response to my blogs and updates on Facebook and Twitter has truly been amazing.  People out there really care about how I am doing which is such a lovely thing to experience.

The point of this blog was to just sort of shout it from the rooftops how I have now come full circle, with regards to no longer feeling ashamed or embarrassed in openly admitting that I suffer from mental health issues.  It feels so liberating to feel like this now.  What better way to celebrate this I thought than to document it like I have here on World Mental Health Day, October 10th 2017!

DON’T SUFFER A MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS IN SILENCE.  NO LONGER  FEEL ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED LIKE ME! 

 

 

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A WINKING ASTON, A SPINNING SUSAN, AND A STUMBLE OR TWO FROM RUTH! Strictly Come Dancing : week one review.

Posted on September 24, 2017 by SCARFMAN

I did it, did you?  Did you make it through to the end of the two hours and twenty minutes of week one of Strictly Come Dancing 2017, which at times felt more like two and a half weeks?  Bravo my friends if you did and give yourselves a Len Goodman SSSEEEEVVVVEEEENNN, if you managed it without the need of a ‘comfort break’ as they call it at Wimbledon(aka watering the pansies)!

Admittedly, it’s very formulaic but if Strictly is your thing then you will have fully lapped up last nights show.  It had everything you would want from a Strictly first week.  It had glitz and glamour, it had some OK-ish dancing and it also had some utterly woeful dancing from some of the celebrities.  It was good to see Strictly back on our screens once again.  In this current era of niche broadcasting, Strictly is one of those rare programmes that is fit for all of the family to see.  Therefore, it is a programme that should be forever cherished by the critics.

Comedy is a vital component in the early weeks of Strictly, and so for this reason alone I could have watched funny celebrities Brian Conley and Susan Calman dance all night.  Brian is full of amusing one-liners and comedienne Susan makes me smile every time that she appears on screen.  It was funny by the producers having this well-known lesbian in Susan, doing the Viennese waltz to the song ‘Mad About the Boy’.  She reminds me of Jimmy Krankie such is her lack of femininity, but I mean this in a really endearing way.  She is totally out of her comfort zone it’s untrue, so this makes me instantly want to root for her.  For my enjoyment alone, I need Susan to be this years Ed Balls, i.e. ‘the entertaining act’ that goes along way in the competition.  Last night she did a brilliant dance with ‘Kevin from Grimsby’, scoring a grand total of twenty points from the judges.

If I reviewed every celebrity from last nights show then I really would be here til Christmas, so I’ll now do a quick summing up instead.  Aston(from JLS), as expected was the best dancer of the night as he scored thirty-one from doing a rather over-confident foxtrot.  I just hope that he isn’t going to wink his way through ever routine like he did here.  The two surprises of the night for me were how good breakfast TV’s Charlotte Hawkins and Holby’s Joe McFadden were. Charlotte did a really graceful foxtrot scoring twenty-two, whereas Joe with his dance partner Katya Jones, did a brilliant jive routine scoring twenty-nine.

Look away now from reading this next bit if you love presenter Ruth Langsford from This Morning and Loose Women.  Poor old Anton has got the booby prize once again because Ruth is to ballroom dancing to what Gordon Ramsay is to vegetarianism, i.e. not great.  I like Ruth and I want her to do well but going off this first week of dances, then I fear she or celebrity chef Simon Rimmer, will be the first one for the Strictly chop next week.  Ruth, did the waltz but did more stumbling about than actual dancing I’m afraid, scoring just sixteen marks out of forty.

I enjoyed the return of Strictly that much last night that for about the first time ever, I even found myself laughing at the usually excruciating comedy sketch/joke, that they insist on Claudia doing halfway through every show with Tess.  However, I am sure I will be back to grimacing rather than laughing at this aspect of Strictly pretty soon though.

All-in-all, a triumphant first week return for Strictly.  Yes, it went on for far too long as expected, but it didn’t drag on as much as I feared it might at the start.  I look forward to week two and seeing more of Brian and Susan, we need to keep them in it for as long as possible! 4/5.

 

 

 

 

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ANOTHER GOOD DAY! Me and my mental health.

Posted on September 19, 2017 by SCARFMAN

I didn’t plan on writing another blog about my mental health so soon after writing the last one, however just now I just felt the urge to do so.  Yesterday was a bloody good day again with my OCD and emetophobia.  I’m chuffed to bits but also immensely frustrated at the same time.  Frustrated because I want to be fully better NOW.  Recovery is a long slow process though and so I need to remind myself of this whenever I’m feeling blue!

It all started yesterday when I left the house to go to my therapy appointment.  As usual I was in a rush for the bus.  A dear neighbour of ours shouted hello at me as I walked briskly past, they also enquired if I would like a lift to the end of our main road to the second bus stop that I had to get too?  The OCD in me said ‘no thanks’, but then I quickly turned around and to my shock ended up saying that ‘yes, I would like a lift actually, thank you’.

As I walked up the drive to get in the car it suddenly dawned on me that I had not thought this through properly.  My issue is worrying that I might smell, see or sit in vomit everywhere that I go.  Therefore, here I was now having somehow just agreed to get into a unfamiliar car, this really could have gone badly wrong and backfired on me.  Inside I was panicking, but I was doing the great ‘acting impression’ that I’m so accustomed to doing with my mental health.  I managed though, there was no nasty smells, there was no OCD disaster.  Unwittingly, I had exposed myself to this anxiety provoking situation BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, I HAD COME THROUGH IT!

Therapy went well and I loved telling my therapist about the exposure exercise that I had done the week before(see my last blog for that).  Going home was going to be the tricky bit though because I had promised my Mum that I would call in at the local supermarket to do some shopping for her.  It filled me with dread but my motivation was doing it for my Mum, the person in this world that has and will do anything for me.

Mum has been feeling unwell with a sore leg recently, so me offering to do some shopping for her on my way home was the least that I could do for her I thought.  OCD and emetophobia(fear of sick) wise though, supermarkets are not my most favourite place in the world to visit.  It was going to require me to fight my mental demons if I was going to successfully accomplish what I gone to do.  I went into ‘fight it Andy mode’ and to my amazement within minutes, I had filled up a big basket full of goods.  That alone felt like somewhat of an achievement to me because people put their baskets on the FLOOR whilst queuing up to pay, and here I was carrying one around with me and putting things in it.

All was going fine and dandy until I went to get some bags for my shopping from the checkout opposite.  I smelt something funny(I don’t mean in the hilarious sense) and for a moment I panicked what it was.  Nevertheless, it could have been anything so I quickly regrouped and started to pack my goods up from a self-service checkout.  Within minutes I was out the door(still fighting it) and my mission was complete……..almost.

I then decided to walk home with the shopping which was about half a mile.  In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the smartest of moves on my part what with a sore lower back and pelvis, but you see I wanted to end to day on a high.  Twenty minutes later I had made it home with the shopping………very red faced and completely out of breath(good workout though).

It just felt like another really good day with regards to my mental health.  I am getting more out there now, doing things that months before I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing.  I still have a long way to go with my recovery but days like yesterday do give me optimism and hope for my future.  I want to get better enough for me to be able work, hopefully meet somebody and maybe have kids in the future.  ONE STEP AT A TIME THOUGH I HEAR YOU ALL CRY AND I AGREE, YOU’RE RIGHT.  I’m slowly but surely though getting excited about life once again, yesterday was definitely ANOTHER GOOD DAY!

 

 

 

 

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I DID IT AGAIN! Me and my mental health.

Posted on September 14, 2017 by SCARFMAN

I am going to be unashamedly very boastful here and SHOUT OUT LOUD, TODAY HAS BEEN A BLOODY GOOD DAY PEOPLE!!!  

Today, I have had another great exposure day, similar to the one I had a few weeks ago.   For those of you who didn’t read my last blog about my mental health, I have suffered with OCD and emetophobia for the last twenty odd years, and it has been truly horrific for around the last eight.   This blog is just a celebration of a great day that I have had ‘FIGHTING IT’ today.

For the last few days I have had butterflies in my tummy because I was really dreading today.  In fact, the only way I coped was by trying to forget that today was happening, the day where I promised myself that I was going to exposure myself to an uncomfortable situation again.  I had set myself the target of going to a local shopping centre, that would be for the first time in OVER EIGHT YEARS!

I woke up this morning absolutely dreading the day ahead, I did not want to go to this shopping centre pure and simple.  I spoke to my amazing mother about it all and told her about all the worst case scenarios that I was fearing might happen, e.g. that I might see, smell or walk in sick…..and if I did then I would not be able to cope.  I was getting myself in a right flap, I was thinking about saying I wasn’t going to go after all.

I forced myself to go though for a number of reasons.  Firstly, in order so I would not back out, I had deliberately told a lot of people within the mental health community on Twitter that I was planning this exposure day.  The love and support on there has been lovely so I did not want to let these people down.  Secondly, I did it so I could then tell my therapist the good news when I see her next week.  She was overjoyed at my trip to the rail station so know I am going to get a similar positive reaction this time around.  Finally, I did it for myself.  I knew if I did not go then this would make me feel really depressed afterwards.  I need to feel like I am taking baby steps forwards.

The trip went better than I expected if I’m honest.  Yet again, I made the long walk to the tram station and avoided walking in any dog poo(an old OCD phobia of mine).  I made it to the town centre via a tram, and coped with the stains on the pavements as I made my way to the shopping centre.  I walked up and down it for about twenty minutes and as I was doing this, I did feel this sense of pride and accomplishment well up inside me.  I just had one last nerve wracking thing to do though before I could call today an unmitigated success.

This last job was to go to a supermarket that I had never been inside for over eight years, I was really nervous.  I went in and I DID IT AGAIN, I COPED!  I paid for my goods and COPED.  I got a tram home and COPED.  Finally, I made the long walk home and yet again, I COPED!

I got home and punched the air in delight at what I had just achieved.  Just for awhile there I was ‘rational Andy’, the part of me that I need to harness and bring out more and more.  I like ‘rational Andy, I really like him.  You see ‘rational Andy’ won’t be bullied by ‘irrational Andy’.  My dear Mum is happy at me going and the support I’ve had from people on social media has been amazing.  You don’t know how far a ‘well done Andy’ or a LIKE/LOVE goes, they almost bring a tear to my eye.

I reiterate I still have a long, long way to go yet but a baby step forwards like this, is definitely better than taking one back.  TODAY HAS BEEN A GOOD DAY………….I DID IT AGAIN! 

 

 

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HAVEN’T I SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE BEFORE?? 2017 ‘STRICTLY COME DANCING’ LAUNCH SHOW.

Posted on September 10, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Haven’t I seen you somewhere before??

This was the question that I asked last night as I watched the 2017 Strictly Come Dancing launch show.  With the odd one or two notable exceptions(which I’ll come on to shortly), it was the same type of launch show that we have seen on our screens for the last goodness knows how many years.  Yes, it was all a bit samey, but nevertheless it made for an enjoyable watch all the same.  Oh and before I end this introduction, can we please have either funny celebrities Susan Calman or Brian Conley lifting up the winning glitter ball this year….you know it makes sense British public!

The show got off to its usual fast lively start which saw new head judge Shirley Ballas, doing an amazing dance routine that would have put Wayne Sleep to shame.  I can’t move as good as that aged forty, never mind when I’m her age.  With a short V-T clip introducing to us who Shirley was shown a bit later on, my initial hunch is that the Strictly powers-that-be have chosen really well in replacing the retired Len Goodman with her.  She definitely made an initial favourable impression on me.

The most moving aspect of the show was undoubtedly and as expected, when they paid an emotional tribute to the late, Sir Bruce Forsyth(previous presenter).  They got the tone and balance just about right, it was not over-the-top like it could have been.  There were touching words from some of the professional dancers on the show that had worked with him through the years.  Tess Daly, became overcome with emotion in the concluding part of the tribute.  As she very befittingly said at the end about him, ‘to put it in his own words, didn’t he do well’.

We then had the usual pairing off of the celebrities with their new professional partners.  Professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, looked absolutely thrilled to get Debbie McKee(yes that’s sarcasm). His over exuberant celebration at getting Debbie, looked about as genuine as Father Christmas!

The two stars of the show as already hinted at by me, were comedienne Susan Calman and comedian/entertainer Brian Conley.  Susan is sooooooo out of her comfort zone that I actually found myself welling up when she got the partner she wanted the most in the form of Kevin Clifton(aka Kevin from Grimsby).  Talking of which, the laugh of the night was when Brian Conley got his dance partner Amy Dowden. He mocked the other celebrities by saying Amy was the one he’d always wanted, but then shouted across to her what was her name(made me laugh anyway)?

Other celebrities worth remarking upon were celebrity chef Simon Rimmer and pop star Mollie King(from The Saturdays).  I hope my initial impressions of Simon are wrong, but he seems to have inherited the verbal diarrhoea syndrome from which fellow Strictly celebrity Mark Wright(TOWIE) had a few years ago.  With regards to Mollie, I had never heard her talk before.  Little did I know that she sounds posher than our actual Queen!

All-in-all, a great return for a much loved programme that I for one will be watching all the way up to Christmas.  Can we just have a ‘funny act’ winning it this year though, go on British public……..KEEP DANCING! 4/5.

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I’M BACK IN THE ‘FIGHTING IT’ GAME! Me and my mental health.

Posted on September 5, 2017 by SCARFMAN

As I write this blog I do it in a very positive frame of mind.  I’ve had a good week with my mental health and so I just wanted to socially document this.  I wanted to sort of shout it from the rooftops, that FINALLY I have got my ‘fighting it’ mojo back!

Mentally speaking, four or five months ago I was in a similar positive place.  I had just started seeing a new brilliant therapist and I was full of self-motivation in terms of trying to get better with my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and emetophobia.   Then a few negative things happened and my strong will started to wane somewhat.

The recent Manchester terrorist attack knocked my confidence about going out, as well as feeling like the therapy wasn’t going as I had previously hoped it would.  I seemed to be withdrawing from life once again(more than I already was anyway).  I had started to give up fighting my mental health.  I was back in that negative mindset where I was just accepting my shit lot in life.

A few things then happened for the good which got me out of this negative rut that I found myself in.  I unexpectedly received a phone call from a dear friend of mine who I had not chatted too in ages because of my OCD.  It so lovely hearing from this person and that they still seemingly cared deeply about me.  Our conversation got me motivated about life once more.  I want to be like him you see, a success both in my personal and professional life.  Therapy then changed for the better too I’m pleased to report.  Nevertheless, I knew I had to start fighting my OCD again like I was ready too at the start of my treatment.  I knew the onus was on me to do something BIG!

In between appointments I had set myself the target of going one day to Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station.  This would be a massive thing for me because I had not been there in over eight years(when my major OCD and emetophobia incident happened).  It was a doable achievement though, it wasn’t aiming too high in my view.

In the morning of the day I had planned to go last week, I was well and truly procrastinating.  By this, I mean I was starting to come up with excuses why I shouldn’t go. I wondered if it was a step too far at this stage and I was fretting about the prospect of it going terribly wrong, e.g. would I be safe going there, what if I saw or smelt sick?  I was constantly thinking about worst case scenarios.

I was just about to declare that I wasn’t going when I received a direct message from a friend of mine on Twitter. I told her about my dilemma and how I was thinking of not going to the train station after all.  She messaged me a bit of tough love and instructed me how I should still go.  I needed both her persuasion and reassurance that everything would be alright.  This chat was just the rocket that I needed.  I made my final decision then, I INDEED WAS GOING TO GO AND DO THIS TRAUMATIC EXPOSURE THERAPY EXERCISE……NOTHING WAS GOING TO STOP ME NOW!

I had only been out the house two seconds when I nearly trod in a pile of dog poo(a phobia of mine that used to be massive).  I just hoped me missing it was a good omen for the afternoon ahead.  To cut a very long story short, I DID IT! I got the tram to Victoria Station(where the tram platforms were stained with goodness knows what), then got another tram to Piccadilly Station.  I managed to stay at Piccadilly for about thirty minutes before making my return journey home.  I did have a few trigger smells on the trip that made me panic momentarily but in general I coped really well.  It was such a massive thing for me to have done.

This exposure trip has got me excited again, well OK maybe excited isn’t the right word, but full of optimism and enthusiasm for sure about fighting my mental health issues.  I still have such a long way to go with my recovery so pleased don’t be thinking everything is now rosy in my OCD and emetophobia garden because it truly is not.  I just know that I need to keep chipping away at it like this if I am to get anywhere with it all.  I am frustrated in one respect because I want to get better yesterday, however I know baby steps forwards is the key.

I am just so pleased to have my ‘FIGHT IT’ head back on, I’M BACK IN THE GAME EVERYBODY!

 

 

 

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I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE AGAIN………..WITH ‘THE AMERICANS’! ‘The Americans’, review of season 3.

Posted on July 27, 2017 by SCARFMAN

It is official, I’ve fallen in love again with The Americans, but in all honesty I’d never really fallen out of love with it since ITV1 stopped showing it a few years ago.  Recently, I finally twigged(bit of a technophobe you see), that I could watch this amazing US/Russian spy drama series once again via Amazon video.  I have just finished watching season three and I am in awe at how impressive this show was.  Superb, magnificent and utterly gripping, these words best sum up my total admiration for it.

If you have never come across The Americans before, then it is a US made spy drama series set in the early 1980s, located primarily in America, during the Cold War years.  It focuses on the lives of a married couple who are KGB officers living undercover in America, called Philip(Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth(Keri Russell) Jennings.  They have two children called Paige(Holly Taylor) and Henry(Keidrich Sellati).  The other main protagonist is their FBI officer neighbour called Stan Beeman(Noah Emmerich).

Collectively speaking, the acting yet again in this third series was utterly superb.  Indeed, I would go as far to say that the performance by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, is one of the finest that I have ever seen in a drama.  It is such a well-rounded, moving portrayal that he gives to us as Philip, which is coupled with the magnificent writing of the script.  Actress Holly Taylor as Paige, needs a special mention in this review too because she was also exceptional.  Paige’s curiosity, her bewilderment and her new mental torture, were all wonderfully captured by Holly.

Although some of the storylines were a tad tricky to follow in places, nevertheless every episode felt like a mini-film and a mini-masterpiece.  You do have to give it your full attention but doing so is rewarded by witnessing marvellous acting and writing.  The two backdrops to this series were the Russian war in Afghanistan and the apartheid regime that existed in South Africa.  The former being particularly poignant to Philip, after we learnt that he had a son fighting over there as a Russian paratrooper.

I have never experienced a drama before that is consistently such an emotionally charged watch as much as this series was.  By this, I mean that I was sat on the edge of my seat throughout the entire third season.  This series was all about revelations.  For example, we found out that Philip had another son.  Whether Paige would find out the true identity of her parents was a constant theme that was beautifully and emotively played out.  You sit there not knowing whether Philip’s and Elizabeth’s covers are going to blown in each scene that you watch, which thus really makes for some pulsating viewing.

The series ended with Paige, breaking a promise to her mum and dad, about not telling anybody about who they really were.  Regarding Agent Stan Beeman, we saw his best efforts to free his former lover Nina(Annet Mahendru), come to an unsuccessful end.  It was a great end to a tremendous series and now I can’t wait to get watching season four in order to find out what happens next.  I have since read that the show will end in 2018 with a sixth and final series.

If you have never got into The Americans then I implore you to do so because it truly is one of the best TV shows around, thank you comrades! 5/5.

 

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The woman with a plan! ‘EILEEN’ by Ottessa Moshfegh – A REVIEW.

Posted on July 18, 2017 by SCARFMAN

A sure way of knowing you’ve enjoyed a good book is when you’re sorry to have finished it, this is what has happened to me recently with the novel Eileen written by Ottessa Moshfegh!

Not the best novel that I’ve ever read in my whole entire life, but without a doubt definitely not the worst one either.  I really liked the self-loathing, self-deprecating and resolute character that was Eileen.  The book is a sort of psychological thriller which did admittedly take awhile to get going though.  Nevertheless, when it did get going then it was a highly enjoyable read.

Set for the majority of the time in a place repeatedly referred to as ‘X-ville'(a stone’s throw away from Boston, America), Eileen(now an old woman in the present tense) tells us about a story of her life back when she was just twenty-four years old.  Her existence back then was a mundane one.  She lived a somewhat hellish life, what with her mother dying when she was young and then living with her verbally abusive alcoholic father, who regularly suffered with hallucinations.  Back then, she worked as a secretary at a local young offenders prison known as Moorehead.

Initially, Eileen’s only escape from all her misery was to sexually fantasise about a guard at Moorehead called Randy(she liked his muscles and smell of man sweat).  This is until though the prison employs a new Head of Education, a glamorous gorgeous looking woman called Rebecca.  When they meet Rebecca changes Eileen’s life forever.  Eileen worships the ground that Rebecca walks on.  It is their coming together as a couple of kindred spirits that sets off a massive change of events.  Rebecca wants retribution for a boy who is under her care at the prison and Eileen is only too willing to come to her aid.

Pace wise, I could have done with being more hooked in earlier on in the story, however your patience will be rewarded with an absolutely corking twist that totally surprised me.  Such was my shock at the time that I let out a small scream of delight, I just couldn’t help myself!

I loved the descriptive detail of the locale by the author.  Furthermore, I loved the tone throughout the book.  Eileen had to be a likeable character for this novel to work and so indeed she was.

Once I got into it then the time and pages flew by so quickly.  The more I read then the more I enjoyed it, with the great climax keeping me right on the edge of my seat right until the very end.  A good story by an obviously very talented writer! 4/5.

 

 

 

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BROKEN BUT BRILLIANT! ‘BROKEN’- A review of episode 4!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Jimmy McGovern’s BBC1 sociopolitical drama Broken is unequivocally the best thing on TV right now.  This week was the fourth instalment and its brilliance remains ever strong.  It is brilliantly written and acted and has truly secured actor Sean Bean’s status as being a national living treasure.

Much in the ilk of a Ken Loach film, the beauty of Broken lies in its gritty realism.  This programme is unashamedly hard-hitting about the depressing state of British society today.  The overriding theme is the wide ranging damaging impact of the governments austerity cuts.  For example, in the first episode we saw a young mother being that broken by poverty that she withdrew her dead mum’s pension, superbly played by Anna Friel I should add.  Other hard-hitting topics we have seen have been about police corruption as well as a suicide storyline induced by a gambling addiction.

Episode four saw the utterly moving conclusion to this suicide and gambling storyline.  Roz, played fantastically well by actress Paula Malcomson, was a middle class woman on the brink of suicide due to her gambling addiction which had made her embezzle hundreds of thousands of pounds from her work.  Her torture was heartbreaking stuff to watch, but at the same time it was brilliantly written and acted.  It was a hard emotive watch but it also in some way felt like a cathartic one.

This drama is the best thing that I have ever seen Sean Bean in.  As Father Michael Kerrigan. he is completely believable in this role.  He too is a tortured soul as we have seen him have regular flashbacks of his sexually abusive childhood at school.  It is such a mature performance by Bean, that he deserves major awards for his compelling performance.

I look forward to watching the completion of this series because it drew me in straight away.  I care about all the residents of this community and especially about the life of Father Michael Kerrigan.  Each week I have marvelled at the greatness of Sean Bean and of the quality of this drama. AMEN FOR THE BRILLIANT BROKEN I SAY! 5/5.

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VOTE CAMP, VOTE FOR THE SCARF PARTY!

Posted on June 7, 2017 by SCARFMAN

The name is SCARFMAN and as Leader of the SCARF PARTY I’m constantly being asked, ‘hey Scarfy, why do you want to be the first SCARF Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?  I say, ‘why that’s simple scarf fans, I hate HATMAN(I have balding issues so rely on them too much nowadays) and can’t stand cocky CRAVATMAN….as well as wanting to improve the lives of SCARVES up and down this great nation of ours of course!

ONLY IF YOU VOTE FOR THE SCARF PARTY on June 8th, will scarves finally be able to alleviate themselves above hats, cravats AND SMELLY HANDKERCHIEFS!  No longer will they just feel like washed up pieces of cotton stuck at the bottom of your wardrobes, your vote will give them personality and freedom to breathe.

Here is a list of my promises if we gain power, in this FIRST EVER FULLY COSTED Scarf Party manifesto!

  1. I promise that every citizen in the UK will own AT LEAST FIVE SCARVES by the year 2020….and we’ll buy them people if necessary.

2.  I promise to PERSONALLY read ALL my scarves a bedtime story before every evening, by the year 2999.

3.  I’ll ban the use of CRAVATS with suits, and will penalise bald men for wearing HATS!  Oh and if you don’t wash HANDKERCHIEFS in a hot wash, then I’ll make this a criminal offence.

4.  By the year 2055,  I promise to invent THE FIRST TALKING SCARF….one that actually cares about how your day has gone(even if it doesn’t really).

5. FINALLY, if you give me your vote on June 8th then I promise to PERSONALLY HUG every SCARF that is made in Great Britain. Rest assured then, whatever SCARF you buy, then SCARFY WILL HAVE HUGGED IT!

I believe in a fairer Britain that treats SCARVES as people.  PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR VOTE FOR THE SCARF PARTY AND HELP BRITAIN BECOME MORE………………SCARF! 😀

I am SCARFMAN, Leader of The Scarf Party and I approve this message!

NB Yes I have an overactive imagination, and no you won’t really see THE SCARF PARTY on the ballot paper…….SADLY! 😀

 

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