I went to see BELFAST for the second time during last week and I’m so glad I did. `Protestant rioters attacking a street of mixed residents to intimidate peaceful neighbouring Catholics and get them to pack up and get out. Buddy is nine years old and in love with a Catholic classmate, the whole sectarian thing is discussed with his Pa, a mild mannered and tolerant man, who has no objection to any forthcoming marriage. He is under sectarian pressure himself, will be join the cause? I was able to further appreciate the conflicts both personal and emotional and the fear of a young impressional, deep thinking boy.
I felt the tears prickle at the back of my eyes at the very end with the tribute on screen, simple words in simple writing penned with Kenneth Branagh’s deep feeling. “For those who left,
for those who stayed and
for those who were lost.”
The news here and there is just appalling at the moment. What once was a an interesting joke has become a serious and frightening situation. Egomaniacs care little about other people, in the case I’m thinking of these are men wanting to be in the big picture, getting rid of anyone standing in their way and it’s costing us big time. Is the UK the fifth most wealthy country in the world? How could it possibly be with food banks in almost every town, young mothers unable to bring up the children in comfort the older people terrified of where the money will come from for heat and light. Well now, here this.
“The UK has been crowned the world’s fifth richest country in the world in a new report that measures the total wealth amassed by each country’s individuals.
“Britain’s population holds $9.24 trillion (£6.01 trillion) in private wealth, surpassing France, Italy, Canada and Australia. This is despite its relatively small population compared with countries such as Germany, which ranked fourth with a total wealth of $9.36 trillion.”
Puts a different slant on it.
Where has it all gone wrong? Who is responsible? Will Trump return like a rotten egg, will Johnson survive like a party animal, will DUP have their way with protocols and borders? The sad thing is we probably will just have to wait and see, we are impotent until the elections – alections as it’s pronounced here like the winter alembics – but will anything change? Advice on ways of saving money is ok when there is money coming in, put on extra jumpers and turn down the heating, have a list of items you need before you go shopping and stick to it, it’s easy to be cajoled into filling your trolly with lovely things that shout out at you – buy me, you deserve a treat. Decisions are being made by men and women who are well heeled, who don’t know what it’s like to be a widow living on her own and shivering because she’s terrified about the price hike in electric or the availability of oil, relying on friends to bring in basic food stuffs, a newspaper or magazine is a luxury. Or the student who has debts building up as they try to complete their education. The young man who has no work and spends what money he has in a pub or running wild. The businessman who finds his work has dried up and having to tell his wife that his income has stopped, often through no fault of his own. This can lead to alcoholism, depressing and suicide.
Is there hope? Always.
I had a valuable friend who was an excellent journalist and many years ago as the Troubles took hold I asked him what I could do about it. Paddy took my hand and gently said: “Love your neighbour. Those on each side of you and then down the street and up the other side. And when you’ve done that, work on the next street.” I realised what Paddy meant and if we all take care of those we know and love, keep an eye on the vulnerable, if you can buy two tins of beans and give one to a food bank; that’s a bit crass but you know what I mean, sharing where and when you can. But it doesn’t only mean practical help, giving time is vitally important, keep a list of numbers nearby so you can pick up the phone when you have a moment to say hello how you doing and exchange points of view, allow one gripe, tell one positive thing that’s happened to you, make a list of simple jokes or funny situations, it does not have to be a long call, just check in and put a smile on someones face and perhaps that simple act will result in some emotional comfort for the person at the other end. This is all simplistic and I hope I’m not preaching but it’s worth thinking about. It’s more blessed to give than to receive, perhaps we ‘ordinary’ people can do both until life settles down.
A MAN OF STRENGTH AND CHARACTER
Earlier this month Team Serranos managed and captained by Richie Sheerin entirely on screen met in person for the first time when they cycled from Wexford to Derry with members joining end route to present him with a framed RWB jersey to thank him for all he has done for the entire community.
My 10th birthday present changed my life. It involved fitting and testing and a lecture on safety. My black Raleigh bicycle was the grandest thing I’d ever seen. I remember a big room with a raised platform at one end. My bike was standing there waiting and there followed time spent on checking if the saddle was the right height so my feet could touch the ground, the handlebars were lifted up and down until I was comfortable with the position, a bell was screwed on and a light fitted on the front and I was ready to go – to the shops, to the allotment for lettuce and most of all to school. The freedom was intoxicating.
How could I ever have imagined cycling round the world whilst sitting in my bedroom – this was space age stuff yet today that’s just what’s happening, the virtual cycling experience is big news not only for the excitement of international computerised road racing but also for health, both physical and mental.
Basically, using special software such as Zwift Racing, you connect your bike to a laptop, a phone, instagram even twitter and follow a programme on the screen. As you cycle the route opens up before you, you know in advance the distance, the altitude, the rules and regulations and you might well find your competing against professionals like Lance Armstrong or Mark Cavendish. You cycle through countryside, along lakes, into town, up mountain and down dale. The harder you cycle the faster you go and you follow your virtual self on the screen, no traffic to contend with, no fans walking out onto the track, never mind the new Highway Code, this is safe cycling.
It has become an obsession with thousands but it’s also like becoming part of a family, there’s rivalry as well as camaraderie, making new friends you’ll rarely if ever meet in person as they are from all round the world. Being part of this global organisation, Racing Without Borders (RWB), has helped men and women who are at a low ebb, especially over the last two lockdown years, having support like this has drawn people back from the edge of suicide, from alcohol addiction and despair and for one man it has given focus on something other than his terminal cancer.
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Derryman Richie Sheerin is 39 and he’s fighting Myeloma. Very recently he received an infusion of white blood cells from his brother Damian, it follows four years of treatment, radio therapy, chemotherapy, relapses, hospital stays up to three months, years of medical appointments, a balancing act, working as IT Agile Project Manager for PA Consulting working in Health & Life Sciences and his family, his wife Lisa and his son Aedan who is 5 years old and is getting a new bike for his 6th birthday!
Life was good coming into spring of 2018, he was a fit man running marathons and 5K races. He was active in Sean Dolan’s Gaelic Club playing and coaching less experienced senior players but problems surfaced the day he dislocated his hip and the pain began to build. A visit to the doctor and a blood test flagged up something serious.
“Tuesday 28th March was just a regular morning. Lisa took a call from the surgery, the doctor wanted to talk to me; he told me that the hospital had been in touch about my blood test and they wanted me over in the North West Cancer Centre first thing next morning. He said they suspected I had Myeloma. I went straight to Google, it was a bolt from the blue to read incurable bone marrow cancer.”
“Let’s Bin 2018 and Go Again in 2019”
This positive attitude lead him back to his bike. “I was advised to stay off the bike in case I fell and got severe fractures but my consultant didn’t say anything about cycling indoors where I could fall straight into the shower or the bed!”
And so his Mental Medicine began.
“I talked to ‘the gaffer’ in RoI, Brian Donnelly founder of RWB, I renewed my Zwift membership (an app for cyclists, runners, and triathletes for indoor training) and started doing 20 minutes to see how I went, almost an hour later I stopped, I felt invigorated. It was my virtual road to recovery.”
Despite this, treatment went on. November 2019 stem cells were harvested and frozen, an almost lethal dose of chemotherapy called Melphalan that kills bone marrow, then the stem cells were Infused back into his body.
“Isolation for three weeks, I couldn’t see my boy for the entire time I was there, I missed the day he started nursery, that was so tough mentally. However, we did do video calls, thank God for technology. The chemotherapy burnt my mouth and throat so bad that I couldn’t even swallow or spit, never mind eat or drink, you get very sick before you get better. I came home for Christmas, back with my family. Aedan was the reminder I needed that life goes on and we have to deal with our inner demons and pain and keep it away from the innocence of our young.”
Richie’s Fight Goes on
And so does his world of virtual cycling. Every thing is voluntary, just time and enthusiasm required. As chairman he has built Racing Without Borders with 19 extremely successful racing teams and 4,400 members on Facebook from all over the world but mostly based in Ireland, an administrative team with Michael Hailes as communications officer and Eleanor Gallagher looking after women members.
When it comes to Mental Medicine it’s something Richie Sheerin recommends and he is an example of positive mental medicine and the challenge life throws up but as he says, with his family and friends and RWB he is determined to keep peddling.
Richie’s motto: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”
More at: www.withoutborders.online
The mind boggles.
