Mental Health Matters - Jo Loach

Spring has f inally made itself evident through the beau tiful candy floss pink blossom adorning so many trees, the armies o f yello w daffodils lining our kerbs and the beau tiful backdrop o f ever-present birdsong

For all our British complaining abou t our weather, I for one, lo ve all the seasons (some more than o thers )

Bu t as we approach the midpoint o f the year, it is time to turn our attention to wards the need for a holiday

I regularly hear people, including me, exclaiming as to ho w we can possibly be this far in to the year already Time is cer tainly mo ving fast

It’s all too easy to get carried along with all the things that must be done as par t o f adulting. And all too easy to o verlook the necessity o f self-care, including time ou t and away While we all have different tastes, traditions and budgets, the impor tance o f time away f rom our usual commitments and never ending to -do -lists remains paramount to maintaining our health and at times our sanity

A change o f scener y, pace and daily structure can all be highly benef icial in allo wing us to switch o ff, wind do wn, reduce work and increase play and rest It’s no t abou t where you go or what you do bu t just ensuring you do something different to the norm

Sometimes it takes a new location too reawaken our senses to no tice the sights and smells o f the world around us All too easily we can shu t o ff to our surroundings when life gets too fast, too busy, too noisy or just too much Proactively planning time ou t and away to ref resh, restore and re - set our systems, is a key par t o f maintaining our mental and emo tional health For me this will be time in a caravan in Cornwall and I can’t wait!

ADVERTISING

We are really looking for ward to celebrating the coronation o f King Charles III with you all on Saturday May 6th The ser vice itself will be sho wn live on a big screen at the Recreation Ground at 11am - come do wn a bit before to grab your space You'll need to bring your o wn chairs/blankets

After the Coronation has f inished we will be holding a Par ty in the Park on the recreation ground with bar, BBQ, crepes, children's enter tainment and a per formance by the garden City Samba band - audience par ticipation will be expected!

The event is f ree to attend bu t there will be charges for some o f the childrens activities Don't forget to bring your dogs along as well as Luna will be holding a coronation special dog sho w!

Please check our Facebook page "Arlesey Community Events Group" to keep updated on the details for this event

We look for ward to celebrating this historical event with you all