End of Year Round-Up - and the Year Ahead

The South Terrace Residents blog has now been up and running for 11 months (starting on Sunday 10 February 2013). In this time we have tackled a number of issues close to your hearts: including crime, scams and SmartWater with the Darlington Neighbourhood Police team, Sainsburys development, the Esh housing scheme on the football ground, the new Terrace Hill cinema complex at Feethams North, parking in South Terrace, the Big Spring Clean 2013, South Terrace garden Spring and Summer competitions, departing residents and new arrivals, the demolition of the Feethams twin towers, and of course the important publication by South Terrace's own writer, Karl Bone.

I sense that 2014 is going to be a challenging year for us on the terrace. Esh have handled their part of the Feethams housing development with a degree of sensitivity - especially with the frequent updates on our South Terrace Facebook page, but will the same be true for Persimmon? How will Darlington Council respond to the development of 82 new dwellings on the Feethams estate? Will we get the Victoria Road pedestrian crossing point we have been seeking? Is the council going to address the parking issues we have raised?

With care and collaboration, South Terrace residents could be the beneficiaries of the recent and proposed changes. But to achieve this, our voice must be heard, and that voice should be a united one. We need to keep our group active, informed and involved.

I propose that we arrange a meeting early in 2014 to prepare an agenda for the year. Pending this, think about what you would like to see happen during the year, and what you most wish to avoid. This way, we can exercise a level of influence over the decisions that will or may most affect us.

Square Peg in a Round Hole

How could the South Terrace blogger resist the opportunity to announce the latest publication from the terrace's top author, Karl Bone.

Out this week as a Kindle download (or if you have no Kindle, to download to your computer using the free App) we have Karl's unique take on managing life's mysteries in a down-to-earth way.

Karl's 'Square Peg in a Round Hole' does not attempt to change the shape of the peg - or the hole - but gives interesting insight into the fact that 'shape' is not the problem. Sharing his experience and his personal philosophy of life, Karl brings a resounding common sense to living a life in situations that do not quite fit.

This is what Karl says by introduction. Download it here.

I have written this book for those who have never really felt comfortable with the image they portray to the world—for those who have felt deep down that there was a big hole which nothing could fill. It’s not a book for those looking to achieve successful career outcomes, or for those who wish to roll about in gold and diamonds with princes and princesses. And it’s certainly not for those who seek spiritual powers or Zen-like indifference. This book does not attempt to give explicit directions for a defined path. In fact, I urge the reader to follow their own path. I do not discuss any philosophies in great depth, except when they are needed to explain something which conventional language cannot describe.
This is an autobiography of an ordinary, everyday person from a moderately dysfunctional family that I’m sure many people can easily identify with. There are no journeys to ashrams in the East, no living in caves or anything at all exotic—just the usual work, hobbies and hassles of everyday living, which include a method of how to live in harmony with these routines and with yourself.
If you feel like you don’t fit somehow, that you were meant for something more, or that you’re acting out a part in some huge play that doesn’t really reveal who you are, then this is written for you. If religion leaves you cold and uncomfortable—so much so that God seems like an odd fairy tale—then this might help.
I started writing because I realised that most of the books I’ve read contain plots driven by fictional characters. These books are useful as metaphors and parables, but the stories come across as too neat and tidy. Other books chronicle the journeys of seekers who visit gurus that live on cave floors in remote places. None of these books seem to capture the ordinary, everyday person who might just be stuck in a rut, so I decided to write about the only seeker that I knew with any intimacy, and that was me.
I hope you enjoy the book; I thank you for your custom. I wish you well on whatever path you are following and hope this meagre writing might be a tiny, guiding light on your journey.