Wales stays green all year. The sheep outnumber the people. But there is no confusion, the sheep having four legs. North Wales is picturesque and has little mountains. Mid-Wales is hilly and has big reservoirs. South Wales is flatter. Houses tend to be squashed together. The best land is needed for farming. Wales is mostly hills.

Look for the big “i” sign [information office] in towns throughout Britain, for advice, cheap maps, places to visit plus brochures on castles, houses, crafts, etc. They will have a list of all places to stay, and will book for you and tell you about transport.

Welsh roads are narrow and winding. Trains are not modern and small. National Express coaches from London, Victoria are cheaper and go to Wales. (But watch your possessions there!)

Look right when you cross the road!

Try “Fish and Chips”, but ask a woman for the very best shops and quality. “Health Food” shops, muesli/oats and vegetarian restaurants prove useful.

As you aim to see your friend in Cardiff, it is difficult to make good suggestions. Your instinct will find more of interest and surprise than I can suggest. Wherever you go, personal discoveries are to right and left, and inside too.

Take care, Katrina!

Alastair
Alastair Lancaster´s last blog ..Hug Special 2

Also maybe, we need a ‘photo album’ of new options. It can be just in our head. Better if it is real. I had a scrapbook in which I put anything that made me happy. Actually, it was a classified telephone directory. I tore our every 2nd and 3rd page. So instead of 1,300 yellow pages there was a 430-odd one for sticking any newspaper cutting or photo. Pictures from brochures and so on. Past and future success could be blended. A personal blog can do the same thing.

The key is immediate switching. Get allergic to negativity. Refuse it time. Undermine its influence by diving into any real-good emotion. Read, see how the writer got the effect. I read Dickens with a friend on Skype every evening. He broke from dire poverty. As a child, he worked sticking labels on bottles in boot blacking factory. His own family never knew until after his death! Clues for success abound in his books.

Like what? Break the rules. Make them up. Throw showers of words at readers for fun. Hide jokes. Feel free to say anything, in a way that nobody can resist. Play. Use thousands of word-pictures, so it is like a movie. He wrote in weekly episodes. Like an escape artist, he had to keep getting out of impossible situations. He created his own new world. And loved the journey. Be a detective. Happiness is a matter of following clues persistently.

By the way, have a wonderful time in Wales!
Alastair Lancaster´s last blog ..Hug Special 2

You ask “Why are some people able to keep a positive outlook whereas others are prone to stress and depression?” Because to them sunshine outclasses darkness. To some there is greater pay-off by being negative, avoiding risk, not trying. A box of chocolates or other quick-fix rewards more- short-term.

But, happiness is a better drug. Love is an A1 addiction. When a person discovers that we all can switch into happiness at will, the brain turns us automatically in the direction of better choices at any moment.

Focus on joy, happy things, beautiful people, delight in the feelings and great beliefs that come as a result, and keep doing the same, creates a “virtuous circle” upwards from depression. As soon as a negative input of any kind comes, immediately embrace joy, laughter, from the memory bank plus the imagination palette we carry. Smile in the mirror for 5 mins. daily. Kill sad thought like bacteria with instant sunshine of happy ideas, imaginary super situations and lots of congratulatory hugs. Go out and hug someone! If you get a negative idea, treat it with the same medicine: hugs, smiles, laughter, and making someone else happy.

I used to be depressed. Now, I never am. I can enter happiness just as soon as I deliberately choose that direction. In fact, you are making me feel happy now. So, I smile, encourage you, and hug your visitors as well as yourself. (They can’t escape as it is virtual!)

TEST: Whoever reads this, I guarantee has a lurking or actual smile breaking out. So, they use the same secret!

Best wishes. Thank you again for your post!
Alastair Lancaster´s last blog ..Hug Special 1