An Irreverent Journey

through the Ups and Downs of Life

(or…The Cynical Ramblings of a Sixty-Something Bloke)

This book deals with the mental hills we face in our lives? You know, the stuff that annoys us.

That is irritating.

That raises the blood pressure.

That makes us moan.

That maybe stops us doing stuff we want to do.

Well, these are the hills we’re going to spend a bit of time running up in these pages.

But as a word of caution, this is not a “self-help” book… in fact, by the time you get to the end, you may well need to buy one of those (sorry).

We’re going to explore some of the areas that, during my life, have annoyed me. Irritated me.

Raised my blood pressure.

And almost made me stop doing stuff I wanted to do. But I also think you will share my feelings. You may well nod your head and think “yep, I know where he’s coming from.”

So, what hills are we up against?

Well, I’ll start by introducing you to the concept of faffing.

We’ll look at the agony of an airline losing your bag.

We’ll discuss the frustration of packaging and how it once nearly got me arrested.

We’ll open the topic of jobsworths and how they impact our lives.

We’ll consider the pain that comes with being passionate about sport.

We’ll dig into the sad world of the sporting cheat.

And we’ll tackle two of the most challenging hills I have come across in my life: my mother’s fight with Alzheimer’s disease and my own journey of living with Tourette Syndrome.

I hope this all offers you a chance to consider the hills in your life.

I hope what I will share will offer you an opportunity for personal reflection.

And I hope you find the upward journey on which we are about to embark to be relevant, enlightening… and just maybe a bit of fun.

Paul Weston