Peaky Blinders came at the viewing public faster than a steam train out of Birmingham New Street, so prepare to learn some style lessons from the Peaky Blinders women.

THANK YOU to all the beloved subscribers to September Spring: weekly emails on starting afresh . Today is the last of my September Spring messages. Subscribers will continue to receive 👒 P2YL | Part 2 Of Your Love-Life , every other Friday.

What do you hope for from your future life?

I once heard an Oxford professor, who frequently attended formal dinners with the great and good, say he had heard the late Queen Elizabeth II quote two mottoes for life. The first one was: Live Gratefully. I’ll come to the second later. Her words struck me at the time because I wasn’t feeling grateful. As a shell-shocked divorcée I had had a bad knock and it had left me in a new place midlife: Alone. Lacking security. Having to give up doing what I loved in order to work at something else to keep myself afloat financially. Tired. Facing an uncertain future. Yet these words from someone I admired and saw as steady as a rock warmed me and got me thinking. 'Though much is taken, much remains' I decided I'd experiment with 'Living Gratefully' and see if it helped. Almost instantly the words of a poem came to mind: 'Though much is taken, much remains.' The point being that yes, there had been loss, but if you stepped back and looked at your life less emotionally, you could appreciate what you still had. If I cleared away the mists of self-pity (blue panels) some simple truths I could appreciate (yellow panels) began to emerge:

And would it work for you?

Can relocating aid personal recovery?

Featuring lace, linen, and lavender

When some previously unimaginable loss seems to be happening to you, I first recommend two things to hold onto.

As August turns to September, somewhere in the crisp or misty morning air I catch a hint of fresh energy and purpose, as though generated by all the schoolkids returning to a new school year.