WELCOME TO MadNOTBad - Launched October 2002!

Hey! Firstly, a huge load of apologies for the lateness of this update. Alot has happened in the last few year. As you might know, after many years of being in and out of hospital, I went back to college to study music. This course was amazing, and thankfully (due in part to the support of the college, my friends and my family) I actually passed it! It wasn't easy at times, but it was definately worth it. If any of you are into music, based in the UK and wanting to get back into educations - I'd definately recommend Access To Music to you.

Next came me studying for a year down in London. Again, this was an Access To Music course (but a more specialised one where I worked with some fantastically talented musicians and learnt the ropes as a session musician). After a number of wobbles and the odd hiccup, I also managed to come through that course with a fancy certificate and a big smile.

Life is pretty busy for me at the moment. I'm still as mad as ever (and in all honsety I don't see that changing any time soon), but i'm learning ways of coping with it all as time goes on. I'm working part time as the Manager of the London Hearing Voices Groups Project (helping set up self help groups for people who hear voices, see visions and have unusual experiences). This is a biggie for me, as I haven't worked for about 10 years. It's proving to be an amazing job, and it kinda makes me feel that some of my nastier experiences have had some point.

As you can probably imagine, coping with studying/work and life has meant that I've not been able to devote as much time to MadNOTBad as I'd like. Now, though, I think I'm at a point where I can get back on the saddle and begin doing regular updates again (fingers, and toes, crossed!).

This isnt' the biggest update in the world, but i've added a few new pictures to the ArtWork section, and four new experiences. I've also given the Resources section a bit of a spring clean.

If you're waiting for me to add your contributions - please bear with me. If you're not sure if I've received your work, please email it to me again. I have alot of trouble with spam (between 1,000 and 10,000 spam messages a day!) and I'm sure that some 'real' messages get lost in the junk. If you do email me, please make sure it's really obvious that it's a real message (just to help me sort through them).

New Ideas ...

I'm planning on starting a section where people can review and mental health related books that they've read. It's going to take a few months for me to set it up properly, but if you're interested in letting me know what you think of any books you've read then just drop me a line. The idea is that this section will be very much interactive and enable us to share info on the books that have both blown our minds, and left us cold.

Another idea of mine is a section which we can share our thoughts for the future, how we get through the day and other positive copey stuff. Let me know what you think, and if you have anything to add then please email me.

Do you have any suggestions for the site?
Any new sections you'd like adding?
Let me know

Heard of Video Nation? It's the BBC's collection of video diaries/short clips made by different people around the UK. I was asked to record some of my own experiences at the start of this year, and the first clip is available to be seen on their website. It's not for the faint hearted, as it features my feelings on losing one of my best friends to suicide. It's full of me crying my eyes out and getting all snotty nosed, and i recorded it one night when the grief was really hitting home. Not a pretty sight, but it does justice to the crap that is bereavement and is worth a look if you're interested. You can check it out by clicking HERE

Follow the Guestbook link to leave your mark on this site (and read what others have had to say about it). Technophobes needn't worry as it's really easy to do.

Contact me to include your own stuff and help this site grow. Don't be shy - i need YOUR input. Tell me what you want added to the site - all ideas are welcome! Reach me by e-mail or regular post - follow the link for more details.

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