But, of course, it isn’t a mistake. It’s a terrible reality.
I’m not arrogant enough to think I could have stopped it, or helped in any way, but I don’t understand. I probably never will. It is one of the lows in life that you just have to take in your stride. Tomorrow is another day. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep on smiling. As a friend of mine often tells me, his dad’s favourite saying is that ‘it will either rain or go dark’. Tomorrow is another day.
I picked myself up after receiving that dreadful news and headed to Cardiff to watch the rugby. Wales versus New Zealand. We had booked our tickets a few weeks before and were taking our son to watch the match. My wife is Welsh, so she was in red and for this game at least, my son was too. Now, if you have read my column before, you will know I love an allegory and I found one in that rugby match.
Wales fan or not, you cannot help to be sucked in by the magic of rugby in Cardiff. The male voice choir singing before the game, the stadium filing with smoke as the build-up continued and kick off grew nearer. The All Blacks performing the Haka and the Welsh crowd’s singing response. The emotion and the passion that was evident around the stadium. Friends and families. Fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, all of Wales was there.
The half time entertainment was a great show of music and lights. Like the game, they took you up and brought you back down. Wales played well, but they were never going to win. Flashes of brilliance and some great tries. Great passing and some dropped balls. Great running and great tackling. Depending on your viewpoint of course, it was fast, it was slow, it was good and it was bad; it was life.
I will never understand the intricacies of mental health and how ‘the black dog’ can take people away, but I do know it is an up and down ride. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and everything in between. They say it is the hope that kills you, but, I’m not so sure. One of my favourite quotes is from JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. ‘All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you’. Powerful words and ones I think about often.
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As I head back outside on another winter’s day, with the memories and the impacts of two pretty hard years echoing around my head and through the things I see every day, I cling on to that quote from Tolkien. There will be a lot of farming people starting 2026 feeling the pressure of those two tough years and lacking clarity for the future. But, we have our own future in our hands more often than we think we do.
Dad is out of action at the moment with illness and will be for a while longer, so I am flying solo at the moment. I am pretty busy, but I have made changes to make things manageable and will continue to do so. Hedging and fencing have taken a back seat over the past few weeks, but after enjoying Christmas and resting when I could, I am ready to hit the ground running in January.
I apologise for filling this column with quotes and sayings, but I will leave you with one more. If it helps just one person, it will all be worth it. From the great American poet, Walt Whitman, ‘Keep your face always towards the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.’
Wishing you a happy and positive 2026. If you get a minute and if you feel so inclined look up the ‘Sunscreen song’ and read the lyrics. They contain just about all the life coaching you need.
Rich, Risbury -
rich@risburycourt.com
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM
BUSINESS ON THE FARM
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