QUESTION: - What is the link between this blog and Terry Waite?

In January 1987 Terry Waite the church envoy was kidnapped and held captive for almost five years in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.


Upon his release almost 5 years later Waite recounted three things that he kept saying to himself after he had been taken hostage which somehow stood him in good stead.

1. No regrets - you haven't done everything correctly, you're bound to have made mistakes, but stick by what you've done.



2. No self pity - don't begin to feel sorry for yourself, there are loads of people who are in worse situations than yourself.



3. And no over-sentimentality - don't look back and say, "If only I'd spent more time with the family and had longer holidays - life has been lived, you cannot re-live it".
   

These feelings are clearly similar to those that I have recently experienced having just returned from 6 months in Hemel Hempstead.

Whilst I wasn't quite in solitary confinement, (although if you've ever stayed in the Holiday Inn in Hemel, it can be quite similar to war-strewn Beirut in the 1980's), Waite's thoughts were very similar to mine (or should that be, mine were to his?).

Like Waite, I was at times beset with dark thoughts - often having to put my family and friends out of my mind - to dwell on them would have made me unnecessarily depressed - I was always concerned about them. I was all alone - unable to blog, unable to communicate with the world outside of Hemel.


I long remember that day when I became aware of the fact that I would soon be set free. When it did happen it was really rather a low key event. They (the hotel management) simply came into the room and said, "You're going to be released", and threw in some clothes, which were all far too small - I looked ridiculous. How had I put on so much weight staying in a hotel whose food was so poor?

Having been released from Hemel into the real world, I am free to blog again....