Abandon hope all ye who enter here, philosophical words by Con Cord
Were those words actually attached to the police station, the courtbuilding, the prisons or probation offices I visited during the course of my criminal journey?No, they weren’t.They actually refer to Dante’s Inferno and an inscription above the gates of Hell.Did I abandon all hope as I frequented those establishments?With hindsight……Not quite, but very nearly.It is […]
Addiction Ditty
Addiction is cruel, that’s the main rule.Abstaining from the vein, is the ultimate aim.Whether inhaled, ingested or intravenous injected.Drugs don’t discriminate who are infected.Loneliness, lies and broken family ties.No trees of green, just dark cloudy skies.Whatever ya poison, its basically the same.Nobody lives long in this perilous game.So a trip to the quack, to get […]
Apple Tree Philosophy by Just Ben
Do we live in a fallen world? What is the evil at work? Did God intend it thisway?This is something I have contemplated and prayed about.As with all things of God I have found a lot of paradox when seeking an answer.I believe that I have been lead to an understanding by Gods trees and […]
Prison is hope, a poem about life after prison
Prison was the beginning, the lowest of the lows,I remember telling my mum, the only thing worse was death,It’s difficult to think of a punishment so pointless,Yet, an experience that makes your life a mess,My first day in prison was hard, I felt so deeply lost,When you think about crime, you never think of the […]
Yogic Gardening by Brian Bhakti McCulloch
Written by Brian Bhakti McCulloch
How can you re-emerge from prison and successfully reintegrate into the community?
When I left prison, I was anxious, stressed and worried- it wasn’t goingto be easy. The stigma of being an ex-offender coupled with being youngscared me, how would I get a job? How would I tell people where I’d beenfor the last year? How would I deal with all the people who had seen myarticle […]
Accessible travel at Mollett’s Farm, Suffolk
By Erica CromptonWe stayed in a development that, like many contributors in this month’sissue, had a second chance. At Mollett’s Farm in Saxmundham, Suffolk,a former waste land on the farm has been transformed into a series ofaccessible accommodations. I went along with our resident wheelchairuser and Accessibility Consultant, Paul Nicholls. On entering we found adisabled […]
Hopezine makes headlines in the Daily Mail
Paul and I recently gave an interview to The Daily Mail’s travel section about our accessible road trips and featured in the paper and online. In the piece we tell journalist Rob Crosson the highlights of our wheelie friendly UK trips including Perth, York and Belfast. Have a read, here.
Spring 2023 Hopezine lands soon, see it here online first
Editor’s letter Spring is upon us and as the daffodills start to bloom, we at Hopezine are taking a moment to ponder what makes us happy. In mental health care, focussing on things that bring us happiness is known as positive psychology or compassion focussed therapy, which I’ve taken part in and that has brought […]
Blairmore Farm’s accessible Orchard cottage is lush
Tucked at the bottom of a rolling hill and overlooking the Perthshire Scottish countryside, is the Orchard Cottage at Blairmore farm. It’s a delightful, quaint space with the fields dotted with wildlife and farm animals. As Hopezine’s Accessibility Consultant, I reckon this is my favourite spot to stay in Scotland as the self-catering accommodation is […]