Forced myself out to a coffee shop to work on final edits for my book. Just when I think I can manage life here in Graz without my ex/family routines, I have these deep churning sensations that say, get out, you need a fresh start. This time last year everything "seemed" so good, at least for me.

I'm sad that family life is over, but the person I loved for 20 years said (the day after she dropped the news) "Stop looking so sad, are you crying again? Show self respect, you can come to the Christmas market with us but no sadness or I will leave." I saw a different side to her. We're both free.

Please share, like and subscribe to my YouTube channel so I can retire early…. Yeah…ok…it’s non-monetised for obvious reasons- all I gain is sharing content to hopefully make you smile. Visit my channel, watch the videos, and have a good laugh at my viewing figures! 🙂 youtu.be/MTG3jnsa42k?...

Not everyone loves my videos, why should they? But they're my labour of love...

I know a woman who said to me that "all your videos are the same", then she would yawn, "Sorry, they just do nothing for me." When I asked her to watch my latest, she was totally poker-faced, couldn't leave quick enough. Some things really do happen for the best. Here's another samey video 🤣

I can't edit any better than this....(right now) but I'm always looking to improve. When I look back at my early videos from 2021 I cringe at how sloppy they are, but everyone has to start somewhere. Anyways, here's my new and (hopefully) improved "Private Eyes from the #1980s"

I have very few outlets. I know I’m a broken record. This isn’t me. I have headphones on, listening to rain FFS. If it weren’t for my son I wouldn’t be here, and I don’t mean Austria. Never thought I’d write those words. I’m trapped - no roots back in the UK, financially better here, but not my ❤️

You might think I’m crazy - maybe that’s what grief and isolation has done to me, but during the past 7 months, I’ve received a lot of signs from people. Random encounters, hugs from strangers - I know it sounds esoteric and “out there”, but it’s like the universe is telling me it’ll be ok.

The Hockney painting I bought - as a postcard 🙂 during a school trip to Tate Britain in 1991. After hours at school drawing and painting boring still life of fruit, Hockney (and Lichtenstein) opened up my mind and got me passionate about a very different style. What true British art legend.

If you run a small biz & need marketing or creative support, I'm looking for new clients. I've bags of experience in all sorts of sectors, from big brands to local start-ups, plus I'm a nice bloke, I get results, and I'm easy to work with. 🙂 Here's my link - have a think! www.jameswren.org

1983- I took this to a friend’s house to build. We did it, then went up stairs - idk, to wrestle, play cars. Came downstairs & his little sister had taken it apart & mixed it in with his big box of Lego. 😩 “NOOO!!!!!” Richard and I went nuts, she started crying, mum came in, the place erupted! 😆

I have two professional passions - writing and voiceovers, and it’s the latter I’m really pushing. If you know of contacts who require a world of voices, here’s what I can do - if appreciate any sharing with folk who you think might need stuff like this: www.jameswren.org/voice-talent

Our car in the early '80s. I remember standing by the garage door on a winter's morning, dad had to warm up the engine before he could reverse it up the steep driveway. The shaking & spluttering exhaust & smell of petrol. He'd flash the hazard warning lights as he headed to work through the fog.

It's July 86, our Bugsy Malone performance, and the last year for Class 5 at South Brent Primary School. What's the link with the train? Well, top right is the village hall, and whenever a train went by, we'd pause the play for a few seconds. "The name's Malone..." (Intercity 125) "Bugsy Malone!"

I've just uploaded a few of my voiceovers, I'd love to know what you think if you have a couple of minutes. It's a work in progress, but here are a few to start things off: www.jameswren.org/voice-talent...

*R.A.I.N.* Recognise your experience Allow it to be as it is,, Investigate it with curiosity, Nurture it with self-compassion. Tara Brach (Psychologist)

It’s a strange sensation when you spot the person you spent 20 years with and she pretends not to see you.

I know what grief is now. It's the mental form of the hiccups. No telling when it will strike - in public, at home, wherever - and no control over how to stop it when you're in the thick of it. But you know it will pass. However, at that moment, you feel like you'll hiccup forever.

As ai sneaks in to water-down human ingenuity, I need to find ways to reinvent myself. I am thinking of monetising my stories. Here's an example - is it evocative? I know this one is too short, but from a tonality PoV, is it worthy? Substack is one potential home: www.jameswren.org/writing/arch...

Kindness of strangers in 24 hours: 1. First farmhouse b&b was full, owner drove me to the next one 2. During my hike, a group of Turkish guys offered me a lift. Declined but appreciated. 3. At the bus stop on my way home - Romanian guy in a van drove me to the station People are mostly decent

To those I’ve been in touch with, be it over the years or months - I probably won’t have the pleasure of meeting you, but please know one thing. These aren’t empty words fishing for compliments, I genuinely appreciate your kindness. Your support means a lot, & not just the retro stuff. Much love

Revealed: The initial title of U2’s follow-up album.

I’ll just pop in to have a look arou…. Actually, let’s not…

Breakfast of Champions (great book by the way, give it a go - by Kurt Vonnegut) About to hit the trail and hike through dense pine forest to the mighty metropolis of Mürzzuschlag - trips off the tongue, doesn’t it? Have a lovely Sunday ☀️

Guten Morgen…. Time for breakfast then time to hit the trail. It’s going to be a beautiful day, hope yours is, too 🙂

Ey up, chuck! Hello duck!

It’s beginning to smell a bit like Christmas….

Welcome to platform 1 at Plymouth station in 1985…

Sometimes I’m still not quite sure how to get used to being alone. When I’m in town or on a train and surrounded by couples and families, I really have to keep it together. 20 years is a long time to be part of a family, and the feeling now is very hollow. I hope things get better soon. I’m trying.

I’m just going to say it… The Kylie documentary on Netflix is brilliant. No, seriously…

I’m not a cook - I’m trying to learn, and tonight I’ve grilled some chicken in Mexican seasoning, added some cheese, kidney beans, sweetcorn, salad, and cheese to a wrap. The great cooks will look at this and think what on earth is that mess! But I’m giving it a go…

I sometimes wonder if everything needs to collapse in order to rebuild. In the past 6 months, it just feels like so much has gone wrong on top of the separation then divorce. Do I need to get to the point where I’m utterly destroyed and THEN I can find myself again? Folks this is bloody exhausting.

Follow Kate! She's walking from Dumfries to Hong Kong.... It's great in the background during work. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBFm...

Plymouth in the 80s. Loved going to Dingles to look at the toys before Christmas, walking along The Hoe - as a little boy it was a massive metropolis. We lived 17 miles away on the edge of Dartmoor, but a trip felt very special. I saw Crackerjack - loved it. Also Ghostbusters, followed by a Wimpy! 🍔

Hot Dogs and son - out of the picture…

Welcome to a few sounds, tunes, and voices from #80s UK.

Hey Mikey, he likes it! This is for all you Gen X Americans - I tried to include as many classics from the 70s and 80s. I know....lots missing, but a few for you to say, "Oh yeah, I remember this one!" #USA #America #1970s #1980s

Shall we play a game? Welcome to retro computers.

I never thought I'd be suffering from depression. This time last year? On top of the world, back from Greece, probably singing (badly) Stevie Wonder as I worked, coffee with my wife, picking up bagels for lunch - & now? A different universe. I'm not feeding it, I am fighting, but it's bloody hard.

And the heavens opened up…

When you’re up that creek, they say you start to look for signs from the universe - little glimmers of hope, and normally I’d think this was insane. But I’m doing it - a random encounter or observation that leads me back to happiness and security. I’m utterly petrified, but hoping with my ❤️

Survival mode. That’s it.

Goodnight from Graz.

6 months today it ended, now I'm trying to build back. Only I can make things better, I know this is true - but I just need a little bit of happiness. This crushing feeling, I thought it would be gone by now. The last time I stayed in bed until lunchtime I think I was 17. I'm alone but fighting hard

Delighted to share that my first non-fiction book, Gear Down and Growing Up - An Attempted Journey from Boy to Man in ‘90s #HongKong, will be published this year. At 21 in ‘96, I flew one-way with a fistful of dollars & no real plan. It became a journey far beyond the one I expected. Landing soon…

I started this film. Nope, too brutal for me - not my cuppa - I opted for Seinfeld instead. Great pizza, too.

This is a sounding board for me right now, not for re-posts or compliments, I'm just struggling. I thought I was out the woods. March and April felt better, but then on the 16th April it was the final court appearance for divorce. One month on, and I feel like I'm regressing. Fighting so hard.

Coming in July - Cupid & Psyche 85 (Deluxe Edition Remastered) An "Absolute" purchase.... scrittipolitti.rtrecs.co/cupid?cmid=2...

Hi everyone, I'd like to ask if you have any contacts who might require design, copywriting, marketing, or other creative solutions for small businesses. Please drop me a PM if you know of people, as I'm trying to find ways to remain a freelancer. I know it's a longshot, but I really appreciate it

I'm so bloody torn... My parents are both 80 & live in Devon. I'm 51, and the time will come when they will need me, and one day, one of them will. My quality of life is better here, and I'd need to find a job in the UK, hard to do from here. Salary would take a huge hit, renting is insane. IDK