I’ve had an amazing week and a surprising and equally amazing Saturday.

Several people at work have said how different I look.  I’ve had colleagues pass on comments from other colleagues saying, “Scott’s much brighter, looks happier and lively”.  Some of my work friends have reacted in amazing ways to my last blog post.  All positivity, real heartfelt warmth and compassion.  I have no words.

My friend friends have just been gorgeous.  I have awesome friends, all of them!

You can’t buy this sort of stuff with money.  It’s incredible.  It all makes me feel good to be alive.  And isn’t that the point?  Life is fucking amazing!

On Friday, I went for my first colonic.  I have been continuing with self administered enemas every few days but wanted to take it to the max and surf the wave, dude!  So, I toddled off to see Cathy Miller at EH1 Colonics.  It was a fantastic experience.

Now, you may not immediately associate a colonic irrigation with a fantastic experience, but I would highly recommend everyone do this – everyone!

The treatment room was calming, welcoming and with an en suite bathroom, which is a bloody necessity I can tell you.

That bottle on the wall was filled, emptied and refilled several times!  But it wasn’t uncomfortable, far from it.

Cathy, who couldn’t have been nicer, filled, emptied and flushed me several times during the 45 minutes I was lying on my back with a tube up my arse.  The occasional gentle massage of my stomach made sure that the warm water got into all the convoluted twists and turns of my colon.  The amount of crap that came out was amazing!  And I do 2 or 3 poos a day as it is.

I came away feeling great.  My mate Leon pointed out that I have been ‘loading and unloading’ as the sign in the background says.

Seriously though, some big things have happened since I returned from the Laughter Cleanse retreat.

I have become raw vegan (mostly, maybe around 80% of my diet), I have reduced my coffee intake (3 large cups down to 1 a day), I have a green smoothie (kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, etc) with a little fruit for breakfast and lunch, with some other greenery thrown in and I drink mostly water and herbal teas during the day.

Evening meals are usually salad (maybe some meat, chicken, fish) and fruit.  I juice.  I have vastly reduced my alcohol intake – that just had to happen anyway.

Our kitchen has changed too.  We now have a juicer.  It’s an awesome, if slightly frightening, piece of kit.  And a dehydrator.  Aw, I love my dehydrator.  I haven’t got into a rhythm just yet but I’m getting there.  Raw food requires some hefty dehydration times and I’m still getting used to that.

We have removed the evil microwave.  Microwaves are evil.  Just like grains, dairy and sugar.  Poison, awful, awful, awful.

Our cupboards have been filled with organic nuts, seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, almond and cashew butter, coconut milk, flax and other bits and bobs.  We have a coffee grinder just for seeds.

I finally unpacked the food processor we received as a wedding gift 21 years ago, only to break it on its 2nd use by jamming a wooden stick in it.  Don’t ask!  I don’t remember who gave it to us so, if you’re reading, terribly sorry!  It was great while it lasted though.

A food processor is central to raw food prep, so I had to buy another.  Now we have ‘The Beast’.  It’s a mega thing and I totally love it.

My body is changing too.  Pretty soon I’ll metamorphose into a beautiful butterfly.  No really, I will.  All wings n’ shit.

Actually, the difference has been transformational.

For a start, I’m never out of the bloody toilet!  I poo three times a day (that is actually normal and how we should be, believe it or not) and I could pee for Scotland!  I am literally full of shit and pish – all at the same time.

Then, my nose.  My nose has always produced the most amazing amount of bogies, boogers, snotters, greeners, whatever you call them.  It’s all mucus and it’s the body’s reaction to something it doesn’t like.  The most startling difference is that I can lie in bed and breathe through my nose for the first time in decades, which means my mucosa is less inflamed therefore it’s producing less snot.  It’s a simple thing but I now don’t wake in the morning with a mouth like a Jacob’s cream cracker.

What about my ankle?  In my last post, I mentioned that I’ve had a stubborn inflamed and painful right ankle that has given me a limp for the last 3 years.  It is still getting better.  I walk differently, a fact that many people have noticed.

My hands are less inflamed and I’m able to make a fist with both hands, something I haven’t been able to do for years.

My feet are really different. They’re smaller.  They fit into my shoes better.  They’re more comfortable to walk with.  They’re not quite pain-free but they’re manageable.

I played my first gig in a wee while last weekend – I’ve had a dep, my awesome nephew Gavin, stand in for me recently while I’ve been away doing stuff.  Thanks Gavin.

The gig was good.  No rehearsal, just straight in.

I came away feeling more like my old self, like I had plenty to spare.  That’s a good feeling.

Today, Saturday 8th October, I had my regular appointment with Reflexologist and Reiki Master, Lorraine White who runs Calm Blue Holistic Therapies in Edinburgh.  She is a real inspiration and an invaluable source of advice and a good sounding board.

Lorraine said, “Wow, your feet are so different”.  She was able to do more than just the standard reflexology.  I didn’t know this until now, but Lorraine likes to combine reflexology with reiki, but she’s never been able to do the reiki bit with me (in who knows how may times I’ve seen her) as I’ve been completely blocked.  She said that the “life force energy” flows in my body have been opened up.

I hear cries of “poo poo” and “tosh and bollocks” but let me tell you, it felt like a warm summer breeze blowing over me – and I didn’t even know what she was doing.  I came away feeling incredible.  What’s not to love?

My head is feeling ever more clear too.  I’m seeing my doctor soon to talk about reducing the antidepressants I take.

Antidepressants are shit.  They take away the lows, but they also suppress the highs.  The result is a very narrow bandwidth of emotion, which is like no emotion at all.  I hate it.  I have always worn my heart on my sleeve, I’ve always cried at the drop of a hat, simple things would have me in floods of tears.  Watching telly, Anthea would often nudge me, laugh and take the piss as I’d be blubbing and trying to hide it.

I cried when my Mum died (I wasn’t taking antidepressants at that time).  Then, my Dad passed and I almost didn’t feel anything.  I was getting ready to go on stage in Glasgow when my sister phoned.  He’d gone.  It was weird, I didn’t break down and I did the gig.  It was the strangest evening.  I’ve been numb since.

I’m beginning to feel like I have some mojo.

It’s a modern-day cliché but I have started a new journey.  Several people have helped, pushed and prodded me along the way, not least Anthea, who I can’t thank enough.  To everyone in my life who has been there and said encouraging words, thanks.  It means the world.

Oh, while I’m at it, I’d like to thank Feeder for releasing their new album on Friday and returning to form.  The sounds and songs remind me of their standout album, Yesterday Went Too Soon from 1999.  I was blown away by them when they supported REM at Stirling Castle on the 19th of July that year – my fan status was secured.  Michael Stipe, after delivering an amazing opening of ‘What’s The Frequency Kenneth’ thanked them and said, ‘Britain, you should be proud’.

Nuff said.