MikeMcKenna

Dave, while everything you say is true. The PL clubs that have been successful through managing to ‘develop our own’ are far and few between. IF we stay up, I believe NSWE will splash the cash and join the big spending race. Billionaires have big egos and deep pockets - it’s the way of the football world now.

I have been a member of VT since 2005, have never been a prolific poster in off topic threads and tend to only browse. However, it never ceases to amaze how VT is so much more than a forum about AVFC. This and other threads are great examples of the diversity of discussions. FWIW I have been doing a Bsc in Psychology for the last 4 years via the OU - I am still very much a novice and it is purely a hobby. One of the areas that most interests me is the effects of the urban environment and modern living on mental health. While, I agree with other posters that there is no one size fits all approach, I do believe that aspects of the urban environment and modern lifestyles contribute to mental health illnesses for some. Last year I studied the subject and one idea that stood out was what the Japanese describe as Shinrin-yoku which loosely translates as forest bathing. Essentially it relates to the therapeutic effects of even limited exposure to natural places and some of the results have been outstanding. The idea has been gaining traction outside Japan for some years but is still relatively unknown or misunderstood. Numerous laboratory and field studies have shown that contact with real or simulated green settings as opposed to built settings has positive effects on mood, self-esteem and self-reported feelings of stress and depression, and can help to recover from stress and attention fatigue. This study is a review from 2017, it is very heavy but also comprehensive as to the efficacy of Shinrin-yoku. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580555/ This Article is somewhat easier going and gives a broader overview. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/forest-bathing/532068/ 'Forest Bathing': How Microdosing on Nature Can Help With Stress The practice, long-popular in Japan, is gaining traction in the U.S. as a way of harnessing the health benefits of being outdoors. Rahawa HaileJune 30, 2017 Sign in Merla / Shutterstock / Teddy Kelley / Quentin Dr / Noah Silliman / Abigail Keenan / Unsplash / Katie Martin / The Atlantic On first glance, it looked like a two-hour walk in the woods. Our guide had already tackled the hard part of finding a trail with minimal elevation gain and limited poison oak along its flanks. This wasn’t a hike, we were reminded. A hike usually involved clear endpoints and physical exertion. We were invited to walk slower than usual, perhaps a quarter of our normal speed. To pay attention to the different shades of green we encountered, the snapping of twigs beneath our feet, the sudden vaulting of winged life—nothing was ornamental. Everything was in its right place, including us. The forest bathers and I had come to the woods in search of peace. All of us were to be present, focused solely on the moment. Our immersion in the natural world would act not only as a balm to everyday stresses but a catalyst: According to the event description, we had gathered outside that day to emerge, as flowers might after a long winter. In 1982, Japan made shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” a part of its national health program. The aim was to briefly reconnect people with nature in the simplest way possible. Go to the woods, breathe deeply, be at peace. Forest bathing was Japan’s medically sanctioned method of unplugging before there were smartphones to unplug from. Since shinrin-yoku’s inception, researchers have spent millions of dollars testing its efficacy; the documented benefits to one’s health thus far include lowered blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and stress hormones. I showed up at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, California that afternoon for the purported mental-health boost. The four other attendees and I exchanged pleasantries by the trailhead as the sun baked our arms. All of us were women—although San Francisco’s “Forest Bathing Club” Meetup group boasts 428 members across the gender spectrum. However, I’d discovered this outing not on the Meetup but via a late-night, anxiety-induced Google search. We started off by walking down a paved path. Talking among ourselves was not discouraged, exactly, but neither was it encouraged. A children’s birthday party had claimed a coveted nook among the redwoods to our left. The streaming tinsel of their conical hats could be seen between the branches. I trained my gaze higher, slowly, until it nearly grazed the sky. Six shades of green. A short while later we were in the forest proper. Airplanes could be heard overhead, but just barely. In the woods, the sounds of our wandering were deafening. Each step we took brought an orchestra to life. At one point a blanket emerged from our instructor’s pack. We lay on our backs in a circle, our bottom halves flat against the earth. A stray ant traced the length of my index finger and disappeared behind a rock. The five of us were invited to consider the tops of the trees above, how they swayed even when thick trunks kept them rooted. We closed our eyes as our instructor continued to speak in soothing tones. My mind, blissfully, went blank. The popularity of forest bathing in the U.S. is unsurprising, particularly in metropolitan areas where people may wish to get outside more often than they wish to go outdoors. To many, the former sounds closer to a stroll in the park than a trek up a mountain. Forest bathing sits in the middle of this false dichotomy, one where people associate being in nature with roughing it or struggle to think of experiencing nature as relaxing. Instead, forest bathers intentionally go outside to relax with nature, and allow nature to help them relax. An entire industry has cropped up around the practice of forest bathing, ranging from high-end spas eager to lure guests with eco-therapy offerings to training sessions around the globe for the next generation of forest bathing instructors. Tuition for those looking to become formally certified as forest bathing guides runs upwards of $3,200, not including travel, lodging, or food. Some might scoff, but upcoming training sessions in the Berkshires as well as in Northern California are already at capacity. But what does forest bathing at large look like in a country as vast as America? How does it differ from park prescriptions, where doctors prescribe park outings to their patients? Or from organizations such as GirlTrek, whose aim is to get black women to walk outside for a minimum of 30 minutes a day? While Japan has numerous official “forest therapy trails,” the size and ecological diversity of the U.S. makes it impossible for most people to forest bathe in the ways described thus far. So who, exactly, has access to forest bathing? And is there room for interpretation when it comes to the term? Forest bathing made complete sense in certain geographic areas, namely those with low humidity and temperatures in the 70s. It made less sense in the swamps of South Carolina. I’d felt at peace floating down a river in an inner tube in Florida as a child, but I’d also felt sweaty, thirsty, itchy, and uncomfortable often enough to dive into the water and climb back out. In Japan, a forest-therapy base must meet certain criteria to be recognized by the government, including a scientific evaluation of its healing ability. In America, however, there are no set guidelines for what constitutes a forest bathing environment. Which raises the question: Is a forest essential to forest bathing? Could one forest bathe in the desert? Or in a park in the middle of a city? I brought up these questions with my instructor after our walk. He believed anyone anywhere could forest bathe, that the term was never intended to limit what kind of nature individuals expose themselves to. According to him, if people are going outside and centering themselves in nature, they’re forest bathing, even if they’re at the beach. He stressed that the most important thing was getting people to associate being in nature with feeling good. According to the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, forest bathing “is a research-based framework for supporting healing and wellness through immersion in forests and other natural environments.” That last “and” is important; the forest itself might not be necessary. Certain research indicates that perhaps you can get some benefits even without the actual outdoors, although such extrapolation is bound to be contentious. Studies conducted by Roger Ulrich at Texas A&M concluded that “environments with nature-related imagery, such as photographs and paintings on the wall, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and reduce pain.” Just looking at an image of nature could be healing. Virtual environmental therapy may offer a middle ground for those unable to enjoy the outdoors for one reason or another, whether due to physical or environmental limitations. “A real-life experiment is under way at the Snake River Correctional Institution in eastern Oregon,” writes Florence Williams in National Geographic. “Officers there report calmer behavior in solitary confinement prisoners who exercise for 40 minutes several days a week in a ‘blue room’ where nature videos are playing, compared with those who exercise in a gym without videos.” Likewise, video game consoles are nature-themed, living-room holodecks waiting to happen. Games like Firewatch, a walking simulator set in Shoshone National Forest, offer a free-roam mode, where one can wander hiking trails aimlessly to their heart’s content. In Flower, one plays as a petal that endlessly floats on a breeze. Walden, A Game is an adaptation of Henry David Thoreau’s life among nature. Such gaming experiences fill a niche that appears poised to grow substantially. If individuals recovering from surgery with a view of a garden can heal faster than those with a view of a brick wall, can non-immersive exposure to nature benefit people in other ways. Admittedly, nothing can take the place of actually going outside and feeling the sun and wind against one’s skin. However, one of the biggest hurdles to getting people the health benefits of the outdoors is helping individuals, especially those from marginalized groups, to feel more comfortable in natural settings. I came to nature through water. A love of beaches and rivers primed me to love other outdoor environments. Everything has to start somewhere. Video games might lead to forest bathing, and forest bathing might lead to hiking (or swimming, or outdoor yoga); all of these are a means to an end, and that end is better health. My forest bath concluded with a tea ceremony of foraged California bay leaves. They’d been steeped in a thermos of hot water my instructor had brought along. Everyone pooled their snacks together. The group discussed how we felt before and after the walk. Several noted a significant drop in anxiety, including myself. I had come to the woods that day as an experienced thru-hiker, with the hope forest bathing would feel like microdosing a rest day on the Appalachian Trail. And to an extent it did, even without the associated prolonged exertion and endorphins. Transformations come in packages big and small. What forest bathing got me to do for the first time since leaving the A.T. was prioritize my mental health. I could have been recreating with friends in a number of different ways, or working on writing assignments, or on chores at home. Instead, forest bathing reminded me of how important it was to leave my house, shut off my phone, tell my loved ones I’d see them later, and breathe in the world because it was mine.

Just saw that - who ever tweeted that is right c***!

Bump, some people are b*****ds. Tensions are high and fans will believe anything atm, me included

If the reports about Smith - Terry bust up are true, imho it suggests that there are much deeper issues than we thought. Maybe Terry has more power/say than it seems or Terry just doesn’t rate Smith. I have never seen Smith as stressed as today.

Must be wondering ‘wtf have I done coming to AVFC.’ Absolutely no service.

Really sad to say it but today told me he is off come the end of the season.

I have backed him in the past his feigned injury was a disgrace today.

It’s midnight here in Thailand and I am absolutely gutted after that pathetic performance. We are not a premier league side. I really haven’t got a clue how this is going to be turned around. After the great performance v Spurs, I thought we would be better but we were sh*te, absolutely F***** sh*te.

Scoring from corners.... I may have posted this on another thread but here is a great bit of Villa history - maybe John Lerwill knows the match? i attended the 50th anniversary of the former Villa players association in 2009 and was sitting near Jimmy McEwan (RIP) and called my old dad (RIP) to tell him. He said, ask Jimmy if he remembers scoring from a corner twice in the same game. Jimmy told me that he did indeed. He scored the 1st and it was disallowed despite protests from the players that it was perfectly legal but the ref said take it again - so he did exactly the same and scored again! For some reason the ref allowed the 2nd attempt. i passed the phone to my dad and he chatted away to Jimmy for 10-15 minutes about the 50s and 60s.

Knew all the pubs in the area well. Malthouse was a bit of a s***hole, used the Bell, Marston Green Tavern more but they were all bluenose pubs. My local in the 70s was the White Hart, gaffer was a Villa fan. There were a fair few of us Villa fans in there, who travelled home and away. Went to the Final, Final, Final v Everton at old trafford in the gaffers Jag. We thought we were the bees knees rolling up in Manchester in that. After winning we travelled back to the White Hart and were still there at 9am in the morning!!!

@TRO I lived in Tile Cross and knew the Mackadown social club well. So funny that you were all singing Villa songs in there! It was a bluenose club to the core. Villa fans were very rare in there. Great pics by the way.

Grealish is the best player that I have seen in a Villa shirt in 60+ years. If he leaves, like many, I will be very sad. However, I support AVFC and if Jack joins Manure, Man citeh etc he will be totally dead to me. Players come and go. AVFC will be the poorer for it, but life goes on.

I am sick of it. It is a cycle of ..,, good result - we’re sound. The next week we get poxy threads titled ‘Relegation’. O’Leary was right.

It is about time some fans started supporting AVFC! The same old suspects, seem hell bent on dragging down the club. I went today and accept we were poor in parts but I still walked out thinking ‘we’re the Villa’ with my head held high.

Yep - I am ****** ashamed of the way some ‘fans’ support the club. I am spitting bullets. They need to grow sum or **** off.

I haven’t a clue what you are talking about

Such a sh*t thread! Disgraceful When did Villa fans become such no marks?

Hause is ****** useless. Get rid. i was at the game and he has no clue.

Other than for loyalty to an existing player, this a weird position to take. David is unproven, we need players who can score goals. I sincerely hope Baston makes the few critics eat their words.

I trust DS to make the right decision. Sentiment doesn’t come into it. Davis hasn’t actually done much of note in a Villa shirt. Baston may not be the best thing since sliced bread but he has a better scoring record than Davies.

Bournemouth FC mentions the Christoper Creeke, which is 25 minute walk and Baxters and Mello, Mello which are both in Boscombe about 15 mins from ground, all welcoming Away support. However, Boscombe is a bit of ****hole.

Luiz is getting into his groove, Drinkwater hasn’t found his yet. I would put Drinkwater on the bench.

Further to @Friendlycherry comments. More details of detour here: https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18194658.brace-traffic-warning-ahead-m27-closure-55-mile-diversion-weekend/?Ref=fbpg&fbclid=IwAR1PbaJlQgwDn9FQFKSkMYOO06C4I78ABZvc0x3AFGi_cvmXN0PoE_oTeMg

Your screw really is loose!