The retreat had fallen on my lap. I’d missed my 8-week sabbatical due to medical tests and I was due back at work. But it was as if this 5-day break was calling to me – surely my meetings could be re-arranged and I could find an alternate plan for the [...]
It had been a difficult day. Suffice to say I had burst into tears twice amongst many other goings on, and I had been left with a feeling of hopelessness and exhaustion. Not a good mix. As I packed the picnic for our trip to Hampton Court Palace, I consciously made [...]
Ever since I was young I haven’t really liked walking. I always wanted to be running, racing, swimming, cycling, competing. Walking felt too passive, like I was doing nothing. And I am a doer. As I got older, I tried to embrace the joy of a gentle amble with a friend, [...]
‘I don’t know how mums survived pre-smartphones’, said the wonderful Ruth as she rocked her 3-month old beautiful boy, Will Wyatt, to sleep to the sounds of white noise from a mobile phone app. It was our first meet up since the fabulous Ruth had left our team on maternity, and [...]
It’s been 7 days of more hospital appointments, growing weakness and at times, I can’t deny, feeling a tad sorry for myself. For any of you out there who have been chronically unwell – mentally, physically or both, you will know it can be isolating, frightening and make you question, question [...]
I walked out of the hospital and I really had had enough. I should have been happy - the news was not bad - I ‘probably’ didn’t have cancer. ‘Unlikely’. Some tests. But, for me, the news was also far from good… ‘You have a complex condition’. ‘Not sure we can [...]
It’s that very funny time between Christmas and New Year. The ‘January’ sales have started (even though January hasn’t) and, for many, this is a time to spend with loved ones, whether they are near or far. And so, as a little follow-up from the blog I wrote a couple of [...]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!! Can you tell I really like Christmas? Well, I actually just really like December. London always looks so pretty (the Oxford Street window displays are at their finest), there’s that frosty bite in the air, there are decorations everywhere and people just become [...]
Reading fiction has always been a popular pastime but the benefits to one’s own wellbeing are hugely underestimated, I think. In this instance, I’m focussing on pure fiction, whether in the form of novels, plays, poetry and short stories - not manuals, autobiographies, history books etc, but works where a world [...]
