It's the littlest things...

Ten little things that make life that little bit better....


1. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurts and you can hardly breathe


2. Sunshine!!


3. A big hug after a long day


4. The delicious smell of home-cooked food


5. Hearing a song that reminds you of good times and makes you smile


6. Spending quality time with the people that you love


7. Catching up with old friend (and making new ones!)


8. Flowers-in a garden, in a vase, wherever! 


9. Helping someone else, without thinking about what you can get out of it


10. Making a difference, no matter how small


and just for luck...


11. Smiling, just because... :) 

You've got a friend!

As I've gotten older, I have found that the best friends I have aren't necessarily the ones that I see the most often. In fact, some of my best friends are the ones that live miles away. I may not see them as often as I would like to but that doesn't mean we are any less close.


When you are at school, the friends that you sit by in class and see every lunchtime are the ones that you become close to, and if you change classes it is easy to drift apart. The true measure of friendship is not the amount of time you spend with some one-you can see somebody all day long at university or work and they can become merely an acquaintance-someone to talk to when there's no one else. 


As with most things it is quality not quantity that counts. True friends, you may not see for months at a time, but you know that when you finally do meet, everything will be as it was before. There won't be any awkward silences or moments when no one knows what to say, everything clicks into place and it is as if no time had gone past since you were last together. 


These are the friendships that will last a life time and the ones that are really worth hanging onto. The friends that will be there for you no matter what and who are always at the end of the phone, even if they are no longer at the end of your street! 


So thank you to my friends, you know who you are. You mean the world!! xxx

Love - 'A wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart' (Anon)

Valentine’s is behind us for another year (thank goodness!!) but this year it got me thinking.

I personally do not participate in Valentine’s Day. I made a decision not to when I was younger and have always stuck to it whether single or in a relationship. I decided that it was nothing more than a Hallmark celebration to fill the hole left by Christmas and to generate revenue for card and gift companies. Restaurants and hotels charge extra for their usual services and the cost of flowers goes through the roof.  To be blunt, if you need a designated day to show someone you love, them then maybe not everything is as rosy as it seems?

I would prefer to mark other occasions such as the anniversary of your first date or something more personal. But that’s just me, and I understand that for other people Valentine’s is a big deal.

I do admit to tiny pangs of jealousy when I see pictures of friends beautiful flowers and hear about romantic weekends away, who wouldn’t? And it certainly made me reconsider the romance within my own relationship.

Every couple goes through that ‘honeymoon period’ when you have just got together and you are on your best behaviour. Each one of you is trying to impress and you can’t get enough of each other. Passion is high and everything is exciting and new.

After a while the first flushes of love (or more like lust!!) die down and you learn about the other person for who they truly are, and this is what really makes a relationship. When you can completely be yourself and you’re not afraid of your other half seeing you with your pyjamas on, no make-up, a bloated belly full of choccies, and legs that are in dire need of a shave....!!

Now that we have lived together for a while we are well and truly into the comfort zone. When we were long distance, Friday night was pre-weekend prep night: hair wash, long soak in the bath with a face mask, shave legs, moisturise, paint nails...Now, it’s more likely to be slobbing out in front of the TV with my hair in the kind of scrunchie you wore in year five at school and Tinkerbell PJs!

I also used to leave little notes of affection around the house if it was my turn to visit or post one if it he’d been up to me. It is the little things that show you care, not extravagant displays of affection.  I realise I haven’t made as much effort as I used to recently, and its these little things that you have to work at as time goes by. 

Valentine’s Day may be just a Hallmark holiday, but this year, its had one good purpose...to remind me what a good thing I've got. xxx

What happened when I met the Prime Minister...

So last week I was fortunate enough to visit number 10 Downing Street to meet David Cameron and Theresa May. We met at the Company office and made our way down to Westminster as a group where after going through security we were shown in through the famous door of number ten for refreshments while we waited for the politicians to arrive.

After some handshakes and pictures outside, we were led upstairs for the discussions to begin.We had a selection of questions that we had put together before the meeting to put to them about crime, transport and women’s safety after dark which opened up into a discussion around the topic.

I personally felt that they were both very quick to refer us back to local council level with most of the topics that we brought up. They kept saying that not everything could be managed from central London and that they couldn’t tell local councils how to designate the money in their individual budgets. However, I personally would like to see the government give local councils more or stricter guidelines about how they spend their budgets with regards to crime, transport and safety measures.

They also kept referring back to the new crime maps. The crime maps are an online reference where you can look up crime statistics for your local area and compare it to other. Whilst this could be a useful tool if you are planning on moving house I find that they are in general more of an point of interest than serving any real benefit. I actually became more worried about being out and about in my local area after seeing the levels of crime reported. I think it is also important to remember that statistics can only show us the crime that we know about which relies on proper reporting and documenting of crimes, which sadly doesn’t always happen.

I think between us we raised some valid issues that I hope the prime minister and home secretary will take on board. They were certainly welcoming and seemed to support what we were trying to do. We can only hope that words will become actions and we will see some results to make the streets safer not just for women but for everyone in out communities. 


You can read the full report of our visit in the April edition of company magazine, out next month.
xxx

It's not everyday you go to number 10!

Last week I was lucky enough to be one of 12 young women chosen to talk to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary as part of Company Magazine’s Get Home Safely Campaign. I was there representing the Shoreditch Sisters W.I. to put the views and ideas of the group to the government.

In the UK many young women feel vulnerable if they are out after dark, particularly if they are on their own, and most are cautious about how they get home at night. However, after a cocktail or three, inhibitions can take a back seat.

When you’re drunk, cold and tired the emphasis is all on getting home as quickly as possible, and when you’re on a budget safety may not be the first thing that comes to mind. We all know someone who after a night out has thought that the ten minute walk home alone is better than waiting for a taxi, or jumped in an unlicensed cab to save a few pounds. When your feet hurt from heels and you’re starting to wish you’d worn that jacket after all, taking shortcuts can seem like a good idea, but many of us are putting ourselves in danger.

These are the issues we wanted to take to the government. 

At the Shoreditch Sisters we would like to see more transport options available for young women in London to get home after nights out- All of us could relate to at least one time when we had turned down an invitation to go out because we were worried about how we would get home. We would like to see a more frequent night bus service with clearer route maps and better lighting and CCTV at bus stops. We would also like to see the tube network open later at the weekends amongst other things.

With all the debt and cuts being made at the moment we realise that these are huge demands, but when young women’s safety is at risk we think it is worth it...did the politicians?? You'll have to read my next instalment to find out! xxx

Feeling under the weather :(

Sometimes, no matter how old you are, there’s nothing quite like being looked after by your mum.

My recent lack of blogging had been because I have been a rather poorly girl. I picked up a very nasty virus that meant i could not keep any food down for a week and left me feeling far from my usual self. I am still not better but I am on the way and feeling well enough to get back to my computer.

When you’re feeling under the weather the last thing you want to do is spend long days by yourself with nobody to make you a cup of tea and bring you water and paracetamol, and with my fiancé working such long hours, this was exactly the situation I found myself in. So, after a couple days of feeling ill with no improvement, I got myself on a train back to my parents’ house to get some well deserved TLC from my mum. And what can I say-Mum has been brilliant, helping me up and around the house when I’ve been feeling too weak to get about by myself, bringing me drinks and medicine in the middle of the night and coming to the doctors with me.

I can’t wait to feel back to normal again now, as the luxury of being looked after like a child is starting to wear off, and duvet days aren’t quite as fun when you don’t have a choice! After a week of lying in bed in my pyjamas watching daytime tele, the novelty has definitely worn off and I’m desperate to get up and dressed in my normal clothes and get out and about again!!

Fingers crossed I’ll be back to normal again soon. And thanks mum xxx 

Who are you calling four eyes?

Today, by a person who shall remain nameless, in a place that will remain unknown, I was a victim of discrimination. Why? Because I was wearing glasses.


The details of how and why are unimportant, but what really struck a chord with me was how stupid it was.


Glasses are nothing more than framed glass, usually in fashionable colours or designs, that aid sight.  They do not make you more or less intelligent, they do not render you incapable of carrying out a task, and they do not transform faces from beautiful to ugly, well presented to scruffy.


So why do so many people feel that if a person wears glasses they have the right to call them four eyes or say that they look stupid? Would you criticise a deaf man's hearing aid? That sad answer to that is probably yes the more i think about. The type of people who judge others in this way are just mindless individuals, insulting others to make themselves feel more important. They are not worth the tears.


So, Glasses look hot, and I intend to wear mine more often! Xxx