THE BEANIE BARD

\Why Simone Biles is the hero the Olympics, and anyone who has suffered mental health problems, needs right now

My family tend to get the lion’s share of the TV time in our house. When it isn’t my children watching Horrible Histories or The Simpsons, it’s my husband watching Top Gear or Family Guy. I get very little in the way of viewing choice. But for one summer every four years I am in charge of the TV remote for two glorious weeks as, along with viewers around the world, I settle my bum into a comfy…

We really need to drop this 'triggered' nonsense. A blog about what being triggered really means and why it needs to stop being used to score points in social media arguments

One thing 2020/2021 and the COVID pandemic has demonstrated to me, is the incredible breadth of human being’s behaviour towards one another.I have seen and read some heart warming stories of human beings going out of their way to help each other.  But equally, as the world has moved toward social media as a major means of communicating, I have seen some real ugliness and anger amongst society. …

Is traditional schooling stifling creativity. This article questions how much the current curriculum is geared purely towards passing exams and not encouraging children to enjoy language and art

My oldest daughter was in Year Six when the pandemic hit in 2020. Consequently, all her Year Six SATS exams were cancelled, and I ended up schooling her at home during the lockdown.  Her school was very proactive in setting up a learning environment online for both my children, but the first time around they were quite blind sided and had not yet set up Zoom lessons, so all work was set and…

This is a blog which considers the contribution and worth of the creative sector to society, especially during a global pandemic

Rethink campaign poster featuring ‘Fatima’, a ballet dancer Last year, during the first wave of the coronavirus, a series of advertisements were released by the National Cyber Security Centre backed through the Government, for a programme called ‘Cyber First’. They were to encourage more young people into technology related careers; the campaign was titled ‘Rethink, Reskill, Reboot’. One of…

When you are still co-sleeping at ten years old. How to find humour in sleep deprivation

I read a lot about co-sleeping when my kids were younger. For those unfamiliar with the concept it is about sharing your sleep space with your baby or child; either in bed in your arms, on the bed, or in other co-sleeping devices such as a nest, pod, or crib with 3 sides that attaches to the side of your bed. At the time it was a parenting decision I chose not to make with either of my girls, so…

Open Letter to our doctors

I’ve been under the care of a lot of doctors in my time – primary care, emergency care, dermatology, neurology, rheumatology, psychiatry and more.  And there is always one thread, one theme that runs through all the appointments and care episodes.The attitude to education about the benefits of losing weight. See, I get it. I’m a big girl. I am in dire need of losing weight.But I’m not blind to…

A blog about how misapropriation of mental health language is harming campaigns for changing attitudes, raising awareness and increasing acceptance and a push towards normalising conversations on mental illness

Whether it’s referring to somebody as being ‘triggered’ because they get annoyed during an argument, or declaring yourself ‘depressed’ because you are having a bad day, we as a society need to stop appropriating and misusing mental health terms. Being tidy does not mean you have ‘OCD’, and being moody does not make somebody ‘bipolar’. We are doing mental health awareness and acceptance a…

What are your thoughts on mental health days or duvet days when it comes to work and employment? A blog on the concept of enshrining mental health days into an employees contract with my thoughts on the subject.

I’m in a bit of (what I call) a blip. Unfortunately, if you have chronic mental health issues these blips can occur at any given time, and I’m working through it in my own way. A few days ago I chose to have a duvet day; I hadn’t slept the night before and I decided to go back to bed after I took the kids to school. Initially my plan had only been to sleep for a couple of hours then get up, but…

Trigger warning With no blogs written this week owing to a nasty migraine and a knock to the head straight after, todays content is a video of a performance of a poem titled 1am, on the subject of self injury

Although from a business point of view I’m a content/copy writer and photographer I also have a variety of other works I do on the side. As well as authoring children’s books I’m a poet, both written and spoken word. Instead of a blog today I’m sharing a performance of one of my poems entitled 1am, written on the subject of self injury. I will be back blogging next week but have been laid up for…

Today's blog comes from the TBB Writes series. Written to follow on from yesterday's new-born photography blog this helps parents take memorable photos of their babies and toddlers at home if studio photography is not an option

COVID has hit photography businesses hard. Very little is being booked in the way of shoots and a lot of parents have young babies and children and feel like they are missing out on being able to document these most special moments before they are gone forever. And whilst nothing will be completely the same as those sweet studio portraits of your young infant, older baby, or toddler, that a…

This is a new blog in the TBB Writes series, for Emma Wilcox of Little Pickle Memories on how parents can take sweet new-born portraits if they cannot access a photographer due to finances, the pandemic, or any other reasons.

COVID has hit photography businesses hard. Very little is being booked in the way of shoots and a lot of parents have new-born children and feel like they are missing out on being able to document these most special moments before they are gone forever. And whilst nothing will be completely the same as those dreamy new-born photos a skilled professional can take for you there are options if you…

Today I’m bringing you a reblog as I’ve not written today’s article owing to some personal issues. Hoping to resume normal service over the weekend. This article however is a brilliant read whether you are allistic/neuro typical or neueodoverse. It’s written by @mouthygurl for the @spoonieauthorsnetwork. I find the words very relatable and am currently germinating ideas for my next work in…

A new entry in the TBB Writes series with an interview for Jemima Hughes on the subjects of Bipolar, Autism and Self Injury. You can also see a video of me performing my poem: 1am, which discusses the topic of self injury

Quick blog tonight to acknowledge and share the interview I recently gave. I’m very lucky to have the privelege of being friends with Jemima Hughes. As well as being a totally lovely human being, Jemima is an astounding poet. I first saw her perform at the Swindon 23rd Poetry slam in 2019 where she deservedly took the winners spot. It is always an amazing experience to watch her perform. Her…

Written in the build up to Self Injury Awareness Day (SIAD) on 1st March, you can find the links to three TBB Writes blogs, written as a guest contributor for The C Word Mag ezine

March 1st was Self Injury Awareness day. I spent a lot of yesterday trying to raise awareness on my social media accounts. This blog was meant to be released yesterday along with the social media posts; I wrote a three part blog series on the subject of self injury for The C Word Mag, an ezine about women and lifestyle issues. The first blog was on the basic facts about self injury, as well as my…

This article in the Be My Guest series comes from Emma Wilcox of Little Pickle Memories, on the subject of screen free activities for young children

Screen Free Activities For Younger Children This blog has been produced by Emma, who is a self employed mum of a 4 year old spirited daughter, Riley. She co-owns Little Pickle Memories with wife Nat, which aims to fill a gap in the market by providing keepsake memory gifts to alternative families including lesbian moms, gay dads, single parents, and adoptive parents. This blog is mainly for…