Blog Articles
Respecting: a Lesson in Generosity
A glorious May in a Northern city. Being out in the empty streets at 9 o’clock in the evening was strangely soothing;...
Recognising the psychological impact of lockdown
It was week two of facing one of my greatest obstacles, a task so seamless to others, as simple as blinking or...
Returning to work: managing that sinking feeling.
It isn't called a sinking feeling for nothing. It feels like you're in a lift, plummeting down the outside of a...
Reconceiving the metaphor of ‘magic’ hospital curtains
I sleep with the window open, although the light, or darkness, outside is all but hidden by the blind that drapes the length of the glass panels. Recently sleep has been fitful, and often I’ve lain in silence in the small hours listening in delight to an owl quietly...
Reckoning day is here: let us harness the self care agenda for the collective good.
Flicking idly through a glossy, fashion magazine a headline grabs my attention: “A band-aid for bullet wounds: is the self-care craze doing more harm than good?” I am intrigued, partly because I am facing my own conundrums in a work context about whose responsibility...
Recalibrating: How am I?
People keep asking me how I am coping with lockdown. Given that it is also January, the coldest and often most miserable month of the year, and given that I am a little up and down emotionally at the best of times, and struggled with lockdown when it first happened in...
Relishing unusual connections
So here I sit, morning coffee in hand, sun streaming through my east facing bedroom window, and I am transported. Uplifted, taken delicately by the hand to another place, where there is no nastiness, no anger, no sorrow. Just kindness, connection. I can see the hills...
Relishing the impact of inspirational colleagues
About 12 years ago I did my Belbin Team Roles1 analysis. It came free with the purchase of a book and I duly registered, contacted several colleagues to fill out the questionnaires and awaited the 360 type results. Belbin, for those who are not familiar with it,...
Recognising those who inspired us to be who we are
I can’t believe that we are only a few days away from the first year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the UK. 31st January 2020. It almost seems surreal looking back over the last twelve months to think that this time last year none of us really had...
Resisting the propoganda
After 16 hours and a short flight down to Gatwick, we finally took off for our destination, at one o’clock in the morning. As the cabin lights dimmed and the plane left the runway, there was a civilised cheer from the passengers. A last-minute invitation, to join our...
Redefining the hero narrative
“Show me your teeth!” It was not a request, but an order. Standing very close, in front of me, so that I could see his nasal hair, and feel his breath upon my face, this tall, well built, strange man issued his order...
Reviewing the year with Harry Potter
An annual Christmas tradition in our family is watching the Harry Potter films in the week leading up to the big day. It is now seven years since we visited the studios where for three hours I totally lost myself in another world. Transported out of my own reality for...