A MUM has shared a heart-breaking story behind why a blue stain on her carpet is an unlikely reminder of what's really important in life. Heather Duckworth shared an emotional message on her blog Love, Faith & Chaos, which has since gone viral. Describing herself online as a wife and mum of five kids “four on earth and one in heaven”, her post The Blue Stain has resonated with other parents. She describes how seeing an ink stain on her carpet was a constant reminder of the son she lost to cancer, Jacob, one of triplets. She begins by recalling how she was clearing up “slime” left by one of her other children, and she was beginning to feel irritated. She wrote: “All of a sudden I remembered another time in my life when I was cleaning up a big mess many years ago and the memories came flooding back. “I was completely exhausted and was a hot mess by this time of night. “Life was non-stop with our 2-year old triplets and their 4-year old … [Read more...] about Mum shares heart-breaking story behind a blue ink stain as a reminder to parents of what’s really important in life
Make life worth living
REVIEW: ESTHER RANTZENTHAT’S LIFE!FOREST ARTS CENTRE, NEW MILTON
REVIEW: Esther Rantzen That’s Life! Forest Arts Centre, New Milton CELEBRATING 50 years in broadcasting, effervescent journalist and TV presenter Esther Rantzen shares the stage with her daughter Rebecca Wilcox, discussing careers, personal lives and contemporary issues. The charismatic Rantzen, now aged 77, is still fluent, informative, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining, explaining how her popular prime-time TV show That’s Life! attracted over 20 million viewers and 15,000 letters each week (before the days of emails, texts, and social media). As a tireless and compassionate campaigner against human cruelty, Rantzen founded Childline in 1986, helping more than 4 million children to combat abuse, get professional help, and transform lives. More recently, the creative and caring Rantzen has founded The Silver Line charity, trying to combat the stigma of loneliness in elderly people. She explains that this problem is not just concerned with the loss of … [Read more...] about REVIEW: ESTHER RANTZENTHAT’S LIFE!FOREST ARTS CENTRE, NEW MILTON
Polly Hudson: You should never get sick of being ill
If you noticed I was off last week, you probably assumed I was having a lovely extended Christmas holiday. In reality, pretty much the polar opposite was true. I was, like you either are now, have been or – WATCH OUT! – are about to be, ill. I don’t even think it was Aussie Flu (wasn’t affected down under), it was just boring old completely miserable normal flu. My husband was struck down first, but what he had was just a silly little not-that-bad bug which no one could be expected to pay much attention to. Then – definitely on purpose – he gave it to me, at which point it became an incredibly serious illness. Whatever nationality it was, the flu I got was properly rotten and made me feel completely awful. But then, after the very, very worst had passed, I realised being ill isn’t actually all bad. In fact, if you think about it, there are some definite perks... You suddenly appreciate how well your body usually works, just at its most basic … [Read more...] about Polly Hudson: You should never get sick of being ill
Milton Keynes Council urges residents ‘See the signs, save a life’
‘See the Signs, Save a Life’ is a Milton Keynes based campaign to encourage everyone to recognise the signs of someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts and know what action to take to support them. Acknowledging that one in five of us will experience suicidal thoughts some time in our life, the council is undertaking a social media campaign, providing printed leaflets and offering training to the community around how to see the signs of suicidal risk. The campaign has been launched to support and expand on the Samaritans national ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’ campaign aimed at empowering the public to act to prevent suicide on the railways. The information centres on the signs to look out for and what you can do to help. It also encourages the community not to be afraid to ask directly about suicide. Although some people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts may not show any signs, some of the warning signs might include: Talking or complaining of feelings … [Read more...] about Milton Keynes Council urges residents ‘See the signs, save a life’
Dianne Paterson: Make your resolution to put your affairs in order
0 Have your say One week into the New Year and the struggle is on – to keep those New Year’s resolutions and achieve those impossible goals. A New Year has always been seen as a time for attempting to reform old habits and achieve new goals. Of course, the success in fulfilling any New Year’s resolution usually depends on the nature of the resolution and determination of the party trying to achieve it.Most of us struggle to keep resolutions. However, this might have less to do with willpower or resolve and more to do with the resolution itself and the change that is required. There is a lot to be said for ditching impossible goals and trying, instead, to achieve those which are more realistic and sane.Everyone likes to think that ‘their affairs are in order’ but they so often are not. With resolve and determination, a realistic goal could be to have your affairs in order in 2018. As much as we might wish to ignore it, we know that we are not going … [Read more...] about Dianne Paterson: Make your resolution to put your affairs in order