Live IT & Love IT

One thing social media has taught me is, the world is inundated with self-centred people who think everyone else’s world revolves around them. All they are concerned about are themselves and will blame anyone for their own failures to get off their backsides and go get what they want.   I am sick of hearing “oh immigrants take our jobs” from people who won’t take steps to improve themselves and they certainly will not leave their families and home countries to seek a better life for themselves. It is time to weed out the self-centred, ignorant people who do not care about other human beings. And don’t even get me started on the uneducated drivel!! Thankfully my boys will NOT be posting racist, sexist, misogynistic posts. Why? Because they have respect of other human beings and for themselves. It makes me proud to know even at eleven, my youngest is more socially aware some of the adults I encounter. It is not left wing to treat everyone equally... it is the right thing dec...

I haven’t posted in while. You know what they say… time flies when you’re having fun… or is it just not enough time to achieve all I want to achieve in this short life especially when I’ve wasted too much time on the wrong people! It is so important for me the boys have the right guidance which I never got! Still, I’m glad I’ve found my own way even if the path has been bumpy, hilly, curvy, led to dead ends and back again! The last few weeks have been super hectic. I’m finishing my dissertation, taking professional skills test in literacy and numeracy, sitting a skills knowledge enhancement course in computer science, still writing and most importantly of all, supporting the boys, especially Lucas who has had a tough few weeks at the hands of adult bullies at school. Passive aggressive behaviour is abhorrent! Thankfully, he has left there now and moving on to High School. He is SO ready for it. I feel guilty I cannot take them on holiday this summer but they tell me they...

My blog posts are going to be a bit irregular for the next few months.   I am finishing my Masters dissertation and preparing to start my PGCE in Secondary Education Computer Science which starts in September. I am doing a twelve-week knowledge enhancement course and loving every minute of it. It really helps that I am passionate about computing and ensuring our next generation of workers are not sold down the swanny, my Government who fails to plan for the future!! Both the Masters and SKE have been a revelation for me. They have not just reinforced my passion for the subject, they have given me a much-needed confidence boost making me realise how much I already know. When I think of ten years ago when I received that dreaded letter advising me I no longer had a job due to my illness and look at where we are now, I cannot help but smile. Yes, I have days when I think “why am I bothering” but they are usually triggered by some ignorant wally who wants to push my buttons...

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!!! I have not written a blog for a few weeks. In all honesty, I have been struggling. When did the UK Establishment become such a callous and cold beast? I don’t know why I’m surprised at how poorly it has treated people caught up in the Grenfell fire. Let’s face it, the Establishment has been this nasty since Thatcher. Neo liberalism and Conservatism has turned the UK into a callous, uncaring Establishment, totally the opposite of us Brits and how we react when our communities suffer. I don’t know how anyone can cause the death of innocent people and live with the consequences or to continue to lie. Whatever happened to personal integrity, humanity and doing the right thing? It makes me sick! But it has been like this since the 1980s. Hillsborough, Orgreave, Shrewsbury, child sex exploitation, Grenfell and others are all symptoms of a self-serving elitist bunch of politicians who do not understand what makes their own people tick. Up until Jeremy Corbyn,...

No one sees the true struggle of an invisible illness. For a long time, I literally hid mine, pretended it did not exist. If I forgot something or couldn't string a sentence together in front of people, I would simply try to gloss over it. Trouble is, people, especially nasty people, don't brush over it. They pounce on at as a weakness. They attack you thinking they've hit a major flaw and they capitalise, exploit it. SHAME ON THEM! When they do this, you go into defensive mode – it's natural but unnecessary mechanism. Nevertheless, it is the natural response to nasty people. When I was personally attacked, I did two things: Retreated into myself causing anxiety and depression on top of the anxiety and depression caused by Meniere's. Started feeling really negative about Meniere's Disease. The insecurity caused is exactly what the bullies want and seek but when you're fighting illness and pain every day, the last thing you need is more...

Yesterday was my birthday. I am one year younger than Sgt Peppers! It was an extraordinary day which started with waking up to two unexpected emails. The first was from a publishing company wanting to have a look at Beyond the Lies and another from a production company advising they would like to take a look at Streetwise. Both on the same day! On my birthday! If I’m honest I had to check they were legit! They are. At 11am I had a Master’s presentation that went really well. When I returned home I was lavished with love and gifts from the boys. What makes this year so special is they have done it all themselves. I have never felt so loved and appreciated. I am so, so blessed. Only Trump tainted the day with his ridiculous, narcissistic withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement – there is always one! We have one week to go to the General Election in the UK. To say I am proud of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn would be the under-statement of the year! As much as ...

Meniere’s has taught me so much and completely transformed my life… for the good, the bad and the downright ugly. It lured me into a false sense of security, made me believe in some miracle cure... then wham… it struck! It’s like a volcano – lays dormant until it chooses to waken… then strikes with ferocity and anger, the eruption coming anytime, anywhere and usually when you least expect it or want it! A month on from my recent drop attack, I still feel like crap. It’s, once again, stripped me of all my self-confidence and if I didn’t force myself to leave the house, I would become a total recluse – not a bad idea when it’s not forced upon you! I ventured into University for a meeting with my Master’s supervisors. The feeling of the sun on my face was amazing but the speckles glistening on the floor of the food hall made me feel I was back on that ship in a force ten gale. It’s horrifying to feel the rug being pulled from under you! The meeting was good apart from sitti...