Three cheers for coffee

Stop waiting for Friday. I love this sentiment. We all do it. We've even got the TGI and TFI to prove it! I did enjoy watching TFI with Chris Evans. He had great live bands and interviews with celebs. And TCI where the chocolate bar, Crunchie was relieved it was the end of a long week! I haven't had a full sized one in years. They come in the funsize bags. I was reminded today of a little Friday jig I used to do at work which caught on with my partner teacher. Some Fridays we'd been that busy though that I'd forget to do my jig until I got home! There's not just the start of the weekend that we live for. There are so many things we hold onto, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Only problem with that though, is missing out on appreciating all the beautiful colours whilst getting there. Stop waiting full stop. I'm constantly torn between two opposing feelings: 1. Not wishing my weeks, months, my life even, away. 2. Looking forward t...

I am what I am. I absolutely love Dame Shirley Bassey and if you have not seen her on the stage at Glastonbury, you need to. I love her powerhouse voice and how she commands the stage. I think we all need to stand up, raise our arms and sing out loudly, "I am what I am!" Well one thing I am, and some of my friends and family are, is soft and sensitive. This does have its drawbacks and sometimes softness can be confused with weakness and being a pushover. I, and some of my friends and family have let folk overstep the mark because they think we won't say anything for fear of conflict but we are working on this! I will say, however, that softness does not mean you don't have an underlying core of strength running through you; we all have that and I've witnessed it many times with people I know. I've surprised myself with it a few times! It is hard though, not to be brought down by bitterness. That's a tough one. Something I have noticed is sometim...

Keeping up Appearances! We've surely all done it. Well, a lot of us anyway! Tried to keep up some appearance of some sort. Especially in this day and age of social media. We all know it's edited and we put our best bits on. Who wants to see the boring, ordinary parts of everyday life we all have? It doesn't mean we are always living this way. I mean, I'm sure some people think I live in cafes and tea rooms but I do go home! Saying that, I am typing this in a cafe now! If I were to show you some of the other parts of my day, it wouldn't very interesting! Just like everyone else. When I think back to the comedy 'Keeping up Appearances', it really makes me laugh.  Hyacinth Bucket was hilarious as she stood on the telephone with her posh voice. We've all heard mums, aunties and grandmas put on their posh Marks and Spencer voices over the years. Maybe I need to start doing it! This next bit that Hyacinth used to do makes me laugh. She was so aware ...

Community- the missing jigsaw piece. I loved writing my last blog celebrating the better parts of Barnsley, the new, and old small businesses and independent traders. I loved looking back at the Barnsley I knew and loved growing up. These were fab times, shared with family and friends and some of these friends I'm still in touch with. At the centre of all my memories where I grew up, is also this massive sense of a strong community, a close knit village, intertwined with surrounding villages. I love the above African proverb. Who you are surrounded by, role models and friends, does help shape you. I remember Community centres and village halls spread all over the borough of Barnsley. These were busy, community hubs, stretching across the neighbourhoods like light houses. They were places to go to have fun, learn new things, socislise and be included. All different generations enjoying each other's company over bingo, yoga, crafting, flower arranging and much more. There ...