Tag: Family

Four years on, bank holiday pressure turns to perspective

Family together at home on May bank holiday

The late May bank holiday presents a welcome chance to draw breath for my family and I after a hectic start to 2026 for all of us.

Fresh from passing her driving test, my daughter Penny prepares to head to York to study archaeology in September. Having just returned from a month in New Zealand, she’s working hard, saving, and planning to travel again this summer. 

Her brother Henry, meanwhile, is a third of the way through the GCSE grind. His school in Wells texts us every day to advise us of an ‘unauthorised’ absence. I can confirm here (and have done to them) that he’s revising for the next exam. Anyone who’s had children at this life stage knows it’s a joyless slog.

My wife is studying for a certificate in systemic psychotherapy at Exeter University, on top of a demanding day job as a family therapist in Somerset.

And I’m working hard on the business as Distinctive approaches the end of our fourth year, reflecting on the progress we’ve made in that short time.

Between all of this and the tedious task of processing dozens of receipts from UKREiiF in Leeds this week, I realise how much has shifted since May 2022.

Continue reading “Four years on, bank holiday pressure turns to perspective” →

Taking postive steps forward after International Women’s Day

Raised purple fist of a woman for international women's day and the feminist movement. March 8 for feminism, independence, freedom, empowerment, and activism for women rights

This is awkward. Posting about International Women’s Day 24 hours after everyone else.

No excuses. It’s been a busy time. Today’s my wife Lisa’s birthday. We went out to dinner at a recently opened Italian in Wells yesterday evening to celebrate. I’ve seen her work hard over the years to complete her MSc in Systemic Psychotherapy and become a family therapist in a busy team in Somerset.

My daughter Penny heads to New Zealand for a month on Thursday. She holds down two jobs to save for the trip since getting the grades to study archaeology at York in September.

My mum Gwyn ran a high street business for decades with my dad, who she married at 18 in 1973. Fiercely loyal, she stuck by me during some wild times when I didn’t deserve it. It’s their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing them in Pembrokeshire later this month.

Clever, caring, dedicated, honest. These women make the world a better place.

I’m so lucky to have them in my life. So, yes, of course I celebrate them. But I’m also hacked off that we’ve got some way to go to create a world that they deserve. If anything, in recent times it feels like we’ve gone backwards.

Beyond the huge volume of celebratory posts we face some huge challenges. The Middle East is in crisis. Russia continues its hostility towards Ukraine. The climate crisis is deepening. Economic uncertainty is growing. Men are running things badly. Women and girls bear the brunt.

That’s why we start this week clear-sighted about how much further we have to go, in so many ways.

Continue reading “Taking postive steps forward after International Women’s Day” →

No predictions, just 3 hopes for 2016

If you’ve read any posts, columns and opinions about 2015, it would be easy to think that last year was a bad one.

Columnisrs have negative tendencies, but it seems that there’s plenty to trouble us. Terrorism, austerity, economic under-performance, migration, Europe and runaway house prices all point to a bad year.

I’ve also had many conversations about ‘leadership failure’ over many of these issues. It seems that people have had enough of being soft-soaped. This was demonstrated in Jeremy Corbyn’s extraordinary victory over the ‘Westminster elite’ in the Labour leadership campaign. It was also expressed in nastier ways through trolling and threats dealt out on social media.

Opinion formers have an appetite for predictions at this time of year. After so many people called the big events wrong in 2015, it’s daft to attempt it for the coming year.

I want to be optimistic and set out some hopes for 2016. Some relate to national issues, others are more local and there’s a personal one too. All are important to me and, if they happen, it should be a good year.

Continue reading “No predictions, just 3 hopes for 2016” →