Our Blog

Barbara's blog: Still Their Safe Place

The other day I came across an old episode of Sex and the City, in which Charlotte and Miranda talk about their experiences of motherhood. Taking it in turn to sip their cocktail, they become brutall... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Dolly's Blog: Brideshead Revisited

I was on the train to my 30-year university reunion when I noticed that my evening dress either had soy sauce stains or the remnants of having sprayed myself with JD and Coke whilst dancing.  I ... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Eliza's blog: Positivity In A Challenge

It’s been a while since I have written one of these and it’s safe to say that a lot has happened since we last spoke. Some of the highlights include a new boyfriend, a subsequent break-up... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Samantha’s blog: The 15-Year-Old and Me

My child is 15 and has autism, learning disabilities, limited communication skills and vocabulary. He still needs help with basic tasks like washing and dressing, and he cannot be left on his own. Th... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work
• Caring Responsibilities

Linda's Blog: Surviving or Thriving?

I've just clocked up 21 years since qualifying as a solicitor which, aside from making me feel old, makes me think back to my first job and how I doubted I'd reach my first anniversary, let a... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work
• Career, Work and Identity

Rachel's blog: From Sunlight to Shadows

I feel like the autumn champions started earlier this year; clamouring all over my socials for their pumpkin spice latte and ushering in the colder nights so they can 'cosy up' in their favou... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Sheila's blog: We All Need a Little Help Sometimes

I ask for help a lot. With Secondary Progressive MS, I need help into a taxi, help from my daughters, help from strangers, help from my husband. Help comes in many forms: sometimes intimate, sometime... Read More

• Career, Work and Identity

Ruban's blog: Into the Unknown - School Trip Sagas

“Would anyone like to go next...?” I raise my hand hesitantly, unsure if I've been through enough to be worthy of sharing my story. My mouth is dry, and I pause before the words ... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Devinder's blog: It Was Always About the Money

It’s only when you step away from a situation that the truth begins to surface. You see things clearly—what was really going on beneath the surface. I’ve never managed to susta... Read More

• Relationships and Divorce

Dolly's blog: Somewhere in a field in Hampshire... all right

It was actually a field in Suffolk and we were definitely not sorted out for Es and wizz, but in the spirit of Jarvis Cocker I was heading to a music festival for the first time since my 20s; the lat... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Linda's Blog: I'll Be There For You

The soundtrack to the Friends tv show was the background to my teenage years.  It amused me when Friends had a resurgence in popularity a few years ago and a new generation were enjoying it as m... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work
• Career, Work and Identity

Sheila's blog: Hope As Possibility

“Hope you have a good day.” “I hope it doesn’t rain.” “I hope you’re well.” We say the word hope all the time. It slips into our conversations so easily that we barely notice it. A kind word, a war... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health
• Career, Work and Identity

Charlotte's blog: The Big Care Debate

A few years ago, my partner and I faced a tough decision.  My elderly father’s mobility was declining, and since my mother had died, he struggled to manage on his own.  We all agreed ... Read More

• Caring Responsibilities

Anushka's blog: Running Away From Stress and Negativity

My love for running started in childhood.  I remember a school disco.  A few popular girls had been asked to dance.  Everyone else, looked on like wallflowers, apparently unaware of th... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Ruban's blog: The Very Long Goodbye

“Aaaand stop! Can someone please halt time?!!” How many of you have uttered the phrase 'time is flying' in the last few weeks, probably on multiple occasions? Great Scott! Hasn... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Devinder's blog: It Took Me 8 Years...

I am the mother of a child.  This means that my son’s needs come first.  I wake up and make sure his school clothes have been ironed, his breakfast is ready, his homework has been com... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Dolly's blog: The Reboot

Few things focus the mind like a 30-year university reunion.  I think of the reunion scene in Grosse Pointe Blank when John Cusack’s character says “I’m a professional killer&h... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Linda's blog: Time To relax

I found myself sitting alone in a quiet house. The birds were singing and the sun was shining through the windows. Everything was still.  We’d rented a cottage for a week and it was t... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Sheila's blog: What Grief Teaches Us About Love and Connection

Grief came into my life early. I was nine when my best friend died in a tragic accident. At that age, I didn’t have the words for what I was feeling—I just knew something had shifted. I w... Read More

• Bereavement and Loss

Sioux's blog: Learnings From My Two Year Old

My household is a busy one – two cats, two dogs and a two-year-old all with more energy than me and my husband would sometimes wish for. But it’s a happy household. As my son has been gro... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Jill's blog: The Nature of Play

For the last year, nearly, I’ve been volunteering at the after-school forest school club at the school my sons attend. This means that I spend 2 hours on Monday afternoons playing in The Meadow... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Barbara's blog - The Art Of Happiness

I was talking to a friend about how our parenting style has had to evolve as the kids have grown up. Ensuring children were happy, which was the catch-all definition for being content, safe and well ... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health

Devinder's blog: A Question For My Father

After I finished university, my parents immediately began searching for a suitable match for me. It didn’t take long. One day, while shopping on our local high street, I saw my cousin and waved... Read More

• Relationships and Divorce
• Career, Work and Identity

Dolly's blog: When The Rain Stops

Dad has died.  After months of following blue lit ambulances to the hospital, retracing the route with grim familiarity through dark streets past childhood ghosts, I know this is the final chapt... Read More

• Bereavement and Loss

Rebecca’s blog: Take a Break

Hello and welcome to our unique blog post, brought to you by some dedicated members of our employee-led 'Take a Break' committee. This space is specially crafted for our colleagues who find t... Read More

• Caring Responsibilities
• Career, Work and Identity

Linda's blog: Kevin The Teenager

As you read this my oldest child is celebrating her 13th birthday. Suddenly we have a teenager in the house.  For those of you old enough to remember the Harry Enfield sketch of Kevin becoming a... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work

Sheila's blog: 2025 - The Year of Everyday Miracles

Living with a chronic illness is undeniably challenging. There’s no sugar-coating it. For me, Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS) and mobility issues are daily realities. There&rsqu... Read More

• Career, Work and Identity

Jill's blog: The Flip of a Coin

I like flipping a coin when I can’t make up my mind. Not because I abide by the results but because it helps me figure out what I really want. If it lands ‘heads’ and I feel disappo... Read More

• Parenting and Return to Work
• Mental and Physical Health

Dolly's blog: Girl On The Train

When I was 15 I was sexually assaulted on the Paris Metro.  “That was terrible”, said the French family I was staying with as we got off the train.  Odd, I thought, that they&rs... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health
• Career, Work and Identity

Barbara's blog: The Good Bad News

According to Cancer Research, one in two people in the UK is likely to receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lives, up from one in three. Whether this is due to our process food-rich west... Read More

• Mental and Physical Health