Pick Me Up! 01-Oct-2020

When I graduated from Southampton University two years ago, with a degree in history, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Deciding on a year abroad, I started working at an animal charity in order to save some money. I absolutely loved working there and soon saved up enough to go away. But whilst travelling, I was overwhelmed by the number of homeless citizens. I’ve always known it’s an issue, but in the inner cities of Australia, I couldn’t believe how bad it was. And that’s when I decided to pursue a career in charity. I wanted to make a difference in the world and so back at home, I put my energy into finding a job. Stumbling across a fundraising administrative role for the…

Great achievement! Leading UK pet charity Blue Cross has announced the winners of their recent creative competition for children, ‘Britain’s Most Heroic Tails’. The competition, which was launched in March to raise awareness of the 80th Anniversary of the Blue Cross Medal, asked children aged 7-11 to put their creative caps on and draw their favourite pets onto a superherothemed poster. The charity received designs from kids all across the UK, featuring cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits, goldfish and more. To commemorate their wins, Blue Cross commissioned British comic book illustrator Brian Williamson – who works with Marvel and DC Comics – to bring their ‘su-purr’ hero pets to life, by creating real life movie posters. Here are their top five winners: 1. George Mitchell – Ollie the Wonderdog 2. Joel Hitch…

If your letter makes Star Letter of the week, you will receive some beautiful blooms from Flying Flowers. With over 30 years’ experience of helping celebrate life’s special moments and FREE delivery by post, a gorgeous bouquet by Flying Flowers is a lovely way to celebrate sharing smiles and happiness. See flyingflowers.co.uk for more details.…

As I was hanging out with some mates at the local park, we were joined by a few new faces, including a good-looking guy who caught my attention. ‘Who’s that?’ I asked, nudging a friend. ‘This is Joe,’ he said, dragging me over and introducing the pair of us. In July 2019, Joe James, 22, joined my circle of friends and we soon started seeing a lot of each other. At first I didn’t think he liked me, but he just turned out to be incredibly shy. Joe and I started chatting on Facebook, and we got to know each other more I learned that he suffered with depression growing up, and had to be home schooled, which meant he’d always struggled to meet new people. I had struggled with…

Sitting down in front of the TV, I waited for Coronation Street to begin. I’ve watched the show for as long as I can remember, only this particular episode suddenly became very close to home. Following the soap, I knew the character of three-year-old Oliver Battersby was poorly. However, I couldn’t believe it when suddenly he was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease. For me, this wasn’t just a storyline on a TV programme, it was my life. Just weeks before, in March of this year, my nine-year-old daughter Kiya, had been diagnosed with the very same disease. Unlike Oliver who was diagnosed in just one appointment, it took us a year of pain and suffering. Not two years ago, Kiya was an energetic child who loved horse riding and swimming. She…

This week, our tip of the week will receive a great product from Addis! If you’re looking for a quick and cost effective way to freshen up your kitchen, then invest in this pair. The deep wire drainer and washing up bowl made from 100% recycled household plastic will be a perfect addition to your home. For more ways to make your life easier, visit addis.co.uk Deep clean Once a week, I soak all of my chopping boards in Milton – a brand of baby bottle sterilising fluid to remove dirt. Lucy Travell, Gloucester Everlasting lip balm On a warm day, put your lip balm in the freezer. It revives a firm smooth outline and stops the product from turning to liquid Marion Aldred, London Host with the most I…