Pick Me Up! 01-Apr-2021

In January last year, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. Browsing online, it wasn’t long before I came across a post on Mumsnet, linking to a Facebook page for babies due in September. The group had been started by a lady in France named Emelie Valla, and around 20 women had already joined. Almost immediately, we all started sharing our early symptoms and scan results. For most of us, this was our first time, so it was nice knowing we were all in the same boat. And when news of the coronavirus came flooding in, we all leaned on one another. As lockdown loomed, we were all due our 20-week scan and none of us knew how it would unfold. When the national lockdown came into force,…

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Standing on a chair, I passed my stepdad Steve*, the flour. ‘Good job,’ he smiled at me. Steve and my mum Jenny*, had been together for about a year, but with no relationship with my real dad, he’d really stepped up to the plate. In a busy home with his two children, as well as my three younger siblings and myself, it was hard to get any attention, but Steve was always so caring. Caribbean, it’s in our nature to cook and although I was only six, Steve always let me help. It’s where my love of cooking stemmed from. So, when Steve brought his friend, who was a chef, home one weekend, I was thrilled. As far as I was aware, David Tiley, now 47, had been close friends…

Keep the decorations up for spring!…

Wiping my brow, I plonked myself down on a chair, exhausted. It was 1 March 2020, and I had arrived at the monthly county meeting to discuss the local carnival. ‘You look like you’re coming down with something,’ my friend said to me. Nodding back, I felt completely drained. Everybody could tell I wasn’t my usual chirpy self. I was normally the loudest one in the room, throwing around lots of fun ideas – but not today. Trudging home, I collapsed onto the sofa with a cup of tea, hoping the illness would pass. ‘I must have the flu,’ I told my husband Koalan, 26. We tucked our two children, Phoenix, five, and Khalessi, one, into bed, and then went to sleep ourselves. The next morning, I suddenly woke up…