Category: Lifestyle

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It’s not just babies who get meningitis….. #24youhavethepower

Sponsored by Pfizer

When my boys were little, and they started running a fever, one thing always popped to the front of my mind when they got to that unresponsive state that young children can go into while they’re ill.  With a glass, I’d stand there pressing it lightly on anything that resembled a spot, yet not really knowing what I was looking for.  All I knew was that meningitis was a very dangerous thing indeed for children, and something I needed to keep an eye out for.  In this post, I’m partnering with Pfizer to spread the word about meningococcal disease.

As a young adult, I didn’t ‘get it,’ that signs of meningitis are actually far more than a purple rash that doesn’t go away when lightly pressed to glass.  I think it was when I read about Victoria Beckham being diagnosed with viral meningitis in 2000, that I really took note and started to research more.  I’d been convinced that meningitis only really affected young children, with very rare instances of adults affected.  At that point, I learned about the difference between bacterial and viral meningitis, and how bacterial meningitis is the more serious of the two.

The difference:

  • Viral Meningitis

Symptoms such as headache, feeling sick, being tired and sensitive to light.  Symptoms usually clear up within a few days.  I suspect most people with this form would think they had a very bad cold or a flu, and are unlikely to know they’ve had viral meningitis.

  • Bacterial Meningitis (e.g meningococcal disease)

Meningococcal disease is an illness caused by the bacteria, Neisseria meningitis.   Even with treatment, death can occur as quickly as 24 hours after symptoms first show, or the disease can cause long-term disabilities.

The bacteria can be spread by kissing!!!!

Busy public areas, such as schools, theatres, cinemas, music festivals as well as being close to family and friends, can spread the disease, by actions as simple as sharing a cup or coughing.

Apparently, in the UK, up to around 1 in 5 adolescents carry the bacteria that can lead to meningitis.  They can carry the disease without showing symptoms themselves, but if the infection spreads to the brain through the bloodstream, the symptoms can become apparent.  That’s an incredible statistic when you think that at school, there might be up to around 30 kids in a class, and potentially, around 6 of those carry the bacteria.  Around 1 in 5 of my friends have blonde hair, which is incredible given that we’re all over forty…..but you know what I mean.

Adolescents

My boys are all at this age now.  Teenagers embarking on the first part of their lives without their parents around at all times, keeping an eye on everything and everyone they come across.  I watch them with their friends, laughing and capering, watching movies – 20 to a bedroom, while passing round the family packs of crisps and sharing bars of chocolate and bottles of juice.  What is that with teenagers these days, where they swig from the cola bottle and pass it along to their friends!!!  I’ve seen my boys sitting at the table with friends, where they’re all eating burgers, or pasta, or whatever I’ve put on to feed the hordes of growing boys, and there’s always one or two who polish off the leftovers from their friends’ plates.

I look at that behaviour differently now, knowing that kissing, socialising in groups and sharing eating and drinking utensils can spread the disease.  I also know that telling a bunch of teenagers that they’re potentially putting themselves at risk, is as likely to change their behaviour as my chances of winning a lottery that’s rolled over for a year…

What Can We Do?

#24youhavethepower is a social media programme designed to educate us.  If you would like to find out more information about meningitis and vaccination, please visit www.24youhavethepower.co.uk

As parents, adults and adolescents, we do have the power, to learn more, to know what to look for, and how to take the best precautions we can.

Vaccinations

I believe vaccination is one of the biggest advances in medicine for our species.  It’s incredible that we can protect ourselves and our kids from some devastating diseases by little injections.  The research involved is life changing for us, and has even eradicated diseases in the UK, like smallpox and polio.  There are Meningitis vaccinations available for babies, teenagers and students too.  My boys did receive the MenACWY vaccine at school in S3, although it took a little persuasion for my middle boy to go through with it.

For me, it was worth persuading my boys to receive protection from a devastating disease, however it’s up to you, as readers to source the information, read the facts, and make your own mind up for your families.  As parents, all we can do, is make an informed judgment call.  Use this post as a means to research for yourself, talk to your GP, and make your own conclusions.

Know the Symptoms

Don’t wait until someone you know has the condition to find out more.

  • Early symptoms can be mistaken for colds or flu, such as fevers, aches and pains, feeling nauseous and vomiting, headaches and confusion.
  • More rare symptoms show up as a rash, stiff neck, aversion to bright light, and being confused.  Not everyone will have these symptoms.

If you suspect someone has meningitis, get immediate medical help, as it is vital for survival.

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The Single Use Plastic Debate – Are We Killing Our Planet?

There’s lots of news going around about single use plastic and how we need to protect the environment and our oceans.  I totally agree with that, although I doubt anything we do will counter the plastic coming into the oceans and landfill from China and India, but still, every little helps.  Are we killing our planet with laziness in the single use plastic debate?

I don’t like to see this, or far worse pictures I’ve seen in the media.

The point of this post though, is that I am struggling.  As much as I try, I forget to take reusable bags to supermarkets quite frequently, and then have to buy more, but I never throw mine away after the one use.  I used to reuse them as dog poo bags, and I often reuse them now as bags for my mums bits and bobs that need binned.

I’m old enough to remember the days when plastic packaging was non existent to very low.  My grandmother used to have a shop in the days before supermarkets kicked them all out of business, which sold all sorts from fruit and veg, to canned goods, juice, sweets in jars, cheese, meat and more.  All the packaging for people to take away was paper, and she had lots of different paper bags of different sizes and strengths.    She even had net bags made of string for potatoes.  We haven’t always had nets just for oranges, and they weren’t plastic.  Cereals were in big dispensers and dispensed into their own tubs by weight, or measured into a paper bag for people to decant into their containers at home.  The cheese was wrapped in grease proof types stuff, and in it went to a paper bag.  Sweets were weighed and measured into those crinkly bags, and if someone forgot their shopping bags, they were given a box to take their things home in.  There was almost zero waste, as boxes stock arrived in almost always ended up with customers.

We had our fizzy juice in glass bottles that were always given back for a couple of pence, and the same went for milk bottles.  No tetra packs, plastic, polystyrene or plastic in sight.  I lived this stuff.  I know how to live plastic free, yet in my home, we have plastic bottles of fizz, plastic bottles of milk, tetra packs of juice, microwaveable meals, and almost every bleeding thing seems to come in a plastic wrapper.  There’s absolutely no need in this life, ever, to use a plastic microwaveable meal tray, and yet we do use a bloody shed load of the stuff weekly.

I even eyed up my roll of cling film last week with an evil glare.  How much of that stuff does damage in a day around the world?  That’s not to mention the nappy sacks for mums pads, the pads themselves with plastic backing and the oodles of packs of wet wipes we use on a monthly basis, all going into the bin.  And that’s not to mention crisps and biscuits, just how much packaging do they take up?  I can’t even think about things like packs of tomatoes, apples, neeps, cucumbers, all wrapped so neatly in their plastic poison.  As much as possible, I try to avoid those now, but instead of paper bags to put them in, we’re offered yet another little plastic bag.

It’s all down to cost, and sadly, cost does indeed matter.  We can avoid some plastics, but I’m struggling to figure out how to get round lots of it with a disabled elder, and five others, as well as a pet to throw out rubbish for.  I’ve found biodegradable nappy sacks that don’t cost the earth, but there’s no bloody alternative for the plastic backed pads and adult nappies and their packaging that we go through so much of.  We go through so much that we even have to have an extra bin to fit it all in, and then we still have to take more to the tip ourselves as the bins get chocka.

I can’t persuade the kids at their age to avoid plastic fizz, and to be honest, I don’t want to.  I like my fizz of choice.  The soda stream alternatives are great, but too expensive and the gas isn’t the easiest to get swapped out for the canisters.  If they were available at my local shop, it would be a no brainer, but as that option isn’t available, we end up grabbing plastic bottles instead.  There seems to be no alternative to it until manufacturers make changes to how they supply, and they are always looking at the cheapest option which is single use plastic.

It’s disappointing that butchers, bakers, and fishmongers are addicted to the stuff too.  I bought burgers yesterday from a fresh meat outlet.  They were wrapped between plastic sheets, and stuffed into a plastic bag that was sealed with a plastic tape.

My grandmother would be turning in her grave.

I’ll keep cutting down where I can, as I think we all have a responsibility to try and help reduce the damage caused by our selfishness as a world population, but alas, I suspect that this is a battle we are going to lose sooner rather than later.  Our oceans seem to be broken.  Our beaches are being trashed.  We’re told our food sources are being poisoned.

As I said, every little helps.  The little I do won’t help much, but it makes me feel a tiny bit better, but also guilty that I don’t do more.  That’s a project I need to work on more.

I want to keep seeing this on beaches.  I just need to do more.

 

 

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All I Want To Do Is Sleep…..

Yes, really.  All I want to do is sleep.  This has been me for the last few weeks.  As soon as it gets dark, my brain seems to think it’s time to climb that wooden hill.  It’s not something I’ve been terribly bothered by for a long time, but one of my boys has.

From what I hear, it affects all of us at some point in our lives.  My husband is one of those who is up with the lark every morning, and while I’ve never understood how that is even remotely possible for anyone, I learned to live with my fuzzy head and setting three alarms every day to get up, and always having one at the opposite side of the room, so that I have to get up to switch it off.  If the alarm is beside my head, I have a tendency to switch it off while I’m still in snoozeland.

I wouldn’t exactly call it excessive sleep as such, as if I fall asleep during the day, I end up awake during the night, which is never good, but I am struggling with the dark o’clock heavy eyes syndrome.

What I’ve learned so far:

Potential Causes

Meds and Medical Conditions

I have an underactive thyroid and fibromyalgia, and those tablets do sometimes interact.  Taking the fibro meds at bedtime might be much more beneficial for me.  Perhaps my thyroid has gone out of sync again, but since my review isn’t due for another few months, I’ll just have to suck this one up for a while.

Not Sleeping Enough

Hmmm.  I’m not convinced by this one, but then again, my sleeping pattern is often all over the place.  I have to get up for my mum during the night, and for middler on occasion, as well as chasing down the elder teens and constant lifts home in the wee hours.  Perhaps it’s not surprising that I want to snooze in the afternoon.  I often get three hours, then up for an hour, and back to sleep again.

Hypersomnia

Related to the above, and caused by broken and irregular sleep patterns, it’s possible that it is affecting me more than I realise.   I could on many days, easily sleep for 12 hours if I were able to…..

Shifts

Well, I’m seeing a pattern here.  Not enough sleep at once, hypersomnia caused by irregular sleeping patterns, that exist for shiftworkers, and people with my patterns of sleeping.  It’s almost as if the body is trying to bank sleeping hours with the disruption in my circadian rhythm.

Food

This is a definite no brainer.  Heavy stodge, stews and large meals definitely make me want to sleep.  I’ve never understood those who can eat heavy meals and don’t feel wiped out in the afternoons because of it.

Mental Health

This isn’t me.  Not unless you count stress with a disabled adult and a teen with mental health issues in the house.   Perhaps I need a holiday….  It is a 24/7 job caring for someone who has dementia and is doubly incontinent with full body disability, as well as working on top of it, which often sees me pounding the computer keys at 2am.  I am definitely not depressed, so that rules one condition out.

Sleeping Conditions

My youngest has been told he has insomnia.  I’m not convinced.  Like me, he struggles to get to sleep, but then struggles to wake up.  I think screen time is a problem for most teenagers and if he actually went to bed and switched off his phone, I think he would be fine.  Perhaps I should listen to that as well.

Youngest did have sleep apnea where he would choke when sleeping, stop breathing a little and wake up gasping.  After many tests and different doctors, he finally got diagnosed with kissing tonsils, ie with no space either side of the throat for tonsils to slip into, his would close up and block air getting through.  With a removal of the tonsils, hey presto, his sleep apnea and constant vomiting stopped.

I definitely don’t have narcolepsy, where sufferers fall asleep at all times of the day, it’s more a heavy feeling of wanting to close my eyes and drift off pleasantly.

What Can I Do?

I can’t change some things in my life, such as looking after my mum at all hours of the day and night, and not working isn’t an option, but I do need to be more disciplined with some other things around bedtime, that are just sensible, and would perhaps help others too.

  • I don’t smoke, but if others do, they could try to reduce nicotine before bedtime.
  • Try to chill out before finishing my bedtime routine, ie switching off the TV, laying down my phone and not reading a book.
  • Try and get to bed for a set time.  I know this is almost impossible with my family and work, but it doesn’t mean I can’t at least try.
  • Avoid caffeine for the last hour before bedtime.  I am really going to struggle with this, but given that I struggle to set a regular bedtime, it’s not a surprise.
  • Get back to eating more healthily.  I’ve not been great recently, which sort of goes with the sleep issue.
  • Pinch youngests daylight lamp for evenings.  It’s got to be worth a try to stop me wanting to zzzzz.
  • Try and persuade my GP to test my thyroid levels early.  Not holding out much hope for this one, but you never know.
  • Get outside more in the winter.  I’ve been hibernating recently.  Perhaps this is bad for me…

I suspect anyone reading this is having their own sleep issue, so good luck to all, and it’s time to bring on the longer days.  I’ve had enough of winter..

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Music To Improve Dementia Care

My regular readers tend to know my mum has advanced dementia and also lives with us.  We’re always looking for ways to include her, and at the moment, it tends to work around her need to see children playing.  In a care home, that just wouldn’t happen, so she is best cared for by us, with council carers who come in and help, and some hours we pay for ourselves.  Although my mum does like the radio on, she’s very far gone with her dementia, and struggles to find meaning in music now, other than the simple instant company it gives her if she’s alone in her room while we are doing other things around the house.

Music as Therapy International has launched its #MusicCan campaign promoting the power of music in light of a report published 18 January 2018 by the ILC highlighting the essential role music has to play in the care of people living with dementia.  

Watch the video to see what a difference it can make.

 

 

Music as Therapy International have launched a campaign that highlights how music can help improve dementia care, by celebrating the ways music can improve lives and change the approaches to those in care.   They believe in the power of music to make the most of people’s potential, and helping to overcome issues like disability and trauma, as well as mental illness.

The UK charity has launched a #MusicCan campaign to highlight the ways music can help everyone.

The Alzheimer’s Society reports there are around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, with higher health and social costs than cancer, stroke and chronic heart disease combined.  That’s a powerful sentence when we consider that dementia is often such an isolating disease.

A report Utley Foundation sponsored report has been launched following a Commission on Dementia and Music by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC), which recognises the wealth of evidence supporting the use of music to improve lives of people living with dementia.

My father lives in a care home, without much in the way of support via music.  Actually, there seems to be little interaction with him as a resident, but he does spend much of his day with the radio on, which helps him as a dementia sufferer, but without conscious management of music as a supporting therapy.   Music is such a big part of lives of most of us these days, and it makes sense for it to be brought under an official banner of treatments and therapies to help those with dementia cope with daily life.

As families and friends, exploring the potential of music to help those who need support can only be a positive thing.  With my mum, it’s a soothing, comforting thing, rather than therapy, but any way to keep reaching out to those who seem isolated is worth trying.

Personally, I think music should be an option for all dementia sufferers.  Granted, there will be some who cannot abide the noise, but as an option, it shouldn’t be discounted.  As carers, if we can show the benefits and improvements to the lives of dementia sufferers with music in their lives, and we talk about it, perhaps we can persuade those who hold the budget strings to make music a more tailored option.  I’ve often witnessed the groups singing hymns, or some man bashing out old war tunes on a past it’s best piano, but I think I need to quote my own mum on this, not long after her dementia diagnosis, when she attended a day centre.

Why do they think everyone over 50 wants to sit around singing hymns all day.  If I want to sing hymns, I’ll go to church on a Sunday.’

The problem is, that when music is considered, I’ve found it as a one fits all attempt.  That rarely works.  Dementia sufferers, like all of us, have different tastes in music.  We shouldn’t think that because they refuse to join a group singing hymns, that they’re not interested in music.

I don’t find music therapy to be a much discussed option for those with dementia.  As with other potential aides, there is usually a limit on costs that can be spent to support our loved ones.  We are often powerless to help with things like physiotherapy, but music is something all of us can take on board as an action.

Anything that can help improve the quality of life of anyone suffering from any health condition is worth a try.  If you are struggling to help someone with anxiety, disability, depression, or any number of other conditions, give it some thought, and see if you can bring some tunes into their lives.  The music should be tailored to what individual people want and need, and actually enjoy.

Find out more at Music as Therapy International 

More about Dementia at Dementia Caregivers

 

 

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Frightening Christmas Consumer Waste Figures Revealed

This is always a topic worth visiting over the festive season.  I know that in our house, we tend to find ourselves with lots of clutter, and quite frankly, far too much waste for the size of bins we have to put it out with.

A new study has found that we Brits, will  throw out 108 million rolls of wrapping paper, 54 million platefuls of food – and use 189 million batteries over Christmas.  That’s absolutely collossal.

To add insult to that, eight in 10 people admitted they don’t bother to try and justify the huge amount of waste they produce, with six in 10 saying they don’t feel at all guilty about what they throw away over the festive period.

I don’t know about you, but I do feel guilty about the amount of waste.  I see images on TV and news items of our seas full of plastic, and I know that as a smallish island, what we do, is going to have very little effect on the levels of pollution and waste world wide, but every little helps.

GP Batteries commissioned the research, and a spokesman said:

  • Christmas is a time of great celebration, but this can result in a huge amount of waste – many of which we don’t always do the right things with.
  • And it seems many don’t worry about the amount of their Christmas produce that ends up in the bin, despite the nation as a whole trying to do all we can to cut down on waste at other times of the year.
  • Reusing things, such as Christmas Cards or wrapping paper, or using rechargeable batteries are small things to most people but will drastically reduce the amount you end up throwing away.

Findings from OnePoll.com:

  • A poll of 2,000 adults found the nation will also get through more than 40 million rolls of sticky tape and bin almost 100 million black bags full of packaging from toys and gifts.
  • Seven in 10 admit to buying far more food than they need, with two thirds saying at least some of the turkey usually ends up in the bin.
  • The average household will get through four rolls of wrapping paper and throw away seven batteries over the Christmas period
  • A roll-and-a-half of sticky tape will be used per household, while three-and-a-half black bags full of packaging will be thrown out.
  • The equivalent of a whole plateful of food will end up going to waste on Christmas Day, along with another plateful in the following days.
  • An average of 24 Christmas cards will also be discarded once the festive period is over, while 14 per cent will even be binning their fake Christmas tree this year.

And rather than recycling where possible, many simply throw their wrapping paper, packaging and old Christmas cards out with the rubbish.  As a family, we do recycle our paper, plastic and tins, as we’ve no choice.  Our bins are tiny for a six person household with one doubly incontinent elder adult.  The amount of waste she generates is pretty large.

Disturbingly, the poll also indicated:

  • Many aren’t recycling or reusing their waste with one in five admitting to throwing their used wrapping paper into the bin.
  • More than one in four throw batteries into the bin, despite knowing they shouldn’t, while three in 10 still use disposables instead of rechargeables.
  • Others admit to throwing out leftover food rather than trying to use it in other meals and binning cards and packaging instead of recycling or reusing.
  • But one in six often try to justify the amount of waste they produce, with 34 per cent of those believing it’s just part of Christmas.
  • One in five think it’s OK as everyone else does it while 43 per cent believe it is impossible to avoid waste over the festive period.

On a more positive side:

  • It emerged one in ten have had rows with their family because of the amount of waste they produce.
  • As a result, many are trying to cut down on the waste they produce, with 48 per cent turning their Christmas dinner leftovers into other meals in the following days.
  • Forty-two per cent buy a fake tree instead of having to dispose of a real tree every year while a third simply buy less food than usual.
  • Others reuse Christmas cards as gift tags the following year, buy rechargeable batteries and even avoid wrapping presents at all.

A spokesman for GP Batteries added:

These days a battery is for life, not just for Christmas.  A modern rechargeable battery can be used up to 1,500 times and over its lifetime – saving a fortune in cash and waste. Once you go rechargeable you never go back.

Top ten things people have done to try and reduce their waste at Christmas:

  1. Turn leftovers into other meals

  2. Buy a fake tree to reuse every year

  3. Buy less food

  4. Reuse Christmas cards as gift tags the following year

  5. Use rechargeable batteries

  6. Order online but in one order to reduce the amount of packaging

  7. Send e-cards

  8. Buy fewer toys

  9. Order less online to cut down on packaging

  10. Don’t wrap presents at all

Be careful this Christmas, it could do us all the world of good.

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Where’s YOUR Happy Place?

In collaboration with SACO

Would you believe that one in four of Scottish people given a choice, said their favourite happy place is a white sandy Hebridean beach?  It’s a thought provoking finding, and I suspect it has absolutely everything to do with those white sandy beaches.  I don’t think anyone could say no to a sandy beach.

The further research from SACO, found that visiting Loch Ness and walking in the Lake District were joint second place, while visiting the Roman Baths of Bath and enjoying fish and chips in Padstow harbour completed the top five happy spots for Scots.

It’s no surprise to me, that two thirds of the adults said some of their fondest memories of being a child were spent holidaying in Britain.  When I grew up, going abroad was just not an option for us.  Most of my kids holidays have been at home too, in caravans or latterly the motorhome before we sold it.  We still take holidays here in the UK, as the cost is what does it for us everytime.  I know that camping would be cheaper still, but something to do with the open air, hard ground and no en suite facilities tends to put me off…  As a tin tenter for years, we’ve taken our fair share of holidays at home, and we’ve all loved them.

We’ve stayed in Dornoch, Nairn, Cambridge, Devon, Montrose, Perth and many  more, always being part of the outdoor caravan site life.  At times it’s been luxury holiday site and at others, it’s just been us and a couple of other vans….  It was always different.  One of our favourite places to go, as a Scot, was up in Aviemore.  You can’t beat it for scenery and things to do if you’re an outdoorsey type.

Caravan Site John O’Groats – The Lone Van

In Aviemore, we’ve also stayed in their chalets, as there’s an enormous amount of good quality serviced apartments in Scotland.  One of the best we’ve had, was a one night to Edinburgh, where we got a last minute apartment on Princes Street itself, with all the mod cons and falling out onto the street.

I think I really do agree that if we could guarantee the weather, it’s unlikely we’d go abroad much.  We don’t go often as it is, but if we had great weather, it would be even less.  It’s the little things that stay in our memories.  I’m glad we managed to pass those along to our kids, and I hope they pass great experiences along to theirs.

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You just never know what you might see on your travels.  We got stuck behind this little posse one year….

I must admit, that having our dog, was influenced our UK based holidays for many years, as we didn’t want to put her into kennels, and it was nice to take her to new places, and create great family experiences for the kids and the animals in our lives.

How I miss this girl being in our lives…..

We don’t have to spend a fortune for kids to have a great time.  We’ve rolled down hill, skimmed stones, dug holes in sand during a cold winter day and more….  It’s all about doing……



Have a look at the infographic from SACO, for more information on their research.  Where’s YOUR happy place?

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The 4GEE Community Cinema Club

We got the chance to give this a try.  It was a bit of a no brainer, as it involved gadgets and movies, which are the two biggest hobbies of almost all the Scottish Mum family.  I think most of us have heard of EE these days, and they launched a new Community Cinema Club for 2017.

This year, EE brought a series of 4G powered film screenings to rural communities across the UK, in partnership with BAFTA.

The first event was on the side of Gimmer Crag, a sheer cliff face in the Lake District, which has only recently become connected by EE and the 4G network.

I’ve obviously got no head for heights, as just looking at this picture makes me feel dizzy.

As a Scot, whose relationship with 4G was very patchy until very recently, when even the possibility of 3G working, seemed to be a distant memory.  EE is continuing it’s 4G roll out, with each newly connected community being given a 4GEE Community Cinema Kit to keep, which includes a 4G WiFi device, a state-of-the-art connected projector, wireless speakers, and a movie streaming voucher to host al fresco movie nights with BAFTA-winning films during the year.

Many rural communities which have just come online with EE, are pretty remote, and miles away from a cinema, although EE intend to connect 95% of the UK landmass by 2020,.  It’s also a lovely idea, to help communities make their own cinema club, with a kit that can be used outside and indoors too.

While the bigger competition for a full kit like mine is over, there is still the option of winning a smaller on the go kit to watch movies on the move.  On the 25th August, 10 lucky winners will be in with the chance to win one of these, so keep an eye out on their Twitter for the news, and details of how to enter.

We’ve been doing some renovations inside, and rainy weather convinced us to give our kit a try on a dark damp night, by stitching the canvas screen onto the supports of the new wall that’s going up.  It made a perfect place to hang the screen.

We used our box as the stand for the movie, which worked a treat.  As it’s the first time we used it, it took a fair few minutes to get it up and running, but how fabulous was that when we had half a whole wall to watch a movie with……..

I realise just how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to test this kit out.   With the canvas screen, the speaker and the projector, it’s a pretty good full blown cinema experience.  Outside, I think we’d have to try and find some trees to tie the screen to, but it’s worth a try to give it a go.

We hadn’t charged up the gadgets before use, so we had to plug in, but everything operates by battery.  I think we’re going to enjoy this very much over the next few weeks, while we learn to get to know it a bit.  In the end, it was fairly simple, with the EE 4G being used to provide the data, which allowed us to watch the movie by streaming it through the projector box.

Even the cat was interested in the box………

EE, is part of the BT Group, which means it’s the the largest mobile communications company in the UK, delivering mobile and fixed communications services to consumers.

EE pioneered the UK’s first superfast 4G mobile service in October 2012.

I have to admit, watching a film was the longest I’ve had our youngest in the room with us for about a year.  It must have been something about the size of the canvas screen, as we certainly did have the cinema experience.

Remember, make sure to keep in touch with EE on Twitter, to find out how to enter for the smaller on the move kit on the 25th.

We’re taking our kit outdoors next.  This will be interesting….

Thanks to EE for the opportunity to try the cinema kit.

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How to sleep through the night in the warm summer months.

I don’t usually share infographics, but this one is very relevant to me, as I often struggle to sleep in the summer months.

How To Beat The Heat & Sleep Through The Night In The Summer Months – An infographic by the team at SleepyPeople.com

To sleep well, a good mattress is always a great idea.  I know I tend not to change my mattress often enough, but one way to help prolong the life of our mattresses could be to add cooling toppers. Sleepedia’s list of cooling mattress toppers.  Find out more here.  (Collaborative Link)

 

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The Hay Fever Survival Guide

I don’t know about all of you, but I suffer from hay fever these days.  I was lucky enough to avoid it for most of my life, then one day, I started sneezing after an outside run, and it’s bothered me ever since.

Believe me, there’s nothing safe about repeated sneezing your way home in the car when you’re driving, so I had to find ways of dealing with it on a day-to-day basis.  Mine started as exercise induced, but now it’s just your regular old hay fever.

We’re at the point in the year, where I have felt a few extra sinus headaches, and a more than a few sneezes, and it’s only going to get worse.

What Is Hay Fever?

Unfortunately for some of us, it starts with an itchy, runny nose, lots of sneezing and water eyes to go along with it.  Mine comes on suddenly, then stubbornly refuses to go away.  It’s very common in the UK, and it affects our lives in more way than we tend to think about.  I know I struggle to sleep and don’t work so well when my hay fever is at its peak.

Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen.  It’s fairly simple, but there are different types, such pollen from grass, nettle rape seed, mould spores, hazel trees and more.  One, or a combination of these is what we’re allergic to.  Our bodies recognise that pollen as an alien threat and produces histamines which trigger sneezing, coughing, runny eyes etc, in a bid to get that pollen out of our bodies.  In effect, our bodies are doing us a favour, no matter how miserably we feel about it.

What Can We Do About It?

At first, my instinct was to try to ignore it, thinking I had just caught a cold.  When it didn’t tail off after a few days, I knew I had a longer issue to worry about.  Simple hacks to help ourselves can include.

  • Taking exercise earlier in the day and try to avoid evening jaunts outside, as pollen rises during the day, being higher in the evenings, before subsiding during the night.
  • Dry clothes and bedding indoors if you can, but if you have to hang them outside, take them in before evenings.
  • Consider using a saline nasal spray to wash out your nostrils after being outside.  Speak to your local pharmacist about it and anything else that might help.

See The Doc

I did end up having to see the doc.  I have chronic sinusitis, so having hay fever as well is just double summer misery.  I use a corticosteroid spray in the summer months, and I use an antihistamine all year round, to avoid the headaches.  Age seems to have something to do with it, as our immune systems start to need a little extra helping hand.   As with all allergies, you need to seek medical advice if any adverse symptoms begin to appear.

What Else?

I’m still unsure about alternative therapies, although may people swear by them.  I don’t know much about them, other than quercetin is said to help in a similar way to an anti inflammatory.  It’s worth checking out for yourself.  I’ve heard immunotherapy works in a similar way to a vaccine, where we’re given small doses, to help reduce symptoms

To find out more, visit the Allergy UK website, at allergyuk.org.

 

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Mindfulness is a new thing for me.

We’ve probably heard it called a multitude of other things, but learning to make time for ourselves is something we should all do, no matter what our budget or free time looks like.

It’s not the same, but as an example, I’ve lost count of the people who’ve asked me how I lost weight, but when I tell them I log all my food, they say they don’t have time for that, or they don’t have time to exercise.  What they’re really saying, is that they’re not prepared to do it, or they don’t want to, or they’re not yet ready to focus on themselves, or I somehow, magically, have many more hours in a day than they do.

Let’s talk about a stereotype of some women I met in the playground when my kids were younger.

I can’t help thinking they’re going to have a heart attack, due to being constantly on alert, always worrying about what people say about them, always worrying about whether their kids are clever enough, pretty enough, top of the class, a genius in whatever, or whether their husbands are making enough money or not.

They’re STRESSED…..  With a great stonking S…….   Not only do they have to contend with the playground mums these days, they also have to content with the mythical perfection that exists in family life on Facebook or Twitter, or Pinterest, or Instagram, or whatever their choice of social media, where the pressure to conform is massive.  Their phones beep every few seconds, and they’re always being at the other end of demand from someone or other…    And when it comes to appearance, many are doing the latest Botox, or fillers, or Microblading their brows to perfection, but what about their minds????

Mindfulness is a new term to me, and one that I might mention frequently from now on.   Looking after our mental health is a place where we tend not to go these days, as time is always just that few seconds ahead of us, and we struggle to catch up.

For relaxing treatments, a move to treating the mind, in order to relax the body, isn’t a new thing, but it has tended to be ignored.  A move to more holistic approaches to treatment is always going to relax the mind, body and soul.

Aromatherapy, Hot Stone Massage, Facials, Hot Stones, Reiki, Reflexology and much much more, are all examples of therapies where we can sit back, and let our minds wander, especially if we’ve turned our mobile phones OFF for the duration.  I’ve come late in life to the benefits of holistic treatments, but I’m finding the therapy, where we have time to concentrate on our breathing, sit quietly, and actually relax, allowing our minds to rest, is something I’ve been missing all my life.

Sleeping is a no brainer, and a big issue for many of us, whether it’s falling asleep, or simply staying asleep.  I find that my hayfever makes that worse from Spring to Autumn, but on the whole, whenever I’ve taken time out for me, I’ve found my sleep has improved enormously, especially if there are aromatherapy oils or a well delivered massage involved.

Do some research and find something that works for you.  You won’t regret it.

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Having Wide Feet Isn’t Fair…….

Brought to you, in collaboration with Simply Be.

I think the name of this says it all.  I’m one of those people with boats for feet.  Really, when I was around the age of 10, I’d hit a size 7 in shoes, and was just touching five foot tall.  By the time I was 11, I’d gone into 7.5 and have fluctuated between 7 – 8 over the years, depending on the styles, manufacturers and widths on offer.

In an upmarket shoe shop, they once measured me as having a C width….  I don’t know about their tape measures, but standard shop shoes tend to be around a C to D width, and I’ve hardly ever been able to get anything with a heel on in a D width, unless the manufacturer has been very generous indeed.  Perhaps it’s my high instep that throws the width I need off, but I’ve always had to consider good width shoes.

I remember years ago, buying a pair of Sole Diva boots.  They were ankle boots, in black suede wedge, and a good height, at around 3 or so inches high.  They were like pillows on my feet, and I loved them.  Over the years, I’ve tried to find another pair that are similar, but never come up smelling of roses for this.  Simply Be asked me to take a look at their ranges for the new season, and the first thing I headed to was the shoe department, for obvious reasons.

I’ve not looked at these for a while, so it was nice to see regular shoes in EEE widths, as well as regular.  I’ve tended to live in trainers and fitflops over the last year, but that has to stop as I go into a new business venture for the future.  I do need footwear that will be a little smarter going forward.

I quite like the look of these silver mules.  in E width for £35.

These look quite comfy for standing about all day in, and cool enough to go with jeans on black trousers.

I’m very much a jeans with sandals girl in summer, and jeans and boots girl in winter.  Perhaps I shouldn’t say girl, given my age, but you know what I mean.  I also think it’s important for brands to design for women, not just for very skinny, boyish figures, which is why I’m not surprised that there are several online shops now that have good clothes, in a range of sizing.  For jeans, at the moment, I seem to very between brands, ranting from size 8 to size 12, depending on who makes them.

The one thing I’ve learned over the years, from being all sizes of clothes, is that if a size 10-12 model on the larger clothing ranges doesn’t look good in something, then it’ll look ten times worse on me.  I go for things I like the shape of, and try them.

These jeans have a great shape, and at £28, for a shape I like, is good value.  I tend to pay for shape rather than brand with jeans, which I think many of us middleaged people do.

Brought to you, in collaboration with Simply Be. Opinions are my own, and not reflective of Simply Be.

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The Spring Beach Clean – ps, it’s not what you think….

Every so often, as bloggers, we’re asked to share initiatives that are actually beneficial for all of us.  This is one of those initiatives, that I think we all need reminding of from time to time.

The #binit4beaches campaign team contacted me, and asked me to do a post, which I’m delighted to do.  They are a group of environmental campaigns and businesses, working together to reduce the pollution in the UK’s rivers and seas.

They say.

Did you know that there are approximately 200,000 sewer blockages throughout the UK every year, of which up to 75% are caused by fat, oil and grease poured down the sink? These blockages can cause sewage to overflow into local rivers and to the sea, places we all want to be able to enjoy safely with our friends and family.

What They Asked Bloggers

We were asked to become WATER AMBASSADORS, by informing all of you who read us, about the simple things we can do to help at home.

Remember that when you’re washing up, after making any of my recipes, DON’T pour oils and grease down the sink.

Instead wait for the oil or grease to cool and either wipe with kitchen roll into the bin or create a fat trap in an old jar to throw away later, either way; make sure these products go in the BIN, not the SINK!  I’m actually really good for doing this now, but a few years back, I’d have just turned on the hot tap, and let it swish down the plughole, never thinking where it would all end up.  Clean pipes, mean a higher chance of clean beaches.

Oils and grease can cause sewer blockages, which can overflow into homes, rivers and finally to the sea.  And we all want our beaches to be places we enjoy safely, especially if we have children and dogs with us.

This Easter make the change and #binit4beaches.”