10th Jan - It's time for Africa!



A busy week is on the horizon. But I'm a big fan of the structure that a 'week-day' can bring. Sometimes weekends can feel a bit lazy and disjointed, a tad unorganised, or 'slobby'. But weekdays.. I have my shit together and everything is on a structured list, hour-by-hour, of what I need to do it and how I'm gonna do it. (Jeeez, starting to sound like Molly-Mae here). One of the most exciting pieces of news I can share today is that the plans are but finalised now for a volunteering project in Ghana, this coming June. Helping out in Africa has been an extremely long-term gem in the crown of my bucket list, and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to finally achieve it. My partner and I will be heading out in Summer, as part of a charity set up to help disadvantaged children in Accra.

The school provides orphans from nursery to secondary ages with an education, skills, and on-site accommodation for deprived youngsters. Armed with my lecturing background, I'm so incredibly excited to teach English to the children (finally putting good use to my relentless and pedantic corrections of '*Your' and '*You're' on social media statuses), whilst my partner has worked in nurseries and I know she'll bring a supremely warm and nurturing quality to our time there, putting her own spin on fun lessons for them. Details of how you can contribute to this trip via donations will be published shortly, but already seeing the amazing work which the founders have put into this charity is beyond humbling. To see the progress of the classrooms taking shape, with giant whiteboards, and wooden desks - as well as a hairdressing academy - it truly fills my soul.



Aside from the forthcoming Ghanian adventure, tonight marks my return to 7-a-side, or as it's more commonly known... 'The adult bleep test'. Due to working away, I was forced to give up my Monday night ventures for a while, but the team have now welcomed me back with open arms. Well, to be honest, they didn't have much choice... In the 4 games of the new season before Christmas, the lads scored a cumulative total of 2, conceded 24, and have picked up a grand total of 0 points (strong Derby County 2007/08 vibes here). Will I prove my worth and become the talismanic and inspirational figure the team so desperately needs right now? No. Will I roll my ankle after 15 minutes and spend all day tomorrow complaining about how tight my calves are? Probably.

Another item on my to-do-list this week involves working on my upcoming anthology. I was always a keen poet during my school-days, led by the passionate and inspirational teachings of Mrs. Amos, who even set up a kind of 'Dumbledore's Army' type-vibe with the extra-curricular 'Poetry Club' on Wednesday evenings, 3.30pm-4.30pm. I'd attend with gusto, enchanted by one poem in particular, Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et decorum est (pro patria mori)'. Those teachings have stayed deep in my soul to this very day, and inspired a lifelong love of poetry, which I've recently managed to tap into once again on account of a good friend's brilliant book of mindfulness. I have one wish for the coming Summer...




... That the children of Accra remember me as their 'Mrs. Amos'.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20th July: I was assaulted last night

Image
Last night was just an absolute fucking disaster from start to finish, tbh. After finishing work (working from home), I set off at around 7pm to reach my destination as I was needed back in the office for the rest of the week (our office doesn’t have A/C so we were allowed to work from home on Mon & Tues on account of the heatwave), though it soon dawned on me that this was not going to prove a simple task. I arrived in London around 10.30pm and found both my 10.30pm and then 11.30pm trains had been fully cancelled. The reasoning they gave was that the tracks couldn’t handle the heat, but surely metal is strong enough to withstand even the most potent of temperatures?  As hoards of fellow commuters gathered around the departure board, looking forlorn at the rows of cancellations on the electronic board, I managed to earwig on a small group of middle-aged folk who were heading to the same destination as me. Seeking their advice, we attempted to grab one of the very few operati...
Read more

15th Jan - Dancing Queen

Image
Well, last night got a little interesting huh? I fell into 'the basic bitch trap' of jiving around to commercial drivel in one of those overpriced cocktail bar chains where a faint waft of Paco Rabanne & Gonorrhea fill the air... Be At One, All Bar One, Insert Other Name Involved 'One' and 'Bar' here. I've realised, that like many of you, when intoxicated, I possess a complete alter-ego. A gremlin inside of me which comes out to play and completely does away with the sober version of myself. This alter-ego is dangerously confident, sassy and sensual, and most worrying of all, delusional when it comes to dancing. I can't say I've ever been much of a dancer, I mean sure... I'll give it a go. I have rhythm at least, but I'm now at an age where I'm probably old enough to be able to pull off ' dad dancing ' and give the word some real personification. Last night consisted of myself & my equally intoxicated pal putting on live...
Read more

29th December - The MOST important life skill you'll learn

Image
I've spent much of this year musing a range of important and philosophical ideas and thoughts. Real deep analysis on human behaviour and psychology. And then sometimes I've just blogged about Kebabs. But there are a few really important takeaways which I can pass on from this year. The first is that when we talk about eating healthy, or 'being healthy', we alway focus on weight. Fat burning, weight loss, muscle gain etc etc. But one thing very few people talk about is that exercise, or eating nutritious foods, is first and foremost the biggest self-care for the mind. That is definitely something I discovered this year when comparing my moods on days when I stayed in like a slob, or days when I partook in my hourly walks. By clearing the mind and allowing yourself that period of isolation in fresh air, you are delivering a type of therapy to yourself more powerful than any self-help podcast, or life-coaching course. The second thing I've learned, thanks to both Jorda...
Read more