Social Matters and Natters

I know I sound like a broken record but this is a topic of conversation again. Recently Marketing Week posted an article about brands needing to recognise and adapt to consumers wanting a "digital detox" - read the article here . The key feature of this article that caught my eye was Innocent Smoothies with their Unplugged Festival - pure genius, where do I sign up?! Last weekend I went camping with little access to my phone and the digital world, and it was brilliant! I then went out on date night, where we were out in a beautiful restaurant along with several other couples or small groups... 80% of which just sat on their phone, not actually enjoying each others company or the lovely surroundings! We are so immersed in the digital world that we are missing so much round us. Don't get me wrong, I know for a fact that I fall into this category, just writing this I have already sent three texts, snapchats and checked Twitter... What is wrong with us all?! My age brac...

So this week is Volunteers Week - it's been trending on Twitter today as we see the start of June marking a week of celebrating volunteers. The aim of this is to celebrate those who currently volunteer, as well as encouraging more people to give up their time for a worthy cause. Volunteering is something I have done since I was 15, and is something I feel strongly about. When I was 15 I started to volunteer as a young leader at my local Rainbows (if you don't know what that is, it's like Brownies for 5-7 year olds). Then I got the opportunity to go to Mongolia as part of World Challenge Expedition in 2008. This provided the once in a lifetime opportunity to do some charity work in a school in outer Mongolia - we painter, lay flooring, fixed up odd jobs in the kitchen. It was a truly great experience and I am very lucky to have gone. Currently, I volunteer every week by running my local Girl Guides group. We meet once a week and do a wide variety of activities. They ...

My iPhone and I have fallen out. It's not the phone, it's me. Doesn't matter what model phone I have, I hate who it's made me become. All this technology at our fingertips.. tweeting, snapchatting, texting - it's never ending. Yes it is great, of course it is. But at the same time there's so many downsides... I was 12 when I got my first phone - a lovely Siemens phone (small enough to actually fit in your pocket!) Pocket money for my credit, no camera and it was only really used for emergencies. Good times. I would still use a landline, and actually see people for a catch up with them. Now? Well now I know what everyone is doing, where they are and who they are with - and they know the same about me! So out irregular face to face catch ups are "oh I saw you went to... on Facebook". Wild. I send my life looking at a tiny glowing screen and I am ignoring the most important people in my life. The worst part? I know all of this, I regret it and yet her...

If anyone knows me personally, you will know I like my running. Sure, I am not the fastest runner out there, but I love the freedom and fresh air, it's perfect for collecting my thoughts and for half an hour I am just thinking about myself or just enjoying my playlists booming into my ears. ParkRun is brilliant. Every Saturday running around the park on a 5K route, hundreds of other runners around me yet I feel like I am in my own little bubble. I love it. The chilly winter mornings and the warm summer heat first thing. Best of all, it's all free! I cannot recommend it enough! Find your local one here . I have also signed up for the Milton Keynes half marathon in May... which is crazy. Training is in progress, and I am pretty sure I might pass out half way through... Watch this space! I'm running the 13 miles for my personal achievement, not for charity, however... ... I am running Race for Life in June, along with a fabulous team of ladies from work. We are swapping...

Right so Easter Bank Holiday weekend has been and gone... and what a weekend it's been. Wonderful, truly wonderful. Friday was spent in the Cotswolds - visiting several places, lovely walks, shops, lunch and time spent with my parents. Perfect. The weather was lush, the villages are beautiful (even if it does look like a setting for Midsommer Murders). If you've never been here before, you really need to take a drive on a sunny day.  Saturday evening I joined all the lovelies I met whilst on my placement year and celebrated a 30th Birthday... dressed as Wonder Woman! Cringe. Photos are on Insta. Sunday was a classic family day, big get together and roast dinner. Perfect. Along with Easter we get the Spring time, a time of changes and new beginnings. This has really got me thinking this year about all the new beginnings I have had over the past 2 years since finishing uni. It makes me grateful for all that I have, and realise all the positives in my life at the moment. So ...

First things first, I'm writing this with a mud face mask one - SEXY. If you've read any previous blogs or you follow me on Insta/Twittter you'll know that my New Year resolutions included travelling and saying "Yes" to more things. Well, in the last couple of weeks I have definitely started to tick both of these off the list.  The Circus of Horrors came to the Derngate in Northampton, and I said yes to going along (I wasn't entirely sure what I had said yes to...) Turns out it was actually a really good, albeit slightly odd night out! If you get the chance to go see this show, and maybe Google it beforehand... Then I would definitely recommend it! Then.. I jetted off on a 40 min flight to Amsterdam! This was my fourth visit to my favourite city (so far) , and before anyone gets in a flap, I'm not a "smoker". This was my first trip where people actually judged me fore not smoking (thanks guys). Anyway, despite that it was a great trip. Th...

Tuesday 8th March is International Women's Day.   International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. (see the official website  here )  Time to celebrate women all over the world - as Queen B herself would say: Who run the world? Girls. I would class myself as a feminist. My views are strong when it comes to equality between men and women. In recent years I have felt more empowered as a woman, I know how to hold my own and be strong on many different levels. Every day women across the globe are subject to inequality based purely on their gender and nothing else. It's time for this to stop, we're in the 21st Century! We are just as capable to do (almost) all the same things as a man is! These are just my opinions though, so don't go reading too much into it all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right? Every day girls and women are exposed to what they should look like, how they should act, and the...