I was asked if I would write something about Pride. I feel ‘alarmed’. My initial question: is there anything that a middle-aged gay man could really add to the array of writings, posters, banners and rainbow shop signs (so many shop signs) that, like Christmas, seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year? I struggle to … Continue reading What the Word and Celebration of ‘Pride’ Means to Me
Have you been in a position at work where a 'wellbeing' initiative has been implemented and it fell flat, not quite meeting the needs of staff? It’s not uncommon and the solution is a simple but powerful one: co-creation for wellbeing. Essentially initiating a co-produced design that involves the implementation of what staff need, rather … Continue reading Saunas and Ukraine: Co-Created Wellbeing
Pride Month Joan and I set up The Wellbeing Collective in 2014, three years after we had become a couple. I brought two small boys with me from my previous relationship which kicked off a whole world of learning for the four of us, as well as their dad, grandparents and friends. I recall being … Continue reading My Experience of Being in an LGBTQ Blended Family
On 18th May, Amy Hobson (CEO) facilitated a Health Inequalities community of practice event with the Academic Health Sciences Network at Oxford University. The event centred around how to increase health equity, community engagement and co-production in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. The following is her account of the day... Being a consultant, I get to … Continue reading Health Inequalities – A Community of Practice Event May 2023
A Blog About Compassion and Authenticity We had a team day recently at The Wellbeing Collective – we each ran a session and had a meaningful and productive day together. At one point during the day, we got into a discussion about authenticity – how we show it; our attitude towards others; positive and negative … Continue reading The Impact We Have on Others
Less comfortable dialogues are essential to understanding and being respectful of one another I have been reflecting on some work I did with a large and newly formed team. Some conversations arose about difference, belonging, equality and other similar topics. On a couple of occasions during the session, there were some participants who disagreed over … Continue reading Differences in Use of Language
The sense of consumerism associated with Christmas gets me down every year whenever I let myself think about it for long enough. This year, the feelings I had towards both receiving and buying bags’ worth of presents were negative enough for my family and I to agree to not do stockings for each other anymore. I … Continue reading Consumerism and Christmas: Do they go hand in hand?
A colleague mentioned this idea to me recently and it caused me to really think. I thought I’d share it with you. By calling some lines of clothing “gender-neutral”, we are implying that clothing isn’t normally these things. This might seem pretty obvious at first but read it again and think about it a bit … Continue reading The Term “Gender-Neutral” May Not Be as Positive as you Think
"I’m a single mum. I’ll always be a single mum because I’m responsible for my sons, whether I’m living with Joe or not...There’s an assumption that if you’re with someone, like I am with Joe, you’re no longer a lone parent...I’ve done posts before [on social media] about how proud I am of being a … Continue reading Respect: It’s not our place to pass judgement
I wrote the first half of this blog a couple of months ago. It sat in my drafts for a little while and then, when I went back to it, my opinion had changed. I have added to it and it is now an arc of the developing relationship between my work and myself. After … Continue reading The Importance of My Job Reflecting Myself
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