Tag: Feelgood Friday

Friday feeling [26] – you’re never too old for a flatmate

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Meet Alexandra and Florence – the housemates with a 68 year age difference.

95 year old Florence admits to being lonely after her husband passed away and so, when she saw a homesharing initiative in a local newspaper, aiming to tackle loneliness by matching older people looking for companionship with a younger person in need of somewhere to live, she decided to investigate.

What’s in it for the housemates?

It’s a simple transaction based on needs, really. The older person gets to have some company, someone to talk to and some help around the house, while the younger person gets a reduced rate of rent,in return; often meaning they can afford to live in an area or home that would otherwise be out of reach to them; like Alexandra who is originally from Newcastle but needs to study in London.

Florence has had a number of different flatmates over the course of the pat 10 years, and she and Alexandra class themselves as friends.

Listen to them talk about how the arrangement works, in the video below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/embed/p05rps8z/42428782

Not only is this a great practical idea, it also bridges barriers between old and young, and can lead to some unexpected friendships and helps to keep the past alive.

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [22] – you go girl!

Today’s Friday feeling is slightly different, in that it’s not warm and fuzzy, but a celebration of girl power.

Popstar Sia (who I’m aware of in terms of existence but not in terms of music – I say that not in a condescending or rude way, purely that I’m old and probably not her target market!) has hit back at a sleazy paparazzo who was threatening to sell nude photographs of her, by releasing them herself.

Sia

In a big old “fuck you” move, she’s taken the supposed shame out of the pics, which the seller was counting on, and turned it into a positive for herself. Shame can only exist where there’s secrecy, and secrecy drives underground and underhanded behaviour like blackmail and bidding wars, so this is a genius move on her part.

Also, as an addendum, why should she feel shame? It’s her body and her life; she wasn’t doing anything seedy or bad (and, even if she was, it’s her business), and she was in a private place where she shouldn’t be spied on or photographed.

I love that the seedy photographer, who thought he was in for a big fat paycheck, has not only lost his cash cow but been make to look like a total mug in the process.

Well done Sia!

Read the full story here.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Friday Feeling [21] – the couple that dresses together…

Are you in a couple? Yes? Imagine for a minute if you suggested to your partner that you wear coordinating clothes? Or they suggested it to you?

One of you would be running for the hills, right?

Not so for cute couple Bon and Pon, who dress along the same theme daily and Instagram their sartorial goings on for all to see.

Just look!

Screenshot_2017-11-03-19-41-38-1

The couple have been married for 37 years, so they’re obviously doing something right, and they have over half a million followers on Instagram!

Read the full story, and follow them on Instagram here.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

 

Friday Feeling [20] – there are lots of ways to help with mental health

There’s a lot of media coverage about mental health lately, and rightly so; it’s important for such a widespread issue to be out in the open and for people to understand more about it. We’re talking more openly than ever about anxiety, depression and personality disorders, and hopefully it’s becoming less of a stigma.

But mental health isn’t just manifested mentally. It can have a physical effect too, and that can be as important to treat as the root cause.

This story about a teenager who had neglected herself so much through her depression that her hair was matted and looked beyond repair is a great representation of that physical manifestation. She felt so worthless and so low that she couldn’t be bothered to wash or brush her hair, and had just left it to it’s own devices. It was in such a state that she asked the hairdresser to shave it off in time for her upcoming school photographs.

But the hairdresser refused, instead dedicating time and patience to grooming the girl’s hair; detangling it and styling it over a period of 13 hours. And, at the end of it, the teenager said that she felt she could actually smile for her school photograph.

Depressed girl and hairdresser

The power of kindness, the power of feeling like someone cares, and even the power of looking good (as fickle as some people seem to think that is) can all help someone with depression to recover. How lovely that the hairdresser recognised that, and made the decision to nurture the suffering girl, rather than just take the easy route.

Read the full story here.

Thanks ,as always, for reading! x

Friday Feeling [18] – I’m Ju to the Di

A bit of fun for today’s Friday Feeling.

Dame Judi Dench, aged 82, Shakespearean actor, theatre performer, Oscar nominated, Academy Award winning, Queen Elizabeth playing, James Bond legend and OBE…

…rapping with Lethal Bizzle.

Dame Judi Dench and Lethal Bizzle

Yes, you read that correctly.

Words can’t do justice to how fab it it, so I implore you to watch the clip!

Go Judi!

Have a great weekend and thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [17] – love before status

In the embodiment of the saying “love makes the world go round” a Japanese princess is giving up her royal title in order to marry the man she loves.

In Japanese tradition, if a female royal marries “a commoner” she must renounce her Royal status. Annoyingly, male royals are allowed to marry whoever they choose without having to give up their status, but that’s a rant for another day.

Such is Princess Mako’s love for her boyfriend of 5 years, that she believes it’s worth giving up the rights she was born with in order to be with him. That’s the power of love.

Princess Mako and Kei Komuro

All together now, awwwww!

Read the full story here.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Friday Feeling [16] – school friends

With this week marking the start of a new term and “back to school” in the UK after the long six weeks holiday (RIP quiet roads and stress free commutes to work), I’m sure that there are kids – and parents – across the country who are worried about going back to school or starting a new school, the potential for bullying (such a problem, which is seemingly getting worse), or even just not making any friends.

Imagine then being a young immigrant from Syria, coming to the UK and starting school in Manchester; knowing no-one and not knowing what the attitude towards you will be in view of the negative press that refugees receive. Pretty stressful eh?

Praise then for 12 year old Jack, who saw new boy Rani sitting alone and invited him to join his group of friends. The boys bond over a love of sports and Jack helps Rani with his English skills proving that, despite their different upbringings and backgrounds, friendship can bridge gaps. Aw!

Jack and Rani Educating Greater Manchester

Watch Jack and Rani being interviewed on This Morning with Ruth and Eamonn.

The boys are also featured on new TV series Educating Greater Manchester, which follows teachers and students at a secondary school in Greater Manchester, aired Thursdays at 9pm on Channel 4.

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [15] – a distraction from the horrors of real life

I could post today about the horrors in Barcelona. But what would I say? I would say that the world can be a horrible place. I would say that terrorists are evil people with a strange comprehension of what is right and wrong. I would say that I can’t imagine how the families of those innocent people caught up in a religious and political war must feel, and how they will ever put themselves back together. I would say that it’s scary how places many of us may have visited, or wanted to visit, are being targeted by these inhuman scum; that it could have been any of us caught up in another senseless tragedy.

But most of us already know those things. And saying them again doesn’t change it. We can only keep good people in our hearts and hope for better days ahead.

In the meantime, have a chortle at my favourite panda video. Because I truly believe that it’s impossible to be truly sad whilst watching pandas being…well…pandas!

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [14] – Cycling Without Age

It’s a sad fact that as people get older and less mobile, they’re less likely to get out and about; especially if their family isn’t around or they’ve had to move to a residential home.

Cycling Without Age – a volunteer staffed initiative based in Falkirk – aims to change that. Young, fit and healthy volunteers are taking elderly people out on 3 seater rickshaw style bicycles around the local area and countryside.

How amazing is that?

Look at their faces!

Cycling without age Falkirk

You can read more about it, including a link to the BBC 3 Amazing Humans film that was made about it here.

Thanks, as always, for reading. x

Friday Feeling [13] – your new confidence icon

We all have a crisis of confidence sometimes; especially in the age of social media where we’re bombarded with perfect pouts and perfect outfits and perfect people ALL. THE. TIME. And we all wonder sometimes whether our outfit might need a little bit more pizazz to make it more interesting, or if it needs toning down a little bit so it’s not quite so OTT.

Enter Baddie Winkle – an 88 year lover of clothes who doesn’t care if she’s overdressed or undressed. She’s everything I want to be when I’m 88 (hell, she’s everything I want to be at 39!) – bold, bright, and sassy AF.

Baddie Winkle

If you feel your insta feed would benefit from a bit of Baddie’s inimitable style, you can follow her here – along with her other 3.1 million fans!

Thanks, as always, for reading! x