UK Blog Awards 2016 - #UKBA16

Sooooo...it's that time of year again when the amazing UK Blog Awards open up and this year Life In Recovery has been entered into two of the categories; ODEON Cinema Headline Award: Best Storyteller and Health & Social Care!

I'm incredibly excited and pleased that the blog is taking part again this year. Last year was a great experience; connecting with lots of fabulous bloggers/vloggers/creatives who fill the internet with some incredible, powerful and inspiring content.

Voting won't open until January 4th 2016 and I'll be sure to keep you all informed - so stay tuned! You can follow all the chat and discover other blogs entered into the UK Blog Awards 2016 by checking out the #UKBA16 feed on Twitter.

As ever, I massively appreciate all of you reading, watching and reacting to the (far too infrequent) bits and bobs I create on this blog.

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life

Education: How to apply to University with Extenuating Circumstances

This video contains some guidance about how to let universities know about extenuating circumstances and the steps you can take to make things easier.

UCAS website - www.ucas.com

The Student Room threads on extenuating circumstances - www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1402531
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1614940

Common problems (including extenuating circumstances) - www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/university-personal-statement-issues.html

I really hope you enjoy watching the videos and that they can help you or someone you know. I would love to hear from you if you have anything you would like to say - please do comment below!

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life

'Doing your bit': London Legal Walk 2015

A little bit of a more general/personal post today! But, as with the voting post I did here, it's ultimately all about helping the community and improving lives and well-being.

On Monday 18th May 2015, I, along with over 9000 other people, took part in the London Legal Walk.
The 10 kilometre walk around London is held each year to raise funds for free legal advice charities in London and the South East. Individuals, universities and law firms took part. I even saw babies and dogs tagging along! To find out more visit the London Legal Support Trust website here,
So far, with just this walk, over £600,000 has been raised!

Personally, it was an incredible experience. The weather turned out beautiful, after a very dull and wet morning! I had been a little concerned about making it round the whole 10km course, but I'm thrilled to say I managed it in just over two hours. This is a bit of a milestone for me, as two years ago I was struggling to walk 10 metres, let alone 10 kilometres!

So, overall, it was not only a brilliant opportunity to raise money for an awesome cause and meet some inspirational people, but also a personal triumph.

As you can see from the photos, we saw lots of different parts of London. It was a great opportunity to explore London, even though I've been here a while now it's still so much fun to play at being a tourist! We started and finished the walk behind the Royal Courts of Justice, just round the corner from the Law Society, in the heart of the legal district of Chancery Lane...an apt setting and one which I find both inspirational and aspirational. There was a street-party afterwards and we danced to Samba music, drank beer while the stilt-walkers weaved in between the crowds and dressed up for silly photos in the (rather cool) photo booth.

I highly recommend the event to anyone who is interested in law, justice, equality or social care. It's superbly run and organised. It's also a fantastic opportunity to network whilst getting some good exercise and raising money for a deserving cause. You'll definitely see me there next year!

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life

Discovering YOU series - Experience visiting The Guardian HQ

A bit of an unusual blog post. I actually wrote this as part of a class assignment (although I have removed some content before publishing it on here) I thought it might be of interest to those of you who are thinking about or starting to explore the world.  I've also included some photos from the area.
There are many opportunities and experiences just waiting to be seized and lived. I hope that this piece shows just a slice of ways to discover 'you' and what might excite and energise.

The clock strikes three on a beautifully sunny afternoon in London and I find myself gathered with my fellow classmates in The Guardian and Observer’s foyer waiting to be ushered up to the education centre. Surrounding us are walls lined with photographs taken by Jane Brown of many famous and brilliant people from Eartha Kitt to Lucian Freud. The photographs make up one of many exhibitions that take place in the airy and light-filled building found only a stone’s throw from the Victorian masterpiece that is St Pancras International. One of Jane Brown’s displayed photographs is coincidentally of Sir John Betjeman who famously advocated to save many buildings earmarked for demolition including St Pancras train station.

We head upstairs to the education centre and hear an engaging talk from Elli Narewska detailing the history of how The Guardian came into being, the legacy and ethos of the paper. Political machinations and local unrest in Manchester in the early 1800s motivated cotton merchant John Edward Taylor to borrow heavily from friends which enabled him to create The Manchester Guardian in 1821. Luckily, his debts could be repaid as the paper became an industry success story and has continued to be to this day. With the dawning of the technological age The Manchester Guardian became The Guardian and based itself in London. They still produce a newspaper everyday with around 200,000 people reading it but also The Guardian has been developing a huge online presence with their website. This site attracts more than 100 million readers each month and The Guardian enjoys their position in offering this content for no charge.

Our group then had the opportunity to put some questions to The Guardian’s environment production editor Jessica Aldred. She gamely and enthusiastically answered all our questions which ranged from good ways to enter into journalism, how an individual’s mood might affect the team, reader’s reactions and many more. It was very interesting and helpful to hear a working journalist’s attitude to their job and she had some excellent tips. I definitely came away from the Q&A session with a renewed vigour for writing and exploring other avenues and opportunities.

The whole experience of visiting The Guardian and Observer headquarters was an exciting and stimulating outing. I have been left with a sense of optimism about my journalism and feel energised to reach out and explore more chances to write and report on subjects I feel passionate about.

If you have any other stories of doing something a little different or learning something about yourself or your surroundings please leave a comment. I think we can all do with some pepping up from time to time and gaining new ideas about what's 'out there' might help people who are struggling with chronic conditions and recovery. 

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - lifeinrecovery@mail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life