Time flies! (and so did I!)

I can’t believe so much time has passed since I last updated this blog! My Great North Run blog (and indeed training for the Great North Run!) took over my life the last few months and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write. In addition to the running, I also relocated from Northumberland to Leeds for a Speech and Language Therapy position at the end of September,  so to say life has been a little hectic the last few months, is an understatement! (If you are interested in reading about my journey to the GNR raising funds for the North East Trust for Aphasia you can read about it here – www.jollyjuliesjogging.blogspot.com)

Just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean I have forgotten about Giving Voice. I am absolutely loving my new job (working in a mainstream primary school) and take every available opportunity to tell anyone who will listen about what I do!

I even jumped off the Tyne Bridge last month and travelled by zipslide to the Gateshead side of the Tyne! I was of course in Giving Voice colours and was wearing a Giving Voice badge. The man that checked my harnesses before I jumped asked me about it and I took pride in telling him about Speech and Language Therapy and how we transform lives. This was a very welcome distraction to take my mind off the fact I was about to jump off the bridge! I was absolutely terrified until I was ‘flying’ through the air, by which point I actually quite enjoyed it and wondered why is has taken me a quarter of a century before deciding to try something so daring!

I tweeted @ZipslidesUK after the event and used relevant Speech and Language Therapy hashtags including #givingvoiceuk and they retweeted it J

In September I attended the RCSLT Mind the Gap Conference which was an enjoyable and educational two days. It was lovely to meet so many passionate SLTs and I managed to catch up with some of the other Giving Voice Innovation Group members. I was also recorded for the higher education roadshows, talking about my experiences since I graduated and my involvement in Giving Voice. I hope it inspires some more students to get involved in campaigning for the profession.
 

Over the summer I was working in an admin job and felt a little detached from Speech and Language Therapy, and apart from applying for lots of SLT jobs and running for the North East Trust for Aphasia I wasn’t really doing much related to Speech and Language or Giving Voice and I really missed it. I am so pleased to be working as a therapist again. To any students/new graduates reading this don’t ever give up on finding the job of you deserve (and use other opportunities to gain other skills).  I feel so lucky to be excited about going to work every day and knowing that I am making a difference to the lives of the children I work with.

I am also lucky to be part of a lovely team and have already met some brilliant therapists in the short time I have been there. I had a spare copy of the 2014 Giving Voice calendar which I gave to my new team. This is now proudly displayed in the clinic office and has enabled me to have some Giving Voice conversations with the other Speech and Language Therapists. The adult team in the service where I work have just won an award for the Giving Voice Choir they set up.

October 18^th marked 3 years since Mass Mobilisation in London where SLTs descended on the Houses of Parliament to tell MPs the importance of SLT. I can't believe how the time has flown! This is still up there with one of the most exciting experiences of my life to date, and I tweeted my MP Ian Lavery to thank him once again for his support, to mark the anniversary of this day. I am looking forward to getting involved in the campaigning around the lead up to the general election 2015, and hope lots of other SLTs do too.

I promise not to leave it so long before I write again!

Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives

A day out at #edfringe

Welcome to my 80th blog post! I didn't think I'd still be blogging now, when I started this two years ago and I am delighted that it has exceeded 19,000 views! Thanks to everyone who reads and shares it to help us spread the word that Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives!

Last week my friend and I had an unplanned day off together so the night before when we were deciding what we might like to do, we randomly booked train tickets to Edinburgh so we could check out The Fringe – including a free afternoon show with Lost Voice Guy and Emily Wood.

We were lucky that the weather in Edinburgh was fabulous all day long and this was a great venue for a girly day out! When we arrived in Edinburgh we spent some time strolling the streets (wearing our Giving Voice badges and me with my Giving Voice bag!) exploring the street entertainment. We decided to go to a free show before lunch which was good. After lunch we wandered round some more then began to look for the venue where Lost Voice Guy was doing his gig. Anyone that knows me (and indeed my friend Rachael) will know that our sense of direction is not our strongest point! However, we managed to use the map and find the venue without too much difficulty (only a few wrong turns, and using the longest way possible to get there – but still! We did find it!)

We sat in the bar with a drink and while we were waiting we saw Lee Ridley arrive (Lost Voice Guy). We had a brief chat with him and it was great to hear how well his gigs are going at The Fringe this year.

The gig ‘Are you a technophile?’ - about growing up and living in an era of modern technology, was great! Lost Voice Guy was as funny as ever and I heard some of his jokes that I haven’t heard before J I would have loved to see his evening show too - Voice of Choice - but unfortunately we only planned to go for the day. After the gig we spoke to him again and got some photos too. If you've never seen Lost Voice Guy before and you are going to be at The Fringe this month – then definitely check him out!!

Lee Ridley and me

Rachael and Lee

Emily Wood

Hopefully people noticed our Giving Voice bag/badges as were wandering the streets of Edinburgh enabling us to spread the message a little bit further.

On another note, we are still buying lots of Jelly Babies for the Great North Run (we’ll be handing them out wearing Giving Voice t-shirts) just before the 11 mile mark. My sister and brother-in-law are both running for NETA (and both got their numbers this morning!). If you can help them to support people in the North East with Aphasia (communication difficulties following stroke and other brain injury) then please do so here! I’m really excited to be going along to support this fantastic event again this year!

Only two weeks on Sunday until afternoon tea at Crossroads CoffeeShop, Ashington. Contact me for tickets if you’d like to attend and are in the area! Tickets are selling quite fast so let me know asap if you want to attend this event. I did invite Wansbeck MP, Ian Lavery, but unfortunately he is busy with other constituent business on the day.

Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives

Tweets Galore and Jelly Mascots

I am delighted that so many people have retweeted my GNR blog entry! I’ve had more than 35 retweets of this entry and my page views have gone up a lot over the last week.

Retweets include:

TV: Nicola Wheeler (Nicola from Emmerdale – more than 18,000 followers)

Comedians – Lost Voice Guy, Emily Wood, Andrew Arrowsmith, Simon Donald, and Ian Gordon.

Radio: Koast radio and Simon Conway from metro (who said I might be on their news this week!)

I haven't listed everyone but thank you so much to each and every one of you who has taken the time to retweet and/or read my blog. It is very much appreciated.

I’m pleased that lots of people have said they will be looking out for me at the 11 mile mark and I’ve also managed to recruit some extra helpers on the day. I’m also very excited that I have Giving Voice t-shirts for us to wear. I ordered them from a local printing shop and picked them up last Friday! Only 3 days to go until the run!

You may remember that I wrote to Cadbury asking if they could support us at the Great North Run by donating some Jelly Babies or a mascot etc. I received a letter on Friday saying that they are unable to provide any sweets as they support lots of causes - but they did send two delightful cuddly Jelly Babies!  Thank you Cadbury – how cute are they! I love their little boots too – looks like they are ready to run!

Don’t forget to watch out for us on Sunday whether you are running or watching on TV (hopefully we’ll make an appearance in the background as the elite runners pass us!)

I was hoping to publish this post earlier in the week but the #RCSLTconference2012 in Manchester has kept me busy over the last few days.  I’ll blog more about that soon as it was a brilliant 2 days!!

Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives