Blog
An inspirational woman sold for £20
I learned about a very special woman last week during a visit to Girton College, Cambridge. This was established as the UK's first woman's college in 1869 and located two miles north of the city centre to discourage "marauding male" undergraduates and it wasn't...
Is Wayne Rooney worth £50 million?
Wayne Rooney brilliantly played Alex Ferguson and Manchester United with his sure footed manoeuvres to score his best victory yet - reportedly doubling his £90,000 a week salary following lame threats to join Manchester City. This has been calculated to equate to...
Blood donors and ME update
This is a guest post by Christine Douglas who is updating us on the important issue of blood donors who have ME which she first highlighted in this post three months ago, and it attracted many comments and widespread interest. Christine is actively campaigning for...
A stabbing, uni visit and ferris wheel ride in Sheffield
My younger son James wanted to visit Sheffield Hallam University's open day to have some back-up in case he fails to get into his first choice, which is Nottingham Trent, a firm favourite with many students I speak to, and well oversubscribed. As we approached the...
If you need a helping hand, try a First Direct Buddy
First Direct demonstrates its close customer service both inside and outside its bank with the launch of an exciting new Buddy app. You can learn about it in this fun viral video where their specially trained staff are keen to show they will go the extra mile for...
The day I met Simon MacCorkindale at Headway Cambridgeshire
I was stunned to learn of the death of actor Simon MacCorkindale of cancer, aged only 58. He was a great supporter of Headway and was truly fabulous when he visited us at our Cambridge centre two years ago. Simon also had a local connection as he was born in Ely and...
Made in Dagenham – the real women behind it
I was confused when I saw Made in Dagenham last week as at the end it included some black and white news clippings from the 1960s showing older women on strike, while the film used much younger women. The successful and inspiring film is a dramatisation of the 1968...
Camp Hope – The Great Escape
I had planned to stay up and watch the first Chilean miner being brought to the surface - ending 69 agonising days beneath the earth's surface. I had wanted to share their exhilaration and see their faces as they were reunited with their loved ones. I'm afraid I...
Some questions for Lord Browne over soaring university tuition fees
The radical review of university tuition fees by Lord Browne will allow universities to charge unlimited fees. It proposes a free market in fees, though universities charging more than £6,000 a year would lose a proportion of the fee to help cover the cost of student...