Hello and a happy Thursday to you,
There is a beautiful midnight blue and peach sunset out the window as I write this newsletter to you on Wednesday. In this moment, I am feeling so grateful for the longer days and lighter evenings. I hope you are finding the time to savour them too.
Last week, I mentioned my decision to go freelance again. This week, I have started working part-time for an incredible charity in my hometown Canterbury, where I am now based most of the time after moving away from London. I am excited to be undertaking some communications and fundraising projects for Catching Lives, which runs a day centre for people who are sleeping rough, hidden homeless and insecurely housed in Canterbury & East Kent. The charity has a small team of staff and its kitchen offering two meals a day seven days a week and secondhand bookshop are run entirely fantastic volunteers. It’s hard to list everything on offer but services as well as meals and a safe inclusive space include showers and washing facilities, mental health services, help accessing accommodation, and activities.
After mostly working remotely for the past three years, what I love about working at the charity so far is connecting with people - from the volunteers and staff who have made me feel really welcome to the clients who have such interesting stories and talents to share. Other highlights include its garden and that the centre is dog-friendly. I am also enjoying commuting on the bus and then walking through a local park down a tree-lined path. Quite a contrast from the London Underground. It’s also so important for me to understand the charity by experiencing the comings and goings of daily day centre life rather than working remotely all the time.
Oh and I have a new name. There is another Becky at Catching Lives so I am going by the name ‘B’ in my new job. A handful of close friends call me B, or BB, so it seems I am now more officially ‘B’. I will still answer to Becky though.
If you would like to support Catching Lives, please do read more about their work on their website and also follow social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy this free newsletter this week, please consider a donation to Catching Lives by clicking here.
Chief Executive Tasmin Maitland is walking 100 miles in May to raise money to. You can sponsor her here.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who got in touch with me about my last newsletter and for sharing tips about how to reduce my screen time, I really appreciate it.
Top tips include turning off notifications and setting screen time restrictions on apps, which are things I was already doing. Thanks to Ayesha, of Auntie Ayesha, for recommending Catherine Price, who is a great resource on the subject. Funnily enough, in speaking about it last newsletter and feeling like I was not alone, my screentime has somehow naturally reduced. I am sure working more will help too.
Uplifting News Stories
British Vogue releases its first braille edition | The Guardian
Platypus returns to Australian national park for first time in half a century | Reuters
Care home resident, 100, ‘spoiled rotten’ after receiving 345 birthday cards | ITV
Features Worth Sharing
Jim Moir, Nancy Sorrell, Chris Packham and the fine art of birdwatching | The Big Issue
Everything I’ve Learned On Both Sides Of The Baby Divide | Grazia
Recommended
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry: My mum and her friends had chosen to see this film and I tagged along with no idea what it was about. This is a film about death, humanity and hope, that really moved me. Stellar cast, wonderful acting, superb soundtrack. Bring tissues. The only negative for me and trigger warning: Gratuitous depiction of suicide.
Special Sound Bath with Arlene & Lou: This one-off combination promises to be a special one this Friday evening. Arlene Dunkley-Wood and Lou are offering a sound journey with self stone healing therapies at Wanstead Quaker Meeting House. I loved Arlene’s sound bath when I attended before so this should be a good one. Buy tickets here.
If you’re in Kent this Friday, I recommend Yoga Health and Wellness’s Bearfoot Ecstatic Dance at Lower Hardes Village Hall. I went to the last one and found it very freeing and nourishing. Tickets here.
Things That Have Brought Me Joy In The Past Week
A day in Rye. I joined my mum and dear family friends on their holiday for the day. So nice to catch up and also explore such a wonderful town, if brief.
A night on my own in a bothy in Forest Row. Last minute treat.
Connecting with my Wakey Wakey counterparts in Ardingly. Wolfox Broadway in Haywards Heath is a great lunch spot.
Dinner catch up with beloved pals. One at Cosy Club in Canterbury, which has a really good range of gluten-free and vegan options, and another at Dotori in Finsbury Park. Remember it’s cash only.
Quality time with my sister and her amazing kids. Spending time in nature, visiting the local library, water balloons in the garden, to name a few.
A massage with the talented Jessie Percival at Om in Hackney, who I just cannot recommend enough!
I loved the amount of comments you left last week. I love to hear from you. If there are any uplifting news stories, features worth sharing or anything else you’d like to share, please do so below.
Have a good one,
B x
Sounds like a wonderful place to work! I know what you mean about connecting with people about working remotely - I've been feeling lately that I need to mix up where and how I work so I have more connection with people (and nature) rather than just sitting at my desk at home all day. These connections are so enriching.
Hi Becky, I just wrote a piece about screen time which you can read here https://www.wellandgood.com/practicing-digital-wellness/amp/ if tldr, what I found was it boils down to setting boundaries for yourself and other people. Hope this helps! And good luck with the new job!