Happy New Year everyone!
I hope that you’re all safe and well and had a lovely festive season.
I had a lovely break, managing to see family members and have a quiet holiday in the Lakes, which was nice as I had a few bad health days prior to Christmas and was feeling quite down.
The tree and decorations have now all been put away for another year, but we still have lots of festive sweets and chocolates to get through. I’m trying to be healthy and not eat them all at once.
For a bit of New Year’s fun, I thought it would be nice to pick out my five favourite festive treats for talking about chronic illness.
After Eight
There are two eight o’clocks in a day and if you live with chronic fatigue, the likelihood is that you’ve slept through both!
These dark chocolate peppermint thins are all lovingly wrapped in their own cosy little beds and their refreshing minty flavour evoke the feelings of a nice bedtime routine with teeth all brushed and blankets all snuggled under.
The Purple One
Where or where did this bruise come from? And this one? And that one? Has anyone else with chronic illness ever thought about keeping an injury journal? It would use up any excess 2022 diaries we’ve been gifted…
Everyone’s favourite (but mine!) in the Quality Street box hides a sneaky hazelnut in a sea of caramel, a little surprise just like all those scratches that seem to appear out of nowhere.
Chocolate Coin
If I had a penny for every pain-free day I have, I’d have even less money than I have now! Chocolate coins are the Yuletide bonus everyone loves to give . Filling up stockings, hampers and secret Santa gifts alike, I always pop one into my Christmas cards as a little extra, though this year it upset my nephew when his other Christmas cards were chocolate free.
Simple and reliable, chocolate coins are always there in winter, like hot water bottles, extra blankets and nice warm baths.
Ferrero Rocher
Another multi-layered delight, the deceptively complex Ferrero Rocher looks super stable when being carried around in a pyramid on a silver platter, but beneath the wrapper is surprisingly fragile.
Familiar and comforting, these nutty delights are always in our house at Christmas and always feel like a special Yuletide treat.
Selection Boxes
Living with chronic illness means different things for everyone, but often one thing everyone has in common is new and interesting symptoms popping up at random.
Lots of people regret growing up and no longer getting selection boxes. I don’t, because my parents are awesome and still buy me one!
Wishing you a very lovely start to 2022.
Take care,
Donna
Self-care snippet
For Christmas my parents bought me a Lush bath bomb gift set and it featured this lovely You Shall go to the Ball bath bomb.
As everyone knows I love fairy tales and I thought that this Cinderella carriage bath bomb was adorable. It also turned the bathwater into lovely pink and gold swirly and bubbly strawberry milkshake. I listened to organ music with birdsong in the bath and followed up with some Body Shop strawberry body butter before reading with a cup of passionfruit tea.
It was all quite summery for the start of January, but also comforting and warming.
Things I’ve seen, heard, read and talked about
Stop Using Autistic Characters as Plot Devices An interesting article about the representation of autistic characters in literature, on TV and in film.
WinterFest on BBC Radio Merseyside (from 1:09:30) Helen Jones discusses raising money and awareness for sickle cell disease with WinterFest. The condition, which primarily affects people from BAME communities, can worsen in winter as cold weather can cause a sickle cell crisis, a serious event which can be fatal.
Yvonne Nolan on BBC Radio Merseyside (from 21:15) Wirral Councillor, Yvonne Nolan discusses the need for wheelchair accessibility in Merseyside stations, particularly her own local station, Rock Ferry. This is something I can really empathise with, having had my own accessibility issues at St Michael’s station, which would be absolutely impossible to navigate if you were using a wheelchair. After years of campaigning, Rock Ferry has now been awarded funding to carry out a full accessibility survey which is great news for the community and its visitors.
Lora Fachie on BBC Radio Merseyside (from 31:31) Lora talks with Roger Philips about growing up with a visual impairment and the effect it had on her education, as well as her Olympic experiences and hopes for the future.
Plaza Cinema opens up to give teenager having cancer treatment a private Spider-man screening A lovely story about my local cinema creating a very special Christmas experience.