A writer and communicator’s view from Manchester
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Confession time
I want things to be different. I wrote that coming back from maternity leave was an eye opener, but the matrescence has wormed its way through me and I admit it: I don’t want to continue to work in the profession I love. Clearly, it’s not because I hate being a communications professional – I…
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Honestly, Getting Back to It After Maternity Leave Has Been a Real Eye-Opener
This week has been… well, it’s been a lot. I’ve spoken to more new people than I did in the whole of last year, which is quite something. I don’t want to go on about how difficult returning from maternity leave is, but it’s genuinely a shock to the system. You don’t just walk back…
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Maximizing Work-Life Balance with AI: A Mother’s Tale
Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, I embarked on the grand adventure of returning to work after 15 months of maternity leave. It was a journey filled with twists, turns, and the occasional dragon (or rather, a toddler with a cold). There were days when I felt like a jester juggling too many…
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Baby budget: the maternity months
Costing up pregnancy and preparing for first baby Today I searched for the answer to “how much does a baby cost in the first year” and the answers were ranged between £6,000 and £12,000. This surprised me as my husband and I haven’t really budgeted for baby in his first year apart from some savings…
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Arrangements in Blue by Amy Key: a very personal review
I finished reading Amy Key’s Arrangements in Blue last Sunday and it’s stayed with me this last week. The book is a reflection of her own life through Joni Mitchell’s 1971 album ‘Blue’, the album I am listening to as I write these notes. Key first encountered ‘Blue’ as a teenager, but I encountered the…
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Am I completely mad to do this NOW?
There comes a time in every writer’s life where they think about starting a blog. Something will often stop them: life, time, exposure, commitment. I must admit, that even I think I’m barmy for starting this now. Why? Because I’m 37 weeks pregnant. I’ve not even officially started maternity leave yet. But isn’t that also…
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Justine's Writing: the Wri Smile 