Hello lovely bloggers, it’s me Kate Bentham again, sitting in the Weekly Blog Club hot seat, well slouching on the sofa to be precise. I hope you’ve all had a good week? I’m going to top that off nicely now with some wonderful blogs for you to read. There were 13 blogs submitted for week 24 and from reading them it seems our bloggers have all been extremely busy and deserve to be slouched on the sofa too.
To mark National Volunteer Week, and also taking up one of the [entirely optional] themes this week we have a blog from Louise Brown called Volunteering rocks – my volunteering week. Louise has been giving her time to help support her local community, and other projects she is involved in. As Louise points out, volunteering can give you an enormous sense of achievement, can help you to feel you are giving something back, and also looks impressive on a CV. If you feel inspired by Louise, then why not have a go at volunteering to be the Weekly Blog Club host and curator for a week. There’s an easy step by step guide on how to on our Admin info page. Go on, what have you got to lose?
A couple of other bloggers also took up the [entirely optional] theme of Urban/Rural Walk this week. First up is A walk to Dog-Eared Corner by Karen Hart. Karen leads us through the streets of east London, as she makes her way to work, we pass some very interesting objects, buildings, businesses, and avoid some of the more undesirable elements. I was startled to read that sadly Karen has been mugged 5 times, and utterly shocked at the suggestion the police made to try and prevent it from happening again.
We go on quite a journey with Janet Davis this week, a bus ride into Newcastle and walk and the return journey home, as Janet also takes up the [entirely option] theme of Urban/Rural Walks. The collection of images in Urban walk June 2013 part 1 have a focus on some of the public art in the town, Urban walk June 2013 part 2, looks at the softer side, sharing some of the natural objects on display in an urban area, and Urban walk June 2013 part 3 looks at some of the architecture, modern and classic buildings making up this great place. Some wonderful images of objects we might miss if we don’t challenge ourselves to look differently.
I also chose the [entirely optional] theme of Urban/Rural walk this week but instead shared some images captured from a few visits to a Welsh coastline. In A Beach Walk May 2013 by Kate Bentham there are images of jelly fish, a small cairn, a sea fisherman, and an excited 5 year old.
A very important post this week was Carers need more than hugs & chocolate by Jane McIntyre. Jane’s dad has Dementia and in this blog she shares the military style operation needed to care for him over a weekend, while his partner had a weekend away. The blog not only highlights the important and vital role that carers play, but also looks at the relationship between parent and child, and the sadness that can bring when the role is reversed.
In ECCF personal and professional improvement by Graham Kane, Graham looks at the Early Clinical Career Fellowship for newly qualified nurses and midwives, supporting them to develop the personal, professional and academic skills they need to become nursing leaders. Ultimately the end goal is to become a better nurse and to offer the best in patient care.
If you have an interest in health care related blogs then you really should check out Better late than never, probably! by Scottish Health Monthly. This blog curates Scottish health care blogs each month and covers a wide range of health topics. Plenty of good stuff here.
I really enjoyed reading United Leadership (part 1) by Andy Johnson, which looks at the leadership styles at Manchester United Football Club and in particular that of Sir Alex Ferguson. The blogs looks at communication, vision, learning and mistakes. Eddie Coates-Madden Eddie Coates-Madden recently pitched a session at the LGComms Academy unconference session on how to move into sexy and leadership jobs in central government. Eddie led a lively discussion which questioned whether comms folk, who are skilled at representing others, may not have the confidence or belief to sell themselves for jobs or professional development opportunities. Those involved in the session agreed that this needs to change, that comms folk need to regain some pride, recognise their value and go for those sexy leader jobs. Un-like us is a good read for anyone who needs a boost.
Karl Green shares Some Classic Karl…with us this week, and shares a piece of fiction he wrote when he was 13. I think this is the second piece of fiction we’ve had submitted to Weekly Blog Club, showing again that a blog really can be anything and everything.
The final post this week is Diverse by Mark Wood. As a professional photographer Mark has been photographing a number of weddings recently. He tells us how he gets the best out of his subjects, which might also involve tucking their shirt in for them. Mark has also been experimenting with techniques, which involves remote wizards and other interesting sounding gadgets. I am sure with Mark’s skill everyone involved will be pleased with the results.
So, that’s your lot. Thank you to all of you who have submitted, shared, commented on the blogs we’ve had this week. If you want to have a go a writing a blog for week 25 then you can find out how on our About page.
This week’s [entirely optional] themes are:
- Dads – with today being Father’s Day – either what it means to be a dad, or what your dad means to you.
- Education/school days/learning
- An interview with someone you admire
- A review of a book/album/film
- A photo with a few sentences around it.
That’s it from me, back to the lovely Janet Davis, unless of course you want to volunteer for week 25? #hint
Kate
Sunday 16th June 2013
Summary of Week 24 posts
- Better late than never, probably! by Scottish Health Monthly
- United Leadership (part 1) by Andy Johnson
- Diverse by Mark Wood
- A Beach Walk May 2013 by Kate Bentham
- Urban walk June 2013 part 3 by Janet Davis
- Urban walk June 2013 part 2 by Janet Davis
- Urban walk June 2013 part 1 by Janet Davis
- A walk to Dog-Eared Corner by Karen Hart
- Volunteering rocks – my volunteering week by Louise Brown
- Carers need more than hugs & chocolate by Jane McIntyre
- Un-like us by Eddie Coates-Madden
- ECCF personal and professional improvement by Graham Kane
- Some Classic Karl…. by Karl Green
