Jo Betteridge Writes

Well, I’m ridiculously excited to say I DID IT! I wrote my book! Not even close to the one I was intending to write, but the universe clearly had other plans for me!
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve struggled with mental health and self-worth issues, and I never felt good enough to chase my dreams of becoming a writer.
Something huge shifted during lockdown and I was able to work out how to change all that. The result is helping others do the same. A 21 page workbook has morphed into a 168 page transformational journey. And I am the living testament to the fact IT WORKS! Cos here I am sharing what I never thought would actually ever come to fruition.
So here it it is, and I'm bloody proud of it!!
https://payhip.com/b/cx6q

Inbox me if you’d like a sneaky peek of the first five pages, and pretty please share your hearts out! If it even helps just one more person, my job is done!
Big love,
Jo xx

DYIB: I am Good Enough Workbook Do you have a voice in your head constantly saying you’re not good enough?Does she ask you who you think you are to have dreams of a better job... body... house... love life (or just any love life right now)?Does she say you don’t deserve it, and you won’t...

Well, I’m ridiculously excited to say I DID IT! I wrote my book! Not even close to the one I was intending to write, but the universe clearly had other plans for me!
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve struggled with mental health and self-worth issues, and I never felt good enough to chase my dreams of becoming a writer.
Something huge shifted during lockdown and I was able to work out how to change all that. The result is helping others do the same. A 21 page workbook has morphed into a 168 page transformational journey. And I am the living testament to the fact IT WORKS! Cos here I am sharing what I never thought would actually ever come to fruition.
So here it it is, and I'm bloody proud of it!!
https://payhip.com/b/cx6q

Inbox me if you’d like a sneaky peek of the first five pages, and pretty please share your hearts out! If it even helps just one more person, my job is done!

Big love,
Jo xx

DYIB: I am Good Enough Workbook Do you have a voice in your head constantly saying you’re not good enough?Does she ask you who you think you are to have dreams of a better job... body... house... love life (or just any love life right now)?Does she say you don’t deserve it, and you won’t...

Wooohooo very excited to see my first column in the Cheltenham Post!

You can read the rest of the paper here https://issuu.com/sendmagazine/docs/cp_2005112020_20issue_201d or get a free copy in supermarkets in and around Cheltenham. Or come get one off me lol!

Eeek this page has been sadly neglected whilst I'm trying to do a million other things... I'm trying to build my website at the moment. Let's just say that's not going very well and my computer may well be thrown out of the window very soon! 😭 There may or may not be a live website when I actually manage to put the correct website address in the Cheltenham Post in my next column. My money's on 'not'... 🙈🤣🤷‍♀️

Blimey, just doing a bit of research for a piece I’m writing on human connection – very timely given Lockdown Take 2 - and was totally blown away by this:

***Lack of human connection can actually be worse for your health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.***

I knew we were social creatures but it really has shocked me to know that lack of togetherness with other people can have a more detrimental effect on our health than those killers!

I know don’t need to point out it’s more important than ever now to remember to make the effort to keep in touch with our loved ones now we’re entering winter lockdown... but given winter is isolating and depressing at the best of times, it’s worth repeating that staying sociable is actually proven to lower anxiety and depression, increase self-esteem and empathy for others, regulate emotions and actually strengthen the immune system. And Lord knows we all need a strong immune system this winter!

No wonder I’ve felt so fab this Monday morning then… I’ve just had a fab zoom session with my biz coaching group, and have spent all weekend catching up with friends and family. Have also arranged loads of last minute meet-ups this week (within current social distancing rules of course) ahead of revisiting hermitsville on Thursday. I’m stockpiling get-togethers rather than bogroll! Ohhh pants.... I'm late leaving for one now!

So it’s back to zoom, social media and endless phonecalls after Thursday then, just as I was getting by sociable stride back on following the first lockdown! At least it gives me another chance to take part in a zoom quiz tho… I missed out the first time round so if any of you fancy inviting me to yours, my wits will be sharp as I’m giving up drinking for lockdown (after me bestie’s bday celebrations on Wednesday night lol!).

Actually I’ve seen lots of ‘lockdown resolutions’ posted on FB this morning – it’s so uplifting to see people making a positive of the situation instead of moaning about something we can’t change.

Do any of you have any lockdown resolutions? Or any tips for staying sociable? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Stay safe and stay in touch people!

Big love,

Jo xx

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/241/4865/540

Well, Jo Betteridge will be Writing a hell of a lot more now! VI'm very proud to have been invited to write for THE CHELTENHAM POST, Cheltenham's brand new free local paper, launching on 5th November.

Can't wait to share my bi-weekly words of wit and wisdom - exciting times!

So if you have anything newsworthy that needs sharing across town, hook me up!

I'd love it if you could help me spread the word... you know what buttons to press:

https://www.facebook.com/Cheltenham-Post-113117223870915/

Mwah! 😘

Well this has been a looong time promised hasn't it...? 😱

FINALLY, here's the first page of my novel 'HeartBreak Hotel' for your edification and delight. Would absolutely LOVE to know what you think and whether it's gripped you enough to read on. 📖

I'm really open to constructive critiscism, it's what's going to improve my game after all, but please be gentle - there's a living, breathing sensitive creative type hiding behind this screen! 🙈🤣💖

Hope you enjoy, and if you do, please feel free to pass it on!

Love Jo xx

Chatper 1. Evangeline Rose

I was never one to believe in fate. Things happening for a reason. Karma, serendipity. Whatever you want to call it. Break-ups, house sales falling through, jobs lost - 'it just wasn't meant to be'.

I thought such nonsense was simply another manifestation of hope, something for people in dark places to cling to, a form of consolation that something better lies in wait.

But when fate came a-calling for me and kicked my 'can't be arsed' into touch, there was absolutely no denying that if it hadn't been for my own series of misfortunate events, and the stranger-than-fiction kismet that followed, my life wouldn't have turned out as it has.

Granted, the go-getters out there make decisions and strive to achieve life goals and ambitions, supposedly leaving no room for fate. But isn't that just another form of destiny playing its role - a lovely slice of luck that their psyche just happened to be one which drove them to mould their own destiny rather than waiting for life to happen to them?

I was one of the 'waiters'. I had no drive or ambition, nothing compelling me to fight for more than my ordinary lot; I just waited for life to happen to me.

I coasted along in a dull, unfulfilling job to pay my rent. I stayed in that rented house that never really felt like home. I endured a destructive roller-coaster of a relationship that at the time I believed was what I wanted, what I needed.

I didn't believe it was my fate for life to have turned out that way. I was just in that place because I was supposedly content with my lot, too inert and uninspired to make changes. That's just life, I figured.

It's not meant to be like the movies. After all, I'd thought, that's why movies were invented, as an escape from the mundane, to afford us 90 minutes in the amazingly fortunate lives of the beautiful ones who graced the silver screen.

So fate decided to teach me a lesson, and robbed me of my life. Not my physical living, breathing life - I'm not reaching out from beyond the grave here.

No, I mean my life as I knew it. My comfortable, complacent - and quite frankly lazy - non-life was torn away. And something, of course, had to replace it, to fill the gaping hole that was left.

And that something was, in the end, my very own incredible movie-in-the-making. Thus the beginning of my new life was brought to being, as only it could be, with an Earth. Shattering. Ending.

Hello lovelies!

Have any of you ever thought of writing a novel? If so you'll know how exciting and scary it is, and there is stays, in your head.

Sadly the fear takes over the excitement - I waited for 8 years and an unprecedented international health crisis before I started mine! 😫

I have fantastic news for you if you do have a book stuck in your head, but you're too scared to let it out, or you don't have a scooby where to start.

Ta-daaaaahhh!... My incredible writing coach Cat Lumb is offering a free five-day challenge to coax it out of you!

I honestly wish I'd found her sooner - in just one month, she's got me from being too scared to start, to having written 175,000 words (😱) and being on track to complete my first draft by the end of August!

I still can't actually believe how far I've come already with Cat's help and encouragement. In fact I just had to check my calendar to be certain it has only been just one month!

It really is SO exciting to start that writing journey after waiting so long... So click the link below to sign up - this could just be the exciting start to your writing career!

https://www.facebook.com/107383570638362/posts/289971689046215/?sfnsn=scwspmo&extid=HayX8WTGQHjfjId9

Love Jo xx

PS If it's not your thing, I'd really appreciate it if you could please share this post as you never know, this could just be the exciting start to someone else's writing career!

The Write Catalyst 5-day Challenge Hi I'm Cat - a.k.a. The Write Catalyst I'm here to support and champion writers to write that novel they dream of! I know how daunting it can be to write a 90k word manuscript, but I've done it six times now and first drafts no longer intimidate me!

Hello my lovelies!

How are you all doing? Hope you're all staying positive, these crazy COVID times are starting to drag on a bit, the weather's not helping with the feel-good factor either! 😫

I lost my writing mojo a little bit this week - there's so much going on at the moment, and it's made it harder to step my writing game up to the next level.

Have just had a fab zoom session with my incredible writing coach Cat Lumb though, and she's got me all revved up and excited again! She's so full of wise, encouraging words, she's really helped me out technical and mindset niggles and it doesn't all feel so difficult now. Have gone from 'meh' to 'YEH!!!' in 60 short minutes!! Thanks so much Cat, you rock! 🥰

Still on track to have finished my first draft by mid-August - how flippin' exciting is that?

Love Jo xx

PS Maybe I'll be brave enough to share an exerpt with you all soon. Do you want a sneaky peek? lol!

Hello my lovelies!!

How are you all doing?

Eeeek I've been so ridiculously busy with my new project that I've sadly neglected this page! 😫

I've grown in just a few short weeks from a writer wanting to light people up during lockdown, to setting up the 'Ditch Your Inner Bitch' page and group for women who want to feel good enough, gain confidence, heal past hurts and find their passions in life.

So many people kept asking me how I managed to change my life around so dramatically and start really chasing my dreams, that I felt inspired to set up a safe space to help them do the same.

If this sounds like your kinda tribe, come join us! I would love it if you could please share this too, you just never know who it might help, and if I can help change just one woman's life for the better in any tiny way, that journey will have all the more worthwhile!

Hope to see you there!

In other news, the novel is coming on amazingly well, I'm so motivated and excited by how it's developing! It's so weird how the characters are coming to life and telling me what's going to happen - I've heard writers say that before but didn't really see how that was possible. Anyway, it's still in the development stage so nothing readable to show you yet lol, but it won't be long!

Gotta go, but please check out Ditch Your Inner Bitch. It's a fun, enjoyable approach to what is, for many, a soul-destroying and life-sapping issue.

Sharing is caring 💖

Love Jo xx

https://www.facebook.com/pg/DitchYourInnerBitc/

Hello Lovelies!

Happy Say Something Nice Day everyone!

I was thinking of nice things to say to honour the day, and to be honest, it's not so hard to think of nice things to say to other people. It's telling ourselves kind things that we struggle with isn't it?

So here's a little challenge. What nice things would you like to give yourself permission to say to you?

Because although it doesn't come naturally to most of us, it IS okay to say loving words to ourselves. If we gave ourselves the kindness, love and respect that we show others, we'd enjoy so many wider benefits.

For a start, a few kind words in one's own ear can help lift a low mood. We'd be kind to loved ones feeling down, so why not to ourselves? It feels so uncomfortable doesn't it? But if we do something enough, it will become second nature.

If the thought of helping yourself isn't motivation enough for positive self-talk, then it might help to know that self-compassion will help you pass kindness on to others 'you can't fill an empty cup' as they say...

Consistent encouraging words to yourself will spill into all areas of life, and will boost the self-confidence, self-esteem and self-belief that will help health, relationships and careers flourish.

So c'mon you gorgeous lot, share your kind words to you in the comments and let's feel the love! I'll start so you don't feel too awks!

Sharing is caring 💖

Love, Jo xx

Hahaha I'm making mini me stop her school work to show me how to do an Insta story. Now I know how my mother felt when I tried to teach her how to set the timer to record Brush Strokes on the Betamax pmsl.

A little reminder we all need at times! 💖

So very true! 💖

Hello lovelies, hope you're all well and enjoying this glorious sunshine!

Just a little update as you may have noticed I've been off radar... I've had an enormous case of overwhelm so I've been self-isolating!

It started last Wednesday when I had a pretty fabulous live interview on the business side of things. Uber successful business coach Robin Waite pushed me so far out of my comfort zone - in a very positive way, I should add - that I could have done with Richard Branson and his rocket to bring me back down to earth (errrr, actually, scrub that thought!). I was rather surprised to find Robin's session focussed on how to level up and turn professional coach myself (the third time a coach has advised me this in the past month!).

It's incredibly exciting that they all have so much faith in my abilities, but overwhelm set in as this is far from what I intended when I set out to write the novel that started this rollercoaster ride. But, I do absolutely love the idea and think it's what I was born to do, so that will absolutely come, but not until I'm ready.

So although very exciting times for me, it's all gone at a million miles per hour and I've taken far too much on. I'm acutely aware I have to avoid burning myself out, so for sanity's sake, I took a giant step back to see where I'm currently at and planned bite-size next steps.

And, more to the point, I've been practising more of that oh-so-important self-care we so often neglect. I've made my evenings my own again, and have gone on walks (less stressful ones than last weeks' Carry On Walking) long baths, marathon reading sessions, cooking, gardening and even some more painting (which I especially recommend, it's so therapeutic!).

I thought the whole 'coming out of overwhelm' experience would resonate with many of you, as weirdly lockdown has put more 'busy' pressures on us in lots of ways - decluttering and Joe Wickes, anyone? My article on overwhelm and how to combat it is in draft form, so watch this space! I'm practising what I preach and not hammering the final article out now as I've already done tons of writing over the past few days - the novel that started this intrepid journey into the unknown has finally taken precedence again!

I've written just under 10,000 words in the past three days, so am pretty damn proud of that little win! So what have you all been up to? Does anyone else have too many tabs open at the moment? 🤯

Sharing is caring 💖

Love, Jo xx

Hello Lovelies!

Hope you've enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine today!

It’s been a funny old day… I thought today's to-do list would be really challenging and stress me out so much that I’d need to schedule in some hardcore downtime that was a bit more meaningful than the usual cheeky lager in the garden.

Life is chucking me loads of serendipitous quirks of fate at the moment, so when an invite to a mindfulness walk at 6pm popped up on Facebook, I thought it would be the perfect way to unwind after a mentally demanding day.

Weirdly, the to-do list was ticked off painlessly, and it was the mindfulness walk that didn’t go as planned. It started to go Pete Tong as soon as I pulled my car up in the car park on Cleeve Hill.

‘Oh my God, can you smell my clutch?’ I shouted over the noisy engine at a couple of old friends who happened to be getting out of their car ready for a run. One of them is a car mechanic, so I wanted to know what he thought. ‘You want me to smell what?’ the mechanic’s mate replied having clearly misheard me. Cringe. It was all downhill from there. Well, it was more uphill actually. A long way up a very, very steep sheep-infested hill.

I had no phone signal so couldn’t join the Facebook live mindfulness walk. But I set off thinking at least it got me out in the fresh air and glorious sunshine. I’d mull the day’s wins over, think some positive thoughts, be at one with nature and leave refreshed and rejuvenated.

Nature was more keen to be at one with me than I was with it. I’m not an animal person, and am scared of most of them, so when the sheep came trotting near me I was more than just slightly on edge. There were millions of the things, straggly haired, staring at me and bahhhing as loud as they could to intimidate me. Well, that’s how it seemed to me anyway. No wonder Clarice Starling was so desperate for the silence of the lambs. Because the noise they make even when they’re happily roaming the lush green common is, quite frankly, horrendous.

And don’t get me started on the birdsong. I’m not adverse to some pretty bird tweeting (as long as it’s not too early in the morning and doesn’t wake me up), but I swear these ones were on acid… Their high-pitched brain-permeating refrains actually sounded like Josh Wink’s top house choooon ‘Higher State of Consciousness’. Only it didn’t stop like the record does. On and on and on it went around my head. I couldn’t tell if it was just one bird that followed me for an hour to wind me up, or if all the birds had got together and sang tag team torture for a laugh. And there was me thinking I’d be using nature’s sounds as an aid to mindfulness practice.

Being positive of mind, gazing out over the stunning views below, and acknowledging that nature is a wondrous thing, I wasn’t going to let its noisiness ruin my walk. Perhaps I was being overly sensitive? So, on I walked, thinking I knew exactly what Wordsworth meant by wandering happy as a cloud, gratefully reflecting on how lucky I am to have all this beautiful countryside on my doorstep. I was practically twirling round with arms outstretched at one point, but managed to refrain from singing ‘The Hills are Alive’. Which is just as well, because it was about then when I came across a mountain biker bent over and fiddling about with his not-so-trusty steed.

‘Do you need me to phone the RAC?’ I asked jokingly.

‘Me seat’s come off’ he told me, pointing at some rocks. ‘The boulders were loose’.

‘Blimey’ I said, ‘sounds like you nearly did yourself a mischief, you’re lucky it was only your seat and not your boulders that came off’. And we parted ways chuckling and wishing each other a pleasant time.

I’d deliberately wandered away from the well-trod tracks not wanting to repeat yesterday’s faux pas. A friend and I took our kids – hers in an all terrain buggy – for a lovely socially distanced walk up the hill, and unwittingly wandered all the way down the golf course fairway, nonchalantly waving back at the disgruntled golfers, who were actually tying to signal us to get out of the way. So today I was very mindful to stay well away from the neater mowed grass that marked the golf course.

I walked way further than I meant to, but even if you wander off the paths you can’t really get lost up there - you just kind of follow the hill along and around and back up and over until you circle back to the car park.

It wasn’t until was I spotted a man perched atop a grassy outcrop sunbathing in his speedos that I realised I had no idea where I was. My brain chose that moment to go into over-thinking mode. The poor bloke was there minding his own business (regardless of his tasteless attire) and my brain was working out whether he was far enough away to not pose a threat.

The sheep were getting louder and nearer, I could now definitely hear a mahoosive herd of manically mooing cows, and that horse right over there might run over, kick me in the head and leave me for dead. No one would find me until the birds had stopped torturing my ears and had pecked my eyes out instead.

And if the animals didn’t kill me, I was lost anyway and doomed to wander the common forever more, like some low-rent, more withering than wuthering Tesco Value version of Cathy. It just goes to show how complex our minds are. Mine was clearly trying to protect me by pointing out potential danger. Thankfully I am now well able to talk my brain down from irrational fear and impending panic, but a few years ago I think it would have gone into full melt down mode.

I stayed calm by telling myself I just had to walk back up over that extra steep bit of hill, and I’d be back at the carpark, but my nerves still jangled as it seemed I would never get there.

Finally, I emerged from behind a clump of bushes at the crest of the hill. Right into the middle of the golf course. I frightened the life out of some poor golfer poised to take his shot. I’m not sure who jumped more, me or him, but I’m not surprised I alarmed him so, materialising as I did, red-faced, sweaty and panting from the exertion. I mumbled my apologies and nearly cried with relief when I saw the car park come into view.

And then I remembered that’s not where my car was parked. My car was another 20-minute walk back along the hill in the opposite direction.

I’m not sure whether it was the relief reaching the ‘safety’ of more populated paths, or the muscle fatigue that had my legs turned to jelly. Whichever it was, those jelly legs gave way and I fell flat on my face.

I sprawled, arms and legs flailing cartoon-like right at the feet of the most glamourous walkers ever to grace Cleeve Hill. There was me in my walking (well, falling over) scruffs, mis-matched cardi, comfy Ugg boots all attractively accessorised with the day’s mascara streaking down my pink, sweaty cheeks. And there were they, sauntering fragrantly past, arses like show ponies, trendy black Lycra, uber cool sunglasses, neat braids and even a slick of lip gloss.

Fair play to them! I don’t look that good when I’m ready for a night out! It really was like a low budget cringe-fest sequel ‘Bridget Jones Goes For a Walk’ (clearly they didn’t have the resources to come up with a suitably witty title either).

Those high-end walkers were nice enough though. They stopped and made sure I was okay, and admitted one of them had tripped over earlier, probably just to make me feel better. I tried to be funny to hide my embarrassment, and dramatically limped away saying I wasn’t really hurt but it’d be less mortifying if they thought I was badly injured and could they please phone me an ambulance. They hurried away with a bewildered ‘ohh, bless you’ and not even a hint of amusement in their voices. Bless me indeed. I thought I was funny anyway.

Thankfully I made it back to the correct carpark without further incident. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to get back in that car. My brain chilled out and retreated into ‘safe’ mode as soon as I was driving back down into the safety of civilisation. Until my brain asked ‘which lane is that’s too steep to drive down? Oh. It’s this one I’m driving down isn’t it? Errrr yes. Yes, it is’.

I’m not sure I’m cut out for the great outdoors. I should probably have stuck to the lager (just about to have one now, actually!) But, at least is it was an out-of-the-ordinary experience and has given me something more entertaining to share than a mere mindfulness walk.

I would love to say that I made a lot of that up in the name of amusing artistic licence, but sadly, I didn’t need to, I really am that much of a liability going on a simple walk.

Please do share your cringe-worthy tales of bumbling ineptitude and hapless dim-wittery to make me feel better!

Sharing is caring!

Love, Jo xx

PS 3 hours/2332 words of novel-writing done this afternoon, hence posting FB ramblings so late!!

Hello Lovelies,

How’s everyone doing? Does everyone still hate Mondays now that reality for most of us isn’t operating in the same time zone as before?

I can’t believe it’s Monday again already! For me it’s been one of those unexplainable ‘it’s gone ridiculously quick but feels like it’s lasted forever’ type weeks. This page is already a week old, and I’m so chuffed that it’s engaging and inspiring so many of you! Thank you for being there reading and sharing your thoughts, it really does mean a lot!

I’m just taking stock and looking back to why I started this in the first place. I need to get myself back on track as things are moving so fast I can barely keep up (more on that later in the week!).

As I explained in yesterday’s interview and in the intro to this page, the reason I set up this page was to share my novel-writing journey and get a little help from my friends in terms of support and accountability.

It’s had precisely the opposite effect though, given I’ve done approximately no fiction writing whatsoever since I’ve started this page. I’ve got so into writing the mindset stuff that it’s completely taken over. So today I’m making a promise to myself – mornings are for mindset writing and afternoons are for fiction. Oops, I’ve already broken that one, but, there’s always this evening to do a little catching up, so I’m not going to beat myself up.

So, here I am, finally (well, almost) writing ‘HeartBreak Hotel’. It’s been eight years since the idea slapped me square on the forehead whilst walking to a job that made me utterly miserable. And there it’s stayed (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) running around in my head like a feral toddler - growing uncontrollably, chattering incessantly and completely and utterly refusing to be brought under control.

It’s high time I get this thing on paper before it drives me absolutely insane. But I have a horrible feeling it’s going to be as hard, as painful and as messy as giving birth to a full-size toddler would be. Already I’ve found some pretty hardcore ways to procrastinate, so no more, I’m now committing to three hours a day writing it. Every. Single. Day.

This is where I’d really love your help and support please – if I do a time spent/word count update every day at the end of my posts, would you get involved and give me a talking to if I don’t step up?

I’ll also do a ‘weekly wins’ post on a Sunday, where I‘ll share how much I’ve done and an excerpt of what I’ve written. Hopefully, it’ll live up to expectation and get you all gagging to read more!

I’d also love you to share your weekly wins too, let me know what’s gone well for you and why you’re celebrating you that week.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering what this bloody book I keep banging on about actually is, here’s the blurb:

'Just when it seems life can’t sling any more crap at her, dumped and dejected Evangeline Rose inherits a dilapidated hotel in a bizarre and most unwelcome twist of fate.



Fuelled by gin and steeled by an astonishing discovery, newly-inspired Evangeline embarks on an ambitious plan to relaunch her inheritance as a holistic retreat to heal and empower the broken-hearted.



But nothing ever goes quite right for Evangeline… cue a vengeful ex, damning reviews and a lacklustre life coach… Can Evangeline rescue the disaster-stricken Heartbreak Hotel from the brink of ruin? Will she get the chance to help the unloved find love again? And will they even want her to?'

Let me know what you think so far!

Sharing is caring 💖

Love, Jo xx

Omg I’m CRYING with laughter - just shared my interview video on family what’s app group as my parents think fb is the devil’s work... my dad’s response? ‘Joanne, here is a picture of my patio’. Just BRILLIANT! 😂😂😂

Hello lovelies!

Hope you’ve had a fab Saturday – or that you've even realised that it was indeed Saturday given many of us don’t even know what day it is anymore!

Just wanted to share my Friday night experience, as it was a last-minute plan that completely lit me up and ended up being one of my absolute lockdown highlights so far!

My Friday nights are more often than not spent dahn t'pub with my friends, and I'm really missing that. So when the opportunity for something completely different to my new norm Friday night gin-for-one 'in, in' came up, and, I jumped at the chance.

I joined a painting party! Yes, I know, a painting party, how unusual is that? I have to admit, it was with more than a little apprehension that I signed up given I can’t paint to save my life! Yes, I’m creative, but I absolutely cannot paint anything other than walls... Or so I thought!

I was invited to join the event by a very talented artist in my success group, and as per her helpful and detailed instruction, I gathered the acrylic paint and paper I’d serendipitously bought mini me for Christmas, plus a selection of brushes (some I’m sure she’s had since she was a toddler), a jug of water, a plate to mix the paints on (actually an Early Learning palette I bought mini me for her first birthday) and some sponge (I cut up a washing-up sponge).

I had to pick mini me from her Dad’s house to join me for the party, and when I got there, I was a bit gutted to find her rather reluctant, (although I was secretly really chuffed she wasn't point-blank refusing to come). I have to admit, I was feeling somewhat the same – as I said, I’ve never painted before, I hadn't met this group we were about to zoom with before, mini had never been on camera in a zoom meeting, and quite honestly, we were both more than a bit out of our comfort zones.

But WOW was it worth stepping up and making the effort for! There were only about seven of us, so a nice intimate group. We were all quite apprehensive, and Deidre (of Art Jam Ireland), the artist in charge, was extremely reassuring and coaxed us step-by-tiny-step until we’d all created rather impressive interpretations of world-renowned Mexican artist Freida Kahlo. I say world-renowned, but she's one of those you don't necessarily know until you see her. In fact, when I told a friend who we’d painted, she said she'd never heard of her, yet she knew exactly who I meant when I sent her the pic of our artwork! It's all in the eyelashes!

It really didn’t matter if our paintings didn’t look like a photo-fit of Frieda, or like Deidre’s expert version. We were creating modern art, not fine art, which leaves much more room for interpretation and more than the odd stray brush stroke. Our works were bright, vibrant and funky, and it was crystal clear who were were painting. It had all been made so simple and easy to make such a good job of, we were all extremely proud of what we achieved.

It wasn’t just about the painting either – most of us had never painted before and at the start we apologised for ourselves and shared our misgivings regarding what we felt we’d produce. Then we laughed together all through the process – most of the participants had a glass of wine, and one had an impressively mahoosive glass of gin. I can’t actually believe I didn’t think of that myself! But they were a fun bunch of people, all with completely different backgrounds, but we came together and had great fun whilst we painted.

In fact, the lady with the gin ended up drawing on her own eyebrows with a Sharpie whilst she was trying to figure out the form for drawing Frieda’s. She’s definitely a person I’d love to have a gin or two with in real life, she was absolutely hilarious! In case you're reading, I've since been told the Body Shop chamomile make-up remover gets rid of Sharpie!

The best thing to come from the whole experience for me though, were those two hours of mother-daughter bonding doing something neither of us had experience at. I know those of us who are parents are all struggling with our kids at the moment for a million reasons (don't worry, this is going to get way more attention very soon, complete with kid-control recommendations to BoJo!), so bonding with a 12-going-on-21-year-old with serious teen attitude was a veritable panacea for my soul last night! She even told me to shut up and stop being embarrassing when I hugged and thanked her for a lovely time together afterwards, so I'm taking that as a massive win!

Funnily enough, mini me has just materialised from her teen-cave upstairs to say she can’t wait for next weeks’ painting party when we’ll be painting tropical parrots. I’ve not long had tropical leaf wallpaper put up on the fireplace (it looks amazing!), so our parrot art will look fabulous beside that. I know they’ll be good enough to be framed and put on the wall because as I said, it’s modern art so doesn’t have to be perfect and precise. And it feels kinda good to be confident we can produce art we can display in our home. Again, don’t get me wrong, we’re no Picassos, but the kind of art it is allows for gauche naivety. It's probably all the better for it.

Deidre is running a painting party every Friday, and I can’t recommend it enough. You really do not have to have an artistic bone in your body (though I think we all have one hidden somewhere, however deep!), so please join us via the link somewhere below if you feel moved to do so! It really is as cathartic as they say, and there were even quite a few gaps of silence whilst we were carried away in our artistic little bubbles of concentration/freedom from thought.

I hope you'll feel inspired to give it a go... as with most things, I don’t think we normally wander too far out of our comfort zones, do we? Mini me and I were given a fantastic opportunity to try something new and we ran with it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Have any of you felt inspired to seek out any hidden artistic talents you didn’t know you had, or have you been taking advantage of the time at home to indulge the artist in you? It’s been the perfect time to explore all that, whether it's newly discovered talent or something that's led dormant for a while. Lord knows being in lockdown has had us all frantically finding things to amuse ourselves! I'd love to hear what creative beasts you've been unleashing!

Hopefully see you at next week’s painting party – check out the link below and don’t forget to bring a drink!

Sharing is caring!

Love, Jo xx

https://facebook.com/events/s/friday-fun-online-paint-party-/1084315015301794/?ti=icl