Charity

Candy Crush: Iris & Lady Moore Charity Candle by Jo Malone London

2017-07-16 00.00.08
My Latest Candy Crush

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I have struggled with my mental health.

It took a lot for me to type that sentence and I think it may take more to publish it. There’s a negative stigma around mental health and it can take a lot of guts to come out and admit that one has struggled. Mental health is a topic people don’t like to talk about much, which is a massive travesty because mental health is something that’s very important to talk about it.  So talk about it we shall and if you’re wondering what on Earth this all has to do with a Jo Malone Candle of all things, then bear with, Dear Reader, bear with…

I’ve always been an anxious person and for the longest time I just thought the level of nerves I felt was normal.  I mean everybody gets nervous before speaking publically or attending interviews, right?  But it wasn’t just those situations that made me feel nervous – sometimes it would be paying for something in a shop or talking to somebody I didn’t know.  At my worst it was any interaction with another human, even with people I knew. Luckily for me I was able to seek help and remove myself from the situations that exacerbated my anxiety. I now have mechanisms in place help to deal with anxiety and for the most part, I am a happy person. Because of this I am very lucky.

Continue reading →

#GayIsOK

#GayIsOK
#GayIsOK

I have come to the realisation that I am an incredibly fortunate person. I am gay. I came out at the age of fourteen to a family that shrugged their shoulders, said “big deal” and told me that they loved me. I have always been sure of myself and my sexuality, and having accepted myself at a young age, I have been able to move forward through life with confidence and without shame. Sure, things were a little rocky at school (coming out at 14 isn’t all unicorns and rainbows, I must say) but I encountered nothing I couldn’t handle with a raised middle finger and a simple “fuck you”.

I have found love and because I live in a country with marriage equality, I have been able to make a lifelong commitment to my love and I’m honoured to be able to call him my husband. Sexual orientation is also a protected characteristic under the Equality Act (2010), which means that it would be unlawful for someone to discriminate against me, whether directly or indirectly, due to my sexuality and therefore, I cannot lose my job or be denied a service because I am gay. Most importantly, I live without fear and I live openly with freedom.

This however, is not the case for every LGBT person in the world. Whilst we have been celebrating pride over the weekend and the American Supreme Court’s decision that all states must offer marriage equality, we mustn’t forget that it is still illegal to be gay in 76 countries around the globe. I can live and love freely, but others cannot, and sometimes those that cannot risk, not only imprisonment for their love, but also death. A fact that is astonishing in this day and age. Imagine risking death to be yourself, or love who you want. It’s almost impossible to believe, isn’t it? We take our love for granted, where others have to fight for theirs, or even worse, they have to conceal it.

Continue reading →