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Optimistic in week 32 – I am who I am due to amazing role models that I have been blessed to have in my life.

Helen Sharpe Numbers and stats, weekly update


We all know that archery is great for mental health. My family have pulled together in recent weeks as we approached the day of dad’s funeral but loosing dad on the 3/1/23 was the second huge blow we had faced in a few short weeks as we had lost my uncle, Philip Hinchley on 14/11/22. These two amazing men could not be better role models, their belief in family and friends but also as examples of spending many hours freely for the benefit of others. Dad did this through the Buffs and helped raise money for charity, Uncle Philip was heavily involved in the Woodstock Minor Soccer Association. Their dedicated belief that a person can use their time to make a difference has definitely influenced my belief in the same. I am some times asked why I volunteer so many hours of my time for others, mostly now through sport but in other ways too. Well, because they have both shown me what can be achieved by someone with determination.

Grief has brought so many of us together from 3 countries and on Saturday some of us were kindly hosted by Wellingborough Open Archery Club to shoot together and in some cases have their first taste of our sport. Thank you to those who coached but also the members who took the time to chat and share their love of archery with my family. A warm welcome was extended to us.

Again it’s been another week of meetings and planning and online catch ups and the coaches have been sharing what’s happening in the various groups. Exciting to get a message from a coach on Monday to tell me that another 50 children have been taught to safely shoot in their PE lessons – curriculum is such a huge step in the schools who have welcomed Integr8Archery and the archery in education project in to their school.

Whatever you are doing this week, enjoy it and stay safe, but stay in touch too ❤️🏹

Great things can come in unexpected ways

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health

Teachers strikes, I am not debating the rights and wrongs of strikes, I rarely air politics publicly – as a result of spending most of my working life employed by central or local government.

My daughter was home on Wednesday as a result of the strikes and we weren’t really sure what to expect for the school club, only 3 out of 15 children attended. Initially seems disappointing however, it gave those children the chance to have some focussed time with their coach to really assess how they were doing. So I am taking it as a positive that we had the chance to have the opportunity to spend focussed time with those 3 children.

The coaches who work with me are amazing and I do not take for granted that their enthusiasm never wavers and they share my ability to sit round a cuppa, discuss any issues arising, bounce ideas to find solutions and then we laugh off those moments where we might have had the urge to scream! They accept my ability to bounce on a sugar high without me actually having had the sugar 😂😂 something many find infuriating but they know that it’s the root of my ability to think outside the box and that allows me to find solutions to the situations that present themselves.

I am weird and quirky and some see that as terrible, but life has taught me the ability to see things differently to most, the experiences that gave me that ability don’t need to be shared but it’s the positive that I take from them and I use it to look at issues that may be a barrier to giving someone the opportunity to try something new. It doesn’t always work but it certainly does regularly and my coaching team embrace my crazy ideas because together we make them work and successfully get bows into hands.

Remember to say thank you to your coach and anyone else who helps you, even in the smallest of ways, to be appreciated is often what gets them back out there on their bad days.

Thursday was Time to Talk day.

I don’t hide my struggles with mental health, they have been there for many years. They have definitely had good spells and bad spells and since November 2021 there has been an incredible battle for me.

May 2022 was definitely the worst for many, many years.

My focus, with the help of a small number of people is to learn to carry what happened, what caused it and shuffle forward.

The ability to talk is so incredibly important click the link and take a look at the information from Mind, I understand that talking about mental health can be scary but you may make a difference.

A few of the coaches who help make my projects work, I am blessed to have so many who share my goals and I will try and introduce them all over time ❤️🏹

Week 31 – learning, collaborating and some new starts

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, weekly update
The weather will continue to improve and I will be back out there shooting ❤️🏹

Meetings, meetings and more meetings – I mean, I do like coffee 😉

I am excited for the things that spring looks to be bringing for Integr8Archery and the projects and I cannot wait to start sharing details properly.

This coming week sees some more planning meetings but I will be north for 11 days so you will likely only get virtual contact nothing in person, but I will be available so please do stay in touch.

Tonight I will attending critical bleed training provided and funded by Off the Street. If you are in the local area they are hosting a number of these events follow the link and take a look at their Facebook page to see if there’s one you might be able to attend. I would ask you to take a look at the knife angel – anti violence page on the website and consider signing up to the campaign, if we each do something small, together we can make a massive difference in giving young people an alternative.

February is fast filling up with meetings and events not just around Integr8Archery and the projects but my other roles, such as safeguarding – which I believe is fundamentally one of the most important things that we can all be aware of, please don’t ever ignore something because you think someone else will act.

Thank you to the friends of Integr8Archery who have been keeping in touch to let me know how their shooting is going, I never take for granted that I am allowed in to people’s lives to support them and I do enjoy seeing you all out and about and on the shooting line. See you soon.

Missing my pretty arrows ❤️🏹 but I shall be back on the line soon🙃

Week 30 – what am I doing because you aren’t seeing me on the range?

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, weekly update
Let’s regain some of the excitement please

I was asked if I am not at home and I am not on the range what I am doing? How can I be committed to my projects?

My initial response was almost rude but I thought about how best to deal with the question, particularly in the face of the last 13 months of things that have been said and emailed or sent on various platforms. In that time I have never once been rude, disrespectful or unkind, to the sender or the people who are ultimately responsible for the issues in broken promises – that I too have been victim of!

My replies have continued to show respect and support to those people and their businesses.

I have repeatedly explained that if you made plans based on promises and ideas given to you by someone we would have been mutually working with, their change of plans and how that impacts you is not my fault and I cannot answer questions that I do not have answers to. You need to contact that person.

So to send me a message today that basically states what I am going through is a suitable punishment for my perceived failure is really not ok, on any level and basic human empathy should prevent such a message even being sent!

Currently my time is spent Friday evening to Monday evening in Derbyshire providing the support that I am giving. I am working my paid employment Monday to Friday with some small tweaks to my shift patterns.

Integr8Archery is still a huge focus, I never stopped.

This week?

Wednesday 7:30 a meeting before work at a school with a willing level 2 coach to help me confirm my thoughts before we both started our paid employment at 9:30. Lunch time meeting to discuss ideas and send emails. Evening sending and replying to emails, arranging more meetings.

Thursday – 5:30 to 7:30 & 22:00 to 23:45 emails, letters, plans being drawn up and sent out.

Friday 2 telephone calls at 19:00 – 19:30

Saturday 7:00 blog update and 20:15 emails

Sunday 8:00 to 9:30 & 20:30 to 21:45 emails and telephone calls.

Monday 19:45 to 21:25 emails, messaging and telephone calls.

Tuesday 5:30 to 7:00 emails, 16:45 to 17:30 meeting with activity partnership, 19:00 to 20:00 meeting with club secretary re membership, sport80 and some future planning.

From my point of view it doesn’t look too bad for someone who isn’t interested, focused or can’t be seen!

I continue to be grateful to those who support me, daily help with projects and keeping me in the loop but I can trust their management whilst I do what my family needs.

I wish you all a safe week and all the best as I continue to do what I can for my business, club and projects.

Please respect my time to deal with the practicalities of loosing an important person in my life and the lives of many others.

Thank you for fitting in with me to make this period work

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message

I suspect that thank you is going to be a big theme over the coming weeks. If you know me and read my blogs, it’s pretty much a constant anyhow, but at the moment my time is restricted and I do not take for granted that people are joining me for meetings at 7:30 or 21:00! Coaches bringing their lunches to meet me in my lunch hour and grab that time to make plans as they support me whilst I am not around, the flexibility that I have always shown to fit in around others is being offered to me with no boundaries at the moment and it is allowing us all to be productive and continue to move projects forwards.

I am missing shooting and I am missing seeing archers in person, so when I get back at it in person in full which I think is likely going to be March, prepare yourselves because this hugger will be catching up on missed hugs 🙃🤗

I am currently working on moving 3 of the schools forward with big plans for each as the children are driving their aims and I am proud that they are enjoying the sport but that they are also setting their own goals, some are going big with their long term aims and some I suspect, may be coaches of the future as they have taken on mentoring others and creating their own little videos on shooting techniques and form, to help new students who are coming on board.

We are back on track with planning the postponed instructors course and some other grassroots groups looking to start their archery sessions, I never get bored of the variety that our sport allows us to offer to anyone who approaches us.

Enjoy your sport and yes, please do continue to let me know how you are getting on, it actually gives me something to focus on and why I am working on all of this, so no, you are definitely not intruding by messaging me 😊❤️🏹

Week 29, tough decisions but for the right reasons

Helen Sharpe News, weekly update
Going to be a while before I get to shoot properly so maybe it’ll be shirt sleeves again by then

2 weeks, 2 weeks since the person who never stopped believing in me left us. He was so interested when I talked about all of the projects my friend and I were working on, so supportive of the massive things we were aiming for by pulling different projects together to form huge plans. I sat in the living room planning things for months whilst chattering to him. Last April I spent the afternoon in meetings in my parents kitchen with solicitors and the national governing body and my friend. At the end of that day so much was ready to go.

When it all screeched to a holt as my friend left, dad was there, telling me I could make things work if I put my mind to it.

That Tuesday in June when I woke up with a plan and a bunch of amazing people giving me their thoughts and support dad was again so very interested. Over the coming months he would chat and ask questions about “your little business”. Proud of my aims, grassroots, inclusion, accessibility, schools and of the work I have been doing in safeguarding.

New year weekend we sat and talked of my plans, he had seen the numbers in my week 26 blog and was proud that I was achieving those aims that I had set out to. He wanted to know what I intended to do in 2023 and beyond. We knew that within days he would be gone and that I wouldn’t have his ear to chatter into about “my little business”, but my mind is full of his thoughts, opinions and ideas and as I move forward I will be able to hear him still even though he’s not there at the end of the phone.

Right now other promises I made him are my priority as I only get one chance to get these next few weeks right and so everything else is getting a short term reduced time from me. That’s still around 20-25 hours a week! I have some people who are helping me with the load and I am incredibly grateful for their support as I am exhausted.

So, lots of emails, a few meetings and the power of remote communication.

My bow is pretty much set down at the moment but I have pencilled in plans with the right people to pick it back up for outdoors.

My disability sports coach course has had to be deferred and we are yet to find out if this means that I will loose my place, I seriously hope not because it is incredibly important to me and dad was so supportive of me taking it on and what it would mean for the future.

I have some in person meetings this week in my couple of days at home, I am excited for what we are planning in regards to schools and this will see some of those things step up again and again I am grateful to the time and understanding those schools have given me in recent months whilst I put family first.

So, if you are waiting on something, odds are you will be hearing from me by the end of this week and nope, nothings stopped, it’s just not at my usual manic speed right now, but don’t worry I am assured that people have seen that kicking in this last few days.

Don’t forget I don’t sleep so you will likely see that emails are sent in the night, no I do not expect you to reply in the middle of the night 😂😂❤️🏹

Take care of you, remember I always love hearing how you are getting on and I will always bounce around my ideas to help think outside the box so don’t stop sending me those messages.

Thank you to my crazy friend for driving in the night to give me a hug and talk dad, archery and remind me I have people, even though I am not used to it or even know how to have people ❤️ and to the very many who have messaged and called and FaceTimed 😘

Ticking on, busy weekend ahead.

Helen Sharpe News, Numbers and stats

With everything going on my time is restricted but I am gradually picking up on communications properly and starting to make plans for 2023. There should be a flurry of emails coming out over the weekend and I have a plan now for the next 5 weeks of work and personal life, I will be splitting my time between Northamptonshire and Derbyshire so meetings that had been planned for face to face may find themselves on zoom or alternative, thank you to those have done that with me this week already.

New contacts and existing projects are all slowly moving forward now that I can settle into a routine and certainly getting regular feedback on how the schools are doing is a big boost to my mood. Though we are currently down a school due to a serious injury and rehabilitation for the coach – continued love and best wishes to Julie for a great and smooth recovery. This week has seen 218 return to shooting. Thank you to all the coaches who are helping this happen whilst supporting me.

Short but sweet, I look forward to seeing the few people I have managed to squeeze in next week for face to face meetings, I have no doubt that being around some arrows will help lift me ❤️🏹

See you all soon and thank you for your continued support.

Week 28 – appearing on the radio!

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Event recap, News, weekly update
Representing the county on the local radio

Thank you to everyone who has reached out or let me move meetings and things. Sport is made up of some amazing people and this week has proven that both within my own sport and others who I collaborate with, the very best of sporting attributes have played a part in getting me through most days.

Obviously not being at home means I have not shown up in person for anything but for the things I could not delay the lessons we learned in Covid regarding virtual communication have proven priceless.

I will not bore you with details of arrangements being made but will celebrate them at later dates when things start to happen. However, thank you to Maggie, Duncan and Chris for getting on with schools and arranging things between them. It has been incredibly helpful to just have that lifted from me.

So, the only real thing to shout about was today’s radio appearance!

BBC radio Northampton had approached the local activity partnership, Northamptonshire Sports, to be linked with people in local sports to take part in the afternoon show hosted by Tim Wheeler and includes a music quiz and I was somewhat anxious about representing the sport and failing to get anything right 😱🫣 as a heavy rock / metal fan I was especially scared of getting a bunch of pop song related questions, so I chose 70’s in the hope there may me some glam rock or those quirky hits!

My aim was to promote the sport and it’s inclusivity and hopefully I didn’t embarrass the sport or the county as I was representing NCAS.

Have a listen for yourself and judge with kindness please, you can hear me from 15:44 to 15:58.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_northampton

pretty much my radio face 😂😂😂🫣

Hard week but slowly moving forward

Helen Sharpe weekly update

A year ago I had a plan of what new year 2023 would hold.

June 2022 pretty much gave me a very real picture of how none of it was likely to happen. I truly am blessed that my father, who had really supported The JLP and all that it represented, got behind Integr8Archery and proudly chatted to me once a week about what was happening. He saw the 6 month’s data post and he was so thrilled for me.

There have been many questions as he pushed me to do my best and in the last 6 weeks some big conversations between the 2 of us regarding what my plans are for 2023 for Integr8archery, my new job, my own archery and who will or won’t be with me on that path. We knew his time was coming to an end and that this post would likely be one he would not see (though it turns out Tuesday’s wasn’t seen by him either). However, he’s left me with words for specific things 2023 holds so hopefully he will be with me along the way.

I was able to tell him Sunday that my latest course of study is completed and has been sent for verification, so hopefully there will be no issues and it will see my certificate released. We talked about what a hugely important topic it is based on my work around safeguarding and well-being and how hopefully it will only improve my ability.

The radio show that I was supposed to be a part of on Wednesday has been postponed until next week as they understood why I couldn’t take part as arranged.

As I am away and dealing with significant issues I am limited as to what I can currently do but I have lots of phone calls and meetings arranged in the coming days so hopefully everything will be tidied by 14/1 or at least moving forward. Thank you to everyone for the understanding not just this week but for the last 6 months, it has helped tremendously,

Enjoy your shooting and I hope that if you set yourself resolutions around health, activity or archery that you are starting to achieve things.

Take care

Helen

27 weeks and 1 day 😞

Helen Sharpe Announcement, Blog with a message, weekly update
What else would your granddaughter ask you to do for her birthday, join her on the range ❤️🏹

As you are aware I have been taking time away and you have all been very patient. My father was diagnosed in June and we were told that it was terminal within 36 hours, he didn’t want the details made publicly as we faced it together as a family. Thank you to everyone who allowed me to be a little slower in those times when I went off grid and the understanding that there was something happening that was bigger than anything you may need.

As time progressed it was simply sitting, chatting, making memories, sharing memories and having those conversations that people ask to have the chance to have.

The timing of his diagnosis was shortly before I made the step to create Integr8Archery. Absolutely no greater supporter of this than my dad. Chatting about what I wanted to achieve, how I wanted to achieve it, and details of everything I was doing and celebrating my successes.

He had been incredibly supportive of the various projects in the last 3 years and had been especially supportive of the charity that we had looked to create, the idea of doing amazing work in memory of your father really hit home to my dad, who family had such meaning for. He had some great ideas of how to help us get funding there.

In the absence of that project he got behind my “little business” as he always called it with a smile on his face 🙃 he was thrilled to read the week 26 update of what we had achieved in the first 26 weeks. I am so pleased he was able to share that progress just last week.

I shall, without a doubt, miss my amazing father who never doubted me, always supported me and always listened as I threw around ideas and was always happy to share his perspective, it’s always good to have an outsider’s view.

I ask you now for 2 things:

  1. Your patience for a little while longer as, over the next few weeks, my family and I deal with all that our loss brings. I will answer and arrange things, and I am grateful to my supportive team who will be helping me keep things moving, but things may be a little slower than usual as other things take priority.
  2. If you have a concern, a small niggle, anything that you may be worried about health wise, go to your doctor and keep going, my dad had worried and didn’t push maybe like he might. I don’t blame the NHS – we are incredibly grateful to all of the staff who have been involved in his care. Had he pushed, things might have been different but my point is, don’t take the chance, it might be scary, but push and keep pushing. If nothing else comes from this, our family’s latest battle with this horrible disease, let it be that you push for your health and we don’t loose you sooner than we need to.

I have lost one of my heroes, one of my greatest supporters – the man it was my privilege to call pop pops – my father.