Quick catch up

This week has been busy, busy, my weekend of working followed by a week of classroom studying for my level 4 Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practioner! Hard work and intense as you would expect with a course of this level and the topic, but at the beginning of 2023 I set out to complete courses that would give me qualifications to support my skills, knowledge and experience. The group of cohorts on my course and the fantastic tutors leading it definitely make it a fantastic learning experience.

I have had a couple of meetings for county and region to discuss ongoing issues and again, always a pleasure to catch up with fellow safeguarding/welfare officers and chairs.

Not much shooting done again! Not great news considering that I have a competition on Sunday! 🫣 but I have had some issues with my back so I am just going to go, shoot and enjoy seeing friends and let the arrows do whatever they do.

The next 2 days will see me at lilleshall standing in for the region so I won’t be about much. I think all of the emails and messages have been answered except a couple which are asking for dates as we all pull together our calendars and arrange events.

Stay safe, enjoy your shooting and see you on a range soon.

Schools are mostly restarting archery next week, which is a lovely slow start to the new year for everyone.
A couple of community groups were due back this week but the weather has gotten in the way there, always better to be safe and warm than risk anything.

This doesn’t mean I have had nothing to do, I have had a number of meetings around safeguarding and with new groups that we are starting over late winter and spring. Lots to be excited about and it’s given me chance to get lots of admin done, let’s be honest that’s the bit none of us really enjoy 😉

I received a call on Tuesday from BBC Radio Northampton that a gift had been left at the desk for me following the last interview in December, I love it and it’s a very amazing surprise, I do always wonder who might be listening and it’s mind blowing that people that I have never met thought enough to make me a gift.

Thank you to Bill and Kevin at https://www.northamptoncommunitysheds.org and I am now looking forward to going to meet them in a few weeks and catching up with them to see what they are working on.

Next week will be a little slow on the archery front for me as I have a week in the classroom for my Level 4 course: Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioners Course (ACSEP) so I will be trying to fit in some walking and shooting my own arrows but no delivery of sessions for me next week.

Thank you to everyone for keeping me up to date with what they are doing, I love seeing everyone’s news and you are all doing so well.

So, with that I shall see you soon on a range hopefully 🤗

I haven’t shot since the county match! Appalling! I will try and remedy that, but I cannot see it being this week either!

It’s been a week of meetings, clubs, county, regional, and topped off by a great weekend catching up with friends and supporting amazing archers including my own daughter who blows me away daily. Those who know her well, know what she’s gone through this last 18 months and now she is working her way through 3 weeks of mock exams and has not had much time with her bow, but it’s humbling to see her standing on the shooting line 🤗 my children are my heroes for certain.

Trying to plan some shoots to help me get motivated and also fathom my schedule of events for the next 6 months with existing and new groups and it’s exciting though very busy looking 😂

Jack’s birthday this week and lots of prep for a very busy Christmas with family up north, at home and working the day job. Give a little thought to those who maybe feel lonely or vulnerable at this time of year, check on those you can 🤗

Right, that’s it, short and sweet this week due to assignments for my level 3, my level 4 and some planning for some safeguarding meetings – sleep? Who needs sleep 😜

Take care of you and keep pinging me those messages about how you are and what you are doing, I love them. 😍

lots of admin and meetings this week, 2025 will see some new groups start which I am very much looking forward to.

I didn’t get to deliver any archery in person but love hearing how everything is going from coaches working with me, and I love the stories of success and achieving on and off the range, it can be what gets me through the meetings some days 😉

I haven’t managed to shoot my own arrows this week either 🫣 lots of work and some shifts to help out at another house, but a surprise visit and full inspection from ofsted saw us get a string good across all categories which is the reward for the hard work and certainly some intense recent months, my job is a privilege and I love it but it is exhausting mentally and emotionally at times.

Add to all of the working on my level 3 in children’s residential care and level 4 in CSE means the week has flown by!

Along with setting up my JustGiving page now I have confirmed my wing walking for next June and I am so grateful to those who have already started donating 😌

Right I am off to work and just a reminder that this week is my working weekend so I will be pretty much unavailable from Friday evening until Monday. Enjoy your weekend and let me know how everything is going ❤️🏹

This week is definitely feeling that summer is behind us now, highlight of the week for me was Saturday with my active group, this week in Corby, Rose came with me to meet everyone and as always we had a great time with lots of laughter. This group is about getting out of the house, socialising and keeping moving. There is such a great sense of friendship and it’s an excellent way to spend Saturday mornings. As we drove over there was some very heavy rain which did impact numbers somewhat but those of us who were there had great fun and after shooting enjoyed some lovely snacks and tea before going our separate ways. Thank you to every one who came because we know many were also busy with Diwali 🪔 preparations.

As it’s been half term there’s been time to reflect on the various schools and these always make me smile, some have been with me since 2021 some have just come on board. A couple are looking to grow and another couple are looking at leaving, or at least suspending their activity. I am grateful to everyone for letting me help support them and the opportunities they provide and I know that schools are often pulled in a variety of directions so I understand all of the decisions. Full decisions will be made with them over the Christmas holiday as it will mark the end of term.

I hope your Diwali, Halloween and/or bonfire night celebrations are all going well and everyone is safe.

see you all soon – Helen

Wow, what a week! I wasn’t allowed to shoot, long story but I am ok now and as long as I promise to listen to what’s happening with my body I am allowed to pick up my bow 🥳

but I didn’t sit around and do nothing, I have been talking with a friend for a few months about some plans they have for some space they want to use and how they want to use it, I have been over to take a long look and aside from learning that our definitions of the word shed are very different 😂 the space is amazing and it was a pleasure to hear her plans and ideas and a privilege to be asked my opinions. It is going to a amazing to watch and to be invited to help and support her – wow 🥰🏹

exciting times to come without a doubt and I cannot wait to share what she is doing because I am incredibly proud of her 😘

some reviews of projects, always, always a great time to look at how things are working and what is successful and what needs changing and in some cases do some things need to stop.

then an amazing afternoon sat with 2 young people – ages 9 and 11 and listening to how they want to help their peers, one has recently started secondary school and wants to show people how sport can be inclusive the other has just become a wellbeing ambassador in their primary school and both want to show how sport can be a positive influence on mental health. To listen to young people talk like this is so motivating because whilst inclusion, equality and wellbeing are my driving forces there are some days it feels like I might be swimming against the tide and these conversations give me hope for the future 🥰

Again, I look forward to being able to share news and updates on their plans over time.

indoors has started for most of us, which I hate but I am also pleased considering the flooding issues in Northamptonshire at the moment.

hope to catch up with you soon ❤️🏹

The anniversaries always blow my mind! I doubt it will ever stop, I love looking at the numbers when I hit those dates too. I love my sport and I am passionate about inclusion and access for all. It’s hard work some days but those numbers remind me it’s absolutely worth it all.

This week so the thing I really hate, having to cancel, weather is uncontrollable and I have to reassess constantly and risk assessments are incredibly important, the predicted weather didn’t arrive until after we would have shot but the county has been mostly under water since the rain started and I still stand by the decisions I made every time I cancelled.

Lots of meetings this week, the beauty of online and the ability to divert around closed roads means they still went ahead.

Looking forward to the next few weeks and some new things starting which is always positive. Indoor season looming which I hate and look to ways to motivate myself and I have signed up to the virtual archery league as in previous seasons, it keeps me shooting for sure.

catch up with you soon ❤️🏹

What a very busy week!

Time set aside has let me get into the backlog of Archery England English Federation Cross claims and I am loving the messages from people receiving them ❤️🏹 thank you to everyone for the patience as I get this all organised.

Lots of planning meetings and this week will see the first session delivered for a new group, always exciting to get something off the ground 🥳

I have been a little out of contact due to some things happening at work which have had me doing some extra hours and also meaning when I have been at home I am shattered. I also swapped my weekend on this rota to allow me to attend the flight competitions later in the month so I worked this whole weekend which seems to have annoyed some archers?

Thank you to those who have been patient when waiting for me, to those who were not, apologies but remember archery and the many roles I have are volunteer so whilst I give 20 – 30 hours a week, demanding time isn’t going to help me find more!

I have also got a few safeguarding related things going on, these take my time, rightly so in my opinion but to give you some perspective I haven’t managed to pick up my own bow and shoot my own arrows since I returned from Dunster and I haven’t picked up a paintbrush since the weekend I went to the event at Nottingham so no, I don’t think I owe anyone an explanation for allowing myself an hour to go to a painting class on Thursday 🤔

Right off to make sure everything is in my archery bag for my session on Friday when we will finally get the tweaking done that we have known needs doing since the session we had at Christmas! So again, no I don’t need you to tell me what needs doing, trust me we know, but Martin and I always give everyone else our time 🫣 our own archery never comes first!

See you all soon 😊☕️🍪 and thank you for letting me get my moaning off my chest 😂

You are all awesome and I give you all everything that I can but sometimes I think you need reminding there’s a lot going on in the world 🙃