Monthly Archives: June 2016

Social Commentary

Sorry, I can’t meet up, I’m Suffering From Busyness-itis

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The other day, I was sitting at Egg Break catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while when I answered the question ‘how are you?’ with the dreaded words, ‘I am soo busy,’ that vague, annoying, I’m-so-important, type of answer. Not really believing me, she asked me to go through my week, event by event. (I am guilty of overusing those words when I can’t formulate an interesting enough answer to that question in a concise manner). So, I went through my week, play by play, when she said, ‘Oh. Ok. Maybe you are busy.’

Most people look at me like I am humble-bragging when I use those words, I mean I’m just a jobless, stay at home mum with kids in school, but the truth is, it’s really how I feel. Like my life is slipping away out of my control and I go through the motions just to keep up. It’s this time of year, when schools, parents and PTAs go on overdrive and schedule 1 million things for your child/you to do and I have lots of loose ends to finish before summer starts. My children go to two different schools (let’s call them school A and School B), and I usually try to attend most of the events.

I am a ‘YES’ person, who feels obliged to say ‘yes’ whenever someone invites me, because I get really annoyed (as you know), when people come up with ‘veiled bullshit excuses.’ So I say yes. Yes to the parents’ dinner of school A, parents’ drinks of school B, mum’s dinner school A, mum’s lunch school B, mums coffee morning school A, class drinks school B, school drinks of schools A+B, sports day schools A+B, Parent-teacher conference school A+B, readings/assembly/open days/summer parties/birthday parties (oh the last minute cramming-of-birthday-parties-before-summer is an epidemic) etc… etc… etc… And now I know I have completely exhausted you by just reading this.

I haven’t even begun talking about time spent writing the blog/organising Summer 16 Winter 17 holidays/organising playdates and doctor’s appointments/window cleaning/fixing leaks/paying overdue electricity bills (Yes, I am different to the superrich). Everyone always asks me how much time I spend on the blog each week. The answer is a few hours twice or three times a week. I need time to think about the content, write the content, meet future collaborators and think of how we can work together. That last part I really love because I get to meet so many interesting entrepreneurs with a vision, which is one of the main reasons I keep on writing. I don’t make money out of this blog, but it takes up a bloody lot of my time.

Well, that is my constant state of being these days: exhausted. These are not ‘crucial’ life or death events that I need to attend, they are events that are made up by parents and people who try to make our lives more interesting/fun/social, and I respect that. Perhaps, I should learn to say ‘NO.’ (I look at those women who tell me they aren’t going to XYZ school event because they ‘can’t be bothered’ in complete awe. Wow, if I could only do that…) But that’s just not me, and I, for the most part, end up dutifully going to all the events but sometimes (many times) I would rather stay in bed because not only can I not bear to look at my same-old-clothes closet one more time to look for an appropriate outfit, it’s really because I can’t get out of bed from pure small-talk-exhaustion.

The point is that when I tell you I can’t schedule you in until next September (which I have been known to do), it’s not because I am so important, or that I am so popular, or that I-have-so-much-to-do-you’ll-get-FOMO, on the contrary, it’s because I am a YES person, and I always think about the effort people have put into organising school parties or events, and that if it were me, I would want a lot of YES people in my crowd. Is it the schools’ and parents’ fault for over-organising or my fault for saying yes to everyone? I’m not sure. But if you hear me say ‘I’m so busy,’ just know that I am not trying to humblebrag. Most likely, I’ll be sitting in Bramley’s for yet another soft play birthday party thinking that I’d rather be having a coffee with you.

xx

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

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Social Commentary

Brexit: 10 Reasons to Stay

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Brexit is on everyone’s mind, from all the newspaper outlets, to economists and bloggers. To the point that even the yummy mummies have gone from talking about children/exercise/holidays to Brexit at their coffee mornings. So I thought I would give my two (10) cents about it:

10 Reasons to Stay:

  1. The Economy: We’ve just clawed our way out of a recession, and with the impending Brexit, the pound is down, the FTSE is down and the OECD predicts world economic gloom if Brexit happens. Is this really what we want post-crisis?! Even the Brexiters admit it. It is evident that we will be worse off after Brexit.
  2. Jobs: It’s not just the banks who are preparing to relocate 1000s of their staff to Frankfurt or elsewhere, other jobs will be lost along the way, which of course will affect point #1. There are 3 Million EU nationals working in the UK, many of them the top talents attracted to London for its opportunities. They’re not here for the weather are they?
  3. Housing market: The housing market is already in a precarious situation and is doomed to fall if Brexit happens. Already, we’ve been feeling the strain on the housing market with increased stamp duty and other George Osbourne obstacles. Isn’t that enough?
  4. Immigration: London is the most cosmopolitan, international city in the world. It embraces people from all the world and integrates them better than any other city, which is why there are so many expats here (uhm, France/Germany/Italy/US are not known to be the best integrators there are). And can you imagine what it would do to the visa process? Have you ever waited for your nanny/housekeeper’s visa to come through? The UK just wouldn’t be able to cope.
  5. Food: Twenty five years ago, I came to London, and all I remember was a drab, grey city with terrible food. But since then, French, Italian, Spanish and even German food has invaded ‘our’ city (I now do believe that London is ‘my’ city). This is a great thing. The restaurants in London have become so good, we don’t need to fly over to the continent for proper food. All the Europeans in the food industry will suffer. We don’t want London to go back to pre-historic, dark un-foodie ages.
  6. Travel: The open borders mean that travel between the UK and the continent is easy: we all hop on a plane (Easyjet) to fly to Greece/Sardinia/Ibiza/South of France. Being in the UK means that this is easy, fluid and open. Are we really going to need a visa to go to Space?
  7. Tech: If East London wants to contend with Silicon Valley, the UK needs to let the doors open to all the techie-talent coming from Europe. The Google Campus attracts all of these young, talented techies from all over Europe who come to London for its opportunities. Let’s not close down any of these opportunities.
  8. Education: 4 university leaders agree: they are voting to stay. Nobel Laureates also agree. They cite research, staff and funding all as reasons. Surely the most brilliant minds realise the benefits of staying, why can’t all of us?
  9. Research & Science: Brexiters are overlooking the fact that Britain would lose funding for vital research in the science and medical fields. Paediatric research is hugely funded by the EU. Go ask Great Ormond Street. Or other British universities. This threatens the UK as one of the top research nations in the world.
  10.  The Capital of the World: I consider London to be the Capital of the World: it is international, dynamic, you can easily travel to the 4 corners of the world from it, and it is tolerant. Closing down its barriers will make it a worse place. I am biased, but I hope you’ll join me to stay in the EU.

xx

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

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