Happy International Women’s Day!

I’m on the train heading to Manchester, which has been rebranded “Womanchester” for this one day only. Which will probably generate an interesting response and it got me thinking about the important women in MY life. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about how flipping fabulous they are and the life lessons I’ve learned/am learning from them.

My Mum (aka Granny Annie)

73 years old and going strong, I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without her. My mum has spent a lifetime worrying way too much about some of the decisions she’s made along the way and whether she did the right thing. And what people think of her.

So I’m setting the record straight to say everything she’s done was the right thing and I’m really proud of her.

She took me and my brother on some pretty cool adventures when we were growing up. She had a passion for walking and climbing mountains, and once when I was in primary school she spotted a sunny day and whisked us out of school and up to the lakes to climb Helvelyn. I’d have been around 7 and this was before the days of getting fined for such things. It was an awesome adventure and I’m sure I gained more from that day than another day perfecting my handwriting. Age 10 we walked the ‘Dales Way’ (80 miles over a week from Ilkley to Windermere) and when I was 11 we did the ‘Tour de Mont Blanc’ a 120 mike walk at altitude through the French, Swiss and Italian alps. It was amazing and many people thought she was completely mad. Possibly so, but I bet not many 11 & 14 year olds had such epic summer holidays. I’ll never forget those views and sitting by glaciers drinking the fresh icy cold water.

A few years later she turned her passion for hiking and the great outdoors into a business and built it into a really successful little shop. She was 48 at this point in her life, and she worked tirelessly to build it up to a point where she could sell it and retire very comfortably 12 years later, having provided us a great life and all we needed in between. So, anyone who thinks they can’t make a change in their life and a success of something because they’re past 40: THINK AGAIN! It did cross my mind when I decided last year to set my photography business up that I was nearly 40 and that I must be mad, and then I remembered my mum and followed my dream!

Other important lessons she taught me were not to do drugs or smoke and to stand up to bullies. Oh and to moisturise, I’m blessed with decent skin which is down to a combo of sound advice and great genes. So thanks for that too, Granny Annie!

She now spends a fair and well deserved chunk of her time holidaying in far off places, here she is holidaying in Northern India recently, with a bird on her head, as you do!

She also is a fantastic support to us with looking after her grandchildren. Thomas says “Grandma Annie is my best friend Mummy!” and the other day they went to Fountains Abbey where she taught him about the dissolution of the monasteries and he keeps regaling me with tales of the “horrid king who broke the roof off that castle, but it’s okay mummy, because he died into the ground!”

So I just wanted to say a huge thanks to my mum for being inspiring, ambitious, educational and adventurous. Everything she did, she did for us and I know for a fact that I would not be the person I am today without her.

Of course, becoming a mummy myself made me appreciate her all the more, so I hope she reads this and stops worrying about the past and focuses only on the NOW and the future. Love you, mum!

My beautiful daughter Ellie.

Apparently you’re not supposed to tell your daughter she’s beautiful these days in case it makes them feel they can only be validated by their beauty. Well, that’s bullshit in my opinion and I’ll flipping well tell my daughter she’s beautiful if I want to. Because she is. I’ll also tell her how strong she is and how witty and clever and kind and brave and whatever else she is.

I’ll tell her about how she saw off Bacterial Meningitis at just 5 weeks old and how she bounced back and became the smiliest most content little baby. Yes she was a little slower on reaching some of her milestones than some of the other kids, but once she got going, I knew there’d be no stopping her. She’s fearless and feisty and a whole lot of fun. This kid is going to do whatever she wants with her life because I’ll be her number one cheerleader and hopefully she’ll be feel inspired by some of the decisions I’ve made along the way.

By the way, look how similar she is to her Granny Annie, in looks AND personality. I am SO lucky and grateful to have these incredible women in my life.