Ellee Seymour

I’m afraid blogging is going to have to take a back seat between now and the end of the year as I focus on meeting a crucial deadline for my publisher.

I also have important commitments as chair of trustees for Headway Cambridgeshire which supports adults with an acquired brain injury. Tomorrow I am in London attending a course for new chairs of charity trustees which is being held at the premises of distinguished law firm Farrer & Co.

Since I’ve taken on this role, I’ve participated in a CEO appraisal and organised a skills’ audit of the full board so members can be given appropriate and fulfilling roles on sub-committees.

I am also encouraging our very talented trustees to act as ambassadors for the organisation whenever possible to support  our fantastic CEO and service users.

In a couple of weeks I shall be joining one of our patrons, John Hayes, Shadow Minister of Innovation, Universities and Skills, at the Charity Champion Awards 2008 where he has been shortlisted to win an award. Jungle Queen (she is as far as I am concerned) Esther Rantzen will be hosting the event and I look forward to meeting her there.

I nominated John on behalf of Headway Cambridgeshire for the fantastic work he does in supporting us. I made a video which you can see here showing a fund-raising cricket match he held last summer in his Lincolnshire village.

I shall also be going to 10 Downing Street with my MEP Robert Sturdy to present a letter of petition calling for a Europe-wide impact assessment on new pesticide legislation which could devastate the agricultural industry. I wonder if it will  be as exciting as the last time I went there and met BBC political editor Nick Robinson standing on the doorstep and later bumped into the Mongolian Ambassador and explained to him the worrying situation of post office closures.

Now, I must get back to writing my next chapter ….

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They are both iconic British retail emporiums which failed to keep up with modern times and maintain their public appeal.

But it’s still a sad day, a very sad day, to learn that both Woolworths and MFI (whose furniture can we joke about now?) have gone into administration.

This comes on top of reading today how 30 local journalists – a couple who I know – have lost their jobs at Anglia TV in a cost cutting shake-up by ITV to save £40m a year by axing more than 400 posts across its regional news service.

I remember escaping redundancy by the skin of my teeth at the Cambridge Evening News when the paper lost its lucrative estate agents advertising deal to a competitor. Who got the chop was decided on a "last in – first out" basis. My name was top of the list of those whose job was saved.

It is the most terrible gut wrenching, nerve wracking, depressing and demoralising experience. I lived on a very sharp knife edge for a few weeks and can imagine how desperately worried those thousands of poor souls must be feeling whose jobs are at risk.

It is truly a black Wednesday.  

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I don’t see there being any winners in the horrible court case between a mother and her author daughter, Constance Briscoe, who is a part-time judge.

Constance described her very unhappy childhood in her book, Ugly, including how she was – allegedly – starved and beaten and told she was an "ugly waste of space".

Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell, her mother, claims that the episodes of physical, sexual and mental abuse detailed in the book are “a piece of fiction”. She says that the young Constance had a happy childhood and is suing her daughter for libel, seeking damages and aggravated damages over the passages claiming that she beat and humiliated her child.

Constance also described drinking bleach to kill herself because she was used to being called "a germ". It’s all too horrible. Again, I wonder, how can a mother be so cruel to a child? Would a daughter really make up such wicked lies?

I somehow don’t see these two women ever bonding as mother and daughter. It’s a very tragic case and, as I said, there will be no winners.

UPDATE: The mother lost the libel court case.

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I issued a press release this afternoon on behalf of a client, Veronica Callanan, a recovered alcoholic who now runs her own rehab clinic, and within seconds the deputy editor of Take5 magazine responded and said she "would love" to run Veronica’s story.

We are hoping for further media coverage too because Veronica’s story is truly inspirational. And, having lost four dear friends to booze in the last 18 months, it is a subject very close to my heart.

This is what we said:

CHRISTMAS AND THE CREDIT CRUNCH LEADS TO INCREASED ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY, WARNS REFORMED ALCOHOLIC

Christmas and today’s credit crunch are huge challenges for alcoholics who rely on drink to pep them up, warns Veronica Callanan, who is herself a recovered alcoholic and now runs her own clinic.

She has even had admissions and enquiries on Christmas Day from those who cannot control their drinking and desperately want to be helped.

Veronica believes this year will be even worse as the credit crunch bites harder and many anxious people with financial problems will use alcohol as an emotional crutch.

She said:

“The build up to Christmas is a difficult time of year for many alcoholics as the festive season is very much focused on drinking and having a ‘good time’. However, the sad truth is that many people dread Christmas and its expectations that they should be happy.  The reality for some is that they cannot face another Christmas and its pressures, as well as the strain of pretending everything is okay when it is not, so they turn increasingly to drink.

“Excessive alcohol use can lead to depression and, as Christmas can be a depressing time for many people anyway, this has resulted in me having admissions and enquiries on Christmas Day.”

Veronica, (seen here on YouTube speaking to Lorraine Kelly) is Clinical Director of the rehab Clifton Clinic in Shefford, Bedfordshire She is concerned that today’s severe financial problems will result in increased cases of alcohol dependency.

“There is definitely a connection between a rise in personal debt and drink and drug problems, which in turn exacerbates their problems as many binge drinkers fuel their lifestyle on credit. 

“We certainly expect to see a rise in admission with clients whose drinking has escalated because of the pressures of the credit crunch. There is definitely an increased need for our services at times like this when lifestyle pressures are immense.”

Veronica, 35, knows only too well what it feels like to be an alcoholic and is now dedicated to helping others overcome this addiction. Her clinic offers a 28 day recovery programme which has been clinically approved to treat alcohol and drug addictions. It treats the whole person and addresses the underlying causes of the addiction.

Veronica said:

“I started drinking at 15 and it spiralled out of control over the years. I have been sober for eight years now and my life is unrecognisable. Getting sober releases you and you once again have the potential to live your life to the full, to get up each morning and know you can live a full day. I don’t believe in 50% living. I am passionate about the work I do and giving people their life back.

“Most people with a drink problem are not the down and outs you see in the streets, but have nice homes and families and a good job. More women are losing control from binge drinking, many of them with good careers, who have found themselves unable to recall how they got home at the end of the night or whether they did something they regretted as a result of being out of control. The reality of alcoholism is ugly; it can destroy family life and careers, lead to violence and cause financial ruin. 

“I do not believe that alcoholism is defined by how much you drink, but the way you think about it, how much space it occupies in your head. If someone thinks they have a drink problem, the chances are they are right. Admitting to this is a great step forward as many alcoholics suffer from denial and ignore the concerns expressed by family or friends.”

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I’m not an art expert. But I  know I wouldn’t want this amateurish looking stuff hanging in my lounge.

It’s being sold at auction next week. Not because it is a great work of art. But because it was painted by notorious gangland killer Ronnie Kray while serving time at Parkhurst Prison for murder.

It is one of two which is estimated to reach £1,000-£1,500. Not bad as we are in a tight credit crunch. Presumably, it is considered a good investment. But I know I couldn’t bear to touch it with its vile associations.

I remember hearing Jeffrey Archer on the radio say that buying art was a great investment. But I doubt he would want these splodges sitting alongside his great works of art, including Picasso, Pissarro, Sisley, Hockney and Lowry.

And if I painted anything as drab as this, could I expect it to reach two figures, let alone four…

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As pirates are in the news at the moment, it reminded me of the time I joined a pirate watch when the ship I was sailing on passed near the Moroccan coast.

While my cruise mates were busy topping up their tans or playing deck quoits, I joined the guard pictured here to keep watch and protect them against any threat of piracy. This sophisticated sonar tracking device would have detected the presence of unwanted predators nearby.

Fortunately for us, it was plain sailing. But it must be terrifying for those who are not so lucky, like those captured as they sail off the Somali coast and where piracy is flourishing. I do wonder though why a supertanker carrying a cargo of oil worth more than $100 million does not have some form of high-tech warning system, especially when it knows it will be passing through very troubled and treacherous waters…

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I remember collecting James from school one Friday afternoon when he was 11 and telling him I was taking him a mystery tour, that we were going somewhere really special.

We stopped off at the chippie en route and James was bursting to know where we were heading, especially as it was only a short drive.

We ended at the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust in Welney for the floodlit winter feed which people travel for miles around to watch. It is spectacular.

Each winter tens of thousands of Whooper and Bewick’s swans make their way from Iceland and Arctic Russia to spend the winter on the Ouse Washes at Welney. It really is a magical sight to see them swoop in. They look so effortlessly graceful, so Concorde like.

It’s a favourite haunt of mine, so I’m very concerned to learn that climate change could be the cause of fewer migratory swans and geese flying in. According to figures recorded in 2006-07, the number of birds fell by half from 130,000 to 64,000. As well as the Bewick, other species have worryingly declined too, including the Dunlin, one of the UK’s most abundant waders, which was the lowest since 1970, while avocets have increased in numbers.

Dr Debbie Pain, director of conservation at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, which has a reserve at Welney, said the UK one of the most important countries in the world for some of these birds.

But she is becoming increasingly concerned about the declining numbers of migratory birds. It could be they are taking advantage of milder winters by staying on the continent or finding other places to roost. Conservation action is needed urgently to reverse these declines, but what?

Does this mean we are likely to see an increase of tropical migratory birds attracted to our warmer shores instead of the familiar wetland waders, geese and swans?

I hope you like this pic which I took at Welney a couple of years ago. I’ve bought a new zoom lens for my Nikon and look forward to trying it out again soon.

Let’s hope this will not be a swan song for the Bewicks…

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I was totally shaken to see how gorgeous Baby P looked before he became a punch bag. Don’t you just want to squeeze those chubby cheeks and bounce him on your lap, sing a nursery rhyme, clap hands and laugh together.

That’s what most mums would have done with this bonny boy. But not Baby P’s mum. Instead of enjoying this kind of happy childhood, the blond haired, blue-eyed toddler was brutally battered to death at his home – a place which should have been his place of safety.

It doesn’t matter to me who gets sacked for this – and I’m sure it won’t be long before Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey’s Director of Children and Young People’s services, is deservedly given the boot.

Baby P, who was 17 months old, suffered more than 50 injuries while living with his mother, 27, her boyfriend,32, and their lodger Jason Owen, 36, despite being on the "at risk" register and receiving 60 visits from health and social workers. They will be jailed next month for allowing or causing the child’s death, and have been told they face a "significant term in prison".

The mother cannot presently be named for legal reasons, but I am hoping that she will be named and shamed by the judge when she is jailed.

To me, there is ONE person responsible for Baby P’s death. And that is Baby P’s mother who brought  him into the world and then denied him her love and protection while in her care, knowing he was helpless to speak out against the horrific atrocities inflicted on him.

This is the kind of woman she is: on August 3 2007 when an ambulance was called to her house, its crew found Baby P already stiff and blue in his blood-spattered cot. As they tried to rush him to hospital, the mother demanded they wait while she collected her cigarettes.

When toddlers fall and hurt themselves accidentally, their mum will gently kiss better their injured area. Not Baby P’s mum. She covered his deliberately inflicted wounds with chocolate to conceal the bruising.

As a Sun columnist said, "The RSPCA wouldn’t have visited this flat 60 times and done sod all."

A court bans people from keeping animals if they have caused them unnecessary suffering; like this woman banned for life by Margate magistrates last week for the pain and suffering she caused to 13 Bedlington terriers

Isn’t a child entitled to the same kind of protection as a dog?

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We are in the process of looking at secondary schools with James who takes his GCSEs next summer and then starts at sixth form college in Cambridge in September.

There are two schools in particular we are visiting. One is regarded as the creme-de-la-creme, and many parents of these kids wouldn’t dream of sending them to the other one down the road which is regarded as a poor relation.

However, that was where David went and did very, very well. In fact, he had the required grades to get into the top notch school, but chose not to. And James could have a place there if he wished as he is predicted varying A-C grades, and pupils need 5 Bs for admission.

However, James is concerned about reports of pressure which pupils there are said to be placed under to perform. I believe that high expectations should naturally be encouraged. But where does that end and extreme pressure take over for the sake of league table rankings?

I must admit I am disappointed with James’ opinion. I was hoping he would go to this highly acclaimed centre of excellence. But he doesn’t feel comfortable about it. He’s heard too many negative reports from other pupils who struggled there. Also, he’s not a natural academic and has many other interests in his life. Like David, he feels he can do just as well at the other school.

I have no choice but to respect his wishes. I want him to be happy and enjoy school life, wherever he chooses to go. And I think he will well. In fact, I know so because I have every faith in him as a rounded person.

To console me, James said: "Don’t worry mum. I’m confident and will always be able to talk myself into a job…"

I think that should be included on a league table somewhere too, don’t you?

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It’s not just scientists and world leaders who are trying to tackle the threat of climate change. Financial Times readers – surely some of the brainiest on the planet – are being asked for their creative ideas too.

I mentioned before how I am really impressed by Lionel Barber, editor of the pink one, and he is backing the FT Climate Change Challenge to find the world’s most creative ideas for tackling the threat of climate change.

The objective of the competition is to harness the collective brainpower of FT readers to identify ideas that have the potential to be scaled up to a significant size, both to build a successful business and to have a material impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the next 11 weeks, FT readers will be invited to submit suggestions of companies with imaginative ideas for addressing the threat of climate change.  It is a global competition which is seeking practical business ideas that will reduce emissions and make us more resilient to the climate change ahead.

The great thing about this competition is its emphasis on businesses which need to take this environmental threat seriously. And the winning idea could make a huge difference too as judges are looking for a project that deserves to go big, but will only be able to do so with an extra push from the recognition and cash it will gain from winning the FT Climate Change Challenge.

When the shortlist is announced, I will publish them on my blog and ask for your views. But until then, do you have any ideas? Can you get your organisation interested in taking part?

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