Our successful national adoption PR campaign

Posted by Ellee on Oct 31, 2011 in Blog | 5 comments I’ve enjoyed a media frenzy these last few days in my role as press consultant with the Adoption with Humanity campaign, and want to share some thoughts about its amazing success. This is a relatively new group formed a year or so ago which only announced its aims in the last few weeks in the run up to National Adoption Week, which started today. Yet suddenly it became such a major force,...
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Why the government should set up a National Adoption Authority

Posted by Ellee on Oct 31, 2011 in Blog | 1 comment This is Adoption with Humanity’s response to government plans to reform adoption in the UK: David Cameron has acknowledged there are shortcomings in our care system, fundamentally that it is itself in a chaotic and neglected state that it is unable to make provision for the children it is supposed to care for. What  he will do about it and what he can do about it remains to be seen. He has...
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Adoption with Humanity’s letter to the Prime Minister

Posted by Ellee on Oct 31, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments This is the letter which Adoption with Humanity will today present to the Prime Minister when they deliver their petition to 10 Downing Street on the first day of National Adoption Week. As their press officer, I will be joining them, and we are so very fortunate to have attracted national media interest regarding the campaign’s proposals for a National Adoption Authority, with Sky TV,...
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Government urged to support desperately needed new antibiotics

Posted by Ellee on Oct 25, 2011 in Blog | 9 comments It’s that time of year when people start rushing off to their doctor with infections and plead for antibiotics where they are cautiously dispensed. Antibiotics are also invaluable following surgery and treatments, including joint replacements, life-saving transplants and chemotherapy. It’s impossible to imagine a time when they will be of no value. Yet we face a very grave situation...
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Saying ‘thank you” at Headway Cambridgeshire

Posted by Ellee on Oct 23, 2011 in Blog | 4 comments I don’t think we ever say “thank you” enough. So last week we did just that at Headway Cambridgeshire, a unique rehabilitation centre for adults with an acquired brain injury. It’s always hard singling people out for praise when we are fortunate to have so many supporters. As chair of trustees, I particularly wanted to refer to a couple of our founding members whose links...
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Adoption petition for 10 Downing Street

Posted by Ellee on Oct 22, 2011 in Blog | 1 comment I will be joining Adoption with Humanity campaigners when they deliver their petition at 10 Downing Street, taking their proposals for adoption reforms straight to the heart of government, on 31 October, the first day of National Adoption Week. The petition, which already has more than 1,200 signatures, will be handed over by Gaia, the three-year-old daughter of Francesca Polini. Gaiai and her...
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Dame Barbara Cartland, gypsies and my lucky oak leaf

Posted by Ellee on Oct 17, 2011 in Blog | 6 comments I had tea with Dame Barbara Cartland once, the astonishing writer of 723 bodice ripping romances, campaigner for midwives and nurses, health and vitamin guru (from memory she took about 60 a day) – and supporter of gypsy families. I had forgotten about her gypsy connection until reading her website today which tells us that in the early 1960s, Dame Barbara campaigned for the rights of...
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Old folk should set up a CareHome Advisor

Posted by Ellee on Oct 17, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments The front page of today’s Times has a colourful strapline banner saying “50 ways to improve life for old people”.  I really like one idea in particular, and that is point number six from Times columnist Janice Turner who suggests setting up a CareHome Advisor, like TripAdvisor, for elderly care. I think it would be a fantastic resource for our old folk and their families, and...
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Hermann Hauser – the best years for technology growth are to come

Posted by Ellee on Oct 14, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments While Britain’s economy slumps in decline, two serial entrepreneurs predict we could be entering a new golden age of technology following in the footsteps of the Cambridge Phenomenon - the formation of a cluster of high-tech businesses, including software, electronics and biotechnology, many of which had associations with Cambridge university. Dr Hermann Hauser and David Cleevely continue...
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How Blessed will Cambridge be?

Posted by Ellee on Oct 13, 2011 in Blog | 3 comments A very special election will be held in Cambridge over the next two days as the University Senate votes for a new Chancellor of Cambridge University – a successor to the Duke of Edingburgh who held this high office for 35 years. It is largely a ceremonial and ambassadorial role and I have seen our royal Chancellor lead several university processions through our streets;  it is partly what...
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Prof John Pickard becomes Headway patron

Posted by Ellee on Oct 11, 2011 in Blog, Headway | 0 comments I am delighted to announce that Prof John Pickard has agreed to become our patron at Headway Cambridgeshire. The idea of approaching him occurred to me after he spoke at a national Headway conference this summer. Prof Pickard is regarded as one of the best in his field in the UK.  He is Professor of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge and his research...
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Jo Brand gets moving for Macmillan

Posted by Ellee on Oct 11, 2011 in Blog, Sponsored Post, UnrulyMedia | 4 comments Britain’s best loved comedienne Jo Brand is the force behind Macmillan’s Move More campaign which urges cancer patients to take a brisk walk or short jog to aid their recovery. So often we walk to raise funds for cancer research, but if you watch the video, you will learn why keeping active is so important for cancer sufferers too. Jo tells us not to be put off by her portly...
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A weekend in Eastbourne

Posted by Ellee on Oct 11, 2011 in Blog, Ramblers | 3 comments Our walking buddy Malcolm told me he didn’t join the Cambridge Rambling Club for our last weekend away as he felt too young to be spending it in Eastbourne Those of us who did join the trip discovered it was like home from home as a large group of very jolly pensioners from the Cambridge Co-operative group were there too, including a 99-year-old who outstayed me in their nightclub! We...
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Why Steve Jobs will never be forgotten

Posted by Ellee on Oct 10, 2011 in Blog | 3 comments So much has already been said about the tragic death of Steve Jobs from pancreatic cancer, but I felt, as an Apple devotee, that I had to pay my tribute too. Although I have yet to lick my iMac, MacBook Pro, iPhone 4 or iPad, they are certainly tactile and I enjoy every moment of using them. (“You know a product is good if you want to lick it,” Steve Jobs, 1984.) Stephen Bayley sums...
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Hoping for an early diagnosis of myeloid leukaemia

Posted by Ellee on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments I learned this week of the tragic death of an old childhood friend called Julie of myeloid leukaemia. It reminded me of one of the research studies I worked on during my stint at the media office in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute this summer. Most scientific research projects require further studies as they lead to more discoveries that need to be made before their findings can be used for...
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David Cameron supports adoption reforms

Posted by Ellee on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, PR client | 0 comments I am delighted to read in today’s Times that David Cameron has vowed to tear up Britain’s adoption rules and end the scandal of thousands of children lost in the care system. The announcement was made in a speech at the Conservative Party conference at the same time that adoption campaigner Francesca Polini urged the Prime Minister to support adoption reforms in an interview with the...
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Could Foxy Knoxy outfox the Met?

Posted by Ellee on Oct 4, 2011 in Blog | 15 comments I’ve sat in countless Crown Court cases and sometimes been unsure of a defendant’s innocence or guilt. Some people can be so accomplished and skilled at fabricating a story that they really believe it is true and give a very convincing performance in the witness box.  I used to discuss this with solicitors who told me a person can easily convince themselves that a lie they have made...
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Adoption with Humanity e-petition launch

Posted by Ellee on Oct 4, 2011 in Blog, PR client | 0 comments I have just signed the Adoption with Humanity e-petition which has just been launched on the government’s website.  You too can sign it too by clicking here. It has naturally thrilled adoption campaign reformer Francesca Polini who is delighted to have gained the support of Baroness King of Bow and Bruce Oldfield. This is what they say: Oona King: “Like Francesca, I am an adoptive...
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Our Shine 2011 moonlight walk

Posted by Ellee on Oct 3, 2011 in Blog | 6 comments I joined a charity half-marathon through the streets of London at the weekend to raise funds for Cancer Research UK in support of their  Shine 2011 fundraiser. I walked alongside scientists Julie Barnes and Wendy Alderton from Abcodia and their friends. I believe 10,000 walkers joined in the London walk, many carrying messages pinned to their back in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. For me,...
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