I can’t say I’ve seen much of the summer, but I have enjoyed the long days and the bright, energising light.

I’ve even enjoyed the summer showers we all seem to be having, like at the weekend, when FirstSigns got together for the first of our annual Meet-ups.

We were in Birmingham on Saturday, and the rain held off, mostly kinda. We had a few drinks and everybody stayed an extra hour, as we we’re chatting so much! It was great to meet with some new members of our Message Board, and a couple of our dedicated Moderators!

The good news is we’re having another Meet-up in August, in London, and invites will be going out to all our members soon, but basically you can come and join us for a relaxed drink if you’re over 18 and you fancy it – just email Jules@firstsigns.org.uk for details.

That reminds me, I meant to encourage Jules to write a few more personal blogs for FirstSigns – I’ve been so busy lately, my life has really been changing recently and I’m feeling just a little under the weather most of the time – still, it’s exciting where life can take you :)

But blogs are great ways to keep up with what’s going on – like today, I noticed that The Times had a page devoted to self-harm – was it mostly young girls and Girl Guides they were focusing on, due to some research or something? Tomorrow (Tuesday) they will also discuss how to break free from self-harm, so that might be something to consider… Obviously, here at FirstSigns we’re all for self-help, support and moving away from self-harm, but it’s my opinion that newspapers’ and magazines’ sole duty is to sell more copies of their publication, not directly to educate or help people! They are a passtime, something to scan through when you’re on the train or enjoying a cup o’ tea. FirstSigns only has one mission, and it’s a beauty – and has nothing to do with selling!