May, 2009

My goodness! The last few months have just flown in and so much seems to have happened since my last news in February.

I visited Belfast for the last time as a Life Coach in March. It was a difficult decision for me to give up my work there as I have met so many lovely people and have seen so many positive changes in many of the clients, but I have really enjoyed the last two years there and I know I have learned as much from my clients as I hope they have learned from me. I will hopefully be back working with Bridge of Hope from time to time as a Workshop leader, so it’s not really goodbye just goodbye for now!

Level 9 Training & Development was due to have been launched by now but is a wee bit behind schedule! This is just due to so many other things taking place, but now that University has stopped for the summer, it has my undivided attention, so should be up and running very soon. The Level 9 Foundation Course in Solution-Focused Hypnosis has been developed and fully accredited by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council and we are just waiting for approval on the Level 9 Practitioner Course in Solution-Focused Hypnosis so that’s very exciting and we will bring you more news very soon.

The Toastmaster Public Speaking Championships began back in March and I achieved the following:

Club Level - Glasgow - 26th March 2009
International Speech Competition - First Place
Evaluation Speech Competition - First Place

Area Level (Quarter-Finals) Edinburgh - 5th April 2009
International Speech Competition - Second Place
Evaluation Speech Competition - First Place

Divisional Level (Semi-Finals) - Lemington Spa - 19th April 2009
Evaluation Speech Contest - First Place

District Level (UK & Ireland Finals) - Ciencester - 10th May 2009
Evaluation Speech Contest - Second Place

I was (and still am!) absolutely delighted at coming 2nd in the whole of the UK & Ireland at the finals. This is the first time I’ve entered the Toastmaster competitions, so to get to the finals was amazing and I can’t wait for next year to do it all again!

I was also asked by the BBC to take part in a makeover show which was being made for BBC Alba, the gaelic channel. We filmed over 8 days in March, with one person having Life Coaching each day. It was such a fabulous and fun experience, so Thank You to Bees Nees Media. The show is due to be shown in September.

I have just launched a new Online Therapy service for those clients who for whatever reason can’t make regular face to face sessions. More info can be found on the Home page.

And last but not least, most of the last few months has been taken up with one thing and one thing only....Miss Scotland! My lovely daughter Becky was one of the 10 finalists in the 2009 Miss Scotland competition and although she didn’t make the top 3, she has had a wonderful time and is finding lots of amazing opportunities have presented themselves through the experience. I for one have had such a fun 3 months raising support for Becky, including making banners and giant foam fingers!, and of course helping her to shop for her stunning dress to wear at the final. I am so proud of her, not because she entered Miss Scotland, but because she is one of the most amazing people on the planet. Becky Rocks!