Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Last year I became aware of a lovely blogger through Twitter, and other fantastic #groovymums (#groovingmums). Sometimes we all struggle to cope with life on a day to day basis and the #groovymums are a great bunch to connect with - some days it's possible to offer support to someone who's not having a great day, other days someone might offer you support, or a blog post from one of them might cheer you up and make you realise that you're not alone. Each week Kate suggests things that you might do or think about to help you to get your groove back - some weeks you might not be able to join in, or it's not for you, or you might find she inspires you to do something you've never before considered. I haven't been particularly great at joining in as I'm often up to my eyeballs in work, but I do try to read the blog posts of others as often as I can. 

Last week Kate asked for  support for raising awareness of Breakthrough Breast Cancer by  getting other bloggers to write about a woman who matters to them, which I am more than happy to do.

My relationship with my mother has not always been an easy one and as a teenager I didn't fully appreciate everything that she did and went through to keep the fabric of family life together. She married a widower with four sons when I was six, and they ranged in age from six to eighteen - which as a mother myself now with two sons of eighteen and nearly sixteen I can see was a mammoth task! I doubt that any of us made life easy for her and I know that I resented the time and effort she put into the boys. We were never the sort of mother/daughter partnership who played with make up and hair - mum never really had the time to spend on herself with five kids, a husband and a house to look after!

I see now that she did an incredible job under very difficult circumstances and although we don't always see eye to eye even now, she is very much a good friend to me, and I hope I am to her. Women of my parents generation don't seem to have had the kind of friendships and support networks that we do, that they could turn to to have a bit of a gripe now and then or to receive an encouraging few words from to help them through the bad days. I am very grateful to all my friends, both long standing from childhood and newer through blogging and social media such as Twitter, as well as my mother who continues to hold the fabric of our family life together!

Pink Ribbon Bingo have pledged to support BreakthroughBreast Cancer all year round with 15% of the gross revenue accrued through online play on the site being donated to the charity.  Visitors also have the opportunity to donate a percentage of their winnings directly to the charity.  Along with the fundraising element, Pink Ribbon Bingo and The Daily Mail online will be helping the charity to raise awareness by promoting their vital health messages such as TLC (Touch, Look, Check).

Celebrity supporter videos on the Pink Ribbon Bingo website including Jessie J, Melanie C, Tom Ellis, Macy Gray, Sharon Corr and Kelly Hoopen - http://www.pinkribbonbingo.com/ .  

If you click on these YouTube links, you can hear Kate Thornton and Tamzin Outwaite's support.

Kate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brz793lgb_g&feature=youtu.be

Tamzin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCh671wnj2o