A note from Saffia Farr, JUNO editor:
I think these last few months have been the hardest yet in this pandemic period. I think we are all so worn down, so tired of all the changes to our lives, so drained by the constant anxiety and sadness. It feels to me as if life is more emotionally charged than ever.
In the week that we finalised the proofs, England lost yet another penalty shoot-out. I’m old enough to remember the pain of watching Gareth Southgate miss his penalty and it was just too awful to watch those young men, really just boys, step up so bravely for their country and fail to score, with all those eyes and all that expectation upon them. One of those young men was Marcus Rashford, and I felt particularly connected to him having just read his book, You Are a Champion. How those words resonated that week as social media poured out emotions in support of those young players, and against the racial comments made against them.
In this issue, as always, we hope to support families by making emotional connections. Ann Owen shares the words and images of women writing to parts of themselves that they feel need extra love; Suzanne Askham explains how she thinks we can use our anger and express it in positive and healthy ways, and Lizzie Mae Smith writes powerfully about the importance of being with our grief and releasing emotions. As I write, the sun is finally shining and the outdoors is beckoning… I feel inspired to be out in the wild, encouraged by Kate Haines’ Forest School freedom, Willow Grace Murton’s late-night gardening and Claire Thomson’s joy of escaping with her family in a campervan. We have also had lots of joyful family emotions within the JUNO team this summer. Our designer Rosalind married in June, and Jo Haycock reflects very poignantly on their small but community-filled wedding.
I would like to thank Nikole Verde who has written her last home ed column for JUNO. Her children are now growing up and are moving away from education in the home to thriving out in the world. I have really enjoyed learning from Nikole through her family’s journey and would like to thank her for her wise and considered, but always fun, contributions.
I hope that as we move into late summer we all have some time to slow down and connect with family and friends. Our Instagram feature #junotakingabreak is a wonderful reminder of how sometimes, it’s those small, simple moments that help us breathe and find peace within the storms around us.
Congratulations to Alice and her wife Ella on the birth of baby Ida. Alice has taken a break to be with her family. Thank you to Lucy who has stepped in as sub-editor for this issue.
Featured Contributors
Naomi Trollope lives in Cambridge with her husband Dylan. She shares her time between illustrating and being a nanny for a few wonderful families. Her work is focused mainly around her faith, family and nature.
Lucy Shrimpton is the acting subeditor for this issue. Lucy is a mum of teens, and a freelance travel, lifestyle and culture writer. With a late career change under her belt, she likes to shout from rooftops that anything’s possible in your late 40s.
Jemima Ruby contributed the inspirational illustration on page 20. She is a freelance illustrator based in Cornwall and is passionate about addressing social issues as well as making feel-good art.
As we all think more about our consumption, our More than a Shop feature helps us choose places to buy that help us reduce waste and contribute to our communities. Pages 48-50. Hannah’s letter to her hair on page 39 is beautiful poetry. Wow, this photo is powerful! See one family’s home birth shared by Jo Robertson on page 42.
Inside JUNO Late Summer 2021
Our beautiful Late Summer issue is packed full of supportive and informative features including…
- Pregnancy and early menopause
- Anger -how it can be a force for good
- Tween behaviour, how we can reflect and understand
- Forest school: a place to slow down, explore and connect with nature
- Discover independent shops offering added value
- Love letters… helping us accept our bodies
- Designing wraps and keeping sheep -meet Larissa Cooper from Rowan Bay
- Family camper van holiday
- Family craft ideas: making tassel bunting
- Taking a mindful approach to money management
Plus all your favourite regulars and columns including Empowered Birth, Mindful Dad, My Teen, Birth in Pictures, Natural Connections, Community Photography, Reflections Of A Homeopath Sensory Herbalism and much more…
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