As soon as the social worker called and uttered the words ‘are you sitting down?’ to me, I just knew what they were going to say. Baby number three, Ben, was on his way so my husband Adrian and I had a decision to make 🧵
We’d already adopted Ben’s two older brothers so we were asked if we’d be able to give a forever home to a third child. The answer to us wasn’t so simple – especially after initially having to put the whole adoption process on hold because of my cancer diagnosis.
But we couldn’t deprive Ben of his brothers, and we had enough love for another child, so we welcomed him into our home too.
Now, I can’t imagine a life without all three of them, and I wouldn’t change a thing about how it all happened.
More than eight in 10 pubs have bumped their prices or plan to do so as rising costs are passed on to punters.
This includes those caused by higher wages along with energy and supply shortages.
Soaring prices have left publicans (and most people tbh) appealing to the Chancellor to freeze the alcohol duty rate amid fears the £6 pint could become commonplace in London and the south-east.
Molly and Sam are sharing their story to raise awareness of adoption as new research shows almost half of people believe adoption is more socially acceptable than it was 10 years ago.
‘It wasn’t a last resort, and was very much a conscious decision to parent and bring another child into our family.’
Molly says attending adoption information evenings was like a 'weight lifted' for her and her husband Sam when they first looked into adopting a child.
They include the first black woman to serve in the Royal Navy, who disguised herself as a man called William Brown.
Other people featured are Victorian circus owner Pablo Fanque, who inspired the Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!.
Also featured in the map is composer and poet Cecile Nobrega, who led a 15-year campaign to establish England’s first permanent public monument to black women in Stockwell.
It’s #NationalComingOutDay, so we’re celebrating the stories of some well-known LGBTQI+ faces and exploring the ways in which they chose to show the world exactly who they are 🏳️🌈🧵
Judge @RobbieRinder chose to come out at the age of 22, in what he describes as a ‘soft process.’ 👨⚖️
‘I was partially motivated by not wanting to live a lie – a need to live honestly – and partially because I had fallen in love, albeit unrequitedly.’
Strictly Come Dancing star @jojo_radebe credits his family in South Africa’s with allowing him to feel comfortable with his identity from an early age 🇿🇦
‘I am grateful they never imposed ideas about sexuality on me and I was allowed to just be a child.’