Category Archives: Personal Ponderings

How would you answer?

I would say to myself: Carry on treasuring those friendships. These are your people. And they will continue to deeply matter to you throughout your life. Don’t worry about the maths, you will eventually get a C and get much better at it as the years go on (there is something called dyscalculia which isn’t...

And then we were three!

Today is my business birthday – Speros Consulting Limited is three! And enabling transformations in how young people are seen and feel in life and learning, continues to be a genuine joy and privilege. With much love and care, my private practice has evolved this past year. And as I feel with my own children,...

Presence not Presents

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”;“Little children little worries, big children big worries”;“Give with a warm heart rather than a cold hand”. My grandma was full of wise sayings that still often spring to mind. And one of which I particularly recall is, “All I want (my darling) is your presence not presents”....

Living the Bigger Life

Having this boy by my side at work as a therapy dog, and at play as my family’s four-legged best friend, brings so much fun, companionship, and unconditional love. This past week with my son being sick, I have watched how Woody (known as ‘Doggo’ to my eldest) intuitively knows when and how to comfort,...

Seven Truths

To many of the young people I see:  1.     When you are thinking outside the box, it makes sense that you will not fit neatly into the boxes that exist. 2.     Although this may not always feel easy when you are younger, and fitting in may feel so important, this difference in thinking will in fact, turn...

At 50

Lately, conversations with friends have taken a different and unexpected turn. It seemed like not so long ago that we were talking about boyfriends, PhDs, babies, and the next big work plans. But now there is often talk of the next move being scaling back and even retirement (who knew?!). But I’m just not in that space....

Where it began

Returning to Clare, as we do most summers, always feels deeply special. And although yesterday much of the College was under renovation, and the weather wasn’t as glorious as normal, it was still good to be back. Cambridge is always where I feel most myself and at home. And it is no exaggeration to say...

National Sibling Day

Whilst these words were uttered in ‘Downton Abbey’, rather than in real life, there is such poignancy to them. For the truth is that our siblings may be our longest companions in life. As our first friends and often first rivals, sibling bonds can be full of love yet complicated too. This is something I...

Second Birthday

Launching a company as the country went into the first lockdown, was the most unusual of starts. Although I had been working in private practice for several years by then, founding a limited company still felt like a huge step, and especially in the backdrop of the pandemic. It was daunting even thinking about where...

Sunrise, Sunset

It isn’t every day that you get woken by your nearly 80-year-old father tearfully singing ‘Sunrise Sunset’ from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. And whilst it was a bit unexpected, and his singing was rather wobbly, it also felt so poignant. After all, it isn’t every day you reach the milestone of your half century birthday,...