Back in 1982 I was struggling to find shoes to fit my toddler and when I was shown “Out of the House”, a guide book by parents for parents in Exeter, I set my mind to producing a similar guide for parents in Plymouth. In 1983 the first edition of the Parents Guide to Plymouth travelled into the maternity unit at Freedom Fields Hospital with me, when I gave birth to my second baby. There have been four editions of the book (the last one in 2004/5, now out of print) and the website has been available since 2001.
I could never have imagined back in those early days that I would be still working on the Parents Guide to Plymouth in 2012 and certainly had no idea that my little project would lead to the award of an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List!
This post is a thank you to all those people who have helped along the way, to my family who have supported and encouraged me and to those who have nominated me for such an amazing award. The family have actually had to put up with piles of paper around the house (“don’t throw that out – I haven’t checked it yet/ still need the phone number scribbled in the corner, etc etc” and much more besides!).
I very much value the contacts I have made over the years, and feel that together we can aim to improve the situation for parents in Plymouth. I would love more feedback from parents and hope that you will continue to get in touch with suggestions, comments and ideas for the website.