emily andre

Our Columnist on her new venture, easing restrictions and a great birthday present!

I’m really excited to share that I am writing my first book! The Growing Up guides are for children and are about the psychological and physical aspects of the journey through puberty. Puberty can be a challenging time, and some children may not feel able to talk about what is worrying them. With help from experts in the field, I wanted to answer some of these questions and reassure children that their journey is unique and special to them.

To be given the opportunity to write a book for children is a real honour for me. It is something I’ve always dreamt of doing and I can’t wait to share more with you over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, it seems the big debate at the moment is whether or not to keep wearing a mask after restrictions ease on July 19. For me, until the rules are relaxed on needing to self-isolate if you come in to contact with a positive case, I’m still going to be quite careful. I will be keeping my distance and wearing a mask in enclosed spaces, like the supermarket or on the train, as I work for the NHS and I want to make sure I’m minimising the chance of being told to stay at home for 10 days. That’s not the only reason, though. I do still respect that not everyone is vaccinated yet and I don’t want to be responsible for anyone being unwell.

The self-isolation rules for close contact will hopefully change on August 16, which is my birthday, and to me that is a great birthday present! I do think these changes will be welcome for many people who have struggled with their livelihoods due to the restrictions.

We’ve been restricted for a long time now and it will be great once we start making a move towards normality. The numbers of hospitalisations and deaths will obviously be closely monitored to see the effect of easing restrictions, and I just hope we start to see the benefits of our amazing vaccine rollout.