Relax with Sherrie time

Sherrie talks about the highs and lows of approaching another new year

Hello readers,

Hallowe’en then bonfire night, is there anything else? Oh yes, Christmas! I know it’s November, but with dark nights and constant rain and continual bad news can we have some light at the end of the tunnel please?! Well, I’ve just done the show Pointless with my old mate Lisa Maxwell and we won! So, £1,500 for the Brain Tumour Charity – they were thrilled. This spurred me on for more good news so I entered a writing competition. It was a childhood memory in story form; I sent it off and won another £750 for the Brain Tumour Charity. I know it’s a dip in the ocean, but I still feel I’m contributing a little and my brother would be proud of me. I’ve always written children’s stories and my brother so wanted me to publish them, but I never did. So he will be smiling now and saying, “Come on Shez get your finger out and publish them all.”

He believed in me and thought I should ‘realise my potential, to be the best I can be’. Well, life gets in the way doesn’t it? Marriage, babies, divorce all takes its toll. I do also believe women think differently to men. We are more complicated; so much going on in our lives, we try to balance as many plates as possible. Men are much more black and white. We just don’t live on the same planet. My brother never got that, he thought I was a drama queen and should chill. Maybe he was right! I still speak to him every day.

As it gets nearer to Christmas and yet another new year, I think we all reflect on what’s gone. I used to look forward to the first day of Jan mainly I enjoyed writing ‘1stJanuary’ in the new year on a cheque. Now I just think, ‘oh no, not another birthday coming’! I now don’t like New Year’s Eve mainly because in the past I’ve had parties, laid on all the food and drink with party hats and gifts, and then at midnight people start to say goodnight and leave. All the preparation and the money and then they leave to go to the next party! I went to a Scottish New Year’s Eve party once, which was amazing. The pipes start at midnight and it was magical. They passed cups around which we were all drinking from in great spirit, literally! That’s the last thing I remember. The next morning my friend explained how I slid down the table leg and she had helped to take me to bed. Breakfast was not an option. Still a wonderful memory!

Now I just think, ‘Oh no, not another birthday coming!’