General

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Over the course of a couple’s married life together there can be all sorts of issues that come up.  These events and changes of circumstance can cause difficulties, even in the strongest marriages, and there is something to be said for handling these developments head on and together from the outset.  I’d always thought that counseling was for when you had a problem, but it can also do a great preventative job and it’s worth thinking about going before issues become problems.

Life has a habit of throwing a few curve balls in along the way and most marriages will have to deal with big changes or events like bereavements of family members or friends; a loss of a job or a career change; money problems or infidelity.  These issues can crop up early in a marriage or many years down the line, but the important thing is to find a way to take them in your stride and work together through them as a couple.

You know when you haven’t done something for ages, you can forget how good it is to do.  A few weeks back I received a phone call telling me I’d won some tickets to see Midge Ure at Birmingham Town Hall.  I put it in the diary, lined up someone to go with and forgot about it until this week when I could see it there in the diary.  A bit of quick research on the Birmingham Town Hall site revealed that it wasn’t just Midge Ure we were going to see, but The Christians and Altered Images too, so quite a fest of 80s music really.

This made the evening out a lot more exciting as seeing three bands rather than just one artiste has got to be good, assuming the bands are high quality.  The advantage of a three band bill, as we found out is, that you will know almost all the songs.  With only a short time on stage each, it tends to be the fan favourites that come out with only one or two other songs per set.  This was perfect for us as whilst we liked all three bands we weren’t committed fans of any of them.

It’s difficult to pick a favourite out of the three, so I won’t.  I loved Altered Images and their quirky pop songs which started the evening on a happy note.  Clare Grogan has lots of energy and I enjoyed her banter with the audience.

The Christians had apparently had a few drinks (they told us so), but it didn’t impact on the music. Their set covered their biggest hits and got most of the audience up and dancing.

Of course, Midge Ure was the biggest act of the three and had the longest set.  I was surprised how many songs he’d written that I knew including some for other bands. He played a number of Ultravox songs, some of his solo hits and Fade to Grey (a Visage song that he’d co-written).

I think I’ll be looking out for similar lineups in the future.  It’s great to see some live music and getting to see three eighties bands in one night was quite a treat.

I’ve got together with some fellow bloggers to give you some tips about blogging.  Everyone has picked out their top tip, so we have got some good ones here. Hopefully you’ll find one or two that will help you improve your blogging – I know I have.

Know your audience and write with them in mind. When I am writing my blog I usually try to visualise the people I am writing for: you can see who your audience is from Google Analytics.  I often think of a few friends (who are the right age, gender, stage in life) who would be interested in what I am writing about and I try to write as if I was talking to them.  I find this helps my writing as I am directing what I am saying at real people, but to keep a little distance there I pretend that they have brought a friend or two along that I’ve not met before so I explain things fully.  If you want to branch out your audience a little start including a man in your imaginary audience (if most of your readers are women) or someone older or younger or with different interests.
Erica from https://alittleluxuryfor.me/

Create Useful or Helpful Content – Some really successful bloggers primarily use their blog as a journal, charting everyday life etc, and that works well for them. But personally, I would rather write, and read, posts that focus on either a specific topic, are opinion-led, thought-provoking or helpful to readers. For example, if you switch up the post “An update on my baby’s weaning.” to “Ten Steps For Easy Weaning” it becomes much more interesting and useful.
Laura at www.thebutterflymother.com

Debbie at www.myrandommusings.co.uk

Get organised and consistent! Keep a notebook or some way to take notes, with you at all times as you never know when inspiration for a blog post might strike. Plan well in advance for things that will send you off track (such as school holidays) so you can stick to your posting schedule.
Debbie at My Chaotically Eclectic Life