Chester Support plea?

Is there anyone out there near Chester who would be willing to lend a listening ear and to support a grandparent?
Let me know if you feel you can.
Jane
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk

20,110 hits!!!!!!!

How extraordinary the stats say that we have now had over 20,000 hits on this blog!
Good grief!
Jane
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk

Link to Songs of Praise.

If you want to see the Songs of Praise programme it is on iplayer.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mm6w8/Songs_of_Praise_Grandparents/

Jane
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk

Hope Poem

HOPE.

All I have is hope,

From day to day,

I believe it helps me to cope,

From day to day.

I listen to others,

I try to support,

Grandparents , Dads, Mums, Sisters and Brothers.,

I try to support.

How to mend these broken hearts?

For you tears I cry,

Our souls fly to other parts,

For you tears I cry.

Do I have the answer to this sadness,

Families should love,

We must stop this madness,

Families should love.

We will all stand together,

For the children,

At one for ever,

For the children.

For now , all we have is hope,

Give us strength, to fight on,

Hope, to hold you one more time, hope,

Give us strength to fight on.

Jane Jackson.

Rights Reserved 2012.

We will support.

 You will know that because of recent events I have been considering whether to continue running Bristol Grandparents Support Group.
It has been a very emotional and difficult time.
Thank you to everyone who sent comments,emails,messages and called me, your wise words have been very comforting.
It is difficult to explain how important this group is to me and I do feel as though it is something I am supposed to be doing. Some of you will understand that others maybe won't.
Amongst other things as suggested I wrote a list of pros and cons, here it is:

Pros:

Fulfilment.

In my granddaughters name.

Meeting new people.

Supporting people.

Opportunities.

Sharing sadness.

Proactive.

Raising Awareness.

Commitment.

A voice for the grandchildren.

Advising.

Listening.

Campaigning.

Learning.

Communicating.

Cons:

Accusations/Discrediting me and the group.

Invasion of my privacy.

Infighting.

People thinking the group is a big organisation.

Contacting me at unsocialable hours.

  As you can see quite clearly one list is much longer than the other!

So I have looked carefully at the Cons list to see what we can do to either prevent it or certainly to be more aware of those pitfalls.

On the blog I have written - 'contact during office hours.'

I need to make it clear to people that this is a small organisation not some large corporate organisation.

We have legal professionals now within the group to assist me. 

I have made it clear that I will not get involved in personality clashes within the group, this is after all a support group.

I have and will if necessary bar people from making comments on the blog and bar them from being associated with Bristol Grandparents Support Group in any way.

And so, Bristol Grandparents Support Group will continue, and I will endeavour to do my best for all the grandchildren denied contact with their grandparents. 

All children have the right to be part of their grandparents lives, unless it is inappropriate for them to do so.

The upset this has caused has been enormous, many sleepless nights, many tears shed, time that should have been spent in a positive way was wasted in hours of negativity.

Jane

Songs of Praise Sunday.

Many, many months ago I told you that Marc and I had done an interview for Songs of Praise, well it is to be aired this Sunday Set 9th at 4pm.
There are several grandparents talking about their role, so if you blink you might miss us.
Jane
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk

Do I continue?

Over the last few months it has been a time for reflection and looking to the future.
Some of you will know that it has been a difficult time, for me and all my family and the group. What affects me affects all the family.
My family feel that I should pass on the mantle to someone else to take the load.
Running a support group is not just a question of posting info on this blog, it is much more.
It is answering the phone daily to distressed grandparents who have no one to turn to, to be there at any time ready with a shoulder and a listening ear.
To be non-judgemental, to take what is said at face value, to sign post people to help and support.
I have been in touch with hundreds of grandparents since I set the group up in 2007, because I was denied contact with my granddaughter.
That basis still remains, and has to be the focus for me.
I have met some wonderful people, done things I never thought possible.
To the future, well, if I am honest I am not  sure.
It has been a time to back off and heal my wounds, still maybe more healing needed.
I thank everyone for their professional advice and support.
One thing that is certain, is that I am a grandparent who is not able to be part of my grandchild's life, and there are still over one million children in the UK who don't have a relationship with their grandparents.

Jane.
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk