Tag: event

The Power of Words

Posted on by darren192

Written by Emma Mehuex.

A beautiful and inspiring poem written by Emma, especially for the Let’s Talk Better campaign which she read aloud at the First Anniversary event ‘ Celebrating Positivity’ on the 22nd of February 2024.

Emma has been a huge loyal supporter of what the LTB stands for since it launched in February 2023, not missing a single event. More importantly, what we do has given her and many others a platform where they feel safe to speak up for the very first time, sharing their ghosts from the past. And this is exactly what Emma did. She shared and spoke about her challenges of the past through several poems, touching the hearts of many of us who were in that room. These poems she shared were heard for the very first time ever. We are honoured that you chose Let’s Talk Better to do this and to create a poem for us.

Thank you Emma.

You are BRAVE, INSPIRATIONAL and truly RESILIENT.

Author Zeenat Noorani

Anniversary event 22 February 2024

Posted on by darren192

As 2024 begins, we will be looking forward to celebrating the first anniversary of the #LetsTalkBetter campaign with an event themed ‘Celebrating Positivity’.

Moving on from 2023 with its three events, Zeenat’s being named as a ‘One In A Million’ figure in a national magazine, and inspiring and creating better conversations around #stigma and #taboo and other topics, we pick up the thread again in 2024.

That includes Founders Zeenat Noorani and Darren Weale saying, ”Thank you to all of you who have supported us on our journey so far. Without you by our side, this would not happen. Together, we are creating positive change.”

Tickets here.

Where darkness lies, there is HOPE…

Posted on by darren192

Growing from strength to strength by bringing people together with shared visions of making a difference in opening up difficult conversations around taboos and stigmas, the Let’s Talk Better (LTB) themed event ‘The Last Taboo’, on 21st September 2023, couldn’t have gone any better. 

There are so many unspoken or feared topics which we seldom talk about, and that needs to change. LTB Founders Zeenat Noorani and Darren Weale chose to have this event focus on two taboo topics: Financial Distress, something that is affecting far too many people right now in the UK due to the cost-of-living crisis, and Suicide which has sadly been on the rise, more and more affecting young people.

Both, Zeenat and Darren were delighted with the turnout once again and the positive impact that this event made on those present.  News of what we are doing is spreading far and wide beyond the Borough of Bromley. It is only the start and there is much more to come. LTB celebrates its ‘One Year Anniversary’ on 22nd February 2024. Mark your diaries – you don’t want to miss this!

Back to our latest event. Firstly, thank you to Community House for the venue and all your support. Event compere and speaker Zeenat Noorani said, “We want to say a huge thank you to all those who attended, with special thanks to Simi Ghuman and Chanice Baugh of Radfield Home Care for sponsoring the event, and the amazing speakers who shared wonderful insights, as well as heartfelt personal stories that have impacted their mental wellbeing.

“Thank you to the Mayor of Bromley Cllr Mike Botting and MP Gareth Bacon for saying a few words and sharing some of your own personal insights. LTB is grateful for your support.”

It was wonderful to have Richard Cox of Richard Cox Wealth Management speak on Financial Distress and he gave some valuable tips on financial stress, how it happens, what looks like, and how to try to prevent it.

Suicide attempt survivor Nick Wilson drove all the way from Milton Keynes and met Zeenat for the first time in person (having been the first guest on her Mindset Matters Radio Show on Channel Radio). He spoke about how listening to lived experiences of mental health, disability and suicide helped to save his life and how he now helps people to share their own stories.

Neil Peters, Suicide Prevention Consultant, shared key information about identifying people with suicidal thoughts; how to offer support, listening tips, and what to say and do.  

Two touching videos were specially recorded for and shared at the event. One by Mike McCarthy, co-founder of the Baton of Hope suicide prevention campaign, who told us about the loss of his son, Ross.

The other was by Steve Phillip, fellow co-founder the Baton of Hope, and his own cause, The Jordan Legacy, spoke about losing his son Jordan to suicide. 

Zeenat spoke for the very first time in public about a part of her life where she fell pregnant and she almost took her own life. She reflected subsequently, “Vulnerability, though, and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they are never a weakness.”

We welcomed back singer-songwriter Oliver Anderson, who sang two beautiful and profound songs about toxic relationships, ‘Burning Leaves’ and ‘Surrender’.

It was an eventful day of emotions: highs, lows, moments of connection and moments of honest conversations, bringing a sense of relief to many. The day entailed some interactive activities, The Tree of Expression where attendees reflected on their thoughts and feelings, writing them on cut-out paper leaves to attach to the tree of that name. Inspired by Shauna Darling Robertson poetry for young people’s mental health, we all took part in contributing lines of verse to create a LTB cohort poem that will become our signature poem.

The Let’s Talk Better campaign aims to contribute towards creating a world without Taboos and Stigmas, where conversations are open on all topics. Join us on the 22nd of February 2024 for Let’s Talk Better’s One Year Anniversary, where light will be shed on how better conversations contribute to the hopes and successes of people’s lives.

Zeenat Noorani, 3 October 2023

The Last Taboo – event 21st September

Posted on by darren192

Our next #LetsTalkbetter event is on the 21st of September, themed ‘The Last Taboo’ at Community House in Bromley.

The Mayor of Bromley, Cllr Mike Botting, and Member of Parliament for Orpington, Gareth Bacon, will be attending.  

The name ‘The Last Taboo’ has been chosen because the term is commonly used to describe a number of uncomfortable topics. That simply shows that there are too many taboo topics. Let’s Talk Better is working to normalise conversations about numerous topics that are currently treated as taboo. Serious harm can and does result from taboo topics being avoided in conversation. Many stressful and traumatic life events would be much more every day and simple to handle if they were not treated as taboos. For example, the onset of puberty, menstruation, and menopause.

Other life events could be prevented or addressed much more quickly and easily if they were no longer taboo, and we have picked two taboo topics as the focus of this event:

1. Financial distress, with speaker Richard Cox

2. Suicide with Let’s Talk Better Co-Founder Zeenat Noorani and specially recorded contributions from Steve Phillips (Jordan Legacy) and Mike McCarthy, Founders of the Baton Of Hope suicide prevention campaign.

In addition, there are interactive sessions and music from local performer Oliver Anderson.

The event will be held between 11.15am and 1.30pm on Thursday 21st September at Community House in Bromley. Ticket link here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-last-taboo-lets-talk-better-tickets-692296827447.

Once again, Let’s Talk Better will bring together people involved in related activities and projects in the local area and beyond.

We continue to support our chosen charity, CASPA.

Tickets here.

Talking Better – Loneliness and Connection

Posted on by darren192

Community House in Bromley was the very appropriate setting for the second Let’s Talk Better event on 26th May. Much of our premise is around the fact that we need to talk better both as individuals and as communities, and so being in a hub of the community made sense. Community is something that needs to be cherished and preserved, so there was an irony to the fact that Community House is in the throes of being sold off by the Council, years after investment and sponsorship made it into the home of charities, social enterprises and community events it is today.

This event focussed on Loneliness and Connection, two topics that are closely related and at a time when loneliness has been described as an epidemic by some.

Let’s Talk Better – event 2, 26th May

Posted on by darren192

Photo: by Pete Bresser

In 2022, In Tune PR’s Founder, Darren Weale, co-created a new campaign called Let’s Talk Better, with Mindset and Wellbeing Coach, Zeenat Noorani. The campaign aims to be a catalyst for better conversations, with a practical focus on Bromley, and a toolkit to inspire change elsewhere. The debut, launch event on 24th February was a great success, very much exciting those who attended, including the Mayor of Bromley, Cllr Hannah Gray, and stimulating the kind of conversations that people rarely have in public or in private. You can read more from the Let’s Talk Better blog, here.

Now, the second event has been lined up. With the theme of Loneliness and Connection, this has a variety of speakers, performers and experiences, and has a focus on one of the great sadnesses of contemporary society – loneliness – and one of the great antidotes to it and much more, connection. This event takes place on 26th May, and features the new Mayor of Bromley, and what is again a unique mix of talents.

Tickets are available here.

Thoughts on our Loneliness and Connection event on 26 May 2023

Posted on by darren192

By Zeenat Noorani

First posted on LinkedIn on 10 April 2023

Over the past couple of days, I have sat here thinking about the Lets Talk Better event on Loneliness and Connection which will be held on the 26th of May 2023.

And recently, having a conversation with Helayna Carole Jenkins, Principal Loneliness Campion of Bromley, and Darren Weale, I knew that in my thinking I was not alone. And that our past experiences had similar linings.

The word #loneliness has really got me thinking even more deeply, especially because I have been impacted by this feeling of isolation on many occasions for numerous factors in life, and there are people really close to me who are suffering from this and it is impacting their #mentalhealth .

I want to ask you your thoughts on #loneliness … Often the perception is that it is associated with the elderly generation… This is not the case.

👉🏼 Can you be happy but be lonely at the same time?
👉🏼 How do you see or define the meaning of loneliness and the impact it can have on our mental #wellbeing?
👉🏼 Is it possible to feel connected and lonely at the same time?
👉🏼 Is it always possible to see signs of when someone is lonely?
👉🏼 What factors come into play that you believe can lead to loneliness?

We are so lucky and thanks to the proliferation of digital technology we can remain connected- pretty much anytime and anywhere with people at our fingertips. Yet, at the same time, there are people that feel lonely and sad but not necessarily depressed. Though depression is a growing concern as a direct impact of loneliness, more and more.

🤔Do you ever get the feeling, somewhere between your chest and your gut — this sensation of something being not quite right, that something is missing? A feeling of being more, yet less, connected than ever. And it’s a feeling that appears to be becoming increasingly common.

‼️Please do not suffer in silence. Reach out to someone (family member, trusted friend, or a professional) and talk. There is hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

If you know that someone is feeling down and their behaviour patterns have changed, reach out to them and give them your ear and support.

24th February: Bromley Let’s Talk Better launch event

Posted on by darren192

Let’s Talk Better is a new campaign about conversation, with a practical focus in the London borough of Bromley and a toolkit to inspire better conversations more widely. It is led by Wellbeing and Mindset Coach Zeenat Noorani and Darren Weale, a Public Relations (PR) Consultant, who also jointly present the Bromley Buzz podcast.

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthenayake, author of the book Let’s Talk, and others have shown that there are numerous problems in society that could be addressed if we have better conversations as individuals, in groups, and more generally. For example, loneliness, the enduring stigma around numerous topics that need to be more openly discussed and dealt with, mental health, and more.

This first Let’s Talk Better face to face event in Bromley will introduce the campaign locally, and bring together people involved in related activities and projects in the local area.

It will be held in the Copper Ceylon in Bromley town centre – an award-winning restaurant known for hosting charitable events. The event will include networking opportunities between 11am and 1pm, and an uplifting agenda, with the Cllr Hannah Gray, Mayor of Bromley, kindly making an appearance. We will also be joined by Sarah Towler, CEO of locally-based charity CASPA, our nominated charity for 2023, for whom we are fundraising – link to contribute here.

The event fee includes a welcome drink, hors d’oeuvres, and attendees can take advantage of a special offer of 20% off food and drink if they stay (and talk!) over lunch at the end of the event.

Tickets here.