From text books to cook books, fiction to autobiography Whether you prefer to e-read on your device or to feel real pages between your fingers, books are special. They offer a world of education, information, inspiration and entertainment. They have the power to engross and to elevate us to another […]
Poetry, Humour, Sundry
28 posts
It can melt away It snowed here a couple of days ago. Within a matter of hours the autumn countryside outside my window was completely transformed into a gleaming white winter wonderland. All the familiar features of the garden and surrounding landscape were still there. But now they were draped […]
My top skin songs and why I chose them As a vitiligo blogger, I spend a lot of time reading, thinking and writing about skin. Mainly about how it works. Or, in the case of vitiligo, how it doesn’t work quite as it should. But, as we are in the […]
The weird and wonderful world of skin colour: part 3 Continuing my Weird And Wonderful World Of Skin Colour series… It occurs to me that what is weird to some may be wonderful to others. Certainly, I always felt that having white patches on my skin was definitely weird. But […]
.. that’s OGILITIV! Having just returned from 2 weeks holiday in the sunshine (which, prior to my repigmentation, would have been an endurance test) I realise I had prepared this post before going and completely forgot to share it with you! So, my belated New Year wish is that you […]
The weird and wonderful world of skin colour: part 2 This week, for part 2 of my Weird And Wonderful World blog series, I discover that melanin is not the only pigment. And I find a fascinating article that describes research into what skin colour pigments people find the most […]
The Vitiligo 12 Days of Christmas As a child I used to lie to Father Christmas each year. When my mother took me to Santa’s Grotto and I was asked what I would most like for Christmas, I would reply “a Tiny Tears doll” or some other must-have toy of […]
The weird and wonderful world of skin colour: part 1 It’s a pleasantly warm morning here in the north of England. (Yes, we really do get them sometimes.) But there is still some hazy cloud cover. So I am doing what I often do when I am at home this […]
Some of the terms used in connection with vitiligo can be a bit baffling at first. Especially for those of us who don’t have a medical background. So I have put together a glossary of vitiligo terminology, featuring some of the most frequently used words. I hope you find it […]
I have just been listening to one of my all-time favourite songs. It seems to me that the lyrics are perfect for everyone who has ever had vitiligo and wondered if they are still beautiful. I dedicate it to you, and also to all those who are courageous enough to […]
But what does that have to do with vitiligo? Happy Mother’s Day to all Mums out there! If you live in the UK you will know that this Sunday mothers across the country will be waking up (far too early probably) to a very well-intentioned, but possibly unappetising, breakfast tray, which […]
I found this beautiful poem in a calendar I bought for a friend and wanted to share it with all my friends. I truly do wish you all a wonderful year to come… A wonderful year to come!Success in everything you do.A little more joy,a little less stress,a lot more […]
The weird and wonderful world of skin colour: part 4 Can green pigment restore skin pigment? may sound like a nonsensical question. After all, the green pigment chlorophyll is completely different from the skin pigment melanin (which does not function in areas of vitiligo)… Isn’t it? Well, yes. But read […]
It has taken me more than half a lifetime of dealing with the day-to-day impact of living with vitiligo and wondering “why me?” (when all along I knew the answer was “why not me?”) to realise that the experience has made me a much more compassionate human being. Â Even though […]
These beautiful animals tell the story of my skin over the past few years since I began to re-pigment. Of course, these gorgeous creatures don’t have vitiligo. I just love horses. And it occurred to me that their vastly differing patterns would be a fun illustration of how much my […]
I just visited the Vitiligo Support International website for the first time in ages and was reminded what a superb resource this is for anyone living with this condition. It’s a really comprehensive source of information and the FAQs in particular are an excellent place to start if you are […]
I found this great poem about vitiligo on the National Vitiligo Foundation website today… Picture of Perfection (A Poem by Brian K. Blackden) Let not the pigment of my skin describe me it is merely a covering to my soul I am not imprisoned by your glances your whispers fall unheard In contrast to most, […]
If you were a cake what sort of cake would you be? For most of my life I was a marble cake. Personally, I love marble cake. it’s beautiful to look at and very tasty but I always knew I hadn’t started out as a marble cake and that made me […]
Check out this inspiring and uplifting blog called Perfectly Flawed. It’s “a network for persons dealing with Vitiligo. …dedicated to focusing on issues surrounding the disease. The goal is to help not only people with Vitiligo but to help the world understand, embrace, and empower their inner beauty. This network will […]
Snow White’s Seven Patches I wish there had been a vitiligo story for children like Snow White’s Seven Patches when I was a child, trying to come to terms with my patchy skin. This delightful modern fairytale puts a contemporary twist on the classic Brothers Grimm story and has as […]
Feeling the creative urge, as I sometimes do, I have written the following freestyle poem in the hope that it may be as therapeutic to read as it was to write. It might baffle some readers but I think that anyone who has had widespread vitiligo will recognise the feelings […]