Tag Archives: uk

Feb 8 2013

My first publication.

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This week, I had a short piece of writing published for the first time. It is relatively public in that people I don’t know and didn’t go to school/university/work with will read it, but unfortunately, you can’t find it online. But if you’re a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists and have received February’s issue of OTnews, you can flip through the news section and find a submission I wrote about Oxford Brookes University’s collaboration with Tokyo Metropolitan University in August 2012, hosting a group of Japanese postgraduate students and professors of occupational therapy, nursing and midwifery. At the bottom, you will find ‘Danielle Werner, Oxford Brookes University’, which definitely sent a thrill through me, though I’d like to publish something more substantial at some point. Anyway, it’s a quick read, so I hope those of you who can will read it and possibly think about how you can make connections with the wider world out there!

(PS – it should have said ‘Danielle Werner, BSc(Hons) Occupational Therapy’, don’t you think?)

Dec 14 2012

Today, I am glad I have my family.

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I’d like to say, first of all, that I am distraught about what has happened in Newtown, Connecticut today. I was on the verge of tears for over an hour, watching the BBC live broadcast, and the tears finally broke when Obama mentioned the families that won’t be able to hug their children tonight. I know this means very little, but my arms are open to those families today and for the years to come. I can’t even imagine what Christmas will be like for these families, as I’m sure there are presents hidden away for the young children who died today. Just writing this is making me cry again. I have cousin within the age group in a town about half an hour’s drive away, and one of the interviewed children sounded just like him. I don’t know what I would have done if the shooting was at his school, and I haven’t even seen him for about two years. I can’t imagine how the town of Newport is going to sleep tonight. My deepest, deepest sympathies…

Now, I almost don’t feel right writing this, so I’m going to keep it short – a little bit of good personal news to try to lighten the mood of this post. My parents finally sold their house in Surrey. It was on the market for almost a year, with two potential buyers backing out at the last minute due to financial reasons. The third buyer signed the contracts today, and it’s such a relief, for them and for me. I’ve been told I can worry too much, but I will be the first to admit that I’m very protective of those that I’m close to – family and friends. So I’m very happy for my family, as I know they’ve had a bit of a tough couple years, and everything is turning around for them now. (It might just be for me too, but more on that in another post.) I love them to bits, and I don’t know what I’d do without them. It’s hard enough living so far away from them!