I worked with Premier League Primary Stars earlier this year to celebrate the publication of Try Try Again – a collection of poems by children. I’m excited to be working with them again. Premier League and Primary Stars provide educational campaigns across England and Wales using Football to engage children.

The Premier League Writing Stars poetry competition returns for its second year to inspire children aged between five and eleven to get creative and pen their own poem on the theme of diversity. With Boo’s health hurdles, I was delighted when Premier League Writing Stars still wanted to work with us despite Boo not being able to enjoy PE at the moment as it shows they really are championing diversity and inclusion. Football doesn’t have to be your child’s ‘thing’ for them to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

A poem, Beautifully Different, Wonderfully the Same by Joeseph Coelho has been specially written for the Premier League Writing Stars poetry competition, check out it being read out by an all-star cast, it’s a lovely poem with words that resonate with both adults and children alike.

Primary school children can then write a poem based on the theme of diversity and enter the competition with some fantastic prizes to be won: –

• A Premier League Trophy visit to your school
• A visit to your school by a children’s author or poet to lead a poetry workshop
• Winning poems read aloud by one of our star judges
• Poems published in an official Premier League Writing Stars book with bespoke illustrations
• An invitation to a national celebration event and the chance to meet other poets and special guests
• A framed version of the winning poems
• Poetry book bags for all winners’ school

The judging panel for this year includes former Premier League footballer Rio Ferdinand, singer and songwriter Olly Murs, Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Lauren Child, poet Joseph Coelho.

Former Premier League footballer and BT Sport presenter, Rio Ferdinand, said: “Diversity is a really important topic for young people to explore and write about, so I’m very excited to be a part of this year’s Premier League Writing Stars judging panel. As a former Premier League footballer, I’ve shared a dressing room and a pitch with people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. Football has an amazing ability to unite us, as players, as fans and as people. As a parent with an interest in poetry, I think Writing Stars can inspire children to openly discuss and celebrate their differences and similarities both at home and in the classroom.”

You can sign up and enter here

Poetry is one of the first ways I was truly able to express myself as a child and I’m so glad that Premier League Writing Stars is helping to bring this to children – here’s a snap of Boo being Boo, because to children, celebrating the wonderful differences of each of us is second nature and something we could learn to do more of from them.

The deadline for registration and submission is 21st December 2018 – Good luck!

Disclosure: A fee was received for my time.

It’s not easy being a parent and running a household. Not only do you have to make sure that every family member is happy, learning, and well-fed, but you also have to manage a budget. That budget can be the cause of a massive amount of stress, which is why it’s always a good idea to check over your monthly bills and look at ways to reduce them. The less money that you waste, the more than you can save for special occasions. If you’re looking at your monthly expenses and wondering how you can start spending less without a reduction in your quality of life, here are some excellent starting points.

Saving on Your Commute

Commuting is expensive. If you travel to work every day, then you’re paying a consistent amount of money every month that could be put to far better use. You have to go to work, but it is possible to make your commute cheaper. Consider cutting your petrol costs by trying out the following options:

• Use public transport: Often cheaper than your car insurance and petrol costs, getting the bus or the train might help reduce your overall spending.
• Car share: If possible, take it in turns to drive to work with others in your neighbourhood. That way, everyone saves! Not only is this financially responsible, but it’s also better for the environment too!
• Remote working: You might be able to cut your travel costs by asking if it’s possible to work from home a few days every week. Remote working is easier than ever thanks to technology, and it’s becoming a popular way of reducing travel costs.

Reducing Your Insurance

Having insurance is a fantastic safety net that you don’t want to fall behind on, but that monthly payment can be very frustrating, especially if you’re being overcharged on your insurance options. Shop around, and look for the insurance type you need at the price you can afford. Look at sites like Insurance Geek and make sure that you’re getting the best deal for your money. Don’t make the mistake of cancelling your insurance policies, but making sure that you’re sticking within your budget is essential.

Entertainment Costs

Nobody wants to cut out their entertainment, but you might be spending more than you need. Consider cutting some of these regular expenses:

• Cancel subscriptions: While having a monthly delivery of your favourite magazines is convenient, do you really need them delivered to your door?
• Stop buying: You don’t need a vast DVD collection when everything you want to watch is online. It’s the same with music and books as well. Your local library is an incredible resource for getting the latest bestsellers, and they also have music and films as well. What’s more, your kids will learn to love the weekly library trip!

Running a home is rarely easy, and worrying over your finances is common. Make sure that you take the time to check your monthly expenditures, and trim the fat where you can. There’s no need to go without the essentials, but with some shopping around and some out-of-the-box thinking, you can make sure that you and your family have more money left over at the end of every month.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.

It didn’t take me long to settle on where to go to celebrate my 30th Birthday. Dubai has a special place in my heart. From the amazing people who make it what it is to the jaw-dropping luxury, it’s me summed up in a destination. And we discovered my new favourite place: Grosvenor House Dubai

I flew out with my sister with Royal Brunei – had lots of questions about our experience with a dry airline (so will be putting up a full review soon) which was great. We stayed at the Grosvenor House Dubai in the Dubai Marina area. I’d never considered staying in the marina, having previously always favoured the palm. However, I’m now a convert. From the moment we arrived the level of service and attention to detail was exceptional.

We stayed in a luxury room on the 16th floor and couldn’t believe how tranquil the whole hotel was. The Grosvenor House Dubai is spread over two towers with both rooms and residences in each meaning it never feels crowded.

Breakfast is a buffet in layout only – the attentive staff and excellent food make for the perfect start to your day – or end if like us we landed into Dubai just before sunrise and headed straight for breakfast; haven’t you heard that eggs royale are the perfect cure for jet-lag!

The Grosvenor House is twinned with Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort giving you full access to their beach plus all amenities and it’s less than five minutes via private bus transfer which runs all day until midnight every 5-10 minutes.

We based ourselves on the beach and enjoyed the quiet that comes when travelling to Dubai in August. There’s something truly Dubai about laying on the beach looking out to the Arabian Gulf with a backdrop of skyscrapers.

One great offering of the partnering of the Grosvenor House and Le Royal Méridian is the diverse restaurants available to guests. We dined somewhere different each night from contemporary British through to Japanese fusion. Rhodes W1 was a particular highlight…

Buddha Bar was by far the jewel in the crown of the bar offerings; attached to Tower one Grosvenor House, it’s one of the popular hang-outs in Dubai. The Pimms and Absinthe cocktail is an absolute must try, sounds oh so wrong but tastes oh so right.

My 30th Birthday trip to Dubai was everything I’d wanted and more, with the Grosvenor House Dubai being the perfect base and somewhere I’m sure to return hopefully, next time with Boo as I’d love to see their family provision.

Thank you to Best at Travel who helped to arrange our accommodation and were extremely helpful and knowledgeable.