I cant believe the summer is nearly over, it has been so busy on the island, we’ve had 29 piglets, new geese, ducks & chicks, the vegetable garden was worked on nearly every day, + a fantastic 10^th wedding anniversary weekend which saw all our kids together for the first time since Ron’s 50^th birthday and we have kept the Working to Recovery rolling along through this bleak time for mental health services in the UK.

Hence to say I am back in Australia for 5 weeks work. Missing out on August at home wet cold & windy for Tasmania today wet cold & windy! At least its winter here. Ron is at home reversing roles, very happily getting stuck into family life and the croft. He is loosing weight rapidly which is fantastic news for him as he battles with diabetes.

I spent the first 2 weeks in WA firstly in Perth working with Richmond Fellowship, this time running a champions course with David Rivett one of Richmond’s staff for a new set of staff who will be running a homeless hostel for men which is being set up on recovery principals and where hopefully each resident will graduate after a year well on the road to recovery. It is an exciting and new project for both the state & Richmond. Ron has been involved in designing the service.

The second week was spent in Esperance right on the south coast of WA, coming of the plane I was hit by a cold southerly wind which reminded me of home, but the rest of the week has been warm. Again I have been running the champions course this time for BOICO a small NGO who want their organization to be totally recovery focused. I really enjoyed this week as it was myself facilitating 10 women of middle age like myself, we had a great week, very emotional, at times funny, lots of good questions & debate and lots of warmth again I cant wait to see how this team do and the outcomes & stories they will have over the next couple of years.

Yesterday I travelled to Melbourne & later today I fly to Tasmania for the last 3 weeks of this trip

Election fever is gripping Australia with the federal government up for re-election. It’s a very close call with both parties neck & neck, what is interesting is that Mental illness has played a big part in this campaign with cries for much greater funding for this neglected area of health spending in Australia especially within community services and young peoples mental health.

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Ron Coleman and Karen Taylor have an international reputation as speakers and authors. They are the directors of ‘Working to Recovery Limited’ an innovative international consultancy, training and publishing company with a cutting edge approach to supporting and improving mental health provision.