The Barrowby Bamboozler was started on 13th March 2015, with the first edition being the April 2015 magazine in Grantham. The idea came to me one morning, quite literally! I had just had my third operation after chemotherapy following my first cancer diagnosis. I was at home recovering and one morning I got up and decided I wanted to set up a local magazine. I have always been a bit entrepreneurial and was very excited by my idea. We sat down and talked through our ideas as a family and came up with the concept of puzzles about businesses and the name Barrowby Bamboozler.
I wanted to support local businesses and so this became a key part of the magazine. I knew from my background that if you can get people to interact with information then they are more likely to remember it and so the idea of creating puzzles about the businesses that were advertising was born.
I needed a business which was flexible to fit around me so that I could work during term time and school hours but also to fit around my hospital visits. I knew that the cancer I had back in 2013 had a high chance of returning and so I was making sure I could cope if it did return.
The magazine quickly took off, local residents enjoyed the magazine and I got great feedback and so the magazine quickly grew. I started up an email subscribers list after a few months and this too became popular.
I was a regular visitor to the Nottingham City Hospital as I was on a vaccine trial for a few years. Human guinea pig! I was given an amazing opportunity to try a new vaccine to help prevent the cancer returning. I was happy to help. While I was waiting for the vaccine and tests, I would sit writing puzzles backwards in my book ready to put in the magazine. One of my nurses asked me about what I was doing and suggested a magazine like that would be great at the hospital. Within a few months we had approval from the Nottingham Hospitals Charity and in the early part of 2016 the first Nottingham magazine was produced. It was there to entertain patients and visitors while they wait and recover but also I decided I would donate 20% of my profits from the Nottingham magazine to Professor Chan's breast cancer research at the Notts City Hospital. It felt good to give something back.
In May 2016 I was quite suddenly taken ill and went through a variety of scans and tests over the course of a few days and Prof told me the cancer was back in my liver and my hip bone. This was why I was in so much pain and struggling to walk too. I had six rounds of chemo, some radiotherapy and targeted treatment too. Incredibly, after the final treatment, my CT Scan was clear and a few months later my blood tests were back to normal and the next CT was clear again too and I was told I was in remission!!! Modern medicine, Prof Chan and the amazing team of nurses have once again saved my life and most amazingly got me back to complete remission.
I managed to keep the magazines going through my treatment because of the amazing generosity of readers, local businesses, family and friends helping me by delivering the magazines during this time. I am incredibly grateful for the support of everyone. Thank you so much.
I'm doing ten editions per year of the Grantham magazine and five per year of the Nottingham magazine. I was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham too, which was very exciting!! Family time is always my top priority and I love that I have a job I thoroughly enjoy, works around me, supports local businesses, entertains people and I'm supporting Prof with my donation from the Notts Mag.
Now....living life to the full, one puzzle at a time!
I wanted to support local businesses and so this became a key part of the magazine. I knew from my background that if you can get people to interact with information then they are more likely to remember it and so the idea of creating puzzles about the businesses that were advertising was born.
I needed a business which was flexible to fit around me so that I could work during term time and school hours but also to fit around my hospital visits. I knew that the cancer I had back in 2013 had a high chance of returning and so I was making sure I could cope if it did return.
The magazine quickly took off, local residents enjoyed the magazine and I got great feedback and so the magazine quickly grew. I started up an email subscribers list after a few months and this too became popular.
I was a regular visitor to the Nottingham City Hospital as I was on a vaccine trial for a few years. Human guinea pig! I was given an amazing opportunity to try a new vaccine to help prevent the cancer returning. I was happy to help. While I was waiting for the vaccine and tests, I would sit writing puzzles backwards in my book ready to put in the magazine. One of my nurses asked me about what I was doing and suggested a magazine like that would be great at the hospital. Within a few months we had approval from the Nottingham Hospitals Charity and in the early part of 2016 the first Nottingham magazine was produced. It was there to entertain patients and visitors while they wait and recover but also I decided I would donate 20% of my profits from the Nottingham magazine to Professor Chan's breast cancer research at the Notts City Hospital. It felt good to give something back.
In May 2016 I was quite suddenly taken ill and went through a variety of scans and tests over the course of a few days and Prof told me the cancer was back in my liver and my hip bone. This was why I was in so much pain and struggling to walk too. I had six rounds of chemo, some radiotherapy and targeted treatment too. Incredibly, after the final treatment, my CT Scan was clear and a few months later my blood tests were back to normal and the next CT was clear again too and I was told I was in remission!!! Modern medicine, Prof Chan and the amazing team of nurses have once again saved my life and most amazingly got me back to complete remission.
I managed to keep the magazines going through my treatment because of the amazing generosity of readers, local businesses, family and friends helping me by delivering the magazines during this time. I am incredibly grateful for the support of everyone. Thank you so much.
I'm doing ten editions per year of the Grantham magazine and five per year of the Nottingham magazine. I was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham too, which was very exciting!! Family time is always my top priority and I love that I have a job I thoroughly enjoy, works around me, supports local businesses, entertains people and I'm supporting Prof with my donation from the Notts Mag.
Now....living life to the full, one puzzle at a time!