The theatre’s magic
An imagination is sparked with the arts, a poem by Rachel Melinek My sister imagination sparked as a child. As we get up to leave a magic show, she asks the magician on stage whether he dwelt in a cave. I was spellbound as a child by performance, I sometimes refused to move and asked […]
Gin Palace
Erica & Paul experience DIY tipples overlooking the River Tweed It was back to school last month, with a seriously magical twist – Paul and I were visiting a wheelchair-friendly gin school where we learned to make out own gin, and try it, too! The school itself is set within the Hydro Hotel, in Peebles […]
A special place
Erica Crompton discovers peace & calm at Kailzie gardens “People that visit us here in Kailzie gardens all say it’s such a special place,” says Steve, our accessibility guide for the afternoon tour of the gardens. There’s a dedicated off-road wheelchair here that Paul uses, and Steve pushes today as we cast our eyes over […]
Positively Peebles
The Cringletie is the Scottish hotel that wins on accessibility, says Hopezine Editor Erica Crompton As a white snow blankets the rolling hills that frame the River Tweed, we take a left from the scenic Edinburgh Road and over a private bridge to discover the Cringletie, a secluded baronial mansion. Snowflakes blanket the driveway as […]
Bittersweet.
A poem about relocating to Scotland from Spain By Laura Menéndez In the busy morning of a train I have found silence -I was missing- The quiet was daunting, almost oppresing. A monotonous fog had taken over. I had nowhere left to go. In the silence and the quiet, the stillness of one room, in […]
An ode to Scotland
Scotland is the place that will always feel like home, says Laura Menéndez I vividly remember the day I stepped on a plane to change my life forever. After a year of university in Spain, I knew it wasn’t for me. I accepted an offer to study in Scotland. And off I went. A big […]
Writer Alan Hartley finds a job after discrimination
For writer Alan Hartley, rewarding work came along after some nasty incidences of discrimination: When I was first diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia I was about 26 years old and my world fell apart. I had been a well paid sales representative with my own 3 bedroom semi-detached house and doing quite nicely thank you. The […]
Hopezine in Happiful by Caroline Butterwick
Staffordshire based writer, Caroline Butterwick, has featured us in Happiful magazine this month
Come fly with me
By Erica Crompton Some years ago, I attempted to board a flight to Ibiza but had to check out last minute due to some mild hallucinations (thinking I could see people from the past). I’ll admit, it wasn’t very well planned on my part – the flight from Manchester airport was on a Friday night […]
Birdsong by writer Eleanor Lees
By Eleanor Lees Birdsong is something my blind friend has come to be able to identify – enjoying being able to tell me which songs are coming from which birds despite not being able to see them. She imagines them in her mind’s eye and describes to me how she sees them. The collective flight […]