Farmer Gracy
By Erica Crompton In the land of tulips and windmillsWhere Farmer Gracy’s roots extendA sanctuary for plants and bloomsWith love and care, they tend Each bare root a promise of lifeReady to blossom and growIn Farmer Gracy’s hands they thriveA beauty only nature could bestow Today we walk through the warehouseFilled with colors and scents […]
My experience with ‘Access the Dales’ Terrainhopper
By Paul Nicholls The TerrainHopper, which Yorkshire charity Access the Dales puts on for wheelchair users free of charge, is an impressive all-terrain wheelchair designed to provide accessibility in rugged environments like the Yorkshire Dales. Here are some highlights I found: Off-Road Capability: The TerrainHopper excels in challenging terrains, including deep mud, sand, snow, and […]
A day in Clitheroe
By Erica Crompton In Clitheroe, where history meets the day,Paul and Erica set out, in their own special way.With wheels that glide on paths so clear,They explored the town, with nothing to fear. The castle stood proud, on the hill so high,With accessible paths that reached the sky.They wandered through tales of knights and lore,In […]
An accessible road-trip to Amsterdam
Through the rolling hills of Staffordshire we ride,In a Dacia, our trusty steed by our side.A wheelchair friendly road-trip, an adventure so grand,As we make our way to Amsterdam, across the land. The wind in our hair, the sun on our faces,We travel with joy to new and exotic places.The road may be long, but […]
Hopezine the book out now
Hopezine is a small, printed independent magazine and blog and now book – right here! – by me, Erica Crompton, a journalist with schizoaffective who survived a suicide attempt. Launched in November 2018 at an NHS suicide prevention conference at the Bet365 stadium, Hopezine aims to share stories from people who have survived adversity in […]
Hopezine’s Editor’s new art book
Can art change how we think about this thing called ‘schizophrenia’? Are all artists ‘mad’? Are people with schizophrenia more creative than those without? A freelance journalist with a history of paranoid schizophrenia aims to address these questions and more in ‘A look at schizophrenia in art’. With a master’s degree in creative writing, and […]
Summer’s Hopezine 2024 is here!
Editor’s letter Lately, I’ve been feeling content and have let coincidence into my life – something that feels very spiritual to me. I believe that we can find a great deal of strength and hope, not just in spirituality but also in the lights that illuminate the way for atheists and agnostic people, too. So […]
“The Nook”
By Erica Crompton We knew as soon as we heard Ms Swain had booked in for a house viewing that destiny was at play. My lovely home and safe space, a wee white cottage in a leafy street was up for sale and if I’d had any doubts about selling-up and moving somewhere more accessible […]
My Guiding Light
By Sobanan Narenthiran In the veiled halls of existence, where shadows intertwine,I walked, bound by karma, through the tapestry of time.Within these walls of illusion, under the cosmic eye’s gaze,I found an ancient wisdom, a love that burns and blazes. Unconditional love, the alchemist’s stone, in my journey’s night,A beacon of mystic fire, guiding me […]
Finding hope with mantras
By Katrina Robinson I can honestly say fear no longer frightens me the way it did that day many years ago when I realised I had apparently inherited my mother and her family’s tendency to mood disorders. When you are young and inexperienced you think that having any mental illness guarantees a terrible life. Now […]