Here’s to strong Women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.
#AD Inspirational Women are all around us. In the news, in the films we watch, the books we read and in our own homes. And today, I want to talk about them. This isn’t the typical sort of post I usually write, compared to blogging tips, a product review or gift guides but it’s definitely one of the most important posts that I’ve ever written. Today I want to talk about some of the Women that I find the most inspirational. Some of them I know, some of them I wish I knew and some of them unfortunately I’ll never get to meet. But they’re all on this list for a good reason, so grab a cuppa and enjoy! (And thank you to Women of London for sponsoring today’s post – keep reading to find out more about the incredible work they do!)
My Mum
Let’s start with the obvious shall we? My Mum is my biggest inspiration but that’s only something I’ve really come to notice more and more as I’ve gotten older. The first thing my Mum did was get me into books and my love for reading came from her when I was a kid. But as I’ve grown into an adult myself, gone through school, break ups, horrendous mental health issues and generally not been where I thought or hoped I’d be at the age of 26, what my Mum does and has done all her life has only made me admire her more. I’d love to be more like my Mum; she’s resilient and selfless but I definitely got my love of cleaning and things being tidy from her too!
My Boyfriend’s Mum
I won’t go into to much detail here in respect for her privacy but I really admire my boyfriend’s Mum as well – obviously in slightly different ways but if you’re looking for strong Women, these two are the ones to go to. His Mum is a rock, incredibly compassionate and has been through a heck of a lot but always manages to have faith and look at the bright side. We have a lot of the same values as her and I know I can have a really good conversation about something and come out the other side feeling better.
Other Bloggers
There’s no doubt that so many other female bloggers inspire the heck out of me. The incredible thing about blogging is there’s so many different people from so many different walks of life, it’s impossible not to be inspired by someone else. Bloggers have taught me so much, welcomed me into their lives through their blogs and showed me that everyone has something going on and is strong in their own ways.
Claire Williams
Claire Williams is the deputy team principle of the Williams Formula 1 team – one of the oldest (and family run) team on the Formula 1 grid. She grew up and worked in this “male dominated” sport and then was thrown into the role of deputy team principle without much warning or preparation. She’s been awarded an OBE, had a baby last year and still runs a bloody Formula 1 team. As a huge Formula 1 fan, you can’t get much more inspirational than that.
Emily Hayward
If you haven’t heard of Emily Hayward before, she was a YouTuber who documented her journey with skin cancer. Emily sadly died last Summer but I still think about her frequently and follow her wife, Aisha, on Instagram. Emily had the largest of life personality and took every day as it came. She was an absolute beacon of light and helped so many people with her YouTube videos – simply from being herself. I emailed her once, to tell her how much I enjoy her videos and how she’s helped me cope with my anxiety in some small way and she took the time to send me a long, heart-felt reply and I’ll always cherish that email.
Now I’d like to hand it over to Women of London for the last part of this post, an amazing London-based walking tour company who are shining a light on the inspirational Women of London in a new way:
Women Of London is a walking tour company created by female tour guides who, after many years of Tour guiding around London, felt the need for a company that approaches London’s history through the achievements of Women. We started running tours over International Women’s Day last year and felt so inspired, the women we usually spoke about on our normal walking tours were rarely presented in the best light, for example the ‘victims of Jack the Ripper’ or Henry VIII’s six wives.
The ‘positive’ women we spoke about happened to be Queens or Suffragettes and even within their history there are question marks over the reputation of some of the figures. Running Women’s History Tours is not just a breath of fresh air for us as guides but to people who visit London. We want to show that London is more than Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament and instead everywhere you look are marks that Women left on its history.
Our first tour (which is available to book now); the Women of Westminster, focuses on the monuments of women in Literature, Nurses, Monarchy, War, Politics and as campaigners and reformers, it is just one of many tours we plan to have available to everyone and anyone who wants to learn about Women’s History. We will be launching a Women of the East End tour on the 1st of March 2019, which will cover the stories of Mary Wollstonecraft, Sylvia Pankhurst, the forming of Toynbee Hall, the Women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper and how as women the were left with very little options in terms of their life style, as well as speaking about the Match Strike of 1888 and its larger impact on London’s Trade Union movement.
We are very excited to be lucky enough to spend our days reading about great women in books written by many female historians, we have already received some great feedback and are in conversation with many charities who work with Women about collaboration throughout the year to inspire young people across the country to see and enjoy Women’s history. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter where we post our daily ‘OnthisdayinWomensHistory’ Tweets which cover a range of Women’s achievements throughout the World and History.
A huge thank you to Women of London for helping and encouraging me to write today’s post. I’d absolutely love to hear about the inspirational Women in your life or those you admire from afar in the comments!
* This is a sponsored post
Women of London sounds like an amazing tour, I’ll have to look into it! Claire Williams inspires me too, it’s great to have female role models like her.
Emily from http://emilyunderworld.co.uk x
Ah that’s great to hear! She really is inspirational x
Such an inspirational post, its great to hear the strong women who inspire you. My nana and my mum have to be my biggest inspiration. My nana has taught me so much including to cook, knit and garden, she’s brilliant.
Mel 🌙 | Moonlight Mel
She sounds amazing and ha taught you some really valuable skills! x
Yes yes yes to your first couple of lines. We see strong women just about everywhere whether that be in our home, on the news, or in the novels that we dive into.
Aw yay my love for books started similarly – I think my mom gave me some money for a scholastic book fair and then suddenly I never left the library/lived in the library because I just loved to read (really helped with my vocabulary at 11/12!) Mom’s are honestly the best, mine is my inspiration & she’s always my #1 person to talk to when I need someone to chat to (plus she always knows when I need a chat with either some tea/ tumeric milk!)
One thing I’m also really inspired by is other bloggers – if I’m not spending time reading a book, there’s 100% chance I am reading someone’s blog. Since as you said there’s so many different types of bloggers, there’s not one that’s the same; I’m always in awe of the creativity!
I’ve never heard of Claire Williams before (sorryyyy!) but wow wow wow she took a male dominated ~section/field~ and made it her own that is just so! admirable! It’s like if there isn’t room at the table make your room because you belong just as much as the men if not more.
Women of London opening line! I’d love to just watch a film/series on the history of London though the achievements of women – something I think a lot of history classes lacked was emphasizing on the amazing women of the past! If I lived in London (or near) I would 100% be booking that tour!
Sahara
http://saharas-dreams.blogspot.com
Oh my god I remember those book fairs in school! They were literally the highlight of my year haha! x
My mum is the strongest woman I know. I love her and admire her for all she does. If I end up half the woman she is, I’ll be happy x
Melanie || http://www.melaniewithanie.com
Glad you have such a strong role model x
I LOVE this post! I am all about bigging up the fabulous, inspirational women in my life! I have some amazing friends, and my boyfriends mum is pretty amazing too <3 Keep ip the fab content!
Kayleigh xx http://www.veryberrycosmo.co.uk
Thank you! 🙂 x
Lovely to see you have such a strong relationship with your mum and your boyfriends mum.
What an amazing concept for a company, never seen anything like this before.
Amy x
http://www.whatamysays.com
They’re really fab aren’t they? x
I really love the sound of the walking tour, may have to book a place on it myself!! This post was just beautiful to read, hearing about all the women you admire for different reasons x
beesytimes.co.uk
Thank you 🙂 You should! I bet they’re so interesting x
Absolutely love this post! I love that you have such an amazing relationship with your mum and your boyfriends mum, they’re also such strong women in my life!
Sara | http://www.copperandsun.co.uk
Thank you 🙂 x
I really enjoyed reading this post Jenny! The walking tour sounds really interesting, and I love that you have mentioned your boyfriends mum in here too!
Kayla ♥︎ http://www.kaylajayne.co.uk
She’s a very inspirational woman! x
What a great post! It’s so important to think about what – or who – inspires us because the act of doing so certainly always leaves me feeling inspired. These tours sound really cool as well.
I totally agree 🙂 x
The Women of London tour sounds awesome and so interesting! I’m the same as you, my Mum is my world. She is literally the strongest person I know. She’s been through so much and yet is always smiling. She’s so selfless and loving. If I could even be half the woman she is then I’ll be happy ❤
http://www.missblogsabit.com
Awh I’m glad you have such a strong role model in your mum too x
So lovely you mentioned your boyfriends mum xx
She’s very inspirational x
What a wonderful post! I love to read posts like this as they’re so inspiring.
http://littlemissmelanie.com
Thank you x
This is such an amazing post Jenny! Women of London sound great, I love the idea of what they’re trying to achieve. It really warmed my heart to see that your mum went to the top of your list, and to see other bloggers on there too. Definitely a different kind of post but I really enjoyed reading this one! x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Thank you 😌
This is such a fab post, so positive I love it. I loved reading about the women that inspire you, and that tour sounds amazing ❤️
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Thank you 😌
I love posts like this that build others up x
This is such a nice post, we need more posts like these in the blogging community.
Rebecca Elaine x
Thank you c
Yay! I’m a strong woman! xD I second mums being inspirational women…mine was my hero and role model and I hope I can make her proud! <3
Daisy xoxo
TheDeeWhoLived
I’m certain that you already have in so many ways 😌💛
Gosh this is such a wonderful and uplifting post. One of my biggest inspirations is Jessica Hische who is this handletterer that I really aspire to be one day! <3
Thank you! 😌💛
I really enjoyed reading this blog post and hearing about the amazing women in your life darling. My personal idol would have to be my Nan, she was such a beautiful amazing woman who I will forever look up to. 🌸💜
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
So glad to hear you’ve had such a fabulous role model 💛
Yay to supporting women, if only more did it. Loved this post x
Thank you 😌
I absolutely love this post! It’s good to see women supporting other women. We don’t do it enough.
Thank you 😌 And you’re so right!
This was beautifully written! Strong, smart, women need to be highlighted more often, and is definitely been on my list of things to write about for 2019. Women of London sounds like an amazing organization, next time I’m out in London I need to check it out <3
I hope you do! They sound amazing 😌
What a sweet idea! Im surrounded by amazing women and i tell them often how great I think they are! Sometimes out of nowhere ill text a friend. It’s fun bc I adore all my women friends! My list would be filled!
So glad to hear your surrounded by so many inspirational women!
Yes!!! Love this post so much. Beautifully written.
Clem xx
http://www.clemloves.co.uk
Thank you 😌
I love strong women! Oftentimes they don’t get enough credit! Great post!
They definitely don’t!
Great post and great topic. Great women the world over deserve celebrating
They totally do 😌
The tour sounds so good and it was lovely to read about the women who inspire you! 🙂
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip
Thank you 😌
This was the loveliest post and I really enjoyed reading it. It’s so true that you can find so many inspirational woman around us when you start to think about it. I agree with you on my Mum being one of them and other bloggers!
Alys / withlovealys.com
Thanks so much 😌 Glad you have a role model in your Mum too!
oh wow! women of london sounds absolutely incredible! i think it’s so amazing that they wanted to have a tour centered around the achievements of women, because sadly even in 2019 womens achievements aren’t spoken about enough. as for woman who inspire me, id really have to say one of my best friends. she has been handed some difficult things in life, from abusive relationships, mental health, eating disorders, being a single mother and more. yet still she is always finding the positives and joy in life and has completely given her life over to providing the best life for her little girl. great great post jenny xx
mich / simplymich.com
Your best friend sounds like an amazing woman!
I love this post. Nothing beats women encouraging other women!!
Absolutely! 😌
This was such a lovely post, there’s nothing better than woman lifting each other up
Absolutely 😌
Wow, Women of London sounds like an amazing organisation, I’ll definitely be looking at their tours next time I’m in the capital! My number one inspiring woman for me is my mum because, like yours, she’s always been there for me no matter what and I feel incredible lucky to have had such a strong role model in my life. The other woman who came to my mind when I was thinking this over is my favourite author, Donna Tartt. She’s quite shy of the media but when she does do interviews it’s absolutely fascinating listening to her describing her writing process and her dedication to her writing is something I definitely look up to!
The tours sound great don’t they? Lovely to hear you have a good relationship with your mum and such a strong role model!
This was such a lovely post to read, woman are so inspirational and I find inspiration in all woman especially my mum and Nan and all the other bloggers out there. This was a great read! X
Thank you 😌
I love how personal and touching this post was, it’s so sweet that you mentioned your mum and the tour as a whole sounds so interesting! I’ve learnt a lot about inspirational women when I was studying literature but I’d love to explore London as a whole through the lens of womens achievement. I love how your blog always introduces me to new and unique brands or experiences. Thanks so much for sharing Jenny!
Awh thanks so much! 😌
Just wanted to let you know how much I loved reading about all these strong women that have influenced you! I have the Strong Women quote on a plaque in my porch so it is the first thing I see on returning home and the last thing before leaving. Fantastic stuff! The Women’s walking tour sounds incredible, definitely something I’ll look into if I ever find myself in good old London town! Keep being awesome!
Awh thank you so much! Lovely comment 😌 they’d definitely be worth checking out!
This is such a beautiful blog post, it was lovely to read about the women who inspire you. It’s so nice to raise each other up like this and show how special people are to us! Also the walking tour sounds brilliant! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Thanks so much 😌
This is such a lovely post. I’ve been thinking about writing a similar one for a while as I think women lifting up other women is so important. I love that you have such a good relationship not only with your mum but your boyfriend’s mum. We can learn so much from each other, that makes my heart happy. I’m also really intrigued by the walking tour! I love that finally there’s a focus on the influence women have had, rather than just using them as side characters in the story of a man. I’ll definitely be checking that out next time I’m in London!
Beth x
Oh totally I agree! I bet there’s so much we don’t know about the history of women in London because like you said, they’re rarely the main focus!
The walking tour sounds absolutely amazing! This is a beautiful post too!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Thanks Amie x
The walking tour sounds amazing! x
http://www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk
It sounds really interesting x