I spent much of my childhood playing amongst the trees in a small but treasured orchard. This was thanks to my very smart working-class dad. ‘The orchard’ was his pride and joy. He created and nurtured this enclosed area in the garden of our family home – a feat of hard physical work, imagination, and love. The abundance of fruit was generously given to friends, relatives, neighbours, and any visitors to the house.

Cherishing simple important formative times and values which have stood me in good stead in running my business and life generally. The values remain at the heart of what my company does and how it does it.

This message comes in the Autumn apple season. There was always an abundance of both dessert and baking apples. But there was so much more…

For a fuller picture you can imagine the other fruits of Dad’s labour in his orchard: plums, damsons, greengages, pears, crab apples, gooseberries, blackberries, blackcurrants.

With trees, bushes and brambles galore, for me it felt like a wonderland of adventure and sheer delight!

Happy Autumn half-term holidays.

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 24/10/24

[Photos taken by my hubby-to-be on a return visit with me in my early 20’s.]

Work is serious but we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously.

Playtime is not just for the holidays and weekends but for anytime 😂.

[An image I created in a playful moment].

After all we are all kids at heart.

After the weekend is over
After the holidays are done
There is still time and times to be playful
Let’s do it. Bring joy and have fun.

.

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 9/9/24

I can’t believe that it’s 5 years to the month since 2 groundbreaking publications on public health were published.

This was the kind of work one could only dream of. It involved working with a group of experts in a range of disciplines from three different countries.

New Publications in Population Health Intervention Research.

The publications have been useful to many people and often cited!

This opportunity cropped up out of the blue. So, you never know what might be just round the corner…

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 11/06/24

The UN has announced the theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March 2024 as ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’.

In the run up to IWD I reflected on IWD 2023 when I was out and about at various events relating to IWD globally and locally. See my photos from 2023.

This year I’m staying close to home. I’d like to say how grateful I am to have daughters, a daughter-in-law, and granddaughters. I am very proud of them all. (I am of course very proud of all the male family members as well and their love and respect for women and girls).

IWD is about the girls ❤️ and girls at heart ❤️.

For IWD 2024 I will be supporting and cheering on other people who are out celebrating and actively participating in many different ways to promote and support women’s causes.

Happy IWD and beyond to everyone out there 🌍.

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 04/03/24

Here are some moments on film from our visit to the Galápagos Islands 20years ago…

Blue Footed Boobies are also famed for their courtship and dance.

Happy Valentine’s Day on February 14th.

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 14/02/24

.
[Another meme I prepared using my photos from that adventure]

A curious scene I captured on film during our visit to the Galápagos Islands 20years ago…

[Another meme I prepared using another one of my photos from that adventure.]

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 05/02/24

.

In  2024 A Tree of Life Sciences® continues with consistency and more surprises to come.

A new year always gives scope for looking ahead whilst remembering the past particularly after 10 years of success. My company mission to inform, improve and inspire has remained a constant. It is clear that my ventures “off-piste” in photography, poetry writing and a range of communications have inspired many others to do the same judging by comments received and similar posts written on LinkedIn and other social media. It is satisfying and they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Keep it up .

I am a scientist with a clear purpose. I am an expert in life sciences, clinical and health research with interests and experience in life and sciences more generally.

I think that sometimes you have to look beyond to really see and understand what is in front of you. This could be my mantra 😊😉.

[See previous post on consistency and surprises here.]

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 16/01/24

(😊.‘Not all those who wander are lost’ from a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien.)’

We don’t have to look far to find Nature. After a long dark night comes the daylight revealing gloriously warm shades of autumn foliage. Here is a collage of moments I captured in snapshots, shared in autumns of recent-past years and present.

My photos are taken in the garden and close to home up North in the UK.
 
I am holding a sparkler in the garden – on the 1st day of the autumn lockdown in the UK in the 1st year of the pandemic (November 2020). It was an impromptu moment.
 
These days it seems life can be very cruel for many people.

‘Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’.
 
With warm wishes to all.

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 20/11/23

.

‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ ~ Desmond Tutu.

I thought it timely to pen some thoughts in verse:

THE HALF-TRUTHS ©

In search of truth
Beware half-truths.

The half-truths that lull us into believing
Falsehoods that could be deceiving.
Information accepted fully and in haste.
Can instil trust that is misplaced.

False statements that contain a grain of fact.
Might shape our thoughts and how we act.
They could even aid deception.

Thus, misinformation and disinformation flow.
And seeds of misconception grow.

It’s good to have an open mind.
To listen but also to question
The source of a suggestion.
To seek evidence and review
Being careful not to misconstrue.

In science and in life we must
Beware half-truths and misplaced trust.

©Julie Charlesworth, 2023
…

Curiosity and an open mind are good but healthy skepticism without cynicism is also good. ‘Keep an open mind but not so open that your brain falls out.’

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 20/10/23

.
See also my earlier poem putting simply how misinformation and disinformation are wrong.

.
I have just seen a new 36-minute documentary-style film ‘Race Against Resistance: The Life And Death Struggle To Save Antibiotics’.

I think the film is worth watching as a timely reminder of the AMR issues we are facing.

What kind of world do we want for future generations?

This film covers some background and history, recent personal stories, and innovative research approaches. It also touches on the potential value of AI in drug development.

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR) is a global health issue of the utmost concern.

AMR is something I have written about several times since the summer of 2015 when I posted my first short article on LinkedIn about ‘spreading the word’ and a blog on my company website about ‘Doing the right thing’. I have subsequently reported on interesting research updates from science meetings, and I have also shared communications from other sources such as in this latest post.

Thinking of the world we are giving to our children, grandchildren, and future great-grandchildren.

This is an interesting subject generally and there are messages that need to be communicated widely. It could be a particularly interesting and important research area for life science students and early career researchers. 

by Dr Julie Charlesworth 06/09/23

…

Thank you to BBC StoryWorks.
Race Against Resistance: The Life And Death Struggle To Save Antibiotics | BBC StoryWorks
September 5th, 2023. (available to view on YouTube).