Latest news with #childminder
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm a single mum & sick of soft play costs so transformed my shed into a mini one – it's going to save me a fortune
WITH two kids, a trip to the soft play can be pricey. So, instead of having to fork out, single mum Liv decided to transform her shed into a mini one - after coming across secondhand soft play equipment being sold on Facebook Marketplace. 5 5 5 5 And she took to TikTok to document the process, as she admitted: "You're probably thinking I'm absolutely nuts. "I'm a single mum with very little time and energy. And what do I choose to do with the very little time and energy I have? "Turn my shed into a mini soft play!" She admitted the soft play bits did "need a good clean", and said that while they still have "a few marks", they;ll "do the job just the same". Liv used some soft floor mats, and said she wanted to add some balls into the bottom. "I'm probably gonna regret it when balls end up all over my garden, but sure," she laughed. She attached some sensory boards to the wall, and said she was going to do a "grand reveal" when more balls arrived for the floor. "It's nearly done, and I'm so pleased with it!" Liv concluded. And people in the comments section were quick to praise Liv for the epic makeover - with many admitting they were going to try a similar transformation themselves. "As a childminder I think this is great!! I'll be clearing my shed out at the weekend," one wrote. I DIY-ed a 'professional' level kids' birthday cake for less than £25 using Amazon & eBay buys - I didn't bake a thing "Omg I can't wait to get housed to do this," another said. "Brilliant idea, mum!" "Love this idea - my autistic son would love this," a third commented. "Oh this is a great idea!" someone else said. "I was going to put soft play bits in my son's bedroom but I think in a shed would be better now I've seen this," another wrote. "Brill job! So much ceiling space, could have things dangling down, I know my kids would love that," someone else added. More parenting hacks IF you want to make your life easier as a first-time mum, here's nine hacks you won't want to miss. 1. Routine Charts Create visual charts for daily routines. Use pictures and stickers to make them engaging for younger children. 2. Meal Planning Plan meals a week in advance to save time and reduce stress. Involve your children in meal prep to teach them cooking skills. 3. Toy Rotation Keep a portion of toys stored away and rotate them periodically. This keeps playtime fresh and exciting without the need for constant new purchases. 4. DIY Cleaning Solutions Make child-safe cleaning solutions using vinegar and baking soda. It's effective and keeps harsh chemicals away from little hands. 5. Time-Out Jar Create a time-out jar filled with calming activities written on slips of paper. When emotions run high, children can pick an activity to help them settle down. 6. Educational Apps Utilise educational apps and websites to make screen time productive. Look for ones that offer interactive learning in subjects your child is interested in. 7. Command Centre Set up a family command centre with a calendar, key hooks, and a bulletin board. It helps keep everyone organised and aware of daily schedules. 8. Emergency Kit Keep a small emergency kit in the car with essentials like snacks, water, first aid supplies, and a change of clothes. It's a lifesaver for unexpected situations. 9. Label Everything Use labels for clothes, school supplies, and lunch boxes. It makes it easier to keep track of belongings, especially in shared spaces like schools. "Love this, well done mama!" another commented. "That's class I want another shed now!" someone else said. As another wrote: "We did this two years ago in our wendy house for the boys. "Still going strong and the boys love it." 5
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Lucy Connolly appeal judge cut sentence of paedophile Labour peer
One of the judges who refused Lucy Connolly's appeal previously reduced the sentence of a former Labour peer convicted of child sex offences. Connolly, a childminder who is married to a Conservative councillor, received a 31-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred with a tweet posted in the wake of the Southport murders. This week, Lord Justice Holroyde, alongside Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon, rejected her bid to have her sentence reduced at the Court of Appeal. The court found that the judge in Connolly's case had followed the sentencing guidelines correctly, she was aware of what those guidelines were when she pleaded guilty, and her sentence had not been manifestly excessive. Previously, Lord Justice Holroyde presided over the appeal hearing of Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, a former Labour peer, after he was convicted of trying to rape a young girl and sexually assaulting a boy under nine in the 1970s. He was jailed for five years and six months at Sheffield Crown Court in February 2022. But in March 2023, his sentence was reduced to two years and six months by Lord Justice Holroyde, Lord Burnett, the then Lord Chief Justice, and Lord Justice William Davis after they concluded the sentencing judge had not followed the sentencing guidelines. The three concluded that the trial judge in Lord Ahmed's case 'fell into error' when passing sentence. They said the fact that Lord Ahmed was a child when he committed the offences had to be taken into account. During his original trial, the court heard he had attempted to rape a girl on two occasions when he was aged about 16 or 17 and she was much younger. The attack on the boy also happened during the same period. Both incidents took place in Rotherham. Lord Ahmed was found guilty of two counts of attempted rape against the girl and a serious sexual assault against the boy. He had originally been given two years for each of the attempted rapes, to run concurrently, with a further three years and six months for assaulting the boy. The judges said had he been sentenced shortly after the assault on the boy, he would have been 14 and a child with no previous convictions. They concluded a custodial sentence of six months was a 'suitable penalty'. They did not reduce the sentence imposed in relation to the attempted rapes. Connolly, 42, was jailed after she posted a message on social media platform X hours after Axel Rudakubana went on a knife rampage at a Taylor-Swift themed event in Southport, murdering three little girls. She posted: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while you're at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.' Connolly, who lost her son Harry when he was 19 months old and cares for her sick husband, deleted the post less than four hours later – but not before it had been viewed 310,000 times. She later posted another message condemning the riots, writing: 'FS, I get they're angry. I'm f---ing raging, however, this is playing right into their hands. I do not want civil unrest on our streets. Tommy Robinson is not going to say but this is not going to get anyone anywhere. Protests yes but not riots.' She was arrested on Aug 6 following widespread riots across the country. The Court of Appeal judges refused to reduce her sentence this week, saying the tweet represented 'an incitement to serious violence'. They did not accept that the original 31-month sentence was 'manifestly excessive'. They also said they did not accept the argument that the offending tweet had been 'no more than an expression of emotion'. The ruling concluded: 'We of course have every sympathy with the applicant over the death of her son, and we can understand why she remains angry about the circumstances of his death. 'We can therefore accept that the shocking events in Southport had an impact on her which went beyond that felt by many others. But as the judge rightly said, she did not post a message of support and sympathy to the victims of the Southport attack and the bereaved.' Since the ruling there has been a widespread backlash against the decision, with Sir Richard Dearlove, a former MI6 chief, becoming the latest high-profile figure to voice concerns. Sir Richard said it was an 'extraordinary case' and he did not believe Connolly should still be in prison. Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has said the jailing of Connolly showed Britain was becoming 'a police state' under Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Keir defended the sentence given to Connolly shortly after it emerged that her appeal had been rejected. He said that while he was 'strongly in favour' of free speech, he was 'equally against incitement to violence against other people'.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Tory councillor's wife jailed for Southport tweet helped obtain British citizenship for family of Nigerian GP who hails her as the 'kindest British person I know'
The mother jailed for a racist tweet after the Southport massacre has been praised as 'the kindest British person I know' by a Nigerian GP. Childminder Lucy Connolly lost her appeal this week to be freed from a 31-month sentence for her online rant about migrants. Her Conservative councillor husband Ray Connolly said that his wife was 'a good person…not a far-right thug' but judges ruled the young mother must remain behind bars. And now Nigerian GP Dr Hene Enyi has added her voice of support for the childminder, who looked after her young daughter. Dr Enyi revealed Mrs Connolly had gone out of her way to help with her family's application for British citizenship, even providing character references. Dr Enyi said: 'Lucy is simply the loveliest, kindest British person I know. My mum and dad in Nigeria know all about her because I speak about her all the time. 'She was so good to us when we arrived here from Nigeria. She loved my daughter like her own child.' She told the Telegraph: 'We used to joke 'how do you make any money as a childminder?', because she was always buying gifts for the children. 'As well as my daughter she looked after children from Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is not a racist person who has anything against people from different races.' Mrs Connolly, 42, had appealed against her sentence at the Royal Courts of Justice, describing how news of the Southport murders of three children at a dance class had triggered her anxiety caused when her baby son, Harry, died as the result of a hospital blunder 13 years earlier. Her tweet, viewed 310,000 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later, read: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I that makes me racist so be it.' There was serious violent unrest across Britain following the Southport murders. After three senior judges dismissed her appeal on Tuesday, saying the tweet represented 'an incitement to serious violence', her husband said: 'Lucy posted one nasty tweet when she was upset and angry about three little girls who were brutally murdered in Southport. 'She realised the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That did not mean Lucy was a 'far right thug'.' Mr Connolly said his wife's incarceration at HMP Drake Hall, Staffordshire – nine months so far - had been 'very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl'. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britain was 'losing its reputation for free speech' over people being arrested by police 'simply for something we say'. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick asked: 'How on earth can you spend longer in prison for a tweet than violent crime?' saying that 'shoplifters with hundreds of prior convictions have avoided prison, a domestic abuser with 52 prior offences got off with just a suspended sentence, as did a paedophile with 110,000 indecent images of children'. And Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, asked 'how can it be right for Lucy to have been condemned to spend more than two-and-a-half years in jail for a single tweet when members of grooming gangs who plead guilty to the sexual exploitation of children get lower sentences?' He said: 'Lucy should be at home with her 12-year-old daughter and husband, not rotting in jail.' It is expected that she will not be released before she has completed two fifths of her sentence, which will be in August.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Telegraph
Lucy Connolly is no racist – she helped me become a British citizen
Dr Hene Enyi said the childminder had gone out of her way to help with her family's application for British citizenship, even providing character references. She told The Telegraph: 'Lucy is simply the loveliest, kindest British person I know. My mum and dad in Nigeria know all about her because I speak about her all the time. 'She was so good to us when we arrived here from Nigeria. She loved my daughter like her own child. 'We used to joke 'how do you make any money as a child minder', because she was always buying gifts for the children. 'As well as my daughter she looked after children from Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is not a racist person who has anything against people from different races. 'She was so kind when we needed a character reference for our citizenship and went out of her way to help us, even driving to our home to drop off the letters we needed.' 'My daughter loved being with her' Dr Enyi added: 'She started looking after my daughter in 2019 when she was aged one. When we moved to another house we were too far for Lucy to look after her every day but we used to go back to her during the holidays because my daughter loved being with her so much. 'I trusted her so much that once when I had a problem with childcare I let Lucy look after my daughter overnight. That is how much faith I had in her.' Dr Enyi said her daughter had been at Mrs Connolly's house when the police turned up to arrest her and her husband had to go and collect her in front of the officers. She said: 'My daughter was really upset because she could no longer see Lucy. We have since left Northampton so it has been a bit easier to explain why she cannot see her anymore, but it has been very difficult for her.' Dr Enyi said she put the offending tweet down to a momentary error of judgment, borne out of the grief she is still suffering following the loss of her own son. 'Error of judgment' She said: 'I knew that Lucy had lost a baby. She has a memorial every year and I have attended for the last two years. So when I saw the news about what had happened my first thought was that she had reacted to the events in Southport because of what had happened to her son. I was just so sad. 'I could understand why what had happened in Southport touched a nerve with Lucy given what she had gone through. 'But she realised quickly that what she had said was wrong and removed it. The punishment does not fit the crime. 'Lucy is not a racist person at all. It was an error of judgment that was caused by the loss of her own child. 'She pleaded guilty and has been punished enough. Her daughter needs her mum and she deserves to be back home. 'It is such a real shame that she has been scapegoated in this way.'
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE She's suffered enough: Lucy Connolly's furious friends reveal how needless death of her toddler son left her with a deep distrust of authority - and fuelled her rage-filled tweet when she found out about Southport murder
Hardened criminals come in many shapes and sizes. But, on the face of it, Lucy Connolly appears very far removed from anybody's idea of a thuggish jailbird. Until recently, the 42-year-old childminder lived a pretty unremarkable life. Each morning, toddlers would be dropped off in her charge at her pleasant 1930s semi on a tree-lined avenue in a Northampton suburb and she would watch over them as they played in the garden.
