Donald loves to be creative. Here, he shares examples of jewellery that he has made.
Beatrice writes about lots of different topics. She writes poems about different emotions, stress and also the memories of people who have passed away. She has written two books. One is called ‘Tales of Ether: Stories of Wonder’. And the other is called ‘Tales of Terra: Poems of Life’. These books are full of different stories and poetry. Beatrice has dedicated her books to her teacher and to her niece.
My Epilepsy
On the day I found that I had epilepsy,
it was hard for me to understand and take in
my lifestyle had to change a lot
which was not easy for me to do
I had to be bit more careful when out and about.
My epilepsy makes me very speedy and chatty
and sometimes unaware of my surrounding
I feel a little spaced out
When I am spaced out, I think I can’t do much on those days.
I feel I’m in a different dimension.
It’s like being in Alice in Wonderland or down
the rabbit hole.
Having epilepsy doesn’t make me any different person
but it makes me a special person to be around
Epilepsy is not something to be afraid of or run away from either
LET EMBRACE IT
LET BE STRONG WITH IT
LET SHARE OUR STORY WITH THE WORLD
My Dyslexia
I wish I was different and not broken
I wish I could hear and understand
I wish I didn’t have dyslexia.
And it is not my fault
I was born with it
But I’m broken
I’m hard of hearing and don’t always understand things
I do have dyslexia and I don’t care
Where I’m broken or not broken
I’m proud of who I am and what I have became in life
Read more of Beatrice’s poetry and writing
You can read and download both of Beatrice’s books as PDFs at the links below.
In March 2025, we sent out a survey to everyone who gets our newsletter. Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback.
Here are some of the things we learned from your feedback:
- Most people told us they find the newsletter easy to read.
- Most people told us that it is easy to understand the articles in the newsletter. For example, people told us that we use clear language.
- Most people told us that the length of the newsletter is about right. But some people told us that sometimes articles can be too long or have too much information.
- People told us that they like reading about different topics in the newsletter. They also said that the tone of the articles feels positive and hopeful. The most popular articles are ones about types of support, creative projects and looking after your health and wellbeing.
- Most people told us they like how the newsletter looks. For example, we heard that using headings and bold, bright colours makes it easy to follow and enjoyable to read.
Some of the feedback was about things that we should keep doing. For example, we should have a range of topics in the newsletter and write about them in a clear way. Other feedback was about things we could change. Here are some of the changes we will make to the newsletter based on your feedback. We will:
- Print some copies of the newsletter in a bigger size, so that people can ask for a large print version if they need one.
- Include key information about Future Pathways in our newsletters, such as our waitlist and the number of people who started working with a Support Coordinator.
- Aim to make sure that our newsletters always include articles about the topics people like the most.
- Look at ways to improve the design of the newsletter so that people continue to enjoy it.
We do 4 newsletters each year. They come out in March, June, September and December. If you would like to give feedback about any of our newsletters, you can:
- Email us at engagement@future-pathways.co.uk
- Fill in our online feedback form at www.future-pathways.co.uk/feedback
- Phone us for free on 0808 164 2005 (lines open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm)
Donald shares his recipe for cookies. And you can also download a booklet of his other recipes (including coups and pasta) at the bottom of the page.
Donald’s recipe for egg-free cookies
Ingredients:
Butter – 250 grams
Caster sugar – 250 grams
Vanilla essence – 2 teaspoons
Self-raising flour – 400 grams (plus a little bit extra for dusting)
Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
Optional: you can also add in milk chocolate chips (50 grams) or cocoa powder (2 tablespoons)
This recipe makes around 18-24 medium cookies or 30 small cookies.
Method:
Heat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4.
1. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon or an electric whisk. Do this until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2. Stir in the vanilla essence, flour and baking powder. If you need to, add 1 tablespoon of water to bring the mixture together. If you are adding chocolate chips or cocoa powder, put them in now. Then bring the dough together into a ball with your hands.
3. Sprinkle some flour over your work surface and on the dough too. Roll out the dough until it is 3mm thick. Cut out the cookies using cookie cutters. Then lay them out on baking trays lined with baking paper. Make sure you space the cookies apart.
4. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. If you are using two baking trays in the oven, swap the trays over halfway through cooking. When the cookies are done, leave them on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
The cookies will keep in an airtight tin for 3 to 4 days. Enjoy!
Do you enjoy cooking and baking?
You can view and download more of Donald’s recipes at the link below.