The Struggles and Joy as a Carer

We started Katharina’s story in Part One and here we are catching up with her to capture her positive approach to life. She tells us of her joy as a carer. You may recall, Katharina and her son Jan, are the first international carer family to visit Kingham Cottage. We are proud to continue her […]

World Mental Health Day 2019

This year, World Mental Health Day falls on Thursday 10th October. It presents a perfect opportunity to praise and thank the many charities, organisations and the NHS for their work. Time to Change, the campaign that pledges to end mental health stigma, Heads Together with patrons, Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge […]

Carers’ wellbeing gets a 100% improvement

The purpose of After Umbrage, the charity caring for those who care, is to boost carers’ wellbeing. We measure this by talking to our beneficiaries and running an annual survey. This year they tell us that after their free break at Kingham Cottage their wellbeing improved by 100%.  Largely, we anticipate the feedback that a […]

Boost your mood and bring your dog to Kingham Cottage

Science is helping us understand that our relationships with our pets come with some pretty powerful mental and physical health benefits. Dogs and cats in particular can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. With this in mind, we will be welcoming new guests with […]

Join us on World Smile Day

The smiley face we all know, love and use constantly with our messages to friends and loved ones was created in 1963 by an American man called Harvey Ball from Massachusetts. His concern to keep the meaning of the smiley face authentic – rather than commercialised – brought him to the idea of World Smile […]

Enhancing the Wellbeing of Carers in Cambridge

Pictured from left to right: Rebecca Browne (CTCPN), Richard Cross (CTCPN), Tara Belcher (After Umbrage) and Tracy Wilkinson (After Umbrage) Heart warming and humbling are the words that came to mind when Tara Belcher, Founder of After Umbrage and Tracy Wilkinson, Head of Marketing Communications met the carers in Cambridge who dropped into the Carers […]

Three activities that reduce stress

Hallelujah! Today is National Stress Awareness Day which is a perfect excuse to share the notion that we have wonderful, powerful tools for boosting our wellbeing and reducing stress. You are probably doing many of them already without realising the neuroscience behind the benefits to your emotional health. Here’s the science bit in brief. Stress is […]