T-L Spencer: Dreaming, Writing, Reading

Did you know that while being the patron saint of love, St Valentine is also the patron saint of epilepsy?

Today is Epilepsy awareness day, and in honour of the occasion, I thought I'd give you a little history about epilepsy... In those case, what the Romans thought about it! The Romans called epilepsy the ‘falling  sickness’  and believed people with the condition to be possessed by demons. To ‘test’ people, they would give them a small piece of jet and make them smell it; if they didn’t immediately drop down and have a seizure, they were deemed safe. Magical practices such as bans on eating certain foods, wearing black clothing, and taking regular baths were thought to provide protection – drinking human blood was also believed to be a good preventative tool. Interesting,  huh?

Hi people! Did you know that epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, affecting over 50 million people ? So many people have the condition yet so few of us take the time to understand it. Or the people who live with it. And this is where Purple Day comes in, the day of Epilepsy awareness! It is a day where people with epilepsy, or those with 'epileptic' famy members can spread the word about the condition, teaching others about epilepsy and it's many facets. Epilepsy is not a disease, and Purple Day is all about helping people to understand this, and to get people to support people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions. Be a voice! I will be posting various little factoids over the next few days, so watch this space!!! XxX

Sometimes you just have to turn in early and read, take the troubles of the day away by delving into someone else's problems or better yet, a world full of mystery and adventure. I hope everyone reading this has a great book, an escape, resting and waiting on their bedside table, eager to be read. Goodnight all x

That's right folks, tomorrow is World Book Day, the international celebration of all things bookish and brilliant! I love a good book and will be the first one to admit I've faked illness on a night time (like a hundred times) just so I can stay at home and finish that oh-so-thrilling novel on my bedside table. You may be a fellow bibliophile - that's a person who loves books, my friends, it's nothing sordid - or you may prefer a movie. If you're the kind of person to enjoy the film adaptation over the book, that's up to you. I stand my 'the book is always better' - and for every other day of the year, I'd honestly let every film lover stand by their opinion too. But not World Book Day.  Tomorrow, I urge everyone to pick up their old forgotten favourites, their brand new buys and even their no chance in hell books and start reading! Tomorrow is the day when everyone should try something different with their reading habits, whether it be a change in g...