Rainbow Skies

About Me

Hi, my name is Kath

I live in a small village in North Yorkshire with my husband, varying numbers of children and two rescue cats. I have spent the majority of my working life as a primary school teacher but now currently work as a forest school leader, a sensory panellist for a confectionary company and a freelance writer.

Just a little about me....

Until 2018 I was working part time as a primary school teacher. Leaving the profession after many years was a huge wrench and the knock-on effects were far greater than I realised. I lost my direction in life. I was no longer working, my children were at university and for the first time in years I had time to be me .... but I didn’t actually know who me was anymore. It wasn’t an easy time and it took big decisions, changes and courage for me to start finding my way again.

Hit by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, I felt worthless. As a teacher I would have been a keyworker and making a difference, but now I was nothing. It was during my regular allotted exercise time (remember when we were only allowed outside for 1 hour a day?) that I realised that there were many people in my position or worse off and by exchanging a few words or by waving to someone sitting in their window, I was actually making a difference. I was possibly the only person that they would see and perhaps brightening their day for a very brief moment. And that became my purpose. What could I do to help bring a smile to other people’s faces and lift their gloom? Letters, messages, random gifts and offers of help all followed and were reciprocated and when I saw the joy that giving and receiving gave me, I decided to carry on and this website was the next step - a way of supporting others who might be in a similar position to the way I was.


I came across a quote by the writer Maya Angelou – ‘Be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud’ and decided that captured perfectly what I was trying to achieve. Having experienced some dark days myself (following a shock cancer diagnosis in 2021), I wanted to bring an element of hope, friendship and support to those finding life a little difficult. I’m not a particularly brave person so this is a big step for me, putting myself out there for others to read, debate and possibly disagree with! However, maybe my writing will give you food for thought or spark an idea to try yourself; you may decide to reach out to others after reading about an initiative or charity I have highlighted or maybe reading about my cancer health journey (a word I hesitate to use but actually is quite accurate) will help you through a similar journey of your own or help you support others in my position.

Life isn't easy for any of us at times and it can be difficult to see a way through. We are all dealing with our own demons, fears and negative thoughts, so I hope that this website will become something positive; sparking new interests, encouraging a community feel and providing a little comfort to anyone going through a hard time.

I would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions and advice because we can all learn from each other. During the last few years and particularly through my cancer surgery, chemotherapy and dealing with ailing family members, there have been a number of people who have become rainbows in my world and I wouldn't have managed without them. I hope that I can become a rainbow for you too.

Thanks for reading!

Kath x