We have forums for new assignments, deployments, and many other things that people are often unsure about. Just knowing what they are allowed to send to their partners at war is a great relief to some.

Over the years as Facebook has grown we have a seen a decline in our members and we want to restore the magnificent website that Forces Girls once was. The site has been a lifeline to so many of our members for so long now, that it would be such a shame to deprive ladies who will need it in the coming years.

Show your support to Forces Girls

The poignancy of this book centres particularly on the fact that the author felt like an outcast who had nothing in common with other pregnant mothers and new parents. How could she feel so low when everywhere around her were books and “experts” telling her how wonderful motherhood was and how overjoyed she should be feeling?

With the support of family and friends and a long-suffering husband, two years on this young woman is a happy, caring mother of a beautiful son who is bonny, healthy and loved unconditionally. And she is back to normal.

The Mother of All Journeys: Coming to Terms with Having a Baby by Helen Bells

Dan Riley is a major in the British Army. After a six month tour of duty in Afghanistan, he is coming home to the wife and young daughters he adores. The outside world sees those reunions as a taste of heaven after months of hell.

But are they? Can a man trained to fight adjust again to family and domestic life? And how will the family cope, if he can’t? How much, indeed, can Alexa, Dan’s wife, sacrifice her own needs and fulfilment to serve his commitment to a way of life that demands everything not just of him, but of her and the children as well?

Critically acclaimed contemporary writer Joanna Trollope takes a keen look at the home lives of the modern Army in this captivating new book. What happens, these days, when love and a vocation collide, head on?

This book is sure to raise some eyebrows (and hackles…) on this side of the Channel.

Pamela Druckerman, an American living in France, writes about the different styles of parenting in France and Britain.  She asks why French women seem to be able to raise children who are far more charming and better behaved than their British counterparts, whilst still managing to look chic and sophisticated themselves.

Buy it to look and learn (or hurl at your naughty children!) French Children Don’t Throw Food

Find out more: The Iron Lady

Follow the Flag are looking for volunteers to help us fly the flag further and more furiously.

Follow The Flag has the potential to grow far bigger, and help far more Forces families than we had first envisaged and we need a team of really good volunteers who can help us make this happen.   We are looking for voluteers with a wide range of skills and areas of expertise, who can make a regular commitment to help us, no matter how big or small.

If you are at all interested or know of anyone who might be, we are looking for people to help in a variety of areas including:

PR

Marketing

Fundraising

Events

We are also looking for regional representatives and an enthusiastic military spouse blogger to write a witty weekly column on patch life…

We are as keen as mustard to hear any other ideas and suggestions you have about how we can improve the site and the services that we offer.

Please get in touch: contact@followtheflag.com

Follow The Flag is a ‘not for profit’ social enterprise.

Name:

Gillian Jones

Organisation:

Gecko Art

Website:

www.gecko-art.co.uk
 

What inspired you to start your business?

The idea of creating pictures from hand and footprints is something that has developed over time, starting with those very messy attempts with paint and a young baby. I thought there must be an easier way!

In terms of lifestyle, I have been a full-time Mum for five years and wanted to retain the ability to do the school run! I have two small boys and wanted to do something which enabled me to still go to the nativity plays and sports days without having to worry about what my employer might say. I have a partner, Lisa Gray, so I do have someone to talk to about the business and share the load with, but we can both make our own decisions about when we work and how we work. I have had a number of jobs, including a researcher at a university, a software engineer at a multi-national company and an officer in the Royal Navy, and I definitely relish the freedom I have now.

What do you find the biggest challenge about combining being a forces wife and running your own business?

I am quite fortunate in that my husband is shore-based at the moment, and works locally, so we have a normal family life. Since the business is quite new I have yet to experience him being away for long periods whilst I run the business, look after the children and run the home by myself! I’ll keep you posted…

If you had an extra pair of hands what would you use them for?

Cleaning and tidying the house! Hopefully the hands could just go off and do their own thing so I would not have to actually get involved in any cleaning….

Why should people shop with your company?

Gecko Art creates pictures from hand and footprints. We send you a pack which contains wipes and coated paper, so you can take your child’s prints at home. You then send the prints back to us (in a pre-paid envelope) and we turn them into a piece of art. We take great pride in the quality of our pictures, so you are getting something very special. The detail you can see in the hand and footprints in our pictures is quite incredible; you can see all the creases and crinkles that make your child’s prints unique. The pictures are printed using a professional printer on fine art paper and delivered framed, so you get a full service. You are getting a piece of art which is incredibly personal to you for what, I think, is a very reasonable price!

We also sell gift packs, which allow the recipient to choose a picture they would like from our range; ideal for new parents, Mother’s Day, Fathers’ Day and so on!

How do you think advertising with follow the flag will help your business?

I expect that the people who use Follow The Flag are discerning buyers, and hopefully our product will appeal to them!

What does the future hold for your business?

We are in the process of designing additional products which will include whole family prints and wedding gifts. We are also going to be at the Stansted Park Garden Show in Hampshire from 15^th to 17^th June, so come and see us there.

And finally, if you were to appear on the Dragon’s Den what outfit would you choose to wear to best promote you and your business…!

Well it would have to have something to do with geckos. Perhaps I would wear my normal clothes, but have a pet gecko, or two, sat on my shoulder.

The school holidays have begun and if you are already relying on a system of bribery and corruption to ensure good behaviour, a trip to Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle, Dorset, next weekend could be the answer.

Show the next generation how ‘bang on trend…’ you are by grooving (?!) away to Wretch 32, the Dub Pistol Sound System and Mark Ronson, then re live your teenage years and destroy all that new found credibility by bouncing around to The Wonder Stuff!

For last minute tickets visit Camp Bestival

The wife of an officer in the Welsh Guards, Fiona Stanford’s fantastic book ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’, tells the untold story of the people left behind when our soldiers go off to fight. She reveals the hidden side to modern conflict – the story of the families, but in particular the wives, girlfriends, mothers and children.

Poignant, inspiring and deeply moving, this book is a tribute to the women and families that support our heroes on the frontline. The proceeds of Don’t Say Goodbye will be donated to the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal.

www.followtheflag.com/listings/dont-say-goodbye

www.welshguardsappeal.com