CHERYL GIBBS: I'm in awe of the courage of these two little heroes

Alopecia, like arthritis which my husband has, is a condition so few people know about
Cheryl Gibbs' niece Hollie, right, who has alopecia, and Amy Norton, 10, who cut her hair off for a wig-making charityCheryl Gibbs' niece Hollie, right, who has alopecia, and Amy Norton, 10, who cut her hair off for a wig-making charity
Cheryl Gibbs' niece Hollie, right, who has alopecia, and Amy Norton, 10, who cut her hair off for a wig-making charity

My eight-year-old niece Hollie has alopecia – a condition that causes hair loss. Hollie is such a strong-minded and confident individual she’s never let this affect her.

She’s had the condition since she was about two and as you can see from this picture and her bandanna she’s now lost all her hair – but what a stunner she is!

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Just down the road, in Bedhampton is another courageous young lady – Amy Norton, 10, who attends Bidbury Junior School. She did something so brave and so courageous I felt compelled to write about it. She decided to cut her hair short to raise money for alopecia – for people like Hollie who suffer from a condition that so few people know about. I went to Chandler and Hall hairdressers in Southbourne this week to watch young Amy cut her hair off – how very mature and beyond her years to put her own securities aside for others – and my sister Jo felt it was important for Hollie and indeed to show support for Amy to take her along.

The hairdressers dealt with it professionally and although you could tell Amy was nervous she sat there patiently while the hairdresser cut her plait off, which will now be sent off to be weighed and made into a wig. How brave she was...

Alopecia, like arthritis which my husband has, is a condition so few people know about. Because (and thankfully) it’s not life-threatening, not a huge amount of funds and research has gone into finding out more about it. Hollie has all kinds of assumptions made about her when people see her bandanna and she never gets upset, simply meeting people’s gaze with a huge smile.

But there are people out there who are more affected by this condition and it takes people like young Amy to stand up and be counted. Beautiful young ladies through and through and well done Amy for raising much-needed funds! If you’d like to contribute to Amy’s fundraising efforts go onto the justgiving website and put her name in.

Looking forward to getting hot under the collar...

I’m off to see the naughty film tonight and I can’t wait.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ladies, you know what I’m talking about and guys you’d have been living under a rock if you too don’t know about the film that has quite literally got everyone hot under the collar.

I’m off to see the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey. As was the case for many best friends up and down the country – scrap that, the world – I’ve decided to ditch the hubby and go with my besties to see the film. To be honest I’m surprised we’ve waited this long to see it, but we’re going tonight to Port Solent and I’m beyond excited.

I have no shame in admitting I liked the first film and I’m eager to see if this one surpasses the first as I’ve heard it’s…well…raunchier! Have you seen it? Do tell…

Congrats to Cheryl and Liam – the news is out there at last

There is no denying it now – Cheryl (Tweedy, Cole, Fernandez-Versini or just Cheryl which is easier and avoids all the complexities) can no longer deny that she is expecting ex-One Direction star Liam Payne’s baby.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cheryl has appeared alongside many other celebrities including Helen Mirren and Katie Piper in a campaign for the Princes Trust and L’Oreal aimed to boost young people’s self-confidence and in the photo she’s sporting an enormous bump.

The pair never really confirmed their baby news, choosing instead to altogether avoid the subject, but this latest picture confirms what we’ve all known for months. Congrats to the new parents to be – as usual she looks stunning!

Related topics: