M.E. myself and I

We started at home in May 2013, inviting a handful of family and friends to join us for tea and cake. Asking for donations of the price people would pay for tea and cake raised a couple of hundreds of pounds for the M.E Association.

After a couple of years, our little Tea Party For M.E. had become so popular with our family and friends that we had to hire a village hall!

We tend to have around 70 guests, so I have had to invest in a lot of tea sets over the years.

There has and always will be an online/virtual aspect of Blue Sunday, so that my friends with M.E can join in and feel a part of a fundraising event that is for them.

Photos of those joining in online are always on display to remind people that there are some people who are unable to travel or join us in person because of the restrictions M.E has placed on their lives.

Our tea party guests use Blue Sunday as an opportunity to bake something and bring it with them.

There wouldn’t be a Blue Sunday without the help and support of my own family. They do all of the baking, sandwich making, tea pouring, decorating, hosting, and tidying up! I sit quietly in a corner eating cake and chatting to as many people as my health will allow!

I’ve made the local papers a few times.

At first I was the only person at the tea parties who had M.E. But a few of my online friends from the M.E community have travelled to join me on the day! And when the event has been in the newspaper, local people who have M.E have come to join me.

While at my own ‘Real Life’ event, I share photos and videos online for those who are enjoying tea and cake at home. And they share photos online too of their own tea party set-up.

It isn’t just my ‘Real Life’ tea party that takes place. Each year people invite their own family and friends over to enjoy tea and cake with them.

With over £20,000 raised for the M.E Association alone, Blue Sunday just keeps growing! And this year I am hoping we can raise a decent amount of money for 12 M.E. causes!

Hello again! Two posts in a day! It must be ‘Blue Sunday’.

I hope you have a lovely day today if you’re joining in with the Tea Party For M.E. in whatever way suits you best.

Whether you’re spending the day with others or by yourself, I hope you have a lovely day. There are so many of us joining in today in whatever way we can. It’s so nice to know we’re not in this on our own.

Flexibility is key with M.E. though, so if today doesn’t go your way please don’t worry. All of the posts will still be online for you to catch-up with when you can, and you can post a photo of your own tea party set up later in the week if that works best for you.

I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge all those who aren’t able to join us today. There are people with Very Severe M.E. for whom a day like today is still out of reach. I have friends who have to live in the dark, who are unable to sit up, who can longer eat cake or drink tea, who are tube fed… I am thinking of you today and raising my cup and saucer to you. You are, without a doubt, the strongest people I know.