'M.E. myself and I' by Anna Redshaw

Preparations are in full swing for Blue Sunday 2024. Each Monday, I’ve been aiming to have an ‘admin hour’ where I chip away at the To Do list; be it emailing M.E charities, setting up fundraising pages, or replying to your Blue Sunday queries.

I started Blue Sunday and the Tea Party For M.E back in 2013 when I had wanted, so badly, to feel a part of something after a few years of being too isolated to join in in the ‘usual’ ways.

A virtual tea party saw people around the world posting photos of their own Tea Party For M.E, connecting online, and donating the price they’d pay for tea and cake to an M.E charity. To date, over £100,000 has been raised, simply by striving to include people living with ME/CFS in a fundraising event.

Blue Sunday remains a great and accessible way for friends and family to join in and show their support of their own person/people with M.E.

• Dig out your favourite mug, or your best cups and saucers
• Wear something blue (pyjamas count!), decorate your bedroom, or have your bedding changed to fit the blue theme of the day
• Have a slice of cake, or two. It can be bought or baked, and if your own dietary requirements limit you from eating cake then you can switch cake for whatever works best for you
• If you can, the price you’d pay for tea and cake to an M.E. charity.
• Post a photo of your tea party set-up to social media. This allows those who are joining in by themselves to feel a part of something bigger. It breaks the isolation that we all feel when we are too unwell to be with people in-person
• Chat online with others doing the exact same thing. Swap recipes. Like photos. Comment on the gorgeous tea sets that others are using
• Follow the hashtags #BlueSunday2024 and #TeaPartyForME2024 or use the dedicated Facebook event to see everyone else’s tea party related posts.

With no right or wrong way to join in on Blue Sunday, I hope you’ll find a way that works for you.

After last year’s bumper ten year anniversary event where we reached the £100,000, I’m scaling things back a tad. I won’t be using Twitter/X, having fundraising packs, or hosting a giveaway. But the foundations remain the same; having a dedicated day of togetherness and fundraising for a community of people so often left out/forgotten about.