Gloriously Ordinary Sundays - 28th September 2025

One of my very favourite days of the year is our annual Social Care Future big gathering, and it happened last Thursday at the Friends Meeting House in Manchester. If you weren't there, imagine a room full of 250 people…

Support workers

Social workers

Families

Commissioners

Properly senior people - Directors and Chief Execs

Disabled people

Policy makers and politicians

Older people

People

People united by our passion for creating a Social Care Future where we really do get to live our Gloriously Ordinary Lives.

They're always magical events, but last Thursday seemed to have an extra bit of magic. It was a lesson in what is possible when a group of people comes together in the name of a shared vision. Our social care future vision, as many of you will know, is,

‘We all want to live in the place we call home, with the people and things we love, in communities where we look out for each other, doing the things that matter to us’

We're really clear that this is the social care future we seek and KNOW to be possible, and it felt like everyone there on the day felt that too.

The wonderful Jon Ralphs was recording the event through graphics, and during the first session of the day, as we started to talk about social care, I heard the word ‘love’ mentioned several times. Then the suggestion that maybe a great assessment question would be, ‘What brings you joy?’ Other words I heard a lot were: home, belonging, trust, and relationships.

Words I didn’t hear at all during the day?

‘I’m not sure if that’s possible’

‘But what about the regulatory framework…’

‘That sounds very risky’

‘Of course, in an ideal world…’

Did we have tricky conversations? Get into how to tackle the complicated stuff? Were there tears, as well as laughter? Absolutely. But it was all done from a starting point of ‘us’ and ‘we’, not ‘them and us’.

So, my very quick point on a Sunday night? When we humans create a vision that makes sense to us, when we are clear about our purpose and get a bit curious about what we might do together in the name of creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives, magic really does happen.

Check out the Social Care Future website over the next couple of weeks for some photos and thoughts from the day, but meanwhile, what might be possible where you live and/or work if you’re really clear about your vision and purpose, and get a bit curious alongside some other folk?

PS. Did you see? The Gloriously Ordinary Sundays Podcast episode 13 is here. I I chat with Beverley Samways from Unique Connections.

I recently came across the work of Unique Connections online, when exploring how I could help and support The Girl to live a gloriously ordinary life. Beverley and I talk all about the importance and power of seeing the emotional person behind the behaviour, and how being truly present with someone can replace self-injury with connection and words.

* Trigger warning - we talk about self harm *