Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Award 2017

Last week saw the yearly arrival of blogging award season with the BiB's (Brilliance in Blogging) awards opening.

Last year was a good year for me in this sense. I was nominated and made the first cut for the BiBs and made it all the way to the finals of the MaD awards. At the time I was completely overwhelmed with the love that I was receiving and it was truly appreciated but because of this I decided that I wouldn't put myself forward for any awards this year.

So when the BiB's opened last Wednesday I was there suggesting bloggers that I loved and who I thought deserved a nomination. However, once again, I was wonderfully receiving messages from people telling me that they had nominated me but instead of the "Family" or "Primary aged" categories they all seem to have nominated me for the Inspire category.

I wouldn't have thought of putting myself forward for this as I don't think that I do much that inspires, in fact, I just do what I normally do and plod along.

I thought long and hard about this and because of that I am currently 5 days behind on the nominations and I am sure most people have already completed their favourites but I thought I would still do a little post for anyone still thinking of who to vote for.

I struggled though to find the words to even suggest that I deserved to be nominated for that category so I decided instead that I would ask some of the above people to suggest why I may be Inspirational to them.


Natalie Plutoniumsox.com

"I’ll be nominating Martyn in the Inspirational category because he is a shining example of overcoming adversity to succeed as a blogger and working parent. He is leading the way in talking about male mental health problems by sharing his own difficulties and showing that they can be overcome. Having met Martyn face to face, I know how difficult it is for him to get around due to his disability. Despite this, he home educates his boys and blogs about their regular outings and adventures. He is candid about the issues he faces with accessibility and has used his blog to raise awareness of important issues. He has been an inspiration to me as a blogger and as a parent. But more importantly, he has given hope to people suffering from similar conditions to his. He shows that disability doesn’t have to stop you from living life to the full and being a brilliant dad."

Natalie Diary of an Unexpectant Mother

"Inspiring, inspirational - these are two words Martyn would never use when talking about himself. I mean sure, what's inspirational about a man with a debilitating disability that sees him in constant pain night and day (not to mention struggling with mental health too) being a home educating stay at home single dad with a job on the side? Absolutely nothing right? Well that's the way he sees it. And that is what is most inspiring to me. Martyn sees himself as just doing what any other person would. He achieves more every day than I do as a married stay at home mum of one who is able bodied and not battling demons every day. Quite frankly he puts me to shame and he thinks it's normal. But it's not normal, it's superhuman! And after all that he's ridiculously supportive and helpful to everyone in the blogging community, I'm convinced he's developed a time machine and not told anyone because I really don't know how he finds the hours in a day. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Time for a lie down."

Vicky Single Mother Ahoy

"This year I will be nominating Martyn in the “inspirational” category.

I’m a single parent, and I just about get by looking after myself and my one child. Martyn has

2 children. And muscular dystrophy. And he home schools his sons. And teaches music.

And probably does a load of other stuff I’ve not remembered. And he’s always there to talk

on Twitter or in private, if someone needs a friend.

As well as all of this, he blogs about his mental health problems. Men are supposed to be all

manly and strong, so for a man to be vulnerable about his mental health is a big deal. He

does so with dignity and integrity, and without whining!

Speaking of integrity, it’s something that can sometimes be lacking online but Martyn

displays this daily. For all his jokes and banter on Twitter, he is a true friend and a genuine

person. He likes what he likes; he dislikes what he dislikes and he’s not ashamed or afraid of

what other people might think. He only reviews products if they’re relevant to his audience,

and he doesn’t go chasing whatever sponsored posts he can get his hands on. I’ve

witnessed him leave a conversation when it became bitchy or unkind about someone else

and that’s something I think all of us wish we had the strength of character to do."

Reading these were wonderful and lovely and I, once again, am overwhelmed. I would be grateful for any nominations in the BiB's but if you agree with the above then I would also welcome a nomination in that category too by clicking here.

You can also find some of the topics mentioned above here:

Muscular Dystrophy
Dependent Personality Disorder/Mental Health
Home Education

Here’s how it works:

• Stage 1: Nominations: Bloggers nominate themselves or others in one (or several) of the BiB categories. Nominations are open from 10th May and close on 7th June at 23.59. Grab your badge here to encourage folks to nominate you and support your campaign to be one of 2017’s best bloggers
• Stage 2: Finalist: 8 people will be chosen in each category to be included in the Finalist list. This list is made up of the 4 with the most nominations, and 4 chosen by BritMums/judges. Finalists will be announced on Monday 19th June.
• Stage 3: Voting: The community votes for their favourites from Monday 19th June through Sunday 2nd July at 23.59.
• Stage 4: Winners, chosen by the category judge, will be announced on the evening of Saturday 30th 2017 at the #BML17 BiBs City Cruises Party. Everyone attending BritMums Live plus all finalists are invited

Whoever you vote for I am sure they are very deserving and I wish everyone good luck! For me, I am still grateful for everyone who reads the blog and will always just plod along and share my thoughts!

 

 

Martyn