Shelly Dennison

Quick reminder that I'm shifting my charity comms blog posts from my website to a newsletter format. I’ll be sharing short posts with practical tips and ideas, the kind of length you can read over a cup of tea and hopefully leave feeling inspired. Subscribe here: teaandtips.substack.com

I've been spending this afternoon reading about charity governance and now my brain is leaking out of my ears. (And I've spent most of my career in the charity sector, goodness knows how this stuff reads to people who haven't...)

Two budget related questions... I assume there's a boring and practical reason why the £100 energy payment is being given based on council tax band rather than household income? Any charities been quick off the mark to ask households that don't feel they need it to donate to help those who do?

This week's Tea and Tips includes a writing prompt inspired by a visit to the RSPB’s The Lodge nature reserve. I also take a quick look at some of the reasons why this piece of signage works. teaandtips.substack.com/p/inspired-by #CharityComms

Today I have mostly been overthinking one sentence of copy for my website.

In which we have fun with Winnie-the-Pooh and friends at Anglesey Abbey. shellydennison.substack.com/p/tea-cake-a...

Right now, the UK government has a crucial chance to ban glyphosate from public spaces and garden centres, but they’ll only step up if enough of us make our voices heard. It only takes 2 minutes. Thanks! act.gp/3WpxIot

This is the clearest explanation of what action you need to take that I've seen so far.

A History of England in 25... Embroideries? New on the @ihr.bsky.social blog today: a career highlight experience for me and a deeply moving, illuminating encounter between #history and #creative practice. Thank you to Jane Mayhew for her wonderful creative vision. blog.history.ac.uk/2026/10/hist...

Halloween is coming up so: a) please check carefully for hedgehogs before lighting your bonfires b) don’t leave your pumpkins on the ground. Hedgehogs eat them and can end up with diarrhoea at a time when they need to be gaining weight 👉 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...

Today has not been terribly productive.

Operation Noah condemns the UK Government’s decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field & urges the government to reject the pending Rosebank oil field. Jackdaw will have no meaningful impact on UK energy security & will have no impact on household energy bills. www.operationnoah.org/operation-no...

@madlinsudn.bsky.social - I know you've been following this saga so just in case you hadn't spotted the latest... societyofauthors.org/2026/10/21/u...

Ridiculous and short sighted decision. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...

Monday's end... for sunset lovers here 🤗 Views across croft and sea to Skye.

This week’s tea and tips is all about untangling outcomes and impact. It explains the basics and looks at how they might show up in your communications. There’s also a simple example to show how it works in practice. teaandtips.substack.com/p/communicat... #CharityComms

Good day's birding at WWT Welney. A very obliging kestrel, lovely reed bunting sighting, plus the first whooper swans and greylags of the season. Plenty of lapwings, Canada geese, widgeon and cattle egrets about too.

"Christian Eco-Spirituality", a day conference. Coming on November 7th at Ripon College Cuddesdon, nr. Oxford, and open to all. Our speaker will be Rev. Dr. Robin Parry, author of Christian Eco-Spirituality: An Outline (2025). For details, follow the link! cres.org.uk/christian-ec...

Having a browse through this year's new Advent books to see if anything caught my eye and this did because Christmas is in fact my birthday. I'm trying not to feel personally attacked 😂

This is a fabulous story!

New notebook #TinyJoys

Happened to mention in passing to my dad that our new(ish) vicar is mad keen on Alpha, to which his response was 'is that still going?' just in case anyone was wondering where perception is at the moment 😂

The new Prime Minister is writing a "10-year plan" for the UK. The arts & culture MUST be part of it. I've signed @campaignforthearts.org's petition urging @andyburnham.bsky.social to revitalise the arts – to revitalise the whole nation 🌱 Join me: www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10-year-plan/

And today why LinkedIn thinks I might know Calvin Robinson. Not sure which of these is farthest off the mark... 😬

There are lots of things I could say about this piece but I think it's particularly noticeable that it doesn't begin to grapple with the structural problem of how church volunteering might be made to work for younger people and keeps the burden placed on the retired.

😊 I made a game about British birdsong and time travel. The newest level is set in #Ely, starting about 7000 years ago... 🐦‍⬛ Listen to birds, guess who's singing, and collect the dawn chorus. 🦻It's built for accessibility and free to play bird-times.lovable.app #IndieDev #GameDev #Birdsong

My writer's diary is where I share a bit of a behind the scenes peek at the projects I’m working on, plus writing related news and updates. You’ll also find links to pieces that have been published on my website or elsewhere. shellydennison.substack.com/p/writers-di...

My Waterstones wish lists are completely out of control.

"It's difficult to imagine police storming churches, synagogues, and mosques to arrest volunteers – many of them elderly and vulnerable themselves – simply for helping a neighbour." - Our CEO @minnierahman.bsky.social on Farage's threat to prosecute charities. www.civilsociety.co.uk/voices/minni...

Yes, I am judging everyone wishing Winnie-the-Pooh a happy 100th birthday today using Disney images rather than E.H. Shepard illustrations, why do you ask?

In today’s tea and tips I share some tips and prompts to help navigate Facebook’s two link limit. teaandtips.substack.com/p/only-allow... #CharityComms

Lovely trip to Anglesey Abbey today. The Winnie-the-Pooh centenary exhibition and trail was delightful, and the dahlia border was looking very colourful.

Slightly odd request, perhaps, and it might not even make sense, but does anyone have suggestions for a poet who is a bit like Mary Oliver, but with a much more urban backdrop? Mulling over some stuff, and interested to know if there's someone out there writing like that. ✝️⚓

The archive of @greenbeltfestival.bsky.social talks is currently freely available and this lunchtime's listening was this one from the ever brilliant Sarah Perry on friendship, poetry and Victorians. www.greenbelt.org.uk/talks/on-fri...

Absolutely torrential rain here. I feel sorry for all the kids walking home from school, although I'm not sure the shrieking is really necessary... 😂

We've finally reached cold enough to fancy soup for lunch season. #TinyJoys

Four simple ideas to help get the ideas flowing. Tea and tips is a calm space for anyone involved with words in the small charity, community or not-for-profit world. teaandtips.substack.com/p/what-to-po...

I've been trying to do too many things at once with my blog so I'm moving the charity comms content across to a new newsletter.  It's hopefully going to be a bit cosier and much more focused on community building. If that sounds like your kind of thing then do sign up. teaandtips.substack.com/about