Dr Elaine Lopez

@BritishGasHelp I'm on the priority services register. My meter has a fault and needs to be replaced, leaving me with no heating and hot water and a disabled child at home. All 'emergency' numbers are telling me to call back tomorrow.

@dude_on2wheels @CPS_Primary @CPS_ClassJR @JCCycling1960 @bike4healthorg Aww, look at him 😍 I'm so proud!

It might just look like a kid riding a bike along a back lane but a few weeks back this young lad would not do that. Now he does it without thinking @CPS_Primary @CPS_ClassJR @JCCycling1960 @bike4healthorg @ELopezTESOL

@dude_on2wheels @bike4healthorg @CPS_Primary @CPS_ClassJR @frogbikes @JCCycling1960 Thanks so much. I never thought he'd get the confidence to ride a bike so it's amazing to see these photos and to hear all about his progress every Friday 😊

Another confidence building ride for one of our team with great support from his classmate @bike4healthorg @CPS_Primary @CPS_ClassJR @frogbikes @JCCycling1960

@Ofstednews instead of reporting schools for not doing enough online teaching, what if we tell you how great they're doing? My vulnerable Y3 son has ASD, was too unsettled to go to school with lockdown changes. So his teacher made him a video explaining how everything would work.

Not long now until that one magical brisk walk on January 1st undoes all the calories!

#NUWomenCountDown We hosted so many excellent guest bloggers to talk about their experiences as #WomenInHE during lockdown. @ELopezTESOL 's account of balancing work and care is invaluable blogs.ncl.ac.uk/nuwomen/2020/0…

Before I became a single parent, I never realised how much the entire system is skewed against us. Please sign this 👇

@WidowedAndYoung @GMB @piersmorgan @susannareid100 @CocoPops Congratulations to both, but personally I hated this interview as I thought it made WAY sound like a dating site. The 'happy ever after' narrative of widowhood depicted in the media also bothers me deeply, as it suggests you're only moving forward if you meet a new partner.

Thanks to @GMB @piersmorgan @susannareid100 for interviewing @WidowedAndYoung members Lee @CocoPops and his fiancee Anna, who met when they joined our charity after they were both widowed young, fell in love and recently got engaged. Congratulations from all of us at WAY 💙

@professor_dave @TomFletcher Would be curious to know how it goes. Not ready to read my 7yr old a book about death of a parent yet, but we're less than a year in and bedtimes are still a flash point. He likes to identify with others in the same situation though, so maybe one for later?

34 bedtimes until Christmas so we've started this - it has 34 chapters! The hero is a 7 & 3/4 year old boy who only has a dad, because his other parent died - just like the 7yo! I've really been looking forward to reading him this one. We also both ❤ @TomFletcher's books.

19-25 November is Children’s Grief Awareness Week. Join us in showing support for grieving children, young people and their families, raising awareness of their needs and how to help. #CGAW2020 #SayTheWords

@91caitlin As with other responses, had to squeeze it into 3 years because that's when the funding stopped, and I turned down many opportunities to just focus on the thesis. Was actually 3.5 years as I took 6 months (paid) maternity leave. That is something the research councils do well!

Quick question (for reasons around standard ESRC funding only being 3 years). If you did a UK PhD - either funded or unfunded - how long did it take you?

@KumaYama100 Definitely going to steal 'equilibriumate your whelm', what a great expression. Thanks Joe, I hope Japan is treating you well.

@ELopezTESOL Sending love from Japan; I’m glad he has a diagnosis, which is the first step to getting him the help he needs. I’m sure he is a smashing young lad. I hope you can equilibriumate your whelm soon x

3 weeks ago, it was confirmed my son has Aspergers. It took 3 yrs to get the diagnosis. I'm parenting him alone, while we're both in the early stages of grief for his dad, while I hold down a FT academic job, in the middle of a pandemic. Excuse me if I feel a little overwhelmed.

@handan_lv I'm so sorry about your daughter, Handan 💔 So very sad. I've heard of that book before but haven't read it yet. I like It's okay that you're not okay by Megan Devine. Reading and understanding does help. Sending love.

@ELopezTESOL Hi, Elaine. I was one of your students when you taught in Leeds. I remembered how lovely and humorous you are. I understand how it felt as I just lost my baby girl a few months ago. I came across a book called OPTION B written by Sheryl Sanderberg. Hope it sends you strength💪

@Cat_Davies My support bubble (my dad) lives 3 hours away, so we only see him once a month

@ELopezTESOL I hear you, despite the SAW. Any scope for a support bubble? Allowed for single adult households.

Trying to record a lecture video but my neighbour is having some trees cut down. And damn, that wood chipper is loud! In other news, children over 5 are included in the new 'rule of 1' so it effectively bans single parents like me from social contact with another adult. *Sigh*

@AldiUK This advert is highly insensitive to children who have lost a dad/don't have a dad, you are telling them that it isn't Christmas. This will be my 7 year old's first Xmas since his daddy died and I hope we never accidentally come across your advert on TV as it will devastate him

Kevin’s out in the cold. Will he get home in time for Christmas? #KevinTheCarrot

A long read, but one that makes some very valid points about the experience of solo parenting. I get so frustrated when people seek to minimise it by saying 'my husband works a lot so I understand how you feel'. No. No you don't. It isn't comparable. ellamentalmama.com/why-feeling-li…

@VerbingNouns Yes, this!! Same as you, I can't overwork, but for different reasons. I feel like it's such a disadvantage and I will progress so much slower than colleagues who can pull the occasional (or regular) evening or weekend shift.

Some thoughts on the lessons to be learnt from the public response to the A Level algorithm, and why I wish I was at @CODIfringe @edfringe to discuss this!: Don’t Blame It On The Algorithm! link.medium.com/bRejzlcxe9