The Flying Fish Company

02/12/2025

Yesterday's Seeds of Hope session felt really special.

I was blown away by the kindness, openness and honesty people brought into the space. So many shared thoughtful Seeds of Hope and it created a session that felt grounding, real and deeply human.

Thank you to everyone who came along. Your presence made the session feel meaningful and I am grateful for the reflections you shared, both in the chat and afterwards.

A few people sadly missed out due to email issues, so I will be running the session again next Monday for anyone who could not attend or who would still like to join.

Seeds of Hope – Rerun Session

📅 Monday 8 December
🕚 12:30 - 115
I will send the link out if you drop me a message here.

If you would like to share a Seed of Hope ahead of time, the form is still open and I would love to include yours if you feel comfortable.

Thank you again to everyone who made yesterday so meaningful.

Helen x

30/11/2025

🌱 Seeds of Hope is tomorrow

I’m really looking forward to opening Grief Awareness Week with this gentle lunchtime session. I have been sent some beautiful stories of kindness, little “seeds of hope”, and I am looking forward to sharing them with you all.

If you would like to join, the form is still open. Just pop your details in and I will send the live Teams link to you before the session.

👉 https://theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/register-grief-awareness-week

Would love to have you with us. 💛

Helen McMenamin

Register to attend The Flying Fish Company®’s free lunchtime event for Grief Awareness Week 2025. Join Helen McMenamin for a real conversation about what helps when grief touches our lives, and discover how simple acts of kindness can make a lasting difference.

26/11/2025

All set up and ready for tomorrow at Stand 19 for the MENE North East Manufacturing and Engineering Show.

Seeing my stand like this always brings a mix of pride and purpose. Grief is something every workplace is touched by, even when it sits quietly in the background. It changes how people feel, think and work. It affects concentration, confidence and how steady someone feels in themselves.

Here in the UK, almost a quarter of working age adults experienced a bereavement last year. More than two million were grieving so deeply that it affected how they managed day to day. This is happening in workshops, on factory floors and in offices everywhere.

In sectors where focus and safety matter, grief awareness is not a nice extra. It is essential.

I am here tomorrow to help make these conversations easier and to show how teams and leaders can respond with clarity and compassion.

If you are visiting the show, please pop by Stand 19. I would love to say hello and talk about why grief awareness matters for the people you work alongside every day.

Also a big shout out to Bryte Digital and Screen Ltd for my Stand art and leaflets!



Helen McMenamin

25/11/2025

🌱 Feeling very grateful today

Seeds of Hope is already shaping up to be my largest live event so far, which means a lot. It shows how much people value a gentle space to pause, reflect and think about the small acts of kindness that help us through loss.

If you would like to join the lunchtime session, please make sure you register through my website. This is how I will send the Microsoft Teams link directly to you before the event.

👉 Register here:
https://theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/register-grief-awareness-week

I would love to have you with us. 💛

Helen McMenamin

Register to attend The Flying Fish Company®’s free lunchtime event for Grief Awareness Week 2025. Join Helen McMenamin for a real conversation about what helps when grief touches our lives, and discover how simple acts of kindness can make a lasting difference.

21/11/2025

I’ve just been at the Compassionate Gateshead event today, project managed by Julian Prior, and honestly it was so inspiring.

There were tears. Hearing young people share their stories of grief and the challenges they face really hit home. It reminded me how hard it can be for us as adults to know what to say or how to support them, and how much these conversations matter.

There was also a strong focus on workplace bereavement and how much education and awareness can shape someone’s experience of returning to work after a significant loss. The Flying Fish Company® even had a little mention which meant a lot.

I have shared some photos of the speakers below. It was lovely to meet so many people and organisations who are supporting those who are dying, caring for others or living with bereavement. So much good work happening in our region.

Feeling very grateful to have been part of it.

18/11/2025

When I was widowed through su***de, returning to work was one of the hardest parts of my journey.
Grief can leave you feeling out of place, like a fish out of water.

This is where the name The Flying Fish Company® came from.

I never imagined those experiences would one day guide the work I do now.

Whether I’m travelling for sessions, working from home, or away theflyipreparing for a day of training, I’m always reminded why this work matters.

Helping workplaces recognise grief, respond with compassion, and understand the human behind the role will always mean so much to me.

I love delivering training in person, and I also offer live online sessions for teams who are spread out.

If you’d like to explore my work or read more about why grief awareness matters at work, you can find it here:
theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/why-grief-awareness-training-matters

💙🐟 The Flying Fish Company®

12/11/2025

🌱 What Helped When Grief Touched Your Life?

I’ve been so moved by the kindness and interest shown in response to the Seeds of Hope live event. Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, or registered, it really means a lot.

I created this event because so many people want to support others through grief, yet often feel unsure how. It’s common to worry about saying the wrong thing or doing too much, and that can leave people doing nothing at all. But when someone experiences a life-changing loss, it’s often the simple, human gestures that mean the most.

For me, the things that helped most were the practical acts of support:
💙 “I’ll cook you a meal.”
💙 “I’ll help you with the paperwork.”
💙 “I’ll make that phone call with you.”
💙 “I’ll pick up some shopping while I’m out.”
💙 “Let’s sit together and do this now.”

They may seem small, but these are the things that help people feel less alone.

The Seeds of Hope event aims to inspire confidence in these moments, to help people know what’s genuinely helpful to say and do.

If you feel able, I’d love to hear your reflections in the comments or through the short story form on my website. Your story could give someone else the courage to reach out when it matters most.

🔗 https://theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/stories-of-kindness

Helen McMenamin

In preparation for Grief Awareness Week 2025, The Flying Fish Company® invites people to share short reflections about what helped when grief touched their life. These Stories of Kindness may be shared anonymously during our lunchtime event to inspire others and build confidence in reaching out wit...

01/11/2025

🩵

"No one can successfully shield another person from the pains of life; no one can take our grief away. No one can truly console a parent who has lost a child or make the grim reality disappear. But we can help them and be available to them. We can be there when they need to talk, when they need to cry, when they have to make decisions too difficult or complex to decide on their own. And we can help prevent many of the disastrous after effects of such painful losses by a far more sensitive and listening attitude before the death occurs, whenever this is possible." -

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

30/10/2025

No Silver Linings

When someone dies, people often reach for words to make it feel softer.
“At least she isn’t suffering.”
“At least she had a good life.”
“Hopefully time will heal.”

I know those words come from kindness, we’ve probably all said them at some point but being on the receiving end is awful. They try to smooth over something that can’t be smoothed. Some losses are simply cruel and heartbreaking. There are no silver linings, and nor should there be.

What helps most isn’t positivity, it’s presence.
It’s someone saying, “This is awful,” or “I’m here.”
It’s quiet understanding. Real compassion.
No fixing, no bright side — just truth.
🩵

28/10/2025

⚓ Is grief really a Health and Safety issue?

I believe it is and it’s time more workplaces recognised it.

When a colleague is grieving, it doesn’t just affect their emotional wellbeing. It impacts psychological safety, team communication, concentration, productivity, and even physical safety at work.

In my latest blog, I explore how the HSE Working Minds campaign and the 5Rs framework can help shape a more grief-aware culture and why managers play such a key role.

There’s also a free resource for managers available via my website, which I’ve been told is “incredibly useful to return to when situations arise.”

💬 I’d love to know your thoughts: Have you ever seen grief addressed well in the workplace?

📖 Read the blog here:
👉 https://theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/understanding-grief-insights/is-grief-an-hse-issue

Helen McMenamin

When grief affects someone at work, it doesn’t just stay at home. This blog explores why grief is a workplace health and safety issue, how it impacts psychological risk, and what the HSE’s 5Rs framework can teach us about creating safer, more compassionate teams.

19/10/2025

We are feeling the weight of a heartbreaking loss, a friend of my son’s, gone far too soon.

When grief strikes, it can feel as though the whole world knows. The sky knows. The trees know. And the river knows. The world seems quieter, slower, as if everything is holding its breath alongside us.

We can never get used to lives taken too soon, and nor should we. Grief reminds us just how precious life is and how deeply we are all connected. Even when the loss is not ours directly, its ripples reach us. And in that shared ache, love remains. Here's a little poem I wrote about grief 💙

The River Knew
The morning wrapped itself in grey,
a hush fell soft upon the Tyne.
The water stilled... a silver breath
as if the world had crossed a line.

A song rose gently through the mist,
a thread of love, of joy, of pain.
And in that fragile, fleeting sound,
I felt the river know her name.

It knew the ache no words could hold,
the dreams cut short, the hearts laid bare.
It held the weight of all we grieve
within its still and tender stare.

For grief runs deeper than the tide,
its ripples touch both near and far.
And love endures beyond the veil,
a constant, quiet guiding star.

The river knew...it always does
how sorrow flows, how love remains.
And in its silence, I was held,
my tears now part of its ancient veins.

And through those ripples, hearts entwine,
in sorrow shared, in love renewed.
One life can move a thousand more
and still, the river understood.

Written by Helen McMenamin

14/08/2025

💙 New: The Workplace Grief Awareness Series 💙

Grief touches every workplace at some point — but knowing how to respond with compassion and confidence doesn’t always come naturally.

Our updated Grief Awareness Series now includes four focused training sessions, each designed to equip managers and teams with the skills, knowledge, and empathy to support colleagues through loss.

📌 Available online or in person – UK-wide
📌 Four standalone 1-hour sessions – practical, impactful, and grounded in lived experience
📌 Built on national best practice – including 2024 postvention guidance

In just one hour, participants leave feeling more confident, more prepared, and more able to respond in a way that truly helps.

💬 Message me or click here to find out more: https://theflyingfishcompany.co.uk/workplace-grief-awareness-training-series

Helen McMenamin

Discover The Flying Fish Company's Workplace Grief Awareness Training Series, designed to equip teams with the skills to support grieving employees and foster a compassionate work environment.