This company is creating custom-made bespoke dolls for children with hearing difficulties and cleft lips to empower and encourage inclusiveness.
Bright Ears UK is an independent Etsy shop based in Lidlington that specialises in creating a bespoke range of dolls with Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implant Retainers and cleft lips, as well as a selection of other gifts to empower children.
According to Action on Hearing Loss and the NHS, there are around 50,000 children across the country who currently experience hearing difficulties, and a cleft lip is believed to affect one in 700 babies born in the UK.
This is why the work done by Bright Ears UK is so important to creating an inclusive society.
In a post sharing pictures of recent bespoke dolls to Facebook, which has quite-rightly amassed hundreds of interactions, shares and positive comments from members of the public, Clare from Bright Ears UK said: “Here are some of my recent custom orders”.
“Firstly, we have these amazing cleft lip dolls. Two have been made to be bespoke to the little ones they are going to and the other one is going to a childminder to help her talk to her children about inclusiveness in a positive way.”
“It is incredibly empowering for a child to have a doll that looks just like them.”
“I’ve seen this first hand from when I gave my daughter her first hearing aid doll back in 2017. The joy on her face was priceless and even now when she sees me making HA dolls, she gets all excited”.
Here are some of my recent custom orders ? I’ve now added these options to the BrightEars Etsy shop ? (please see…
“Each of these cleft dolls have been lovingly handmade by myself and have no rough edges or gaps for tiny fingers to get caught in, as the mouth area has been carefully remoulded.”
“They can be made bespoke to your little one, so they truly have a mini me.”
“They can also be made with Hearing Aids/ Cochlear Implants, Mic-Key/ PEG feeding tubes, Stomas and NG tubes.”
“If you have a little Princess fan, then they may like these new Hearing Aid Princess dolls [that are] available with hearing aids in your choice of colours [and] the following Princesses are available – Cinderella, Aurora, Tiana, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White, Belle and Ariel.”
Etsy / BrightEarsUK
One supportive Facebook user commented: “Oh my I LOVE these beautiful dolls. Clare, you never fail to amaze me! You are incredible”.
“I wish I had these when I was younger.” wrote another Facebook user.
Another wrote: “Love that they make dolls inclusive for all”.
“These dolls are wonderful. I’ve just placed an order and can’t wait to see my daughters face when it arrives.” said another.
Bright Ears UK also has thousands of positive reviews left by satisfied customers over the years, is rated as a ‘Top Shop for Gifts’ and is saved as a ‘favourite’ independent maker by over 200 Etsy members, so not only are they doing important work, they’re doing it to an extremely high standard that is well-valued too.
You can find out more about Bright Ears UK on Etsy and Facebook.
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Manchester City issue statement as they reach agreement over ‘APT’ controversy
Danny Jones
Manchester City and the Premier League have agreed a settlement over their long, drawn-out APT rules controversy.
For starters, no: this is not to do with the outstanding 115 charges still alleged against the local side; that’s to do with FFP.
In case you weren’t aware of the latest with this story, after winning a watershed court case against the English top flight last October regarding ‘Associated Party Transactions’ (APT) – an outcome with the Premier League contested – Man City have now put the case behind them.
Updating supporters on social media this week, the club revealed that the situation has now been resolved and is essentially over.
Sharing the update on social media, they gave a brief overview of how the debate related to transparency surrounding sponsorship deals and commercial dealings was finally concluded.
A statement reads as follows: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction, and as a result, the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.
“This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.
“It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.
Although the decision was ultimately reached following extensive investigation by an independent commission, some are already speculating about what this could mean in terms of wider controversies surrounding the club. It’s also opened the door for them to resume partnerships already in the pipeline.
#ManCity have accepted the Premier League’s new ATP rules and have received assurances that they will not be treated differently when securing sponsorship with companies linked to their owners.
Manchester City are now able to complete a hugely lucrative, long-term deal with… pic.twitter.com/oqn9seWSbS
Conversely, the Premier League itself is yet to offer any public response of its own, with the assurance that the City Football Group (CFG) accepts that said APT Rules are “valid and binding” essentially being the final word.
Many fans have been quick to question online whether this has any impact on the aforementioned FFP saga (don’t forget City’s 115 charges were actually increased to 130 back in December), but very little is still publicly known about the latter.
The hearing itself technically began this time last year, but we have yet to actually find out what the result was, despite the 10-week process ending in December.
Meanwhile, that isn’t the only concern for die-hard Blues of late…
Ruth Jones and James Corden are making a new Gavin and Stacey follow-up project
Danny Jones
TV writing, directing and acting double act, Ruth Jones and James Corden, are teaming up once again for a follow-up show to UK comedy favourite, Gavin and Stacey.
After the success of last year’s one-off reunion, de facto third Christmas special and series finale – which was one of the biggest British telly events in some time – the two are getting back together to deliver their next project.
The aforementioned 2024 conclusion broke multiple records when it aired on BBC One, so it’s little surprise that there was plenty of interest in commissioning the next chapter, though it’s still unclear as to how connected to the Gavin and Stacey universe it will be.
Either way, you know there’ll be plenty of people grabbing a subscription to watch this one.
Ruth Jones and James Corden in 2008, at the height of Gavin & Stacey‘s popularity. (Credit: Ben Salter via Flickr)
Amid Netflix, Amazon Prime and their long-time collaborators at the BBC all courting the new series, it is Apple TV that has picked up the latest script from Jones and Corden, as per the Radio Times.
Set right here at home, the duo will be keeping things domestic, as they are set to star alongside an all-British cast over the course of 10 episodes.
Having picked up the inaugural season for a reported £8 million, Apple’s streaming platform will no doubt be banking on a big hit.
Once again, details remain tight-lipped at the moment, and it’s unclear if any familiar faces (be they actors and/or their actual on-screen characters) will be returning besides Jones and Corden, but an insider told RT that fans can expect it to be “uplifting, gentle and very funny.”
The source goes on to add that, besides just appealing to folks on our side of the pond, by introducing a “new format and new characters, they wanted to let an international audience enjoy their work”, and hopefully, have moments like this:
It goes without saying that America is obviously a big target market, given the former Late Late Show host’s eight years spent in the States, but Apple TV’s global reach is a big plus for the pair.
Nevertheless, they are hoping to achieve a similar heartwarming feel and those ‘water cooler’ moments with the Gavin and Stacey follow-up, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Already said to be hard at work writing the show, we don’t care if it’s a sequel or spin-off show per se, we just pray it’s as touching and funny as their magnum opus.
That ending was pretty perfect, wasn’t it? Well, by one little niggle we had…
Emily Sergeant -
3rd July 2020 
