April 2016 1920’s Gala Evening

Zoë had been invited to take individual photos of everyone at the 1920’s Gala Evening to celebrate 20 years of Outlook, the special group for those mildly affected by TS. Again, she felt apprehensive, but was welcomed at the Oxford hotel, by a founder Outlook member she had met the year before. Another founder member talked about how Outlook had changed her life by giving her a positive outlook, and how she had learned to accept herself for who she was, which made Zoë reflect on how she had been learning to accept herself too.

She was pleased that her dad went along in the evening to help her set up the equipment and act as her assistant, and before she started her session, he took a photo of her in front of the grand staircase backdrop. Everyone was pleased with their photos which appeared in the Summer 2016 Scan Magazine with the comment that ‘A fun photoshoot by volunteer photographer, Zoë Bull, added a spot of glamour to the proceedings’. She loved her own photo so much that she put it in a pretty pearl frame and kept it on her printer.

I was so proud of it that I showed it to my friend who had brought round some dolls she had crocheted. I asked her if she could possibly make a one like the picture for Zoë. It’s amazing that she did it just by taking a few photos as a guide.

Although I actually forgot to give it to Zoë on Christmas Day, she was really pleased when she opened it on Boxing Day. The only thing she wanted me to do was to embroider on a smile which I happily did. The 1920’s Gala Evening had been a great success for her and had helped her on her journey to self-acceptance.