This week, we had a rather special private Mini First Aid class with a lovely lady called Giovanna Fletcher and her equally lovely sister Giorgina. For those of you who don’t know, Giovanna is a successful actress/ writer/ presenter/ vlogger/ blogger (I know!) and not least a great Mum and role model. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working to arrange a class with Giovanna for some time. We admire Giovanna for many reasons. She is a talented woman, juggling a busy working life with the demands of a young family. We loved her book ‘Happy Mum Happy Baby’ for its honest take on motherhood (especially the bits about jelly wobbles and leaving guilt at the door). At Mini First Aid, we choose our role models carefully when talking about the importance of learning first aid. We want to work with people who have solid parenting values and who are down to earth. This is Giovanna Fletcher. Not only that; but we love the way that Giovanna’s social media feed isn’t only full of glamorous ‘picture perfect’ snaps. In fact, she often posts without make up – often late at night when she is catching up on work and we all know what that feels like! I suspect this is one of the reasons why hundreds of thou sands of other people follow Giovanna too. We were incredibly lucky as Giovanna also chose to include us in her Barclaycard 31 Day Challenge where she learns a new skill every day. Have a look at day 15 here if you missed it. I have to confess that Kate and I (Jacky) were a little nervous before the class. Due to the power of social media, it is easy to think you know someone personally. You actually don’t. Even though we’d heard good things about Giovanna, we didn’t really know what to expect. We needn’t have worried. At the start of any Mini First Aid class, it is so important to get to know who you are teaching. So Kate’s opening line: “I’m expecting twins for the second time” icebreaker certainl y did the trick! As Giovanna and her sister picked up their jaws from the floor, we were all having a giggle and the class really began. I can’t tell you how welcome we were made to feel by Giovanna and her family. The class was relaxed and easy to run as we all shared our parenting and first aid stories. Just as important, there was also plenty of laughter. The class really wasn’t any different to what we do in all our Mini First Aid classes. Towards the end of the class, Giovanna’s gorgeous sons and niece joined us. It is always a real privilege to meet people’s children and it felt completely natural to be running our Mini First Aid class with Giovanna’s children alongside us (light sabres and all). Following the class, Giovanna posted on social media and er website having been inspired by Mini First Aid. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a few words from Giovanna: “It was a pleasure meeting Kate and Jacky from Mini First Aid and being taught what to do in case of an emergency. Learning CPR and what to do when a child is choking is invaluable. Obviously, I hope I never had to use the things I learned in today’s class, but horrible things happen and knowing these techniques can really make a huge difference. The class was fun and accessible given the seriousness of the topic. I would highly recommend everyone doing it.” We didn’t ask Giovanna to post on social media about us. This is the power of building genuine relationships; something we believe is so important both at Mini First Aid but also as parents. It is those genuine relationships and friendships which see us through. So we hope we have formed a friend for life. We really did arrive on a handshake and end with a hug. Thanks Giovanna.     COMPETITION:  WIN a place on a 2-hour Mini First Aid class.  We are offering a FREE place worth £20 on one of our award winning first aid classes to help you #LearnMiniFirstAid and get 2018 off to a great start. Visit our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter page for details. Click here for Full terms and conditions