Zuma the Dog and the Blustery Day

Today we cling on the our maintain with all our might as we experience gusts of up to 200 k/ph, I fear that we will end up in Kansas if this continues for much longer. Yesterday’s walkies through the forest was quiet, peaceful, sunny with a hint of spring in the air. The calm before the storm perhaps?

As I watch the trampoline fly across the garden for the umpteenth time, not only am I happy to not go for walkies today, but I can’t help noticing how different the weather has been this season compared to other years. It’s my third winter in Switzerland now, I don’t have many to compare, though the first two winters here were your stereotypical Swiss winters. Exciting, cold, snowy, long and very beautiful. And many days where we’ve had to dig ourselves out (my favourite). Snow almost a meter high, definitely way over my head. We were told by our neighbours, that snow like this on our little mountain was unusual, that it snowed, but not to a point where we couldn’t drive the car or even get out of the house. 

Winter 2019

The first snow arrived at the end of October and continued on and off until May. We had two winters like this and believed this was how winter was here and our neighbours were wrong. As the summer of 2019 disappeared into autumn, I got excited about the coming winter. The forest doesn’t change that much due to it being mostly made up of pine trees, but those that do, their leaves start to change stunning colours, crisp up and fall. October came and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the fun stuff came. I waited by the window each day, staring out in anticipation, shaking with excitement, pining, hoping. I waited for the powder to fall. November, December, still nothing. January brought hope with a day of dumpy white fluff, but it didn’t last. Rain followed and it all but disappeared. Was this the usual Swiss winter neighbours told us about?

I watch the mountain opposite. At the top it’s the same usual snow filled peaks, but further down the line ends abruptly giving way to green fields and forest. I hear the neighbours say, “No snow at all is very unusual.”

Winter 2020

So, as I help Mummy bring the garden furniture into my bedroom to stop it from blowing away, listening to her telling me to get inside (I believe she thinks I might blow away), this made me ask the question. Is this evidence that Switzerland is also being affected by climate change?

What do you think?

Much Love

Zuma

P.S. I turned 13! National Zuma the Dog Day was 24th January. Here's my birthday cake. :-)  #NationalZumaTheDogDay

XX

A Year in Review

When I posted the last update from the world of me, I didn’t expect it to be my last in over a year. Like for many, 2019 has been quite the roller coaster. While December started of with promise, with me being awarded “Best Children's Entertainment Brand 2018 – UK” by LUX Life Magazines Global Excellence Awards of 2018 and the ongoing work towards my animated series, we were all very excited for the new year ahead. But as January took hold it was evident 2019 was to be a challenging year ahead.

Two family cancer diagnoses, one celiac disease diagnosis, one pending, an extreme case of iron and vitamin B12 deficiency, a dementia diagnosis and an ageing dog (that’s me). It’s quite a lot for one small family, but as families do, we drew together in support of each other. While the cancers have been beaten and the autoimmune diseases managed, we still stand by helpless as we watch a beloved member of our family decline and taken away from us due to the cruellest of diseases. Dementia.

An unexpected, rapid decline since diagnosis. Memories are lost, family members and loved ones forgotten as confusion sets in and we all watch, hands tied as our loved one relies on memories of a childhood suppressed. Calling out for their long-departed mother in tears. Difficult to watch as a childhood, filled with abuse are memories most remembered as events are relived. Forgotten family members stand by as we work together to love and support each other. With tides between us all, we cry, console and listen, like blind people In the darkness we feel our way through the endless forms, meetings and legal jargon that comes with a family member in care with dementia. We work our way through the process to make sense of what is right for our lost loved one.  

I use the word “lost” as I feel there is no other word to describe it. A physical presence is with us still, but the rest is gone only for brief moments of clarity, lucidness where the old person revisits before leaving us again with only the body of the loving, caring, beautiful person who once resided in this now empty shell.

What can we do? How do we all live with and manage something so wicked? We live with hope, though I guess time will tell, as a family, together we follow each other down the rabbit hole of dementia.

As we kiss goodbye to an eventful year for all, I can proclaim it’s not all been doom and gloom. While still under non-disclosure agreements, I am limited to what I can tell you. Just that while I take some family time to enjoy Christmas, snuggle under a blanket in front of the fire while the snow falls and winds howl outside, it won’t be long before we, and in “we”, I mean, Mummy will be full steam ahead for some exciting things for 2020.I hope it won't be too long before I can spill the beans on all the exciting things happening.

With much love from

Zuma XX

P.S. I won’t leave it so long next time, I promise.

It's Anti-bullying Week.

Bullying and gender stereotypes are precursors to larger social issues such as domestic violence. My puppy life exposed me to conflict where my human Mummy couldn’t always be there to protect me. I was loved dearly and the only way Mummy felt she could protect me, and the rest of my family was to pluck up the courage to move far, far away, so that we could make a new life and recover from our trauma.

As an experienced survivor of bullying, I love learning languages and is a stand against bullying. I am all about healthy communication and helping my friends to feel understood and to understand them. My understanding and use of foreign language and experience in living within different cultures and difficult situations gives me compassion and the ability to understand others and resolve issues quickly. I want to show the world what I have learnt and share my experiences to help others, so they don’t have to experience what I did.

I believe that by teaching children, with the help from my pals, about healthy communication, conflict resolution and acceptance of diversity, we will break down traditional gender stereotypes and learn about equality and consent. Creating healthy relationships while raising good self-esteem and eliminate bullying from the inside out.

It’s only by educating children from an early age that we can create a loving and tolerant generation and put an end to bullying and I will aim to be that role model of love, tolerance and the anti-bullying go to for children.

‘A bully won’t stop until his mindset is dropped.’

Much Love

Zuma XX

Brand Licensing Europe 2018 - What a show!

Seems like weeks ago now that we visited BLE, but we are still excited from the buzz and opportunities that are following. Another day where everyone gets to talk about me all day and we really did have a lot of fun. Yay! The weeks after BLE are always busy with follow up meeting and talks with our agent and marketing team and it’s not until November that everyone will be back in the office full time to get on with the next phase.

Some highlights from the show and look.....there's a Pikachu
on Mummy's head.

It’s the third time we’ve attended BLE and this time we had some wonderful meetings and met some great people and we would like to thank those who took the time to meet with us and talk about licensing opportunities with Zuma the Dog going forward.

We’d like to tell you all about these meeting but unfortunately, bound by secrecy until contracts are signed. At least I can give you some highlights and thank those who met with us personally.

HIGHLIGHTS

We won! Yes, that’s correct. We won a prize from the Twitter competition leading up to BLE. It was very exciting going to pick up our personalised ‘Love Island’ water bottle from ITV Studio. The fact we’ve never seen an episode of Love Island didn’t deter us.

Dragging the boy around a big show like BLE, did make us stand out and it can be a little monotonous at time for him, but when we passed by the Sega stand (the boy being a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan besides me of course), we were delighted when Toby Rayfield handed the boy a Sega goodie bag. Totally made his day.

The characters are always the best part of BLE for us. Meeting them, hugging them and having our photos taken. I'm hoping that next year Rainbow Productions will have seen the light and realise they need my in their line up too.

THANK YOU

Martin Lowe from Roy Lowe &Sons Ltd. Always a pleasure to meet with Martin. Socks are a fun necessity and we love his ‘Keep it British’ philosophy.

Marcie Kubik from Emoji One. So friendly and fun to meet. Thank you for allowing us to show you our ideas for Zuma the Dog emoji’s and hope to see you again at future events.

Brain Smith from Popagami. We love your enthusiasm and working with you is always a pleasure.

Ruth Leonard and Johnathan Rose from Hello Communications. We loved meeting you………. finally. Your energy and ideas really bring live to Zuma the Dog’s brand philosophy.

Stephen Gomez from Ty Toys. What an absolute pleasure. We loved your passion for TY and positivity for Zuma the Dog. Thank you for your time and energy.

And finally……………….

Sarah Camp from Weird Lime. She worked tirelessly the whole time. Meeting with licensors, publishers, toy manufacturers, talking all things Zuma the Dog. Hustling, wheeling and do deals all for our benefit.

What a star you are!

We are already looking forward to next year and who knows, we might even have a stand of our own.

 Much Love

Zuma XX

SMALL DOG HEADING FOR THE STARS

A new press release put out by Mummy, Zuma the Dog and its' a whopper. You're gonna want to read this one.

Bertish & Company Ltd, owners of the children’s character brand Zuma the Dog are celebrating today as they announce their new partnership agreement with media production company Transcendent Media Capital Ltd. The two companies are coming together in partnership to create a Zuma the Dog motion picture production company with the same name as the character IP.

Transcendent Media Capital managed by award winning writer, director and producer Peta Milan, who has strong connections with Hollywood, specialises in social and environmental impact content. They use media production and technology initiatives to affect change. 

An animated TV show for children between the ages of 4 and 10 is being developed for Zuma the Dog, intended to teach children communication and conflict resolution skills, tolerance and diversity with strong anti-bullying messaging. Zuma and his pals will encounter all kinds of tricky life situations during their adventures and search for solutions that involve non-violence, boundary setting and effective communication. Full of laughs and mishaps, Zuma and the wisdom of his friends will give practical guidance and teach kids important lessons throughout each episode.

“This is such an exciting step for Zuma the Dog”. Says Samantha Bertish, director of Bertish & Company Ltd and creator of the IP. “Being able to put my character to good use for such a great cause, means so much to me and we are delighted to be partnering with such a prestigious media company.”

Work on the animation development starts later in the Autumn.

Bertish & Company Ltd and Transcendent Media Capital partnering for greater impact. 

Much Love

Zuma

XX

BACK TO SCHOOL

Showering in Old Faithful, Yellowstone

Is it back to school or back to work for you? We’ve had a wonderful vacation time and had the opportunity to see various parts of the world. Now the mornings are beginning to feel colder and there’s a hint of autumn in the air and it really is time to get our heads down and get back to work. Or should I say Mummy needs to get back to work, while I lay around all day staring at her. Just making sure she is working hard enough while cracking the occasional whip. 

Holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa

There’s lots coming up over the next few months and after my recent re brand and new look there’s new people added to Team Zuma the Dog. We welcome Sarah Camp from Weird Lime who is now our marketing, PR and licensing agent, along with Ruth Leonard from Hello Communication who is also working on Team Zuma. I am personally looking forward to them spending most of their waking hours thinking of me and I’m looking forward to working with them.

This brilliant team have years of experience working with well-known character brands and bringing them to market and their first big mission will be representing Zuma the Dog and Brand Licensing Europe, to be held and London's Olympia on the 9^th to 11^th October 2018. They have some fabulous ideas for licensing going forward that I’m sure all of you in the business will love to see.

My suggestion (and take that as more of a cheeky Zuma nudge (possibly with teeth)) 😉 is to make your appointment to see the team sooner rather than later.  

See you there!

Much Love

Zuma XX

A more serious personal note from Mummy

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary since I was violently attacked for the last time in my own home by the one person who vowed to protect me. It was the last time he would physically attack me, although the mental abuse continued to follow years after we divorced. After surgery to repair the damage he caused to my face, I laid in my hospital bed for days baffled as to how, me, a successful, intelligent woman from a middle class background would find myself in this situation. Every day since, I run the events over in my head trying to figure out a way in which I could have reacted differently to prevent such an attack. It was not the first, though I made sure (as he was so close to ending my life) that it would be the last. I live with the memories of that horrific day and the others that lead up to that final attack everyday and although diagnosed with PTDS, I will never allow what he did to me rule my life and take credit for what I have become. Unfortunately my perpetrator went on to attack others leaving them also with terrible emotional and physical scars and because of the amazing UK justice system, this man is still walking the streets (that's a whole other conversation). 

The point I would like to make is that we all go through difficult times, but it's what you take from those experiences and make them work for you is what counts. Life is a series of lessons and its about owning them and learning from them no matter how terrible and using them for your own personal growth. Yes, I still have nightmares and there are times where to go out of the front door makes me want to vomit, but I will never allow one persons heinous actions depict how I live my life, after all it was him with the problem. My therapy is to keep pushing forward with my business to make it a success. I know seeing my brand on TV and in stores all over the world will be a constant reminder to him of what he did. He will never get away from it and my revenge (for want of a better word) is success within my personal and professional life.  

Domestic violence does not discriminate. The after effects do not disappear. I WILL always speak out about my experience because I have nothing to be ashamed of. It's about education, speaking out and breaking down barriers to stamp out domestic violence and bullying of any kind.This experience lead me to write my books, create my award winning brand  and character everyone loves and take me on an incredible journey. I am proud of that! 

I am proud of me!

 #stopdomesticviolence
#metoo