About Pauline Barnes

This is Me!

I have been in education for about 40 years.  First working with a charity to support parents and children who had been excluded from school, as well as running an evening supplementary school to support children in the core subjects, and teaching them black history. I also taught adults during this period.

Having started training as a teacher in 1978,  personal circumstances forced me to suspend my training so in 1982 I felt the urge again and completed a degree in biology and education followed by a post graduate certificate in education. Since then I’ve completed a certificate at Kings College London, as a maths specialist, in primary education.  In my school I’ve been a science lead, maths lead and now R.E. lead.

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Notes to myself, reflections on situations I’ve been in, thoughts about what I’ve read, or listened to, narratives (as a teenager, always romantic  stories!) I can’t remember struggling to put pen to paper so when I started collating there were already a number of books with pieces of writing to be edited. I’ve always regarded my writing as private, nothing compelled me to write, I’ve just always enjoyed writing for myself.

In 1991 I became a single parent with two teenage boys and a baby, and although I enjoyed my new found freedom, it wasn’t long before I realised that I needed supernatural help. I cried out to God, moved house a few months later and was baptised at Pollards Hill Baptist Church in 1998. Soon after my baptism I started a lunchtime Christian club for students at my school.

I was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and was encouraged by my cousin to chart my journey with cancer. I found this really difficult, so I decided instead to have daily conversations with God throughout that journey, and much of the poetry is just that – a conversation with God.

Upon realising the impact that gun and knife crimes was having on primary aged children, friends and I set up a group in 2019 to pray for young people.

Lockdown brought about a ‘new normal’ for many of us as it ushered in  ‘the working from home’ phenomenon.  As a teacher,  I’d set the work each day and waited for the students to complete the tasks. The Bible tells us about ‘redeeming the time’ so as I waited for students to return work to be marked, I began to put pieces of work together in one file. Now that took a while!

During ‘lockdown’, each Sunday two neighbours and I would go out on our street and sing and pray to encourage our neighbours. In 2020 I was asked by my pastor to take a lead role in sourcing articles for our church magazine ‘The Rock’. I am a member of my church leadership and have responsibilities for pastoral issues.  I am a member of the Prayer Team and also lead a weekly cell group.

So why now? I hear you ask. Well,  looking back in my journal I have a section called ‘What I hear from the Spirit of God’ and when in March  2021, I asked the question  “God how will this book bring glory to Your name?  the response in my spirit was ‘Publish and see.’

I am passionate about a number of things including praying for young people, the enjoyment of nature and  issues around justice. I enjoy reading, singing, writing, dancing  and simply spending time with the wonderful family God has made me a part of.