The girls from bangor high
I’ve been looking back through some old school photos. Bangor High School, or Bangor Academy as it became while I was still there. Those early 2000s super short haircuts were VERY short. I feel like I made it work. Mostly (with the help of butterfly hair clips of course).
Looking at them now, I realise how lucky I was. Not because school was some golden era. But because of the girls I happened to end up sitting beside. A good few of them went on to build their own businesses, and without knowing it, they’ve all been part of my Noodlehorse Media journey too. Oh and make sure you scroll to the end to see our throwback picture!
Question: Do you know where your record of achievement is?
School is in session – First period: Louie
Louie was the girl I sat beside in IT class, where we were meant to be learning some sort of Excel formulas. VLOOKUP maybe? Who knows, I wasn’t listening. Thankfully Google Sheets has made life a lot easier for the kind of girls who didn’t listen hard enough in that class.
Louie went on to get qualification after qualification in hair styling and colouring. She runs her own business brilliantly and has kept my hair looking good for years.
When I handed in my notice at my full time job on a whim, with nothing more than an idea that I might start my own business one day, she was full of positivity about it. I went for a hair appointment in July 2021, three months before Noodlehorse officially began, in a nervous and pretty anxious place. Sitting on the little desk in front of the mirror, in between the hair products and the glossy mags, was a small bottle of champagne. That one small act of kindness has stayed with me ever since.
She’s an absolute hoot, and I love getting to help her with her own journey where I can, most recently taking photos and putting together a short video for one of her colour masters courses. Louie, you’re a legend.
Second Period – technology: Sarah
My long time pal Sarah was two benches over in technology, and has spent years since reaching out to her network in community social care and putting my name forward. You always need someone who will speak your name loudly in rooms you’re not in.
She was one of my earliest clients. For Mind in West Essex, we ran an online webinar on simple ways her team could use social media to promote their services. Most recently, I delivered a high level in person social media workshop for the Healthy Living Centre Alliance, bringing people together from across NI to talk through fun and innovative ways to get their message out there.
If you’re looking for a Freelance Mental Health Trainer – Sarah Huggett is the person you need to connect with
Third Period – Maths: Lora
Lora and I sat beside each other in GCSE maths. We shared a really similar sense of humour, laughing about loads of random stuff, not a care in the world. But somehow we locked in when it counted and both passed. Thanks Miss O’Neill for all the extra maths classes at lunchtime and after school!
I’ve loved watching Lora, and her husband Wayne, build the Papa’s Mineral Co, Longbridge Drinks and Irish Sisters brands over the years. It’s always a pleasure to bump into her at various events across the country, and it’s a good reminder that there are so many hard working women out there who started off life at Bangor High School. Also if you’re wondering -that is a pickle lemonade in my hand. Yes it was absolutely delicious.
- Lyn's little bit of context
A lot of people, especially round these parts, like to write off girls from “Milly High.” There was a real narrative back then. Rough school, rough girls, don’t expect much. We heard it from other schools, we heard it from adults who should have known better, and if I’m honest, some of us probably believed it a little ourselves at the time.
But look at us now.
Somewhere along the way I realised you should never let something like a school define you for the rest of your life. Not in a bad way, and not in a good way either.
BREAK TIME: JENNIFER
Shout out to Jennifer Robinson, even though she’s not pictured in the throw back pic below, she was in my year, just not my class. Break time was where our paths crossed. She was in G, the class that won sports day first to fifth form (and they’ve never stopped banging on about it).
She’s been my longest standing client, giving Noodlehorse Media steady work since day one. We weren’t in any classes together, but she was great pals with my best friend Lucinda, so we crossed paths often, along with another great pal, Vik, who has been integral to Noodlehorse behind the scenes.
These days Jennifer and I are proper good friends, holding each other accountable as business owners, and I hope that keeps going a good while yet. This pic is from the time we got stranded in Paris during the ash cloud in 2009, that’s a story for another time!
And now for the trowback photo
All of this to say: look backwards. Be thankful for who you surrounded yourself with. And enjoy who you surround yourself with now.
There are loads of other incredible female founders in my network I’ve loved watching grow too, this post could’ve been twice as long. But for now, I hope you enjoyed this wee Y2K trip down memory lane.
