Burntwood · Lichfield · Staffordshire · & Beyond
You're not alone,
bab.
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A community for spoonies, carers, and the people who love them — right here in Burntwood, Lichfield and the surrounding area. Real people. Real support. No miracle cures, no MLM, no nonsense.
💜 184+ members & growing
Our Story
A town full of people.
Still feeling alone.
Burntwood Spoonie Connect started because Sha Taylor — aka The Wheely Happy MrsVark — got fed up of feeling isolated in a town full of people, and figured she couldn't be the only one. Turns out she was right.
From concept to 184 members in under a month. That's not just impressive — it's a sign of how badly this was needed. We're a local community for people living with chronic illness and disability — ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, FND, EDS, Long Covid, MS, lupus and more — and the carers who walk alongside them, across Burntwood, Lichfield, Cannock, Tamworth, Rugeley, Brownhills, Walsall and the surrounding area.
Spoon Theory, coined by Christine Miserandino, uses spoons as a metaphor for the limited daily energy that people with chronic illness have to work with. Running out of spoons means you've hit your limit for the day. We get it — and we're not here to judge how you spend yours.
Find Your People
Ways to connect
Whether you're a spoonie, a carer, or you just want to keep up with what's going on — and whether you're on Facebook, WhatsApp, or both — there's a place for you here.
Burntwood Spoonies Connect
A private, screened Facebook group for people living with chronic illness and disability. A safe space to be honest, have a laugh, have a cry, and find people who actually get it. No toxic positivity. No essential oils.
Join the Group →Spoonie Carers Connect
A separate private group for unpaid and professional carers supporting people with chronic illness and disability across Burntwood, Lichfield, Cannock, Tamworth, Rugeley, Brownhills, Walsall and beyond. A space that's yours, not an afterthought.
Join the Carers Group →Public Facebook Page
Our public-facing page — events, updates, links to the groups, and a gateway for local charities and service providers to find us. Give it a follow and share with anyone who might need it.
Follow the Page →Not on Facebook?
Join us on WhatsApp
No Facebook account needed — join the conversation directly on WhatsApp. Same community, different front door. 💜
Burntwood & Beyond Spoonies Connect
The spoonies WhatsApp community — for people living with chronic illness and disability. Tap to join on your phone.
💬 Join Spoonies on WhatsApp
BL&B Carers, Friends & Family
The carers WhatsApp community — for unpaid carers, family members and friends supporting someone with chronic illness. Tap to join on your phone.
💬 Join Carers on WhatsApp
What We Stand For
We're clear about
who we are.
Community built on trust needs clear principles. Here's ours — plain and simple.
✅ What We're About
- 🤝 Genuine peer support from people who understand chronic illness from the inside
- 😂 Dark humour, honest conversations, and swearing when the DWP warrants it
- 🏙️ Local connections — Burntwood, Lichfield, Staffordshire and beyond
- 🧡 Celebrating tiny wins with as much enthusiasm as the big ones
- ♿ Inclusive of all disabilities and mobility aids — or none
- 🔒 Privacy, trust, and what's shared in the group stays in the group
- 🗂️ Signposting to real, vetted local services and charities
- 💜 Carers treated as full members of the community, not an afterthought
🚫 What We're Not About
- ❌ Supplements, MLM schemes, or miracle cures — hard no
- ❌ Essential oils as a treatment for anything (yes, this means you)
- ❌ "Have you tried yoga / positive thinking / cutting out gluten?" advice
- ❌ Toxic positivity or silver lining pressure
- ❌ Medical advice — we share experiences, not prescriptions
- ❌ Ableism, judgment, or making people feel like they're not trying hard enough
- ❌ Predatory services targeting vulnerable people
- ❌ Nastiness, personal attacks, or making anyone feel unwelcome
Group Rules
Simple rules.
Enforced with kindness.
Both groups run by the same principles. We keep them simple because you've got enough to deal with already.
No abusive comments, personal attacks, or nastiness. We're all doing our best. That's the baseline.
No supplements, MLM products, paid services, essential oils, or "just think positive" advice. Zero tolerance.
What's shared in the group stays in the group. Screenshot with permission only.
Share your experiences, not prescriptions. Always encourage people to see their GP or specialist.
We support each other, not judge. That includes how people manage, cope, or don't cope.
Required for heavy topics — suicidal thoughts, abuse, graphic medical details. Let people opt in.
🇬🇧 Oh, and swearing is fine. We're British. Sometimes "fuck" is the only appropriate response to the DWP.
Support Hub
Finding help shouldn't
cost you spoons.
We've built a local directory of charities, NHS services, support groups and spoonie-friendly businesses — specifically for people living with chronic illness and disability, and their carers, in Burntwood, Lichfield, Cannock, Tamworth, Rugeley, Brownhills, Walsall and across Staffordshire.
One place. Local. Relevant. Vetted by people who actually live this life. You shouldn't have to spend half your energy budget finding the help that already exists.
MLM schemes, supplement sellers, miracle cure merchants, or anything that targets vulnerable people. This is a curated resource — not an advert board.
In-Person Meetups
Come if you can.
No pressure if you can't.
All events are accessible. Last-minute cancellations are understood — that's part of spoonie life and we'd rather you made the right call for yourself than pushed through and paid for it. No guilt. No explanation needed.
Burntwood Afternoon Cinema - Song Sung Blue
£5 cuppa-and-film meetup at the fully accessible Burntwood Memorial Institute. Cheap, cheerful, and something to look forward to when the sofa has had you for too long.
🍿 Cinema ♿ Accessible 💷 £5 Details on Facebook →Who's Behind This
Sha Taylor
aka The Wheely Happy MrsVark
Sha is a 52-year-old woman living with FND, ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. She's a former Marketing and PR Manager, a Labour councillor on Burntwood Town Council and Lichfield District Council, a trustee of the Lichfield Garrick Theatre, and she gets around in a Trekinetic wheelchair she's quite fond of.
She started Burntwood Spoonie Connect because she was tired of feeling isolated in a town full of people. The groups went from concept to 184 members in under a month. That says everything.
Aimee Prince
Co-admin & Spoonie Partner in Crime
Aimee is Sha's yin to her yang — co-moderator of both groups and one of the creative forces driving the community forward. A former nurse of 12 years with lived experience of FND, fibromyalgia, hypermobility and diabetes, she brings both clinical precision and genuine warmth to everything she does.
She joined because she knows exactly what it feels like to be isolated and struggling. She's not here to preach — she's here because she's been there too.
Paul Taylor
aka theaardvark — #techguypaul
Paul is Sha's husband and the technical backbone of the project — he built and maintains this website, handles the infrastructure, and makes sure everything actually works. He has AuDHD and Long Covid, a purple beard, and a tendency to hyperfocus on CSS at 2am.
He also makes binaural beats music under the name AarDHD — designed to help with calm and focus for brains that need a bit of extra help. Like his.
Service Providers & Professionals
Got something that genuinely helps?
We're building a directory of local charities, services and support organisations for spoonies and carers in Burntwood, Lichfield and beyond. If you work in healthcare, social care or the voluntary sector and think your service belongs in it, we'd love to hear from you.
The directory is curated — no supplements, MLM schemes or miracle cures. If you're offering something that genuinely helps, you're in the right place.