So what are you doing on Saturday 28^th May or Saturday 11^th June? I hope the answer is or will soon be that you’re coming to Fertility Fest 2016. You may remember I told you about it at the end of last year but in case you’ve forgotten, it’s now time to pen it in.

This summer I am launching the first UK arts festival into making (and sometimes not making) babies in the modern way. For the first time ever over twenty leading writers, visual artists, theatre-makers, film-directors and composers will share the stage with some of the country’s foremost fertility experts in a day of performance, discussion and debate. Have a look at the beautiful new website for all the details: www.fertilityfest.com then book your tickets before they’re gone like easter and hot cross buns.

I keep gazing at all the polaroid photos of the festival artists (if you look at the website, you’ll see them too) thinking that they’re the sort of the people I’d like to hang out with for a day because I know they’ll make my brain fizz and I like it when my brain does that. Between them they’ve won countless awards, entertained millions of people and toured all over the world with their combined body of work. But what the world didn’t know until now is that they also all share an interest in fertility, infertility and IVF.

I love that when you look at the photos you can’t tell who has had it and who hasn’t. Who was successful and who wasn’t. Who has a baby from egg donation or surrogacy. Who has IVF triplets or twins. Who has pursued adoption or fostering. And who has decided to live an extraordinary life without the children they always longed for. But everyone involved in Fertility Fest understands what it’s like when making babies doesn’t happen naturally. They understand how hard it can be. The joy of it working and the pain of it not. If I have one small contribution I want to make in the world right now it’s getting more people talking about that to make it easier for everyone going through it. And the best people I know to do this are artists. Because artists tell it like it is. Artists make your brain fizz!

I had a lot I wanted to tell you in my blog this week – like further details of my half marathon and then how a week later I got the flu which has practically left me for dead. But as Peter, my partner, always says: ‘Jessica, don’t bury your lead’. The lead is: ‘What are you doing on Saturday 28^th May or Sunday 11^th June. I hope you’re coming to Fertility Fest.

www.fertilityfest.com