‘I had a stroke at 24’

Matt Loadwick
June 2025 • 2 min read

‘I had a stroke at 24’

In recent years, England Football’s Lionesses have well and truly been showing the men how it’s done. First, winning the Euros in 2022, before reaching the World Cup final (and almost going all the way) just a year later in the summer of 2023. Ellie Roebuck was a member of both squads to have achieved such success, vying with goalkeeper Mary Earps, BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023, for a place between the sticks. With the world at her feet, there was no way she could have predicted what was to come just months after England’s loss in the final in Sydney …

Around Christmas in 2023, she began to feel that something was not quite right, feeling nauseous, a bit off balance, and fatigued. Being a goalkeeper, her employer at the time, Manchester City, felt the most likely explanation was that she was suffering with concussion symptoms, possibly having been hit by a ball, or another player. But as the weeks went by into January, Ellie felt certain it was something else.

In a recent interview, she describes being sat down with the club doctor revealing the results of a head scan, when she was told that she had in fact suffered from an “infarct in her occipital lobe”, which in English, means a type of stroke. Strokes happen when blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off, which can have disastrous consequences such as paralysis, and in some cases, death.

Her first thought was “will I ever play football again?” Something that at the time, medical professionals were unable to answer. Ellie was unable to train for 12 weeks, but fortunately in that time was able to rehabilitate, so successfully so that she recently signed for European champions, Barcelona.

She counts herself very lucky to still be able to do what she loves for a living, knowing that things could quite easily have gone another way.

As scary as it may be, a story such as this certainly drives home the fact that we should be grateful for our health, and for the ability to spend time with our loved ones doing things that we enjoy.

From a financial perspective, such a story also highlights the merits of protection, with a variety of policies available to meet various needs; whether that’s something to keep you and your family afloat in times where you’re incapacitated, or to ensure that your loved ones are looked after financially in the event that the worst should happen.

At Solomon’s we want to look after all areas of your financial wellbeing, and if you’re currently considering aspects of your financial protection, you know where to find us.

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‘I had a stroke at 24’Jemima Thomas2025-06-20T16:39:49+01:00

70 years – a Jubilee

Jemima Thomas
Jan 2023 • 4 min read

70 years – a Jubilee

We have spent the weekend reflecting on our Queen’s 70 years of service as monarch. An achievement that none of us will see repeated, barring the awful prospect of life being extended dramatically by new medication. HRH Prince Charles is 71; a reign of 70 years would make him 141. HRH Prince William is 40 later this month and so would have to live until at least 110 and would need to become King immediately (for the maths to work).

It is an achievement of longevity. The ONS data for England implies that the average life expectancy of a female aged 96 is another 2.8 years. A male now 71 has an average 16.23 years, whereas a male age 40 has an average 43 years remaining. Mortality statistics are most definitely all about survivors and it may strike you as a little odd that someone aged 40 appears likely to not live as long as someone aged 84. This has the really awful description of ‘mortality drag’ – the statistical reality of “the older you are, the longer you live”. Evidently the Windsor family have some above average advantage of longevity, with HRH Prince Philip living to age 99.

THREE FUTURE KINGS

You probably saw images of the balcony at Buckingham Palace of future monarchs ranging from age 8 to 71. I paused to reflect on the reality of this … most of us have not been in the same ‘job’ for 70 years, and none of us have been waiting for it to start for 71 years! Most of our clients are eager to retire and thereby determine how they set the agenda for each day rather than being held to account for a daily commute, however brief. Imagine having been in training for a role for 71 years.

Irrespective of views about monarchy in 2022, I think it fair to say that we have been witness to a unique milestone, a theme that we discussed in the latest edition of Spotlight (let us know if you have not received your copy yet). In theory we know who the next three Kings will be, whether they all eventually become King is another matter entirely. As much as I like to plan and help you to do so, I am glad of uncertainty and not having a life mapped out from the cradle, with rather limiting choices.

70 years of public service is an enormously big deal. The only people that I suspect may achieve similar lengths of service in their ‘career’ are those in religious orders; and however much the State Pension is mucked around with by politicians, it’s worth noting that working for precisely half that time would entitle you to a full State Pension. You would obviously require rather more than the State Pension to run a Palace, but mercifully we don’t have to worry about that problem – although your most recent energy bill may have you wondering if you are.

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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70 years – a JubileeJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:49+00:00

What can investors learn from sport?

Solomons-financial-advisor-wimbledon-blogger

What can investors learn from sport?

I apologise to those of you that do not like sport, the purpose of this post is not to bleat on like some bloke at the pub who is attempting to name his best eleven… again… but to make an observation about the way people behave and in particular what investors can learn from sport.

I wonder if you watched the final of the T20 World Cup at the weekend. It was a thrilling match – (spoiler alter) England were eventually beaten by the West Indies. The “English” team (nationality in sport is debatable) started badly, losing Roy, Hales and Morgan very quickly. At 23 for 3 things looked pretty bad.

These days I delude myself that I can multi-task, so flicked between TV stations, watching football, Grand Prix, the cricket and keeping an eye on the social media (yes it would appear that I’m rather sad and lacking an attention span). However, getting to my point – social media exposes an array of reactions (commentators term them emotions) that people reveal as they experience an event.

Too early to call

Many had written off England with the fall of the third wicket, several used terms like “game over” before the team had even completed their attempt to score as many runs as possible within 20 overs. The game had not even reached its half-way point, but thousands had already conceded victory.

Its not over until its over

The English fortune turned around equally as quickly once the West Indies began to bat, crumbling to 11 for 3 and struggling for runs. Suddenly there was “hope”. Indeed by the end of the 19^th over (of 20) another 19 runs were needed, which seemed out of reach for Carlos Brathwaite, the facing West Indies batsman, who had 10 runs to his name. England were in the proverbial “driving seat” and now expected to win. Brathwaite had other ideas and promptly smashed each of the next deliveries for six runs, resulting in a dramatic victory and tournament win. Of course sad and desperate for Ben Stokes, the English bowler.

Investor behaviour is invariably no different from those on social media at the weekend. Reacting too quickly, feeling depressed, exasperated, then gaining some hope , followed by over confidence, followed by…. Repeat.

Your goals, not someone else’s

Investing is not a hobby, it is not a sport (unless you really are very rich). It is no way to learn about yourself and no place for reactive emotions. We approach the end of the 2015/16 tax year tomorrow. The deadline invariably pushes prices up. Whilst I am obviously (I hope) of the view that allowances ought to be used when appropriate, any investing should only be done if it helps you to reach your goals, not those set by HMRC.

Part of my job is to keep clients disciplined, avoiding mistakes and sticking to their own plans (not mine). This has been termed “adviser alpha” and adds an unquantifiable amount of value, though many attempt to quantify this.

The media in all its forms constantly stirs feelings of anxiety or missing out on opportunity. The vast majority of commentary about investing is about as relevant to your financial plan as any sporting event – completely irrelevant! Trying to perfectly time the market (the opportune moment to buy and sell) is frankly impossible to achieve with consistency. In practice few do so and fewer still can demonstrate this as skill rather than luck.

Have a Successful investing experience

Unlike sport, investing does not have to be about “winner takes all”. Everyone can win if they are investing in a way that fulfils their financial planning goals. They key is remaining calm, disciplined and clear about what you are really trying to achieve.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

What can investors learn from sport?Dominic2025-01-21T15:53:26+00:00