MenoShine WOW: Katy
Welcome to week 4 of MenoShine WOW, celebrating our Woman of the Week.
If you've been following along, you'll know that MenoShine WOW began with the most special group of women. The Posse. Six best friends who have known each other for over 35 years and who said yes to helping me launch something I hope will matter to women around the world.
Because that's what MenoShine WOW is really about. Not just my friends, as gorgeous as they are. It's about celebrating real women living real lives. Women who show up for each other, who cheer loudly, who love fiercely through the messy and the magnificent. Women who might not always feel it, but who are absolutely, undeniably shining.
You don't need a Posse of thirty five years to feel that. You just need to know that someone sees you. And that's exactly what I hope MenoShine WOW does, one woman at a time.
We started with Janey, the epitome of MenoShine and our guiding spark who can always find the silver lining. Then came Suzi, the superglue who makes sure nobody ever feels forgotten. Last week was Beccy, our lighthouse and life guide. And this week I am so proud and grateful to introduce you to the fourth member of The Posse.
To be honest, writing this blog has taken a while to pull together. Not because I don't know what to say about Katy. Quite the opposite. It’s because there is so much to say, and I want to do her justice.
Meet my gorgeous friend Katy. Fondly known as Katyla, Katy Soapsuds (her maiden name was Soper) and, thanks to my husband, Katy KuKu, because she is, in the very best possible way, absolutely bonkers. She is the life and soul of every room she walks into. Just so full of joy, cheer and happiness that it spills out of her and lands on everyone nearby.
Katy and I met when we were sixteen. Both of us were the new girls, starting over at a school where everyone else already knew each other. That shared experience bonded us immediately. We were in music classes together, and Katy, I quickly discovered, has the voice of an absolute angel. We sang together all the time - Christmas concerts, choir rehearsals, with the Posse around the piano in my living room, any excuse.
Without knowing it, each Posse member plays a role, and I'd say Katy is the confident, curious cheerleader of our group. She's always the one who will sit with you and interrogate you in the most loving way imaginable. She just wants to know everything about you. All at once. I remember the last time I saw her in person, she sat with my son Drew and peppered him with question after question about his life, his college, his dreams and aspirations. It was hilarious to listen to, and he loved every single minute of it. That's Katy. She makes people feel like the most interesting person in the world, because to her, they genuinely are.
Katyla and the World
Years ago, after graduating from college, Katy headed to the Dominican Republic, where she met her lovely husband Andy. Katy and Andy were both teachers, but they didn’t choose the traditional route and stay in the UK. Instead they opted for a life of international travel, and so they set off together, building a life, a family, and careers across the world: Nigeria, Spain, Nepal, Sakhalin, and most recently, Seoul.
Andy grew into leadership roles along the way, becoming a principal and headteacher at international schools across those postings. Katy stayed rooted in what she loves most. Early years education. As a teacher, a leader, a consultant (leading seminars in Rio and Bangkok to name a few), and at the same time serving as Educational Director at Open Arms Korea in Seoul, and of course her most important role as a wonderful mum to her daughters Peri and Lily.
To be in Katy's classroom is nothing short of magical. She is very much still a child at heart, and believes with everything she has that children learn best when they are allowed to wonder, explore and get genuinely, joyfully messy. One of my favourite Katy stories, shared on our Posse WhatsApp chat to great delight, is the duckling project. Over the years, Katy has raised multiple sets of ducklings and would take us with her on the journey from setting up eggs, and the hatching process, to the first wobbly days as the ducklings emerged and the worry of whether the littlest ones would survive, to the ducklings themselves waddling around the classroom. And then, inevitably, the stories of duck poo and how she’d have to clean it up before the other teachers and children got to school!
Open Arms
In Seoul, on top of her day to day teaching responsibilities, Katy found something that would go on to define eight of the most meaningful years of her life so far. She sometimes mentioned it off hand, but to be very honest, I didn’t fully understand the depth of what she’d accomplished until I recently read a tribute that was written as she left. Open Arms Korea is a volunteer-run organisation that brings English-speaking volunteers together with children in Korean welfare homes, providing educational programmes built around play, joy and possibility.
From reading the tribute, I learnt that Katy didn't just join Open Arms. She transformed it. She built the Early Years programme from nothing, showing up week after week, year after year, carrying her car full of supplies and her heart full of love for children who needed someone to show up for them. As Katy left Seoul, the tribute written about her by Barbara Bai, Open Arms founder, says that Katy "changed Open Arms forever." That the programme she built was "beyond our wildest dreams." And that her departure left "a massive black hole."
That is the impact of Katy Soapsuds. Passionate, determined, relentless love in action.
Family, Faith, and Granny Panny
Katy and Andy’s daughters, Peri and Lily, have grown up with the world as their classroom. Countries, cultures, languages, friendships across continents. It has made them exactly what you'd expect: confident, curious, open-hearted, kind and generous young women with a perspective on life that most people spend a lifetime trying to find. Peri is already at university in the UK, and Lily will be heading there soon too.
To know Katy is to know that her faith has always been at the centre of everything. It's not something she wears loudly. It's just woven into who she is. I remember one Posse camping trip when we were 17 in Molly Mellow Yellow van over the Easter weekend. While the rest of us were still in our sleeping bags, groggy and hungover, Katy got up, pulled on her welly boots and headed off to church - with a spring in her step and song in her heart - quite literally, she was always singing!
Katy’s faith came directly from her mum, Sheila. ‘Granny Panny’ to Katy's girls, and one of the most extraordinary women I've ever had the honour of knowing. Sheila passed away in May 2024, and the church at Wimborne Minster was absolutely packed for her funeral, which tells you everything about the life she led and the love she left behind.
Sheila lived a life of service. Not to be seen, but to be felt. And that is Katy, through and through. The apple did not fall far from the tree. At Sheila's funeral, Lily read a poem that I had written at Katy's request. It is one of the pieces of writing I am most proud of, and I share just a few lines here, because they capture Sheila, and in capturing Sheila, they capture something essential about who Katy is too:
"Lead with your heart, be generous and giving
Share the grace of God's love every day that you're living
Bring light where there's darkness and never forget
Live life to the fullest with not one regret."
A new chapter
As I write this, Katy is in the middle of one of the biggest transitions of her life. After eight incredible years in Seoul, she has said goodbye and moved to Madrid with Andy to start a new chapter. I’ll hand it over to Katy to tell you about this transition ….
In Her Words
“When Jo asked me to write something for Menoshine WOW, I was surprised by how uncomfortable I felt. I'm probably the last person people would expect to say that. I've always been happy to put myself out there, meet new people, and embrace new opportunities. I think it was simply the timing.
I'd just arrived in Madrid after saying goodbye to an incredible eight years in Seoul. At the same time, I was saying farewell to my youngest daughter as she headed to the UK to start university. Suddenly, it hit me—I was officially an empty nester. A new life in Madrid awaits me, and while I'm incredibly excited, it's also brought a whirlwind of emotions. But if life has taught me anything, it's this: "Katy, you've got this."
New beginnings never really get easier; if anything, they become harder because there's so much more to leave behind. Yet with every new chapter comes greater resilience, wisdom, and perspective. I'm comfortable in my own skin and comfortable being me. I'll always be a mum and a wife, but I'm entering a new season of life. What excites me isn't becoming someone different—it's discovering how a new city, new friendships, a new job, and new experiences will shape my next chapter. I'll always be Katy, but I'm curious to see "What Katy does next!"
My gorgeous Katyla, thank you for being this week's MenoShine WOW - especially at a time in your life when nothing feels solid. I know your story will inspire others to lean in when they feel uncertainty and quietly remind themselves ‘I’ve got this!’
You’re one in a million and I’m forever grateful to call you a best friend. x
Next Up in MenoShine
Next week, I'll be introducing you to the final member of The Posse, the wonderful ‘Melly B’, and I genuinely cannot wait to share her with you.
After that, the MenoShine WOW series opens up and I am already bursting with wonderful women I want to celebrate. But I want to hear from you too. Send me an email and tell me about a woman in your life who deserves her moment in the spotlight. Nominate a friend who inspires you. Nominate someone who could do with a boost and needs to be shown what the people who love her actually see. And absolutely, unashamedly, nominate yourself. There is zero shame in saying "I think I'm a bit of a WOW actually." In fact, that kind of self-awareness is exactly the MenoShine spirit (and if you don’t believe me, go and read about Janey who is the epitome of MenoShine!)
Every MenoShine WOW will be featured in a book next year called The MenoShine Movement. So go on. Send me that email. I want to meet your WOW.
Sending sass and sparkles from MenoSHINE, because no one should have to PAUSE! x
