Queen Jolene

About Jolene

Self-titled Muse, Queen Jolene, (formerly known as Hannah), turned 50 on the day she launched this website on May 11th, 2023. Jolene is an Author and a self-taught, inspired Spoken Word Artist, having shared her original poetry and prose at many wonderful Spoken Word and Open Mic events around Huddersfield and beyond, since 2012.

Jolene has also delivered numerous presentations at University, Bettakultcha and Pecha Kucha over the years. At one Bettakultcha event at The Shine Business Centre in Leeds, in 2012, Jolene was said to have received the biggest standing ovation ever witnessed at a Bettakultcha event, for her presentation, ‘What’s in a Name?’

The first presentation she ever delivered was on her access course in 1997/98 where she delivered a presentation to 20 of her fellow female students, entitled ‘Drugs – Educating the Parent’, which was very well received. All Jolene felt she knew anything about back then was abuse, sex and drugs.

More recently, Jolene has used her voice to narrate the thought-provoking, illustrated Audio Book; The Wise Ones, which is a 30-minute powerful story told in a vacuum of space.

Jolene is also incredibly proud to have achieved being Manager, Curator (and Executive Producer) at Huddersfield On Tour dot com.

Book Jolene

To enquire about collaborating with Jolene for Voice Work, to deliver an inspirational presentation at your event, or for a Reiki session, please use this contact form.

Jolene’s top 5 Talents

In her early 30’s, Jolene came across the Gallup Organisation who developed the Strengths Finder process, which enables individuals to identify their key talent areas, which can then be developed into strengths via factual and experiential knowledge. First she read their book, ‘First break all the rules’, then she read the follow up book, ‘Now discover your strengths’, which came with a CD containing a questionnaire that resulted in her gaining her top five key talents.

Responsibility

Jolene’s Responsibility theme forces her to take psychological ownership for anything she commits to, and whether large or small, she feels emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Her good name depends on it. If for some reason she cannot deliver, she automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalisations are totally unacceptable. She will not quite be able to live with herself until she have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and her impeccable ethics, combine to create her reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to her first because they know it will get done. When people come to her for help – and they will – she must be selective. Her willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead her to take on more than she should.

Individualisation

Jolene’s Individualisation theme leads her to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. She is impatient with generalizations or ‘types’ because she doesn’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, she focuses on the differences between individuals. She instinctively observes each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. She hears the one-of-a-kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why she picks her friends just the right birthday gift, why she knows that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why she tailors her teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to ‘figure it out as they go.’ Because she is such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, she can draw out the best in each person. This Individualisation theme also helps her to build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team ‘structure’ or ‘process’, she knows instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

Deliberative

Jolene is careful. She is vigilant. She was a private person who became public with the publishing of her memoirs. She knows that the world is an unpredictable place. Everything may seem in order, but beneath the surface she senses the many risks. Rather than denying these risks, she draws each one out into the open. Then each risk can be identified, assessed, and ultimately reduced. Thus, she is a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certain reserve. For example, she likes to plan ahead so as to anticipate what might go wrong. Jolene selects her friends cautiously and she keeps her own counsel when the conversation turns to personal matters. She is careful not to give too much praise and recognition, lest it be misconstrued. If some people don’t like her because she is not as effusive as others, then so be it. For her, life is not a popularity contest. Life is something of a minefield. Others can run through it recklessly if they so choose, but she takes a different approach. She identifies the dangers, weighs up their relative impact, and then places her feet deliberately. She walks with care.

Intellection

Jolene likes to think. She likes mental activity, including meditations and helpful mantras. She likes exercising the “muscles” of her brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, she may be trying to solve a problem, develop an idea, or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on her other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what she is thinking about; it simply describes that she likes to think. She is the kind of person who enjoys her time alone because it is her time for musing and reflection. She is introspective. In a sense she is her own best companion, as she poses questions to herself and tries out answers on herself to see how they sound and feel. This introspection may lead her to a slight sense of discontent as she compares what she is actually doing with all the thoughts, ideas and visions that her mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that she plans to have later. Wherever it leads her, this mental hum is one of the constants of her life.

Belief

Jolene possess a strong Belief theme. She has certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily her Belief theme causes her to be family oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics, both in herself and others. These core values affect her behavior in many ways. They give her life meaning and satisfaction; in her view, success is more than money and prestige. Her core values provide her with direction, guiding her through the temptations and distractions of life towards a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all her relationships. Her friends call her dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Her Belief makes her easy to trust. It also demands that she finds work and ventures that mesh with her values. Her work must be meaningful; it must matter to her. And guided by her Belief theme it will matter only if it gives her a chance to live out her values.

Education and Career

After studying on the WITS Access Course and subsequent Multimedia Design Bachelor of Science (BSc) at Huddersfield University in the late nighties/early noughties, Jolene spent her placement year working at the Council’s Web Development Team. That is, until she was spoken to very disrespectfully by her manager. What followed was a challenging and rewarding ten-year career in Huddersfield’s Voluntary Sector. Firstly she supported women to use the Internet and E-mail at Fe-mail Women’s Internet Project in the Media Centre. She then went on to support adults with substance misuse issues at Lifeline, where she also helped develop services and facilitated group work, before facing redundancy in 2011. During much of this time she was dealing with her own issues behind closed doors. With the funding cuts and loss of her job, she then spent 2 years working as a Sales Executive for The Huddersfield Eye Magazine, which was a job she loved for many reasons but she really struggled with the financial pressure.

In 2002 Jolene gained a qualification in Counselling Skills and in 2010 she gained 2 Diplomas in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). During her time at Lifeline she gained an NVQ level 3 in Health & Social Care.

In the late 90’s Jolene also completed a Confidence & Assertiveness training course with Kirklees Redundancy Service, which also gave her the opportunity to develop her interviewee skills.

Creative Futures

Back in 2008, Jolene completed the Accredited ‘Creative Futures’ course with the Creative Industries Development Agency at The Media Centre in Huddersfield. Here she trained in DJ’ing vinyl, podcasting, acting, film-making, interviewing for radio, creating jingles for radio, and developing her social media skills. It was therefore wonderful for her to be putting that qualification and her skills to use in her role at KLTV.

Volunteering

Since Jolene’s employment ended, she has become an avid volunteer. She has volunteered on KRASSAC’s Management Committee for six months, at Huddersfield’s Buddhist Centre Café for a year, at the Huddersfield Literature Festival a number of times, and she has supported the Jubilee Centre’s Christmas Day Celebration several times. More recently, in 2023 she volunteered as a Promoter, Reviewer and Presenter for Kirklees Local Television’s Music In The Hudd Project.

Passions

Jolene is incredibly passionate about supporting her favourite Musicians, Artists & all round Creatives from Huddersfield.

In 2004, Jolene completed the First and Second Degree in Reiki, and in 2017 she completed the Third Degree, therefore finally becoming a Reiki Master Teacher. She is really passionate about offering Reiki sessions from her home close to Huddersfield town centre (promotional video coming in the future). To book her for Reiki please use this contact form.

Jolene is also passionate about playing pool, going to the gym for daily workouts and weekly swimming, singing Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ at Karaoke and sharing her poetry at Open Mic events, as well as attending the Women’s Centre music and singing groups. She loves going to intimate music gigs and has an eclectic taste in music. Jolene has become an avid networker over the years. She also loves that Huddersfield On Tour is a member of Kirklees Culture Collective.

Role Models (in the order they appeared in her life)

Mama Gill, Katie, Sarah Cox, Spike Lee, Carly, Suranne Jones, Chris Krow Summers from Life Force Reiki based in Wakefield, Suzanne Roberts from Hidden Resources & Developing Minds, and Tyler Perry from Tyler Perry Studios.

Why ‘Queen Jolene’?

If you’re wondering ‘Why ‘Queen Jolene’? it’s a multi-faceted response…. partly because at 5 years old Jolene’s daughter bought her the world for a pound from a flea market in Folkestone, making her feel like Queen of the world; partly because Adenico of Collective Sessions encourages us to be the Kings and Queens of ourselves; partly because when working at Lifeline, Jolene’s Manager would refer to her as the ‘Care Plan Queen’ because she was so good at Care Planning with her clients; partly because of Dolly Parton’s song, ‘Jolene’, which inspired her name change back in 2012; partly because of Tarrus Riley’s song ‘She’s Royal’, which was once dedicated to her;  and lastly because it simply has a nice ring to it! She also feels like she is part of a peaceful revolution but maybe that’s just her imagination, in which she has often lived over the years as it can often feel safer than facing reality.

Mental Health/Spiritual Awakening

While Jolene has positively promoted herself here, she also thinks it’s important to acknowledge that she has circumstantial diagnosis’s of Depression & Anxiety by her GP in the early 90’s, Bi-Polar by the NHS psychiatrists post book launch, and Complex PTSD by a private psychiatrist at a Medicinal Cannabis Clinic in 2022, for which she is receiving support for in some way, shape and form. There will be a page of mental health support links & contact details coming to the HOT! site real soon. Jolene also wishes to promote Talk to Frank which provides information about drugs and alcohol and keeping yourself safe. Bea Sharpe is in a long process of completing her 2nd memoir inspired by ‘The Doors of Perception’ by Aldous Huxley, and which will encompass her negative and positive experiences of utilising both illegal and legal drugs, alcohol and plant medicines.

She sincerely hopes you enjoy the creative content on this site.

Please note that this site is a continuous work in progress.

With many Blessings.

Queen Jolene x