"One of my purposes of being on this planet is to help people," says Bethany England. "I love helping people. I would do anything for anyone."
It’s easy to place England’s earnestness in a footballing context. England is, after all, a footballer, one of the women’s game’s top stars. And since the striker’s swapping of west London champions for relegation-wrestling-turned-plucky-disruptors Tottenham Hotspur last season, she’s certainly cut the compelling figure of a benevolent saviour.
But the conversation is not football, it’s cancer. Apologies for the abruptness but that’s generally how the disease works: sudden and unanticipated.
England can attest. The 29-year-old describes her family as “riddled” with the disease. Some have survived, others haven’t. The striker recalls, as a young girl, the sight of her mum travelling back and forth from Barnes to Manchester where England’s aunt, Tracey Fletcher, lived. Fletcher was diagnosed with leukaemia. England’s mum tirelessly performed the role of carer and supplied a bone marrow transplant, all whilst having three young children, running a family, working full time.
“It was really heavy on her,” says England, who has been involved with various cancer fundraising efforts over the course of her career. “She’s my hero in how she was able to balance all of those things, amid the struggling. Not only that but keeping her own emotions in check. That was her sister.
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“I think we forget how wrapped up we can get in these situations. Your sole focus becomes them. Everything you do. You can end up skipping meals, and not sleeping well, just to make sure you're giving all the care in the world. You don't always give time to yourself.”
The necessity of time has led to England’s collaboration with Spa Breaks in an effort to give back to those who sacrifice everything when cancer comes knocking, The day we’re speaking, England, now an ambassador with the UK’s leading spa booking agency, sits at a table at Pennyhill Park Spa in Surrey after presenting Fiona Lawrence, a mum who raised almost £30,000 in support of her son after his recent diagnosis with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, with a year-long spa membership as part of the ‘Spa a Thought’ campaign.
Spabreaks.com ambassador Bethany England presented the year-long spa membership to ‘Spa a Thought’ campaign winner Fiona at Pennyhill Park Spa, Surrey (Spabreaks.com)Spa treatments hardly make up for the diagnosis, England acknowledges. Lawrence, too, voiced her internal conflict with receiving an award for something ultimately so harrowing. But after England witnessed not only the manner in which cancer can steal away the life of those diagnosed but those around them, the Lioness, who is a champion of “small happinesses”, insists that something as seemingly trivial can be profoundly impactful.
“I wish my mum would have been able to have had something like this to have a bit of a break,” says England. “It's obviously a lot going on for [Fiona], but it's important she doesn't burn out.
“What Spa Breaks offers is the opportunity to take a step back, focus a little bit on herself, making sure that she's in the right mental space, physical wellbeing, to be able to continue providing such amazing care. And being able to spread that help, the love towards people doing amazing things, it gives me a lot of happiness and fulfilment.”
Bethany England of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring against Manchester United (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)The topic of positive mental spaces is one which England speaks about with unerring passion. Her temperament doesn’t allow her to shy away from delving into the mental pitfalls stirred by her stuttering tenure at Chelsea, her departure, her recent hip surgery, and the fears of recovery. England has coping mechanisms: her dogs, her psychologist, and the support of friends and family. But she waves off the particulars of her tribulations to make a broader point.
“One thing my mum instilled in me is to never give up and don't let them take away your happiness,” she says. “There's so many things in life that can really get us down and as humans we can become so negative and fixated on the negative.
“I'm very big on always trying to find that small happiness in each and every day. For some people that might just be getting out of bed in the morning. For me, it might be going on a walk with my dogs that makes me happy. We’re very much in a situation where there's so much more pressure in society, whether that's online or social media or our job or the cost of living crisis. There are so many things that can affect people's mental wellbeing and physical well-being that we do need to sometimes take a look back and think do you know what? This is a good thing in my life.”
Here, the conversation returns to the more navigable world of football, where a good thing arrived against Bristol City in the form of England’s first Women’s Super League goal this season, a spectre long in the making after England’s gradual competitive reintegration after a surgery she worried could end her career.
Bethany England celebrates England's Women's Euro 2022 triumph at Wembley Stadium (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)“I was pleased because there's been a lot of conversations about scoring in the league,” she says. “There’s been a lot of pressure. To finally get off the mark and score that goal – and not only that but to then hit my 17th in the WSL as well – it was a proud day for me. Hopefully, now the first one is in, the rest will follow.”
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That’s largely how the goals worked last season, as England thrust herself into the WSL Golden Boot frame despite playing barely half a season. If the goals arrived in a breakneck whir, the last year has transpired similarly.
“It’s definitely a whirlwind,” England says. “Going from Chelsea to Tottenham, new manager, new team, very different circumstances in terms of the league, the types of games we were facing, then to change managers midway through, just about surviving relegation. Then into a World Cup, hip surgery, back to Tottenham, a new manager, new players so it's been.” England takes a breath. She admires the bigger picture. “There's been so much but equally Tottenham have stepped up their game.
“We had a dip before Christmas but I feel we're truly starting to find and see the fluidity again within the team, keeping more clean sheets and definitely looking more threatening in the attack as well.”
England celebrates with the FA Cup trophy after Chelsea's 3-2 win over Manchester City (2022 The FA)The attacking threat is bolstered by England’s return, a sight which is fortuitous ahead of an historic FA Cup semi-final clash with Leicester City and a potentially first-ever final for the club. England knows the territory of FA Cup finals and more intimately Wembley, the way the crowd’s anticipation grows and erupts at the arrival of a goal before swallowing everything in sound.
“You hear the noise volumes go from 0 to 100, it's just an amazing iconic venue,” she marvels. “Everyone wants to say that they've scored at Wembley and being in one of the biggest competitions in English football, the FA Cup, is something that people cherish forever.”
Walking out under the Wembley arches as Tottenham captain would mark another relish-able moment, something different (not better, she discerns) to previous times when she graced the pitch: the 2021-22 FA Cup with Chelsea, the 2022 European Championships with England. But to score, to win -- England tempers herself.
“We [Spurs] made history just getting to the semi-finals so the opportunity to walk out at Wembley in a final would be massive. Who knows which team we’d face, Manchester United or Chelsea. It’ll be a very tough game but an amazing experience, especially for the girls to be able to play in such a big crowd. I don't think many of them have played in such big crowds or such an iconic venue like Wembley. It would definitely be a fairy tale ending if I was able to lead the team there and we win it.”
*Spabreaks.com are experts in wellness and the UK’s leading spa booking agency. To book Pennyhill Park Spa or a spa across the country go to: https://www.spabreaks.com/
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