Poppy’s Play Patch

03/09/2026

Well, after spending 12+ years not being able to talk about Poppy, yesterday I found myself giving another talk , this time to the Southam Lions Club Charitable Trust Fund

It was a much shorter speech this time, followed by some really good questions at the end.

I’m still yet to master actually talking about Poppy without stumbling over my words a bit, even though this had far less detail on Poppy… but at this point, I’ll take being a bit of a stumbling mess! The main thing is that I’m talking. I’m telling her story to new people, keeping her memory alive, and talking about things that so many people simply don’t realise or know about.

Two speeches down now, and I have to admit I need a little break from this side of things for a short while.

It’s emotionally exhausting trying to manage the emotions alongside all the memories that come flooding back, but it’s also something I’m really proud to have done. And after a short breather, I’ll definitely do it again.

Next up is something a little different — I’m working on a short blog for Genetic Alliance, sharing more of Poppy’s story in writing. I’ll share more about that further down the line.

A huge thank you to Southam Lions for having me and for being such an incredibly supportive group.

It was a real pleasure ❤️

02/09/2026

🚨HELP US TEST SOMETHING NEW 🚨

We’ve been working quietly behind the scenes on something that could be a really exciting next step for Poppy’s Play Patch… and we’d love a few local families to help us test it.

On Saturday 12th September, we’ll be holding our first FREE trial play sessions at Mount Farm Park, Edgehill.

We’ll be running TWO sessions, with just 10 family bookings available for each.

There’ll be plenty to explore:
● Soft play
● Role play
● Dedicated baby corner
● Arts & crafts
● Tuff tray activities

Refreshments will be available, and there is also a farm shop and café downstairs.

This is very much a TRIAL DAY. The venue won’t be the finished article. If we decide to make this a permanent home, there are already changes and improvements we would make to the layout, furniture, flooring and overall finish.

What we really want to learn is how families feel about it.

Does the mix of activities work? How does the space feel? What do your children enjoy most? What would bring you back? What would you expect to pay for a session like this?

In return for offering the sessions completely FREE, all we ask is that parents give us some honest feedback before leaving. We’ll also show you our proposed layout/ideas for how the space could look permanently, so you can give feedback on what we’re actually hoping to create rather than just the temporary trial setup.

📸We’ll also have a photographer with us on the day to capture Poppy’s Play Patch in action.

When booking/arriving, parents will be able to choose whether they are happy for identifiable photos of their child to be used by Poppy’s Play Patch, or whether they would prefer their child's face to be obscured in anything we use publicly. We’ll use wristbands on the day so this is completely clear for our team and photographer.

📍Mount Farm Park, Edgehill
📅Saturday 12th September
⏰Two sessions – times TBC
🎟️FREE
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Just 10 family bookings per session

⚠️Please note that the play space is on the FIRST FLOOR and there is NO LIFT ACCESS.
Please consider this before booking, particularly if bringing a pushchair. There are spaces to leave pushchairs downstairs, and help is on hand if you need anything carrying up.

This isn't about showing you a finished venue.

It's about asking local families to help us work out whether this could become something really special for Poppy’s Play Patch.

When booking, you only need one booking per family. Please don’t request a ticket per member.
Booking link:

Help us test the feel of a permanent home for Poppy's Play Patch, with our usual soft play, role play, arts and crafts, tuff tray and more!

01/09/2026

First run of September done!
Hindsight, farmers field probably not the best choice for it but something different, and lovely views!

Running 50k through September for Sands - baby loss charity

A big thank you to Shannon Jane , Lucy Cox and Lewis Yossi Burrows for your kind donations! 🥰 very much appreciated.

https://fundraising.sands.org.uk/fundraisers/davidsimpson86412/run-50k-in-sept?utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1den1nlwawr2z&fbclid=IwVERDUAUF_PBwZG9mAWZkaWQWUNumX5NXRjDzli23tlfW01-FmYeyLGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5ollzBrN9g9aRoMM-lIAg0oRMzUPzzoM08nrz1T-yAplweg5tGstsjCcx9eg_aem_13WU9HpbVThBMp234K5Deg

01/09/2026

🏃‍♂️50KM IN SEPTEMBER FOR SANDS 💙🧡

This September, I’m taking part in Sands’ 50km in September challenge – running 50km across the month to support the stillbirth and neonatal death charity.

I wanted to do something a little different and more physical for a cause that means a lot to me personally, as well as to many of our friends, family and families in the wider community.

A lot of what I do through Poppy’s Play Patch is focused on the soft play, events, planning and everything that goes on behind the scenes. So when I saw Sands’ September challenge, it felt like a great opportunity to get out there, challenge myself physically and support an incredibly important cause at the same time. (Whilst also being in desperate need to improve my fitness too 😂)

I’ve set a fundraising target of £100. Every pound raised is hugely appreciated, but for me this challenge is about more than the fundraising.

It’s also about awareness. 💙🧡

Baby loss and bereavement can still be incredibly difficult to talk about. Evidently, as the man who hid away from it for over 10years! By taking part, I hope to help raise awareness, encourage more open conversations around baby loss and bereavement, and remind families that support is there.

🏃‍♂️Sands 50km in September Challenge
🎯50km across the month
💰£100 fundraising target
🗣️Raising awareness and encouraging conversation around baby loss and bereavement
💪Getting off my butt and moving my legs!

I’ll be sharing my progress throughout September – hopefully with the kilometres going up and the legs still working!

If you’d like to donate, share the challenge or simply follow along and help us spread the message, it all makes a difference. Anyone fancying a slow paced jog anytime, let me know!

Here we go… 50km to go! 💙🧡

Youonate here:

I’m running 50k in September for every much-loved baby sadly not here today. Anything you’re able to donate truly means so much – I’m only £100 off my target. Thank you

30/08/2026

🦋🐞 WE’RE BACK — THURSDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER! 🐛🐝

And we’re kicking off our brand-new term with a WILDLIFE WEEK! 🌿

We’ve been busy over the summer getting everything ready, and we have some lovely NEW additions waiting for our little explorers…

🐞 New wildlife toys
🐛 Creepy crawlies to discover
🏡 Our new little Mini Beast House
🌿 Wildlife-inspired play & activities
🦋 And plenty of our usual playgroup favourites!
It feels like the perfect way to start a new term — exploring, discovering and getting little hands stuck into play.

And most importantly…

EVERYONE is welcome. 💛

Whether Thursday 3rd September will be your first ever playgroup, your first visit with a brand-new baby, or you've been through our doors more times than you can count — come and join us.

👶 Ages 0–5
📍 Bishop’s Itchington Memorial Hall
📅 Thursday 3rd September
⏰ 10:00–11:30am
🎟️ £2.50 first child | £1 siblings

And our loyalty offer is back too:
Pay £10 for 4 sessions & get your 5th FREE! 🎟️
Regular families help us plan ahead, cover our running costs and ultimately keep our little community playgroup open.

So tell your mum friends. Tell the new parents down the road. Send this to someone who's at home with their little one on a Thursday.

🐝 New term. New toys. New little faces.
We can't wait to open those doors again. 💛

27/08/2026

For the first time, I stood up and told Poppy's story.

For a long time, talking about Poppy was something I completely avoided.

As years passed, I could sometimes tell people a couple of basic facts about her. I could say her name. I could talk about Poppy’s Play Patch and what we're trying to achieve.

I was recently asked if I would tell Poppy's story to a Men's Breakfast group, so over the last month I've actually sat down and written everything down on paper. I've gone back through everything I remembered and tried to shape it so it was suitable to present, knowing that eventually I'd have to stand in front of a room full of people and tell Poppy's story.

Life before Poppy. Finding out we were having Poppy. Her birth. The hospitals. The diagnosis. Bringing her home for those short few days. The few highs, and many more lows. The incredible eight and a half months we had with her.

Losing her.

And then everything that came afterwards.

This week, for the first time in my life, I stood up and talked about all of it.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't flawless. But I made it through.

Preparing for it meant going through old photographs, speaking to Vanessa about things I'd forgotten and revisiting memories I'd spent years trying not to think about.

After all these years, I thought not talking about it was helping me. But the reality is, I was forgetting some of the small milestones we had. So as hard as this was, it felt needed.

I was absolutely dreading parts of it. I knew saying the words would bring back all those memories at a time where I needed to remain composed.
I couldn't even practise talking it through at all before the day.

Yet, a part of me felt excited.

I felt proud to finally be at a point where Poppy's story is finally being told.
People deserve to know her story.

I'm so glad I did it.

Over the last year, Poppy’s Play Patch has somehow helped me become more comfortable talking about Poppy. What started as a little idea to do something positive in her memory has given me a reason to say her name more, share her story and talk about Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome.

We've also been able to share other children's stories as a result, and work alongside other children's charities and causes.

Standing there telling her story felt like another really important step.

There were definitely some difficult moments. There were some laughs too. And yes, I needed the tissues.

But more than anything, I was incredibly proud to stand there and talk about my daughter, and what we've been able to achieve in her name.

Hopefully, this was the first of many.

In fact, we've already got another, slightly shorter, talk coming up in two weeks' time.

Poppy Faye Simpson 🌸
January 2013 – September 2013

The reason behind Poppy’s Play Patch. ❤️


David Keith Simpson Rebecca Davis

25/08/2026

💒 Our first ever wedding! 💒

Another first for Poppy’s Play Patch recently… our first ever wedding setup. And what a beautiful venue! Warwick House

Two weeks ago, we traded birthday parties for wedding celebrations, creating a little play space for some of the youngest guests to enjoy while the grown ups got to enjoy the ceremony and the day.

We absolutely loved doing this.

Our setup gave the little ones somewhere to play and burn off some energy, while giving the adults a chance to relax knowing their children were happily playing while they enjoyed the celebrations.

When we started Poppy’s Play Patch, weddings weren't necessarily something we'd thought too much about, but it makes so much sense. A dedicated space where little ones can play and explore, while still being part of such a special day.

Hopefully this will be the first of many!

A huge thank you for trusting us to be part of such an important day.

And, as always, every booking helps us continue doing what sits at the heart of Poppy’s Play Patch — creating something positive in Poppy's memory.

23/08/2026

🎈 A very special 1st birthday! 🎈

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of setting up Poppy’s Play Patch for a gorgeous little one’s first birthday, our little friend Pippa's party🥳

First birthdays are always quite special, with it being the first celebration of many, many more to come. Seeing family and friends get together to celebrate a first birthday is a really lovely environment.
We set up for an Alice in ONEderland theme, with our Tuff trays making an appearance 👀

Every single booking continues to support what we're trying to build in Poppy’s memory , helping us put on our free play days, raise awareness and keep growing this little idea into something we're incredibly proud of.

Happy 1st Birthday! 🎂🎈

21/08/2026

🎉 Congratulations, Kajaal Roshni Parmar! 🎉
You’re our lucky giveaway winner! 🥳💕
A huge thank you to everyone who entered, shared our post and has since followed us — we really appreciate all of your support! 🫶🏼
Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting giveaways and offers from us soon! ✨
Poppy’s Play Patch 💕

13/08/2026

After so many years of avoiding talking about Poppy’s story, I now find myself with two presentations coming up where that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.

I’m currently writing everything down, Poppy’s story, our memories, the difficult parts, and how all of that eventually led to Poppy’s Play Patch.

Putting memories into words and realising I’ll have to stand up and talk them through is a pretty big deal for me. But it’s one I’m really keen to accomplish.

Over the last 12 months, Poppy’s Play Patch has grown into something we’re incredibly proud of. Alongside that, it’s also helped me become more comfortable talking about Poppy, sharing her story and explaining why what we’re trying to achieve means so much to us.

So, as daunting as this feels, I’m genuinely looking forward to standing up and telling people about Poppy, her story, and what we’re trying to build in her memory. (My knees will for sure turn to jelly on the night!😂)

Also very grateful for the people around me who’ve helped me get to a point where I feel able to do this. You know who you are ❤️

Tissues firmly on standby though, so donations welcome 😂

Poppysplaypatch