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Archive for the ‘Reflection’ Category

50 fat balls for £5 from netto.. now that is approcimatly a £3 saving…for 50 or £6 for 100. As we bought to buckets.. we have still saved ourself £6.

Also from netto – we dont shop there often.. was 500 grm butter for £1.. that will do for baking with.

We have finally returned our three bag fulls of books and audio tapes to the library. and bought home a couple of audio books. Story time was on, and Asha dosnt really enjoy it, so we didnt stay long.

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Time for Asha to turn of her light and get some sleep. She has finally got into a routine. I agree it is demanding for Steve, but Asha is sleeping a lot better, and generally looking and behaving a lot better for it.

Her routine now is : 7 pm,,, P.J’s and cereal, plus drink. 7.30 up to bed, where daddy reads to her untill 8. They are currently reading the Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring.

At this point, Daddy comes downstairs and Asha is allowed to read untill 9 pm, at which time daddy goes up tucks her in and she normally now settles down to sleep, before 10.

Most nights now she is sleeping though, to around 8.30. At which point she comes and wakes Daddy up. and they go downstairs..

Anyway.. i digress.. Its 9 pm.. We have just made some buscuits as we have had none all weekend, and i get annoyed with the rubbish that is found in shop bought ones. I have a rucksack full of books to return to the library tomorrow, and Steve is enjoying a break, after a busy day of cooking roast dinner. I am wearing my home grown.. woollen coat, and am considering the fact that in 3 days time i need to have enough bits of card cut out for 20 home educated children to make a horse and cart… Guess what tomorrow night is going to be!

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that there are powers and energies out there which we have no control over.. Have you ever tried to catch a wave??

So for me, instead of using the word Lord i use energy…

I give this to all my friends who are finding life tough right now.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Carolyn Carty, 1963

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Well I got an email through today asking me if i wanted to attend an school reunion in June.

If you know of someone who was a student at Wellington school on the Wirral before it got knocked down, please pass the word. We have ended up all around the world, but as many as possible would be good!

Dan can be found on facebook, as can “Wellington School Bebington” but if you want me to act as go between, just let me know!

Dan Smith 22 January at 12:15 Reply
Hi all,

I’ve booked the Birkenhead Cricket Club function room / pavillion for:

Friday 25th June. 6pm – midnight.

http://bpcc.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=10226341&cid=202

I hope this date is fine for everyone.

In answer to a few questions:

Kids are welcome, as long as they are supervised. Plenty of room to play outside on the cricket field too.

Dress code.. shall we say smart-casual?

The music will not be banging all night, the volume will be monitored & always appropriate. The room that we’ll be using is long… from the dancefloor area through the function room, to the foyer, exit and outside, so plenty of areas to chat, inside and out.

I’m gonna put together a playlist of good music.. 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s eclectic groove based. Turntables will be there, so if anyone needs to DJ then feel free to bring your tunes (Vinyl or MP3). I probably wont get on the decks myself as this has been my job for the last 13 years every Friday & Saturday night, so I’d much rather catch up with a lot of my old pals.

more stuff to sort out..

Had a couple of offers to help with food. I’d much rather keep the budget down, so would rather not get caterers in. How about if people make / buy & bring a dish each???
Anything buffet style.. crisps & dips etc?
Let me know.

As I’m Manchester based, would anyone be up for popping down to the venue asap to formerly secure this date?
To avoid losing our slot, they just need someone to sign a booking form in person. No deposit required.
Eileen is the venue manager, she’s there Fri & Sat from 5pm, or Tues to Thurs from 6pm. Please let me know if anyone can help here.

I’ll put a couple of notices in the local Wirral press, say April / May?

OK, that’s all for now folks, any questions or thoughts just message me.

Looking forward to it!

Regards,

Dan.

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I found this photograph today, from when Asha was around 1 and it reminded me how important it is to sit and talk to children.. all children.. how ever old they may be.

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Forestry Commission scraps Magna Carta right to collect woods from forests
The right of people to collect wood from Britain’s forests that was created under the Magna Carta has been overturned due to health and safety fears.
By Chris Irvine
Published: 9:28PM GMT 26 Oct 2008

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3264458/Forestry-Commission-scraps-Magna-Carta-right-to-collect-woods-from-forests.html

then we get

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7KTLDR

Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) is committed to promoting the use of wood as an economical, sustainable and carbon-neutral fuel.

As more people in Wales turn to wood as a form of fuel, we are changing the way we sell firewood in order to respond to the growing demand in the most appropriate way.

We want to support the development of a firewood supply chain in Wales which delivers a quality firewood product, and also supports community enterprises. Our aim is to develop a network of local firewood merchants and community enterprises who are willing to collect timber from the forest roadside for processing into domestic firewood.

So they are now selling it.. where as three years ago you could collect it…ummmm…

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Tots 100 has now got a new sponsor.. I have always loved the idea of someone spending there own time and energy and resources manually going through different sites, and deciding that they will name the top 100 parent blogs. This has appealed to me.

Now they have a family holiday firm who are taking over sponsorship. Allready this is causing some differeing views, between people who are on the list.

I remember the first time heard of tots 100, I was amazed that my site was on it.. It hasnt been for a while now though I like the idea a lot, however I am worried, that the sponsorship might go wrong… I guess we will see…

I wish them luck with it all… !!!

http://www.whosthemummy.co.uk/parent-blog-index/

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I first posted this on the 31st December 2008.. I feel compelled to re post it tonight xx In memory of a loved one xxx

Obituary

My parents told me about Mr Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by until today, sadly, I read his obituary.

Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance. For Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations.

Obituary

Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn’t always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a class mate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion;

his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m a Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.

If you still remember him pass this on.

If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Author unknown

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The girl who silenced the world.

http://www.sustainablestyle.org/sass/heirbrains/03suzuki.html

Transcript

Editor’s note: The following is the transcript of the speech that Severn Suzuki gave to the Plenary Session at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio Centro, Brazil. Severn was twelve years old. SASS feels there is no better example of a young person standing up and speaking on behalf of something in which they truly believe, for the betterment of themselves and the world around them.
Hello, I’m Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. – The Environmental Children’s Organisation.

We are a group of twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference:
Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.

Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come.

I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.

I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go. We cannot afford to be not heard.

I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air because I don’t know what chemicals are in it.

I used to go fishing in Vancouver with my dad until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear about animals and plants going exinct every day — vanishing forever.

In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterfilies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.

Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age?

All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do you!

* You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.
* You don’t know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.
* You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct.
* And you can’t bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert.

If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!

Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organisers, reporters or poiticians – but really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles – and all of you are somebody’s child.
I’m only a child yet I know we are all part of a family, five billion strong, in fact, 30 million species strong and we all share the same air, water and soil — borders and governments will never change that.

I’m only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.

In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel.

In my country, we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, and yet northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to lose some of our wealth, afraid to share.

In Canada, we live the privileged life, with plenty of food, water and shelter — we have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets.

Two days ago here in Brazil, we were shocked when we spent some time with some children living on the streets. And this is what one child told us: “I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the street children food, clothes, medicine, shelter and love and affection.”

If a child on the street who has nothing, is willing to share, why are we who have everyting still so greedy?

I can’t stop thinking that these children are my age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born, that I could be one of those children living in the Favellas of Rio; I could be a child starving in Somalia; a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India.

I’m only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this earth would be!

At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us to behave in the world. You teach us:

* not to fight with others,
* to work things out,
* to respect others,
* to clean up our mess,
* not to hurt other creatures
* to share – not be greedy.

Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?

Do not forget why you’re attending these conferences, who you’re doing this for — we are your own children. You are deciding what kind of world we will grow up in. Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying “everyting’s going to be alright” , “we’re doing the best we can” and “it’s not the end of the world”.

But I don’t think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My father always says “You are what you do, not what you say.”

Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown ups say you love us. I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words. Thank you for listening

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The only thing which can change the world is LOVE and TOLLERANCE.. We cannot expect people who have no self respect to respect others, but we can all aim to be be tollerant and loving towards all people.

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I have been having to think a lot lately, for all sorts of reasons, what a parents actual role is.

To nurture, and protect.. Sounds simple enough dosn’t it.

But to nurture and protect from whom?

Nurture is easy.. To nurture a child is to let them become who they want to become. To allow them to be sad, happy, upset, cross, angry, loving, to discover there bodies, minds and develop there own interests..

To protect. From themselves, the state, others, people whos ideas i dont agree with… fears, phobias, electricity… what are we meant to protect our kids from, and what is it we arent… In olden times… as asha calls anything from before she was born… but i will think back to my childhood.

We were able to go out alone, at the age of five. I used to cross the road to play with my friends without supervision, and was trusted to come straight home if they wernt in..

We used to play in the road, as a group unsupervised, and no neighbour would say it was antisocial.. Its playing for goodness sake.

We could play drs and nurses in each others bedrooms, and no parent, or grandparent would go up the wall, because a boy was in the girls bedroom!

Are kids today allowed freedom, or are they sufficated by social rules and expectations, and what is the role of a parent…

Comments please…

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When i was little i used to get 20p a week. All I could buy with it was a packet of polos and some penny sweets.
No where we go to regually sells anything at such small prices, and as we go out a lot. we have found ourselves spending quite a lot of money on Asha.. two ice creams a week = £3. a drink out of a drinks machine, £1.50 a toy from a shop – £3. I wont buy her normal gift items from these places cos she dosnt need pencils, paper etc.. were sinking under the stuff.

As such we have decided to give her £6 a week.. out of that she has to buy all her own ice creams, drinks, toys, etc. If we go out and i havent put a drink in for her then its different.. But for example this week – sunday – circus.. loads of stuff she wanted.. but was happy shareing a bag of candyfloss.. she wanted to go on bouncy castle.. but though about a first aid kit she had seen in post office.. So already its helping her make choices etc. She understands that she cant have everything, and has to save up.. We will see how it goes. She no longer spends the whole time were shopping saying.. can I have…

What are your thoughts?…. to comment, click on the post title..

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from google cache:
http://74.125.77.132/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&rls=en-GB&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesonline.co.uk%2Ftol%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fguest_contributors%2Farticle5811412.ece&btnG=Search
Philip Pullman
Are such things done on Albion’s shore?

The image of this nation that haunts me most powerfully is that of the sleeping giant Albion in William Blake’s prophetic books. Sleep, profound and inveterate slumber: that is the condition of Britain today.

We do not know what is happening to us. In the world outside, great events take place, great figures move and act, great matters unfold, and this nation of Albion murmurs and stirs while malevolent voices whisper in the darkness – the voices of the new laws that are silently strangling the old freedoms the nation still dreams it enjoys. Read the rest of this entry »

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I seem to be having a bit of a block.. Not really sure what is causing it.

Anyway, what have we been doing for the last two weeks?  Ummmm.

Works backwards – Today is shove tuesday. We had a great pancake party, and ate far too many pancakes. P came round, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

We did shopping in bangor today, and asha bought herself a new set of plastic kitchen toys.

Monday – Naomi and 4 kids came round, and we had a lovely evening playing. In day time, Asha and i did assorted things with paper, and made sample musical instruments up out of junk for clas project on Wednesday.

Sunday – recovered from trip to grannys, and had T, and his parents round to play / eat. Went well. Made some mars bar covered fudge!

Saturday – played at grannys.

Friday – travelled down to grannys.

Thursday – recovered from wed, made some bread.Met new social worker.. Went well.

Wednesday – CLAS and Gwerin meeting, new record, home before 7.30

Tuesday – wrapped some vanilla fudge up for J and A at clas. Spoke to A, and J on telephone today.  Friend came round to play, after i had done shopping.

Monday. I did some shopping, and collasped in heap i think.

Sunday -

Saturday – was it snowdrop weekend at penrhyn? If it was we went there is Gwerin, and had a great time!…….

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From about 2001 I think

Coffee Break Anyone?

Please.. White, one sugar, STRONG!

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When Asha was tiny, we had a kitchen which was even tinyier. So untill
she was about 3, she never was allowed in the kitchen. But we always
made sure we gave her stuff to do just by the kitchen door, if we had
to be in there, when we were on our own. ( i used to bluetak different
shaped sheets of paper onto the walls, and provide her with different
art materials to decorate the paper with.) Read the rest of this entry »

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We just seem so busy, that nothing is getting done!

Steve and I sat down last night and decided on a daily schedule. Lets see if we can keep to it!

One of our problems is that we are out soo often, and when we are in, jobs such as chopping wood, cooking food, and getting ready for the next day, all need to be done. As well as finding time to spend with Asha. This means some days, it can be 10 pm, before we get to breath. Combined with the cfs, its no wonder i am currently exhausted.

Anyway, what has Asha done since last wednesday then?

Read the rest of this entry »

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Yep that is right, stalactites fall down.. and stalagmites crawl up.

When I was in senior school I remeber weeks of our geography lessons being spent discussing these things, and it was sooo boring! Last week the kids at CLAS had great fun playing with them, and asking questions and taking photographs of them.

I hope to take Asha tomorrow to the river to look at ice a bit more, but in the mean time, some information for you on ICE, Stalactites and Stalagmites.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Obituary

My parents told me about Mr Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by until today, sadly, I read his obituary.

Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance. For Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations.

Obituary

Common Sense

Read the rest of this entry »

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