Zen and the art of crossing the road (saving chldren's lives)

Since becoming a mother, I've become a bit of a zealot about crossing the road only when the 'green walker', as my even more politically correct friend calls it, is flashing.

Hollyhock progress

 A short break from blogging was enforced on me by the happy chaos of family fun in the summer.  Meanwhile, my hollyhock continued to grow, and flower, and occasionally blow sideways in the wind and need boosting back up again.    



Hollyhock success!

Understanding Norwegian terrorism

I had a feeling of déjà vu as I watched the news coverage of the attack on the Norwegian government buildings and Labour Youth Group camp on the island of Utoeya.  The scenes reminded me of recent Scandinavian crime fiction:  the novels by Swedish author Stieg Larsson or the Danish TV series, The Killing.  This was not just because I wish there were the comforting screen of fiction between me and the dreadful tragedies for so many in Norway.  Scandinavian crime fiction has consistently returned to themes and story-lines considering intolerance and prejudice.  Stieg Larsson's day job was that of a left-wing journalist fighting prejudice and intolerance, a sub-plot in The Killing revolved around the failure to understand what motivated suspicious behaviour on the part of Rama, the Iranian-born teacher. 

Lawn meditation

From Asterix in Britain

Cambridge Life

Et in arcardia ego;  I went to King's College, Cambridge from a rural comprehensive school and former secondary modern (the first Oxbridge entrant from the school) and a state tertiary college.  

Domesticity - Democracy or Dictatorship?

Housework is hard work - not just because it can be quite difficult to keep going with the boring work of cleaning the bathtub till it really gleams (I have never quite reached this Nirvanic state).  Along with the dusting and the constant round of preparing delicious nutritious food (this bit of the job can be quite fun), I found an invisible yet ever-present element of the workload was the management of human resources. 

The Return of the Slut

Yummy and slummy mummies move over.  Tiger mothers retract your claws.  It's time for the return of the slut. 

Cream Slice of Life

 

Bad news.  My local Tescos has started stocking cream slices. This means that I can go and get a box of two and have one for elevenses and one for tea every day!!!  I'm not sure my jeans will stand the pressure.  

Dreaming Spyers

Bad Buddhist

The NHS and red tape

O Brave New World! that has no bureaucrats in it.  What a winner it seems like to get rid of silly management personnel who make up jobs to keep themselves in salaries, thus freeing up much needed cash for 'front line services'.  

Sexualisation of young girls' underwear

Sexualisation of young girls' underwear was not a problem when I was young .  As I progressed into my teens it was really difficult to get a bra for a young girl in the small rural town I grew up in.  (It probably still is!)  A while back I watched a programme on the sexualisation of young children Too Much Too Young, on the whole a well-balanced discussion with interesting insights from the young people themselves.  Inevitably it didn't go too deeply into the way in which a misogynistic pornographic ethos rife in our culture might be at the back of training young girls early on how to be sexy. 

Corruption and the ritual realm of football

As corruption and in-fighting are exposed at the heart of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), I have been remembering a comment Ken Loach made in an interview about his film Looking for Eric.  He was being asked about the Football Club United of Manchester, set up by outraged fans after the Glazer family bought Manchester United FC for purely financial purposes (Ken Loach is a member of FCUM, and one scene in Looking for Eric revolves around teasing of a FCUM fan). 

Zen and the art of hanging out the laundry

Putting Out the Smalls by Alison Moger
(I bought this picture in installments from Craft in the Bay)