'Looked After Children' no more

My wife is a Social Worker and she told me last night that 'Looked After Children' are now to be known as 'Children that are Looked After' ...

'Looked After Children'
'Children that are Looked After'
'Looked After Children'
'Children that are Looked After'

??

Do they really believe it will make any difference?

Of course I'm sure there will be a cost associated with the change.

Missed it again!

I have just realised that yet again we have missed The Royal Variety Show.

Some years Mrs Jenks and I happen to catch a snippet of it and we call our kids down to see the last few acts. Every year we say that we really must remember to watch it all next year; even just most of it ... this year we didn't even catch a snippet! I fear our children will be deprived of seeing the whole show, just once! What makes it worse for our poor children is that they often show flashbacks of the various acts at the end of the show - the acts that they missed.

Are we the only family that are unaware when it's on? I suppose this is the danger of selective viewing, you miss the adverts for shows. Oh well, will somebody please remind us next year, if not for us then for our children’s sake - I have this suspicion that next year this time ...

Swans with shades

This might be obvious but we live near the Thames but not so obvious would be that our village has an assocaition with swans. Anyway, I heard that a crew was filming locally and made use of 'trained' swans instead of our local common or garden variety of swans (I'm not much of an ornithologist I'm afraid).

Now I have this picture in my head of swans with shades, reclining on director's chairs - do you think they have equity cards. Imagine the tantrums, you don't want to be near an angry swan!

(PS "Swans with Shades" is a unique phrase in Google and takes you to this post ... and I was hoping for a picture.)

Cheques and permission slips - grrrrr!

I'm fed up with writing out cheques for school and filling in forms. The other day I had to request another chequebook from my bank, the last one they sent us was at the end of October!

Piecemeal requests for cash, £2 for this, £5 for that - sigh. Permission slips. Newsletters. Bigger sigh. I just have so many better things to with my life than fill in forms, tell people that yes my son has had a tetanus jab, write out my address, email, telephone numbers over and over again .... and write another confounded cheque ... for £2!

I wish I could tell the school 'Yes, you can take my child wherever you think is appropriate (I trust you), email me the details, here's £100 (or whatever) - take out what you need, when you need it and let me know periodically if the pot needs filling and roughly where the money went.' Not complicated, less paper, less time and surely everybody will be happier.

I received a form yesterday that listed 'all' the contact details associated with my child that was held on record. It was 'all' correct but for some reason I have to keep writing out this information on forms! If I really have to sign a form, why not do a mail merge??? It's a closed loop system, parents submit details, parents check details - all records are correct and technology has helped save time and money.

Oh well. I feel a little better now, sorry.

My bad timing and hairy chests

Hairy chests, another example of my bad timing...

I grew up being told that you're a real man when you get a bit of hair on your chest. That chest of hair was a sign of your arrival at manhood.

That was the 70s.

I remember one of the more serious swimmers at school shaving his body to reduce drag in the water - most of my friends were horrified, such sacrilege. What if the hair didn’t grow back??? So this thing about hair on your chest was really quite important – get the picture.

Enter a rather hairless teenager (namely me, not unusual for teenagers really) waiting for those hairs to emerge … waiting … waiting … waiting … hoorah!

Alas, arrival of hairy chest occurs just as it goes out of fashion.

Men now seem to shave, wax (ouch) or something? I can’t imagine they’re born like that and I’m not sure it’s ever discussed down the pub. In fact, I imagine most men would be worried if there was ‘no’ hair to remove. I think you notice a little confusion here and a distinct lack of research.

But my main point is that it is another example of my excellent timing. I might add that I am not planning on any shearing of my torso either – Mrs Jenks has said that she is quite happy just the way I am. Besides, it might come back in fashion ;-)

Off to the Hellfire Club ;-)

I'm off to the Hellfire Club tonight. What is the Hellfire Club you might ask? I really can not say.

Hee, hee ... the mind boggles doesn't it?

Dull technical reports

I'm writing a fairly dull technical report and I fear my brain might implode. Dull ... dull ... dull. Any suggestions for shoring up said brain - it might be very messy if implosion arises?

Funny enough this is analogous to stars, nuclear reactions prevent the star from collapsing under its own gravity. When the star runs out of elements to fuse gravity takes over and (if the star is big enoug) .... bang! Supernova - the biggest firecracker in the universe.

This would suggest that the resulting mess arising from implosion correlates to how big my head is - hmmm. Back to dullness ...

Find that school ... Friends Reunited :-)

Schools - I think I went to too many of them. As a child we moved around quite a bit, we seemed to move house most years and often when we moved it was outside of the catchment of a school I was attending and naturally I changed school again.

I only went to one high school although we did move most years when I was there. We did actually move out of catchment but I convinced my parents that I could still get to the school on my own steam.

Until I was about 13 I was an only child so I don't have a anybody really to peg those early years to. My Dad died last year and my Mum has this year recovered from cancer. I realised that it would be good to track my earlier years while I can still remember them.

Trying to remember the names of schools - very difficult. Then I hit the jackpot, I discovered my old stamp collection that had loads of envelopes showing all our addresses. These addresses together with Friends Reunited and ... bingo! Well, almost ... I think there might be one or two schools I've forgotten particularly in England. Here is the list:

?
Radford Primary School (England)
?
Sapcote CofE Primary School (England)

Cardigan Primary School (Wales)
St Dogmaels Primary school (Wales)
Lamphey Primary School (Wales)
Pembroke Dock Junior School (Wales)
Cosheston Primary School (Wales)

Martin Primary School (South Africa)
Warner Beach Senior Primary School (South Africa)

Amanzimtoti High School (South Africa)

Of course I don't expect anybody to remember a transient child through their school but it has been good to be able to make contact with school friends from my last two schools.

My kids have a totally different experience, they all went to/go to the same primary school and will likely go to the same secondary school. Going to so many different schools has probably had an affect on my schooling but not as much as you might think it would. Parents today get so worked up over which school to send their children to and I think they forget how adaptable and resilient children are. I think I'm evidence of that ... although I'm sure a few of you would say how I might prove the contrary point :-)

Oh yes, and isn't Friends Reunited very useful - an excellent research tool.

1973!! But ... but ... how?

James Blunt sings a song set in 1973 yet he was born in 1974! Am I the only person this irritates. Every time I hear him singing this song I think but you weren't even around in 1973.

It's as bad as living next door to Alice for 24 years ... waiting for a second chance! How irritating. What kind of guy was that?

Sigh ... I feel better now, I got that off my chest. I really shouldn't bother, I really shouldn't ...

In Facebook I am

I have a Facebook account - postings are rarely longer than a sentence, then you do a quiz.

What to believe?

My mentioning of 'His Dark Materials' reminded me of how angered Christian groups are about the books.

This brings me to my religious beliefs? Oh dear, how this has caused me so much trouble in my life. Atheist, Agnostic, Spiritualist (a close family member was even a medium), Christian, even Missionary, Preacher ... what do I believe now? I'm not saying much about that right now - I've got to have learnt something from experience.

What's so surprising is that people who know me who read this posting are likely convinced I fall into any one of the boxes above, except perhaps the Spiritualist one.

The problem is my timing ... it's not very good. As an example, when I lived in South Africa at about 18 years of age, I helped arrange a beauty competition. It was quite a success and in particular I arranged a date with a beautiful model. The date went well until she brought up her beliefs over dinner. She was on the journey to becoming a Christian and I was not, in fact I was pretty much an atheist ... needless to say we didn't have another date. However, a few months later and we would have got on so much better - my lousy timing! Our beliefs were out of kilter. I do hasten to add that about six months later I did meet my lovely wife ... that was superb timing :-)

This is the main problem I see with religious beliefs (or lack of them) is that it polarises us. The only time it doesn't is when we say we just don't know - good old agnostics! That said, I don't really subscribe to the view that religion has caused a great deal of woe in the world. We're essentially tribal and it doesn't matter what the banner is we sit under we'll still fight and bicker with all the other tribes. But it does seem to me that when we sit under a religious banner that the vast majority of people go on to lead good lives. So religion seems to be a good concept and whether you believe that that is how God intended it or whether evolution has brought us to this point something seems to be right about it. By the way, please don't be offended by the tribal analogy - I am referring to everybody including me as being tribal.

But back to my religious beliefs, as you must concede that this posting had started out as a bit of oblique navel gazing. There are many reasons why my spiritual journey has been so eventful and I have some rather interesting tales. Would I have chosen a different path? No, I don't think so - often these journeys are more about finding yourself than a religion or even God. It would be such a boring world if we all believed the same thing and despite what I said earlier it would be no fun arguing with a world of agnostics. I am very happy to say that I have used God/religion as a crutch through significant portions of my life and why would that ever be a problem? If you have a religious belief then I trusted in God, if not then I tapped into my inner strength - the fact is it worked/works ;-)

Next year I'm continuing to study astrophysics - the universe is truly a strange and awesome wonder. The more I glimpse (this is about all I can manage) of the strangeness of the quantum world, other dimensions and the universe, the more I sense a chasm in our understanding. To read only in the last week of the suggestion that the hole in the universe detected by radio astronomers in August is the imprint of another universe is amazing. Then to read the theory that the act of 'observing' this might have affected the future of our universe is pretty startling. This is the strangeness, that merely observing at a quantum level has an affect, that something can come out of nothing, that I'm even here writing this in the first place. It is as if, through us, the universe is trying to understand itself, remarkable. I didn't intend that to sound so ... 'cosmic', but it did and it is - I guess. Incidentally, I think 'studying astrophysics' is quite good timing - for a change! So much is going on in this field at the moment that we seem to be discovering new information almost monthly, the chasm's still there though, there just seems to be a lot to discover.

Anyway, I could ramble on all evening and I daresay I've been talking to myself. I hope I've cleared up one thing - don't assume you know what my beliefs are :-)

What's in a title?

I enjoyed reading 'His Dark Materials' and I'm looking forward to the release of the film adaptation of the first book, 'The Golden Compass'. What I don't understand is why we have to have different book titles on different sides of the Atlantic? It must have something to do with marketing but does it really make that much difference?

I'm an electronics engineer and I have come across the view that products sell better in the US that have a number rather than a name! I've always found this hard to believe but what do I know?

I mean, why in the US would the title 'The Golden Compass' be preferable to the title 'Northern Lights'? Are other parts of the book changed as well?

All the same, I am looking forward to the film.

Mirrors and bodies

Mirrors. Mirrors everywhere! ... and I can assure you that I do not have an image problem but I can't understand why there are so many mirrors at our local gym? Stand in the right place and you see an infinite number of sweaty, puffing, red faced, straining bodies working and grunting there way to um ... perfection?

But such a fascinating place - all the interesting people.

You get those who bounce from piece of equpment to the next, playing a kind of pin ball. Have a go on this, have a go on that and bounce out the door again.

There's the couple of friends chatting away on the exercise bikes peddaling at a snail's pace ... on and on they go ...

The superfit granddads! So very impressive, I've a very long way to go before reaching such an enviable level of fitness, but then I've some time before becoming a granddad (I hope). Very inspirational.

Pot bellied body builders. They always appear to be hurting. They seem to spend hardly any time on aerobic fitness and load the weights on all the resistance machines.

The young guys flexing there muscles, looking in the mirrors checking this muscle, that muscle. So blatant and confident, I always reserved my body inspections for the bathroom. Glancing over at the fashionably dressed young ladies - trying to catch an eye.

The young ladies, I try not to look and definitely refrain from catching an eye. It's not good for me to talk about this group for obvious reasons but I do have to say that those mirrors don't help ... it's so very difficult to look anywhere without looking at somebody at the wrong moment.

It's a lot easier when I visit the gym with Mrs Jenks but alas she's not very well tonight so I shall head down by myself, gulp!

Why do I do it? We're trying to keep up with our growing boys, skiing in a month's time, general health, a bit of vanity too.

But a huge reason for me is that this year I've been introduced to a new asthma treatment and for the first time I can exercise without wheezing. You can't imagine how exciting this is for me. I've never been able to run long distance and it became particularly worse when I was about 14/15 when I had quite bad pneumonia. The problem was at school I didn't realise I had asthma so I just tried harder to get fit ... it helped but never quite worked. The new treatment 'is' working very well :-)

I must say that I don't have bad asthma just exercise induced asthma. This also includes coughing and laughing induced asthma - very irritating. That's about the level of it really, irritating. I just kept away from triggers which doesn't mean I didn't exercise, I just limited the type of exercise or extent, but now ....

Trouble is when I removed the asthma symptoms I was left with a lower level of fitness and that's how I started going to the gym.

Next year I'd really like to try some running.... Tonight I'm going to the gym and I shall ignore the mirrors, and the young ladies too - it's not too difficult as they ignore me too ;-)

What’s your experience of gyms?

Puppy and Loft Conversion

So we have a dog now.

We had always said that we would get a dog but that wanted to wait until my youngest son was old enough. He's 9 now which we felt was 'old enough' but more importantly my eldest is 14 ... gulp! In just 4 years he will be 18!!! It was that realisation that prompted us to get a dog. We were concerned if we left it any longer then he would not have had the benefit and enjoyment of seeing a puppy grow up.

As I was saying, we have a dog now ... we also have a loft conversion that we are very pleased with :-)

Where am I going with this? Patience please.

We had the loft conversion done because I used one of the bedrooms intended for my sons as an office (I work from home). So, I now have an office and my sons all have their own bedrooms - very good and my three sons? :-) :-) :-)

When you get a puppy it is advised that you spend time with them and not leave them alone.

But:
My office + puppy = bad idea as puppies chew cables, books, in fact just about everything!

So ... I now work in the kitchen! I might add that the puppy is happy and contented ... oh well!

Back?

Hmm.

Sorry about the dust that has gathered on this blog. So much for how therapeutic I find writing a blog!

Oh well, here I am for now. What happened?

A combination of things really ... I haven't mentioned it on my blog before but my Dad died of cancer in March last year. Then a few months later I found out my Mum had cancer and she has been undergoing chemotherapy. The good news is that a few weeks ago we found out that the cancer seems to have gone. My Mum is still receiving chemotherapy but the future is looking much brighter.

I didn't particularly want to discuss this on my blog but it was not all that easy to write about much else ... but that is only a suspected reason for no posts since September.

Other things?

I've been trying to make headway into a long story I am writing (it would seem a bit precocious to call it a novel) ... okay, I have to admit it's not very long yet ... but it will grow. Sadly, unlike plants, it doesn't grow very much when kept in a dark drawer.

Growth - reminds me of our puppy! We now have a Border Collie puppy called Fleet. Border Collie puppies are medium sized dogs, yes? Well our puppy's father was called Hercules!! :-s

More later, time for tea and bed. At least I've cleaned the dust off.

Another thing I do ...

I've never actually mentioned this on my blog before but I'm a Cub Scout Leader, yep, Jenks is an Akela! I've always been a touch reluctant to divulge this on my blog but I have a suspicion that most people that venture here know who I am in the non-blog world. I suppose I fear been stereotyped, I don't think I'm a stereotypical Cub Leader but that's difficult to judge (well, if I wasn't judged I will be now - own goal Jenks!).

Anyway, I only did 6 months of Scouting as a child. I got involved as an adult (so they say) when I 'helped' out at a Cub camp about six years ago ... Since then I've been a Pack Assistant, member of the Group Executive, Assistant Cub Scout Leader, Assistant Group Scout Leader, Group Scout Leader and now Akela. Now those titles probably mean very little to you non-Scouting folk as they meant little to me six years ago, what is interesting is would you employ somebody who has jumped jobs so many times (all in the same group I might add). I think they should fire me ... please!

Only kidding ;-) It's actually very rewarding and quite a stress reliever, or maybe it's more of a stress 'replacer' - working on the principle that a change (in stress) is as good as a holiday. Guess it's a good thing I'm not a psycho therapist or councillor ... I just work with kids. Gulp!

But don't worry, I'm okay - trust me. The kids have a great time (I don't think they come across people like me at school); if you don't believe me take a look at our programme for this term http://www.cookhamscouts.org/rs_programme - good hey? The product (I must admit) of all my assistants but I do try to pass it off as my own work - at least I have conscience.

So it's Cubs tonight - sigh! They should just fire me, really they should.

Why do I blog?

For me writing is therapeutic (although I do seem to forget that it is) and putting together a posting and commenting on other postings sort of keeps me in the habit of writing. But I’m not sure that that alone would be enough. I could write (and occasionally do) in private. I could send more emails. What is so compelling about writing a blog?

This question was further highlighted to me only the other day. A good friend of mine could not understand why I ‘wasted’ my time writing a blog. “Hardly anybody reads them”, he said, he’d been listening to a Radio 4 programme about blogs and it had obviously been a bit negative. I was quite surprised how strongly he felt about it. Why did he and others feel so negative about blogs and … why do I write a blog?

Sometimes I write and it’s a bit like graffiti, sort of “I’m here world”. Other times it’s because I’ve got to get something off my chest or I’ve felt strongly about something – although I often don’t finish these postings, I seem to have lots of scraps of postings waiting to be picked up. But more often than not I write about my observations or what has amused me – I don’t particularly write for a response but I do look forward to one … and of course, that response is a connection.

What is so refreshing about this connection is that we often have no access to the normal sensory cues that trigger prejudice – I’m sure Clarice brought this up in an earlier post or comment. We can communicate freely with another human – well, I think they’re human (shudder)… not even that prejudice exists!

So I write my blog because I like to communicate … that’s a fairly human need so I don’t see why anybody should get upset. So why be negative?

I think that we are used to associating the audience one has with power. As people move up in status or maybe I should say ‘celebrity status’ they gain a wider audience. This wider audience allows their message to be heard, their ideas to be propagated or their products to be sold. I believe the blogosphere effectively short circuits the celebrity status and gives many people a platform to say whatever they like and ‘they haven’t even earned it dear’. It’s the same jibe celebrities often make of reality TV celebrities. Somehow our world believes that a columnist, actor, singer, games show host etcetera all have the right to a greater audience because … they are celebrities. The blogosphere judges blogs purely on content alone, content that has not been edited, content whose only bias is that of the author’s. This might be seen to erode the power base of those that tap into their audience for gain, for good or for bad. The blogosphere becomes a threat, so it is ridiculed. Of course, it could also be that it is ridiculed because it is not understood.

But if those that ridicule or are negative about blogs really stop and think, they will see that the expansion of the blogosphere is positive – people all over the world are starting to write! Writing what they feel, fear, believe, see, hear … unhindered communication. Writing in sentences, playing with words – but most of all, thinking and (I say it again) communicating. So the blogosphere is making people ‘think and communicate - that can’t be bad ;-)

Dusty apology

(Drops out of loft and brushes off dust, cobwebs, spiders and such life that lives up there). I've been clearing our loft for a loft conversion, so been quiet here but noisy up there. Posts and comments will follow but I must go back to my loft a few more times as scaffolding, skip and crane threaten.

Razorblades

Gathering some toiletries for our supermarket trolley tonight my youngest son (aged 8) and I found ourselves facing the razorblades. He looked at all the different types of razors and spotted the ladies razors.

"Are those ladies' razorblades?"

It's funny how all the possible directions the conversation might go start flashing through your mind at once. You can sense the 'fight or flight' instinct kicking in, but it's your 8 year old son ... and you know that all the people around you have heard the question and are deliberately hovering to wait how this parent will deal with this 'one'.

"Umm, yes they are ladies' razorblades."

Wait for it ....

"Do ladies have beards then?"

OK, so I chicken out,

"Well, I suppose some do."

But this is nothing compared to explaining the vending machines in men’s toilets. I remember my Dad telling me that you got chewing gum out of them! I could just imagine saying that to my younger son in front of my two eldest sons who are both in Secondary School.

When my youngest son did ask the question, "What are those Daddy?" the Gents were full! Needless to say both my eldest sons smirked and eagerly waited for my response. But I'm sorry, I chickened out again,

"We're late we've got to go now!"

"Bu..."

"Mum's waiting for us outside"

"Wha..."

"Come on", grabbing his hand and not making eye contact. I know I failed but I panicked - but at least I didn't say it was chewing gum. Could you imagine how embarresing it might be in later life?

"Hey Jenks, do you know where I can get some gum?" ....!

-------------------

Anyway, talking of razor blades (I can't work out if it's two words or one and I can't be bothered to check so I shall randomly use both versions) just where will it all stop? How many blades can you fit in one razor? Six blades seems to be the present record. The number of blades seems to be going up exponentially!

Now I have to admit that I was bought one of the six blade versions on the weekend - my previous razor only had half the number of blades. It's a little misleading as they actually have five blades for cutting. They try to romanticise what the sixth blade is for - sideburns, beard trimming but the real reason is because five blades PLUS a massive moisturising strip means you can't shove the razor high enough to cut the facial hair just below your nose. This would be a serious problem left unchecked as you would start to get a thin line moustache just below your nostrils.

Now, take my word for it, it is very hard to remove this facial hair with a nose hair trimmer (goodness, I'm going to have people peering up my nostrils now). This is because the hair is flat against the skin and nose hair trimmers aren't good at those types of hairs. This is where the sixth blade comes in - you revert to a single blade just below the nostrils.

Now this could be very dangerous for those young men (and women - for my youngest son) who are not practised at using a single blade. Look out for the cuts just below the nostrils ... this will be the indicator of those who have succumbed to advertising seduced by the promise of beautiful women stroking your smooth chin ... of course I wasn't, it was bought for me - by a very beautiful woman I might add, my wife.

Does your partner borrow your razor? Don't go there Jenks ...

And I won't.

I was going to say more about razors but I'm getting a bit bored of the topic and I can't see it making much difference to the world.

Why do I write so much rubbish? I agonise over comments I will make on Robert Sharp's blog or Clarice's blog, all of whom are clever young people - and then I'm scared off when I think of tackling their sharp intellects as it just seems to show me up as some sort of middle aged oaf - which I'm not, I don't think. Then I read that Clarice is referring to herself as being old on another’s blog, and that makes me feel archaic! But I have a suspicion that one or two people reading this will be higher up the age stakes than me ;-) I have yet another suspicion that they won't want to talk to me anymore either.

Rob, (referring to his post) the world is indeed divided into two groups of people - those who are older than you and those who are not.

I think that I better go to bed so that I don't embarrass myself any further. I'd copy this post as I shall probably edit when I reread it. Goodnight.

Dog on the Run

Another photo taken on our holiday - this one was taken by eldest son (borrowing my camera again). It's one of a series of photos of a dog playing on the beach - good isn't it? :-)

Young Summer Fun

My two eldest sons borrowed my camera ...

Plums - an admission

I was reading the Kitchen Witch's post on Plums and I feel I have an admission to make ... especially after reading all the comments ...

We have a plum tree that is/was heavily laden with fruit (it's too dark outside for me to see) but I'm afraid that this year the birds and the - well, wildlife will feast on them. We have no time as our loft will shortly be converted, sorry.

When we first moved to our house our plum tree only gave us a handful of plums (if that) each year. It was very sad and my mother-in-law told me that it had some sort of disease, should just be cut down as it would never bear much fruit. This was, I should add, after I suggested that all it needed was a tender prune (my answer to all gardening problems I'm afraid).

Well, it was a challenge - my mother-in-law said ‘never’ and I though it just might. Why do I descend to such competitiveness? I duly looked up how to prune plum trees waited patiently for the right time and … pruned.

Next season it had so many plums the branches bowed under the weight. One of the branches actually broke! When next my mother-in-law visited we took her round our woeful garden (I’m afraid it is – well a bit, ‘woeful’ might be a touch of an exaggeration) her eyes set upon our tree with all its wares and she told us that … you know I can’t remember, I just felt very smug and that’s all that counts.

Ever since then the tree has bore us large quantities of fruit. I do not know if it is the initial pruning or perhaps the ‘threat’ of future prunes that causes our plum tree to be so generous. However, the plums do not always fair well and have gone mouldy or delivered us prunes instead.

But we have little time now for plums (or prunes) as our own fruit seem to drain so much of our time turning us into said prunes instead. Today we cleared their bedrooms (three males I should add) and it is a wonder the garden hasn’t grasped at the opportunity of extending there too. But it is cleared (pruned) and my wife and I feel satisfied even if we had to resort to an Indian takeaway for dinner. But the plums will remain in the garden for the wildlife this season …

Gone, back in a week! Please feel free to look around.

Off later today for a week in Wales, all five of us Jenks - a bit of walking, cycling, swimming, damn buidling, sight seeing, etc. etc. Got to pack though, I hate packing. My family hate me packing too! I'm afraid I tend to get a bit ratty - I shall try to remain calm today.

Anyway, if you find yourself here (and it seems not that many people do) then please feel free to have a look around but please don't break anything. See you later ;-)

Jenks on Light Bulbs - trying our best!

Did you know that in the UK Philips energy saving light bulbs are now subsidised? So it's a good time to change over energy saving light bulbs. The stick type you can get for 99p and the warmwhite globe type cost £2.80 - have a look at Lamps2udirect .

Lamps2udirect have lots of other types of energy saving replacement light bulbs including ones to replace golf ball bulbs, spots and there's even a dimmable sort that works with a regular switch. I've still had no luck replacing GU10 bulbs though and the golf ball replacements have a light that is not quite as warm as incandescent bulbs. The spots are good and you can get quite small energy saving bulbs now. If you need more convincing about changing bulbs take a look at ban-the-bulb . We placed an order for a range of energy saving bulbs and we're trying them in different places around our house. At this stage I can't see us changing all our incandescent bulbs but we're trying. If you have any suggestions of good replacement bulbs then let me know.

Energy saving lights are ideal for outside lights but please endeavour to purchase lighting that direct light downwards. A sky full of stars is both beautiful and awe inspiring - the natural world does not end at the horizon, it extends high above us. We really need to save the night sky for future generations. Have a look at the International Dark-Sky website for further inspiration. If you're passionate about nature and conservation, don't forget the stars above you.

I say this with a tinge of guilt - I still need to change our front light. With all the building work we are planning I've not got round to changing it , but I do keep it off. I suppose this saves energy but I could do this better with a PIR (Passive Infra-Red) sensor ... but I really must change it soon after our garage work is done and fit a PIR sensor.

More on energy saving in later posts ...

Sorry but there was a big chunk missing from my earlier post - must be Gremlins in my Blog!

My messy desk

I took this photo a few days ago as a start to develop a blog that, hopefully, will be a bit more interesting than a few boring blue/grey dots! I'm not sure if I will use it but I thought it probably describes a fair amount about me (and how messy my desk gets). What surprised me looking back at it is how many little clues there are about some of my interests. Yes, my hat is on my desk but it's normally a bit further to the right - I can never figure out where to put it so it sits on my desk!

Echinacea up my nose

I thinks I'm coming down with a cold or something - headache, sneezing, aching. My wife suggested I take some echinacea. They come in little capsules - bottle said take three, so I did.

One of the pesky things got stuck in my throat, I couldn't budge it not after comsuming gallons of tea and water. What do they coat those capsules with? Super glue!

Well just now the capsule must have decided to dissolve and a cloud of echinacea came back up through my nose ! Words can not describe how horrible the experience was - well, not my words anyway. Normally bad experiences are quickly forgotten but in this case the echinacea seems to have coated the inside of my nose - how on earth do you clear the inside of your nose? I wonder what my prognosis is?

My latest 'Sky at Night' ...

My latest (September 2006) 'Sky at Night' magazine investigates:

'Mystery at the OUTER LIMITS'
'Voyager beams back secrets from the edge of the Solar System'

but wait for it, in big yellow capital letters ...

'PLUS Patrick Moore's guide to Uranus'

Hmmm? They did it on purpose didn't they - surely they did?? Or is it just my infantile mind?

I can just imagine when my kids pick it up - lots of giggles.

What's that tune? Let your computer do the work.

This is of good novelty value - Tunatic is free software that you can download to your PC that identifies a song's title and artist from the audio alone. All you need is a microphone and internet connection and you're away.

In our family we started playing CDs to see how well it did, we were quite impressed though you do need to make sure that there is little or no background noise. Have fun ...

Cosmic Exaggeration

Irritating, that's what its is. In this BBC article the author writes:

The astronomers were lucky enough to catch the collision just 100 million years after it occurred - the blink of an eye in cosmic time.

Our universe is about 13.7 billion years old and that would make 100 million years 1/137 or 0.0073 of the age of the universe - the blink of an eye?

To contrast this a blink of the eye takes say 0.4 seconds. Let's assume that the average person lives to say 80 years, that would mean that a blink would be 0.00000000016 of a lifetime. Now we don't really know how long the universe will be around for, so let's just assume that we map one lifetime over the age of the universe to date.

So what would a cosmic blink be?

2.2 years!



In fact, I'm always amazed to what extent the universe has developed when you consider how long cosmic events take.

Let me give you an example:
Many of the heavier elements both in and around us can only be created inside stars or as a result of supernovae (exploding stars). The age of our Sun is 4.5 billion years so our Sun has been around for about a third of the time that the universe has been in existence! That doesn't seem to leave much time for the universe to cool down after the Big Bang, sort itself out ... create a star, let the star burn for a while ... or maybe a long while, blow up the star, allow the debris to cool, gather and form a star (do this a few times) ... debris eventually gathers and our Sun forms. But the universe has only got 9.2 billion years to do this, quite a feat.

Furthermore, our Sun is about half way through its life expectancy of 10 billion years. So we couldn't quite fit the full lifetime of our Sun into the available time before our Sun was created. That means that we can pretty much say that the matter in our solar system has never existed in a star system with a star with the same mass or smaller than ours.

But what are the most common stars in the universe? Stars of our mass or smaller - there are more piddly stars than massive stars.

The truth is that stars of 15 times the mass of our Sun would have a lifetime of only 10 million years and it is stars with a mass over 11 times the mass of our Sun that will go supernova. So in our 'blink of an eye' scale, supernova would be sort of a monthly event - you can kind of see how it all fits together and that there is actually enough time.

So it all fits neatly together, there is enough time and we don't need 'The Creation' to make it work - amazing! As for 'a blink of an eye' ... hmmmph!

A happy snappy Jenks am I

I'm so pleased :-) Very, very pleased :-) I have a new camera a Canon EOS 30D with ... (drum roll) ... an image stabilsed lens. These lenses are wonderful as they allow you to take longer exposure photos without a tripod and without a flash. The result - lovely lighting for portraits, no harsh shadows, landscapes at dusk ... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. When I've figured out how to get photos off the camera I shall post some. Happy, happy, happy :-)

Budgie watch out

I visited Zimbabwe and took this photo from a helicopter ...





... well I guess it wasn't taken from a crane. I suppose I could have had a particularly bad experience with a bungee jump ... but I couldn't tell a lie. No, I'm afraid it was taken on a helicopter ride - my very first!

Back again

Quite a lot has happened since my last post ...

Losing touch with reality

I lost touch with reality this morning. I've been reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and this morning as I was waking up, it dawned on me how irresponsible J K Rowling was allowing everybody to know so many potentially dangerous spells!

A sad reminder - 17 years today ...

I was reminded today that we have lived in the UK for 17 years and I hasten to add that we have been very happy here. We arrived here in November 1988 and we spent some time with my wife's grandfather in Sussex. I remember making a trip by train into London in early December with my wife. We went through Clapham Junction only minutes after the rail disaster there – this event has now become a sombre reminder of our arrival in the UK. Sadly it seems we have had a few too many rail disasters since then.

Encourgagement for Bryn and Andrea

Earlier tonight my family and I watched Bryn Terfel and Andrea Bocelli sing “The Pearl Fishers' Duet” on the Royal Variety Show. My eight year old son was obviously quite impressed because he turned round and asked "Do you think they are both in the choir?"

Of course he’s quite right, only the best singers are in the choir and these two gentlemen have received a compliment of high esteem from my young son. Keep it up chaps ;-)

Business Foolishness - not us Brits!

Clive Davis's posting The British way of doing business? caught my eye. His is a comment on a posting by Adriana Cronin-Lukas who I believe is a management consultant.

Unfortunately, I think that management consultants sometimes have a reputation for telling you what you already know about your company, but at great cost. This has given 'consultants' a bad image on both sides of the Atlantic, you only have to look at some of the Dilbert cartoons top see this (note the level of my references). The difference between the Brits and the Americans is possibly a level of cynicism and a desire to not be seen to have been 'caught out' or look a fool. This is why the Brits tend to be very suspicious of anybody with the title 'consultant'. Rather than been caught out by a consultant and losing lots of money, we'd rather not use them at all, or at least test them first – this gives us the appearance of being very cautious and reserved. Americans seem to be more willing to give anything a go; they wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity.

So when we see our friends over the Atlantic trying absolutely anything (including consultants) and then failing we have a good laugh because they look foolish but alas, they probably don't understand what we're laughing at. The Americans are more willing to give it a go and see this as preferable to indecision or a fear of failure. The Americans come across more positive, open and decisive; and us Brits seem more negative, suspicious and indecisive. But once us Brits have made a decision we have to ensure that we don’t look the fool so we need to succeed. We become terriers and quite determined, perhaps more so than the Americans, and all because we don’t want to look the fool!

I think that if we are honest, both sides of the Atlantic both respect, admire and are equally frustrated and irritated by the way each of us do business. No matter what we say, the UK and USA are friends and perhaps the ideal is somewhere in between.

This sort of relationship exists between us Brits and countries in the Far East. Here we see the British often frustrated when dealing with businesses in countries such as Japan, Korea and China. Endless meetings that reach no conclusions that ultimately revolve around the need to 'not lose face' (i.e. not look a fool). But when they make a decision they certainly make sure they get the job done.

Of course, another downside of not wanting to look the fool is that we don’t like to admit we are wrong. Again, the degree of not wanting to look the fool is almost a linear scale from west to east. Conversely, an upside is the need to test to make sure it’s right. I feel the Americans aren’t always as good as us and possibly the Far East is better? But then they won’t want to admit they are wrong as quickly as we British do and the Americans can’t understand why we just don’t drop the project and start again … and so we can go backwards and forwards.

This is probably one of the best arguments for a global economy – the diversity of approaches is healthy. It is the same argument for opening our doors to other cultures within our own borders, the diversity helps our own economies, helps us to work in different ways. Indeed, it would be a shame to lose these differences and hopefully the cultural identities will be retained.

It is often the complaint that cultures are being Americanised, I’m not so sure that this is the case. It might be that American cultural influence is more discernable as it is more open and less subtle. Perhaps, deep below the surface of the American culture is the Far Eastern cultural influence and maybe nearer the surface is the British culture etcetera, etcetera. Isn’t it an interesting world we live in?

But coming back to being a consultant, and I’ve really gone off track this time, there is an answer – don’t call yourself a ‘consultant’. Incidentally, it’s a bad idea to call yourself ‘expert’ too!

And now about another blog ...

I fear I might blow my cover here, but I've set up a website based using the blog format for our local Scout Group. And yes, I am a leader there - amazing that they allow people like me to do that sort of work?!? The website - My Local Scout Group.

Best Tory Leader? The other one!

Well, it won't be long before we find out which of the Davids will lead the Conservative Party. Having previously said that the most electable leaders in the Tory party always seem to be the ones that have resigned, I've now got this feeling that the best person for the job of Tory Leader is the one that's not chosen by the rank and file.

You see, I'm not sure that I have enough confidence in the rank and file to choose the right leader. I really believe that if they want a decent chance of winning the next election then they should vote in David Davis but I don't think they will. It's about time that Labour told the Tories that you just can't depend on democratic means to choose leaders! What is the world coming to ;-)

Da Vinci code and the dots on my blog

Having watched the end of a programme that debunked the book 'The Da Vinci Code' (I really can't be bothered to look up the name of the programme, I think it was on Channel 5), I just want to say that the dots on my blog have no significance. Neither do the missing dots that strangely make the letter 'L' on its side. This is a default, regular template that has dots on it.

I just wanted to clear this up before it was too late.

And the fact that I am saying this has no significance! <- and neither does that.

Deadly romantic - what happened? Where have all the people gone?

Ever since I popped a post on this blog about romantic love drying up my stats have dropped. Interesting as it's not even a serious posting.

It might be that males are being scared off by the subject of flowers and the word 'romantic' in the same posting.

It could be of course, the sight of flowers - makes my blog look a bit like an advert for a funeral parlour. Then again, it could just be that I have a deadly boring blog!

Needless to say, I will still continue to suffer the blogosphere with my postings.

Has your Romantic Love run dry?

Well it seems from this BBC News article that romantic love is all down to a protein called NGF and sadly romantic love only lasts a year. Once this chemical has run dry so does the romantic love.

'Ahhhhh, now I knew that', many men will say but do women feel the same way? Does this mean that 'being romantic' has nothing to do with romantic love? So ladies, why the big problem with flowers? Surely the cessation of flowers coincides with the cessation of NGF - explained! It's not the fault of men, it's this protein thingy - it runs out, you see. Brothers, we have been absolved.

Alas, I fear not. I'm not sure that line of defense will work. Something tells me there is more to this, far more. Those flowers have a greater meaning. However, I will work it out one day, I will, I will ... But until then, better to play on the safe side and buy the flowers - oh dear, I haven't bought any recently!! Better pop out before my dear wife reads this ...



... phew! My wife notes that it appears be men that have conducted the research - did nobody ever point out to them that they would never win the argument?!?

A sentence with 'circular' in

My eight year old son had some spelling homework and one of the tasks was to think of sentences for each of the words. When he got to 'circular' he struggled a little and then came up with, "When you're pregnant you look circular!"

Chip and Pin again ...

Am I the only Dad that has an eight year old (he's got older since the last post) that is desperate to know my credit card pin number? He is fine when I draw money out of an ATM but he just can't control the desire to see if he can figure out my pin.

The other day (night actually) we were shopping at Tescos and he thought he'd figured out a few numbers of my pin, so he started shouting them out. This was pretty terrifying as it was quite late and they were filling the shelves (I know we should not have been finishing our shopping at 11pm at night with an eight year old in tow but sometimes ...), and you must know the kind of people that shop at 11pm at night ... (besides me, of course).

Now I know I should have got cross but if you could have seen his face you would realise that he really could not control his curiosity. So now I pretty much hug the keypad which probably makes everybody else in the queue feel rather uncomfortable. So if you are in a queue behind a parent with a sub 10 year old and he's hugging the keypad as he punches his pin in then you can probably relax - he/she doesn't think you look suspicious, unless you're shopping in Tescos at 11pm. By the way, he doesn't actually know my pin yet - I'm winning, yes!

Scrooge with Tommy Steele

When I was a boy I always wanted to see Tommy Steele at the London Palladium, I never thought that I would do so as an adult. Well, on Tuesday my eldest son turned 13 and we went to London to see Scrooge at the London Palladium. It has not received very good reviews but I do think that critics looked at this production in the wrong light.

It's not panto but it's not Les Miserables either. All my family enjoyed it. My youngest son is just about to turn eight and he came out the theatre and announced loudly:

That was brilliant! Much better than 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.

I think that says it all.

This is a production to take your children to and it really can not go wrong because it based on a timeless story with a timeless message. So if you have children between 8 and 13 as I do, then I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for something more intellectually challenging then why on earth would you want to see a musical?

In fact it can't be that bad as on the first night (when the majority of the critics went along to the show) the show received a standing ovation from about 80% of the audience. I noticed that even Andrew Lloyd Webber was standing but I suppose he might have some vested interests. Although I did think that the standing ovation might not go down too well with the critics - probably the other 20% of the audience! They probably felt like they should have stood but couldn't and that would have made them feel all the more bitter and irritated - we English are so strange. Having said that, I'm not sure the production quite deserved a standing ovation but who cares ... only critics.

I suppose I should give you links to the critics but I don't think it is worth the bother - with this particular production they serve little purpose as they failed to see what 'Scrooge' is. I think it best to end by saying that my family enjoyed it and as Charles Dickens said of his story, 'A Christmas Carol':

I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.

Their faithful Friend and Servant,
C.D.

December, 1843.

May the ghost of Charles Dickens haunt all those sad critics this Christmas ...

David Davis - refreshing politics?

Well, after watching Question Time I'd say that the Conservatives are out of touch if they vote in David Cameron - I just don't think they will win with him as leader, not in the next election anyway.

He would be up against Gordon Brown and it would look like a contest between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair - we've have that one already.

David Davis is a fresh alternative. Last night he seemed calm and confident. His answers to questions were both considered and knowledgeable, and he seemed very calm and composed without being arrogant. I partly agree with Clive Davis when he says:

More to the point, they both came across as human beings, which is a rare feat for Tory politicians.

I think that Cameron was too Blair-like. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that against Blair but in this time of fashionable politics I'd say that Cameron is 'so last year'. With Davis leading the Conservatives I 'might' even be tempted to vote for them ... but not if they are going to waste more time on discussing hunting, but that is another topic for another day - perhaps.

Davis might not only win the Conservatives the next election, he might win a few people back to politics. I think a Brown/Davis clash would be good for politics - they both seem to have an honesty that would be truly refreshing.

Granary Bread

"Is 'granary bread' bread for Nanna?"

What it must be like to be seven.

Need to be more serious - getting old

I am very aware that I haven't published anything very serious recently. I do think of serious items for my blog and I have lots of drafts with just titles on them - all serious but not written. So I've decided to write something almost serious!

So here is a thought for you. It is quite possible that we or our children might live a significantly longer than say our grandparents did. In the near future we might well have therapies that not only halt or slow down ageing but could possibly even reverse ageing. This together with the ability to grow body parts that have been damaged might mean that we live to ages of 150, 200 or more.

I personally do not doubt this will happen but only highlight the science as this generates some very interesting questions.

If you were told tomorrow that you might be nowhere near your deathbed and that any ageing or damage could be reversed in the next ten years what would you change in your life?

Would you start a second career?

Go to university?

Would you want to travel and see more and more of the world?
I personally couldn’t do this – my experience is that after about four weeks I’ve had enough of sightseeing, I don’t think I’m much of a spectator.

What would you want to do differently?

Even if we are not presented with these questions in our lifetime, the process of considering them I found quite enlightening. I found myself considering if I was doing with my life all that I wanted or hoped to do. Had I subconsciously planned out my life to fit into the three score and ten years that we purportedly have been allotted? Interestingly, I think I had!

I don’t want to give you the idea that these questions arose out of some middle aged fear of death – it really didn’t. I’m very happy with my life to date and have few regrets – even some of the regrets were kind of fun at the time. No, this chain of thought arose from a number of articles I’ve read recently that seem to indicate that living passed a hundred is a very serious possibility. Of course many issues are raised: over-population; economics; retirement; social effects of a youth that is a significant minority of the population; families; housing etcetera, etcetera. All are important issues but I think that would need a book ...

Well, there you have it, a sort of serious blog post that was not actually one of the titles in my draft folder. Oh well, maybe another day.

Chip and Pin

Now am I the only soul that thinks 'Chip and Pin' spoken out loud sounds like you're swearing? The words have a certain rhythm to it them that just sound like you're swearing.

So when I receive literature from banks and credit card companies telling me to 'Chip and Pin' it has a bit of a negative response. Needless to say they keep repeating the words 'Chip and Pin' again and again - 'Chip and Pin' this, 'Chip and Pin' that. I even start feeling obliged to hide the literature from my children! Is it just me?

I'm not particularly against the Chip and Pin concept (no offence intended) but I do find myself sometimes glancing over my shoulder to see if the character behind me seems suspicious, and then quickly pretending I was looking for somebody else by glancing over their shoulder.

Unlike when using an ATM to draw out money where people tend to keep a respectful distance, shops often have tightly spaced queues. I think us Brits tend to keep queues tightly spaced to ensure that everybody understands that not only is there a queue but that 'I' am in it and ‘I’ am in this precise position and if you don't understand or respect queues (i.e. you're probably a foreigner) then I am removing any spaces for you to push in and don't you dare try it on, right (glare) ... phew!

With that in mind how long before we hear of Chip and Pin rage. Have you seen the older among us stagger back when presented with the keypad, glasses go up, then down, the head moves forwards, backwards trying to focus on this keypad and a frown takes shape on the brow. There is a tangible increase in pressure as you see them not only trying to work out how to use the keypad but also panic as they desperately try to remember the right pin for the right card. Then just as they are about to press the keys they pause and look around suspiciously forgetting the frown still pinned on their forehead. Then they hit the keys as if touching teeth on a rabid dog - the hand flicks back each time and they keep checking if the keypad is still 'calm'. Can't you just see a frustrated shopper in a hurry losing their rag? Maybe 'Chip and Pin' should become a swear word after all.

Perhaps it should be 'Tom, Richard and Harry'

Two of my sons catch the train to and from school. Last night round the dinner table we were chatting about how school was, who their new teachers were, new subjects etc., when we arrived at the subject of the journey to school by train. My middle son, who has just started school, was confused about which Harry from my eldest's class was on the train. Anyway, the talk seemed to include lots of Harrys and lots of Toms and so my mind conjured up the image of 'Tom, Dick and Harry' sitting in a row on the train. So, to complete my mental image I asked my eldest son "Have you got a Dick?".

I realised when I'd said it. Oh dear! Stunned silence. Then laughter. Yes I did feel a bit silly - maybe it's age. I don't think my seven year old quite got it - my 12 year old son did though!

It was also one of those moments when my eldest sons glinting eyes spoke of the young man he was becoming and the little lapse was indicative of the forty-something that I am. It was good to see my eldest son growing up but it was also good to see my youngest was innocent enough to not get the joke - I still felt a bit silly, that never feels very good!

Ego maleness

Now you really should see Robert Sharpe's blog. In an email to me in which he encouraged me to pop some postings he mentioned that self publishing might be giving a little nourishment to the old ego.

He is probably right. But it made me think that an 'ego' always seems to be a male sort of thing - so do women have a female equivalent for 'ego'? Do women have egos? Dangerous territory - answers in an email.

Grumpy about Brits in Mallorca

Well, here I am again prompted by Rob to start blogging. I'm back from a week in Mallorca where two of the Jenks had to make visits to a doctor and one was a little sick! But it was a good holiday - Mallorca was beautiful.

Now what I fear is that us Brits have sadly lost our sense of adventure. Alas, the vast majority of Brits seemed to be found roasting around water - any water - pools, sea, ponds, lakes. As long as us Brits are within 100 feet of water we are happy.

The beach would be full of bodies but go inland and it was empty. The main tourists we came across were German.

And another thing, I was given the impression that Germans grabbed the sunbeds. Not where we were. We stayed in a quiet apartment overlooking a marina with probably equal numbers of German and British tourists. The pool was never crowded and a lot of the time we had it to ourselves. But there were some sunbeds that had towels draped over them from early in the morning to late at night - yes, they were Brits!

Oh yes, and why are we so obsessed at throwing money into pools, puddles, ponds, wells and fountains? Do people really think it brings luck?

Oh dear, I'm in a real grumpy mood - I must be getting old.

Mobile blog

My first mobile posting :-) My mobile's dictionary did not have 'blog' in it!

Do we have bad teenagers or poor memories?

I think that teenagers get a really bad press.  Child curfew zones are an example of society’s paranoia with groups of teenagers.  I can assure you that people have been feeling intimidated by groups of teenagers for years but should that mean that we place a curfew on them.  We could place curfews on village pubs because strangers might feel intimidated and we might save some fights.  We can also prevent over zealous fans for any sport, political party, share holders, rights group or religion from congregating -  I’m sure we would cut crime.  In fact why not just have a police state, crime would be low.  

 

No, let’s just pick on the youngsters because we feel ‘intimidated’ by them.  And we all know that teenagers are violent and out to get us!  I’m sorry but my experience from Scouts is that teenagers are pretty much the same as when I was young, and I was pretty much the same as my Dad’s era and so on and so on.  So was it better in ‘our day’ or do we suffer from bad memories – and do our young people suffer from bad media coverage.  Well do Liberty and 15 year old ‘W’ who won a High Court challenging child curfew zones (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4699095.stm).

 

0 Second Visitors - STOP

My visitor statistics tell me that two visitors to this blog viewed it for '0' seconds! Wow, how do you visit a site for 0 seconds? What kind of repelling force achieves zero viewing time of a blog?

There were two other visitors and one of them was me :-)

A Safe Blog!

Watching the number of hits I get, this blog is almost as safe as a personal diary :-)

At first I sent a few people my Blog's URL but now I think I shall just leave it here for people to find. Am I addicted?

I have quite a few draft titles that I have not published but I'm a bit too busy at the moment.

The Importance of a Cycle Helmet

Today my 12 year old son went cycling with some friends. One of his friends was knocked off his bicycle by a car going about 10mph. He is okay but he did hit the back of his cycle helmet as he fell and cracked it. I wouldn't like to think what would have happened had he not been wearing a cycle helmet.

I am the Group Scout Leader in our local Scout Group and I often have to tell young people that they need to wear a helmet to, from and during any Scouting event whilst cycling. This is one of the rules in Scouting in the UK and as a young person is covered by Scouting insurance from the time they leave home to the time they arrive back home then they must wear a cycle helmet when cycling.

But, of course, everybody knows that adults heads are much stronger that children’s heads! That an adults head is made of much, much stronger bone and their brains will just bounce back :-) Unfortunately, I ended up with a head a bit like a child's so I wear a helmet.

I never wore a helmet when I was a child but then nobody wore helmets. You never meet any adults who fell off and hurt their heads when they were children but sadly that is because those that did...

But I shall climb down off my soapbox.

Dancing Dads

I actually quite like dancing but nobody else is that inspired by my attempts. My wife says that if I was more serious when I danced then maybe she'd think more of my dancing - she's probably right.

Well today at breakfast I started dancing near my youngest son who is 7.
"Stop it Dad"

"I'm just dancing", I said as I made what I thought was a particularly good move to a change in tempo that took me in front of the window.

A look of grave concern came over my 7 year old's face and he pointed to the window and said, "People walk passed our house you know .... they might see you!"

Oh well, I shall just have to dance privately - have you ever tried dancing when you're taking the dishes out of the dishwasher? Try it some time - just keep away from windows!

Why do post resignation Tory leaders always seem more electable?

Maybe it is just me but it seems that the most electable leaders in the Tory party are the ones that have resigned. Perhaps the secret to success for the Tories is for aspiring leaders to resign and then return - but I suppose we wouldn't have an opposition then!

The words of my 7 year old son, "Why don't they tell us what they want?"

At our family dinner time we discussed the bombings in London. I have three sons and my youngest son is 7 years old. With a furrowed brow he looked at me and said "Why don't they tell us what they want? If they told us then we could do something."

Well, that is the problem. We can't honestly appease them even if we wanted to. So I can't really see how John Derbyshire's comments can be remotely true.

But perhaps I'm just being ignorant - so can anybody tell me what the members of Al-Qaeda really want? What do I tell my 7 year old son? And just what do the members of Al-Qaeda say to their 7 year old sons?

Terrorist Attacks in London yet London remains calm

I must say that if Al-Qaeda believe that we in Britain are 'burning with fear' then they are mistaken. Naturally the British public find these actions shocking and disruptive but what is remarkable is the sense of calm and control that exists here.

Everybody is grateful to all the emergency services. The real sense of calmness that exists at this time is a reflection of the professionalism and preparedness of our emergency services, and the good planning by our leaders - I think sometimes we forget to say thank you to leaders when they get it right.

My thoughts and prayers, like many others, are with those families who have been affected by these atrocities.

For more up to date information see BBC News.

Clive Davis - My Blog Dad

Clive Davis is my Blog Dad ;-) His enthusiasm about blogging at our school fete has given birth to this blog and for better or worse he is responsible for bringing this blog into webworld.

Anyway, I saw Clive this morning and I told him that I hadn't tried links in blogs so I thought I'd give it a go - here is a link to my Blog Dad, Clive - without him this blog wouldn't be here!

Thanks Dad :o)

G8, Live 8 and Making Poverty History

The problem I have with Live 8 is that it hasn't gripped me as I expected it might do. Somehow the event seemed to overshadow the cause. Maybe it was all the talk about tickets and the lack of them, scramble for them, selling of them on Ebay. Perhaps it was the rumblings of criticism surrounding the event that has targeted the egos and pockets of those involved.

Please understand that I agree in principle with controlled debt cancellation, fair trade laws and increased aid - I just don't think that Live 8 has quite worked how I hoped it might. What we really needed was to capture the hearts and minds of everyday people as happened after the tsunami disaster. Then it was celebrities that were running to catch up with the immense generosity expressed by the public. Looking back at the tsunami appeal there seems to be no individual that stands out that we the public rallied around, perhaps no individual could keep up or perhaps no individual can ever wear the shoes.

So where does this leave the Live 8 crew? I see no point in doubting the sincerity of the celebrities involved with Live 8 - what does it achieve? Sincerity can not be proved and we are in danger of damning our celebrities if they do and damning them if they don't!

"He's rich and famous why doesn't he help? "
"He's only helping because he's so rich and wants to boost his ego /career."

I'd rather be seeing the rich and famous helping and I honestly applaud the Live 8 crew. I believe they are doing all that they can but this is not enough.

So what is different between the Tsunami Appeal and Live 8. Well, the name for a start. Live 8 is a mix of the names G8 and Live Aid. But why mix those two names up when the real catch phrase is 'Make Poverty History'? The algebra doesn't quite work:

G8 + Live Aid = Live 8 = Make Poverty History

Trying to add 'Live Aid' into the title of this event is unnecessary when most people are familiar with 'Make Poverty History'.

I'm not really into marketing but surely there was a better way of mixing 'G8' and 'Make Poverty History'? Because that is the message – the men in suits at the G8 have the power to help make poverty history. Or do they?

I think they can play a major part but it is really only the public that can make it happen. But to achieve this we need to harness that public flow of generosity and compassion for those that are in more pain than we are in this world.

But how?

The Tsumani Appeal worked and I think it worked because we saw the pain from many angles and it was obvious what we had to do so we responded. The media reported the tsunami disaster honestly and nobody could dispute what we needed to do. Making poverty history is a little more complicated and here lies the problem – on a large scale we do not fully understand or agree as to what we need to do to achieve and sustain ‘no poverty’.

Many people fear that cancelling debt and increasing aid will only make corrupt leaders wealthier. But then making sovereign states jump though hoops seems patronising. I’m not saying this is not a solution but it is a solution that seems a little complicated, and that normally says to me that it is less likely to work.

So what if a micro model was used instead or together with debt cancellation etc. A micro model whereby impoverished communities were linked with wealthier communities – the twinning concept. Surely as individuals identified with another community then generosity would follow. The main issue with twinning is that it needs an effective mechanism that sets up the communication and helps each community understand its twin.

I’m not saying this is the solution but I do think we need to think of a believable and effective model that the majority of the public will buy into. Perhaps a little more imagination might give us the formula that will truly make poverty history.

But in the short term, on the eve of the G8 let’s not get caught up with the rights and wrongs of Live 8 but …

Back debt cancellation
Increased aid
Create fair trade laws
…
and freeze the assets of leaders that squander and plunder.

If we lose some money along the way then it is better than doing nothing at all.

What do you think?

London Host the 2012 Olympic Games

YES!

:-)

Did my blog help or was it mental telepathy?

Who cares ;-)

So will it be London or Paris?

The choice of host for the 2012 Olympic Games is down to London or Paris. Please IOC members remember my advice - could this blog sway the IOC? Now repeat after me London, London, London, London ... I'm sure it's getting through ... London, London, London ...

London's Olympic Bid

The IOC has started voting ...

So what is a 'blug'?

I'm on a roll here (or should go to bed). So what is a 'blug'?

blug - an advert on a blog (i.e. a plug).

So what would those in adverting be called I wonder?

Not that I have anything against advertising, just a bit of fun.

I suppose I should say 'not that I will ever have anything to do with advertising' as I have such a sorry number of hits. The blogness persists ...

When nobody reads your Blog

I’m feeling a little down as I’ve had a look at my hit counter and realised that all the hits are mine! This is like Mr Bean sending himself a birthday card, you see the change in the hit counter and realise that it’s because you’ve looked at your hit counter. I think that I will start keep refreshing my blog to increase the hits – did I say that? So sad :-(

Writing a blog that nobody reads is like streaking through an empty stadium.

I do hope the blogness will one day turn into blogdom. You see, from depression arises creativity – two new words.

blogness – when you get no hits on your blog, blog hit nothingness.

blogdom – when your blog becomes famous, blog stardom.

or what about

blogathy - when you visit a blog to help lift the blog from blogness by increasing the number of hits.

Blog world, please show some blogathy.

A Guide to Choosing Secondary Schools and Olympic Games Venues.

I think that choosing the best venue for the games has got to be like choosing a school for your children. I’m a Dad and we are fortunate enough to live in an area where in my analysis there only good schools – here lies a problem. How to choose the best school from a set of good schools?

So parents worry that one school has 0.7 of a child more per class than another, this school does more homework, that school is a Beacon school for maths and another is for languages, and another builds robots and yet another has a headmaster that smiles nicely.

Of course, when you stand back you realise that it doesn’t actually matter. No matter what choice the parents make, they’ve made the right one because the school is ultimately a good school. So what is the Jenks method of choice (particularly relevant for secondary schools)?

1) Is the school close and your child get there without a parent? If ‘no’ then forget it – you will harm the environment, your sanity, your time, your health, your wealth and your child. Children need independence and so do parents.
2) Has the school got a good name, and I mean ‘name’. You want a name that looks good on a CV.
3) Does the school look good?

And that’s it – forget everything else. One or two extra kids in a class really does not matter. Any homework is always too much homework for a teenager. Beacon schools always worry me as I’m always a bit concerned about the other subjects. The school that builds robots will probably loose interest and switch to needle work. And the headmaster that smiles nicely is probably leaving the school anyway.

No, just follow the Jenks method. Whatever you do, do not ask your child – rather present the evidence in a way that guides your child to the right choice ;-)

So choosing schools is like choosing Olympic Games venues and I expect confused IOC members are already using the Jenks method and will no doubt arrive at the only correct answer – London :-)

(for non Brits: Secondary Schools = High Schools)

London’s bid for the Olympic Games – IOC members please read this before you vote …

Tomorrow we find out if London will host the games in 2012 – an exciting prospect. But why should we host the games rather than any of the other cities?

Well we can and we want to, but so does everybody else. So why choose London over anybody else?

I suppose our bid is a bit more interesting because we seem to be planning to build a lot more than the others. That’s got to be a good reason – far better than building more supermarkets, furniture and DIY stores.

And if we don’t build it soon it’s quite likely we won’t have the space for it in the future.

I wonder if that is in the bid proposal – Britain is so over crowded and such a magnet to people that if we don’t carve up a bit of the East End soon it will be gone forever. I’m rather amazed that there is an area big enough in London that does not contain a conserved building, is part of National Trust (or any other trust for that matter) or is a part of or expected to be a part of an airport. We Brits love to slap conservation orders on any building that’s old, a ruin, very pretty, amazingly ugly or just a bit odd – perhaps this is the recipe for quaintness.

I’m not criticising building conservation or the National Trust it’s just that given the time to put another bid together we might well find that the proposed chunks of land will have conserved chunks of building on it … or trees.

It’s more likely though that we’ll get a supermarket, shopping centre and DIY store or another airport – that has got to be the best reason for giving us the Olympics.

Why the Thames?

Simply because I live near it - let's hope the words flow as well as it does ...