Of Poo And Porn

Warning; ranting to follow

Why is it that on the day when you unwittingly step in dog mess outside and then enter your home

1- you are wearing shoes with most ridges in the soles

2- your sense of smell is haywire so you don't notice

3- your beloved is far behind you, and you get all the way to the bedroom and pack before you see the awful footprints?

Why can't some people clear up the mess their dogs leave on the pavement? [thank you Steph for the Top Tip of scrubbing soles with lemon juice and bicarb to remove the stink]

Steph and I saw this statue in Florence, many years ago, when she was studying art at A level. We found it amazing, and beautiful, and marveled that Michelangelo could create such a thing out of a piece of marble, with chisels and a hammer. 

But apparently a parent in Florida complained to the school board that her 12 year old child had been shown pornographic pictures when the class were studying art.[David, and also Botticelli's 'Birth Of Venus'] 

The principal of the college has had to resign [well, she was given the choice, "resign or we terminate your contract"]

Now I know the media do not always present all the facts...but I found this interview with the chair of the school board quite disturbing. 

Given the choice, I would much rather spend time with my family in an art gallery looking at classical paintings and sculpture than seeing the hideous, ghoulish Hallowe'en costumes parading through the streets each October. 

Steph had that beautiful Botticelli print in her bedroom throughout her teens - Liz worked at Tate Britain when she first graduated - and Rosie adores art galleries. I think our family have a pretty good relationship with art...

The dictionary defines pornography as "printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement". This is not that. 

I am strongly opposed to pornography, and the stuff which demeans women [or men], normalises violent or aggressive sexual activity, or besmirches loving relationships. This is not that.

I am honestly glad right now that I have retired from school teaching [don't even get me started on what I think of Ofsted]

I''m Spitting Horse Feathers

I am fuming. REALLY upset. Whilst the country is still getting its act together after the death of the Queen, the government is pushing through all sorts of measures to 'help the economy' which are so short-sighted, and will end up spoiling our countryside. Here's their poster about 'investment zones'

Paragraph 3 says "reforms to increase the speed of delivering development"

Which will be done through the "liberalised planning rules to release more land for housing and commercial development" mentioned in paragraph 2.

Let's look at a map

The green areas are the counties designated as 'investment zones' - yes #22 is Norfolk where I live [#12 is Dorset, #18 Kent and #14 Essex- all lovely counties where I have lived] But please note the purple and orange areas in these countries or along their coast. These are SACs and SPAs. 

And the official GovUk website will tell you that Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are protected and designated sites under the EC Habitats and Birds Directives. The Directives list habitat types and species that are considered to be most in need of conservation at a European level. An obligation for this is a programme of species and habitat monitoring across the site. 

Yet this government is planning to scrap these protections, and allow planners, builders, and big diggers tp plough up our countryside, destroy habitats and ruin the natural environment.

The RSPB have tweeted about this [and let's face it, they are the number one experts in tweeting and twitterfeed] “Make no mistake, we are angry. This government has today launched an attack on nature,” the RSPB tweeted. “As of today, from Cornwall to Cumbria, Norfolk to Nottingham, wildlife is facing one of the greatest threats it’s faced in decades.”

Beccy Speight, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Nature is already in trouble. Taken together, these announcements, combined with the rumoured watering down of the new land management schemes for farming, could be the final nail in its coffin...Our economy and our health depend on a thriving natural world.”

The Wildlife Trusts, and have joined the RSPB in criticising these plans. Craig Bennett, the trust’s chief executive, said environmental organisations were previously reassured over nature protections lost through Brexit, but now nature is in “catastrophe”. In a strongly worded tweet in support of the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts said: “Make no mistake – we are also incredibly angry. We stand with RSPB England in calling out the unprecedented attack on nature launched by UK government over the last few days. We’ll be challenging this together and asking for our supporters to stand with us....Farming reform was supposed to be the silver lining but now the government looks set to renege on that too...We need more nature.”

I have never belonged to the RSPB [to be honest, 6½ yr old Rosie can identify far more wild birds than I can] and thoughtlessly** considered the majority of its members to be middle aged men carrying fancy cameras with long lenses, chirpy children in anoraks with binoculars round their necks, or older women carrying folding stools and flasks of coffee to sustain them as they sat in the hides. All very pleasant, affable people who would not say 'boo' to a goose [in case it flew away and deserted the nest] but now these gentle nature lovers will be rising up in droves and spitting horse feathers [no birds injured in that activity] 

The National Trust is also critical of these plans [I do belong to the NT] 

As a Christian, I am called to be a good steward of Creation.  I want Rosie, George, Jess and Jacob to be able to enjoy this beautiful countryside as they grow up. 

Liz Truss is Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk - just along the A47 from here. If she ever deigns to visit her constituency, I may go and join the demo.

Things My Children Have Taught Me This Summer

First - an update on Auntie Peggy. She was brighter than we'd expected. The change in meds clearly helped. It was good to see her and feel reassured. Thank you all for your concern

This is not a profound post in any way. Just a few observations about how childcare has changed in the last 40 years!

Safety gates - when Liz was a baby we lived in a flat and were very poor. Bob fitted plastic channels inside the door frames and we slid a piece of board in, to keep her in the room. One board, decorated with a Mickey Mouse poster fitted every doorway. "Don't put Mickey in!" was the bedtime lament. But it was effective, cheap and easy. 

In Manchester, there is a safety gate top and bottom of the stairs, and one at George's bedroom door. Every one is different! I had to remember which method to use as I went up and down stairs. 

And don't get me started on the different ways of folding buggies or fitting car seats! "No Grandad, that's not right!" says Rosie helpfully. Perhaps we need to pin up a copy of this poster 

It's not just us - we've seen others on Grands duty struggling in car parks to buckle up the child and get the buggy in the boot. 
But this summer I have picked up two very useful tips from my girls which I think are worth padding on. One you may use, the other I hope you never need. 

First - When you finish your day at the beach, and the tots' feet are all sandy, it takes forever to rinse and dry their toes. Liz taught me to put some baby powder on my hands and rub it over Rosie's feet. The sand and grit comes away easily, and socks slide back on, with no fuss. This tip works for grown up tootsies too! 

BTW, there has been much fuss in the USA about the safety of baby talc. Boots, like Johnson&Johnson now use a maize starch formula. I think the key thing is to avoid clouds of powder round the baby's face. And use a cream for nappy rash. 

Second tip - if you have children around, keep a jar of honey in the house. I knew that if a child swallows a tiny button battery, they need to get to hospital ASAP. Steph told me that you should feed the child 2tsps of honey every 10 minutes until you can get medical  treatment*. This helps reduce risk of serious injury and death. [*not suitable for babies under 12months]

As I said, I hope you never need to use this tip. But it is worth knowing and sharing. Too many children's toys rely on battery power imho, but that's a Rant for another day
My daughters are intelligent and resourceful young women. It is good that each generation can share wisdom with others. 

I Was A Stranger And You Welcomed Me

 The quote from Matthew 25 is very appropriate today

It's World Refugee Day. Read more HERE. I could go on about this, but I am sure you know already about the desperate plight of so many in our world. 

Nobody puts their child in a boat unless the water is safer than the land. 

Sadly many people fleeing war and persecution end up in the clutches of people traffickers. For a long time, the charity Stop the Traffik has worked to break up trafficking rings, and enable people to escape. 

A while ago, I turned one of their keyrings into an earring. Then I made a second earring using a short length of chain. 
I have worn these in the past to show my commitment to praying for those caught up in this evil trade, and for all refugees. To working for a kinder, safer world

There is much evidence of people trafficking in Rwanda. HERE 

I am appalled that our government thinks it is a good idea to take refugees landing on our shores and fly them to Rwanda. This is ungodly, and an abomination. I have been wearing these earrings for the past week - a number of people have asked about them, and I've explained how angry I am about the words and actions of the Home Secretary. 

I think the late Tony Benn was right... 

UPDATE  I completely forgot to include a link to Sue's page. She is fundraising for refugees this week, and has already achieved sponsorship for around 10 refugees for A WHOLE YEAR. Read more HERE

It Was Not Hers To Wear! A Rant

It was sixty years ago this month. I remember seeing in on our little black and white TV. Harold Macmillan was the British Prime Minister, and he looked like a grumpy old headmaster - but in the USA, John F Kennedy was the handsome, smiling President, and his wife Jackie seemed so glamorous to this little schoolgirl [we were living up in West Hartlepool, in a little terraced house] I wanted to wear a powder blue coat, and a pillbox hat, and shiny stiletto heels when I grew up...And then we saw JFKs birthday - and Marilyn Monroe, the beautiful film star, sang "Happy Birthday Mr President". The clip has been shown thousands of times since. Within 6 months, Marilyn was dead, and the following year, November 63,  JFK was assassinated. Rumours continue to abound about the nature of their relationship. I was too young to understand then - these were just glamorous people on the other side of the world. But somehow I was mesmerised by that song. And that sparkly, close fitting dress 

I knew that after the performance, the dress was put away - not even washed! and six years ago "Ripley's Believe it or Not" museum in Florida acquired it at auction for $4.8M. It was an iconic piece of fashion history. As someone who likes costume and films and history, I think it is important to preserve clothing which has a story behind it. I also know that when you put on a garment, even briefly, you change it - your sweat and body oils leave residue on the fabric, your movement can strain seams, pull the material in a different way, fingernails can catch on threads...

Precious historical items like these are kept carefully in Museums for this reason - in carefully controlled environments, so future generations can enjoy them. Museums like "The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute New York" for example. Museum are expensive to maintain - every year this one holds the MetGala as a fundraiser  to help preserve their artefacts. 

So can somebody explain to me the thinking behind letting Kim Kardashian wear Marilyn's dress last week? The woman was the wrong size and the wrong shape. Footage has been posted on line of her being tugged into the dress - and she had to drape a fur behind her to cover the gap wear the zip would not fasten.

I know nothing about KK other than that appearance is important to her. 

Surely somebody involved in all this had some sort of cognitive dissonance?

Who ever thought it was a good idea to deliberately inflict damage on a significant historical piece of costume in order to raise money for preserving other pieces? 

Zandra Rhodes, fashion designer [who made a number of Princess Di's memorable frocks] was asked about it. She said something like "I'd like to think that our grandchildren studying history will be able to see the video clip, alongside a mannequin in the dress. Letting somebody wear it and damage it was a Very Bad Idea" I tend to agree.

Are You Being Served?

 When I was 5, I was taken to London to see Father Christmas In Selfridges. The huge store, opened at the start of the 20th century seemed like a Palace- especially with the festive lights in Oxford Street, and the colourful window decorations.

Aged 7, I moved to West Hartlepool. The big store in town was Binns. Not as special - but they had these amazing tubes, and the assistant put your money in, and they were whisked away to somewhere secet while your purchase was carefully wrapped for you

We moved to Norfolk in 1965, and soon after 1960s my parents began taking an annual holiday in Brighton. I loved the British Home Stores. This 1931 Art Nouveau building later became C&A and then Primark. But it felt stylish and elegant

I grew up, married, and in 1995 Bob and I moved to Leicester with the girls. I was fascinated by the Fenwick building [originally built for Johnson & Johnson in 1926, a family run department store]

Sometimes we'd take the girls to Nottingham, and marvel at the fabulous decorations in Zara - housed in the shop which was originally built in 1892 for Florence and Jesse Boot's growing empire.

The curved windows seemed very glamorous - and when the store first opened, one of the attractions was the new electric lighting - which made the glass sparkle and shine.

Down to Dorset in 2015, where Debenhams occupied the site of Bobby's Department Store [another building from the start of the 20thC]

Now back living in Norfolk again - and Jarrolds still stands proudly at the corner of the Market Place. [read the story of this, and other Norwich stores here]

 I must be getting old - but I like these old places, with their heavy revolving doors, ladies cloakrooms that merit the term 'powder room', a sense that the staff want to help the customer [and not act as if you are being a nuisance, because you are interrupting their phone conversation] The sort of shop where the Dowager Duchess [played by Maggie Smith, naturally] takes tea in the afternoon, having ordered some new silk camisoles for her grand daughter's birthday, and a picnic hamper for the family's day trip to the coast. 

Why all this nostalgia for the department stores of my youth? - because they are departing rapidly. Many High Street stores have moved online, or completely gone out of business. These glorious emporia, with wood panelling, huge windows, chandeliers, and an air of faded grandeur...are fading away. 

At best they are being repurposed into luxury apartments or hotels - at worst razed to the ground and replaced by ugly concrete structures. The group "Save Britain's Heritage" has produced a report called "Departing Stores- Emporia at Risk". They want to preserve these buildings in some way. I think this idea has some merit.

Having said all that, can I just praise John Lewis of Norwich [originally Bond's Store, and bombed in WW2, rebuilt afterwards, and now part of the JL Partnership] I recently took my friend [aged 89] to choose a dress for her grand[daughter's wedding. Amber, the staff member who served us could not have been more helpful. There is no need to book this "personal shopper" service in advance, either] We were seated in a comfortable area away from the main thoroughfare through the shop. Amber asked about size, style choices and colour preferences. She went away and swiftly returned with 5 different dresses [I was allowed to go into the spacious, curtained changing area, to help my friend with zips etc]  Amber waited outside, fetched different styles and sizes, and did all she could to help. She was knowledgeable, patient and unbelievably helpful. This was 'proper shopping' how it used to be, and I was glad for my friend. I've actually emailed the manager to tell him how good Amber was - she deserves to be recognised as a good member of staff. 

"Online, order tonight, get it tomorrow" has become the retail mantra. It is fast, convenient, and often cheaper than going out to the shops. But maybe when you go out for a 'shopping experience' you think a little more carefully before spending your money. And you take time to choose wisely, to try on the garment before paying...

Are there traditional 'department stores' where you live?

Does it matter if all our shopping is online?

Have favourite shops from your childhood disappeared?

Not Exactly Filling...

I haven't bought crisps or cereal bars for ages - but for sheer convenience, I planned lunch for the three days of Holiday Club to be very easy - sandwich/crisps/cereal bar/yogurt/piece of fruit.

I was in Iceland, and they had packs of 5 Alpen Light bars for £1 [I knew I had a chocolate bar at home - so that would do the 3 x 2 lunchboxes] I must admit, when I picked it up, it did feel "light"

I opened the box when I got home, and found five foil-wrapped bars

There was quite a lot of space in the box. I'm sure you could have easily got six or seven of the wrapped bars in there.

I opened one foil packet and measured the bar.

approx 9cm x 2cm x 2cm = 36cm³

volume of five bars therefore is 5 x 36 = 180cm³

The outer cardboard box measures 19.5 x 14 x 2.5 = 882.5cm³

That means there is around 700cm³ of space

Or to put it another way - my cereal bars take up around 20% of the box - and the remaining 80% is just air ! 

Maybe they feel that if they packed them in a smaller box it would not look like "good value"?

What a waste of cardboard! Not everybody is diligent about recycling.

I looked at a number of reviews on line, from different stores. The majority were not exactly positive [no flavour, too sticky, taste like cardboard etc] although one person bought twenty bars and said they were "very tasty - struggling not to eat them all at once" which I find rather horrifying - even if they do claim to contain less than half the fat of the 'average' cereal bar. 

I shan't make this mistake again

Domestic Disasters

Monday morning, awake bright and early, ready for Holiday Club. "What would you like for breakfast?" said Bob. "I've got ⅔ can of grapefruit in the fridge, I'll have half today, and half tomorrow" I said.

And I foolishly skipped out of bed, went to the fridge and got the can. I dropped it. On my foot. I was not wearing slippers! Two toes were bleeding, and there was grapefruit and juice all over the floor of the Futility Room. I burst into tears [unlike me] 

Bob [the perfect husband] came and mopped up the fruit whilst I hobbled off to the bathroom to wash my foot and put plasters on my toes. I had Weetabix for breakfast instead. My foot throbbed all Monday morning, but is much better now, thank you.

On Tuesday afternoon, I had to make a large batch of playdough. We are doing Easter Gardens this morning as our Club Craft - and that means every child needs a rectangular tin foil pie dish, with brown playdough in the bottom.  Into this they can stick silk flowers, a square of green velvet 'grass' and a circular foil 'pond'. At one end, they can push in a card tab, with an Easter picture & message on the front [and space on the back for their name]

I use this recipe for playdough, as it is reliable and pliable! While Bob was at a Microsoft Teams meeting, I was in the kitchen making a small amount [so I could calculate how much was needed for 30 dishes] Then I made a larger batch.  It was all fine, until I realised I needed to colour it brown. I hate cake colouring! I had some green and red so I dripped a little into the mix. It seemed ok. But my hands were like Lady Macbeth's. Very red fingers. My batch was half the amount needed. Then I realised that altho I had flour and oil, I did not have enough salt, or cream of tartar to make the remaining dough.

At 3pm Bob's meeting finished and we went into town to return library books, and pick up a few grocery essentials - plus cream of T and salt. Can somebody explain why a 1.5kg polybag of Morrison's cooking salt is £1 - but a 750g plastic pot of table salt is only 29p? I always thought that table salt was finer and therefore more expensive than the cooking stuff. Not almost half the price.

I was running out of time - but I managed to prepare a fish pie and Batch #2 of playdough before 6.30pm. I am not altogether sure it was wise to have two very different pans simmering on the hob together! There will have to be some serious cleaning soon. Also the fridge will need to be moved, as we have realised that there is sticky grapefruit juice underneath.

On Sunday we are off to London for three days, and friends will be staying at Cornerstones. Things must be left spick and span. 

I am glad it is only a three day club, and I am so grateful to Jane who is in charge of everything. 

Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

Bob has applied to be a volunteer at our local Hospice. We both believe passionately in the work of the Hospice Movement. Dame Cicely Saunders gave an inspiring address at his college 40 years ago - and we have subsequently been involved with a number of these wonderful places. Part of Bob's training for Pastoral Ministry involved a placement at the hospice in Clapham - and various friends and family members have spent their final days being supported by hospices across the country. Some had help at home, others were given residential hospice places. Most recently, my cousin Gillian was in the St Francis Hospice, Romford.

I was very challenged by an article in the Guardian last Sunday. You probably know that currently, hospice care is free - paid for by "a combination of NHS funding and public donation" [that quote from the NHS website] But more than two thirds of the finance is from donations, the NHS share is around 30%. Furthermore, it is something of a postcode lottery. If you live in a wealthy area, there is likely to be more provision for hospice care. And individual hospices have to negotiate for their share. It is estimated that over 65% of those in need of such support and care fail to receive it due to lack of funding.

There is currently a Health and Care Bill going through Parliament - one which will shape the future of the NHS for the foreseeable future. Baroness Finlay [a crossbench peer, and palliative care specialist] has proposed an amendment to it. She says 

“The government could improve care without increasing overall cost, by explicitly requiring commissioning of specialist palliative services. The bill will launch 42 integrated care systems in England, new geographically defined health and social care partnerships, yet doesn’t mention palliative care.”

Her amendment, due to be debated in March, is that all areas must have multi-professional specialist palliative care services, specified and funded, determined by population needs. It is accompanied by criteria defining what this service does, and that it must be available wherever people are, from their homes to the streets, prisons to hospices, all day, every day. It is supported by many charities for people living with terminal illness including Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, and Hospice UK.

Please read the information on the Marie Curie Website, and if you feel able, sign their petition which asks that provision of end of life care should be fair and accessible to all.

How The Other Half Lives

Two news stories have been circulating in the past week which show the huge differences between people in this country, and their attitude to the economy. 
Jack Monroe, outspoken defender of the poor had a go at the Office for National Statistics about the way they measure inflation. They have a "typical" shopping basket showing what the man on the Clapham Omnibus might be buying.[or whatever the 2022 equivalent of that 1932 term is]
For example, why should this basket include theatre tickets and fancy wines? she asked. Poor people do not buy them. There should be a different way of measuring for those with lower incomes. 

The Vimes Boots Poverty Index, is based on a theory in the Terry Pratchett books. Simplified, a rich man will pay $50 for a good pair of leather boots, which will last him 10 years. A poor man can only afford a $10 pair with cardboard soles which will leak within the year, so he has to buy another pair. After 10 years, rich man has spent $50 and still has his boots- the poor man has spent £100 and still has wet feet. "Buy once and buy well" is a great principle, but it is dependent on having the money upfront to pay.

Jack complained that many supermarkets have a 'value' range - where staples [rice, pasta, beans, canned tomatoes etc] are all sold in simple packaging at a rock bottom price. But she has monitored these for a decade or more- and all the major supermarkets have cut the number of products in their ranges, and many do not sell the entire range across their stores. Furthermore, some have upped the size and price of a packet - so the 45p bag of rice has gone, and the cheapest equivalent is £1.20. 

Well done, the ONS, for taking her idea about the VBPI on board, and agreeing to recalculate a simpler, more relevant basket alongside the original.

And well done Asda for agreeing to change their value ranges. Currently there are 150 SmartPrice/FarmStores items in 300 of their stores. But as from 1st March, there will be all 200 items available in all 600 Asda stores.  I hope the other major supermarkets follow their lead. 

Jack understands what it is to live below the breadline - and is totally committed to helping those who continue to struggle. 

Meanwhile craft guru and TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has been explaining how we can all get on the property ladder. After all, she managed it - she walked to work, only had pizza once a month, and had a sandwich for lunch*. If only people were willing to make sacrifices- give up Netflix, their gym membership, holidays abroad , and fancy coffees each day - and if only they would move to a part of the country where property is cheaper, why then, they too could afford a house of their own. [*the Right Hon Kirstie also had money from Daddy, who is Baron Hindlip, former chairman of Christies Auction house]

How out of touch is that? 30 years ago, the average house cost £51K-  adjusted for inflated, that's £112K in today's money - but the average equivalent house now costs £256K. She honestly has no idea. Yes, you can buy a property in Newcastle or Worksop for £60K - but it will probably be a small fixer-upper. And if your job is down south, and your family too [after all, you need Mum to help with childcare while you are out earning] then it just isn't feasible. 

Many of the young people currently dreaming of owning a house do not have gym membership, or Netflix subscriptions, or a daily Pret cappuccino. If they have a job, it may be low paid retail work, or zero-hours contract, or if they are on the bottom rung of the 'professional' ladder, they are paying back student loans. And they don't have rich daddies to bail them out. 

It is not right to judge them or imply they are managing their money wrongly. Look at this chart from the Trussell Trust, which began twenty years ago. This chart goes up to 2017 - since the pandemic it has got much worse.

And as for this iniquitous £200 "loan" on our energy bills, don't get me started...[Martin Lewis explains it here] As Peggy Lee used to sing

There's nothin' surer, the rich get rich, and the poor get poorer....
And in my book, that is plain wrong. May God bless Jack Monroe, and Martin Lewis, and all those who are working to correct these inequalities.

Justice, Mercy, Humility

I found an envelope containing half a dozen of these- pregummed paper labels which enable you to reuse old envelopes. 

They cover the original address, and fold over to the back. I bought 200 of them for about £2 when I was a student in the early 1970s. I wrote and received lots of letters then, and I liked the idea of recycling, and also of supporting Amnesty, which is a brilliant charity. Only a few labels remain.

This is my Amnesty teaspoon, which I have had for many years. In the bowl, there is a dove - but not with the conventional olive branch - but rather the end of a piece of barbed wire.

Amnesty has been around since the 1960s defending human rights, speaking out for those imprisoned without a fair trial. I fully support their aims. As the OT prophet Micah says, we are called to

"Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly"

Right now, Amnesty are working especially hard to bring two parents home for Christmas - Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, and Anoosheh Ashoori, British Iranians, currently imprisoned in Iran. 

Our government has let these people down terribly. It is four years since Boris Johnson promised Gabriella, Nazanin's daughter, that he would "leave no stone unturned" in efforts to bring that little girl's Mum back to her. 

I was cheering at Victoria Coren-Mitchell on HIGNFY on Friday night, as she spoke out about this hypocrisy. She too has a young daughter, and I'm sure she feels as strongly about this as I do. Her husband, David Mitchell had an excellent piece in the Guardian, pointing out that Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, met Richard, Nazinin's husband last week...  She expressed her sympathies but didn’t resolve to do much else. A few hours later, she tweeted merrily, amid a flurry of emoticons, on the subject of international travel opening up, that “family and friends can reunite”, which, as well as being staggeringly insensitive, doesn’t suggest that the Ratcliffes’ horrendous situation had particularly touched her. 

The prophet Isaiah tells us to "learn to do right, seek justice, and defend the oppressed" The Queen has declared her irritation with people who "talk but don't do"

I am praying for Nazanin, Anoosheh and their families - and supporting Amnesty in their efforts to bring them home. Praying too that Prime Minister and the rest of the Government will learn the virtues of Justice, Mercy and Humility. 

[HIGNFY = Have I Got News For You. BBC programme shown on Friday Nights]

 

What Is Wishcycling?

This was a new term for me - I confess that I have been guilty of this in the past "do you think this will be recyclable, Bob? I hope so!" And now I find that I may have messed things up by putting in the wrong stuff. Sue's post about the onions started me on this.The dilemma of buying onions loose [from Spain] or in a plastic bag [English] Which is the better eco-choice - plastic or transportation?

And when you get the goods home from the supermarket, how much of the packaging can go into the recycling?  I didn't realise that the triangle of arrows symbol can be used by any manufacturer, and does not guarantee the item can be recycled. 

I'm pleased that most supermarkets now have facilities for 'soft plastics' - bread bags, veg bags, soft plastic carriers [not biodegradable ones] And others have bins for water filter cartridges - I noticed our big Sainsburys actually has a collection point for used Teflon pans. All very laudable, but it does mean a lot of sorting, and remembering to take these things when you go out to shop. 

Local councils are trying hard to keep people informed about what to put in the recycling bins - and it really does vary from place to place. Some still insist you take glass to a bottle bank - others are happy for it to go in the recycling [unless it is Pyrex, or broken glass] Below is the chart for North Norfolk residents [here in Breckland, green is the ordinary bin, the recycling one is black. I have stenciled huge symbols on the back bin, so our visitors know whats what!]

But it  really does depend on where you live. I put some thin wire coathangers in the bin just before we left Dorset [tin foil, drinks cans, hangers - all metal, right?] But apparently that was wrong.

This site has lots of helpful advice. And getting back to those arrows, which have been around for half a century now, created to honour the first Earth Day in 1970

Numbers 1 & 2 are consistently OK for recycling [shampoo bottles etc] 3 through to 7 are the more complicated plastics. These numbers were developed by the plastics industry in the 80s. I have no idea where 9 fits in!

Wish-cycling is what we do when we put materials in the bin with a wink and a prayer, hoping they will get recycled but not knowing for sure. Most of us have found ourselves hovering there for a moment. Can I recycle a crisp packet? What about a food-splattered napkin? A half full pot of hummus?  Wish-cyclers believe that they’re better off popping the material in, because it’s all headed to a recycling facility further down the line. Unfortunately, misplaced optimism when it comes to waste can have bad consequences. 

Wish-cycling causes contamination, which prevents the good stuff getting through. Hand sorting is the first element of the process at most UK facilities. Real people will work hard to filter out the good quality recyclables so they can be sent on to make wonderful new things. This job can get quite tough if the sorting line is full of half-full soup pots, dregs of lattes in coffee cups or even broken glass bottles. Essentially wish-cycling doesn’t do anyone any favours.

Positive steps to take

1. Where possible avoid all plastic wrapping
2. Think about it before you buy
3. Encourage local traders to be more conscientious
4. Check your local bin rules
5. Find out where other stuff can be recycled
6. Please make sure it is clean
7. Go to recyclenow.com for more advice
8. Encourage others to recycle too.

And if anybody tells you they are too old to start this game, point out that they have a responsibility to the younger generation! During WW2, it became second nature to avoid waste- saving paper and string, making do and mending, washing and cooking with the minimum of water and fuel, feeding food scraps to the animals...If great-granny could do it, then so can we. She was doing it to help the nation win the war, now it is to help the people save the planet.

Hoodwinked!

At the end of July, we visited my SIL &BIL in the Cotswolds. We had such a great time. Denise and Kevin were gracious hosts, and it was so good to chat, see their new home, and visit local gardens. While we were there, Denise presented me with a challenge - she had begun knitting a hooded jacket for her granddaughter Polly, but it had gone wrong. She'd unpicked and tried again. Same result - so please could I fathom it out? Denise is a competent knitter but an even better gardener. Over the weekend she gave me so much help with my garden planning - this seemed a fair exchange of skills. I brought the wool and pattern home.

You see the garment is knitted in garter [plain] stitch throughout, and it says "Easy knit design"?

Well we were both hoodwinked. It was surprisingly complex. I did my usual thing of going through and circling the specific instructions for the 4th size. Three inches in, I realised I'd gone wrong. I 'frogged' it -that's where you remove the needles and pull out stitches to the point of the error. Allegedly "Rip it! rip it!" sounds like a frog, hence the name.

I tried again. And again. The back was knitted in a T-shape - with increasing on both sides to get the sleeves. The fronts were inverted L-shapes and instructions for the sleeve increases, neck decreases and buttonholes were written out in a way I found totally confusing. So I went through the pattern and rewrote the whole thing, row by row - but only noting the specific instructions for the 4th size. At the 5th attempt, I ended up with a finished jacket.

It is not the best garment I have ever knitted, but it will keep Polly warm and comfy when her grandparents take her out in the buggy. I will say that Stylecraft Bambino is pleasant to knit with. A soft, 'anti-pilling' yarn,100% washable,[useful for childrenswear] - and not too expensive. 

Denise and family are pleased with the jacket - and she apologised [quite unnecessarily] for "Inflicting the pattern" on me, saying "If it challenged your Bletchley Park genes, it must have been hard"

Denise and Kevin celebrated their Ruby Wedding recently - so I posted off the jacket along with a card I'd made. I'm so grateful for my loving family.

Making Something Beautiful

 
This is indeed true [although I am not sure if it was definitely Michelangelo who said it] We were impressed on Friday at the Sandringham Food, Craft and Wood Fair, to see the men and women with their electric chainsaws, turning huge pieces of wood into amazing artworks.

They took a rough hewn piece of wood, and carefully worked on it to produce animals, birds, and figures, taking away spare bits of wood. These stags with locked horns were the back of a bench.

You'd need a big fishpond [lake?] to warrant having a large figure of Neptune guarding it! The prices were high - but if you factor in all the hours spent, and the rising cost of timber, I guess they were fair.

We did not buy anything! [other than two cups of coffee, a bacon roll and a biscuit] 

We had been looking forward to this event, and were a little disappointed. There were fewer exhibitors and the 'crafts' included hardly any textile work. Too many stalls selling ready made items imported from China, not 'proper' artisan items.

And so many places selling "fidget pops" . These strange multicoloured silicon shapes like tough bubble wrap. "There you are, you can pop this as you go round if you are bored" said a Gran to her young charge. 

NO! I yelled [inside my head] talk to her! explain what that man with the chain saw is doing! engage the lino cut lady in conversation about how she makes her picture! discuss the different flavours of the free samples of fudge! But please don't give her something to fidget with, causing her to miss what's happening around her. Rosie will never get one of these from this Grandma!

As I walked down one row of stalls, I noticed that the little one at the far end seemed to get no visitors at all. What was it selling?  As I got closer, I saw it was the Norfolk Fostering and Adoption Service. I stopped and had a chat with the lovely couple there. Between 50 and 80 children a year find new homes through the NFAS [rated Outstanding by Ofsted] The pandemic has made the situation a lot harder for them - and they need more adoptive parents, and also foster parents [no upper age limit for FPs, providing you are in good health] 

"Please take one of our cotton bags, and tell other people about our work" said the lady. 

My friend read this book and was so challenged by it that she and her husband adopted two little girls.

Loving families are so precious - we were able to meet up with another branch of the Almond family last week as they holidayed in Norfolk [I met my new great niece for the first time- and they met Jessica] 

God bless all those who foster and adopt, and show love to children whose earlier family life has been difficult. Not taking away, but adding joy and care.