Social Decay

The building above used to be a large and vibrant Community Centre that not only offered a Youth Club and Parent and Baby group but pottery and art clubs for adults. It has now been closed, boarded up and left to decay. There are rumours that the building itself will be converted into flats. So more community without a centre to provide for them.

Sadly I believe that this sight will become all the more common with the recent cuts and proposals. We will all witness the social decay of our community

The Gallery - Black and White

This week's theme for The Gallery is Black and White. I love black and white photography, more so then I love colour. I feel you get a much greater depth of detail and emotion with black and white. There is nothing I love more then getting out there with my camera and experimenting with the black and white function.

As ever I have mixed results most of the time but there are occasions, usually by accident, when I take a photograph that I am extremely pleased with. Below are two examples of such photographs.

I wish I could state that it was simply skill, but it's really more a case of being in the right place at the right time.

All Saints Cemetery on a misty morning

One for Sorrow - Magpie resting in a tree.

For more wonderful Gallery Pictures, please go here.

Eco-Unfriendly - Are we frightening our children?

I do my bit as I suppose everyone else does.

I reuse bags when I am shopping, I recycle anything and everything I can. I turn off electrical equipment when it's not in use, I keep the thermostat below 20 degrees and I never allow the tap to run needlessly. We've even recently had the loft insulation increased.

It seems that they may have been teaching the children at Amy's nursery school about being environmentally friendly and not wasting water or power. Only Amy is now terrified that we're going to end up with no water or electricity if we keep consuming it on an average day to day basis. She has become so wrapped up in this cause that she becomes hysterical if I turn on a tap (as I may use up all the water) and has taken to switching lights on and off at regular intervals, just to check they still work and we haven't used up all the electric.

I'm all for being economical and saving the world. But passing fear and guilt onto preschoolers?

Maybe it's more a case of the way it's taught rather then the actual teaching. I have seen some information adverts on the children's channels about saving water and energy that would give me the willies, let alone a 4 year old. Some even boarder on brainwashing.

Would this be the same electric that is produced by burning fossil fuels per chance?

I'd hate to think that we're going round frightening children in to saving water and energy because if they don't 'fiery doom shall reign down upon them'.

Hopefully Amy will calm down in time and I shall be able to do the washing up without being accused of bringing about the destruction of mankind.

Fishy Friday

Octopi by Amy aged 4

Is it octopi, octopus, octopuses, octopodes or octopussies? The possibilities are endless.

Every so often, Amy comes back from Nursery with something that simply begs to be framed and put on the wall. The picture above is of a mummy and her baby octopus. The exact reasons as to why the octopuses are missing several limbs and floating in the sky escapes me. Something fishy is going on.

I must say I do love Mrs Octopus's serene expression. "I'm minus four limbs and a 'fish out of water' but hey, I'll just roll with it."

The plurals of octopus are octopuses, octopi and octopodes.

The Gallery - My Favourite Photos (and why)

This week's prompt over at Sticky Fingers is Favourite Photo. An almost impossible task and I am going to be especially cheeky during my first dip into The Gallery and show you two of my most favourite photos.

Taken 15th August 2009 during a trip to Beale Wildlife Park with my parents and the girls. It was a fantastic day and as usually I was there with my camera aimlessly taking out of focus shots of cage bars and odd bits of shrubbery. In short I sucked at taking pictures. The above photograph was a happy accident, but an accident that got me interested in photography as a hobby and spurred me on.

But the above has to be my all time favourite photograph, taken on 16th August 2010 and titled Fairy Princess. It is a black and white portrait of my youngest daughter Amy. A lovely day spent messing about in the sunshine with my camera and a very agreeable model. Who could ask for more?

To see other entries in The Gallery, please go here.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

I felt much the same upon learning that Tommy Bear the Nursery Bear was to be staying with us for the fourth time. That bear must really love it here!

Good Grief!

There are times in my life when I swear. No, when I know that I must sound like Charlie Brown's teacher to others.

When I speak, what leaves my mouth is a series of intelligent words strung together to form sentences. The very basis of language, a language we all understand. Yet when it reaches the ears of my husband and children, it has along the way mutated somehow into.

'Wah wah waah wawah wah wah wah waah wawah wah wah'





If the video doesn't load watch it on Youtube here.

Herding Cats - Happy Inside

If like me you love cats, then you'll love the Ikea television advertisment featuring them. The brain child of Mother London Ad Agency.

"The idea behind the work is that cats know better than anything what makes them feel happy inside, they live their lives in pursuit of their own comfort," said Feh Tarty, creative director at Mother. "So we released a hundred cats in to the Ikea Wembley store, for real, to see where they went and what furniture made them happy."





If the video fails to load, please watch it here.



If the video fail to load, please watch it here.

The Elephant of Truth

My youngest daughter, Amy, is four years old and loves to insert sayings and phrases she hears into her everyday conversations. Today she heard me mention to her dad that there was an 'element of truth' in what someone was saying.

Later she ended a conversation with myself by saying. 'There's an Elephant of Truth in the room.'

He must have been very small. I couldn't see him.

Dear Second Born,

Dear Second Born,

Unfortunately I was not blessed with eyeballs up my nostrils. So please, when you're excitedly showing me the sticker/toy/dead fly you have found, kindly refrain from jamming it up my nose.

I currently do not speak 'whingese' and Muzzy has yet to add it to their repertoire. Any requests made in a high pitched whiny tone will be ignored until you speak in a manner I can understand. Throwing yourself on the floor and or sliding off the furniture does not get your point across any better.

People come in many different shapes and sizes. The more rotund, myself included, dislike being referred to as, 'that FAT, LARGE or ROUND LIKE A BALL lady over there.' Also, enquiries as to why the lady in front of us at the supermarket has a big bottom are generally not well received.

It is lovely when you decide to enlighten me as to what you did at Nursery school that afternoon but please, please do not point kids out in the playground to lament about how they do not share or hit, push and or 'do your head in'. Especially when their parent or grandparent is present.

Sometimes it is just nicer not to say things.

Your ever loving mummy xxxx

Writing Workshop - Time

For this week's Writing Workshop, I decided to write a poem for the theme Time.

The inspiration behind this poem is the loss of my grandfather three years ago and the fact that, to me time is very much like a cat, in the way that is does as it pleases. This is the first piece I have written about personal experience as I usually write 'disconnected' fiction and fan fiction.

Enjoy and again any comments that can help me develop my writing are always gratefully received.


Time

Time is a crying creature, crouching poised to fight
Sliding through the shadows and dancing in the light
Time is here to hunt us, trapped in her claws so tight

Time is a slender creature, stretching in a gentle sway
Stalking through the darkness and pacing out her prey
Suddenly silently, snatching precious ones away

Time is a cordial creature, kindly soothing tears
Warming up the memories and purring in your ears
Gliding through the twilight, chasing all your fears

Time is an aging creature, slowing in her gait
Greying at the corners and bidding us to wait
Reminding us so sweetly, we can't escape our fate

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting

Ana

Foam....

Odd things you find in a home with small children.

The other main food group.

What is it with children and eating foam, seriously? Does it taste good? Is it the interesting texture or something subconscious to replace an element lacking in their diet? Who knows.

All I know is the foam eating stage of childhood is currently under going a revival in my home.

Someone and I have my suspicions who, has currently chomped their way through the handle of the toddler trampoline, the padding on the net supports of the large trampoline and the scooter handlebars.

Odd, very odd indeed.

Quite why...

Mr Lightyear is compelled to end it all and quite why he feels the only course of action available is to offer himself up as the dog's dinner, eludes me.

(odd things you find in a home with small children)