SHE AWARDS #4.

THE JUGGLER - Jane Holmes, Founder of  PEAPODS and BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE.

When Jane's daughter Kitty was born pale, limp and not breathing, Jane's world collapsed. It transpired that Kitty had severe CEREBRAL PALSY. "For the first ten days after her birth I thought she was going to die. That was the only thing I focused on, willing her to live," she says. kitty, now eight, can't talk or eat (she is fed via a tube into her stomach), process vision properly or control her body and suffers seizures, which means she can't be left alone at night. What's more Kitty's special school is a two-hour drive away.

Frustrated by lack of local facilities and support available, Jane set up Peapods, a charity to support families with disabled children "If anything, it was a help for me. It was a relief to talk to other parents going through the same thing." Peapods now helps more than 40 families in Workingham, Berkshire. But Jane didn't stop there; two years ago she started up the charity Building For the future to raise money for a purpose-built community centre. "It will be somewhere families can come and be completely accepted, have a break, a coffee, get information, make friends .... have a lie down if they need to - because we're all knackered"*

The charity needs £100,000 to reach it's target. "When I think about how  I balance it all, I honestly don't know - the housework definitely suffers! Obviously I have down days, but the children are such an inspiration. They smile and laugh and you realise you haven't got much to be down about. I feel like I want to match their efforts, to make it better for them. It's my life's work now." - SHE magazine.

* Knackered - extremely tired.

Other women in the series - THE HUMANITARIAN, THE SURVIVOR, THE CHAMPION. Next Week: The Innovator.

Inspired by Aine's Inspirational Women Wednesday @ THE EVOLVING SPIRIT

DO YOU LOVE ANYONE ENOUGH TO ..........

Do you love anyone enough to give them your last rolo?

Inspired by a post on Jason's site (The Clarity Of Night) in which he discussed SWIMMY MOMENTS, moments that were warm and memorable, I felt the need to tell you this .....

It was 1995/6, I was engaged to be married, Husband dearest (or Fiance dearest as I suppose he then was) was going abroad for the first time (to take part in a playscheme for the children of British soldiers based in PADERBORN, Germany) and my favourite advert was for ROLO's (Click HERE to view, the ad is tucked away in the bottom left hand corner.)

"Do you love anyone enough to give them your last rolo?" was the slogan and, yes, it seems that Husband dearest did.

Arriving in the post was an empty (?) envelope. Had he forgotten to add his letter? What was that brown, sticky goo all over the inside of said envelope. Yeah, it was his last rolo. One of the most romantic things I've ever had happen to me, I don't know how many times I've bored, enthralled people with the telling of this story.

So come on who would you give your last rolo to and why? Oh and apologies to those who have heard the story before and to all those who didn't know HD was such a big softy at heart.

PADDINGTON: HERE AND NOW.

YEAH I'm on 'Bob's Your Uncle' level.

For my 6th choice of book on the TYPICALLY BRITISH BOOK CHALLENGE (click HERE for last book read and links to other books read) I thought I'd review this childhood favourite of mine - yes, Michael Bond released his new Paddington book a whole half century after the first appeared in print.

PADDINGTON: HERE AND NOW by MICHAEL BOND.

Chapter One - PARKING PROBLEMS. Paddington’s morning gets off to a bad start when he discovers his shopping basket on wheels has been towed away. Matters get even worse when he decides to report it at the local police station and a series of misunderstandings lead to his arrest. Fortunately for Paddington, not only is his basket returned but the contents have mysteriously multiplied in the meantime.

Chapter Two - PADDINGTON'S GOOD TURN. When Mrs. Bird spots an intruder through the window, Paddington volunteers to apply anti-burglar paint to the Browns’ drainpipes. Spotting an opportunity to get something for nothing, the Browns’ mean neighbour Mr. Curry talks Paddington into doing his as well but he gets more than he bargained for when Paddington decides to paint his gate.

Chapter Three - PADDINGTON STRIKES A CHORD. Paddington is intrigued when his friend Mr. Gruber acquires a "Player Piano" and soon draws a large crowd when he pretends to play it in the shop window. It’s so realistic that before he knows it he’s acquired an agent and is the surprise turn in a forthcoming charity concert. Paddington is the one who ends up being surprised when he discovers he has to play an ordinary piano but he manages to delight the audience with his unique style of entertainment.

Chapter Four - PADDINGTON TAKES THE BISCUIT. The Browns decide to throw a small party to celebrate Hallowe’en but they soon end up with an unwanted guest in the form of Mr. Curry who accidentally gets locked out of his house when Paddington’s "Trick or Treat" goes wrong. Fortunately, the Browns’ neighbour doesn’t stay for long after trying a bowl of Paddington’s special stir-fly soup.

Chapter Five - PADDINGTON SPILLS THE BEANS. While working in the Browns’ front garden, Paddington is approached by a man carrying out a survey. As the interview progresses, so do the misunderstandings, leading to a report in the local paper about illegal immigrants and an undercover trade in organ transplants. The Browns have no idea Paddington is involved, until they read the words "marmalade sandwiches" which then prompts them to start wondering about Paddington’s own legal status as a refugee.

Chapter Six - PADDINGTON AIMS HIGH. Keen to give the family a Christmas present they won’t forget, Paddington visits the local travel agent but his shock at the price of a holiday for seven is equalled by that of the manager when he learns that Paddington is hoping to pay for it with a single Air Mile. However, all that is soon forgotten when Paddington arrives home and receives a very special and unexpected visitor ...

Chapter Seven - PADDINGTON'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE. Nobody is more astonished than Paddington by the arrival of his Uncle Pastuzo who has dropped by while on his world travels. After captivating the family with tales of how he made his fortune, it’s time for another surprise when he takes them all on a special trip on the London Eye. His departure is as sudden as his arrival but there’s one more surprise left for Paddington - some treasure left buried in the garden by his uncle.

....... From Paddington's Official Website (click HERE for more)

FIRST SENTENCE: "My shopping basket on wheels has been towed away!" exclaimed Paddington hotly.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: "I'm not very good at catching things. It isn't easy with paws."

Not exactly a childhood favourite, I came across the Paddington books relatively late in life (in my 20's) when Husband dearest bought me an omnibus edition of the stories. Would I enjoy this latest edition written so much later than the original?

Full of all the old characters (Mr & Mrs Brown, Jonathan & Judy, Mr Curry, Mrs Bird and, of course, Paddington himself) as well as one or two new additions, the story lines themselves have been slightly updated and yet remain just as charming as ever.

Wonderfully written and with its charmingly drawn pencil illustrations, the latest seven adventures of this much loved bear did not disappoint and I'm sure will be a big hit amongst this generation of children as well as the generation who grew up loving the marmalade eating bear - it comes highly recommended.

Paddington: Here And Now was a gift purchased through Amazon.

THE REAL ELIZA DOOLITTLE.

Eliza Doolittle (as portrayed left by AUDREY HEPBURN in the film MY FAIR LADY), the flower girl with the cockney accent and battered straw hat, has become part of English folklore. The tale of the lowly Covent garden worker who was groomed so that she could pass as a lady in high society is as popular as ever for what it reveals about the British class system. Doolittle, though, it is always assumed was a totally fictional character, a romantic dream of playwright GEORGE BERNARD SHAW .

But now the true story of Sabrina Sidney, the real life Eliza, is to be told for the first time in a book that is at the centre of a publishers' bidding war.

Author Wendy Moore, already high up the non-fiction bestsellers' list with her book, WEDLOCK, has found herself the object of much commercial interest as she sets out to detail the life of the young orphan who was taken out of poverty in 1769 and trained to become the ideal partner for a gentleman. - Vanessa Thorpe, The Observer (READ MORE.)

PROM NIGHT.

Inspired by VIVIENNE'S POST in which she talks about taking her friends son to his school prom, I thought I'd bring you a post on my feelings about proms.

I now the tradition of school PROMS is well established in America and, I'm led to believe, Canada but it's only a recent thing here in England. I certainly didn't have one on leaving school - not that I would have wanted to, the annual Christmas disco was torture enough.

Niece #2 who left school some 5 years ago (Is it really 5 years ago? Now I'm feeling old) did however have a prom and all in all it was an expensive business with her dress alone costing more than my wedding dress. OK so that was almost 24 years ago and, as said Niece informed me, 'in the olden days' but still it's an awful lot of money for a dress that would only be worn once.

And, of course, it wasn't just the dress - it was the shoes, the jewellery, the tiara type thing AND the having to have her hair/nails/make-up done. Then there was the limousine that was hired to take her and her friends to the venue - a castle no less. Oh and I almost forgot, the official photographs. As I said, an expensive business.

Note I wrote 'having to have'. Never before has so much pressure been put on our children to have what their friends have. Niece #1's friends were all buying dresses from a certain shop, all having their hair, nails and make-up done at a certain place and so she, not wanting to stand out, HAD TO HAVE the same.

Now my family aren't particularly wealthy, my sister raised Niece and Nephew (who has learning difficulties) as a single mother so money has always been pretty tight. Imagine then the children for whom money is tighter still, how could they have the luxury of a prom and all it seems to entail?

The answer being, unless they are 'brave' enough (or popular enough) to go, not having all that those around them seem to have, they stay at home which to me seems so unfair. Yes, yes, I know - life is unfair - but it seems to be a hard lesson to learn at what is already a difficult age.

So come on what do my blogger buddies across the pond think having had so much more experience of these things?

NO ESCAPING IT.

There really is just no getting away from it. Sad to say that not even Pen and Paper is a safe refuge. To what do I refer? The WORLD CUP of course. Thankfully Husband dearest is more of a rugby man and so I haven't been too bothered by it at home but for those who have ........

"A building society estimates that seven million men have a 'hubbyhole' - a men-only-zone where chaps can escape from the relentless feminisation of modern life - and that another million are planning to join that number during the world cup." - Tom Sykes, The Daily Telegraph.

Hmm, a hubbyhole - best place for them if they are planning on watching football at every given opportunity.

Mind you, on a much more serious note, research also shows that divorce rates also go up at this time, which brings me to my next (not so serious) article.

Standing side by side, dressed in their 'Sunday best' "Saori did not slip the ring lovingly on to her left hand before sealing their union with a kiss.

Instead, the pair were handed a hammer - and proceeded to smash the ring to symbolise the end of their five-year marriage.

The bizarre ritual is becoming increasingly popular among Japanese couples who choose to end their marriages with the same pomp ad ceremony with which they began them."  - Danielle Demetriou, The Telegraph (FULL STORY.)

To divorce him for watching a bit to much footie - a bit drastic, don't you think? Nothing wrong in letting him know who is boss though, a little henpecking (husbands plagued or overwhelmed by a nagging or overbearing wife as Wikitionary explains it) and research proves it.

"Being a henpecked husband (yet more research shows that the average wife spends nearly 8,000 minutes a year nagging her husbasnd*) could be the secret of a long marriage.

Researchers have found that if the man of the house is less happy than his wife, the risk of divorce is reduced. But if the husband is much happier than his partner, she is more likely to leave him.

A team of economists examined data from tens of thousands of marriages in three countries and identified what they call 'the happiness gap'.

The report titled 'You Can't Be Happier Than Your Wife. Happiness Gaps And Divorce was published in Germany." (VIEW REPORT) - Richard Alleyne The Telegraph.

So, he doesn't have a hubbyhole and you don't really want a divorce. How about taking up a sport of your own? Might I suggest .......

Pie throwing? Yes, The BUREAU OF SILLY IDEAS (Bosi) is calling for pie throwing to be made an official Olympic sport.

No, don't fancy that, how about table tennis?

"The metamorphosis has happened with dizzying speed. Table tennis, a sport that has traditionally suffered from an image of downright 'geekiness' is, for the moment at least, the sexiest sport on the planet.

The revolution started in central Manhattan (USA) last summer with the opening of the world's first ping-pong nightclub.

SPiN, as it is aptly called, is cool and swanky, the dance floor taken up with ping-pong tables. The idea is to hold a fizzing BELLINI in one hand and to whack a ball with the other." - MATTHEW SYED, The Times.

* There is no need for you, Husband dearest (or anyone else for that matter) to comment on this - we all know I DO NOT NAG.

UNNATURAL FIRE.

The fifth book to be read for my TYPICALLY BRITISH BOOK CHALLENGE. (Click on relevant link to view 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th book read.)

UNNATURAL FIRE by FIDELIS MORGAN.

London 1699, Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, Baroness Penge, Countess of Clapham, formermistress to Charles II, has fallen on hard times. Cast into the notorious Fleet Prison by the bum-balliffs, she is forced to turn to journalism: gathering salacious tit-bits for a scandal sheet. But the Countess and Alpiew, her maidservant, encounter more intrigue than they bargained for when a mysterious woman hires them to follow her husband, Beau, whom she suspects of adultery.

Their pursuit of Beau leads them to playhouses, lecture halls, the half-constructed St. Paul's Cathedral and the dives of Alsatia, only to end abruptly in a Covent Garden churchyard - leaving the countess and Alpiew implicated in a murder. And worse is to follow, for to unravel their only clue to the identity of the real killer they must penetrate the mysteries of alchemy.

..... From the outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: 'Take this down .... "At the stroke of 8 o'clock this morning, while the night-watch Charlies still slept in their boxes, the Honourable Marmaduke Smallwood tied a knot with tongue which he can never untie with his teeth .....

MEMORBLE MOMENT: The low hum rose and increased in volume in a black knot. The low hum rose and the axe slammed down into the sideboard and stuck. While Scum struggled to remove it, Pigalle sideled back into the pantry and started pulling jars from the shelves. One by one she tossed them to the Countess who hurled them at Scum.

A very refreshing and yet quite unusual read in that its main characters are women.

Set in 18th century London, Unnatural Fire is a humorous romp of a read - I loved everything about it from its colourful front cover to its wonderfully fascinating characters some of whom have such a wonderful 'turn of phrase' and its bawdy sense of fun which often stopped just short of the farcical.

A totally authentic read, original and fresh, it somehow or other put me in mind of the C.J. Sansom's SHARDLAKE SERIES of books, perhaps because of the unusual choice of lead character and the inclusion of the alchemy story line.

A tremendous who-done-it of sorts, it had me gripped from start to finish - I shall certainly be looking out for the other books in the series. (Click HERE for list.)

SHE AWARDS #3.

After THE HUMANITARIAN and THE SURVIVOR, today it's the turn of ....

The Champion - Nicola Minichiello.

When she crashed into a concrete wall at 70mph during the third heat of this year's Winter Olympics, Nicola's first thought was not whether she would survive, but of the gold medal she had lost. This commitment illustrates the resolve that got her to the Olympics.

Brought up by her single mother on benefits and the victim of racist bullying at school, Nicola's passion for athletics got her into teaching training. "Sport moved me. It was an opportunity to get away from my environment," she says. She soon became a dedicated HEPTATHLETE. Her speed and agility didn't go unnoticed and two weeks after her brother's death from a heroin overdose, when she was 24, she was asked to audition for the British bobsleigh team. "I thought, 'What the heck, life is too short'."

Last year she won the World Championship with brake-woman Gill Cooke. In the summer she teaches to fund the team - she bought her $8,500 bobsleigh on her credit card, which she is still paying off. Before this year's Winter Olympics Nicola faced yet another hurdle when she lost the sight in one eye - due to inflammation of the retina - and was operated on just 16 days before the games. Then came the crash. "It's just one of those things I'm putting down to experience. Crashes happen."

Next on her agenda is defending her World Title and continuing her work with the YOUTH SPORT TRUST. "If there's one person who I can influence, then that for me is fantastic, especially if it's a young person. It's an honour to be in that position." - SHE magazine.

Inspired by Aine's Inspirational Women Wednesday @ THE EVOLVING SPIRIT.

Next Week:- The Juggler.

DIDN'T I DO WELL?

As you may have read on my post update, my wheelchair - I've named her Madge - arrived yesterday.

A lovely purple in colour (Madge that is, not me) I eagerly awaited Husband dearest to come home from work so I could have my maiden voyage.

Considering I don't have very good coordination and next to no spacial awareness I did much better than I had anticipated - only hitting one bin and narrowly missing going through our next door neighbour's (closed) garden gate.

Better than these two wheelchair users anyway.

An 18-year-old woman suffered a broken wrist in a hit-and-run accident involving a mobility scooter.

She was struck from behind by the vehicle. Police appealed for the'driver' to come forward.

Sorry I know I shouldn't have laughed  but you know when you get an image in your head and it just will not go away - well! I kept picturing the 'driver' of said mobility scooter leaving the scene of he accident, doing a good 4 miles-per-hour (mph).

Anyway,  swiftly moving on ......

A man in his 80's was given a police warning after he caused a four-mile-tailback by riding his 8mph mobility scooter for seven miles along a dual carriageway.*

His vehicle will be confiscated if he takes it on the roads in the next 12 months.

And talking of laughing at an image you get in your head - Husband dearest is still laughing at the thought of  Roadside Recovery Insurance for my chair which basically means if I were to 'break down', I could dial a number and someone would come get me. Picturing a truck towing away a car, he got a mental image of me, still sat in chair being hoisted onto the back of a truck.

* A dual carriageway being a highway in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a central barrier or strip of land, known as a central reservation (median). It may also have limited access and grade separated junctions. Where more than 1 lane is provided in each direction this type of road is usually able to carry a great deal more traffic than normal single carriageways (undivided highways). A dual carriageway may described as dual single lane, dual 2-lane or dual 3-lane. In the United Kingdom the term is used for a road with divided carriageways that is not a motorway. - Wikapedia.

MORE APPEALING?

I hate cruelty to animals in any way, shape or form so felt I had to have a rant about this article that was sent to me.

"Two rescue dogs have been given breast lifts to help them find new owners. Chocolate Labradors Morgan and Emma had saggy skin on their chests, which put visitors off. They've had a nip and tuck to bring them luck."

Bring them luck? I don't think so. What it did bring them though is the unnecessary pain of a totally unneeded surgical procedure.

Now I have very mixed feelings about humans and cosmetic surgery but, for one thing this post isn't about that, and, for another it's a whole different thing humans choosing to have such procedures carried out and animals being forced to undergo such things.

Then of course what kind of 'owner' (and we are not talking dog breeders here, that's a whole other post) would dismiss a dog just because it had some 'saggy skin' - surely not the kind of person you would really want to see the dog have a home with.

After all, when all is said and done, these are two rescue dogs who may not have had the best of lives so far. Is it really fair to have them undergo what is basically a doggy 'boob job' in order for them to be found more appealing?

Rant over. What do you think?

FATHERS DAY.

Recent research shows that a whopping 41% of English men will not stand up on a bus for a pregnant woman in case she isn't actually pregnant.

"Such a shame," I uttered to Husband dearest, "I think it's nice for a man to offer his seat to a woman pregnant or not."

His reply "A bit of a mind-field really as you are just as likely to be told to 'go away' (or words to that effect) and called a patronising 'so-and-so' (once again I'm being polite) as you are to be thanked."

Surely not?

But then I recalled an instance a few years ago when Husband dearest offered his seat to a rather elderly woman. His thanks? Certainly not a "thank you" - he was rewarded with a 'clout' to his ankle by said woman's walking stick and the words "Do you think I'm so old I'm not capable of standing and need (looking him up and down as if he was something nasty she'd stepped in) the likes of you to give me your seat?"

My point? Despite what many would have us believe, I think there are more gentlemen out there then we think, many of them are simply scared of doing the 'wrong thing' and being accused of being a sexist pig (why a pig I'll never know. Why not a sexist sheep or a sexist horse? Are pigs particularly sexist animals? You tell me.)

Anyway, today being FATHERS DAY (which incidentally only started to be celebrated in the early 20th century) I thought I'd say a big thank you to all the decent men out there.

WHAT'S NEW(S) PUSSY CAT(S).

We have had both kinds of animal companions - feline and canine. Husband dearest being more of the doggy persuasion whilst I'm more of a cat person. I just love their independent spirit and nature, after all it is true what they say:-

Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later. *

Anyway, today I thought I'd share these three cat related articles with you.

Firstly proving cats really do have nine lives, the rather sad story (but with a happy ending) of Alfie, the re-cycled cat.

"A cat who was accidentally 'recycled' has been reunited with his owners.
Alfie was discovered by workers at a recycling centre in Scotland when a lorry that had been collecting in Kirknewton tipped out its load.
The terrified tom cat tumbled out among the mattresses and fridges covered in dust and dirt, but luckily wasn't hurt.
Alfie's owners said he didn't normally leave the house so they were surprised when he disappeared, but they're very relieved to have him home again." (READ MORE)

I know from experience that cats can be rather intimidating characters. Before becoming indoor cats, 3 of our 4 cats would roam our neighbourhood - Phog terrorising our neighbours large dog until his owners had to knock at our door asking us to take said cat in and she had their dog terrified to go out.

This story put me in mind of Phog, meet the rather mischievous, appropriately named Tiger.

"Royal Mail has stopped deliveries to a house in Leeds after postal workers came under attack from an elderly cat.
Tiger is said to have scratched postal workers and chased them down the garden path at his home in High Bank Street, Farsley, over the past few weeks.
Owner Tracy Brayshaw, who must now pick up mail from the nearest sorting office, said the ban was "a bit silly".
She added: "We're talking about a 19-year-old geriatric cat here who likes lazing out in the sun." (READ MORE)

And lastly, you know you hear stories of the children's pet goldfish/hamster dying and well-meaning parents replacing it with another in the hope that the little darlings won't notice. Well, this story put me in mind of that though I'm sure in this instance the owner may well have spotted the swap.

"A cat was on the run last night after fleeing from a vet's surgery moments before it was due for 'the snip'.
Lexi leapt through an open window as the vet prepared to carry out the castration.
The animal's owner** only discovered that her cat had gone missing when she went to collect it from the surgery and was given a ......... pet rabbit instead.
The two-year-old cat made a dash for freedom through an open window while his sister, Angel, went through with the neutering as planned." (READ FULL STORY)

(Readers will be pleased to know that subsequent reports stated that Lexi had been found safe and well with his 'bits' still in tact - though for how long the article did not say,)

* For more cat quotes, click HERE

** If indeed anyone can claim to own a cat - In my experience it is YOU who are owned by your cat and not the other way around.

SAYING THE STUPIDEST OF THINGS.

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place. Thanks to Urszula for the e-mail.

• ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
  WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
  ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
  WITNESS: My name is Susan!

• ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
  WITNESS: Yes.
  ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
  WITNESS: I forget.
  ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

• ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
  WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

• ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
  WITNESS: Yes.
  ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
  WITNESS: None.
  ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
  WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?

• ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
  WITNESS: By death.
  ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
  WITNESS: Take a guess.

• ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
  WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.

• ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
  WITNESS: Oral.

• ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
  WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
  ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
  WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.

• ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
  WITNESS: No.
  ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
  WITNESS: No.
  ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
  WITNESS: No.
  ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No.
  ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
  WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
  ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
  WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

SPLAT!!!!!!

APOLOGIES. I'm throwing myself on your mercy here, begging for your forgiveness.

Trying to be oh so clever I thought I'd put all my May awards in one post, scheduling it to appear at the beginning of June. At least that was the idea, 'best laid plans' and all that, it didn't appear and now I've managed to delete it (don't ask how as I haven't the 'foggiest'), so many, many thanks to PURPLUME, CHRISTIEJOLU, ALEXIA, BOOK QUOTER, ODDYODDYO 13, JENN and JACABUR1 all of whom kindly gave me awards last month.

I don't believe I'm sitting here posting this, I really don't. Possibly one of the most bizarre things I've ever had the pleasure to bring you.

It may be tiny, but t is one of the biggest irritations for motorists. The HAWK MOTH has been named as the insect most likely to cause frustration for motorists as they hit windscreens, cloud headlights and, because of their size, leave a considerable mess.

An ecologist, one Greg Masters, has created a 'splatometer' - a bug-guide - and given ratings to the 'splat' that the insects are likely to create.

Created for a car accessory retailer, the guide does have a serious side (honest) for figures from the Department For Transport suggest that dirty windscreens accounted for 163 accidents and 6 fatalities on British roads last year.


So just what are the top 10 on the splatometer and what are their 'splat' ratings out of 5:-

• Hawk moth (5)
• Chafer beetle (4)
• Hornet (4)
• Wasp (3)
• Honey bee (3)
• Flies (2)
• Midges (alone, 1, in a swarm, 5)
• Mosquitoes (alone, 1, in a swarm, 5)
• Aphids (2)
• Peacock & Red Admiral butterflies (0).

N.B. Police have advised drivers to keep windscreens and headlights clean or face a fine of up to £1000.

SHE AWARDS #2.

Inspired by Inspirational Women Wednesday, a meme I found so, well, inspiring I just had to join in, my thanks go to Aine over at THE EVOLVING SPIRIT for her wonderful posts on so many amazing women.
Starting last week with THE HUMANITARIAN, this week I bring you:-

Kelly Griffiths.

On 22 August 2006, Kelly was pulling away from traffic lights when she felt something tug at the back of her bicycle. She turned round to see a lorry bearing down on her and before she knew it she was under its wheels. When the police arrived, Kelly was lying in the road in her own blood and intestines, the skin and muscle torn off her left foot, ankle and lower abdomen and her pelvis broken. She was 28.

Today, four years and 26 operations later - during one of which Kelly almost died - she is finally on the mend. "The temptation to spiral into negative thoughts of 'why me?' was overwhelming, but I had to do something positive," she says.

So she resigned from her job as a corporate lawyer ans set up KELLY'S HEROES - a charity offering support to victims of road traffic collisions and their families. It now has 5 staff members.

Kelly is also a patient representative - championing patients' rights in National Health Service(NHS) trauma units - and with the government, giving presentations to doctors on how to help their patients. Kelly attributes her work to helping overcome her own trauma. "I have now embraced my scars: they're like a badge of honour, a sign that if I can get through something like that and come out the other side, I can get through anything." - SHE magazine.

NEXT WEEK - The Champion.

OHNE DICH.

For many a month now Christiejolu over at TALES FROM MY HEAD has been educating me in her favourite band ALICE IN CHAINS (click HERE for video clip) so today I thought I'd return the compliment by posting one of my favourite songs Ohne Dich (Without You) by German group, RAMMSTEIN.


Sung in German (which I don't speak though Husband dearest does) I thought the song was beautiful and once translated into English I came to realise just how meaningful the words
actually were, so much so that I have requested (a bit maudlin I know) that it be played at my funeral.

I'm going to go into the fir trees
There where I last saw her
But the evening is throwing a cloth upon the land
and upon the ways behind the edge of the forest
And the forest it is so black and empty
Woe is me, oh woe
And the birds sing no more

Without you I cannot be Without you
With you I am alone too Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still

They aren't worth it

On the branches in the ditches
it's now silent and without life
And breathing becomes oh so hard for me
Woe is me, oh woe
And the birds sing no more

Without you I cannot be Without you
With you I am alone too Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still

They aren't worth it without you.

PS Have just discovered himself has getting in on the act, to see more Rammstein click HERE.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW.

Just to let you know that today Pen and Paper will be off-line (Everyone say aaahhhh). Himself has commandeered Pooter in order to do his Innisfree accounts.

Back tomorrow with a music video.

Until then ........

THE LACUNA.

Husband dearest reviews:-

THE LACUNA – BARBARA KINGSOLVER, Faber and Faber 2009.

Mexico, 1935. Harrison Shepherd is working n the household of famed muralist Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo. Sometimes cook, sometimes secretary, Shepherd is always an observer, recording his experiences in diaries and notebooks. When exiled Bolshevik leader Lev Trosky arrives, Shepherd inadvertantly casts in his lot with art and revolution and his aim for an invisible life is thwarted forever.

"Dios les da el dinero a los ricos, poque si no lo tuvieran, se morrían de hambre"

Thus spake the blurb on the back of the book, another handed to me my beloved with request for review. I know it just a cunning attempt to get me to sit still a bit more. I was not intrigued, even by the information that it is an Orange Prize nominee, other than the mention of Trotsky, and my initial entry into the book was difficult. It took me over a week to attack the first 150 pages of the book, largely as it was unrecognisable in the terms of the blurb. The household does not appear until then, Trotsky 40 or so pages later and then he has the whole ice-pick thing a 100 pages later and is gone. In a book of 670 pages the introduction was turgid and the characters somewhat insipid for my liking. Frida is the first of them who aroused a smile within me, as she presents herself with swagger and unbounded freedom of expression.

Frida –
“Everyone will say horse-shit smells like flowers,”she stated, “if they wanted to be popular with a horses’s ass”

Then it became a book for me and I must confess to having thoroughly engaged with the remainder of the book, indeed the rest of it was finished within a day. Trotsky becomes an inspiration for the young Harrison, even providing him with his first typewriter and the space to work in. The text is played as a journal of Harrisons life in effect narrated, but edited and published by the woman who he later engages as a stenographer (Violet), purportedly publishing 50 years after they are both dead. It runs through the 1930’s, the intrigues of Trotskys exile briefly, and the young mans departure to the United States, where he becomes a successful novelist, through to the McCarthy anti-communist purges post second world war, in which Harrison becomes involved. The addition of actual newspaper articles, sprinkled through the veritable witch hunt did not detract from the story at all but rather helped make the novel come alive for me and made me re-think a great deal about what this period in the USA did to its people. It works as an historical snapshot of America at this time. It works as a story of a young man growing through the political turmoils of the war, the politics of communism and developing a talent for writing. It works as a delightful mixture of colourful main characters and some even more colourful cameo characters (who could resist Parthenia Goins as a character name?), into an engaging and challenging read for anyone who likes their fiction tinged with the shades of real world events.

Parthenia – (Violets sister)
“We was all in our family borned with sense. But Violet be the only one to vex herself on wanting to be learned.”

As a reader primarily of fantasy and science fiction this is not an easy qualification for me to give to a book. But only after page 150. I wonder if this was in fact almost two books at some point which got stuck together into one, with the join being painfully too visible.
Other than that I would happily recommend a read.


N.J. Terry.

The Lacuna was purchased from Book People.

Want to know what other bloggers are saying? Heather has THIS TO SAY. PW

A GATE AT THE STAIRS.

Another contender for the Orange Prize.

A GATE AT THE STAIRS by LORRIE MOORE.

Twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin yearns to escape her provincial home. She moves to the college town of Troy to start university and takes a job as a part-time nanny to a glamorous couple. Tassie is drawn into their life and that of their newly adopted toddler. As the household reveals its complications, Tassie is forced out of her naivety, and the past and the future burst forth in dramatic and shocking ways.

....... From the outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: The cold came late that fall and the songbirds were caught off guard.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: I had never feared insomnia before - like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?

Hmm, not too sure all the blurb on the back cover is a true representation of the book as a whole.

I'm finding this very difficult to review this novel as I'm still trying to decide just what it was actually about and whether or not I enjoyed it or not.

The story of a white American couple who adopt (to be honest I'm not sure that the actually do such is my confusion with certain aspects of the plot) a toddler of African-American parentage - A Gate At The Stairs was one of those novels where there is lots of talk, much of it based around race and what it is to be seen to be different, and yet very little actually happening leaving me with the impression that the author was trying to get a message across even if it was at the expense of everything else the novel may have had to offer.

A bit 'preachy' in places and at times challenging and uncomfortable to read. I found some of the scenes between Sarah and Edward (the 'glamorous' couple) particularly hard-going as I was left feeling as if I were listening in on a private conversation not meant for my hearing.

Then there was toddler Emmie who I just couldn't take to despite feeling some empathy for her less than certain start in life. I think the problem here was that the author seemed to know little about two-year-olds and therefore the whole character was unconvincing and just didn't work.

A book I will certainly re-read at some point if only to discover if I get anything more from it on the second reading.

A Gate At The Stairs was purchased from Book People.

READ HEATHER'S THOUGHTS.

BLACK WATER RISING.

BLACK WATER RISING by ATTICA LOCKE.

On a dark night in Houston, Jay Porter hears a scream. Saving a woman from drowning in the bayou, he opens a Pandora's box.

As activist in his youth, now a lawyer and expectant father, this small act of heroism becomes a threat to his work, his family and even his life, yet he can't walk away from the corruption he glimpses. But before he can untangle the mystery that stretches to the highest reaches of corporate power,he must confront the secrets of his past.

..... From the outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: The boat is smaller than he imagined. And dingier.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: Years earlier, Jay had stumbled on his first sit-in on the way to class and decided then and there he'd rather be a part of history than study it.

My first thoughts on this novel being if I wasn't hooked in the first few pages, I was by the time I reached page 80 or thereabouts.

A wonderful debut novel by Attica Locke, it's no surprise it made it onto the Orange Prize short-list. Story-telling at its best, Locke layers layer upon layer to create a story full of suspicion and paranoia.

It is also that very same suspicion and paranoia that, to me, is the book's downfall as it all gets rather tedious and, towards the end, rather implausible, the author seeming to lose her way just over half way through.

Overlong and perhaps too political for my taste, I lost interest in both the plot and the characters, no longer really caring what happened to them.

Sadly lacking a good, strong female lead, I felt that for a women author the two main female characters (Bernie and Cynthia) were pitifully inadequate and poorly written.

A disappointing ending which is a shame as the novel started on such a high note.

Black Water Rising was purchased from Book People.

A good friend of Pen and Paper see HEATHER'S THOUGHTS on Black Water Rising. Oh and do let me know if you have read it, I'd love to hear your views.

AND THE ORANGE PRIZE WINNER IS .......

I was going to bring you a post about this years ORANGE PRIZE winner today - well actually I still am - but first wanted to tell you about Tuesday evening.

My book club normally meets on the first Tuesday of the month but for various reasons we found ourselves meeting on the second Tuesday this month.

A bit of an unusual meeting as as well as the usual discussion on the previous months book(s) we had the pleasure of attending a talk by two of the regions top crime writers - SHEILA QUIGLEY (who actually comes from the same town and well known to Husband dearest) and KEN MCCOY.

Anyway, after an interesting talk in which both writers questioned each other before questions from the floor, we had a quiz. Led to believe it was a crime novel quiz, we thought we had no chance as whilst I do read some crime fiction I'm very selective and it's not a genre Husband dearest reads also the group sitting next to us belonged to a crime readers book club. However, it in fact turned out to be a very short (10 questions) quiz on books in general which we won, our prize being a signed book from each of the authors.

And so onto my main post

The winner of the Orange Prize.

THE LACUNA - BARBARA KINGSOLVER

This was predicted by himself who wanted to bet the mortgage on it but has had no track record in predicting lottery numbers as yet.

Having obtained all 6 SHORT-LISTED BOOKS, between us we have managed to read 3. Look out for my reviews of Black Water Rising (Tomorrow), A Gate On The Stairs (Saturday) and HD's review of The Lacuna (Sunday).

But in the meantime read what 'expert' Catherine Taylor, a fiction reviewer and publisher, has to say about the announcement:-

"There is a sense of surprise and deflation around Barbara Kingsolver's win. Of course judges don't necessarily listen to critics, but her long-awaited The Lacuna was received with respectful disappointment by the majority of its reviewers and quite a few of its readers. Some of these pointed out that this bipartite novel, detailing the final days of Trotsky in the Mexico of Kahlo and Rivera, and the McCarthy witch-hunts in the US of the late 1940s, is actually two separate books – neither of which ultimately works. Added to this is the nagging fact that Kingsolver's 1999 Orange-shortlisted The Poisonwood Bible is, quite simply, a much better work, and whatever Kingsolver has written subsequently will inevitably be compared with that novel.

The Lacuna has sound merits – thorough research, edgy political embroilment, lush imagery – and the Mexican scenes and depictions of the imperious Kahlo, especially, are spot-on. Kingsolver is a gifted and accomplished writer. But in this instance she does not have the scope and sheer audacity of Mantel, where from the opening sentence of Wolf Hall, the reader is plunged into Thomas Cromwell's world in all its viciousness, pragmatism and snatched joy. Nor do we experience the delights of witnessing an interrogative sparkling intellect, as evidenced by my personal favourite on the Orange shortlist, Lorrie Moore's A Gate at the Stairs. Moore's trademark aphorisms and quirky observations meld unforgettably in a sweeping portrait of contemporary America."

SHE AWARDS #1.

I'd never normally buy any of those glossy woman's magazines (at £3+ they are far too expensive and I'm not into fashion and make-up which they tend to be full of) HOWEVER I found myself making an exception with June's edition of SHE magazine. The reason? You got a free book with it which sounded like a fun, 'summer' read.

Anyway, tucked amongst such articles as 'Denim to rock your summer', '3 women and a sperm donor', 'Get beach body confident' and 'Hot new bags: Everyday arm candy you'll love' there was a feature that caught my attention - SHE Inspiring Woman Awards 2010.

"Celebrating the extraordinary achievements of ordinary woman. .......... There could only be one winner for each of the six categories" stated the blurb. Great, I had my Inspirational Women Wednesday* posts for the next few weeks.

WEEK 1 - THE HUMANITARIAN: CAMILA BATMANGHELIDJH Founder of KIDS COMPANY.

Iranian-born Camila has risked her own home three times for her charity - twice remortgaging her house to plug a funds shortage and once when she directed money to her charity instead of her monthly payments. "When it came to court the judge refused to take my flat away when he discovered what I'd done with the money" she says. But her commitment has more than paid off, as Kids Company now helps 14,000 children each year - providing a home from home for children; cooking hot meals, helping with home work, finding them doctors, enabling them to get back into education, finding specialist support and even giving them mobile phones so they can call their mentors at any time.

After training and working as a child psychotherapist for social services, Camila established Kids Company in 1996. She was frustrated by a system that wasn't working and which relied on neglectful parents - themselves the problem - to bring their children to sessions. The results are nothing short of amazing - 96% return to education or employment and this year alone 90 took up university places. "It's a privilege for me to work with these children. They are incredibly courageous, dignified and forgiving. To me life is about that moment you lie on your death bed and think was it worth it, and the answer is 'Blooming yes'" - SHE magazine.

Read more about Kids Company by clicking HERE

NEXT WEEK: The Survivor.

* Inspirational Women Wednesday is a weekly meme over at Aine's THE EVOLVING SPIRIT.

THE BOYS TALE.

THE BOY'S TALE by MARGARET FRAZER.

Who would ever want to harm two young boys, aged five and six? When the boys are half brothers to Henry VI, King of England, the list is long and distinguished. A lady in their mother's household flees with the boys to St. Frideswide's and asks Dame Frevisse to offer them a haven. Unable to refuse children, she takes them in and conceals them.

But as attempts are made on the boys' lives inside St. Frideswide's walls, Dame Frevisse realizes that from the ambitious and the wicked there is no sanctuary.....

... From the inner front cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: The warm summer's afternoon was worn well away.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: 'Not easy at all. Nor simple as it probably ought to be. But then nothing is so simple as it ought to be. Not love or hate or fear or even hope.'

The fifth book in a series of seventeen (click HERE for the complete list), perhaps it all would have made a bit more sense if I had read from book one onwards - but I suspect not.

I love my historical novels and have read many based during this period. What a let down The Boy's Tale proved to be - actually being more about Dame Frevisse then the actual boys who, when all is said and done, played a fairly minor role.

Not a book I enjoyed in any shape or form. Boring is not a word I bandy about readily but, in this instance, I'm afraid it just about sums up the novel.

'History fans will relish every minute' claims Publishers Weekly. 'A good mystery .... excellently drawn' states author Anne Perry. If only I had found the book to be either of these things.

Disappointing with a weak plot and lame, one dimensional characters, it also felt a little strange that so many American spellings were used in a novel set in England in the time of England's King Henry VI. If you want to read a really good novel set at this time, may I suggest you try Philippa Gregory's THE WHITE QUEEN for a far superior read. (Click HERE for my review.)

REBEL-YANKEE V GEORDIE.

I love visiting Kelly, listening in to her THOUGHTS AND RAMBLINGS and I love quizzes so was doubly delighted when I popped over for a cup of tea on Thursday and came across this fun little QUIZ supplied by Kelly - something I just had to take part in, my result in the Rebel-Yankee Language Test?

"41% Dixie. Barely in Yankeedom." (41%? Not too bad I suppose, at least not for a English woman.)

Anyway, it got me to thinking if there was a similar sort of thing on t'net for us Geordies. And of course there is - Based on GEORDIE DIALECT one of the oldest and best loved of Britain's dialects, my result?

"Your overall score: 7/10
Your rating: Lost in translation. You're OK with the more obvious crack* but you're lost for words down the pit."

Care to join me and take part in this fun quiz? Click HERE. Oh and don't forget to let me know how you got on.

*Talk.

21-DAY KINDNESS CHALLENGE.

Just be nicer - scientists say it's the easiest way to improve your health.

I know that all of you are nice people and some of you are really 'into' book challenges so today I thought I'd bring you a new challenge.

According to a new book - supported by the latest scientific evidence - being kind to others has a direct and positive effect on our bodies.

Dr David R Hamilton says kindness changes the brain, improves the health of our hearts, strengthens the immune system and even helps us live longer.

He's written a book on the subject called WHY KINDNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU, and in it he gives an explanation - it's down to evolution.

Dr Hamilton says "Half a million years ago if you wanted some food, you had to go and get it. It would have been a very hostile environment (Has he never shopped on a Saturday? Now that's hostile) with predators (make that people with shopping trolleys) around - so those people living in groups stood a much better chance of thriving and surviving."

Kindness would have helped groups bond and flourish. The unkind would have died out. Natural selection meant that the 'kindness' genes were the ones that survived to be passed on from one generation to the next.

He adds "Those genes are present in us all today."

Which leads me to my challenge.

Last year, a group of 20-somethings launched THE KINDNESS OFFENSIVE, a social experiment, the aims of which are "To have fun, be kind and inspire as many people as possible to do the same."

Co-founder Benny Crane says "Our message is Be Kind - it costs nothing, makes you feel great and cheers people up."

Anyway .........

Most studies show that the significant benefits of kindness kick in after about three weeks. Carry out one good deed a day (What, only 1?) for the next 21 days and keep a record. Here are some suggestions from Dr Hamilton to get you started .....

• Tell someone in a shop or restaurant that they're doing a great job.
• Give the one you love breakfast in bed.
• Buy an extra parking ticket and leave it on the ticket machine for the next person to find.
• Give blood.
• Write a thank-you card to someone.

So how about it? Care to join me in the 21-Day Kindness Challenge? Perhaps you could start by reading my last post and giving the fashion disaster in your life some helpful hints.