The scale of Ireland’s financial crisis is chilling. A government panel of economic experts yesterday proposed huge spending cuts, including the axing of 5 per cent of all public sector jobs. Things are not quite that bad in Britain. But … (The Times)
Wearable Food
Small modelling a chocolate 99. We are big on wearable food here, my speciality is the egg and bacon sandwich tie.
Irony
From Every Parent Matters Letter from then Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, March 2007 Parents and the home environment they create are the single most important factor in shaping their children’s well-being, achievements and prospects. We know that the overwhelming majority of parents want to do the very best for their children. We know that the […]
Historic Hunger Figures
World hunger is projected to reach a historic high in 2009 with 1,020 million people going hungry every day, according to new estimates published by FAO today. The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes […]
We built a beach
We live so far from the seaside, the poor little souls had to make their own.
A Little Spring Cleaning
We have a bench, a rather sad bench, covered in lichen. We will let it dry, clean off the last bits of lichen, wash it down and then it can be oiled. Big really worked hard and happily at a not terribly nice job. I think she found it very rewarding seeing the improvement she […]
Why numbers no longer win arguments
… Our treatment of numbers is not like our treatment of the old. It’s hard, except in rare cases, to be outraged by abused statistics. And in truth there’s nothing new here. But we’d do well to remember that numbers often represent people. To be careless of how we describe them in figures is to […]
Why point the finger at home-educators?
We should not be surprised that schools are the latest instrument for checking up on families, says Bernard Trafford … In the storm of outrage that followed the tragedy of Baby P, fingers were bound to be pointed. Inexplicably, they are now being pointed at home-educators. The estimated 20,000 parents who choose to educate their […]
Photo blogging from the coast
One little job once we had done some basic unpacking was to see if all the bits of my backpacking tent, which has been packed away for years, were present and correct. The tent is pretty much bomb proof. Tested in gales at Wasdale Head and elsewhere. We have been to the little local park. […]
Betrayal…
I’ve been at the Times again. Two articles that caught my eye: This:- This country’s education system is a betrayal of this country’s children. It blunts their intelligence, narrows their perspectives and blasts their future prospects. How often does that need to be said? Of course it is not universally true; many children defy the […]