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26 reasons not to run a marathon

26 reasons not to run a marathon Why not 26.2 reasons, you ask? Well, because there are at least .2 reasons why you should! That’s why. One is because it’s a pretty amazing challenge to overcome – and the second is because when you cross that finish line, for one second you are completely invincible! So – the 26 reasons not to run? I’ll leave those up to you. You already know what they are. That’s not to say that the journey to invincibility is not challenging. What a joke! But it is also, I think,...

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Plea from an Irish Coffee

It’s St Patrick’s Day. Please help me. I’m … well, I’m not too tall, but I’m dark and handsome, I wear a very fetching cream-coloured hat and, let’s face it, I’m really quite delectable. But I’m constantly abused. People treat me like a birthday cake – something to be played with and decorated. At other times I feel like a fairground attraction. I’m not! I’m quite wonderful just the way I am and I’m begging you to help inform the public that I don’t like being mucked around with. I give far more...

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St Patrick’s Day – have you been jinxed?

It’s that time of year again – St Patrick’s Day, when many unsuspecting humans, undoubtedly under the spell of some evil, giggling leprechaun, find themselves drinking green drinks, searching cupboards for green clothing and talking about the luck of the Irish and the cuteness of leprechauns. Wakey! Wakey! You’ve been jinxed! Of course, if you want to drink green Guinness, nobody’s stopping you, but don’t be fooled by the warped cutesy-ness of the leprechaun depicted on your pint glass or on...

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And God created ….

Just a quickie – while we seem to be having a week recognising the lack of my children’s biblical knowledge. I don’t think this blog can conceivably omit Sebastian’s priceless contribution. On the subject of creationism, I hasten to inform you that Adam and Eve were NOT the first people created by God. Long before then, Sebastian has reliably informed us, God created Romeo and Juliet!!!! However, I’m relieved to know that he’s not alone in his knowledge of the...

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Buying into church schooling …

So the topic this term is transport. I was very impressed with Rebecca’s efforts (9 years old). She did a powerpoint presentation all by herself – COMPLETELY unaided – about the Big Lemon Bus. She had a little bit of history and lots of photos of the ‘wedding bus’ and many other uses for the BLB. And there … right in the middle … is a picture of Jesus bearing the cross. The caption reads ‘Also good for the environment’. Suppressing a huge desire...

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Cash in the attic?

Well, I thought so. Maybe. Perhaps? But no! Still, can’t say it wasn’t fun. My 9-year-old has decided she wants to play the oboe. Having a piano, a clarinet, a guitar, a saxophone, a djembe, a recorder, a flute, a bassoon and a drum kit in the house wasn’t enough! No! She wants to learn the oboe! So ………… great excuse to dig out my dad’s old oboe and finally see if I can get something done about it. Shame I wasn’t in a position to make the trip...

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Death by parenting

When did we all become so damned precious? I mean, at what particular point did it all start to go so horribly wrong? Wrong in the sense that we are determined to kill our own children! You know what? For all that the third world countries DON’T have what we do, they are going to end up thriving in one way or another and we – supposedly the wealthier and more knowledgeable countries – will have killed off our offspring to the extent that we will obliterate ourselves. But we’ve...

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New 17-year-old

And what a scary thought that is! Forget about his own enthusiasm today, I’m still recovering from the shock. Wasn’t it only yesterday that I found him hanging upside down out of his electric swing – smiling away and quite obviously enjoying an alternative view of his world? Wasn’t it just last week that I stood in front of him and said ‘Ten seconds to warp core breach’ – and laughed delightedly when he then threw his hands up in the air and made rocket...

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Halloween initiative

Don’t you just love initiative? It’s so refreshing when you watch kids coming up with new ideas, being creative and/or ‘harmlessly’ (key word) ignoring the rules … There’s nothing strange or startling or worthy of frontline news here, but I laughed my head off several times (and I’m still laughing) when Sebastian (12) told me how he’d handled trick or treating this year to maximum gain … Seemingly, he and his pal ran down to the shops earlier...

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Why obesity is rife!

Despair kicked in today as I was waiting in the bakery and a mother in child in front of me had the following conversation: Mother: I’ll get you a carrot cake Child: Aww no, I don’t want carrot cake. I want a doughnut. Mother: You can’t have a doughnut. I’m not going to buy you anything with sugar in! *sigh* Is it no wonder obesity rates have soared? Where do you start?? Note that this lady was actually very well dressed and spoke ‘right proper like’ (kidding)...

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