Who has heard the saying: ” Football is a game for gentlemen played by ruffians and rugby is a game for ruffians played by gentlemen”? Ruffians meaning tough, dirty Well, I had, but never quite got what it meant. I got the game for ruffians bit: rugby can be a rough game indeed. But where […]
learning
Learning to read
Two weeks ago I had the privilege to help out with the Oxfordshire Children’s Read-a-thon. An amazing event aimed at re-enthusing children about reading. In preparation for the event and talking to the inspirational Anne Wattam, whose brainchild the whole event was, I kept on being confronted by shocking literacy figures. The current system to […]
Lessons from a windmill visit
Cold air is heavier than warm air. Most of us know this…but did you know cold air drives a windmill faster than warm air? Apparently the light breeze we had yesterday wouldn’t have moved the sails of the St Anna windmill in the summer. Instead we had a beautifully spinning windmill. We learnt this and […]
Blogging … Mum on the brink has been nominated for an award
. . I’ve been nominated and then honoured by being selected as a finalist for the Gurgle awards 2011 on Gurgle.com, (sponsored and supported by Mothercare and ELC). I am one of the 5 finalist in the Best mummy blog writer category ( “for the mummy blogger who has a way with words: we’re looking to […]
Silent Sunday- 14 Aug 2011
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Thought of the day
. . I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein How can we ensure that we nurture the imagination of the next generation? . . .
How many languages do your children speak?
– We are a multilingual family, not even bilingual, but trilingual. This means we usually have three languages flying around in the house at any one time- English, Hungarian and Dutch. My mother tongue is Hungarian, Oh-so-lovely-Daddy is Dutch and neither of us speaks the other’s language, so we speak English. We met, married and […]
What lurks in the garden
– Turning off the garden tap I had to jump… because a little green frog jumped out from just beside my hand. I resisted the urge to scream (thinking of having to set a positive example), then quickly summoned the Littlins. They were over joyed that by the sight. Little Man, as always, wanted to […]
Do you let your children watch the News?
– This is the question Danielle Smith asked on Strollerderby (babbleblogs). And I found myself pondering exactly this same question – “Is it appropriate?”- during the news coverage of the recent horrific events in Norway (the bomb attack in Oslo and shooting spree on Utoeya island claiming 76 innocent lives on 22nd July) : The family was […]
Chicken Gallery
– Here’s our adventure in keeping chickens thus far: Is that really a Chicken house inside? A heap of wood to be turning into a chicken coup and a small run We are almost there! We can highly recommend Farmer Mike Very happy chicken at New Barn Farm. So who wants to come home with […]