Firstly a warning and disclaimer:If you're an avid Republican or in the least bit offended by an English person commenting on American politics, please, please stop reading now. These are the ramblings of a "limey" on the other side of the Pond - and a girl at that!
Now on with the ramble.Clearly, having watched the full seven series of The West Wing several times over does not make us experts in US politics; and we would never dream of claiming such an accolade. But we do take an active interest in what goes on in America, quite simply because whomever gets elected once in every four years to reside in one of the most prominent houses in the world can make a huge impact upon every single person living in the "free" world.
To us, Donald Trump is a constant source of bewilderment. Allegedly the outstanding front-runner in the race for the Republican Party nomination, he persists in making some of the most outrageous statements ever in the history of publicised election races. For example, I'm not sure anyone has been as outwardly and publicly racist since Andrew Jackson.
His latest latest statement "I could shoot somebody and wouldn't lose voters" begs the thought.... why is he even considering such an act, let alone making it a part of his election campaign? This guy comes across, rightly or wrongly, as possibly the most arrogant, not to mention dangerous, contender yet.
Our question therefore is this.....Is he really serious about being POTUS, or is this just some sort of game to him - to see how much money he can spend on a Presidential campaign without any real intention of seeing it through? Are we going to get to Super Tuesday and suddenly find that he mysteriously drops out of the race because he's bored with his latest dalliance? Or is he doing it simply to prove the point that if you have enough money, the world really can be yours to own and lead; and once he's President, he'll then pass a law which makes him supreme benevolent dictator of the universe?
I guess either way, this will be one of the most widely followed years of American politics to date; and I for one will be taking a much greater interest in the nuances of each speech over the coming months.
Sunday 24 January 2016
Tuesday 12 January 2016
The not-so-nice side of parenting
A bit of background is necessary here.
I have one daughter who will be 17 in April. I was married to her father for 12 years and did my best to make it work. But in the end, his abuse towards me became too much to bear. I hasten to add that he has never shown the same abuse towards our daughter.
We agreed that after our split, neither parent would move away from the other until our daughter reached the age of 16. We both stuck to that.
But at the end of last year, I had the chance, with my new husband to move about 35 miles away to what we now refer as our "Forever Home"
The move had been planned for a long time - almost a whole year - and we included our daughter in the whole process. When she was choosing colleges to go to, we showed her a college near each home. The colleges were very different in style and subjects offered, so our hope was that she would be able to choose between them objectively, without worrying about choosing which parent with whom she would live. She chose the college near her father.
I then made sure that she knew that no matter what, she would still always have a home with us. There was much talk of her spending half a week with her father while at college and the other half with us. But as we got closer to the move, there were more and more excuses as to why she couldn't achieve this. Once we did move, it was clear within a few weeks that she just wasn't going to bother.
Now, a few weeks after Christmas, I saw an advert for a part-time job locally. Knowing that her own job was causing problems due to lack of hours, I sent her the details. Her response was at best evasive; but giving her the benefit of the doubt, I sent her more information about the location. It was then that she simply said she wasn't interested.
My heart is broken. But I cannot tell her this. As a parent, I am bound to let my child make her own way in life and to be there when she needs me. This is a pain like no other. I am blessed to have a child of whom I am proud; but to have her push me away is just so awful, it defies description.
I have one daughter who will be 17 in April. I was married to her father for 12 years and did my best to make it work. But in the end, his abuse towards me became too much to bear. I hasten to add that he has never shown the same abuse towards our daughter.
We agreed that after our split, neither parent would move away from the other until our daughter reached the age of 16. We both stuck to that.
But at the end of last year, I had the chance, with my new husband to move about 35 miles away to what we now refer as our "Forever Home"
The move had been planned for a long time - almost a whole year - and we included our daughter in the whole process. When she was choosing colleges to go to, we showed her a college near each home. The colleges were very different in style and subjects offered, so our hope was that she would be able to choose between them objectively, without worrying about choosing which parent with whom she would live. She chose the college near her father.
I then made sure that she knew that no matter what, she would still always have a home with us. There was much talk of her spending half a week with her father while at college and the other half with us. But as we got closer to the move, there were more and more excuses as to why she couldn't achieve this. Once we did move, it was clear within a few weeks that she just wasn't going to bother.
Now, a few weeks after Christmas, I saw an advert for a part-time job locally. Knowing that her own job was causing problems due to lack of hours, I sent her the details. Her response was at best evasive; but giving her the benefit of the doubt, I sent her more information about the location. It was then that she simply said she wasn't interested.
My heart is broken. But I cannot tell her this. As a parent, I am bound to let my child make her own way in life and to be there when she needs me. This is a pain like no other. I am blessed to have a child of whom I am proud; but to have her push me away is just so awful, it defies description.
Monday 4 January 2016
And another thing...
A new app to monitor the amount of sugar in drinks. Seriously?
Allegedly this is the new, fantastic initiative to encourage children to take more notice of the sugar content of their drinks.
At what point does the Government actually believe children will care?
If obesity in children is an issue (pretty much a certainty) then get them outdoors running / climbing / playing sports / swimming, don't give them another reason to stay indoors glued to their electronic devices. Get sports and PE back on the school curriculum - every day, for all children, no matter how young or old. Put more emphasis on joining school sports teams, get them battling the teams at other schools. And at the same time, start to instil the long-lost competitive instinct which means we no longer win national competitions as often.
There was so much hype in post-olympic 2012 about getting our children involved in sports again; but four years later, how much has really happened?
I know I was a child in the ice age (according to my daughter anyway.) But sports for me as a child were a daily requirement. We could eat almost anything in moderation; but very few of us were really fat, let alone obese. And bear in mind that our diet included much more saturated fat, as well as the vilified sugar.
So, enough with the "trendy" apps and computer programmes. Get children outdoors, get them fitter and able to burn off what they eat. :)
Allegedly this is the new, fantastic initiative to encourage children to take more notice of the sugar content of their drinks.
At what point does the Government actually believe children will care?
If obesity in children is an issue (pretty much a certainty) then get them outdoors running / climbing / playing sports / swimming, don't give them another reason to stay indoors glued to their electronic devices. Get sports and PE back on the school curriculum - every day, for all children, no matter how young or old. Put more emphasis on joining school sports teams, get them battling the teams at other schools. And at the same time, start to instil the long-lost competitive instinct which means we no longer win national competitions as often.
There was so much hype in post-olympic 2012 about getting our children involved in sports again; but four years later, how much has really happened?
I know I was a child in the ice age (according to my daughter anyway.) But sports for me as a child were a daily requirement. We could eat almost anything in moderation; but very few of us were really fat, let alone obese. And bear in mind that our diet included much more saturated fat, as well as the vilified sugar.
So, enough with the "trendy" apps and computer programmes. Get children outdoors, get them fitter and able to burn off what they eat. :)
Sunday 3 January 2016
Learning your times tables...
It was announced by the UK Government today that children would soon be trialling an initiative to have all their times tables up to 12 learnt by the time they leave primary school.
The announcement made it appear that this was a "new and exciting" idea. It clearly isn't. And it's only a trial!
I know I sound like a cantankerous old git; but this was normal when I was young. In fact, we had to know our times tables before we got to junior school at the age of seven. When my daughter was in primary school, they made a half-hearted effort at doing this, but it was never really enforced. As parents, we tried and tried to help her learn them - and to this day, she knows 7 x 8 instantly; but not many of the others.
My point? If I have one, it's that I wish the Government would stop messing about with the whole education system. Mr Gove did his best to destroy the last remains of good teaching by decimating what remained of the support teachers received and giving them all such unachievable targets and requirements. Now we are left with disgruntled, over-worked teachers and children who are taught to pass an exam, not to learn a subject.
Yes, learning times tables is an integral part of basic mathematics. Yes, it forms a vital part of life in general when children finally lift their eyes above their smart phones. But no, on its' own, it will not cure what is wrong with the educational system. This has gone far beyond the point it can be fixed with one small change. We need someone in charge who has the "balls" to challenge everything which has changed over the past decade. So let's face it, that's not going to happen any time soon and my sympathy therefore goes out to all children and parents of those children in the education system over the next decade. And my heart goes out to all the teachers, because they will continue to do their best against all the odds, but will never get the recognition they deserve for all they do.
The announcement made it appear that this was a "new and exciting" idea. It clearly isn't. And it's only a trial!
I know I sound like a cantankerous old git; but this was normal when I was young. In fact, we had to know our times tables before we got to junior school at the age of seven. When my daughter was in primary school, they made a half-hearted effort at doing this, but it was never really enforced. As parents, we tried and tried to help her learn them - and to this day, she knows 7 x 8 instantly; but not many of the others.
My point? If I have one, it's that I wish the Government would stop messing about with the whole education system. Mr Gove did his best to destroy the last remains of good teaching by decimating what remained of the support teachers received and giving them all such unachievable targets and requirements. Now we are left with disgruntled, over-worked teachers and children who are taught to pass an exam, not to learn a subject.
Yes, learning times tables is an integral part of basic mathematics. Yes, it forms a vital part of life in general when children finally lift their eyes above their smart phones. But no, on its' own, it will not cure what is wrong with the educational system. This has gone far beyond the point it can be fixed with one small change. We need someone in charge who has the "balls" to challenge everything which has changed over the past decade. So let's face it, that's not going to happen any time soon and my sympathy therefore goes out to all children and parents of those children in the education system over the next decade. And my heart goes out to all the teachers, because they will continue to do their best against all the odds, but will never get the recognition they deserve for all they do.
What's it all about?
This isn't necessarily going to be about parenting; in fact, the last thing I am able to do is preach about being a good parent - I am, at best, a normal one! This is my way to vent at the world in general and to be a part of my "therapy."
So who am I?
I'm happily married (second time around) with a 16 year-old-daughter. My childhood, first marriage and subsequent relationship all contributed to various breakdowns; and what has become a rather unique view on life. My husband and I have just moved from Bournemouth to a small town on the edge of the New Forest, which has been our dream for many years; the only downside being that my daughter has stayed with her father in Bournemouth. I'm heartbroken. My dream is tainted; but I'm determined to get it right.
Hopefully this blog will form part of my journey towards serendipity.
So who am I?
I'm happily married (second time around) with a 16 year-old-daughter. My childhood, first marriage and subsequent relationship all contributed to various breakdowns; and what has become a rather unique view on life. My husband and I have just moved from Bournemouth to a small town on the edge of the New Forest, which has been our dream for many years; the only downside being that my daughter has stayed with her father in Bournemouth. I'm heartbroken. My dream is tainted; but I'm determined to get it right.
Hopefully this blog will form part of my journey towards serendipity.
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