We watched this the other night on Blueray. Great film and I love the music.
Only one thing – it’s advertised as “the feel-good film of the decade” so why did I cry my eyes out when it finished?! Although it worked out in the end for Jamal and Latika I just kept thinking about all the other children who were still there in the slums, begging on the streets, being taken advantage of, surviving on scraps and having to grow up far too soon 
If you felt like this too, you might want to consider donating to a charity that helps street children. For example ToyBox or Railway Children. I’m sure there are many others too.
Testing m.wordpress.com
… it sucks to be a working mum …
When it’s Sunday afternoon, and your child is not well, and you’re thinking … what will I do if he’s not well tomorrow, can I work at home, what is on at work that I would miss, what do I do about child 2, do I take her to school and drag him out and then go home again, do I ask my husband … etc … and if there’s a meeting on, there’s the weighing up – is it an important enough meeting to justify asking his grandparents to help? And it’s not just the practicalities of it all, you worry about what your colleagues think … don’t want to be the person they talk about when you’re not there, the person they say is hardly ever there… the one with kids … Another thing is the doubt … if I make the child go to school, what if they are really ill and have a terrible day and its all my fault … or what if they really could have managed school and I let them stay at home, and miss a meeting … Aaaaaargh!!
Fortunately my kids are not ill that much, but it’s not long since Ben was ill before, and now he’s ill again.
So off I go to spend the rest of the evening wondering if he’ll be well enough for school … or not
Funny how I fret about this, whereas my husband is totally unphased…
Update: He’s gone to bed running a temperature, feeling alternately hot and cold and saying his legs and neck ache … I somehow think I will be working at home again tomorrow. I guess he has flu Poor love.
Another Update: He woke in the night with vomiting
I hadn’t knitted for ages, but have got back into it over the last little while. I was trying to finish a cardi I started for Abi ages ago, but the progress was slow, so I skipped back to a cardi I’d started for myself, on big needles with chunky wool. I’ve decided that this is my kind of knitting! 
So much quicker, and that keeps me going – I guess I’m an impatient sort!
This is the pattern
This is the yarn I’m using – Sirdar Denim Ultra, in Denim Blue:
So far I have finished the back and started one of the fronts.
Oops I’ve got a bit behind!
Day 13
Landfill sites are a major source of methane emissions in the UK. Today’s action is to reuse and recycle your waste and compost your food waste to reduce the rubbish destined for landfill sites.
Start here: www.recyclenow.com. If you don’t have somewhere to compost then investigate alternatives with your local authority. Some councils now collect food waste.
I am trying to recycle more. It frustrates me that most of my county has doorstep recycling, but my village doesn’t Apparently there are 2 schemes – one in the north of the county, one in the south, and my village is in between the 2 scheme!! Anyway, I shouldn’t let that stop me should I? We do have a village recycling point, and I should make more of an effort to use it. I haven’t really been thinking about composting, mainly because I don’t really do gardening and thought that as I don’t need compost there’s no point … I hadn’t really thought food waste was so much of a problem as after all it decomposes. But anyway, I’m sure I could make more of an effort there.
Day 14
The action today is to avoid buying products that have lots of packaging. Choose loose products and buy refillable containers where possible.
The average carbon dioxide emissions per person in the UK is 9.8 tonnes, in China 3.2 tonnes, in India 1.2 tonnes and in Malawi less than 0.1 tonnes. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being hit hardest by the impacts of climate change.(Source: The Little Green Data Book, World Bank, 2008)
Well, I shall try, but it is hard. I was thinking about this last time I was shopping and buying apples … I can see that I should avoid the ones where they have 4 nice apples in a kind of carton with plastic wrapped round, but I hope it’s ok to buy a “family bag”? Has a plastic bag but no worse than buying them from the loose apples pile – you’d still need to put them in a bag wouldn’t you? Anyway, this is making me think. When I come to get things for the children for Easter, I will be thinking carefully about the Easter eggs I get, and hope I can get nice gifts but with less packaging.
Today’s action is to defrost your fridge and freezer to maintain efficiency. Allowing space for air to circulate will also help them to run more efficiently.
I’m going to be honest … I’m not doing this. Not today. Maybe sometime.
Take action today by wrapping up: Investigate how you can better insulate your home – cavity wall, solid wall, floor and loft insulation – in some cases this can be subsidised and will help with Home Information Pack and Energy Performance Certificates for landlords and home sellers: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements/Home-insulation-glazing
Around 50 per cent of heat lost in homes is through the walls and loft (if they are not insulated) so insulating wall cavities and lofts helps keep the heat in. (Source: Energy Saving Trust)
This is definitely something I want to look into. We have cavity walls I think, and as far as I know the cavities are empty. We do have loft insulation but it may not be as thick as they recommend these days. I am going to go and have a look at the above link now.
Today’s action is to close the curtains to keep the cold out and the heat in.
Bonus: line your curtains to reduce heat being lost.
Well I do usually shut most of our curtains. So I’m doing ok. Mind you, some of our windows don’t have any curtains, so maybe I should do something about that … hmmm.
Act justly: the world’s poorest people are suffering the most from climate change yet they have contributed the least to the problem. Go to www.tearfund.org/carbonfastaction to speak up for action in the UK and other rich countries to cut their emissions and for help for poor communities to adapt to the changing climate.
Take it further: Tell one friend about the Carbon Fast and encourage them to take today’s campaign action. You can find out more about Tearfund’s climate change campaign at www.tearfund.org/climatechange
Well, blog readers – consider yourself encouraged to take today’s campaign action – go click on that link up there. I’m going to do just that now.
