Kids Go Too

I wish travelling abroad was a cheaper exercise than it is. Don't you just love it when you lock your front door behind you and head off for the airport knowing you will be in a new place some hours later? Visiting new places and seeing new sights is important for broadening one's view of the world and it is even more important for children to experience this. Hence, my wish for travel to become cheaper than it is. I want my daughter to see all the sights that she reads about in her books. Some years ago we visited Berlin before she started studying about WW2 at school. She was fascinated by the Berlin Wall. History came alive for her when she was finally doing it at school. It isn't just about history though. Meeting other people and empathizing with their culture and way of life is important to breaking down barriers between nations.
by
Jane

You can find beauty anywhere!

After a beautiful day in Hampstead Heath I wasn’t exactly pleased to be approaching my council estate, the blocks of flats looked so gray, in fact everything looked gray, Oh if only I thought, If only I could just bring the heath with me and plant it on my doorstep, how wonderful that would be When I noticed a beautiful rose just staring at me through the barbed wire next to the local football pitch. It made me think at how easy it is to just ignore the little things around us that have meaning and importance. Beauty is everywhere! you sometimes just have to dig a little to find it. Or even make a choice to see it. Not only did I stop to look at this rose I then took a close up shot, so I had the pleasure of looking at it again on this blog enjoying the experience even more! Life can be like that just taking the time to think and rethink about something that makes you smile even when you don’t feel like smiling! It makes a difference even if it just a small one. : )

Why do people call London a concrete jungle? With so many beautiful parks around us we are spoilt for choice!

I took my nine year old to a lovely park today, Golders Green Park after that we went to Hampstead Heath and just walked for hours, not without a quick visit to Kenwood House for a light lunch and a slice of victoria sponge cake.
It was a lovely day! The funny part of the day was watching my son roll down the lawn outside Kenwood House. The flowers were beautiful in Golders Green park, and the deers were well kept and nice to watch. The Golders Green coffee shop has great coffee and cakes, but as for it having the best ice-cream in the world I don't think so, my coconut ice cream was not nearly as good as the one I have at wagamamas,but my son did like his mango ice cream. Both parks were lovely with plenty to do. Tomorrow we shall go to the Hampstead Heath ponds and have a swim, and another long walk into the forest telling stories.

By Vivian

My Daughter and in my clothes! No WAY!!
Every now and then I have wondered what happened to an overnight bag with some of my designer clothes, At the time these were my favourite pieces and I wore them to impress, but eventually I changed my style and went for the more casual funky look , my daughter complained that I looked to reserved for my new neighbourhood I understood as I noticed that they tended to wear a more casual look , I actually felt better and more youthful in my new wardrobe which gradually changed over a period of time, I remember packing the clothes away thinking that some day I may wear them again and that was the last time I saw them.
The years went by and occasionally I wondered were id left them did I leave them in the basement I hoped not no way was I going down there with very little light and unwelcome visitors about (mice)!! Or would I be disturbing local teenagers, or worse still would I be sexually harassed by my then over eager neighbour, No I decided it wasn’t worth the bother, so I avoided asking my neighbour for the spare basement key.
It was only yesterday when I decided to clean out one of my cupboards, yes the one you dread most! Overflowing with stuff that you can’t throw away like your children’s school work that had being gathering over the last ten years and even longer, cassette tapes with memo ours, borrowed goods that you wanted to return but cant locate the owners, and toys that your child wants to keep, So there I was empting out the contents of the cupboard hoping to organise it better when I noticed a somewhat mouldy overnight bag , I don’t know why it was mouldy as the cupboard was dry, anyway I pulled it out and inside were some of my old designer clothes that had gone missing, Wow! How strange it was to see them again like old friends greeting me, it was a weird feeling and I wasn’t sure I liked it, that part of my life was over and some of it I wanted to forget! I suddenly noticed the padded shoulders not big pads but little ones like they have now, and thought I must show them to my twenty-two year old daughter, she is someone with expensive taste always like to wear the best and always works hard to make sure she gets the latest uggs, I don’t know why she makes such an effort as to me she’d look good in a bin bag. looking at the clothes she reluctantly took them to her room, about an hour later she came out dressed in one of the jackets and was very excited, she looked stunning!, my clothes fitted her beautifully! She noticed the quality and they looked vintage! She tried them on, and was so excited! I wore the jackets with smarts skirts she tried them on with jeans and they looked great! My daughter is a very generous young lady and I knew she wanted to give back in some way, I really didn’t want any thing, she disappeared into her room and after about an hour reappeared with a very familiar little top and asked if Id like to have it, I did not know whether to laugh or to cry, it was a top and id given her about ten years ago, it was a christmas gift, a Gap top but Id remembered that she’d never liked it but kept it out of consideration for me, I never realised she had kept it for that long and obviously forgotten the story behind it, probably found in the bottom of her own cupboard, I said id try it on and thanked her. Its a strange thing to me, My daughter liking my old clothes, I would never have worn my mothers, but then again she did have great bags and beautiful jewellery. Shame I never got to borrow them! Something you never did in my day! : )

Vivian

Next Generation of Friendship

This is a picture of our children having fun in Trafalgar Square. We love it because it shows one child waiting for the other who is, in turn, making a huge effort to get up to the next level so he can be with his pal. Our friendship carries on through our children into the next generation.

Pass Kindness On

Especially in hard times, we need to remember how powerful one kind gesture can be. When people are losing faith in the economy and in trusted institutions, small acts of unanticipated kindness can help restore faith in the fundamental goodness of mankind.

I like to think of myself as someone who looks for the good in others. I must admit, however, that in the past few years, in a culture where individuals seem to be have become increasingly self-focused, I have gradually become more cynical about peoples’ willingness to reach out and help others but It’s amazing how one simple act of random kindness can create an ongoing ripple effect. We understand how these small acts can help those around us, but here are the reasons why reaching out to someone in need may also benefit you, personally:
•Doing so will help you, in the moment, to forget your own problems.
•You will be acting as a great role model for those around you, and especially for your children.
•You will feel better about yourself as a person.
•You will be helping, one deed at a time, to restore others’ faith in humanity.

This was written by Maud Purcell who is an American psychotherapist, as well as a trained Coach and Corporate Consultant. She is the owner of Maud Purcell & Associates Inc.

Dressing up for an occasion

For the last few weeks I’ve been hunting for a suitable dress for a wedding I thought that this would be easy and fun, but unfortunately it ended up being very discouraging, I was on a budget so that didn’t help, but looking for a bargain is part of the fun so that was not an issue at first.
I decided that Oxford Circus was the place to go shopping and my first visit was to Miss Selfridge! yes don’t laugh I did learn a lesson, I picked out some lovely dresses only to find that they were too shot, too tight, not suitable at all! having said that it really depends on the individual not your age, I’ve never worn a mini in my life and don’t intend to start now, I’m more of a pencil skirt lady, non of that in miss Selfridge! lots of pretty tops! But not suitable for a wedding!
So off I went to the big stores John Lewis, Debenhams, House of Frazer, but I was terribly disappointed nearly all the dresses were the wrong colour or worse still really boring I can only describe them as box like dresses I have referred to these already in my “what to wear when you hit forty” post! Dresses to depress you! Is what I call them? Anyway I must have lost a few pounds running up and down Oxford Circus, Refusing to give up I was desperate! At this stage I was really worried. It took quite a few visits to oxford circus before I managed to find the right dress I was subject to the changing rooms with their awful mirrors! My mirrors at home don’t upset me like that so I seriously wondered why these stores had mirrors that we’re designed to make you wish you had stayed at home or exercised a lot more ! Why don’t they have mirrors’ to flatter! Anyway I got over it as you do! Finally I spotted a Ted Baker dress it was peach and pencil shaped perfect! I was afraid to try it on unless it looked awful it had no sleeves which bothered me, not happy to have bingo wings on display! Well it was lovely even with the bingo wings. Great now I have the dress next come the shoes, I never realised just how time consuming it is to dress up for a special occasion! It’s so much easier to dress up jeans and shorts! It is however a great way to get fit! Providing you don’t stop to have that coffee and cake!

By Vivian