Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 88

Christmas Number One

You know how, in the old days, all the Radio DJ's would have their 'record-of-the-week' (ha! records) and then at this time of year their personal Christmas Number One. For all I know they still do, only I gave up listening long ago. But I'm not going to let that stop me picking this as my Christmas number one. It deserves to be. And not just because the vid was made on Sleaford High Street.



It's dark outside; there's a hurricane coming; there'll be travel disruption; and I've still not done my Christmas shopping. But this'll cheer you up, I guarantee. This'll make you feel all Christmassy. Go on. Click 'play'.













Am I right?

Happy Families

As you'll know if you're a blogger (or be able to guess if you're a regular reader) I get a fair number of PR emails. Most I can bin fairly quickly - those that address me as 'Dear Mummy' for example, or those that talk about some fantastic new product or whizzy new initiative which has all the relevance of a bag of damp raffle tickets.



Sometimes, something comes along I like but can't do very much about. Either the subject doesn't fit or I've got posts scheduled and can't make a deadline. I can't test drive maternity clothes, for instance (so please stop asking!) and I'd rather not have to delve into the nether regions of the lingerie range unless I really have to but, well, you'd be surprised what a daddy blogger is sometimes asked to do.



Then, last week, an email arrived about this: The Centre for the Modern Family. Launched today by Scottish Widows, this new think-tank comprising of academics and experts such as Tanya Bryon, Katherine Rake and Dr Samantha Callan (to name but three) intends to help further our understanding of what - in twentieth-first century Britain - a family is.



Of course, the Daily Mail doesn't see it that way. Their headline this morning, heralding the launch, claims that these 'experts are trying to kill off the traditional family'. They're not, of course. What they're doing is examining the state of the modern British family. And what they're finding - unsurprisingly - is that the so-called nuclear family with its cosy certainties is almost certainly finished. Nobody but the Daily Mail could really think otherwise. Working in schools for over twenty years I've dealt with a variety of different family types and - anecdotally - can certainly relate to the changing pattern of family life in the UK.



Because although it's true that sixty per cent of families living with school-age children are still headed by two married parents, over half of the 3000 people questioned in this survey no longer believe that a couple with children have to be married. And three-quarters believe that single parents count as a 'proper' family and almost sixty per cent believe that same sex couples can be regarded in the same way.



But such views aren't always welcome - and not just by the Daily Mail. One of the saddest statistics is that a quarter of the people surveyed feel that their family unit - whether single-parent, reconstituted, same-sex or whatever - isn't valued by society at large while almost a fifth of those questioned feel judged by other people because of their personal family circumstances.



And with articles like this morning's Daily Mail example, is is any wonder?



Sad, though. And with Christmas coming up too. Because, as Laurie Lee once wrote, 'Christmas is the family and the family the child...'



I think we parent-bloggers should start a family fight back - a campaign of our own to celebrate all that's good and caring and nourishing and safe about families however they're constructed. If you're interested, leave a comment and I'll get back to you when I've given it some more thought.



Because whatever anyone says, we're nothing without our families. There's no more important social institution and probably never will be.



Let's celebrate - not denigrate - the family.










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O Tannenbaum

Or Weihnachtsbaum, if you'd rather. Either way, It's kept us amused today. Got yours up yet?

Christmas is coming!

The goose is getting fat. But not as fat as the banker.



Anyway, apropos my anti-capitalist post the other day I've decided to set my store by some money-saving tips this Christmas. Did you know that the average spent on presents per child - per child - is over £200? No, nor did I. But shocked I most certainly was. To be honest, I was also a little bit surprised to be told that the equivalent sum twenty years ago was £75. So I was more than happy to take up Ideolo's Christmas Stocking challenge and see if I could stick to that budget in buying presents for all three of my children.



The good news is, with Idealo it's a doddle. They've sponsored this post, but I'm quite happy to say that I'll be using the site regularly from now on. For a start, it's so darned easy. You don't need to register; there's no pesky log in; you just search for the item you're purchasing and get a comprehensive list of price comparison information. The home page is organised into categories so you can browse with ease, but if you know what you're looking for then you can search for it and come up with just about each and every online retailer, choose the best price (or service - you might, for example, want to pay a little more to get faster delivery) click the link and in seconds you're on the retailer's site - Amazon, eBay, Argos, John Lewis or whoever it might be. Honestly, Christmas shopping could not be simpler. Or cheaper.



They've asked me to link to the things I've bought. So I will. But I'm not telling you what they are, still less posting a picture. You see, it's a secret. But someone's going to be very excited on Christmas Day when they open one of these. And someone is going to enjoy adding this to their Scalextric circuit. Someone else might enjoy blocking out the noise of Christmas day toys with a pair of these. There's something for everyone. And all for just £75.



Right, that just leave me to do some wrapping. Christmas Carols, anyone? Here's one I recorded earlier - in September in fact - for the 'Shadows of a Stranger' soundtrack...

Strike, strike, strike!

I'm not going to say much about the strike. Just this. First, I've never taken a day's industrial action in my life. But that's just because I've never been working when they've been taken. Second, the one serious muscle public sector workers can flex is to withdraw their labour. We can't hold the government to ransom because we've gambled away everyone's money and yet still pay ourselves an enormous bonus, like our friends the bankers.



Ok, enough strike. What I really want to say - and the two things aren't unconnected - is this. Stop wanting more stuff, people. Be content. Most of us (and I wouldn't dream of preaching to those less fortunate) get by well enough. We're fed; we're warm; we don't walk around in tatters; we have telly, books, iPods, smart-phones. We're doing alright.



I've said it before and I'll say it again - why do we need to expect more? The OECD yesterday predicted a 'double-dip' recession for Britain; government growth forecasts are again down. But why - if someone could explain this I'd be very grateful - does the economy need constantly to 'grow' in order for us to be successful?



There's enough stuff out there for everyone. We could share it out a bit more evenly if we tried, but most of us probably don't want to. But why must we always want more? If everything stayed tickety-boo and there was no year-on-year growth then there'd also be no increase in unemployment; inflation wouldn't eat our savings; interest rates would be low (as they are now) and we'd need no more pay because stuff wouldn't cost us any more. (I know, incidentally, that this doesn't take account of our enormous debt as a nation, but that's another matter. It's the sacred cow of economic growth I'm locking horns with here, and it's not an especially comfortable position to be in!)



Come on Evan Davis, if you're reading. You're an economist. I've studied economics too, both at 'A' level and as an undergraduate. I know the maths; I've seen the curves. But I still don't understand why we've all got to have more, grow fatter, earn better, eat bigger, drive faster year-on-year in order to be counted as a 'successful' nation. Why not embrace the status quo? What's wrong with contentment? Why not accept the principle of working to maintain our living standards, salaries, lifestyles as they are without this constant need to get bigger and better?



I realise it's this striving for 'better' that's driven humanity onwards and upwards for the last 150,000 years. I realise, too, that without economic 'growth' there'd be no fat annual bonus for the blessed bankers. But I'm starting to think that this malaise is linked to everything we do, everything our children see on TV and then demand from Santa, linked to this vague idea most of us have that in spite of everything we've already got we just need something else to make our lives complete, to make us happy, to make us whole.



Most of us don't. And for most of us, whatever we get it won't. If we aren't happy now a new house or car or smartphone probably won't make any difference. And this time next year there'll be something else we think we need to make our lives complete.



And with that thought, ladies and gentlemen, I'd better leave you to your Christmas shopping.



Here endeth today's sermon.



Ho, ho, ho!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

No, not him. Not yet. Him...






You might remember a few weeks ago I posted about the Green Giant 5-a-Day campaign. As part of their efforts to get us all to eat five a day, every day the Green Giant was in Manchester on the 29th and 30th October and almost two hundred families gave him a High-5.







Colin Jackson was there meeting the audience, High 5-ing the Giant and hurdling a Giant sweet corn!








There's plenty of information about the campaign over on the Green Giant Facebook page and the winner of my own competition (to win an Abel & Cole veg box) will be announced very shortly. 




In the meantime, I think I'd better start re-classifying 'Bringing up Charlie' as a food blog.




And if you'll excuse me, all this talk of food is making me hungry.  


This is a sponsored post

Diet? What Diet?

Forgive me Claire (she's my Tesco Diets nutritionist) for I have sinned. I have erred and strayed from the ways of my special healthy type-2 diabetes reducing menu like a lost sheep. I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own stomach. I have offended against thy dietary laws and have left uneaten those things that I ought to have eat(en) and eaten those things which I ought not to have eat(en). And there is (probably) no health (or not as much as there should be) in me.



If you're not familiar with Thomas Cranmer's magisterial prayer book prose you'll probably wonder what on earth I'm on about. So I'll tell you. I'm on a diet. For three weeks I've been asked to stick to a special 'healthy' meal-planner provided by Tesco Diets as part of their £s for lbs campaign. And I've enjoyed it. As I said at the outset, having meals planned, new and exciting menus provided and (if you want it, and I do) a direct link to Tesco Online who then deliver all the ingredients to my door has been nothing short of jolly exciting. And some of the meals have been stupendous. Look at this, for example:







But...



But...



Oh dear.



It was the pork scratchings that did it. We were out last night watching Santa switch on the Christmas lights and, well, the walk with Sally to collect some piano music afterwards was long and, well, the shop was inviting and, well you know the rest... Although, on my return, I did cook a very tasty fruity chicken curry as recommended (and from scratch, I might add) I then fell spectacularly off the wagon by washing it down with several bottles of Henry Weston's Vintage Special Reserve er, apple juice. You know the sort.



And I was doing so well...



And enjoying it, too.



(Ok, I haven't yet made the chickpea stew from week one but it doesn't matter - if you don't fancy a particular meal there are endless alternatives.)



So, it's back to the austerity diet today for me. I say 'austerity' but it isn't that really. In fact, it's almost anything but. No, 'tasty' would be a better adjective.



Just not quite as tasty as those pork scratchings.



Oh, the temptations of forbidden fruit. I know I'm not the first. And I probably won't be the last. And just look what it did for Eve...









Does my bum look big in this?

No comment(s)

Why do you blog? I know it's a bit early for such existential musings. And, of course, you may be reading this and saying, 'I don't'. Lots of people do. Read this - and other blogs, that is - without being bloggers. But it's the bloggers in particular I'm asking because they tend to be the ones who leave comments. And comments, feedback, dialogue, discussion - it's one of the reasons I blog, or I thought it was. That, and maintain a regular writing habit. Oh and an online 'author platform' (as the publicists call it). Oh and I almost forgot, there's my original reason - sharing. Sharing pics and milestones with family and friends who live far away.



But back to comments. I enjoy getting comments. We all do (I suspect). It's a bit like getting letters from your readers - even the ones written in green ink are worth having. I don't deliberately court them; I know there are things you can do (I've read about them on other blogs) like end posts with a question but unless that happens to be an essential part of whatever I'm writing it seems artificial. I realise some posts by their very nature will stir people into action and others, well , speak for themselves. And I'm fine with all that. What I would like is to be able to predict with some accuracy which posts will and which posts won't. And I can't. I really can't tell.





Some bloggers, of course, get loads all the time. And the comments are often as good as the posts. Some bloggers are very good at commenting on other people's sites; I'm not - or haven't been of late - partly because with two pre-schoolers in the house I'm reading on my phone most of the time, and commenting there ain't easy. With Twitter, of course, there's an added dimension to the discussion - people frequently refer to a post in a tweet rather than sign in and write a comment, which is fair enough and just as welcome.  




And even if they're not commenting, people are certainly reading. Posts have been getting a stack of hits lately and I've fairly zoomed up the Tots100 rankings (three hundred and something places!). Lots of folks are reading. But there's not a lot of talking. I know I answer most of my own questions most of the time. It's a dirty rhetorical habit I've been trained to do. And - as I said - I enjoy comments when they come. But I find I'm perfectly relaxed about the posts that don't seem to get the same kind of attention. It's a bit like the comfortable silence you enjoy with somebody you know really well. There isn't the need to fill the silence with words. Sometimes, just being there is enough. As Philip Larkin once wrote, 'nothing to be said' is sometimes more than enough. And...






...saying so to some 

Means nothing; others it leaves 

Nothing to be said.










But would I go as far as some have done and remove the comment box completely? 




No comment!

Sunday Supplement

A few weeks ago someone got in touch offering us a 'half-term' in a box. Now, I don't know about you but our half-term 'out of the box' was busy enough what with trips to the National Railway Museum, the Natural History Museum and a Scalextric Spectacular to fit in. Then it was school again and, well, half-term in a box stayed right there until just recently.



Now, however, the nights are well and truly drawing in; it's colder; the park shuts earlier. So we got half-term out of its box and had a play. Among other things, the box consisted of a Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure starter kit.



Although we're not big gamers here, the advantage of this particular item is that it comes with an interactive display stand called, rather grandly, the 'Portal of Power'. Now the manufacturers might say that this serves as 'a mystical as a gateway between our world and the amazing world of the Skylanders' allowing players to 'teleport real-world toy characters directly into the game' but we - you and I, parents of several children some of whom are far too young for such things - know different. Yes. We know that the Skylanders 'Portal of Power' is a cunning means to let the player play the game while keeping younger, irritating siblings amused. Which, translated, means Sally gets to play (she loves it) while Charlie does the 'teleporting' with the figurines.






And they - the figures - are actually rather good: well-crafted, robust enough for toddler handling and genuinely interactive. Honestly, the fun a three-year-old can have just putting them on and off the 'Portal of Power' (it pains me to keep typing that!) is seemingly endless. He's too young for the game proper, of course. But he finds Spyro (a sort-of junior dragon-type creature) and his chums rather entertaining.



Eloise, meanwhile, is into much simpler pleasures. And so, if truth be told, is Charlie as you can hear by the ever-increasing urgency of his asking, 'can I push her' in this short film of tranquil joy, taken a few weeks ago. Before the park shut its gates at half-past-three.

Children in Need

So, it's that time of year again - news readers doing dance routines, weather forecasters dressed up as cartoon characters and people up and down the country submitting themselves to public waxings or other outrageous humiliations. All in a good cause.



If you haven't the courage or the time to have your chest waxed or sit in a bath of beans for half a day don't worry. There are other simpler, less painful ways to give. Like this, for example:







This year, as a first for any charity, supporters can give directly through the Official Pudsey Bear Facebook page and every donation goes towards 'baking' the world's biggest digital cake! Donations of £1, £5, £10 and £20 go towards baking decorations, icing, fillings and tiers and there are already plenty to see, including some special layers featuring exclusive footage from The One Show, EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing, and The Graham Norton Show plus special footage of the BBC Children in Need POP Goes the Musical performances from the London's West End.



What, as they say, could be simpler? It's certainly a lot less messy than the baked beans. And on a not unrelated subject you might remember that, this time last year, my own charity-fundraising publishing initiative Dotterel Press released it's first title, an anthology of simply awesome new writing by the most talented and gifted writing students on my creative writing e-course. And, if you were inspired by what you read, you could follow their example and follow the course yourself, contained in the book's appendix.







There are still some copies of Tiny Acorns left, now at the bargain price of just £5 post-free from our own online store. And EVERY PENNY of that will be going to Children in Need. I reckon we've got approaching fifty copies left, so that could be a not-inconsiderable £250 by the time they've all gone. If you haven't got yours yet, what better time could there be - you save approximately half the price and Children in Need get all the money. And if you did buy one last year, maybe you'd like to buy one as a gift for a friend? Especially one who'd like to take up creative writing.



You can order a copy a this special price right here and you can find out more about it here.



Again, it's got to be better than baked-bean bathing or chest-hair waxing.



Hasn't it?