Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 95
July 21, 2011
One small step for man...
I was the same age as Charlie is now when Neil Armstrong uttered those immortal words. I'm not sure I can remember seeing him take that first small step, but I can remember the excitement of subsequent Apollo moon landings. My parents often used to wake me up and bring me downstairs to watch either a man bobbing along on the lunar surface or else a spectacular splashdown some days later and I'm glad they did: those black-and-white memories are history - literally. And today, of course, with the return of Atlantis, another page of that particular book is closed. We sat and watched the launch a couple of weeks ago; we sat and watched the safe return this morning. And I hope Charlie remembers something.
Perhaps one day we'll go to Florida (or California, or Washington) and see one of those amazing crafts ourselves. I vividly remember queueing half-way around Queen's Gardens in Hull as a small boy with my dad for the privilege of filing respectfully past the tiny re-entry module that had safely brought one of the Apollo mission's astronauts back to earth. Until then, we'll have to make do with the YouTube clips. Here, in case you missed it, is this morning's moment of history...
Perhaps one day we'll go to Florida (or California, or Washington) and see one of those amazing crafts ourselves. I vividly remember queueing half-way around Queen's Gardens in Hull as a small boy with my dad for the privilege of filing respectfully past the tiny re-entry module that had safely brought one of the Apollo mission's astronauts back to earth. Until then, we'll have to make do with the YouTube clips. Here, in case you missed it, is this morning's moment of history...
July 20, 2011
Toddler Group Survival Tips
As my final post for the Born Free panel, I've written something that might amuse those of you who, like me, sometimes find the whole experience of toddler groups more trouble than it's worth. I mean, we know why we go; we know what the benefits are; but - oh boy! - if you sit in someone else's chair it can mean war. And what do you do when you're in the middle of a conversation being carried on across your lap, one you've not even been invited to join in? Well, you can find out here.
Meanwhile, if you'd rather not go there and read that I've got something right here for you if you're interested. Bubbles...
Meanwhile, if you'd rather not go there and read that I've got something right here for you if you're interested. Bubbles...
July 19, 2011
Philips AVENT Baby Food Steamer/Blender
Occasionally - very occasionally - you come across a product so ingenious, so practical and so useful you wonder how you managed without it. In the case of the recently introduced Philips AVENT steamer/blender you wonder too why nobody had thought of it before. The idea of combining a steamer and a blender for making baby food is inspired - and in fact, was inspired by members of the Philips AVENT team, apparently. Anyway, they kindly sent us one to try out for when we started Eloise on solids. Here are the results...
July 18, 2011
The Fresh Air Fund
I know most of the people reading 'Bringing up Charlie' are based in the UK, but I get a reasonable number of visitors from the US of A, and this post is for them. Well, not for them as much as for the kids they might be able to help this summer. Because the Fresh Air Fund - a charity giving city kids the opportunity to stay in the countryside and get some fresh air for up to two weeks in the summer holidays, is still in need of host families. If you can help - or if you'd like to know more - there's a handy microsite with all the information you might need. And as someone who takes the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors for granted, I can think of nothing better than sharing the experience with children who might otherwise never get the opportunity. Please take a look, and help if you can.
July 17, 2011
Latitude Festival
Thanks to Rowse Honey, Charlie and I spent much of yesterday like this...
... while doing a bit of this (that's They Might be Giants by the way)
seeing some colourful sheep...
and having a ride on these (that's Charlie, by the way, not me).
We also visited the Rowse Honey tent where (in additional to having a tasty honey sandwich) we were taken via games and activities through the process of making the stuff, from gathering pollen to building a honeycomb.
Apparently, there are 2000 bees between these panes of glass. Charlie was all for trying to count them. I took the expert's word for it.
Meanwhile, back on dry land, Charlie's mum was enjoying one of these. It's called a 'Zilli' and is one of Prezzo's new pizzas to share, from a range created by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli.
And what better, therefore, for Eloise than la même chose - something called a 'Baby Zilli' from the new organic range by - you've guessed it - celebrity chef Aldo Zilli. It went down very well indeed. As did the pizza.
As, indeed, did the chilled sauvignon blanc I used to help dry me out when we arrived home. Of course, by then the sun was shining. I even got the chance to give our soggy clothes and bags an airing. While sipping a little more vin blanc, of course. And I can confirm that my empirical research proves beyond reasonable doubt that dry white wine really does help after a soggy day at a music festival. Because by the time I'd finished the bottle I was perfectly warm and dry. And so were my clothes.
This post was not sponsored by Prezzo. My wife paid. With money. Charlie and I went to the Latitude Festival courtesy of Rowse Honey (but I've said that already). And Zilli (the baby food rather than the pizza) sent us some samples for Eloise to try.
... while doing a bit of this (that's They Might be Giants by the way)
seeing some colourful sheep...
and having a ride on these (that's Charlie, by the way, not me).
We also visited the Rowse Honey tent where (in additional to having a tasty honey sandwich) we were taken via games and activities through the process of making the stuff, from gathering pollen to building a honeycomb.
Apparently, there are 2000 bees between these panes of glass. Charlie was all for trying to count them. I took the expert's word for it.
Meanwhile, back on dry land, Charlie's mum was enjoying one of these. It's called a 'Zilli' and is one of Prezzo's new pizzas to share, from a range created by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli.
And what better, therefore, for Eloise than la même chose - something called a 'Baby Zilli' from the new organic range by - you've guessed it - celebrity chef Aldo Zilli. It went down very well indeed. As did the pizza.
As, indeed, did the chilled sauvignon blanc I used to help dry me out when we arrived home. Of course, by then the sun was shining. I even got the chance to give our soggy clothes and bags an airing. While sipping a little more vin blanc, of course. And I can confirm that my empirical research proves beyond reasonable doubt that dry white wine really does help after a soggy day at a music festival. Because by the time I'd finished the bottle I was perfectly warm and dry. And so were my clothes.
This post was not sponsored by Prezzo. My wife paid. With money. Charlie and I went to the Latitude Festival courtesy of Rowse Honey (but I've said that already). And Zilli (the baby food rather than the pizza) sent us some samples for Eloise to try.
July 15, 2011
July 14, 2011
Public whipping - great entertainment for the family
This blogging lark attracts a fair amount of PR interest. Would I tweet about this, mention that or care to review the other but yesterday I received what I can categorically state is the strangest PR email I've ever received. I can't really say more than let you read it yourself, followed by the accompanying press release. I was tempted to take them up on their offer of images, if only to provide a pic to accompany this post but Alex @daddacool warned me O2 might ban my blog as being 'adult content' if I did. And that would never do. No. Because this is nothing if not a family blog. But is this a family event? I'll let you read and make up your own mind...
Hi Tim
I thought you'd be interested in writing about this unusual, fun family event happening in Ripon, North Yorkshire on Thursday 28 July. It will be fun and educational for all the family and could be part of a day or weekend in this popular tourist area.
Please let me know if you'd like images; an interview with the organisers or if you want to send a photographer to the event.
Kind regards...
Press release – for immediate distribution
Whipping to take place at Ripon Market Place!
Ripon Museum Trust volunteers will be re-enacting the savage punishment of a Victorian convict on Thursday 28 th July to mark the launch of its new exhibition at the Courthouse Museum on Minster Road.
They will process from the Courthouse on Minster road to the Market Square and back between 10.30 and 11.30am.
The re-enactment is based on orders issued by Ripon magistrates that those sentenced should be:
'Publickly whipt at the Market Cross in Ripon on Thursday between the hours of eleven and Twelve of the Clock... until their back be bloody'
Activities will continue throughout the day. Please telephone the museum office on 01765 690799 for details.
Ripon Magistrates Court heard cases from Ripon from 1830 to 1998. From conviction papers still in existence we get a good idea of what life must have been like in times past:
1871 Failure to Vaccinate a Child
1887 Prostitution in Allhallowgate
1887 Theft of Child's Drawers
1877 Ill treatment of a Horse
1877 Begging
1877 Poaching
1877 Drunkenness in a Public Place
1880 Stealing Brass Taps from the Workhouse
1880 Failure to send a Child to School
1877 Assaulting the School Attendance Officer
The Courthouse building was opened as a museum originally by Ripon Museum Trust in 2000 and this month launches an exciting redisplay of its interior:
"We were delighted to be awarded a grant from Renaissance Yorkshire which allowed us to spend money on new mannequins, an audio system and graphic panels," says courthouse curator Jill Wilkinson.
"The new exhibition tells the tells the story of the courthouse and the people who have passed through it – those who have worked here and those who fell foul of the law – the accused!"
A new feature of the displays is an interactive family trail a new 'photo-fit' quiz.
The Courthouse Museum is one of three museums run by the Trust. They run events for adults and families throughout the year – including two family events each week this summer.
Excellent value for money is provided by their 3-in-1 ticket allowing admission to all museums for 12 months with up to three accompanied children free – for only £8!
For details contact the museum office on01765 690799, email learning@riponmuseums.co.uk or see the website at www.riponmuseums.co.uk
July 13, 2011
Beach Huts
Nice pic, isn't it? If you want some words with it, take a look at my new blog, imaginatively called Tim Atkinson. It's where non-daddy stuff might go, and where I might migrate all future posts to as and when the title 'Bringing up Charlie' is no longer applicable. It already needs updating, of course. But, y'know...
So instead, this
July 11, 2011
Why don't children play out like they used to?
There seems little doubt that they don't. Or, if they do, they're never far away from a watchful adult eye. Not like me. When I was growing up I'd sometimes disappear all day. In the summer of 1976 me and some friends would play cricket all-day on the local playing field. I was a tearaway England fast-bowler, just what Tony Greig and his team needed that summer as they were made to grovel by the mighty West Indies. Then when I batted, there was Garner, Holding and Roberts to be dispatched to all four corners of the cricket field. In my dreams...
It's a shame that such dreams are seldom a reality for children these day. Talking to ex-England Rugby International Austin Healey the other day, he blamed what he called the 'cotton-wool society' for denying today's children the chance to 'go outside and have a childhood'. I was invited to interview him (by telephone) at the launch of an initiative by Play England in partnership with Savlon to celebrate the national day for play on 3 August 2011. And they've conducted some research, which reveals that:
42 per cent of children report they have never made a daisy chain
32 per cent have never climbed a tree
A quarter of children today have never had the simple pleasure of rolling down a hill
47 per cent of adults built dens every week as a child, yet 29 per cent of today's children say they have never built a den at all
A third of children have never played hopscotch
One in ten children have never ridden a bike
And father of four Austin Healey says: 'Encouraging my daughters to behave like children - exploring, discovering and creating, reminds me of the joys of my childhood and are experiences I want them to enjoy. Hunting around the trees in our local park, learning to ride a bike or just leaving them to make up their own outdoor games is an important part of growing up.' He added that he's worried that the rise in social media interaction is preventing some children from engaging in normal, face-to-face friendships: 'Kids today are socially mobile but they often lack the interaction of playing outside with your friends.'
Playday is the national day for play in the UK, a celebration of children's right to play and a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children's lives. The campaign is coordinated by Play England, part of the leading children's charity the National Children's Bureau, working in partnership with Play Wales, PlayBoard Northern Ireland and Play Scotland. Visit www.playday.org.uk for more information.
It's a shame that such dreams are seldom a reality for children these day. Talking to ex-England Rugby International Austin Healey the other day, he blamed what he called the 'cotton-wool society' for denying today's children the chance to 'go outside and have a childhood'. I was invited to interview him (by telephone) at the launch of an initiative by Play England in partnership with Savlon to celebrate the national day for play on 3 August 2011. And they've conducted some research, which reveals that:
42 per cent of children report they have never made a daisy chain
32 per cent have never climbed a tree
A quarter of children today have never had the simple pleasure of rolling down a hill
47 per cent of adults built dens every week as a child, yet 29 per cent of today's children say they have never built a den at all
A third of children have never played hopscotch
One in ten children have never ridden a bike
And father of four Austin Healey says: 'Encouraging my daughters to behave like children - exploring, discovering and creating, reminds me of the joys of my childhood and are experiences I want them to enjoy. Hunting around the trees in our local park, learning to ride a bike or just leaving them to make up their own outdoor games is an important part of growing up.' He added that he's worried that the rise in social media interaction is preventing some children from engaging in normal, face-to-face friendships: 'Kids today are socially mobile but they often lack the interaction of playing outside with your friends.'
Playday is the national day for play in the UK, a celebration of children's right to play and a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children's lives. The campaign is coordinated by Play England, part of the leading children's charity the National Children's Bureau, working in partnership with Play Wales, PlayBoard Northern Ireland and Play Scotland. Visit www.playday.org.uk for more information.
