A cool Flickr link to check out

YOU must check this out, I spotted this on Flickr Blog and it is so cool. The National Museum in Liverpool has undertaken a really exciting project with some Liverpudlian Flickrites where they were given a particular time period to reproduce photographs taken by Stewart Bale Ltd in the 1950s.

I've never heard of Stewart Bale Ltd and the site explains "Stewart Bale Ltd was an advertising and printing business in Liverpool that specialised in commercial and architectural photography. The client list included famous Liverpool names such as Cunard, Meccano and Coopers."

So off the members went to recreate their shots and what is even more interesting for me anyway is the modern day photographers explain why and what they did.

pic from Pete Carr

It would be cool to have a project like this, I remember years ago when I first moved to Dublin seeing a Fr Brown exhibition where a photographer of the day reproduced some of his shots of Dublin.

Do check out the links and do click on the modern day images and leave a comment, you may have to register for a Flickr account(if you haven't one already) to comment but that may not be such a bad thing:)

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs National Museum Liverpool Fr Brown Flickr

Have you heard the the phrase emo?

The Young Wan speaks:

I am not a emo before i start explaining !!!! right a emo is yes you guessed it another label . A emo is someone who has black hair short usually and a side fringe that covers his/her eye they are suicidal and and cry all the time and listen to bands like bullet for my valentine (which are the only good emo band in my opinion) they write poetry and arent very good at talking so they express themselves in their own way which is grand but they take it over the top.i have nothing against emos i have friends who are very emo but i wouldnt like to be one. some idiots would use it as a insult but really its pretty un-imaginative. emos (as in the real ones not the waanbes) are usually quite artistic. anyway enos are good listeners and are nice people in general so if you see one on the street give them a hug :) (but be warned you may get a punch)

Here's a link to Wikipedia's entry on Emos.

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Young Wan emo

Supreme-ly Dreadful Decisions - RM column June 8

This next column was already published here though this has been tweaked and was written in the aftermath of the Mr A debacle. So while it has been debated to death on the blogosphere I am posting it as it was a column, feel free to move on quickly.

I THINK I want to move from Ireland, I’m sure that I am not the only parent to feel this way following the recent Supreme Court judgement on statutory rape. It is like a throw-back to the bad-old days.

I wanted to write about this for last week’s column but I was seriously too shocked to try. However, what is more shocking now is how quickly last week’s decision has impacted hard on one family with serious and sinister consequences for more similar cases.

So now we find ourselves in the situation where a man Mr A has admitted the sexual violation of a child of 12 (and let us be clear unlike some commentators she was not a young woman, she was a child) walking free.

I have tried to look at it all, to somehow take it in and I am enraged. The whole thing is too hard to contemplate however one family has had to contemplate it and they are now living with the consequences and I am devastated for that.

And it all began last week when the Supreme Court struck down Section 1.1 of the Criminal Law Act, 1935 in its entirety with the effect that that section ceased to have legislative existence when created in 1937. This now means there is no statutory offence of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 15.

So Mr A because he was convicted under a law that no longer exists is free. As a mother, a feminist, a human being this leaves me speechless.

I keep thinking about the family who are dealing with the aftermath of Mr A’s release, no more action can be brought against him, he might even be able to claim damages. This is despite plying a 12-year-old with drink before forcing himself on her.

This family brought a case to court which must be hard to do, to subject your daughter and family to the trauma of the courts for justice. It's a tough decision and a brave one. And after the trauma of all the preceding events, the family is left with justice working for the offender. What is going on?

We have heard over the last week how alleged rapists can now claim they thought the young woman/child they raped/had sex with were above the age of consent. Jesus where do you begin with that?

Another thing that has upset over this as I mentioned earlier is the media calling our children young women. I may use that term sometimes for my 14-year-old daughter but I am acknowledging the young woman she is turning into. She is a child, sometimes very much so.
One thing which has shocked me since the Supreme Court decision is the idea or should I say mad statements from people I have come across thinking the ruling was a good thing.

And all because some poor men believe (!!!) they are chatting up someone who is older than they say. How are these poor men to know they are actually chatting up a girl of 15 who is dolled up to the eyeballs chancing her arm on a night out? I did it myself, I know of few young people, male and female, who didn’t try that.

Was I or anyone else who tried to look older as a teenager somehow justifying someone else’s awful behaviour by this deception? Never.

This is just nonsense. Just be careful of who you chat up – if there is any doubt, stop. What is difficult about that?

Of course the situation regarding consenting teenagers having sex who are in the same age group should be sorted but that scenario is far from anything worth using as an argument to justify the Supreme Court ruling.

But in fairness that was last week, this week people are up in arms now following Mr A’s release and rightly so.

One thing though that frightens me about this is about the view of women/young girls. It is not that long ago where one rape/sexual assault case heard arguments for the defendant which consisted of phrases like she was a sexually provocative three-year-old. Or another case where a rapist broke a woman’s back and tied to claim that he thought she was enjoying herself.
It is horrible to think the misogynistic notion that somehow females are to blame for this violence against them still pervades strong. Will we ever learn? Or should I be directing that questions to our Supreme Court judges.

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Redmum column The Echo June 8

Another bedroom post - RM column June 1

Those of you who swing by will be more than aware of the Messy Bedroom and I have I am sure bored any readers of my Echo column with tales as well and here is another.

Another bedroom post

The Young Wan’s bedroom has been the subject of more than one column and judging by the amount of people who come to my website looking for untidy bedrooms, I’m far from the only parent to suffer from unitiditis.

Then Nanny said she was coming to visit and she was ordered in to sort it out as Nanny stays in her room.

Twelve hours past of the Young Wan tidying which was more lifting stuff from one part of the room to another part of the room, shoving things into nooks and crannies, and storing huge amounts of stuff on her bed.

Having been popping in and out all day I didn’t really see the extent of how much energy was being wasted by not doing it properly. Until I inspected it properly at one stage and I went ballistic.

So there was only one thing for it, a real and proper clear out and if it took all night, so be it.

I cleared out all the hidey-holes, cleared the shelves of the shoved in clothes, cups and whatever else was shoved there and she ended up facing a pile which was nearly as big as she was.

And in fairness to her she ploughed on until bedtime and then got up again the next morning and continued.

The end result looked great, sadly it didn’t last. But that’s one thing about teenagers and their bedroom; you have to sometimes, a lot of the time, just shut the door and keep walking.

Teenager’s bedrooms are their refuge and even though it may kill and it may, as parents we have to respect their privacy but up to a point.

When there are no glasses left in your cupboard because they are now living under your teenager’s bed, then it is fair enough to go in hammers blazing.

There is also nothing like rearranging a bedroom to clear out a decidedly messy and unorganized bedroom.

I have also found the best results came when I told her to clear the shelves, then they were done she would get instructions to do something else. It is almost as if it is less overwhelming when the work is carried out in stages.

It’s funny how different parents cope with teenagers bedroom, some gather up all the junk into black bags and put them away somewhere like the garage, others declare that part of the house a parent-free zone and others just try to ignore it.

I am trying a mix of all of the above, it doesn’t appear to be working, but I doubt that any one action is a solution. I think the only solution is growing up and possibly not living with you anymore. Then the room will be spotless and the house will lose some of its life. Mmmmh maybe it’s not so bad living with the messiest person in Ireland.

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Redmum column The Echo June 1

Where it used to be Dr Spock it's now Ask Jeeves - RM column May 25

THE internet is a fantastic resource for parents, with all sorts of advice from all sorts of people. The beauty of it all is that you can read something that makes you think ‘why didn’t I think of that?

Years ago people turned to Dr Spock I am more like to turn to Ask Jeeves or Google.

One recent site I came across had some really good advice about dealing with a teenager in six easy points and they generally made a lot of sense to me.

Firstly the website said to stop focusing on what you are going to make your teenager do, it doesn’t work.

While this may sound vague I realise I spend probably too much time spotting things the Young Wan has or hasn’t done about the house and they turn into a mental checklists which invariably never gets ticked off.

So a lot of energy and frustration goes into this for me and maybe there is a lot to be said for this point. My only question is how does anything get done then, is it because it is all down to me then? Mmhhhh think I will think over that for a while.

Stop lecturing is the next one and I wholeheartedly agree with this, but will it mean that I stop, probably not.

I suppose that when I was a teenager and was on the receiving end of a lecture, I probably switched off just as much as the Young Wan does now.

Unfortunately though much of a parents’ interaction with their teenagers could be seen to be lectures. So does that mean we just shut up? Would that work better? The advice on the internet tells parents to impart information to their teenager in short bursts, possibly in the car when the parent has a captive audience.

Is that not more akin to ambushing, sounds good to me.

When talking to teens parents should stop using adultisms. You know them, they are the phrases when you were young that you never thought you would say to your kids.

Then one day you find yourself saying something that you heard from your parents. ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees’, ‘Ask my friend am I a liar’ or ‘I’ll give you (insert word here)’ as in ‘I’ll give you new mobile’, and we all know that doesn’t mean you are going to get them a new mobile.

If your teen has their teen monster moments, you may have to punish them by grounding them and the site tells you not to ground teenagers for long periods of time except for the most enormous of teen-crimes.

It says: “For adults, two weeks is like a snap of the fingers – gone. For most teens, two weeks seems like forever, which causes diminishing positive results the longer the grounding. Consequences need to be strong enough to get their attention, swift enough after the infraction to have an effect and short term so they can have another chance to do better soon.”

I think this is possibly one of the best pieces of advice I have read and actually learned from our own household. Once teenagers are constantly punished they act out, they might as well because they are already in the bad books.

Another piece of advice concerns something I realised I did about a year ago and it concerns reasoning with your child about rules they do not like or when you say no.

The advice is there are times when because I said so is a perfectly reasonable statement from a parent and all a teenager should be told.

I found myself at one stage that I would say to herself ‘bring out the rubbish because when that is brought out I can brush the floor then I can get the dishes away and dinner on’.

Now I go ‘bring the rubbish out’.

I was misguided thinking that if the Young Wan understood my train of thought that things would get better and faster, wrong.

The last gem says stop making every issue a battle for control and who is in charge. If you do this your teen could make every issue a battle for independence. Pick your battles, leave the hard stuff for big things and make your stand then.

This is something I have realised also, and apart from anything if you were to pull rank over everything, your home life will soon be miserable for everybody.

Do check out the site here http://www.parentingyourteenager.com/parentsteens6stop.htm and do look for more on the internet, there’s a wealth of support there which can be invaluable even just to know that other parents are having the same issues in their home.

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Redmum column The Echo May 25

The only thing dark about them is their clothing - RM column May 18

HAVE I mentioned before that my daughter is a wanna-be goth, I say wanna-be because she’s not really getting it right so far. (She absolutely hates me saying this, sorry darlin but its true.)

She has had more than a few occasions of walking around where we live with the white face and black lipstick. To me this isn’t style it’s more emulating how a heart attack would look. Besides it hardly being an individual, check out the multitudes of teen Goths at the Central Bank in town any Saturday afternoon.

I have to admit too that I just do not want my daughter walking about looking like an eejit, I want her to look the prettiest she can look while developing her own style. And for me personally this does not involve having black lipstick smeared on her beautiful mouth. Not to mention the fact that she appears to forget she has it on and accidentally wipes it across her face.

She went into town recently with a pal and they looked gorgeous. However when they came back, the pal looked as pretty as before (she’s a pretty Goth without the makeup) while my offspring came back looking like an extra from the cast of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

It is also worth bearing in mind that not all, in fact few Goths look like the stylish and pretty Rosie Webster from tv soap Coronation Street, Rosie is lucky to have a stylist and makeup artist and she is one pretty goth. The vast majority I see in Dublin look well dirty and in need of a good wash.

I know that’s the mummy in me and I understand that and I also know I have had my black phase as a teenager, most of my wardrobe is still black.

As a teen myself and being pale skinned, I wanted my skin to be as pale as possible, but I never wanted to look like death and I suppose that’s the difference.

I allowed the Young Wan to go and get her first make up and she came home with white foundation, white powder and black lipstick, so that all went back and I got her more suitable makeup.

I have tried to tell her that I can make her look like a good Goth, (not to be confused with good witch Glenda or indeed a bad Goth) where I can make her skin pale, while emphasizing her beautiful eyes and mouth.

And she has the most beautiful skin, why or why does she want to hide it under a layer of real whiteness, not paleness, whiteness.

But it’s not all bad news according to some recent research from Sussex University which found that unlike many teenage clicks Goths are a very accepting and non-violent group, brownie points there for the Young Wan.

The research also found that “[Goths] are refined and sensitive, keen on poetry and books, not big on drugs or anti-social behaviour. They are also likely to carry on being Goths into their adult life.

“They have an ability to express their feelings and are believers in romance rather than one-night stands. The only thing dark about them is their clothing and their sarcastic sense of humour.

“They are usually intelligent youngsters who have rejected the idea that teenagers must fulfill certain criteria.” (From the BBC website.)

Goths apparently also grow up to be successful, sometimes more so than their peers and go into professions such as law or medicine.

I do not relish the day that I get examined by a doctor who looks in need of a couple of hours in the sun, if the stated research which says many continue in this subculture as an adult is true.
How and ever, maybe I should relax about the white makeup particularly if the Young Wan could become a doctor.

Ah who am I fooling. I hate the white look but I will show her how to do the next best thing, a pale face showing off her beautiful features, I think that’s a compromise, don’t you?

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Redmum column The Echo May 18

More on strange searches

I HAVE been a bad blogger this week, work’s been busy and evening time at home has been busy so I have had little time to do anything else.

So I decided to do another joint post with the Young Wan on funny searches and weird phrases which have caused people to land here and some of them are very funny. I love the Young Wan's interpretation of the keywords and I LOVE that she thinks her mum is famous, aren't kids wee honeys:) You can check out her top ten search engine phrases at the bottom of this post.

So back to what I was saying according to Google Analytics my most visited post was the one about the Leinster’s Ladies calendar, I wouldn’t have thought that at all, podge and rodge is second while Me No to Bebo is third and Don’t talk to me about U2 from last summer was sixth.

Other sites which have referred the highest traffic (referral conversion according to Google) are Irishblogs, Blogger and Technorati in numbers one, two and three slot. Searches on Googles Images came in at number 6 with Flickr at number 7, Planet Journals.ie was at number 9..

The keyword conversion turned up the things that give me the most giggles normally.
One phrase which made me stop was ‘redmum died’ and obviously news of my death are greatly exaggerated then I realised it was some green-fingered, or not so green-fingered chrysanthemum grower/killer inquirer and did I feel foolish.

There have been umpteen and strangely ecelptic searches for arses, nice, massive, pretty, sports, oh and red arses have all been looked for.

To the person or should I say persons who thinks ‘redheads are ugly’ pah! That searcher is poles apart from the other person looking for ‘red on the head’ and I have confess to complete puzzlement as to why anyone wants to search for ‘red mum kinda’ or ‘redmum bedroom’ and the ‘we all hate RM’ search just plain hurt…

Exam fever has hit the internet and turned up loads of searches ranging from ‘pressure from parents about exams’ to ‘how to cope with exam pressure’ and ‘junior cert parents chat’ if the latter searcher got any good results I’d be interested in them for next year.

The amount of teenage related searches is huge, many of which are very unsavoury indeed. Or on a nicer note there’s the search looking ‘how to stop a mumbling teen’ and the many, many searches looking for pictures and descriptions of untidy teenage bedrooms. I’m glad I obliged when I shamed my family by publishing pics of the Young Wan’s bedroom.

Maybe by reading my frustration on urrgghh messy bedrooms other parents will take comfort in the fact that it is a rite of passage, a bloody horrible one to live with but a fact of life nonetheless.

I laughed at the person who searched for ‘brrrr!’ and came to me and shook my fist at the person who looked ‘how to annoy mums’. Have you not been reading? Don’t tidy your bedroom and she’ll be very annoyed.

But someone was feeling apologetic and wanted to say ‘sorry mum for being awful’ maybe they had a huge ‘teenage phonebill’ and made their normally mild-mannered mum became ‘hulk mum’ or ‘mum mad’ before writing a ‘harassed mum blog’. Yup know that feeling.

Someone obviously feeling the effects of teenage phonecalls looked up ‘phone to dial parents and 911 only’ which is what I have and I should have published the make of the phone at the time so they can get it and if they ever swing by again, get the Panasonic Dect, it works fantastically.

Someone wanted to know about ‘hiding a dog from a landlord’ dog, what dog! I don't know what you are talking about at all;) while someone else enquired about ‘how to stop grey hairs’ – short of shaving your head, dying I think is your only option.

‘I hate the Donegal weather’ brought someone here when I am actually thankful that Donegal has unpredictable weather, those beautiful beaches would be overrun with people, we’ll keep that a wee secret eh?

So there you go, sorry for the blogging absence and hopefully something here has given you a google I mean giggle.

And now for something completely different, over to herself:

The young wans top ten of phrases that people that looked on the web and came on to redmum

1. redmum(my mothers famous)
2. big head (do I have a big head :()
3. Pierced ears (it’s the 21st century come on!!!!!!!!)
4. bebo+cult(wow a new found religion)
5. Teenage antics (leave us alone the media only pays attention to the bad stuff we do.what about the good stuff!!!!!!!!!! :(
6. redmums dead(shes right beside me and alive may I add:))
7. tangoed(hahahahaha the orange people our anxty teens worst enemy!!! :))
8. babies born on 6+6+06 (come on you cant expect babies to stop being born just because it’s the number of the beast)
9. Chinese gravy(check tesco :))
10. holby city (woooooooooh who doesn’t like holby city )

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum Young Wan Google Anlytics strange searches

The Young Wan speaks!

THE Young Wan just posted a comment to my recent Schools out for summer post and she left a comment, well she is sitting beside me typing away and I have to say I am delighted at how well she is typing with two fingers. Anyway you can read what she said here and to top it all, she wants to write a post, so over to the Young Wan.

Ahhh the beloved summer meh
3 months what the hell am I gona do for 3 bloody months. So far ive read about 4 really long novels, hum simulating. books entertain for only so long. ive read wuthering heights, Johnny and the dead, starseeker (best book ever nearly made me cry) and Jackie love johnser. its ok for kids whos parents are at home because they can come in and out as they please but sometimes when my mam goes out I cant go out because she’s not at home and cant be there if anything goes wrong so I can understand why I cant do things that other kids do ive no prob with it really because we all have to do wht we have to do blah blah blah. turkey will be kool but I want to be here for a few weeks at the end of the summer so I can go out with my mate because shes doing her exams at the moment!!!. while we,r on the subject yes people im going into the dreaded 3rd year ahhhhhhhhhh run run as fast as you can you cant me im a young wan!!! How are we supposed to get stuck back in to this really hard secondary stuff after 3 months of doing absolutely nothing!!!!! anyway im hoping to start one of these blogger thingies bu bye mwah mwah xxx

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum Young Wan

Donkey's Ears

YOU would think that children's cute misprounciation or wrong word usage would dissapate over time, thankfully this is not the case. Everynow and again there is an absolute classic and unfortunately there are so many cute and funny things to remember in your child's growing up stage that you may unfortunately miss them.

That's why blogging is great, you can go on, type it in and there it is for all and sundry to enjoy... But I digress.

My personal favourite over the years was aminal and I was so sad when the Young Wan began to say animal properly.

Just there at the ripe old age of 14 she asked 'what's the big deal with people saying donkey's ears?



I hadn't a clue what she was talking about so she explained "you know when people say and you do it too Mum 'oh I haven't seen them in donkey's ears'".

It's DONKEYS YEARS! And I haven't a clue where that saying comes from. So one quick Google later and I found this

[Q] From Jess Paxton in the USA: “Is there a story behind the phrase donkey’s years?”

[A] It’s a pun on donkey’s ears, they being long. The phrase, meaning a long time, is chiefly in British use, though known in the USA and elsewhere, and was first recorded in 1916 as donkey’s ears (which is why we’re sure about the punning origin). Within ten years or so it is recorded in the modern form. The idea was supported by the belief that donkeys did in fact live a very long time.

So it seems the Young Wan wasn't so wrong at all.

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum donkey's ears

Killer biscuits

SOMETIMES you just have to laugh!



Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum killer biscuits

Rice or mats

I nearly lost the following post, I don't know what happened but thankfully because blogger was playing up I had copied it to paste it again and thankfully after half an hour of wondering why my last post was my latest post despite republishing and refreshing nothing was showing up. What's that annoying phrase that people say to you when something like this happens oh yeah 'did you back-up'. For once I can say YES, inadvertently maybe, but YES!!! (You would think it was a masterpiece, but such as it is I am happy not to have to do it again)

BEHIND my cooker is one of those moveable butchers block (well in fairness that is a VERY big description for something so very small) but anyway behind the moveable storage yoke are things like my massive soup pot and other kitchen impliments because I have nowhere in the corner that is my kitchen to store them.

And this unit is packed nearly flat against the back of the cooker and wedged at the corner of my bay window.

So there isn't much room in there.

I had occasion to pull the unit out tonight because I dropped something behind the cooker and while retrieving it I had to pull everything out, move the table, chairs, and plant on stand. Which was probably a good thing because corners like that in our home tend to be magnetic and pull stuff from everywhere into their abyss.

Or so it would have appeared until tonight. I realise someone has been helping this magnetism with their own brand of recycling. I discovered empty yoghurt cartons, discarded by the Young Wan who somehow has an aversion to bins.

Seriously what is the deal with that? I just do not understand.

Why go to the trouble of throwing them down the back of the cooker knowing they WILL be found never mind the fact that the bin is actually closer and less hassle to throw away properly.

So I retrieved my dropped item, poured a glass of wine, sat down and informed the Young Wan the corner would be cleared of all that rubbish NOW.

I went on to add that 'if we ever get rice or mats I know who is responsible'.

Shish wish I could speak proper.

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum

From June 9 2005

I THOUGHT I would trawl through photos I took on this date last year (June 9, 2005) and found this one.



We were in Galway for the week with weather as stunning as this and while the photo above is far from my favourite, I still like it.

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum

Snippets of thoughts from the Young Wan

WE have had a bit of a funny day with all sorts of random teenage nonsense, must be the sun - here is a snapshot of the day.

Young Wan: "The tears hurt my eyes" – in true wanna-be Goth style! What can you say to this except to attempt to sing it in a kinda dark and menacing way ala Marilyn Manson

Later I asked her: "Am I allowing you to use the phone or am I being a pain in the arse?

This was a rhetorical statement to back up the fact that she could phone her friend but she had to rinse out the dishes first which was met with the stroppiest manner ever.

To my question she said 'Yes'.

So I replied 'pardon' and she went (louder) 'Yes'.

Then she realised she was actually agreeing that I was allowing her to use the phone and I was/am a pain in the arse and laughed heartily.

And why is it that at home sometimes when I ask her something she mutters, mumbles and I have to keep asking her to repeat herself louder and louder.

Yet when we are on a bus, she happily tells stories very loudly that she has to be asked ‘are you telling the whole bus or just me?’.

She has also recently found the microphone of her long abandoned karaoke machine and has been singing along to Brian Adams because *ahem* it is (allegedly) the only tape she can find.

Thankfully she has stopped serenading the street and appears instead to be making some kind of farting noise that is travelling out her bedroom window and through the air into the living room window where I am trying to chill out.

She just came in and asked me if she can sing. And she always could, though you cannot hear it from this evening's performance.

I remember during one holiday Karaoke event where she sang Leann Rimes (or however it is spelt) 'How can I live without you' where she hit perfectly that mad note in 'how can I ever, ever surrRRRVIIIVVEEE'.

Tonight has been a different matter.

She just asked me pointedly there can she sing and I said 'well you used to be able to, I don’t know what is happening in there now'. It appears she wasn't happy with her accompaniment to 'Summer of 69'.

“I thought I could sing, but well just then…”

Then she said 'wouldn't that be a good blog? The Young Wan discovers she can't sing!
Already on it darling, already on it.

[No mention of the world cup you will notice, I don't know whether to run away or go with the flow.]

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum teenagers

Congrats Slugger

BIG congrats to Mick and the team at Slugger for being nominated in the New Statesman's New Media Awards.

More information here.

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum Slugger OToole new media awards New Statesman

A quack post

JUST a quick/quack post to let you know [I THINK] I have finished uploading duck pictures, I say think because I may look more and see more to post but I do think that's it. Check them out on Flickr here.


These ducks have been tormenting the doggie.

Technorati tags: irishblogs redmum duckrace todayfm

Is anyone sick of the sunshine?

While everyone is smiling at each other, happy in the sun, delighting in the weather R Cullen in Dublin is sweating and not happy and asks is anyone else sick of the sunshine.



My favourite line is “all the normally beautiful women were squinty and blotched”. What an image? I haven’t seen the squinty blotchy women but then I wear sunglasses so I might just be looking at things through rose-coloured spectacles. Who knows and who cares, it is too sunny and too lovely for moaning…


Enjoying the sun on Grafton Street

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs sunshine Evening Herald

All the sixes... 66 ehm 6

A lucky child born today and her name isn't Damien. Found on a New Zealand news site.

Lucky Baby
Forget bad luck associated with being born on 06/06/06 - one baby born at North Shore Hospital today was a blessing for her parents. But even Paul and Jude Howker - parents of Jasmyne - have to admit their daughter's arrival was rather spooky, arriving as she did at 6.06am in room 6, after a 6 minute birth. Robyn Janes meets the proud parents.

Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs 666

DCUK off

FORGET the Bravia add with all the superballs, even forget the 'You've been tangoed' replica with lots of fruit, spectators on Dublin's quays this afternoon were witness to a new world record attempt for charity where 150,000 rubber ducks were dropped into the River Liffey to race. Unfortunately they didn't seem to want to race at all!

It looked great and I do not pity those who have to clean up after all the fun and frolics though some three hours after the launch there were people in boats chucking loads of ducks up at people. The Young Wan and I got five and the doggie loves them. She has been sitting with them all around and she is randomly attacking them for looking at her sideways, mighty craic altogether.

I was going to post this on the Dublin Blog but Heidi beat me to it, grrrr. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Though I was probably being quite cheeky, I hope not, when I posted some pics. Do check out her post too and there are also a load more pics on Flickr.

















Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs ducks Children's Lifeline TodayFM

Pix from Dail protest

I WAS at the Dail protest this afternoon and have posted some pics from it on my Flickr account as well submitting a short piece to the Dublin Community Blog.



Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs Supreme Court statutory rape Dail protest

Schools out for summer

SCHOOLS out, finished, no more until September. For those of you who do not know school holidays in Ireland (not the north) begin at the start of June until the start of September. That is some holiday (three months) and a massive headache for many parents.

What do you do with a 14-year-old who is too old for childminding though ironically they probably need more minding at this stage than they did at 10 and too teenagey to be left to their own devices.

Besides the devil making work for idle hands there is boredom over this seriously long stretch without the mental stimulation of school.

I will be sending the Young Wan to holiday with her Nanny under the strict order that she is not to leave her Nanny's side thats the deal. A summer in the sun how lucky is she? And how lucky am I not to have the worry of keeping her entertained and out of mischief?

What will other parents do? Well those who have to work anyway.

There are two things I disagree with the education system here, one is the long holidays - they are too long. In England they get six weeks and up north we got two months which was great and a lovely long break. Three months is mad.

The other point I wanted to make is the age our kids start secondary school here at 12/13, I think this is a year too old. And there is no doubt my view is tempered by my own experience of primary school from the age of four for seven years.

Then there was the 11+ which is another post for another time and you moved into secondary school at the age of 11 to 12.

While I am not suggesting that 11 and 12 year olds are flung into the full expectations of a secondary school pupil, they are eased into what is expected from them. Come one they need to learn how to do secondary.

As it is now our kids are handed everything in primary school where they only have to pay attention and do their homework to do well. Secondary school is different, they have to learn how to do for themselves to some degree.

Take essays, in primary school where they are little more than a large paragraph, not so in secondary school. And I just think it is unfair to start second-level education two years before the year of a major exam the Junior Cert.

That is not very long in my mind.

I had five years of second-level education before sitting my O-Levels, the Young Wan gets three before sitting her Junior Cert. Of those five years for me, three were spent bringing you up a particular standard with two years O-Level orientated study. The Young Wan got two years to settle down and prepare with one year directed Junior Cert work. That is a quare difference.

It also strikes me that most children start secondary level education here in the midst of pubery, surely that alone is a mad addition to an already fraught/changing/developing time.

Anyway thats my rant of the week over, I'd be very interested to hear what you think.

[And here's a link to a post I wrote last year when the Young Wan was 13 about a summer holiday I had when I was 13 where we broke down 13 times driving to and from Portugal called 13, 13 and well ehm 13! - Just in case you are interested in what I was lucky to do as a teenager during the summer.]

Oh and here is a rare picture of the Young Wan holding my hand - a really unusual sight! She continued to hold my hand, while I had her in a vice-grip and she didn't pull away.



Technorati tags: redmum irishblogs teenagers summer holidays schools out for summer