I wrote a big long piece about the situation in Gaza, who might be right and who might be wrong, and then I realised that it was little naive. Not watching the news every day, I don’t know the situation. I don’t know which side of the border these children are on, but I do know that they should not have to live like this :
Children
I’m a football widow again with the start of the Premier League, Match of the Day is on… So here’s a lovely Fiesta Friday, Indulgent Breakfast post dedicated to all the people don’t really mind that teams won or lost yesterday on football pitches across the country.
Tomato and Mozzarella
We bought the yellow and orange tomatoes at the supermarket a few days ago with the idea of putting them in salads, but we ended up eating out until this morning. I thought it would the colours would be lovely in a little breakfast salad tossed in oil and balsamic and basil, to go with our eggs and ham and bread and jugo de naranja.
This week GirlGuidingUK brought out a new uniform design. What’s your first thought when you think about Girl Guides? Girls in smart blue shirts helping the community? Now fast-forward that to 2014, this is what we have :
Polo-shirt with hoodie and skirt
Admittedly I prefer the colour of this than the previous uniform, I like the bright colours and let’s be honest, you’d see your Guides in a crowd now, but it’s the way the uniform is going in general that bothers me. It’s too casual, such a far cry from the smart blouses of the 1970s. It seems that we are going more towards comfort and away from what makes the Guide Association a respected organisation. I like the colours, but then I am 31 – I live in a different time to the teenage girls of today. These colours remind me of clothes I had in the mid 1990s, so I can understand the comments coming out on facebook :
Facebook reaction
There’s just nothing recognisable that makes us Guides anymore. The logo is hidden away on the sleeve, and I can’t even see a trefoil on there. Compared to the Scouts I really think that Guides look sloppy, there are too many options that look so different that you can have one Guide in a white striped polo-shirt, one in a navy blue polo-shirt and one in a mid-blue round-neck t-shirt. Then one girl in blue jeans, one in black leggings, one in pink shorts… Where’s the uniformity in this uniform? I remember the original marketing of this incarnation, the mix-and-match, the fact that girls could wear it outside of Guiding and it could blend with your normal clothes. Apparently girls didn’t want to have all that branding, but without the branding I fail to see how they can be recognised in a world that still associates them with blue shirts and neckerchiefs.
A new skirt and a dress is a good idea, and would appear to be more formal, but it’s only an option as far as I can see. The fabric on that long-sleeved top looks too clingy and I can’t imagine it keeping its shape well in the wash. That high neck-line isn’t going to be flattering on the busty girls either, the model they use isn’t pulling it off very well either. Who do GirlGuidingUK consult for these changes? It can’t be the girls or the leaders, else we’d have ended with something more practical and recognisable.
My thought :: Poor show.
Day 91 – Another afternoon of playing cards in the hospital with my Mom and Daniel.
Day 92 – My first day of Garden Leave turns into Balcony Leave on the eighth floor. Enjoying the quiet and the sunshine in the flat.
Day 93 – I’m staying with my Mom for a few days after her operation, and my early morning run takes me right into the countryside around Wythall (Worcestershire).
Day 94 – Reteaching my grandmother how to play some of the card games she taught me as a child is both very sad but I spent a lovely lunchtime with her.
Day 95 – Daniel had to do some paperwork with the Mexican Embassy so we took a daytrip down to London. Then while he’s in the embassy I took the opportunity to catch up with a friend from university before she gets married in a few weeks and won’t have time for anything!
Day 96 – Daniel makes me happy every single day. I love the little conversations that we have, the Spanglish and the gestures are our own little language. And he’s been wonderful during this period of redundancy. Now that I’m hope properly from my Mom’s house it’s back to a lovely little normality.
Day 97 – I’d forgotten I had this skirt. Found it in a bag that my Mom brought round a few weeks ago, it was too big but having put on about 5kg it should fit again now.
Day 98 – Waiting for some very stressful news at the hospital, we finally got a call from my cousin at 20h05 to say that everything is OK.
Day 99 – My Guides again, one of the Brownies made me a heart-shaped something out of pipecleaners. It went straight in my hair, naturally.
Day 100 – Having a look through the photos at my grandmother’s house. Then seeing her face light up when she sees them in hospital.
Day 84 – Mexico vs Croatia, I always enjoy watching Mexico with the Mexicans, they always get so excited! This was an afternoon in the Walkabout in Birmignham with all the Mexicans, they wouldn’t put it on the big screen, despite there being way more Mexicans than Brazilians, Brazil got centre-stage.
Day 85 – Sometimes I get to Guides a bit early on a Tuesday, and I sit and enjoy the silence of the church grounds. Then the girls arrive and all hell breaks loose.
Day 86 – After losing my job I was going through the interview process, and on this day I had an offer made to me, but everything inside me was saying “don’t take this”. So I had to get a few pieces of advice. Work was very good about it and allowed me to use the side office to make all my phone calls. The Morph doorstop kept my smiling through a very rough day.
Day 87 – Aaagh the night before this photo, there was quad bikes racing around the road outside our flat. This was taken at 21h30 and there was no sign yet so I was enjoying the quiet night.
Day 88 – I got a job! Well, the one that I really wanted! A different job to the one on Wednesday, I declined that one, twice. So I look forward to starting with them on 4th August, that gives me the whole of July off!
Day 89 – Saturday, my grandmother is in one hospital with dementia and my Mom is in another one having a full hip replacement. I was very happy to see my front door after a long day of hospital visits.
Day 90 – Back at the hospital with my Mom, my sister and I fight to the death in the Battle of the Crutches. Very, very fun afternoon with the family.
Chilanga : Exported 