For the steak and potato hotpot recipe, I’ve used Diced Steak (Round Steak) from Aberdeen Angus cattle. We really like the rich meaty taste of the Aberdeen Angus, so I knew this was going to be a great meal before I started out.
Steak Hotpot
I didn’t add any fancy herbs, spices or taste altering ingredients. I decided just to go with the flavour of the meat itself, with only some salt and pepper to help the vegetables along. The result was a fabulously rich and healthy warming hotpot that I know I am going to make several variations of in future.
Slow Cooked Steak & Potato Hotpot with Diced Steak from a great butcher.
STAR RECIPE WINNER – for September is a tie. I let my kids choose their favourites this week, and they pondered for a while, before saying they couldn’t decide between Foodie Quine’s Cake Pops and Susan Mann’s Patatas. In the end, I have to declare it a joint draw, and they both get a mention (and a medal).
What the kids said..
Foodie Quine (Twitter @foodiequine) “Her cake pops are better than yours mum, because she used Dairy Milk”
Susan K Mann (Twitter @susankmann) “They look like fine stovies”
THE OCTOBER FUNKY FOODIE LINKY IS OPEN
Is a monthly linkie, which will close on the last day of the month.
A medal will be awarded for the Star Recipe every month, and the fabulous trophy in the blog badge will be awarded at the end of a whole year of the Funky Foodies. If you want to find out more about it, read here.
All you have to do is share as many recipes from your own blog a month as you’d like. If you struggle to add your recipe, send me your link and I’ll add it for you.
Try to pop around and share the comment love with other funky foodies. We all like a little love and might come across some fabulous recipes.
If you want to host the linkie on your own blog as a blog hop, get the code here :
Simply add the link to your recipe on your own blog, and share your latest recipe with everyone taking part. If you don’t want to miss the linkie being opened, subscribe to RSS or by email in the blog header.
I’ll add recipes of mine to share, although I don’t count in the recipe challenge.
Feel free to copy the badge or use the html in the widget at the bottom of the page to add the small blog badge to your own blog / post. It makes finding you easier for other funky foodies.
For Country Kids this week, I thought a picture of the fledgling family allotment would be a good idea. The man’s friend has had an allotment for a while, and the one next to his became available. It’s not much money a year, so he decided to take the plunge and take on the overgrown eyesore next to his pal.
As the man helped his pal clear his allotment, he now has to return the favour on ours.
Some tree roots needed dug out, and old carpets seem to have been sewn into the land, and need digging up. So, the pair of them along with 5 kids descended on the patch of over – run ground and got stuck in.
The two smallest kids were more interested in work watching, so I don’t think they did very much, but the bigger kids all had to take their turn at the spade. I am hoping that they will be lovely and tired tonight.
There’s a musty old shed that needs taking down, so I’m sure that will be replaced by a new shed he builds himself after a while. In the meantime, he is using his friend’s one which is much better.
The news this week has not been good. Along with countless others, I’ve spent a lot of this week refreshing my news app on the phone to see if little April Jones had been found yet. Sadly, she’s not been able to find her way home to her parents, and even more sadly, there has been criticism levelled at the family for allowing April to play outside at 7 pm.
Let’s put this into perspective. The family live in a small community surrounded by open countryside, and where everyone knows everyone else. The kind of community that I grew up in.
I wouldn’t let my children out to play late where we live, but I did growing up, and in a community like the Jones live in, I would have happily let my kids out the front at 7 pm. This is key. April was outside, beside her home, and picked up by someone she must have trusted. What difference does the time make?
And pushing the criticism further away, we are really against it when we realise we have to protect our kids from people they know and trust. I read a blog post yesterday, kindly sent along by Claire Jessiman, The Foodie Quine, that really tells it like it is. Checklist Mommy from the US, talks about “Tricky People.”
She says “Tricky People are the New Strangers.” I really would recommend that everyone who feels the slightest bit anxious about abductions and child abuse to go and read it. It’s also quite light hearted for such a serious topic, which is rather endearing.
In reality, the people who groom kids tend not to be strangers in the eyes of the young. Checklist Mommy does the same thing that I do. She tells her kids to go to the nearest Mum with kids for help if they get lost, or something goes wrong. It’s not actually very likely that they’re going to come across a policeman when they need it. I’ve told my kids that for a long time, as it seems to be the path of least danger in my eyes.
Checklist Mommy goes further. She talks about Patti Fitzgerald of Safely Ever After. A passionate woman with a vision that we all do need to listen to.
Realistically, our kids have a higher chance of being abused by someone they know than being abducted by a stranger. The shock and horror when children like April Jones are plucked from the bosom of their loving family can cause us to react badly when we consider our own choices in how to approach our chats with our kids.
One of the things she says, that struck a chord with me was that nobody is going to offer to babysit for free so we can spend time to ourselves. It really is telling that people don’t want to babysit for the good our own health.
Being suspicious of every adult around our kids is probably a healthy way to go, but we do have to balance that with being sensible. Looking out for oddly given gifts and special treatment is just good parenting. If the warning signs are making you uneasy, it’s perhaps time to make a difference.
The red flags and warning tips at Safety Ever After are really good advice. We could do with a little of that kind of advice coming through our schools. Sadly, we only seem to have stranger danger alerts. How much are our kids missing about the dangers that exist for them, how will they learn that they have to take precautions with ALL adults, and not just strangers?
At the end of this all, social media is powerful. An abducted child has a high chance of being killed within the first three hours of the abduction. It was about three hours between April being abducted and the first social media appeals for help. Lost Kidz is a personal Amber Alert system. It means that the news of an abduction can get out quicker, and share the information with people who can begin to watch out for unusual signs in the area.
I’ve had the odd heart pounding moment when I’ve lost sight of a toddler, but how that feels when the child does not come back after a few minutes, I have no idea. I do know that many children up and down our country this week will have been hugged tighter at bedtime.
The Lost Kiza website says:
“The Lost Kidz App has been developed to enable parents to send out an alert to other parents in the area if their child goes missing. The alert includes a current photo and any relevant information about the child, allowing an anxious parent to recruit the help of everyone in the vicinity to reunite the parent with their child.”
I have downloaded the app. I think this could be a powerful social media intervention. I like the fact that it has a four star rating already. I like the fact that a lost child can be reported quickly, and the word spread.
Jersey based Stephen Fern created the app after watching a TV documentary about the abduction of Jaycee Lee Delgado – its created big waves across America, and is spreading across the world. Eyes immediately looking out for a child in danger.
I’ll continue to refresh my news screen, and hope that April and her family are re-united again. It’s been a hard week for all parents to cope with the raw fear of abduction, but for April’s parents, this must be a living, walking nightmare.
Best wishes to April and I hope she finds her way home soon.
Unwrapping a lovely gift for my birthday, I eagerly opened the layers while anticipating a nice box of perfume or a little trinket. Three faces beaming with delight stood in front of me, and I kept the smile frozen on my face as the last layer came adrift, to the sight of my favourite bar of chocolate – a HUGE one. My heart sank to my boots and I instantly fought to find words to thank them, and give them all a huge kiss for. Inside, I felt like weeping at the thought of another two inches on my hips.
Opening it up right away, I snapped sections off and handed the kids all one each. They ran for little plastic bags from the kitchen and dropped their slabs into protective wrapping before slinking off into the sunset. I was relieved that I had managed to hand out so much of the bar.
Is chocolate really that bad for us, or is it just that people don’t want us to actually enjoy something that does something with the endorphins in our brains that makes us think we’ve done a 12 mile run. How have I managed to give myself such a guilt trip over eating one thing that I really do enjoy?
The guilt comes on with one square or ten squares. If I eat it, I feel annoyed with myself, and I don’t think I am alone in that.
Why is chocolate good for us?
The Guardian reported that “A study by the German Institute of Human nutrition found that flavanols from cocoa boost the body’s supply of nitric oxide, which helps to lower blood pressure.” I take that to mean eating chocolate is not all bad, even if it’s not dark chocolate. One point to me. By eating one square of regular chocolate a day, could I really be reducing my risk of stroke or heart attack? That sounds like a nice prescription.
They reported the study from the European Heart Journal that flavanols in cocoa are the reason for the reduced blood pressure, and strokes could be reduced by the increase of blood around the brain.
1,568 people were studied, of which, 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% ate dark and 2% ate white chocolate.
Chocolate to excess!
Sadly, the study showed that the benefits were from eating a smallish amount of chocolate as part of the daily diet. I am more convinced that it would be healthier to have just a few squares a day, but that isn’t easy to do when it’s just sitting there, looking at you and begging to be eaten.
Yes, chocolate is very high in calories, with upwards of 500 calories per hundred grams, so it’s not something that can be eaten without any thought at all. We all know the damage that eating too many treats can do to our bodies, but some of us just can’t stop.
Why do we crave sweet things ?
Imagine a world where someone with foresight and creative ability found a safe way to avoid sugar cravings. I, along with my craving affected sisters, would instantly transform them into a being of ever lasting hero worship, making them an overnight billionaire, and more famous than Mrs and Mrs Beckham.
In the real world, we have to do what we can.
Giving in to a sugar craving can send us into a downward spiral where the need to have something sweet takes over our lives. We satisfy that need with some sugar and our bodies tell us to eat some more. I have no idea why some of our bodies seem to work so sadly against us, but it is a constant fight to retain some semblance of normality and reducing the sugar need.
How to avoid sugar cravings.
A chocolate bar can be anything up to about 50% (and more) just of sugar.
It’s all about understanding the carbs !!!! I know this, yet I still struggle, but it’s good to remind myself. The good carbs will help us keep sugar cravings to a minimum. Starches like vegetables and cereals do this by breaking down the carbs slowly, and not allowing the blood sugar to get to abnormal levels.
Some tricks to try and help reduce cravings are:
Look at the food we eat. Processed food tends to be quite high in refined sugars, and might be hidden under names like, lactose, dextrose, fructose etc.
If you drink tea and coffee and use sugar, gradually cut down the amount of sugar you use, until you can stop altogether. It really doesn’t take long before the taste of a hot drink with sugar will turn your stomach.
In general, white flour and rice has been processed. Try to replace them with whole grain versions. Do this by mixing the white with whole grain until you get the taste for it.
Try to eat regularly. Skipping meals can make us more hungry when we do start to eat, and drop our blood sugar levels to increase cravings. I struggle with this one as I am fine until I start eating in a day. If I could just stop eating, like an alcoholic can just stop drinking, then I’d have no problem with controlling my weight.
Eat fruit and vegetables to replace sugary snacks. Common sense, but I find there are days when I just can’t get the fruit I would like.
I’ve seen the recommendations to use a sugar substitute. All I can say about that is “bleurgh.” I’d rather do without than add a substitute. I’ve used Agave Syrup and Stevia for the kids and cooking quite a bit. They don’t seem to notice, so I’ll carry on with that.
Chocolate is GOOD FOR YOU?
Perhaps if I can change my mindset into thinking and believing that chocolate really is good for me, it will lose the love / hate relationship I now have with it. I want to enjoy eating it, and be able to control how much of a bar I eat.
My new mantra…
Chocolate is good for you, chocolate is good for you, chocolate is good for you, chocolate is good for you, chocolate IS good for you.
My kids recently had the dentist and all three of them had to get fillings. Sadly for my youngest, who religiously brushes his teeth twice a day, he needed the most fillings.
The problem with the other two kids, is that they’re not keen on brushing at all. They’re both past the age of letting mum wield the toothbrush, and I do think that tips to help our little ones brush their teeth, and keep them wanting to brush their teeth is important.
My kids are adopted, and eldest came to me with a mouthful of rotten teeth. I have no idea if that has caused damage to his adult teeth as the baby ones fell out, but his teeth seem to be very soft enamel. The dentist said that some kids are just plain unlucky, so I guess he’s had a double whammy of misfortune, or the early experiences of not brushing impacted on his adult ones. Who knows?
Thankfully, after the last visit to the dentist, he seems to be easier to persuade to brush his teeth. I can say with honesty that my kids do like Aquafresh, so I didn’t hesitate to take on this campaign.
I am very aware of how difficult it can be to brush the teeth of a little one. I’ve spent many a day wrestling with a totter while they clamped their jaws firmly around the toothbrush and refused point blank to allow it to touch those pearly whites. I could have used some tips to help with the brushing, so this campaign seems like a sensible one to me.
It’s not surprising that Aquafresh found that out of a survey of 1,500 mums of children aged 2 – 12, that the results who more than one million under-fives have at least two fillings as mums struggle to get kids to brush their teeth.
After the survey, Aquafresh produced a video with handy tips to make brush time more enjoyable. Have a look and see if it can help you.
For more information, or to sign up to The Club for fun tips on how to get kids brushing or for a free sample of Aquafresh Fresh & Minty, please visit
Go on, what do you have to lose by trying a free sample from the Aquafresh club.
We all know playing sports is a great way to get some exercise, and having fun while doing so is an additional benefit. But there is a distinct difference between the number of girls and boys playing sports. Up to 70% of boys participate in regular exercise, with some reports suggesting the amount of girls participating in sport to be as low as 31%, with the recent success of the Olympics hopefully this number will increase. So if your daughter wants take up athletics don’t give her the run around, here are 5 reasons girls should be playing sport other than the fitness benefits.
1. Better Results at School
It may seem that playing sports would take up time that could be used for studying, which in turn would have a detrimental effect on school results. But research suggests that girls who regularly participate in extracurricular sports perform better in school than their peers who don’t. Sport improves concentration, memory, and learning, which is sure to give active girls a head start in the classroom.
2. Learn Teamwork and Goal-Setting Skills
By participating in sports the effectiveness of working together becomes more apparent than in a classroom or work based situation, learning to cooperate on the field can easily transfer to other situations where achieving a common goal is the desired outcome. Working with coaches, trainers, and teammates to set goals and work towards them will help develop communication skills that can be difficult to learn in a classroom; and teach girls that the success of a team is not due to one person’s performance but the performance of each individual working for the group. Setting goals is also a great way to direct attention and focus on a desired outcome, the achievement of which will greatly increase self-confidence.
3. Boosting Self-Confidence
Girls that take part in sports tend to be more self-confident. Knowing that you can set goals, train towards them, and achieve them is great and by gradually increasing the difficulty of skills and opposition you will quickly develop a sense of confidence and will be much more likely to try something more difficult in the future. Performance accomplishments are the greatest influencer on sports confidence; understanding that you are the biggest influencer on your performance will send a girl’s self-confidence sky high and encourage her to believe in internal affecters rather than be negatively affected by external forces such as peers or fate. Knowing that internal factors are much more likely to affect results will allow for greater risks to be taken on the sports field, in the classroom, and socially, resulting in greater rewards.
4. Reduce Pressure
As I’m sure most of us know being a teenager can be quite a stressful experience. Although the causes of the stress may appear trivial as adults, they are very real at the time. Since the rapid rise in social media and the pressures faced by girls to look a certain way the causes of stress are only increasing, as a recent study found when it discovered one in three teenagers experience stress at least once a week. Exercise is known to inhibit the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland, which acts as part of the bodies fight or flight response and suppresses the immune system, so exercise reduces the physical symptoms stress can induce. Not only does exercise decrease the release of cortisol it even increases the release of endorphins, the bodies feel good chemical, producing a feeling of jubilation sometimes known as ‘Runner’s high’.
5. Great for Health
As well as the obvious benefits of maintaining a healthy weight and cardiovascular fitness girls there are other health benefits. One of which is girls who play sport are less likely to smoke than those who don’t take part in any sports. The effects can also be seen as girls get older, with those that exercise less likely to develop breast cancer. Exercise undertaken at an early age will also help strengthen bones helping to reduce the chances of suffering osteoporosis.
In summary girls should be participating in sports as they help develop skills that can be transferred to other facets of life, as well as making them feel better both emotionally and physically. Introducing girls to sport will hopefully foster a passion that they will maintain throughout their adult life, and gain the health benefits that are seen not only in the short term but also the long term.
Author Bio
Simon is a Sports and Exercise Science graduate and coach of a junior hockey team, blogging on behalf of Banana Moon who specialise in personalised clothing; including sports kits, T-shirt printing, and personalised hoodies.
Becoming a parent was the unusual route for me. My kids are all fast approaching teenagehood, but I didn’t give birth to them, and they don’t have my genes.
When we decided to keep the 3 little boys we had come to know, it was still hard to accept the amount of work that it was going to take bringing them into our lives, and to become a family instead of just a temporary home for them.
I’ve made more mistakes in my life since the boys arrived than I think I had ever made in my whole life before adoption. Children change us, and I don’t think it’s always for the better.
My boys are getting older, and although we have managed to get this far, it’s been really tough, and it’s still tough going.
The lack of support is what blights our lives the most. The lack of potential future care for my middle one eats me up at times, as I worry about who will bad use him, ala Castlebeck, or the other institutions that look after special needs adults. I balance that with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met from charities, who spend valuable time with him and are the kind of people I hope are also in his future when we are gone.
Our Government needs to give parents and potential parents peace of mind. I’m not sure that I have the confidence in that now. For the future, I would like to see more consistent care and I’d like to see our children have “rights,” and not just pay lip service to it.
Our kids should be the focus for the future of the Scottish Government, but I have grave misgivings on that front. I do think parents need more support from all angles, and especially special needs parents. Perhaps I am being selfish in that respect, but I know I am not.
A friend and I both want spaces in after school clubs for our kids. We both have special needs kids, and neither of us can get the cover so that we can go out and be full-time, useful members of society in a pubic place and working regular hours. She works part-time, and I take on some work at home, but nothing like as much as I would like to.
There is no child care.
For Aberdeen, it seems that there are only 8 spaces per day for special needs after school care. I have one day allocated and she has two. We’d both love 5 days and to be able to earn more money to support our own families fully. It’s never going to happen without support.
Those who call special needs parents a drain on society don’t seem to know that we’d love to be like them and get out and work for our own sanity. Our culture and our Government won’t allow that, as funding options are always cut. The only provision we have is a charity run one, which has limited resources.
I don’t think this is just a special needs issue either. This isn’t just all about me and mine.
It’s about all our children and all our parenting experiences. What could we do better as a society? If we don’t tell them, or ask for what we need, it isn’t ever going to happen.
Being a parent is so important for the future of our country, but the support and the services just don’t seem to be there to prevent future long-term dependency.
The Scottish Government wants to make Scotland the best place in the world to bring up children, and so they have put together a National Parenting Strategy to provide better support for parents.
To help them plan the Strategy, they talked to over 1,500 parents about what’s best about being a parent, what they found difficult and what help they needed. I think they need to hear more.
Many parents didn’t know where to go for help. Comments included “I didn’t know where to go or who to ask” and “I didn’t have family, I only had myself”.
This Wednesday, on the 3rd October, the Scottish Government has decided to launch the Strategy at the Parenting across Scotland conference in Edinburgh.
Aileen Campbell, MSP, the Minister for Children and Young People, will be there, to talk about what Scottish Government plans to do to make sure that mums and dads get the help they need when they need it.
What help do you think mums and dads need?
What do you think would make Scotland the best place in the world to bring up children?
They would love to hear your thoughts. Tell them your opinions using the Twitter hashtag #pas12, and follow the chat on Wednesday there. If you don’t want to contact them direct, leave a comment on this post, and I’ll pass it on.
Featured Guest Post from Agnese Geka from Agnese Geka – blogger and online marketing consultant for SurveyCompare.net, which is UK’s biggest guide through market research companies providing opportunity to earn extra money by working from home. For the latest news updates follow them on twitter and facebook.
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How to have Fun with an Empty Purse
Seen through a toddler’s eyes, an empty purse is almost as fascinating as one which is full. Therefore keeping them entertained doesn’t have to cost the Earth. All it takes is a little time and imagination – and a parent who is willing to play. There are numerous fun and free activities that mums can do with their toddlers. Here are just a few.
Make Play Dough
Play dough is suitable for children of all ages and can keep toddlers entertained for hours. It is simple to make from items you will already have in your kitchen. The dough is made from salt, flour, vegetable oil and food colouring. Toddlers can even help making the play dough as there are recipes available which do not require the dough to be cooked in a pan. Perhaps the best thing about play dough is that it is non-toxic and will do your toddler no harm if they accidentally swallow some. It can also be reused over and over again. In terms of a toddler’s education, this provides a great way of teaching new shapes and colours as well as improving hand-eye coordination skills.
Visit the Library
Libraries are great for toddlers. There’s lots for them to see and do – and at no cost to you. Besides, encouraging your toddler to read from a young age is recommended and will help when they eventually start school. The vast majority of libraries hold toddler groups and often have special guests to entertain the children. Sitting down in a group and paying attention to one adult is good preparation for the future, as is mixing with children their own age. Such groups give mums the chance to mix socially as well.
Gardening
It may seem like a strange suggestion but toddlers can help in the garden. Obviously, they should not be handed dangerous tools but there nothing to stop them helping to plant and water. Not only does this give you both the opportunity to get some fresh air, but toddlers can learn a lot from the garden including the colours and varieties of flowers and how the plants grow.
Insect Collecting
Another fun activity for toddlers is to go insect collecting. All that’s needed is a jar jam and a small net to catch the bugs. There is an endless supply of creepy crawlies that can be found in a back garden or local park. By simply sweeping the net over long grass you are likely to catch several bugs. Toddlers can learn the names of the various bugs and their colours. Such activities also make it more likely that your child will not grow up scared of insects.
Make a Tent in your Living Room
You’ll be surprised at how easily it is to be creative at home. Rather than sitting your toddler in front of the television, why not build a tent for you and your children to play in? Simply placing a bed sheet over four chairs will give toddlers an opportunity to use their imagination and for you to encourage some role play games. This activity is great for a raining day when your toddler may be frustrated by having to stay indoors. It can also help to eradicate some fears toddlers may have of enclosed or dark spaces.
Bubbles Galore
Toddlers love bubbles and although this may seem like a simple activity, it can keep them entertained for hours. It is also something that can be done every day. Most mums will have children’s bubble mix at home but even washing up liquid can be used. Put some washing up liquid in water and then dip a plastic ring in it and blow away. You can create different sizes and shapes which your toddler will love. Count the bubbles with your toddler to help them develop their numerical skills. Best of all the bubbles leave no mess!
Dancing
Teach your toddler some dance moves when they are at home. There’s almost an endless supply of suitable music for children to dance to. They will enjoy it and it is great for their coordination. Try arranging a few toddlers to come round to make this activity last a bit longer. The toddlers are likely to keep dancing longer with an audience. This will also help improve their social skills.
Visit the Garden Centre
Taking your toddler shopping may not seem the most fun activity, but garden centres are a great location for them. They often have pet shops and aquariums which will fascinate even the most demanding child. They can walk around and see the different plants and ornaments. Remember you do not have to spend money in order for you and your toddler to while a few hours away wandering around the site.
Using a thick bottomed saute pan, or a roomy wok, shallow fry the Greek Chicken Stir Fry for about 10 - 15 minutes in coconut oil, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Rice
Place freshly steamed or boiled Basmati Rice, Peppercorns and Chopped Chilli in a thick bottomed pan or wok. Lightly fry with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil on a low heat for 5 minutes, turning frequently.
Decorate the plate, and serve hot.
Notes
The ready marinaded Greek Chicken Stir Fry is from the counters of Andrew Gordon, Butchery and Fine Foods
I keep meaning to do more of these, but time always seems to find a way to slip past me, and I love Coombe Mill’s website, so I’ve finally managed another Country Kids post. We had a drive through to Huntly and the river Deveron at the weekend, and the kids spent ages skimming stones on the river.
The photos are from my old iPhone 3GS so you really do have to forgive the lack of quality, but hey, it was a weekend away, so I guess that means I was allowed to relax the good photo rules.
So, where do the Army Cadets come in.
Two of my boys spent a fair time with an army cadet, asking her all about it. By the time they had finished talking, they were all up for joining the cadet force in Aberdeen to get their hands on some guns (heaven forbid). Suffice to say that I’ve been asked to check it out for them as a hobby to add to their karate. Somehow they’ve got the impression that being in the cadets is a reason to be seen as a “hard nut and shooting perfectionist.”
Needless to say, I’ve requested the information about the battalions in Aberdeen and there are several to choose from, so one of mine might get a chance at getting his hand on a gun and marching in time. It certainly will mean getting involved, plenty of activities and some face paint and guns. Discipline will also be at the front of it all, and respect for others.
What’s not to love for a boy by doing it, and the benefits for me as a parent could be quite high?
Lounging in a private home, in a secluded location, you’d think it was pretty safe to top up your tan in France, and make sure there are no unsightly bikini lines. Looking around on our own holidays, we tend to worry if our bums look bigger than the people sitting in the next loungers, but as a rule, we never have to worry about much more than that.
It’s pretty poor that the media has decided to pick on the newish Duchess of Cambridge just as she goes on a tour to promote our country and represent the Queen. Catherine and her husband, Prince William, must be fuming in private over the topless photos, but they’ve put on a brave face and managed to carry on, admirably. Some say they get paid to do a job, and yes, they do, but come on, they’re people first and foremost.
If the papers would just shut up about the issue and not keep harping on about who is publishing them, the pictures would have away and dried up in the news without all this sensation.
The media have made a circus out of it, and not publishing the photos seems to have become as lucrative as publishing them by default. Is it try to gain the support of people by getting them up in arms, or is it really bypassing the real issue that should be being dealt with?
Don’t think for one minute that I am a fan faring, flag bearing royalist, because I’m not. I have no real like, nor dislike for the royal family – I don’t know them. Saying that, I really can’t abide seeing someone being the subject of abuse, no matter how small the minority are who are perpetrating it. Yes, I think our media are just big bullies, but there’s also more to it than that.
Why Catherine got her boobs out at all is a mystery to me, since once they are in the public eye, there really is no privacy. I guess the couple felt safe, but there really are some things people need to give up if they are to stay in the public eye. It’s not fair, but it is playing safe.
I have to say, even indoors, covering up your boobs might be a good idea if the curtains are open. I remember back to when Prince Charles was photographed coming out of a shower if I remember rightly. He had expectations of privacy there.
What about when Sarah Ferguson thought she was safe with the toe-sucking incident she got crucified for. Considering she and Prince Andrew seemed to have already been split up in private, the outcry there was incredible, and I’ve no doubt left her scarred for life.
Rambling might be the order of the day here, but I do think the issue not being talked about is a bigger one. Catherine’s boobs worry me not a jot, they give babies food for heaven’s sake, and there are plenty of boobs out on most beaches. I do think “good on her” for keeping a happy face while she is on tour.
The thing that does come to mind with me, is one of the photographer. He had a long-range camera.
What if it had been a long-range rifle?
On public tours and events, the areas are scoured, and staff are on standby to check the routes.
There’s no hiding for a sniper as they’ll be found in seconds (I am guessing).
In a private villa, in a remote place, they were vulnerable. I find that more newsworthy than a young woman getting a tan.
My whole point is that the papers seem to be more engrossed in fighting each other over being the top dog of papers that “haven’t” printed the pics, than they are of discussing the potential danger the couple faced.
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I agree with you John ogroats is a dreary miserable lifeless place stuck in the 1940s full of greedy little…
Hi Made lot of rolls and bread. Try make 50/50 rolls and come out great.and used my bread machine.
For your dry potato, look for Kerrs Pink, September onwards.
I agree with you John ogroats is a dreary miserable lifeless place stuck in the 1940s full of greedy little…
Hi Made lot of rolls and bread. Try make 50/50 rolls and come out great.and used my bread machine.
For your dry potato, look for Kerrs Pink, September onwards.