Month: May 2013

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Children And The Music Machines

Who really stops and thinks when they’re passwording their Internet and thinking they’re being clever by saying their kids can’t get access to anything untoward in our homes?  I remember duly locking down my kids Facebook, our browsers and the Apple gadgets, only to be faced with an afternoon of gyrating by way of our TV music channels.

The idea amongst our Film and Music video producers seems to be focussed on selling sex to our minors as a way of enticing them to spend money and time on their music.   Watching the videos and children gyrating in time to the beat in discos and kids parties is sometimes enough to make me gag and feel like throwing up my dinner.

The artists demean themselves by promoting junk while they pretend their music is not for anyone under a certain age.  Why then, can I turn on the music channel any time of day and be confronted by scantily clad women and men pouting and birling to the tune of suggestive content?  Most of these artists made their name from the kids who they now profess not to be singing for, and wouldn’t be far short of being thrown off the top shelf in a newsagents.

In 2011, the Guardian reported that music videos faced a “crackdown over sexualised content with a Government report into sexualisation of childhood set to propose tougher regulations on retail, advertising and video industry.”   Rhianna was reported to allegedly be “unrepentant for filming a music video in which she shoots someone who raped her.”

How on earth do you explain the likes of her S&M Video to kids who have no idea that grown ups even have a sex life?  I remember a friend running from my kitchen to the family room like a demented banshee when she heard the opening bars to Sexy and I Know It coming on to the TV early on a Sunday afternoon.  It’s not one of the worst videos I’ve seen, but no parent should have to feel like that when it was the kids who bought that music in their droves.

While there may be some inroads into the regulations and ratings for music videos, I’m not fully aware of how far these have gone, and I still feel uncomfortable watching the world of usually female artists plying their wares and looking for sales on the back of the sexualised content of their videos.

As a child, I don’t remember any of this type of thing, and music channels and videos were usually restricted to Top of the Pops and not much else.

Turn on music channels now and we’re likely to be faced with as much content that would have gone on behind closed doors and been tagged as adult content a few years ago.  How do we explain the coverage of 50 Shades of Grey and what S&M is to our kids when they’re not that long out of nappies?

It’s not like kids even have a choice.  They might like a tune, and they might want to listen to an artist without having sex rammed down their throats.  Do artists and their publicists not realise that kids shouldn’t be exposed to pornographic content over their marshmallows and cake pops?

It’s all for money, but our artists really are selling themselves short.   In a fad for Rhianna and Eminem, the explicit versions were downloaded by more than a handful of kids at my boys schools, yet these are the same kids that keep their wallets fat and their platinum albums spinning on their precarious tops.

It’s done deliberately.  Why else would Madonna still be gyrating to music and wearing clothes fit for teens, while she’s old enough to be the grandmother of most of the people buying her music?

I don’t let my kids buy anything with explicit content, but their friends will let them see it anyway.

Aren’t we meant to be the adults?

Aren’t the adults meant to be the ones protecting our young and keeping them safe, comfortable and protected?

If we stop buying the music from artists who seem to be promoting gratuitous porn, maybe our kids will be more protected with videos that are more suitable for both granny and child to watch in comfort.  I want to choose what my kids watch, and not have it rammed down their throats by the music industry, whichever dentist surgery has MTV on while my kids sit in their chair, or the shop in town bumping out the tunes to show how great the clarity of the new HD TV’s are.

Our music industry certainly seems chained to values that are designed to maximise profit, but is it too much to ask for our kids to just be kids, and for parents to know that our kids aren’t watching things they shouldn’t at young ages?

 

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Mango, Orange, Pineapple, Apple & Passion Fruit Smoothie

So refreshing and even tempts my little one to drink some goodness in a glass.  He likes it to come out a bit like how Costco smoothies do, and I think McDonalds do a fruit smoothie with mango and one with strawberry and banana that seems to be getting more popular with kids nowadays.

Mango, Orange & Pineable Smoothie 4

Orange, Mango, Pineapple and Passion Fruit Smootie

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Smoothies
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Oranges
  • 2 Mango
  • 4 Passion Fruits
  • 500 g Pineapple
  • 500 g Crushed ice

Instructions
 

  • Peel and chop the fruit roughy.
  • Put all the fruit and crushed ice into a blender until smooth.
  • Add some ice into a glass and pour the smootie on top to keep it extra cold.

 

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Where are the missing kids? #blogging4madeline

I am taking part in the #blogging4madeline campaign this year.   Yes, I can just hear some of you sigh, begin to switch off and think about clicking away, but just wait a minute and spare a few minutes for the kids who have all gone missing, including Ben Needham, April Jones and many other nameless and faceless children.  What if they were your children?

”Blogging4Madeleine”

If your children had been taken, no matter what the circumstances, would you click away then?

This isn’t about the parents, or the press, or the stories of who did or didn’t do anything right or wrong.

It’s about the children and nobody else.

I have watched people crucifying April Jones parents for having her out playing late at night, or the McCann parents for leaving the children alone, but neither of those things changes the facts that the kids are still missing.  I think that we would all clutch at hope of any kind if our children went missing.   I’ve accepted that I don’t have to agree with what parents might or might not have done to offer my support with helping to find those missing kids.

I’m posting for the kids.

Madeleine went missing from Praia da Luz, Portugal on Thursday 3rd May 2007.

I agreed to join the blogging4madeleine campaign to raise awareness that Madeleine McCann is still missing and to spread the word about her and the other missing children around the world.  There are thousands of children missing from the UK, but far too few people know about any of them.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (run by the police) operates a website called Missing Kids UK that shows many of the children who are missing.    I’ve added their widget to my blog footer.  If you want to add the same as mine which is smaller than theirs, the code is.

<iframe width=”150″ height=”195″ src=”http://www.missingkids.co.uk/widgets/missingkidscrawidget.aspx” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>

Why are we posting now?

  • Children deserve not to be forgotten.
  • There are thousands of British children missing.
  • Madeline McCanns birthday is the 12th May 2013.  She would have been 10 years old.
  • The 25th May is International Missing Childrens Day.   Get involved over on Facebook.

Contact information to report any sightings or information of Madeleine and other missing children.

  • Your local police force immediately, AND
  • +44 845 838 4699 or investigation@findmadeleine.com
  • OR Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111
  • OR www.crimestoppers-uk.org

This is what Madeline could have looked like at age 9.

madeleine have you seen me image

 

If you’re interested in joining the #Blogging4Madeleine campaign please contact CJ from A Mummy’s View blog via Twitter, Facebook or by emailing amummysview@gmail.com.

I’ll leave you with part of the message from Kate McCann on her website which stated that most children who are missing in the way Madeline was are for sexual exploitation.  I found the statement she made further on very disturbing.

“What are the benefits for our children of being in a European Union where several member countries offer child pornography as a LEGAL past time?  The most vulnerable members of our society are our children and they deserve better than this. Lack of sex offender registers, lack of reliable tracking systems for known offenders and no CRB check requirements , not even for those working with children are other major areas of concern within many parts of Europe. My eyes have certainly been opened to a whole new world out there – a very worrying one.” 

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Why and How to Steam Vegetables

Although we can create steaming recipes which also include meat, poultry and fish, I am going to concentrate on vegetables for this post.

It has taken me a long time to be convinced of the goodness that steaming vegetables gives.  We can steam in our microwaves, in our specialised pots, or with our stand alone steamers, but the results are all the same.

Steamed Vegetables

What is Steaming?

The goodness of our fresh vegetables for our growing families is kept intact, and compliments any meal.

Steamed vegetables are full of nutrition, and quick and easy to get to our tables as accompaniments to our meals.

Learning how to steam vegetables is sensible.  I wish I had cottoned onto this method in my twenties and not my late 30’s.  There’s no fat used, no added calories, and the vegetables can remain crispy and crunchy if that’s how you prefer yours to be.

Basically, it is really using steam to cook vegetables and not actually putting the vegetables into water to cook.

Blanching retains more nutrients than basket steaming, but at home here we have a steamer that has 3 separate compartments.

Vegetables take different times to cook, so I find myself putting on the root vegetables first and adding ones that take less time to cook, ie broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus spears etc much later.

How to Steam Vegetables

Blanching

If you are blanching in a pan, it is most suited to green vegetables and needs the water heated with a good amount of water first.  Approximately 1.5 – 2 litres of water for enough greens for about 6 people.    Add some salt and bring to the boil.  The salt helps the vegetables in the blanching process by helping raise the water temperature and keeping those vegetables delicious and nutritious.  Most green vegetables will be ready in 30 – 60 seconds with this method.

Steamer Appliance

This specially made kitchen appliance is made just to steam food of all sorts.   It can cook fish, chicken and much more and using it makes steaming vegetables really easy.  We can buy steamers for a pittance nowadays so I’d probably say having one is a good addition to any kitchen.  I have traditional steaming pots, but I have never, ever used them.

Steamers have a bottom section that contains a heating element.  We fill that with water and that is where the steam is generated.   The steaming baskets fit over the base and allow you to put your vegetables in for steaming.

My steamer has 3 baskets that can stack one on top of the other.    With the steamer, you don’t have to worry about cooking your vegetables.

They tend to come with cooking instructions for different vegetables, with their times and suggestions to get the most out of your machine.

Steamer 150

Pan Method

With the double boiler set up (ie a pan within a pan) you add water in the lower layers and bring that to a boil.   The steam builds up pressure and cooks the vegetables in a pot that sits above the actual water.  This isn’t how I would steam my vegetables as I’d not trust myself to have unburned veges, but it’s how my grandmother used to do them.

If we don’t have a steamer, and we want steamed vegetables, it does do the job, so read on if you want to know how to steam vegetables in a pot.

You need a nice big pot and it needs to be bigger than the vegetables that you plan to steam in it.  Add a little water in the bottom, approximately an inch and boil the water.  Add the vegetables when the water is boiled and most of them will be above the water line.

Make sure the water does not boil off, and add more boiling water from a kettle if you have to.    Put on a tight fitting lid for the top to keep the steam in the pan, but preferably one with a little escape hole in the top.

Microwave

There are some very cheap steaming dishes for our microwaves these days.  I got a fantastic one from lakeland.  It works along the premise of a few tablespoons of water in the bottom, and the vegetables in the insert, that doesn’t sit in the water.

Microwaved vegetables done this way take around 5 minutes but the microwave is also cooking the vegetables along with the steaming, so the end result will be slightly different from using a pan or a steaming appliance.

 

 

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A Little Bit of Basic SEO Terms

SEO

I think lots of us do things very differently when it comes right down to a little SEO.  I guess in simple terms, it really comes down to how we write and manage our blog information and content.

I don’t always get these right (who does), but it’s nice to remind myself how it should really go to maximise those good old search engine results.

What I think it best practice for blog writing SEO.

Unique Content

Search engines love content these days.   The phrase that many come up with is “content is King.”  Whether we like it or not, Google had decided that content is the way to go and who are we to argue with Google.  Good quality content gets better ranking placement which means more readers sent our way.  Try to avoid duplication of content as although it is unlikely to get you banned, it may get your post lowered down the ratings if another website hosting almost the same content is chosen as the one to rank higher.

Be Consistent

If we only post a couple of times a year, we’re not likely to have our websites crawled often for updates in the search engine directories.  If our content isn’t in them, it can’t be found.  Try to build a community of loyal readers who want to keep coming back for more of what you share, and they might even pass it on to their friends.

Social Media

For any blog that wants to be noticed, or wants visitors, sharing on social media is a must.  Many people recommend Addthis, but I found it sadly seemed to slow my WordPress install down so much that I found it frustrating to use, but I would love to have kept it as it was really good.

The WordPress Jetpack share options seem to be working well and it gets our information started on a good many social media platforms.  On social media, it doesn’t just mean broadcasting our wares and hoping people will listen.  It takes time and effort to get to a place where we create online virtual relationships with our mutual follows.  Social media is about trust, reliability and not always likeability.  Who cares which one you prefer most, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit or any others.  It’s the one you enjoy that you should stick to, unless you are a business as then you need to go where your customers are.

Word Count

This is quite important really.  Some online content networks ask for between 400 – 800 words for a reason.   Anything above about 250 words is acceptable, but go far too far over and few people will stop and read the whole post as the length of the text is just too much for them.  Not too short and not too long should be the order of the day.  As much as you need to get your message across.   This post will be slightly over, but not by much.

Keywords

Keywords help.  In lots of cases, they are simply common sense, and thinking of what you would search for in Google to look for your topic can make how you craft your content slightly differently.  I once saw a local hairdresser with simply their keywords written into about 4 paragraphs on a page endlessly.  It was horrific to see and read.  Don’t overstuff your keywords.  Using about 3 – 6 in an 800 word post is probably enough.

I’ve noticed some people adding random keywords into their page or post meta descriptions and titles.  Think about what you are doing as Google isn’t silly.  If you add words into your seo descriptions and tags that are not in your content, they’re not going to like it.  You could well be seen as trying to manipulate the reader.

Comments

There was a lot of talk a while back about bloggers turning off comments and being unapproachable.  Only the individual blogger can decide if that’s the right route for them.  Google likes to see frequently updated content, and comments work for that too.  It also makes you look approachable and shows interaction with your readers.  It’s also very impolite to never answer your commenters.  I’m not perfect and I miss a few, but I try to catch them all.

Links

If you’re serious about blogging and want to rise and rise and rise, you either have to be very popular, create fantastic content that nobody else does, or build some great links.  Remember that not all links are equal and that some links could do you some harm.  I blog for fun, but if you’re blogging for a future potential business or to turn it into a commercial enterprise, links in are a must.

Google have guidelines for using links that are not illegal, ie taking money for sponsored posts is not illegal, but Google does not like anyone paying or being paid for links that pass any page rank to another website.   Any of us who take the risk, also risk a potential ban from Google.  Building links naturally from relevant other websites that Google approves of is the best way to go forward.  That comes from great content, guest posting, and using social media well.  It is ALWAYS illegal to take money for a post or page and not declare the relationship.

Good luck as building a huge link base is really time consuming.

Tags

Tags are just like categories but for the net.  The search engines pull them up and they can be useful for having people sent your way.  A good blog post with some relevant keywords might just not need to put their tags on, and I do sometimes forget, but I think they are useful.

What they do is allow your content to be indexed much more quickly and hence perhaps a higher rank.  I still see people putting invisible text in websites, hoping that search engines will pull them up, but I suspect that would go against you as the text would be classed as hidden.   In fact, hidden text could get your blog de-indexed altogether in Google.

Some people have tag clouds on their front page in the hope that the words will be picked up from there, but I think that it totally unnecessary and a waste of front page space.  Others will disagree with me.   If you look at tags as the same as your keywords, it makes them easier to understand.   They should be made up of up to three word phrases and accurately describe or reflect the post or page that they are attached to.

 

 

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Review: Walkers New Baked Hoops and Crosses

According to my kids, there are no crisps like a Walkers crisp.  I suspect it has something to do with the Gary Lineker ads that they think are really funny.   The person who designed those should have a gold badge for innovation, long-lasting interest and public approval.

With our family history of crisps, who could ignore an e-mail asking us to review a new Walkers product?

Walkers 3

With the arrival of  “Monkey George,” along came Walkers Roast Beef Hoops and Crosses in a  lovely box with a book to tell us all about them.   If I’m honest, I’d have to say the Roast Beef are better than the Prawn Cocktail that we’ve had before.

We’ve called the monkey that came with our review Hoops and Crosses George, which is a family tradition due to a besotted nephew who has carried a fluffy monkey since he was a nipper.  All soft toys that look like a monkey have been named George from that time to this.

Hoops and Crosses come in three flavours – all suitable for vegetarians (prawn cocktail, roast beef, salt and vinegar)

Walkers 2

The Nutritional Content

  • Each bag has 85 calories.
  • Each bag consists of 56% wholegrain corn meal.
  • Hoops and Crosses are made from wholegrains, have no artificial colours or preservatives.

Any Walkers Prawn Cocktail fans wouldn’t be disappointed though as they taste exactly like the Prawn Cocktail crisps, which my kids say is a great selling point.

What I do like about the new Hoops and Crosses is the wholegrain content that kids can’t taste at all when they eat the crisps.

Eating a diet that includes wholegrain can help our health along nicely by providing a rich source of fibre.  Getting fibre into my children so easily has to be a good way to go.

Walkers 1

I know friends of my kids who eat no wholegrain at all, so as a wholegrain snack, it is perfect for lunchboxes and trips out.  We didn’t get a chance to try out playing x and o’s on a piece of paper as the bag was dived upon by children desperate to eat them.  We’ll just have to wait until the next time we have them in the house.

I can see these being a staple in our house for snacks and lunchboxes, although my kids would like to see them in Tomato and Cheese & Onion flavours too.

This is a sponsored review.  I was not obliged to review positively.  

 

 

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What would you do with an hour back?

My kids beds have been changed more often than I’d like.

Middler is quite hard on his, and tends to use his as a trampoline, which means a slatted version of any bed is just completely out of the question for us.

I think two of my kids are now past the bouncy bouncy stage, although TV adverts showing teenagers having pillow fights on their beds really just not make for a happy mum when the kids copy it.  If the production and acting teams has to clear up the mess after a pillow fight, I’m sure there wouldn’t ever be one again – anywhere.

I remember when my kids were really little and I put them to bed.  I thought they were quiet and the rascally dog sneaked in beside them.  Deciding to open a bag full of nappy bags, cream and talc, the kids and the dog decided to throw it all over the room.

I heard the laughter and barking, only to find myself greeted at the door by a plume of white powder and mess everywhere.

This led back to reminiscing about the early days and restful sleep for us all.  There’s nothing better than a great night’s sleep, and Dreams, the bed retailer got in touch at the time of the clocks changing and asked me what I’d like to do if I had an hour of my time back.

I could have gone for a new haircut, my nails done, or a massage, but all I could think of was that I’d like to sit in peace with my kids and enjoy a film with them all sitting in the same place.

I thought I’d pick something for me, but there you go, I put the kids first – as lots of us tend to do.

Dreams sent us a fabulous pack of goodies with blankets, sweeties, popcorn and a copy of The Hobbit to watch.   I don’t have to say that my kids find it hard to sit still, but the film had enough twists and turns and slapsticky stuff that kept my kids entertained.

Movie Night 2

The man was out for the night and we sat and started to munch through the most massive bar of Dairy Milk that my kids have ever seen.   I’d said to Dreams that I like Dairy Milk, but the kids pinch it, so the bar they sent through could have fed a dozen people with chocolate.

I left it in the cupboard overnight and strangely enough, the next morning, the box was still there, but the chocolate had disappeared to where the chocolate fairies always take it.

We have very naughty chocolate fairies around here.

Dairy Milk

Thanks to Dreams for our amazing Movie Night.  We appreciate it.

Have a think to yourself and ask the question – what would you do if you could have an hour back?

 

 

 

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Haddock & Mange Tout Fish Pie Recipe

Haddock is a pretty reliable and easy fish to work with.  It would have been the dish that my grandparents and their parents mostly lived on as they grew up.

As versatile as it is, a fish pie is really an easy option to make with it.  I swithered between a fish pie and fishcakes, and this time round, the fish pie won for ease of simplicity.

This is another recipe for our Healthy Happy Hearts campaign with fish is the dish.

Haddock and Mange Tout Fish Pie Recipe

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Mains
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 5 lb Potatoes Peeled and suitable for mashing.
  • 5 Haddock Fillets Ours were quite large.
  • 1 Lemon
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Milk For the sauce.
  • Cornflour 3 Tablespoons mixed in a little cold milk.
  • Butter I use a knob of butter, but not too much to make the sauce and the same to mash the potatoes.
  • 500 g Mange Tout
  • 200 g Peas I like petit pois for the sweetness.
  • 1 pinch Nutmeg
  • Rapeseed Oil

Instructions
 

  • Put the potatoes on to boil before creating the fish and sauce for the pie. They need to be cooked in some salt and left to simmer for approximately 20 minutes to be suitable for mashing.
  • Wash and dry the fish. The fish can be dried in kitchen roll, or simply rolling in a little plain flour.
  • I put the fish in a pan on a low heat for a few minutes in rapeseed oil to allow it to slowly cook while I prepare the white sauce. Put the oven on to approximately 120 C.
  • In a pan, mix 1 - 2 pints of milk and a knob of butter. When the butter is almost fully melted and the mix is almost at boiling point, remove from the heat and stir in the cornflour and milk mixture. As it thickens, return it to the stove until you have a smooth white sauce. If it isn't thick enough for you, simply add a little more cornflour to it.
  • Add the sauce to the fish along with the mange tout and the peas. Allow the mix to simmer on a low heat with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, and add the nutmeg.
  • Mash the potatoes using a little butter and milk. You want the texture to be manageable without being slimy or runny.
  • In a large dish, put your fish in sauce, and cover fully with your mashed potatoes.
  • Put your fish pie in the oven, and cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until the potatoes turn golden on top.
  • Serve and enjoy.

Notes

For this recipe, I use rule of thumb quantities to go with how much fish I have.  I've not put dedicated amounts as that depends on what you are cooking with your fish pie.  Almost anything goes, so make it up as you go along.

 

 

 

 

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5 Things to Remember when Baking with Kids

This is a guest post from Chris who writes for one of the child sponsorship charities, World Vision UK..   I’m already linked to World Vision as one of the bloggers who does a sponsor share for a child through their sponsorship scheme.  You can find out more about what we bloggers did for that here.   Interestingly, Chris has chosen to blog about baking with our kids.

—————————————————————————————

cherry cake slice

Baking with kids should be many things, fun, entertaining, enjoyable and should hopefully result in some tasty treats.  I will offer five small things to remember when baking with kids to ensure you make the most of the experience.

Be Generous

I think being generous goes hand in hand with baking, don’t try and limit the ingredients, I find a nice mix of ingredients makes the baking experience that much more enjoyable.  If it’s cookies you are making why not buy a variety of ingredients to make different flavours, a nice selection always works better in my experience. You could use white chocolate, milk chocolate or caramel chunks; basically any sweet treats that you think will add to the taste should be included.

Be Creative

Following a recipe is initially advisable to make sure you have got the basics right but add your own creative touch, in fact encourage the kids to add their own style, this will help get them involved and should add to the enjoyment of the exercise. If its small cakes you are making, Smarties, chocolate chips or multi coloured icing should help them use their creative touch.

Be Prepared

It may seem obvious but making sure everything is prepared can go a long way in ensuring a successful days baking, having the ingredients to hand can help avoid any disasters amidst the potential chaos that may ensue. If you are thinking about baking two or three different treats prepare your time especially for this, it should go a long way to making sure everything comes out as planned.

The Kids are Always Right

My favourite thing to remember when it comes to baking and something I’m sure the kids will agree with is that the kids are always right. Aside from the key basics there are generally no fixed rules which means all sorts of variations will work. Deciding how things are decorated and what is mixed is all part of the experience, fingers crossed the cakes and cookies come out well.

Have Fun

The most important thing to remember in my opinion, baking should be about having as much fun as possible.  If you are doing it as a family then great, make it as enjoyable as you can; don’t be too worried if the presentation is not perfect.   The main thing is getting the kids involved; let them make a bit of a mess, after all that usually means there will be plenty of fun being had.

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Help the Scottish SPCA in Scotland

SSPCA
Image Credit: SSPCA

 

“Mummy, mummy, mummy, can we put some money to the starving doggies.”  a small child cried many years ago.

Looking up the RSPCA, I clicked on how to sign up for a monthly payment.  The adverts in the sidebar showed a little picture of an emaciated dog which looked incredibly in pain.  I don’t usually click on adverts for things and my instincts took over.

Such was my introduction to the very under advertised SSPCA – the wholly separate charity for the safety, care and rescue of animals in Scotland.  Any money subscribed to the RSPCA goes South of the border only.  Happy that I had the right place, I signed up to pay my £4 month.

The RSPCA has no place in Scotland as it does nothing here to help our animals.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is what we need for the animals in Scotland.   I think there is still a lot of misunderstanding, and like me, many people subscribing to the RSPCA when they live in Scotland and would want that money to go to local animals.  Our SSPCA is a smaller charity than the RSPCA and needs all the donations it can get.

I mistakenly believed that the RSPCA was a UK wide charity that helped animals in Scotland.    Our SSPCA may be smaller, but it has more powers than the English version as our animal welfare charity can investigate animal abuse and submit to the prosecutors at the Crown Office in powers given to it by the Scottish Executive.

It’s not enough to just have the power to help animals, our local charity for the welfare of animals needs much more help.  It needs to get the word out that in Scotland, the money has to go to the SSPCA.  If you can help and would like to carry a post with the information, please feel free to get in touch with me via my contact page or on Twitter as @scottish_mum and I will link you up to this blog post and give you a lovely link for helping to spread the word.

If you can spare another few pounds to help out the animals in need, go to the SSPCA Website.  You can join for as little as £4 a month, or simply make a one off donation.   If you join, it’s £1 a week to help relieve the suffering of an animal, many of whom have been abused, neglected or lived lives of misery.  The SSPCA can give those animals care, hope and a new life.

We pay our £1 a week, and my kids love that we can afford to do something little to help.

There are lots of other ways to help.

  • Volunteering
  • Fundraising (packs available)
  • Wedding Favours
  • Collection Boxes
  • Recycle
  • Petplan
  • Donate Food
  • Join or Donate
  • Sponsor a Space

If you can help, please do, even if it’s just to do your own post for it.