WaysToMakeTheWorldABetterPlace

Blog Update

2012-01-23T02:11:00.000Z

I still have not caught up with my blogging. I am 22 days into 2012 and have much to talk about - from Christmas in Poplar to Tenerife in the New Year... and before and after...

Below are some of the subjects to come...

Children in Need activities
3 Club Christmas Parties in 24 hours
Sammy the Squirrel
Tenerife's Christmas celebrations
Christmas Eve Eve @ Poplar peeling
Snow globes & jam jars
Jon's cards and travels
Thanksgiving
Chinese New Year & the art of chopsticks
Julian Barnne's Sense of an Ending
My different names for different people
Someone elses award
Patrick's walk and talk
Rice pudding for the world
Guitar hero smiles
Christmas Fayre
Christmas Movie Night
Christmas art & cooking
Deaf Club

Nativity (2011)

2011-12-08T00:15:00.002Z

Here is clubs Nativity Factor Entry...
...vote for it here

Poppies, Peace & Poplar

2011-11-11T22:03:00.006Z

This week we talked about bonfire night and firework displays. We made chocolate covered apples with sprinkles. We talked about the statue of an angel that stands in our local Poplar Park where 16 young children lost their lives in the first ever daylight air raid in 1917. We talked about the poppy being a symbol, even in Ancient Greece, of life, death and rebirth - able to lie dormant in the ground for years and burst into life like in Normandy. We talked about the different types and colours of poppies and the meanings in recent times of remberance, peace and 'never again'. We talked about how sad it is to lose people like a grand parent, mum or uncle. We made different colour poppies with hearts for petals to show our love for those we have lost.

Jon in the Club Office

2011-11-08T22:56:00.002Z

Those who think that Jon is away in India should think again. Here he is sitting at his desk today. I don't know why he has his hood on indoors or why he likes to wear marigolds at the computer but each to their own.

Me, Sue and Tara have had a scare or two when we have entered the office and seen him there when we didn't expect to seem him - he is supposed to be in India you know.

Oh well looks like Craig's plans to take his chair while he's gone aren't going to come to fruition!

Jarrow March 2011

2011-11-05T05:43:00.003Z

Young People starting out from Temple
on the last leg of the 2011 Jarrow March

The more seasoned Hetty Bower (106 years old) marched
75 years after she welcomed the original Jarrow marches to London 75 years before

The granddaughter of an original Jarrow marcher.

That is it - Youth Demand a Future

All the Jarrow 2011 marchers at the end point in Trafalgar Square after 400 miles!

Southampton

2011-11-04T22:03:00.001Z

After work today I got the 5pm train from Waterloo to Southampton, arrived around 6.20pm, walked in the misty rain in my flipflops and T Shirt (I had an umbrella in my bag) into town. Picked up my camera from a shop I had lost it in two months before. Walked back to the train station. Got the 7.30 train back to London. I arrived back home again about 9.30pm.

It was well worth it - I got my camera back and nearly four hours study! Sometimes I am jealous of commuters - they have so much reading time. I couldn't read the back of a cereal packet in the time it takes me to get to work- and it's probably not recommended if lamposts, pot holes and traffic are to be avoided!

Cognitive Function Test

2011-10-12T19:59:00.002+01:00

Recently I have been forgetting words, mixing up the starts and ends of word and in general showing what my daughter considers are symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s, Tom thinks I just need more sleep. So to put her mind (and mine) at rest - this morning, before breakfast, in between putting a wash on and reading an essay I did a cognitive function test.

The results showed that for my age I have above average cognitive function - so it looks like I just need more sleep!

Block the Bridge

2011-10-09T03:57:00.001+01:00

Westminster Bridge was blocked by NHS Cuts protestors

More photos to come...

Anti-War Rally

2011-10-08T03:31:00.013+01:00

More photos to follow...

Postcard from London Arms Fair

2011-09-13T12:42:00.013+01:00

Life Long Learning

2011-09-12T19:51:00.024+01:00

Today, Lil was excited to, for the first time in her 71 years on this earth got into a library, get a library card and come out with a book (one that she can read now after practicing her reading with Christine and David).

Now she plans to work on her writing skills.

The National Portrait Gallery

2011-09-08T23:08:00.003+01:00

Its open late - until 9pm on Thursday & Friday and its free. The Portrait Award Exhibition is on until the 18th and is well worth seeing. However even when that is gone there is still something for everyone.

I'm thinking of taking the young people one evening after school...tempting them with the following portraits:

- a painting of Tinie Tempah (Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu)
- a photograph of Gok Wan
- a video of David Beckham sleeping

And if that doesn't work perhaps various portraits of JK Rowling and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) might or Julian Opie's cartoon style on canvas or animatedly breathing and blinking...

I may have to make up a Gallery Treasure Trail...

Roz Self Portrait in Opie style

Googling

2011-09-07T00:10:00.008+01:00

When I'm tired or stressed or just not on the ball I can mix up words or phrases. The following are my recent abberations:

On the phone I asked Tom if it was 'crying' where he was or if it was dry! (raining was the appropriate word)

I talk about an 11 month old 'googling' rather than gurgling (putting the goo-goo with gurgle - the person who I told was initially quite impressed with the dexterity and literacy of this baby)

And rather than say 'I can't multi-task', I said 'I can't monkey-dance' (sounds and seems very much alike)

Even if it is a sign of 'issues' to come in my future, its quite interesting to see the world in terms of crying weather, googling babies and monkey-dancing...

Summer still...

2011-09-02T11:42:00.000+01:00

The leaves are falling...

...but the Summer Club plants are still growing.

Butterflies of Hope

2011-08-19T23:05:00.006+01:00

We coloured in some butterflies in Summer Club to send as part of the
Amnesty International campaign
as messages of hope for the girls and women of Nicaragua.

'The butterfly (la mariposa) for us is a symbol of the desire to realise our dreams, spread our wings... fighting with the strength of our rights.'

Martha Munguiá, Nicaraguan Alliance of Women's Centres

When 1 syllable becomes 2...

2011-08-15T00:44:00.002+01:00

My name is Roz. The word 'Roz' has 1 syllable.

Except when someone wants me for something at club. "Ro-oz?"

Or when someone is having a moan. "Ro-oz..."

Or when, like yesterday, someone (aka Georgi) is excitedly calling out to me from the window of a moving car. "Ro-oz!"

Or when, like today, someone scared calls out for help on the low ropes course at Hainault Country Park. "Ro-oz!!!!!!"

A lot can be said in that extra syllable...

(It's interesting because my sign language name has 2 syllables also - roz = red+hair )

Summer Club 2011 - Friday 5th August

2011-08-05T17:51:00.000+01:00

Summer Club - Thursday 4th August

2011-08-04T12:00:00.002+01:00

It had rained all day and then the sky cleared as we made our way over Tower Bridge...

...to go to see Around the World in 80 Days at the open air theatre: The Scoop.

On the way back we had to wait for the bridge!

Summer Club 2011 - Wednesday 3rd August

2011-08-03T23:54:00.002+01:00

We visited two exhibitions today at the Whitechapel Art Gallery...

...and had a quick bite to eat and went climbing at Mile End Climbing Wall

Summer Club 2011 - Tuesday 2nd August

2011-08-02T14:30:00.000+01:00

Getting the D6, chatting, donning buoyancy aids, practising paddle strokes, carrying the kayaks, putting them on the water, nerves, getting in from the side of the canal, paddling, tears, getting caught in the reeds, laughter, canal boats going by, raftingup, chatting, getting to the Joker sign on the bridge, smiles, playing tag, splashes, getting out of the kayaks, putting the boats away, getting the D6 home and more chatting, laughter and smiles

Summer Club 2011 - Monday 1st August

2011-08-01T19:58:00.001+01:00

Danny Boyle & Me

2011-07-31T23:04:00.005+01:00

So I just watched Captain America with Danny Boyle (Director of films including Trainspotting, The Beach, Slum Dog Millionare)

Okay when I say 'with Danny Boyle' - he didn't know I existed - but we were, both, in Screen 3, at West India Quay Cineworld, at the same time, watching Captain America.

Guardian Article on Boyle when Slum Dog came out (great film - was even better after visiting Mumbai)

Summer Club 2011 - Monday 1st August to 25th

2011-07-30T00:38:00.001+01:00

I do plan on writing up the rest of Summer Club - this weekend I only got the first week done (Day - 1 2 3 4 5)

There are two and a half weeks more - I may have to summarise.

So until I do get around to a proper update, the rest of Summer Club included the following:

More Ready Steady Cook
Glass Painting
More games indoor and out
More Climbing & Kayaking
Theatre - Around the World in 80 days
Art Gallery Tour of Photographs & Ceramics
Club Sleepover, Food & Movie
Campcraft ie. cooking on camping stove & tent pitching
Camping @ Debden House
Bicycle building & riding
Hainault Country Park trip with Orienteering & Low Ropes

Amongst other things - had new experiences, learned new skills, met new people, made new friends and built confidence & self esteem
And its not over yet - on the Thursday the 25th we go to see 39 Steps at the Theatre...

Summer Club 2011 - Friday 29th July

2011-07-29T20:05:00.007+01:00

(see finished butterflies here)

Playing games like pool, table tennis, four in a row, Moshi Top Trumps

and playground games like Duck Duck Goose

Designed and Painted Ceramic Mugs

Just Dance Tournament - won by Kali!!!!

Summer Club 2011 - Thursday 28th July

2011-07-28T16:14:00.005+01:00

We got our buoyancy aids, paddles and kayaks headed for the canal... On land Dean showed us how to hold and use the paddle and we practised how to use the paddle to move forward and back and to change direction... We got on the canal (probably the hardest bit apart from getting out of the boats again and then we paddled around, tried to avoid the bushes, fishermen and canal boats and when we needed a break had some rest stops where we rafted up and chilled out. For some it was their first time paddling and for others they had been last year and felt more confident this time... but all had a great time and looked forward to doing it again.

Summer Club 2011 - Wednesday 27th July

2011-07-27T02:27:00.021+01:00

MAKING FRIDGE MAGNETS & BADGES

Finishing Designing & Fabric Painting Socks

Making & Eating Wraps

Summer Club 2011 - Tuesday 26th July

2011-07-26T21:26:00.004+01:00

Summer Club 2011 - Monday 25th July

2011-07-25T19:24:00.014+01:00

The first day of club included registering new people, deciding together on the ground rules and doing all the usual club actities... as well as....under the watchful eyes of Tara & Josh...

READY STEADY COOK

Two teams chose envelopes to for the main course or dessert. The teams had £5 each and had to plan the meal, go out and buy it and then cook it. Below were the results.

...made by Milanda & Kali

...made by Lauren & Nicole

We also designed templates for fabric painting socks...butterflies were very popular...

And we chatted, made new friends, played games, danced, played pool, laughed, ate, did the wash up and talked about the rest of the week.

J30 Strike & Demonstration

2011-06-30T15:00:00.000+01:00

Art Attack

2011-06-27T23:27:00.002+01:00

Tonight Monday Club included ceramic painting, pop art...
...and a team challenge
to create representations of club using plasticine & black card...

(good to see love and colours and flowers and hearts and the sea, sunset and palmtree and birds and me it seems with the red hair!)

A hoodie, base-ball cap and apron...
ensure the painter is well protected in the Art Room :-)

Nicole used a photoshopped photocopy of her photo
and some highlighters for this effect

Vertigo

2011-06-15T23:17:00.005+01:00

Paul Auster in his book Mr Vertigo (1997) tells us something about ourselves which we could comprehend if we could let go of what we already think we understand about ourselves:

"Deep down, I don’t believe it takes any special talent for a person to lift himself off the ground and hover in the air. We all have it in us—every man, woman, and child—and with enough hard work and concentration, every human being is capable of…the feat….You must learn to stop being yourself. That’s where it begins, and everything else follows from that. You must let yourself evaporate. Let your muscles go limp, breathe until you feel your soul pouring out of you, and then shut your eyes. That’s how it’s done. The emptiness inside your body grows lighter than the air around you. Little by little, you begin to weigh less than nothing. You shut your eyes; you spread your arms; you let yourself evaporate. And then, little by little, you lift yourself off the ground. Like so."

Mr Vertigo could be called a modern fairytale, fable or parable. It has something in it which makes you aware of your limitations - not to be bound by them but to overcome them. It makes you want to reach new heights...to soar...to leave the weight of the world behind and not be anchored by your pride, greed, laziness or prejudices, to know that with hard work, perseverance and belief you can achieve the extraordinary, the seemingly impossible, the yet unknown. To strive for existence on a higher plain and believe the unbelievable, imagine the unimaginable, that we are all only restricted by our own selves, that nothing else stops us, the sky is the limit and we can all fly.

Amaryllis

2011-05-25T18:58:00.003+01:00

Its that time of year again at club...amaryllis time.

London Marathon Elite 2011

2011-04-17T13:10:00.006+01:00

LONDON WORK/EXPERIENCE

2011-04-08T19:00:00.011+01:00

David's Work Experience took place at The Paradise Zone Youth Centre in the East End of London from the 4th to the 8th of April 2011 generally at the following times and changing according to needs: Monday 11am - 3pm & 5.30 - 9, Tuesday 11am - 7pm, Wednesday 10am - 3pm & 5.30 - 8pm, Thursday 10.30 – 3.30 & 5.30 – 8pm and Friday 11 - 5

David did lots of preparation before sessions like buying ingredients for cooking & planning activities like the 'Going Camping' game for the Young Leaders Project. For each session he set up the main room, put equipment, games and the Carrom Board out, switched the PS2 & WII on, set up the pool & table tennis tables, put out drinks and the fruit bowl, set up the art table, put music on & set up the IT room.

Other prep work he did included:

Risk assessment – looking at hazards etc
Session briefing & Reflection
Studied clubs policies & documents ie. Aims, Framework, Equal Ops
Learning British Sign Language

During sessions whether 1:1 or group evening Open Sessions or day time School Sessions or the Young Leader Project, David signed young people in, got to know them (even using BSL when he could) and worked with and supported them teaching skills and learning from them when appropriate. He ran activities like making origami bunnies and cards with young people with complex needs, did worksheets on subjects such as homophones with a home-schooled girl, ran a scavenger hunt round Poplar with the Young Leader Project and a plethora of other activities including Easter Egg Hunts and Egg and Spoon races, cooking chocolate Easter egg nests, playing musical bunny statues & cotton ball bunny tails with different groups. David also did things like set up the tables for lunch & clear up with the young people and after sessions evaluate the session with the team and switch off, put away, tidy up, clear away and lock up.

For specific groups David had to adapt activities like providing more support in activities for those with specific learning needs and disabilities, providing Easter egg alternatives as gifts for Easter when a member of the group was diabetic, in the Young Leader Project was willing to be led by other young people in games such as tangle hands and line up and used sign language as appropriate. As part of David's development and experience he also observed a British Sign Language Exam at an Idea Store, sat in on a Supervision meeting, climbed at the local Mile End Climbing wall, visited local meeting/eating places such as the Departure Lounge and Noodle Street and the centre cafe for Thursday Breakfast Club.

He did all that as well as experiencing some of London's places of interest, history and culture as can be seen in the picture below...

Hand Off Our Public Services

2011-03-26T15:34:00.000Z

An article in East End Life:

I am there with the giant inflatable banana (called Timmy) with the message, 'We dont want a banana republic.'

Ag

2011-03-21T20:46:00.004Z

"This is the only thing my school's done for me,"said one of the 12 year olds at club as he fingered through his school diary to find Ag in the Periodic Table. "Silver" he said.

He hadn't found the complete answer so he checked out 'cirrus' on line. "Clouds" he said. " Silver clouds?" he asked. "A saying about silver and clouds?"

"Google those words" he was told.

He did and he got it...after much research including asking people, looking up the Periodic table, the internet and he finally came up with...

"Every cloud has a silver lining!" and he noticed that they even looked like clouds.

Red Nose Day 2011

2011-03-18T22:50:00.001Z

We made Red Nose cupcakes...did some red nose and spoon races...

Made some red nose monster swirls and pointy hands and moustaches on sticks
(a la Monty Python)

...and we sold, bought and wore red noses...

Moving Story

2011-03-13T08:44:00.005Z

Japan's recent tsunami, earthquake and nuclear power plant explosion prompted my daughter to ask me:

"Are we all going to die?"

I thought to myself - yes we are eventually - but then thought about the fact that she was just starting to pack to move house, so I asked:

"Are you asking so you don't have to pack?"

"Well if we're all going to die then I don't need to move or pack and I can sit on the sofa and watch TV."

Talking about finding the silver lining!

No Cake for Men

2011-03-08T23:03:00.002Z

Jon sat in the Departure Lounge tapping on his lap-top as a woman went round the room. She told a woman in the corner to help herself to some cake to celebrate International Women's Day, then the woman near her, then the woman across from him. Then she passed him to go to the woman on his other side and another woman beside her.

Why was he left out? Why was he discriminated against?
Couldn't he celebrate International Women's Day?
Weren't some of the most important people in his life, women - his mum, his sister, his girlfriend?

He loved women - why couldn't he have cake?

Work

2011-02-28T00:18:00.000Z

So during Monday Club...
...at the youth centre where you work...
you ask a young person to guess how you came to work that day...
...and they ask you, "Where do you work?"
...and you tell them, "At Club." (hadn't they noticed?)
...and they then say, "Wot, all the time - what do you do during the day?"
...and you explain and realise that they think that you have another 'real' job....
...and you watch a whole new world unfold before their eyes of young people going to a youth centre day and night and even during school time...
...and you hardly get a reaction at all when you go back to telling them how you got to work that day...
... even though,
....unlike other days when you just take 5 minutes to walk to work,
...that day
...you got up that morning
... in Ireland
...and took a car, plane, bus and train to work!

The Spirit Level on Imprisonment

2011-02-16T23:45:00.000Z

In Wilkinson & Pickett's book The Spirit Level (2010) we hear that:

"More people are imprisoned in more unequal countries"

"In the USA prison population s have been increasing steadily since the early 1970s...In the UK...numbers have doubled since 1990...Only 12% of the growth of state prisoners [in the US] ...could be put down to increases in criminal offending...88% of increased imprisoment was due to increasing likelyhood that convicted prisomers were sent to prison rather than being given non -custodial sentences and due to the the increased length of prison sentences."

"In California in 2004, there were 360 people serving life sentences for shop-lifting"

"About forty prison sentences for shoplifting are handed out every day in the UK"

Does it work?

According to the book " there appears to be a trend toward higher rates of re-offending in more punitive systems " USA and UK, re-offending rates are generally beween 60 and and 65% with lower rates in less harsh envoronments like Sweden and Japan between 33 and 40%.

"Societies that imprison more people also spend less of their wealth of their citizens."

Criminologists Downes & Hansen talk of the changes that come to a society with the phenomenon of 'penal expansion and welfare contraction' and sociologist Currie discusses the fact that since 1884 California built 1 new college and 21 new prisons.

"In more unequal countries money is diverted away from positive spending on welfare, education, etc., into criminal and judicial systems."

Sounding familiar?

QI on Imprisonment in the US

Check out The Equality Trust for more info on the benefits of equality and disadvantages of inequality

QI is QS

2011-02-16T21:32:00.013Z

I watch QI on TV and find it Quite Interesting.
However, sometimes it's Quite Shocking!

Having read The Spirit Level on Imprisonment and Punishment I shouldn't have been so surprised...

So, anyway, here's a couple of QI facts to ease you in...

1% of American Adults are in Jail
5% of the World is American
25% of the World's Prisoners are American

"No society in history has imprisoned more of its citizens"
(Stephen Fry from Qi)

Why?

Could it be because prisons have turned into busineses using prisoners as virtual slaves to compete with cheap overseas labour?

Could it be because of prejudice, discrimination, racism & deprivation?

In the US
more 17 year old black males
are in prison than in college

Why else would the 3 Strike Rule be abused so much?
Why else is Leandro Andrade serving two x 25 years for shoplifting 9 videos?
Why else is Keven Weber serving 26 years for stealing 4 chocolate chip cookies?

The small print of the above picture reads:

More Californians are serving
life sentences
under the 3 strike law
for drug posession
than for
second-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and rape
- combined.

Housing Emergency

2011-02-15T00:12:00.004Z

Individuals, groups and organisations
have joined together to form Housing Emergency ...

...in a campaign for tenants rights and affordable housing...

...and today the campaign went to Westminster

Article in Morning Star

Sales Call

2011-02-13T17:17:00.001Z

The call went something like this....

Me: Hello?
Salesman: Hello. Is Mr O'Brien there please?
Me: I'm afraid he's not in. What is it regarding?
Salesman: Some information Mr O'Brien has shown an interest in. When will he be in?
Me: What is the information regarding?
Salesman: As you must realise Madam, due to data protection, I cannot give you that information.
Me: Well then due to my data protection I cannot give you infomation about Mr O'Brien and when he will be in.
Salesman: (Bursts into laughter)
Me: Thank you and goodbye :-)

Table Tennis Health Check

2011-02-07T21:56:00.005Z

I have decided that I will be monitoring my improving health by counting the number of games of table tennis I can play at club without feeling like collapsing:

Until recently it wasn't even half of a game.

Tonight I played 3 in a row...

I am on the mend!

Let it be!

2011-02-05T01:12:00.005Z

I could remember today for the unwarranted verbal abuse I got from a stranger in a cafe...but instead I will remember the laughter & conversation with Gordon that preceded it & the walk around Covent garden after, where we enjoyed a peaceful protest from a smiling, dancing group from UCM singing - Let it be!

Future Me

2011-02-04T22:57:00.005Z

Today I saw myself
on the path ahead of me

I thought, in twenty years
Thats how I might look and be

I passed her out today
And as far as I could see

One day I will slow down
So she catches up to me

Surprise!

2011-02-03T14:35:00.011Z

We sat at Breakfast Club in the Cafe talking about University Interviews and Youth Work Comprehension tests, when we were interrupted by Patrick, his eyes shining with excitement.

"I'll have a surprise for you tomorrow" he told me,
"...a bag of la-dee-dahs."

This is one of the many perks of working where I do - bags of la-dee-dahs!

(btw for anyone who doesn't know what 'la-dee-dahs' are - they are anything Patrick decides they are or puts in place of a word he may have forgotten and on this occasion I think he meant clementines)

innit

2011-02-01T19:12:00.005Z

I walked home passing stationary police cars with blue lights flashing.

"So that's i - double n - i - t," said the police officer being careful to take down the exact witness statement of a young person.

I Can Sing a Rainbow...

2011-01-26T22:14:00.004Z

My favourite part of club tonight....

...was sitting in a circle on the floor...

... learning how to Sing a Rainbow in Sign Language :-)

Happy Un-Birthday

2011-01-24T00:26:00.005Z

Tonight's club's reflection is based on being just about halfway between the birthdays of the Winnie the Pooh writer - AA Milne (18th) and the author of Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (27th) and celebrates the wonderful philosophy that can be experienced in children's writing - we played a game of Guess the Author before club and at club had an Un-Birthday Cake with a candle for each person there - blown out accompanied by the singing of Happy Un-Birthday. ( I was disappointed to find that the Un-Birthdays I had celebrated previously were not my invention - I must have read about them and forgotten - or great minds...)

LEWIS CARROLL

I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then.

Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love that makes the world go round.

There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents, you know.

One of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others

Twinkle, twinkle little bat How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky

AA MILNE

You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places

Time is swift, it races by; Opportunities are born and die... Still you wait and will not try - A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them

Super Kids

2011-01-19T22:34:00.010Z

Just a few of the Joys of being a Youth Worker I experienced today:

Young People singing & dancing to Bollywood SingStar One girl saying she didn't mind the injection she got at school so much when her TA's talked to her about going to club after Being taught Sign Language by Young People Making personalised calendars with all kinds of drawings from Mermaids and Dragons to Love Heart Flowers Watching a boy arrive at club & act as if it was completely normal to be wearing a Superman cape When asked 'What do you want to do this year at club ?' discovering that Ben wrote 'whatever Josh is doing' and Josh wrote 'whatever Ben is doing' - Oh the Mario Brothers of Club!

Shantaram

2011-01-14T02:18:00.006Z

I was glad that I waited to read Shantaram (2003) until after I had been to India (where Gregory David Roberts based his story) so that I knew more about the context, whether in terms of Indian culture of just the familiarity of the place names of Bombay. Although I had the book at home and I saw it being sold in Leopolds (where Roberts spent much of his time meeting friends or writing) I didn't read it until months after my second visit to India.

If I had read it before I went to India I'm not sure I would have understood it so well and may even have been put off going and feared a world I was not familiar with. Instead I went without the story of the book to colour my views and loved the experience however wonderfully alien it was at first and when I read the book after, I was able to enter quickly into the world described and learn much from Roberts' story.

Roberts considered his main character, much like himself, to be 'a revolutionary who lost his ideals in heroin, a philosopher who lost his integrity in crime, and a poet who lost his soul in a maximum security prison.'

As Roberts describes so vividly the experience of heroin I can see clearly why so many people lose their lives to this drug.

'Heroin is a sensory deprivation tank for the soul. Floating on the dead sea of the drug stone, there's no sense of pain, no regret or shame, no feelings of guilt or grief, no depression and no desire. The sleeping universe enters and envelops every atom of existence. Insensible stillness and peace disperse fear and suffering. Thoughts drift like ocean weeds and vanish into distant, grey somnolency, unpercieved and indeterminable. The body succumbs to cryogenic slumber: the listless heart beats faintly, and breathing slowly fades to random whispers. Thick nirvanic numbness clogs the limbs, and downward, deeper, the sleeper slides and glides towards oblivion, the perfect and eternal stone.'

His experience of torture and tolerance and his take on forgiveness are all to be learned from:

'It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured. I realized, somehow, through the screaming in my mind, that even in that shackled, bloody helplessness, I was still free: free to hate the men who were torturing me, or to forgive them. It doesn't sound like much, I know. But in the flinch and bite of the chain, when its all you have got, that freedom is a universe of possibility. And the choice you make, between hating and forgiving,can become the story of your life.'

And especially how forgiveness is linked to love...

It's forgiveness that makes us what we are. Without forgiveness, our species would've annihilated itself in endless retributions. Without forgiveness, there would be no history. Without that hope, there would be no art, for every work of art is in some way an act of forgiveness. Without that dream, there would be no love, for every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive.

Badges

2011-01-12T16:29:00.004Z

I often forget that I have badges on my bag - until I catch someone reading them - usually followed by a smile of agreement from them and sometimes a conversation.

Today on the bus a woman admired the badges on my bag and said:

"They speak even when you don't"

I am thinking of doing a line of T-shirts...

X ray

2011-01-11T17:35:00.005Z

The times I have thought about x rays...

Reading Alphabet books as a child
Looking for a word beginning with X other than xylophone (which I could spell)
Reading comics like Beezer that had the story of Ed Case and the Numskulls
Reading ads for practical jokes like invisible ink, whoopee cushions and X ray specs
Watching Superman show off his X ray powers
When I tore a ligament in my ankle weeks before going to live in Italy when I was 17
Every decade after when I twisted the same ankle
Reading Alphabet books to my daughter Jane
When Jane played with her xylophone
Every time I hear someone has broken a bone
When I think of ice skating
Playing Scrabble
Today when I sat in a cubicle wondering if I would work out how to put my
hospital gown on in time for the knock on the door...

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

2010-12-30T20:36:00.004Z

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...6 Easter Eggs?

So I know the connection between Christmas and Easter in religious terms but in economic terms... today in the Canary Wharf Tesco there are Easter eggs!

2010-12-25T14:04:00.000Z

We couldn't find the Kenyan crib at club, so this year's crib was made by the young people...
(and as a welcome change from other years - this year 'Little Baby Jesus' stayed in his manger!)

R.A.I.N.

2010-12-23T23:35:00.001Z

Random Acts of Interest & Niceness

Like rain - you never know when it could happen or what can grow from it or when it will create a rainbow or make you feel like a 4 year old in your wellies splashing in the puddles!

This all came about because Sue saw balloon animals on the hand rails of an underground trains and showed Tara, Thomas and me. ...This was a reminder of Anne Herberts advice to:

Practice random kindness and acts of senseless beauty

So we left on the DLR train seat - a clementine, candy cane, chocolates and a christmas card saying:

To whom it may concern - Happy Christmas...

We have done other such things in the past like giving out smiley faces, playing playground games outside Hackney Town hall at night and taking a large inflatable banana on a student march on Parliament Square...we plan on doing more...

Student Protest: 09.11.10

2010-12-09T19:14:00.000Z

...sure looked that way today!

Angels of Change

Timmy the Fairtrade Banana said "Bananas to PM" and considers Inequality to be Bananas!
(You may have seen him on the Make Poverty History March of 2005)

Outside Downing Street student Ishya, Tara, Craig and Jon
join Timmy the Fairtrade Banana telling the PM...

"Give us an Education - We'll give you a future
...Fairtrade!"

Students and youth workers Jon & Roz head home from the march
with Timmy the Fairtrade Banana
- until the next time -

Arcade Fire at the O2

2010-12-02T19:43:00.005Z

Okay we could have been looking down from the sky , we were that far away from them and you would'nt want to be scared of heights...but other than that it was a pretty good gig (although it would be pretty amazing to see them in the Roundhouse in Camden - that would be a bit more up close and personal) . Saying that you got a really good vibe from these guys and didn't feel so bad about there being about 17000 other people there when told that £1 from each ticket was going to Haiti and then the evening was wonderfully rounded off by thousands of people singing along to Wake Up and still singing leaving seats and spilling out down the hundreds of stairs into the falling snow and still humming descending into the underground and loading onto buses...I hummed all the way home...

Snow Pictures

2010-11-30T23:01:00.002Z

Snow Prints

Whats the story here I wonder...and was there a happy ending?

Snow Trees

The snow makes everywhere look magical - even Mile End!

Snow Heart

You have to love snow - not just for the snowballs, snowmen and days off school but for the sounds of the city under a blanket of white and the conversations with complete strangers on traffic islands just because it snowed!

Speak Irish on Facebook Day

2010-11-20T21:50:00.006Z

I was racking my brain to think of something to put in my Facebook status to honour the day and to show that I had retained some bit of the Gaelige from school...this is all I came up with:

Roz...remembers the first question she learned in Irish at school...."An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?"...nothing exciting or eloquent - but pretty essential if you wanted permission to go to the toilet...

Stop the War March

2010-11-20T01:46:00.002Z

Remembrance

2010-11-11T11:11:00.002Z

Its the 11th minute...
of the 11th hour...
on the 11th day ...
of the 11th month...
..2 minutes silence...
apart from Patrick...who is wondering what its all about...
"Is it the Queen's birthday?" he asks
It might as well be ...It means nothing to him...
He can't remember what day of the week it is...
and for him... much is better off
forgotten.

Stop the Cuts Demo

2010-10-20T13:00:00.002+01:00

Chrisp Street Market
Tower Hamlets

Keep Public Services Public

John McLoughlin, Branch Secretary of Tower Hamlets Unison

Poplar Fire Station joins in!

We should get off our backsides & march...
... this ex-docker tells us!

Junior Club

2010-10-13T21:32:00.002+01:00

Junior Club has started back again after the summer holiday with new members...

...who's feet hardly touch the ground...

...and who can barely reach the top of the Giant Four in a Row...

...and who like drawing smiling faces on the whiteboard...

Youth Vote

2010-05-06T23:33:00.001+01:00

Craig voted for the first time today...
So did Jane...
...and she called me a geek for being so excited
... and needless to say there are no photos of this momentous occasion!

Volcanic Ash Cloud Haiku

2010-04-17T08:58:00.000+01:00

No metal wings fly
Only birds and clouds
In the sky today

Searching for Words

2010-04-11T01:37:00.005+01:00

So what does this guy, who happens to not be able to read, want, to pass the time in hospital?

WORDSEARCHES

There is something sad and lovely about this...

Things I can do on my iTouch...

2010-04-08T01:37:00.005+01:00

These are some of the things I have used my iTouch for:

Used the converter to change Celsius to Fahrenheit for cooking
Found my way with maps, guides & Dutch language apps on a visit to Amsterdam
Used the calculator for club finances, currencies & maths support
Read A Christmas Carol at Christmas
Practiced my Italian for Italian Club
Used games to entertain a young person on journey and me when I can't sleep
Learned British Sign Language alphabet and greetings
Listened to music, podcasts and lectures
Used maps, guides and Hindi language apps for a residential to India
Got the words of Christmas carols for when collecting for the Salvation Army at Christmas
Watched Ted Talks and other videos about worldwide innovations
Showed the photo library of my travels to people
Used the internet for email, research and fun
Learned some origami to try out at club
Found my way with the tube map

Now I'm...

Practicing my French for my trip to Marrakech in June & Junior French Club
Watching videos to learn Sign Language and Ashtanga Yoga
Reading The Idiot (one of 101 Classic Novels)

And as I can't sleep - I plan to play a game...

World Pillow-Fight Day 2010

2010-04-03T00:42:00.010+01:00

Check out a video of 2009 here

Keyboard Test

2010-04-02T17:15:00.003+01:00

So Jane (my daughter) is checking out my laptop to see if the keyboard is good enough and so she starts typing the following:

The end o...

I say, "Stop!"

She says, "What?"

I ask, "Are you going to write The end of the world as we know it?"

She looks at me and says, "Yes, how did you know?"

"Because that's what I write when I am testing a keyboard..."

So we both use the exact same sentence to test out keyboards. How? Not because either of us has seen the other do it. Not because we can mind read or have the same depressing thoughts. No Jane reckons its because I sing it too much -

Its the end of the world as we know it - but I feel fine.

I always liked that lyric. It always seemed the truth about so many situations. However bad they were I was ok.

And however much I thought I could do maybe I wasn't doing enough if so much was going wrong with the world and I could still be feeling fine.

So to me the lyric is both a comfort and a wake up call.

What do you write to test a keyboard?

Building

2010-02-16T12:26:00.005Z

Forget...

the noise of the drill,
the dust causing the computer to crash,
the boots up and down stairs,
the crashes of radiators falling,
the where do you want your toilet roll holder put
the radios playing Magic
the open front door in February
the non flushing loo
the cold water in the bath
the boxes in the living room
the hand print on the walls
the trail of footprints on every floor
the getting a kettle of water from next door
the smell of plaster, paint and glue drying
the cooker, fridge and washing machine in the hallway
the temporary dumping ground of the communal balcony
the drilling, this time next door...

Its all worth it...not so much for the new kitchen and bathroom...but for the conversations neighbours are having in the street...

Public Speaking

2009-11-14T01:58:00.002Z

I can be standing on the street at quarter to one in the morning and calmly dial 999 for the guy who is staggering to his feet with blood dripping from his nose and head but I can't calmly do public speaking.

I can wait and deal with him in a calm fashion and then stand up to the other guy who comes along trying to give him a cigarette and trying to intimidate me with his and his father's names who are supposedly big in boxing in the area but I can't stand in a room full of lovely people and stand up and speak aloud.

I can explain to the police that the man who is telling them what happened didn't come along until after I had called 999 and could not have seen the casualty being 'attacked by Asians' because he did not arrive on the scene until minutes after the call and asked us what had happened but I can't explain anything to anyone if its feels like a speech or a large group.

Perhaps, next time I have to speak publicly, I should pretend that I am in a dangerous situation and I will feel the importance of keeping calm and so be calm.

Gandalf Shops at Waitrose

2009-09-18T18:06:00.005+01:00

As usual collecting season means caffeine, a triceps workout as the collection box gets heavier and in an attempt to shift weight from leg to leg, the development of the 'collector's shuffle' - a dance usually to a tune in your head you can't get rid of...I tried to replace La Bamba with California Dreaming with little success.

You try little games in your head while still trying to engage with passer's by while trying not to be that annoying collector that people cross the width of the concourse to avoid. And you wait.

Not for the money. That usually comes. But for the odd encounter with who knows who.

I was not disappointed.

One passerby assumed I was one of the success stories of the substance abuse support programmes of the Salvation Army, another was a young person who I had worked with who was tired and excited from her first day at work the third was Gandalf (Ian Mc Kellen) carrying plastic Waitrose shopping bags in each hand.

I know I was a little surprised myself - plastic shopping bags!

Strangers into Citizens Rally

2009-05-04T18:12:00.000+01:00

3 mins 44 secs

Song & Music
God's Humble Opinion
by
Patsy O'Brien

London Marathon 2009

2009-04-26T15:47:00.008+01:00

St Georges Day Cake

2009-04-23T15:31:00.002+01:00

Naughty Innocent

2009-04-07T15:18:00.007+01:00

Today Innocent announced that it was getting a new investor - Coca Cola. The following is a copy of the email I sent (in a similar style to the banter Innocent use)...

Naughty Innocent‏

From:	Roz Lyn (rozpost@hotmail.com)
Sent:	07 April 2009 11:45:42
To:	richardr@innocentdrinks.co.uk

Hi there,

Hope you are having a lovely day and that this doesn’t spoil it too much. You are, all in all, pretty good people and have some really great ideas and a truly ‘innocent’ ethos and I thought we were all going on a journey of discovery together to see how far we could go with such dreams of building a better world from the inside out…and then the big bad wolf showed up at the door... and you let him in.

Seriously…what happened? Don’t you know that Coca-Cola sell carbonated sugary drinks that aren’t really good for you? I realise you are innocent but surely not naïve enough to think that this won’t have a detrimental effect on your reputation…people might start thinking that you’re not really nice people after all and that you don’t want the world to be a better place and that you are really only interested in money.

I really, really, really, really like Innocent and so many others do too and because of this I was really really, really, really upset to see what looks like just another one of those businesses starting off with high ideals and dreams that ends up, as usual, just selling out. I know you say you hope to influence Coca-Cola…but sadly they obviously have already influenced you too much. I’m not big on Bible literature but 30 pieces of silver do come to mind when I see 30 million.

So just in case you don’t know - here is some info that might help you see why I am so upset with you and why you now have to sit on the naughty step…

In 2001, a lawsuit was filed in the US against Coca-Cola by the International Labor Rights Fund (www.laborrights.org) and the United Steelworkers union on behalf of SINALTRAINAL — the major union representing Coca-Cola workers in Colombia — several of its members and the survivors of Isidro Gil, one of its murdered officers (www.sinaltrainal.org/). The lawsuit charges that Coca-Cola’s bottlers in Colombia “contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders.” The seriousness of the situation is best summed up by a SINALTRAINAL officer, who stated: “If we lose the fight against Coca-Cola, we will first lose our union, next our jobs and then our lives.” (http://www.killercoke.org)

Other naughtiness by Coke include:

• Overexploitation and Pollution of Water Sources in India (www.indiaresource.org),

Mexico (www.ciepac.org), Ghana and elsewhere (www.polarisinstitute.org) and in general (http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0307-30.htm)

• Benefiting from Hazardous Child Labour in Sugar Cane Fields in El Salvador as

documented by Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org)

• Aggressive Marketing to Children of Nutritionally Worthless and Damaging Products

(www.commercialexploitation.org and www.schoolpouringrights.com/)

• Anti-worker Policies in Turkey, Indonesia and Latin America

(www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org and www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk/)

• Giving executives hundreds of millions of dollars in stock options and bonuses

while laying off thousands of employees

• History of Racial Discrimination

• Fraudulent Business Practices

• Tax avoidance and corporate welfare scheme

And because of all this I and many others like me boycott Coca Cola and their products…and now because you are their new friend I have to be a good parent and tell you that this new friend is not good for you and I am worried about what trouble they will get you into. So until I work it out or you do – you will have to remain on the naughty step until I decide whether you will end up like Coca-Cola – grounded.

Other than that – hope you have a lovely day and remember that although we are disappointed in you – we still love you and the naughty step and grounding is for your own good.

Love and goodness

Roz x

London Pillow Fight at Elephant & Castle

2009-04-04T18:47:00.000+01:00

World Pillow Fight Day 2009

On this day at 3.03, in front of the Michael Faraday Memorial at Elephant and Castle, dust rose and the stuffing was knocked out of pillows!

The peaceful solution to conflict - the pillow. Proven in battle to cause fewer combatant casualties, no collateral damage and higher incidence of outbreaks of smiling and laughter.

Song 'Cry' written and performed by Patsy O'Brien

G20 Peaceful Protests April 1st & 2nd

2009-04-02T01:29:00.026+01:00

11am on April 1st...

Protesters gathered outside the American Embassy in Grovesnor Square...

...to march to Trafalgar Square

...for Peace, Love and Freedom and to show we care...

You can't really say 'I Love You' with a nuke!

When you have read the hand written sign read the guy's T Shirt behind it!

Yes we can all live in Love , Peace and Freedom...

...just have to work at it a bit - its not rocket science. Einstein said he wasn't smarter than the rest - he just stayed with the problem longer - we just have to do the same

...like 84 year old Tony Benn speaking once more in Trafalgar Square!

April 2nd at the Excel Centre Protests were just as peaceful.

The flags indicate the tone of the event
(but maybe they are just for hiding the long sticks to be used later as weapons)

This monk came to both protests
(but maybe the stick could be used as a weapon)

And this guy - well you never know -
under that chilled out and peace-lovin exterior
he could really be a not very chilled out and peace-lovin kind of guy

This was a very tense moment at the G20 Protests at Excel...'would the Police Officer get to finish his Haribo in peace?' was the question on everyone's minds...the other police officers were there to make sure he did!

The only dangers at this protest were of people looking too cool...

or of splinters from banner poles...

or skin rashes and alergies from non-hypoalerginic paints...

...or of course heatstroke but thank goodness for the English Spring Weather!

Brighton

2009-02-16T22:01:00.003Z

Silent Disco

2009-02-06T05:41:00.007Z

Silent Disco
@ Liverpool Street Station
Thousands gathered with ipods
@ 7pm switched them on & danced to the music....

Rain Dance: Music written and performed by Patsy O'Brien

Mince Pie Recipe

2008-12-09T20:54:00.008Z

Every year I give the impression that I can cook by making great mince pies. This is only because I end up making them with young people at least 4 times a week coming up to Christmas and seem to lose the recipe every year so have tried many mince-pie recipes.

The best ones this year were made with some young people with complex needs working on the recipe in a relay fashion and they were very proud to share them with some of the older people of the centre who come to the downstairs luncheon club. They were so good that they got a compliment from someone who is really a good cook and has been cooking for decades! So if you too want to look like you can cook here's the recipe....

This year's mince-pie recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 200 C (180 for fan oven) & grease a 12 pie tray. Mix with fingers 225g butter (non-dairy as necessary) with 350g plain flour to reassemble bread crumbs. Add 100g golden caster sugar & pinch of salt and with heat of hands make into a dough. Make round balls of dough and flatten into pie tin hollows. Spoon mince meat (or jam if u like) into bottoms of pies. Make slightly smaller round balls of dough for tops/lids and again flatten and press in round the edges to seal the pies. Put in oven for 20 minutes, remove and let sit for 5 mins then empty onto wire rack to cool and use sieve to dust with icing sugar. Then eat.

Climate Change March on Parliament

2008-12-06T20:49:00.004Z

Pillow Fight in Trafalgar Square

2008-12-06T00:57:00.002Z

Just like it sounds...for fun a bunch of us met up in Trafalgar Square for a two minute pillow fight...including a guy who just tagged along, stole someone's pillow and proceeded to get really into it...fortunately no injuries were sustained due to the nature of his weapon!

Late Tomatoes

2008-11-18T01:37:00.003Z

Another one of our produce from the tomato plants we planted from seed...the plan is to pick the rest of the green ones, see if they ripen in the window and use any ripe ones for their seeds to be dried out to plant again...

...and btw the wormery is still going strong...and the worms when last checked were alive and kicking (figuratively - yes I do know that worms have no legs to kick, thank you)

When did gardening enter the realms of youthwork - never saw it on my job description.

Westminster Bridge Freeze

2008-11-15T01:23:00.002Z

So I saw a link about Improv Everywhere then checked out if there were any groups in London and if they were doing anything. There was and they were...the next day.

So I ended up next day with working with 12 complete strangers on a freeze on Westminster Bridge, where one person stops and looks out (not at the obvious like Big Ben) and another comes along and stops and freezes and so on until Big Ben chimes and we all just disappear into the crowd as if nothing has happend.

Why? For fun and because we could!

I was quite impressed with the fact a bunch of complete strangers could co-ordinate and co-operate with each other to do such a thing in such an impromptu fashion...gives you hope for what might be achieved with a little planning...

(Picture by John Ryan)

Youth Work Awards

2008-11-14T16:30:00.000Z

Josh & Craig @ their graduation ceremony
were they were awarded by London Youth with
Level 1 Foundation in Youth Work

Children in Need

2008-11-14T14:20:00.000Z

Great reflection idea from one of our youth volunteers to raise awareness of Children in Need and also highlight the work we do...

Pugsy Bear is drawn with bandage but no spots. Red spots are cut and given to people to write how we as a centre meet the needs of children and stick them on!

We also made Pugsy Bear biscuits - 3 x blobs - 1 bigger with 2 small stuck on for ears
(can also add features like eyes with icing)

New York Times Hope Hoax

2008-11-13T21:19:00.003Z

Millions of New York Times given out free today full of good news...hopes such as Iraq War ending and things like National Health Care for the US...

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release - Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

Christmas Cactus

2008-11-11T23:34:00.000Z

So its mid November and the Christmas cactus is in full bloom...

...is it global warming...

or is it just beautiful?

Large Hadron Collider Rap

2008-11-08T13:12:00.005Z

CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo

A rap explaining how its gonna work ... be careful you will be singing along... about partical physics...protons and quarks...innit bruv.

Scramble

2008-11-08T12:08:00.004Z

Yay! First time I was first!!!
(What do some of those words mean? Do those people really know them? Should I?)

A Dream Come True

2008-11-05T05:24:00.012Z

I saw the moon landing, the Berlin wall come down....

....and tonight I stayed up to see Barack Obama elected by the American people as the next President of the United States.

At 4am at the same time I sent a text "Today the world is a better place" and Thomas sent me a text "And the world is a better place."

As Thomas said 'Great minds think alike'...yeah I reckon quite a few million great minds might be thinking alike.

A day that Jessie Jackson wasn't sure would happen as he stood alongside Martin Luther King...

...when it was all just 'a dream'...

...the dream has come true.

Conversation & Youth Work

2008-11-03T23:28:00.000Z

We didn't really do anything apart from tell people a time and place and provide a few nibbles...the rest was up to who ever came for however long...it was like an open-house or drop-in kind of thing, people could come and go when they liked or just pop in, although most were there from 7-9 and some arrived at 6.40 while others left at 11. It was chilled out and people sat and talked or played games like pool or the wii or singstar - table tennis 'round the table' was popular and got alot of people mixing, but there was no plan and no pressure...

It was good to see some new faces and some old faces and to hear about what everyone is doing and relive some old stories and create links to make some new ones.

Subjects discussed included the following:

The US Presidential Election
The book The Art of War
Table Tennis
Study of Theology
The round carpet of club being a representation of the missing round window that was the sun (and being handy for circle games)
Fatherhood
Pool
SA/youth work at the training college, Poplar present & past, Clapton, Nunhead, Mile End Climbing wall, secondary schools and more
Sign language
Youth work training & qualifications
Mountain Leadership Training
Weddings
Birthdays
Making links across corps
Essentialism
Child protection training
Wii games
Separation
Cheese boards and knives (seemed novel to some)
Volunteers
Babies
Choice of subject of study at university & personal statements
The rise of popularity of the pitta bread & humus in the Poplar area's young people accounting for Thomas' only vegetables in his diet apart from tomato sauce
Poplar's facilities
People who people would like to have seen to catch up with
Bulbs in a building that's had them all installed at the same time having them all go around the same time
Growing vegetables
Working with young people with special/complex needs
Study Support
Young people
Funding
Music, songs & singstar
Ownership
The educational system of Germany
Children
Fireworks
Meeting the needs of young people
Racism
The X Factor
Skiing
Poplar the oldest existing Salvation army Corps
Breast feeding
Facebook
Playing the guitar
The French Language
Cooking
Obama's autobiography
A Levels
Hair cuts
Bicycles
Art
Studying for a PGCE
Food
Studying childcare at college
Wheelchair Access
Relationships
Meeting up again
Contact details

...and these were only the conversations I was part of or overheard.

One conversation, though especially illustrated what youth work is about. A conversation between a worker who that night returned to the centre after many years to see one of the young members he worked with now grown up and now a youth worker like he was. A conversation about relationship and all that grew from that. Youth Work.

Hope

2008-11-03T16:56:00.002Z

Jane described the ambulance pulling in and paramedics racing out to the person lying in street. The attempts at resuscitation. The attempts to shock the heart into starting again. The person being taken into the ambulance and being driven away, quietly.

There's nothing worse, she said, than an ambulance leaving a scene like that quietly, no siren sounding...

The siren is like a signal of hope.

I remember as a child in Ireland, the custom to bless yourself when a funeral went silently by. I always thought that was the wrong time. I instead used to bless myself when the ambulance went blaring by... because then there was still hope for my prayers.

Pumpkins

2008-10-28T03:41:00.000Z

29th October
Pumpkins in their unadulterated state in one of the posh Greenwich shops

A pumpkin after Caitlin, Francis & I carved it

The same pumpkin with a candle in it looking particularly scary for Halloween

Family & Triangles

2008-10-04T12:53:00.002+01:00

This is Tara's representation of her family, all of whom met up at my brother Olan's pre-wedding family barbeque gettogether...

Don't you just love when kids draw what they know...like the triangular window, they are not so common except in her house...

Btw that's me on the far left called Rosanne...

Jean/Gene Tree

2008-10-02T12:47:00.001+01:00

This year, as well as making more jean-patch art
we made jean/gene trees
by just cutting a tree shape from black card
and then cutting leaves from different colour denims...