Refuge and Avon have teamed up to run a campaign to raise awareness about domestic abuse and just how many women you may know who are affect by it during their lives.

Here are some important facts that you may not know:

1 in 4 women will be affected at some point during their life

Up to 2 women are killed by a current or former partner each week in England and Wales

30 women attempt suicide every day as a result of domestic violence

Only 16% of domestic violence incidents are reported to the police.

To find out more visit Refuge.

The 1in4women campaign have teamed up with Facebook to design an app that analysis your female Facebook friends against the stats on domestic abuse to see if they are likely to be affected by domestic violence at some point.

Check out the Facebook app and see just how many of your friends could be affect by domestic violence.

It may just help someone who needs it but is too afraid to speak out.

Apparently Ocado is the new kid one the block in online shopping. Ocado has developed software that can predict when you’ll need to replace household items and will add them to your order automatically.

I’ve been shopping exclusively online (for food and household items) since 2006 and have expressed its virtues before, but I just can’t decide if Ocado is the next step in efficiency or a ploy to have us purchase stuff we don’t need.

Who exactly will stand to gain most from this new software? Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing says in the Times “It should be like an order bought by your partner. It might not be exactly what you want , but it will be something you’d be happy to receive” Hmmm, when I send my partner to the shop he returns with cookies, donuts, bacon for sarnies and bottles of fizzy juice (on offer, of course) which is why I don’t send him, still not sure where the advantage is apart from making Ocado loads of money sending me stuff that I don’t need.

Jason goes on to say “we have got these clever propeller-heads who can work out what’s in your larder”, ah, well it all makes sense now, propeller heads, actually nope, still not getting it. So is there anyone out there that has used or is still using Ocado and can speak in plain English, who can explain Ocado in a way that doesn’t include talking about propeller heads.

What is Ocado? Why do I need it? Is it better than Tesco?

It was with great sadness that I read about Kaylee McIntosh the fourteen year old Army cadet who died whilst on an exercise on a Scottish island. Of course those in charge of the exercise have come under criticism for poor organisation and management of the exercise, and while my sympathy goes to her family, I also a feel a bit sad that the ACF (Army Cadet Force) is under fire again (pun not intended), it doesn’t seem that long ago that they were making the papers for other misdemeanors which threaten to drive down an already dwindling membership.

You see I was an Army cadet and I have nothing but a good word to say about the organisation. There’s a lot of press these days about kids going soft and parents stifling, the ACF dares to go where others can’t or won’t, providing an environment where teenagers can grow and express themselves in a safe environment, but inevitably accidents will happen as will human error and this doesn’t amount to ‘murder’ as Kaylee’s father described it. I only hope that this doesn’t discourage other parents from allowing their youngsters to sign up.

Without risk there can be no reward, and the ACF is extremely rewarding. Amongst other skills I learned to shoot, abseil, lead a team, map read, camp and iron yes that’s iron, there’s a lot of ironing, and polishing too! The ACF doesn’t discriminate on class, gender or race, it’s simple, those who show promise and commitment will prosper. The life lessons learned are too many to mention but leadership, teamwork, commitment, responsibility and above all discipline were held on high, the unusual part was that these were instilled most often by senior cadets, sixteen to eighteen year olds.

Many hobbies and groups these days require substantial monetary investment by parents. The ACF does not. On signing up you are issued all your ‘kit’, the only exception being a pair of boots. Weekend camps cost ?5, I’m sure it must have risen by now but I’ll bet that it’s not by much. Annual camps lasting two weeks cost ?30 that included all food, accomodation and activities, I don’t know of another group that offers that kind of value.

I made lots of friends during my time at the cadets and even found a husband, yes, we met during an Annual Camp in 1998! If it hadn’t of been for cadets I know many of us would have ended up hanging about on street corners, probably getting up to no good, cadets kept us busy twice a week and several weekends a year and then two weeks every summer. It was a bit of a family affair too, both my brother and Alex’ sister joined up too, showing how much the ACF has to offer for boys and girls aged 13-18.

Women Work Harder Than Men (and other interesting facts)

Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, buy earn only a tenth of the world’s income.

I found this fact to be particularly disturbing, although not really that surprising. There is still huge inequality in the developing world, however, that’s not to say we don’t have our own issues here in Britain, like the inequality of wages. If we are all being fairly remunerated for our efforts then what’s the problem with making the figures public knowledge? Problem solved. Some would argue this would be a breach of privacy, they are probably the same people earning more than they are worth.

Other facts included;

Women produce half the world’s food but own less than 2 per cent of the world’s land.

Domestic violence, where women are predominantly the victims, kills and injures more people in the developing world than war, traffic accidents or cancer.

A third of the world’s women are homeless or live in inadequate housing.

It’s easy to forget that there are huge swathes of the world where women do not enjoy the same level of equality that we currently enjoy in the west.

(Source: OU Social Science Newspaper)

Teachers Stifle Pupils Interest in Current Affairs

Stories like these are appearing more often, perhaps because of the social appetite to criticize our education systems, or maybe it is representative of the actual situation, who knows… There’s always some news piece about children being prevented from going on vacations (educational or not), or taking time out of school to do something other than study within the constraints of four walls. Four walls are not a prerequisite to learning, and neither is a formal teacher for that matter, every man (woman, or child) is capable of being his own teacher. That’s not to say that I don’t hold our teachers in high regard, I do, I just believe that there is more to learning that being taught (within four walls) and we, as a society, are missing a trick not to recognise this. I’ve always felt that a more flexible education system is what is required for the future, a flexible and dynamic education system which will nurture tomorrow’s generation of free thinkers.

I’m not sure I’ve heard anything quite as riduculous for sometime.

Butlins are offering parents midweek breaks where they’ll be able to get advice on avoiding tantrums and sticking to eating/sleeping routines whilst on holiday. The ‘advice’ will be given by specially trained redcoats.

I have more than a few problems with this. For a start, I go on holiday to relax, not to make appointments to discuss my parenting skills with a complete stranger, who doesn’t even know my child.

In my experience redcoats are young, single, and highly unlikely to be parents. They’re either waiting for their ‘big break’ or have aspirations of becoming a club 18-30 rep. They most likely drink too much, smoke too much, and party too hard, that’s the rep/redcoat culture, and good for them, but parenting advice? No. I think I’ll stick with my own parental instincts, or worse case scenario, seek a ‘professional’.

Does anyone find this proposition appealing?

Erin’s achievements this week have included counting to six, drawing on my shoes, saying “sausage” and “bubbles”, drawing on the highchair, completing a jigsaw alone, drawing on the wall, occupying herself in the morning with a book while I wake up, drawing on her toy kitchen. Are you following the pattern? The toddler phase is definitely a series of highs and lows!

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We have been occupied viewing several houses, of which we have made offers on two, no word yet though. Our own flat goes on the market on monday and I have a few jobs to complete this week including laying the rest of the bathroom floor, touching up some grouting, painting the hall, glossing surrounds and organising an electrician and domestic appliance workman to do some odd jobs. To say that we are busy here is a bit of an understatement. Needless to say the blogging may slow a touch while we focus on matters closer to home.

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If you’re new here, and I know a few of you have found my site via blogrush, here are a few highlights from the archives;

Stencilling with Doilies Activity – this one is prefect for preschoolers.

Baby Games – inspiration for doing something fun with your baby.

It’s the perfect time of year to go bark-rubbing.

It’s been a busy few days. Saturday we went to Tummel Valley for the weekend and went to a great park in Aberfeldy, lots of fun and it seemed we were away much longer than a night.

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, three years and counting (!).

I also got a free ticket to the Edinburgh Tattoo, so I went with my sister in law as Alex was working. We saw the usual pipes and drums along with groups from around the world including bands from Moscow, Boston and a female drill squad from Taipei. It was a really nice evening.

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The Simple Dollar had an interesting post about a homemade summer camp. I think this is a great idea if you can get it organised.

Scribbit has some advice on getting kids to go to bed at 7pm.

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Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams has awarded me this schmooze award, which is awarded for the following reason;

“recognize those people that were exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to a monologue”.

I’m going to pass it onto T-bird to say thanks for all the comments she’s left here over the past few months.

We took Erin to soft play today. We have deduced that Erin is more the quiet pursuits type when soft play failed to hit the spot but a magazine and crayons was met with whoops and wows!

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Ingenious Rose gave me an Inspirational Blogger Award for my efforts with the British Parent Bloggers Blog

The blog is going well. I am currently adding new members and writing a how to start blogging series. All good fun, and it’s nice that it’s appreciated. Thanks Ingenious.

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Finally, the Carnival of Family Life was a cracker this week with lots of worthy highlights, here we go…

I enjoyed down with the kids entry art vs craft. It made me smile but also made a valid point which I’m still pondering, when does art become craft and vice versa….In my opinion it’s all art but it becomes art that is a craft when you use a non liquid medium or more than a couple of mediums together. Ok, I need to get out more…

And a few other favourites;

Here’s a math problem for you. And math is not my strong point

Thinking Outside the Box: Checkers with 5-years olds.

18 Overlooked Things Everyone Should Bring to College

The Trouble with TV

The Kitchen Picasso – 12 Art Projects Kids Can Cook Up

I finished up the part-time job on friday with a sigh of relief, it was a tad too much trying to make it work around Erin.

Saturday I had an all day girly shopping day, amongst the purchases, new jeans, pink stilettos (!) and some stripey vests, call me a bad mother but I managed to avoid all child related gear for the day!

This week I’m testing patience as my new habit, it’s already been tested this morning when Erin refused to put on the really cute sandals I bought her….breath…1..2….3….

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In the rest of the world….

I agree with ingenious rose, a carefree childhood is still possible, as parents is it our responsibility to shoulder the worry? I think so. This is an interesting topic, what does everyonelse think? Are we just being paranoid parents? How far do we need to go to protect them? At what point does our need to protect actually result in stifling their development?

The Scottish National Party have refused to ban IVF treatment to drug addicts. Drug addicts can barely look after themselves let alone a baby or two babies, as is often the case with IVF. So let’s see, we pay their benefits which they spend on drugs, then we pay for costly IVF treatment, then we pay them even more benefits for the kids, which they spend on drugs. Crazy. The main worry is not the money though, what kind of life will those kids have, can you be a good parent and a drug addict?

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I’ve been nominated for Rockin Blogger by Ponn. This time I’m going to pass a few out to my fellow Brit Parent Bloggers, Ingenious Rose, DJ Kirkby, and Jo Beaufoix.

Torrential rain has seen our roof leak….again. Not to worry it’s fixed now. I hope.

I’ve also handed my notice into my part time work at home job, it was proving a little too much to work around with Erin so I think I’m going to get a weekend job instead.

The Carnival of Family Life is online at Everyday Disasters.

I’m really enjoying the Blog Mastermind programme it’s providing me with lots of new ideas for littlemummy.com. In fact I’ve listened to about six hours of audio over the weekend, it’s like a good book you can’t put down!