News

Friday 20th September, around the world, people took part in the Global Climate Strikes. Were you there? Did you strike? Did your kids? Did your kids’ schools do anything?Weren’t the scenes of the strikes around the world so inspiring and energising? In particular the picture of the strike @gretathunberg posted happening in Afghanistan. This is, as she says, a globally emergency. And it seemed on Friday that we came together around the world to acknowledge this and lobby politicians and big businesses to do more.Sadly, I wasn’t there. My 7YO was off school ill with a cold. I was gutted. But I...

(First published on The Contented Calf website on Tuesday 19th June  2012. BF2 was nearly three months old and BF1 was nearly three years old.) To forget: to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall: to forget someone’s name. I forget things all the time: what I went upstairs to get, what’s in the diary for the next week, that I’ve actually come to pick up BF from nursery in the car so we shouldn’t get on the bus, how to speak…. (I forget the most simple of words ALL the time. Often, I can hardly string a...

  What do you know about the term Circular Economy? It’s actually linked intrinsically to the concept of Zero Waste. The Circular Economy definition The Ellen MacArthur foundation defines is as:  A framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design. It continues... Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital....

(First published on The Contented Calf website on Wednesday 25th January 2012. BF is approaching 2.5 years old and we're wondering whether we should try potty training again...)  As you may remember from our exploits back in mid-end July last year (The best-laid plans of mice and mummies and Totally potty?), we initially attempted potty/toilet training with BF a while ago, but abandoned it due to a tearful plea to stay in nappies after one post-lunch sleep. As she was not yet two (23 months to be exact), I had originally planned to leave it as near to her third birthday as possible,...

Today marks the start of the first full week back to school for our two. The eldest is in Year Six (the emotions I have about this are for another post); and the youngest has just started Year Three, so I have TWO kids in Juniors....!! The start of term always seems like a bit of a whirlwind: last minute shoe shopping; trying on uniform to see what fits and what we need more of; getting hair cuts; squeezing in last minute play dates; and then bundling out of the door on the first day, hoping that we've at least...