You must have been a beautiful baby

Our local paper this week has 28 pages devoted to pictures of new starters at school. It proudly proclaims: '67 schools - 135 pictures - 3,065 children'!

I don't know anyone who has a child who started school locally this term, but I always have a look at the pics, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm doing this for their comedy value. OK, clap me irons, but I can't be the only one plays 'spot the class clown' and 'seek out the name most likely to cause embarrassment in later life'. There is similar sport to be had when the photos of entrants to the 'beautiful baby' competition are published. Of course, all babies are beautiful in their own way, but some are also hilarious. Have you never run your finger along the line of beaming faces and labelled them plumber, builder, lawyer, shoplifter, dealer etc, etc? No? Just me? Oh, OK.

My own babies, now both in their twenties.

One section of the paper I always look at is the court reports. I'm nosey: I like to see if anyone I know is in trouble; but I'm also looking for inspiration. Many of the arrests are in connection with possession of drugs or being drunk and disorderly. Occasionally, though, there is a glimpse of human tragedy where someone has taken a packet of cooked meat and a bottle of wine from Lidl. How sad is that! The Northants Telegraph comes in for a lot of stick, but I buy it every week. There's always something in it that makes me go: 'Well, fancy that!'

TFI Friday

Blogging is a funny old game. We write these words not knowing whether anyone will read them or not, and certainly not knowing what reaction there will be. Monday's blog about giving to charity had one of the highest number of readers I've ever had, but only one comment (and that came this morning).

Of course, we don't only write to be read. I've just finished Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott (one of my birthday books - fantastic). She says we should write to become better writers, because helps us to become better readers, and that is the real payoff.

As National Short Story Week comes to an end, I have just finished reading Jeffrey Archer's collection, And Thereby Hangs A Tale. Some say he's much maligned, others that he can't write for toffee. I think some of his stories are built on interesting premises, but must confess I didn't find them all that engaging. The book was given to me by a fellow volunteer at Cheltenham. He doesn't want it back, so it seems only fitting that I pass it on. Let me know if you'd like it. (No pushing at the back!)

So I'm celebrating the joy of reading and of unexpected gifts. How about you?

To give requires good sense*

£££££

 Imagine you have £5 to give to charity. No excuses: you have to give £5 to charity today, right now. What are you going to do?

• Are you going to pledge it to Pudsey? The BBC is awash with plucky children telling us how even the smallest donation can make a big difference. Terry Wogan calls Children In Need 'the widow's mite charity'.
• Maybe your heart is moved by the desperate situation in the Philippines. Over 10,000 souls lost. Will it be Oxfam or the Red Cross?
• Or what about sending it to Cancer Research UK, or Macmillan, or Leukaemia Care?
• Or has your family been touched by tragedy via another route? Send your money instead to the British Heart Foundation, or Shine, or Mencap.
• How about looking closer to home? Isn't that where charity begins? Give your money to the youth club down the road that needs its toilets refurbishing, or that women's shelter, or the food bank, or the Sure Start centre.
• Why not spend the money on 'good causes' lottery tickets? That's £5 well spent, surely -  and then if you win you can donate even more.
• Or what about ...? You get the picture.

I have no answer.

*Ovid

What a difference a week makes

Friends, I'm so much happier today than I was last Friday, not withstanding that I've had to pay out £100 to get my wing mirror fixed after a bit of a prang. Still, could have been so much worse.

So let's get on with Celebrating the Small Things.

• The company that owed me £250 has paid up!
• I have a reader's letter coming up in the New Year in a gardening mag.
• I think I've sold an article (won't say what, in case it all goes belly up).
• I also have an article in Freelance Market News this month.
• Number One Son is safely moved into his new home.
• I had a lovely birthday. Thanks to family and friends for a great day - and check out these funky flowers:

We need more power, Captain!

On Monday evening we had a series of mini power cuts lasting about 10 minutes each. It's at times like this you wish you'd listened to the advice to keep a torch where you can find it in the dark. However, thanks to the flashlight function on my phone I was able to fumble about and find some tea lights and a box of matches.

Somewhat ironically, the only glimmer of light in the whole house came from the ridiculous gizmo British Gas has given me to monitor my power usage. It turns out that the more things I have switched on, the more it costs me. Well, thanks, chaps, I'd never have thought of that! This gadget has a battery backup, which revealed the reassuring fact that I was using no electricity as I sat in the chilly gloom.

A lesson in self-promotion

It has been raining in. Not surprising, given the weather we've been having; but what is a bit strange is that it is raining in on to a downstairs internal wall. Men have been called.

One of the roofers who came to give us a quote also has a sideline as a writer. What follows is not a recommendation of his book, which I haven't read, but rather a celebration of his gift for self-promotion.

While he was investigating the rather peculiar structure of our house, he chatted amiably about life, the universe and so on, and revealed that he has written a book. He was interested to discover that I, too, am a writer and asked about my work, as well as telling me about his latest project. But what I found really impressive is that he was able to produce from his wallet some promotional bookmarks for me to use and give out. Ten out of ten for preparation. Not only that, but he had also given my husband a couple while they were upstairs taking a manly look at the job.

It seems only fair, after all this, that I direct you to his website, here.

Friday the first

Celebrate the small things? No, sorry, nothing to celebrate today (grump, grump). Normal service will be resumed as soon as poss.