As part of Cat's internship with Christians Against Poverty, she has to fundraise for the charity, aiming for a total of £3000 over the whole year. Quite a lot.
She started with a talk - illustrated with a superb Powerpoint - in church, followed by a cake sale. We seemed to be baking for days, but she raised over £400 through the generosity of the congregation in both donating and buying cakes. It was a lovely opportunity to chat to people, too.
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Christians Against Poverty
Cat leaves on Saturday, to live in Bradford. (We'll go over with her as she will be having a very minor op THE DAY BEFORE. Cat lives by my friend Karyn's philosophy: 'There's always time for one more thing.')
She is going to work as an intern for a year with Christians Against Poverty. She'll have an allowance which will allow her to subsist, but no more. She'll be learning how to live within her means without getting into debt. (She has never gone into debt, but her hard work during the uni vacations has meant she has had enough money to get quite comfortably through her degree course.) It will be an exciting and challenging year.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is an international debt-counselling charity. Cat will be working in the department which puts on events, conferences, training opportunities - just what she is passionate about. The charity has come top of the The Times newspaper's Best Small Companies to work for - more than once. So great experience.
Climbing the ladder in the finance industry - and industry it certainly is - was never her aim. Had it been, she would have stayed here on Guernsey. But we have to let her go...
And Jonny returns to Norwich the day after tomorrow. To spend a year with his church as an intern, working with the youth and the homeless. He, too, forswears the lure of riches and an easy life. He is an incredible blessing...
She is going to work as an intern for a year with Christians Against Poverty. She'll have an allowance which will allow her to subsist, but no more. She'll be learning how to live within her means without getting into debt. (She has never gone into debt, but her hard work during the uni vacations has meant she has had enough money to get quite comfortably through her degree course.) It will be an exciting and challenging year.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is an international debt-counselling charity. Cat will be working in the department which puts on events, conferences, training opportunities - just what she is passionate about. The charity has come top of the The Times newspaper's Best Small Companies to work for - more than once. So great experience.
Climbing the ladder in the finance industry - and industry it certainly is - was never her aim. Had it been, she would have stayed here on Guernsey. But we have to let her go...
And Jonny returns to Norwich the day after tomorrow. To spend a year with his church as an intern, working with the youth and the homeless. He, too, forswears the lure of riches and an easy life. He is an incredible blessing...
Holidays
Holidays are interesting. As a teacher, I have LOTS of them. I only work 9 - 3.30 and then have a total of 16 weeks paid holiday every year.
Huh. That's not precisely true. I actually work from 8 - 5 in school, then some when I get home. Often at weekends, too. My lunch 'hour' (50 minutes) is usually half filled with duties or extra-curricular clubs.
But I DO have 16 weeks when I'm not in school. The other 36 are so intense that I literally spin on the spot at times, like some robotic automaton in a factory on top speed. I amaze myself with the amount of work I achieve. Often, sleep suffers. 16 weeks is only just enough catch up time...
So holidays are breaks from work. They are 'catch-up' time.
Catch-up on school work - planning, preparation, research.
Catch-up on home work.tidying, cleaning, sorting.
Catch-up on friendships: time for coffee, meals, barbecues on the beach.
Catch-up on life.
But holidays are also full of change.
Change of scenery,as we go away. This year was a riotous week on a boat in France. We ambled slowly down a beautiful river, drinking in the beautiful views, swimming in clear, warm water, visiting impossibly picturesque villages, enjoying the quiet of sleepy streets on sunny afternoons, laughing as we jumped, dived or swung off ropes into the water. Praising God for music and beauty and friends.
Change of atmosphere at home. Two grown 'children' who go diligently to boring jobs throughout hot summer days so that they can save up enough money to support themselves in full-time Christian work. I am learning how to be a mother all over again. It seems just as difficult this time round: mothering, nurturing, supporting...adults.
Visitors, too. Family staying, almost three generations as my nephews are aged only 2 and 6, young enough to be my grandchildren. In theory. The change in the house seemed radical: far from expanding to accommodate 4 more people and many toys, the very building seemed to shrink on itself. Once they had left, the house relaxed with a sigh, stretching weary walls towards the garden.
And parties. Two LARGE ones. Washing up and clearing up took only a day, but it seemed like a year.
And I changed. I changed from being a dedicated, focused, intensely hard-working career teacher who can't often be bothered with cooking and cleaning, to a nurturing home maker who looked for opportunities to bake and cook and share and welcome.
That was a GOOD change. I needed this holiday.
Huh. That's not precisely true. I actually work from 8 - 5 in school, then some when I get home. Often at weekends, too. My lunch 'hour' (50 minutes) is usually half filled with duties or extra-curricular clubs.
But I DO have 16 weeks when I'm not in school. The other 36 are so intense that I literally spin on the spot at times, like some robotic automaton in a factory on top speed. I amaze myself with the amount of work I achieve. Often, sleep suffers. 16 weeks is only just enough catch up time...
So holidays are breaks from work. They are 'catch-up' time.
Catch-up on school work - planning, preparation, research.
Catch-up on home work.tidying, cleaning, sorting.
Catch-up on friendships: time for coffee, meals, barbecues on the beach.
Catch-up on life.
But holidays are also full of change.
Change of scenery,as we go away. This year was a riotous week on a boat in France. We ambled slowly down a beautiful river, drinking in the beautiful views, swimming in clear, warm water, visiting impossibly picturesque villages, enjoying the quiet of sleepy streets on sunny afternoons, laughing as we jumped, dived or swung off ropes into the water. Praising God for music and beauty and friends.
Change of atmosphere at home. Two grown 'children' who go diligently to boring jobs throughout hot summer days so that they can save up enough money to support themselves in full-time Christian work. I am learning how to be a mother all over again. It seems just as difficult this time round: mothering, nurturing, supporting...adults.
Visitors, too. Family staying, almost three generations as my nephews are aged only 2 and 6, young enough to be my grandchildren. In theory. The change in the house seemed radical: far from expanding to accommodate 4 more people and many toys, the very building seemed to shrink on itself. Once they had left, the house relaxed with a sigh, stretching weary walls towards the garden.
And parties. Two LARGE ones. Washing up and clearing up took only a day, but it seemed like a year.
And I changed. I changed from being a dedicated, focused, intensely hard-working career teacher who can't often be bothered with cooking and cleaning, to a nurturing home maker who looked for opportunities to bake and cook and share and welcome.
That was a GOOD change. I needed this holiday.
Monday 9 August 2010
Graduation!
July was a busy busy month...we even braved the boat to travel to UK. The boat was fine - met up with my friend Sarah, also going over with her girls - but the traffic was another story. Traffic jam to setting point on every journey. Still, we survived. And it was worth it.
J and C's graduation. Fortunately, on the same day. It was a moving occasion as hundreds of youngsters celebrated their achievement. (We hadn't realised how fortunate, also, that they had gone to the same uni: we could have been faced with two graduations on the same day in different parts of the country.) We are so proud of our son and daughter: not just for achieving good degrees, but for who they are...a man and woman after God's own heart. Blessed.
J and C's graduation. Fortunately, on the same day. It was a moving occasion as hundreds of youngsters celebrated their achievement. (We hadn't realised how fortunate, also, that they had gone to the same uni: we could have been faced with two graduations on the same day in different parts of the country.) We are so proud of our son and daughter: not just for achieving good degrees, but for who they are...a man and woman after God's own heart. Blessed.
Friday 6 August 2010
Frisbee, swingball...
One of Cat's interests at uni has been playing ultimate frisbee. She has been captain of the women's team: called the Aye Ayes, she has been known as Captain Bird's Eye. The mixed team reached the nationals this year, much to their surprise, and Cat has also whizzed off to London for training and Amsterdam to play in a tournament.
So no surprise, then, that she brought her frisbee home.
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| And then there was swingball... |
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| I never did manage to hit the ball... |
Fishing
When we go out in the kayak, we - no, not WE, Richard or The Boy - always take the fishing rod with us. I deny all wish to take the rod as I like paddling my kayak, not twirling round in circles as we try to disentangle the hook from Seaweed, Rocks or Fingers. (Richard, in trying to disentangle hooks from Seaweed and Rocks while UNDERWATER also then had to disentangle his FINGER from the hooks. Underwater. The slightly panicked yanking of hook from said finger resulted in some impressive bruising. But I digress).
The rod has, however, been useful. It has caught garfish - the same fish, twice. It jumped back on the hook a dozen metres further down the channel. Masochistic fish, garfish. The rod has caught pollock - grey, slightly fatty fish - better than no supper at all, but not much. The rod has also caught rock. Wow, that was a big one. The boys were out in the kayak for 4 hours fighting this gigantic fish until eventually they realised that it was, indeed, truly and honestly ROCK. So at one with the sea bed that there was no separating it.
The epic fight with Rock didn't put them off trying again. Success. A magnificent bass. Promptly taken home, placed reverentially on the barbeque and eaten for supper.
The rod has, however, been useful. It has caught garfish - the same fish, twice. It jumped back on the hook a dozen metres further down the channel. Masochistic fish, garfish. The rod has caught pollock - grey, slightly fatty fish - better than no supper at all, but not much. The rod has also caught rock. Wow, that was a big one. The boys were out in the kayak for 4 hours fighting this gigantic fish until eventually they realised that it was, indeed, truly and honestly ROCK. So at one with the sea bed that there was no separating it.
The epic fight with Rock didn't put them off trying again. Success. A magnificent bass. Promptly taken home, placed reverentially on the barbeque and eaten for supper.
Rabbits
One advantage - and I really can't think of many - in not having Mpira around any more is that we now have a lot more rabbits in the garden (which is a mixed blessing in itself). Presently, there are youngsters who hang around all the time. One of them in particular - I'll call him Buster, don't ask me why - is very tame. Here he is:
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