And whilst I'm at it... Rosa

On a positive note.

Have a look at this... Rosa


From the Rosa site:

"Rosa is a charitable fund set up to support initiatives that benefit women and girls in the UK. Because, while many women and girls here do enjoy freedom of choice and the opportunity for success in their lives, that’s simply not true for all. Our vision is of equality and justice for all women and girls in the UK."

"Women aren’t short of ideas to help create positive change in their lives, but they are often short of the money needed to turn those ideas into reality. That’s why Rosa was launched in 2008 – to help raise more money for women’s projects and organisations."

I'm of an age to remember the rise of feminism in 60s, 70s and 80s. I remember when legislation to stop sex discrimination was brought in and legislation for equal pay.

Sadly, although much was done; much has been done, I see sexism and discrimination against women on the rise. They never went away and it's as bad as it's ever been in my memory (and I'm no spring chicken..)

Girls and women: we're not second class citizens, we're not cheap labour, we're not bottom of the scrap heap, we shouldn't be paid less than a man for work of equal value and we should not be treated as 'less than'

Hence Rosa is another site I think is worthwhile to visit and support.

Secret Courts

Another political bit I'm afraid.

UK government wants to bring in secret courts. This is wrong. Justice needs to be open with civil liberties upheld and the right to a fair trial. Secret courts are a route to misuse of power. There's enough of that already in the UK.

A useful blog on this is Liberal Democrats Against Secret Courts, created by Jo Shaw and states "No Government above the Law" which seems an entirely legitimate aim. Jo puts the case for saying 'no' to secret courts much better than I can. Give her blog a read on this important subject.

Eclipse

There was, recently, a total eclipse of the sun that could be viewed from that fine land of Oz-Downunder.

There is a magnificent photograph on the Astronomy Picture Of The Day website I'd love to have it here but I don't want to impinge on the photographer's copyright. It is one of the most fabulous photographs of an eclipse I've seen. The photographer has his own website, Terrastro. I shall have to have a look at all the photography there.

As a child I was entranced by the Apollo space programme. I had newspaper clippings of the Apollo 8 mission on my bedroom wall and tracked the progress of the mission each day. I did the same with the other missions up to the last Apollo.

I remain fascinated by space, astronomy & science in general to this day.

And I look at such wonderful photography as those shown on the two websites I give the links to above, and note my extreme lack of talent in the photography department.

I may be getting all political

It's true.

I'm horrified at what the Tories, so ably aided and abetted by the Lib-Dems have done and continue to do to the NHS in England. They are destroying it.





















The NHS is being handed over to the private sector: lock, stock and barrel. The private sector can be good. There is nothing inherently wrong with making a profit but there is something very wrong when profits are made at the expense of the health of every man, woman and child in England. The bottom-line for a private company is that it exists to make profits to be passed to the shareholders. When it comes to our health, every penny that is passed to shareholders is a penny lost to the actual amount to be spent on your health, my health, your mum's health, your dad's health, your child's health: you get the picture. There are some things in life where making a profit really should not be the primary motivation and the national health service is the big number one area where it should not be profit-driven. 

There are people who do a much better job than yours truly at explaining just what is happening to the NHS in England.

I recommend you read the very astute, and very courageous, Dr Éoin Clarke's blog, The Green Benches, where you'll see he's a man putting his head above the parapet. He's a better man than I'll ever be and he has my respect for the work he has done and continues to do. 

Then there's the National Health Action Party, which has been set up to support the original principles of the NHS and will have candidates standing at the next general election in key constituencies and will be, in its own words:-

"...seeking to prevent further dismantling of the NHS and the erosion of its values and the public space, we will:

• Strive to improve the democratic and public interest credentials of parliament.
• Provide a platform for the election of MPs and local councillors, who – free from any party whip – will first and foremost serve the public interest
• Develop and promote policy based on good quality, research-based evidence."

Finally, on health, there's Keep Our NHS Public which is a group set up to "fight to protect our NHS from marketisation and fragmentation will continue, with activists working to limit the damage and involve the public and politicians so that the Act can be repealed when a new government comes into power."


And, although I don't agree with all of her Labour views, she is an all-round good egg and in her blog, she does make some valid points about life, the universe and everything, there's the delightful Emma Burnell, with her blog Scarlet Standard. Give her a look, even if you're a rabid right-wing nut-job, you should see she's got a valid point to make on more than one occasion. Personally I think it's rather marvellous that someone young is taking an active interest in how politics affects all of us each day and she's trying to do something positive with her contribution to life, the universe and everything.

Long time no postee on bloggy: cats

It's true. No posts in ages. This thing called 'life' seems to get in the way.

Had three cats; down to one *weep*

As I said in an earlier post, my cats are elderly. Marble developed a heart condition which caused him to go down rapidly and he had to be euthanised. It was both saddening & shocking to see him deteriorate so quickly. Especially so as he was the youngest of my three oldies. My stripey boy is remembered by his ashes beneath an apple tree and a rose bush (Rose: Tawny Tiger). Marble was a Cat Of Character. He was never a lap cat, but he was affectionate in other ways. He had a very, very loud purr. In his last days he became a lap cat. He'd seek me out and spend hours curled up on me.

Marble

 
Then Francis, my lovely black and white boy. He died on October 30th 2012. Some years ago, he developed kidney problems. A vet wanted to euthanise him then. The vet was told to bog off and rightly so, as Francis recovered and went on to have many more happy years, full of life and fun. But the kidney problems took their toll and a wee while ago, aged 16, Francis got to the stage where life was no longer fun, he lost at least half his body weight and he knew... he knew.. I treasure the years with him. The vet came. Francis died in my arms, on a sunny day, feeling the wind in his whiskers for one last time, under the branches of his favourite willow tree. I wept. My husband wept. Francis was buried in a wooden casket my husband made for him and I made a lining for. He rests in the ground at the spot he died.

Francis, as I'll remember him

So, my old girl, Waffles is now a  solo cat. She is amazing for her age (18). She's fighting fit. She may only have one eye, one fang, and have a metal pin in her right femur, but it doesn't slow her. I treasure her. She's my girl.

Waffles, on her eighteenth birthday

(looking smug as she can now get s**t-faced

on alcohol-infused mice)