Five things Friday…leaving on a jet plane Saturday

1. The Girl Effect – I’ve just read Hills’ brilliant most recent eyechai blog – ‘help girls.it matters’, with my girl Beth. Please read it too, and raise awareness by joining the girl effect blogging campaign. The Girl Effect is a refreshingly up-beat celebration of information sharing –  with life changing consequences. Truly the internet at it’s best in my view.

2. Poet Hollie McNish – I heard Hollie being interviewed on a Woman’s Hour podcast (11th November) as I drove to work the other day. Loved her poetry, and the original way she presents it, and played it to Harry later in the car –  hoping he’d love it too (he’s a real poetry fan). He did, and when we got home he bought her beautiful album Touch for me.

Thank you Harry.

A collection of spoken word, poetry and music...

3. The whole family is so into Glee

The songs; the musical arrangements; the dance routines; the comedy; the characters; the issues addressed. Wonderfully found – it really knows what it is. Laughter, tears and regular goose-bumps from the singing…Last weekend seven of us (including Karine, Luke’s lovely girlfriend) squished on the sofa/floor and had a Glee-fest catching up on old episodes. Trouble is we’re up-to-date now and have to wait for the new ones!

4. Just finished the gripping roller-coaster of Either you’re in or you’re in the way – Noah and Logan Miller’s account of the making of their film Touching Home with Ed Harris. Thank you so much Hills for sending a copy to Joe and I – he’s just finished it too, and it really took us back... so much to relate to for us both, but also just a great tale of sheer positive determination winning against all the odds.

My kind of story…

!

and 5. MY FAMILY…the extended one

Family...

We’re off to the UK tomorrow to celebrate my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary… there’ll be more to tell, about the weekend … and about my extraordinary and very special parents!

26th November 1960