The One Where I Used To Dance.

Even though it's good to focus on where you are going, sometimes, it's nice to also remember the places that you have been and the path that your life has taken. My life now is vastly different to my life pre-kids - as I'm sure is the case for many people. Pre-children, one of the things I most loved to do was dance. Although I never had the body to be a dancer, and mostly had the wrong 'look' too according to some, I absolutely loved doing it and it made me happy - which is the main reason that anyone should do anything.

In my early twenties I was in a dance company called "Culture Shock UK". We were an early 2000's version of Diversity, Flawless, and all of the amazing hip-hop/street dance companies or "crews" that you see today. Over the last ten years, street dance has burst into the main stream in the UK, mostly pioneered by many former Culture Shock UK members who you will regularly see dancing with artistes on tour and on shows such as XFactor, So You Think You Can Dance, and Got To Dance. Whenever I see people street dancing on the TV, you can pretty much guarantee a Culture Shock UK alumni will be dancing, or will have choreographed the dancers. Some of my former dance friends are now famous in their own rite as dancers, teachers, models, and personalities. Needless to say I did not follow their path. Although I did do some commercial dance work, I spent a lot of my time teaching dance to others as sharing my passion for dance was what made me happy, rather than finding glory on stage. After I had kid's finding the time to continue dancing got harder and harder and now I find myself driving my girls to their own dance classes three times a week rather than driving myself to mine.

Still, sometimes it's nice to remember the former you, so here I am - in the middle in this video, circa 2003, doing my stuff with other CSUK members to Justin Timberlake. What did you love to do pre-kids?

Rock Of Ages - Review

A couple of weeks ago I took part in the Rock Of Ages tweet along which entailed watching the film, whilst tweeting about it at the same time with other reviewers. Although I had heard good things about the stage version of Rock of Ages, I had never actually seen it, and so I was looking forward to seeing how the film would pan out. It helped that those nice people at Warner Brothers had provided me with a wig and plastic guitar sugar to rock out to, which I did with gusto at several points throughout the film. The film is set in the eighties, and as an eighties girl myself, I had a good feeling that I would enjoy this film. I was not disappointed when the film started with the song paradise city by guns and roses - one of my ultimate eighties rock songs. 

Rock of Ages is a little like a cross between glee meets grease, but with a rock twist. The film focuses on country singer Sherrie, and bar worker Drew, and scenes are set around 'The Bourbon Rooms' - a rock club on the Sunset Strip owned by Dennis Dupree and his assistant Lonny. Dupree hires famous singer Stacee Jaxx to play in the hope of raising enough money to keep the failing club open, however, there are twists and turns along the way which culminate in a happy ending for most of the characters. I thought that Sherrie and Drew - the two main characters in the film were played really well, though I would have liked a little more of their back story as I wondered why Sherrie would rather work as a stripper than go home and face whatever was there. All of the actors cast in the film were phenomenal. Alec Baldwin was great as Dennis Dupree and Catherine Zeta Jones as conservative Patricia is also great. Tom Cruise as Tracey Jaxx is outstanding. I have always been a bit of a Tom Cruise fan and I was interested surprised to discover that he also knows how to play the guitar! Russell Brand gives an amazing performance too. Even though inevitably typecast, Russell plays up to this role really well and is entirely convincing in his performance. Then there's the monkey - you have to love the monkey. Although I have a problem with the whole 'animals in clothing' thing, the partnership between Tom and the monkey was really amazing and hilarious at the same time. 

I especially loved the scene on the greyhound bus where the whole bus sang along with Sherrie, and the scenes with Drew and Sherrie singing in the record shop. I would say that I thought that there were quite a lot of plot holes in the story between the two main characters, but to be honest, the story is not really why you would be watching the film - it's for the gratuitous rocking out, the costumes, the amazing hairstyles, and to celebrate a throwback to a fabulous era which you were part of. Add to that an unforgettable soundtrack and a title track by Journey, and you have all the elements of a fantastic evening in.

The film is rated as a 12, which I was quite surprised about as there as a lot of suggestive nudity and scenes that personally, I felt I would not let my 12 year old see. However, this would be a great film to watch with friends - just grab a few long haired wigs, plastic guitars, and a bucketful of popcorn, and you will be away- singing 'Don't Stop Believing' all night.

Although hard core rock and roll lovers might find the film a little tame for their liking, Rock of Ages would make a fantastic Christmas present or gift for anyone who enjoyed the eighties era and loves rock music.

Our Verdict: 9 out of 10 - a fun film that many people would connect with.

Disclosure: A copy of the film was offered in consideration of review

Silent Sunday

The Great Storm of 1987: My Memories

Today marks 25 years since the great storm of 1987. Friday the of 16th October 1987. Even as a six year old I have very vivid memories of this day because for different reasons, I had been looking forward to this day for quite a while.

During the early hours of the morning of the 16th, I remember being kept awake by the wind and the rain.  I remember the wind blowing a gale, the rain lashing down and the sound of branches crashing down from trees. I remember being annoyed because I really wanted to go to sleep so that I could wake up for the next day. At one point, there was a big crash and the power went completely out. Us children ran into my mother's room screaming as young spooked children do. My mum was scrabbling around, half asleep trying to find candles to provide some light, and we all slept in the same room as we listened to the weather raging around us.

The next morning, I was so excited and couldn't wait to get to school. My mum was listening to the weather on her battery radio as we had no power, which was advising people to stay inside and not leave the house. However, my Mum had to go to work as she worked at the local BT exchange, and there was absolutely no way that I was staying at home on such a big day, so we set off to school at usual.

As we left the house I remember seeing branches strewn all over the road and things that shouldn't be where they were meant to be. Everything was displaced and there were bits of toys, plant pots, and rubbish from peoples gardens laying in the middle of the street. We got in the car and started driving to school. As we got out of our estate, we encountered a traffic jam. A really big tree was completely blocking the road. I am pretty sure that we had to abandon the car as there was no way we could get through, and so my mum struggled with my sister in the buggy, against the wind, walking us to school. I was eager to get there as soon as possible because I absolutely did not want to miss the big event happening at school that day.

This event was a really big deal in our school. Everyone had been waiting in anticipation all week for Friday to come. We were all so excited, because today was the day that we were going to have a Theatre Company coming into school to perform a play and do a theatre workshop. To us children, this was an absolutely huge event. I rushed into the playground and we speculated excitedly about what the day would hold and what the theatre workshop would consist of. We also regaled each other with our tales about the storm the night before. To me, nothing was out of the ordinary, apart from a bit of wind and rain, it was going to be a totally routine school day, with the added excitement of the theatre visit on the top.

Instead of going to register, all of us went straight to assembly. I thought this was a bit odd. Our head teacher told us that some of the teachers couldn't get to school and so we would have children from different classes with us today. None of us minded. Then he told us the worst news as a six year old child that you could hear. The Theatre Group were no longer able to come and give a workshop, because they couldn't get to us, and as they were so booked up, they couldn't reschedule. The look of total devastation on everyone's face was apparent. Some of the children started crying and I felt pretty gutted too. The teachers didn't look very happy, but all they kept talking about was the storm, which was completely inconsequential to us kids. I remember that the teachers tried to make the rest of the day as fun as possible for us, but nothing is fun when something you have been expecting is taken away. We also weren't allowed outside due to something ridiculous called "health and safety" whatever that was.

When we got home we had no power again. Still mum managed to rustle up tea as always and I don't really remember much more.

Even though it seems trivial in relation to everything else that happened that day, these are my vivid, lasting memories of that day - the fact that the theatre company who we had been promised a visit from, did not turn up. When you are a child, your world is so small and insular that these trivial things are the upsets that you remember. Even though twenty two people lost their lives, fifteen million trees were destroyed, several hundred thousand people were left without power, and roads and public transport were in complete disarray, None of that is really of any great interest to a six year old child and the Theatre Company not attending seems much more important a loss.

The clean-up from the Great Storm of 1987 took a great deal of time and money. Thankfully, with the advances in technology, the Met Office are now able to predict weather with a much greater deal of accuracy than poor Michael Fish - who will be infamously remembered for his flippant remarks regarding reports of a hurricane.

Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way; well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't, but having said that, actually, the weather will become very windy, but most of the strong winds, incidentally, will be down over Spain and across into France.

Do you remember the 1987 storm?

Charity Blogging: Selfless or Self Promotion?

Recently I have been thinking about this verse from the bible, found in Matthew 6, a lot. Over the past few months I have been made aware of, and invited to participate in quite a few high profile charity blogging campaigns, asking bloggers to use their voice and their blogs to raise awareness of different charities, or to encourage people to donate to charity. Indeed, I have been berated recently, along with other bloggers for choosing not to participate in charity campaigns raising awareness for different causes.

Whilst many, many people raise awareness of the work of charities and give to charity without hope or agenda, lately, it has seemed to me that there is an increasing trend amongst society in general to give to charity or raise awareness about a charity, with the agenda of looking good in the process. Indeed, I am sad to say that in my years of working in the charity sector, I have come across many who used their charity work or charity giving to raise their own profile and expected to be acknowledged for it, rather than doing it purely to help others. Dare I be so bold as to say it, but often, it is self-proclaimed Christians who are typically most guilty of this.

Each day there are millions of people across the world doing their bit to help charities and causes close to their heart who go unacknowledged.  Millions more will often donate or volunteer for charity in a time of crisis or disaster when human decency transcends typical human nature, or on occasions like Christmas, when it seems that goodwill to man kind is a little easier a burden to bear for those who wouldn't give at other times of the year. Although people may briefly mention in passing the works they do, or causes they support to friends and family, they do not tend to be in church, coffee shops, or on the internet shouting about them or berating others for not being interested in the causes they believe in. Is this a bad thing? Social media would have us believe that it is, the bible would have us believe that it is not.

As a Christian, it seems to me that on this subject, the bible contradicts what modern day social media is about, which is hard for Christians who want to live by the bible and what they believe in, but still want to be actively involved in social media and use it for good. Social media is all about making your voice heard and quite often gathering sway for a cause or campaign, or encouraging people to donate to charity. The bible tells us not to shout about our works of charity or 'practice our acts of righteousness' before others. It also tells us not to "announce it with trumpets" (my modern day interpretation would be "announce it with twitter"), but in a modern world, how beneficial is social media in gathering sway and raising awareness for campaigns? I would say that it is very beneficial, if used in the right way.

I think that there is a clear, moral difference between using social media to raise awareness for charities and causes close to our hearts without agenda, and using social media to self publicise ourselves doing amazing works for charity, or donating money to charity. There is a clear line between keeping people informed and raising awareness for charity, and self promotion of the works you do for charity in order to gain notoriety. Within society, and within social media presently, the line is starting to become a little blurred.

People are shouting about the amazing work they are doing and amazing causes close to their heart via social media platforms, but unfortunately, it is being perceived by others as having undertones of self promotion and notoriety. Is this just the readers perception? Is this the author's hope? Is there such a thing as genuine selfless service any more?

As people before we speak, or as bloggers, before we hit the "publish" key, maybe it is worth sitting back and questioning: who are we really telling this or publishing this for? Is it for ourselves? Is it for hits on our websites or to boost our profile? Or is it purely, without hope or agenda, to raise awareness of a genuine charitable cause without making people feel guilty if they choose not to become involved. I personally really hope that it's the last reason every time.

Silent Sunday

April Jones - Our Choices As Parents & Stranger Danger

I'm sure we have all been hugging our children a little tighter over the last couple of days as our thoughts and prayers are with the parents and family of April Jones who went missing in Machynlleth on Monday evening 1/10/12. Her case has especially struck a chord with me as April is the same age as my eldest daughter.

Whenever I hear news of a child going missing, my mind turns to thinking about how I can talk to my own children about stranger danger and even dangers relating to people that they might also know, without scaring them too much and ruining their innocence.

When I was 9, I would walk home from school on my own as my school was quite close and my mother had to work until just after pick-up time. One day, on my way home from school, I was approached by a man in a car, who asked me if I wanted some sweets and told me to get in the car if I wanted them. Luckily, I was on a fairly busy, residential road, with lots of people near by, and I managed to run straight home and tell my mother, who called the police. My mother had also spoken to me about the dangers of going with a stranger and I was old enough to understand that I should not get in the car.

In recent years, the media has accused modern day parents of being "helicopter parents" who keep our kids locked up indoors. The National Children's Bureau issued research this year which showed that 46% of parents admitted that "fear of strangers" kept them from letting their children play outside, and a third of parents were too worried about their children injuring themselves to let them venture outside of the house unsupervised. The NCB believes that playing outside should be "a normal, everyday event for all children".

The parents of April have come under fire from some people for letting their little girl play outside unsupervised, however, it seems that in the area they live, this is fairly common practice. There has been lots of debate on various parenting forums about whether parents should let their kids play outside, with opinion ranging from "it was ok for us and we never came to harm" to "my kids play out too" to "I would not let my kids play out". As parents, we know our own area's where we live and the danger's related to each area. Even though we may have our own opinions, and our own rules for our kids, it is very hard, and not really our place to judge other parents for the decisions that they make as even a child playing in the safest area can disappear in a split second, as April's case shows.

The other day, I let my 5 year old, who had been begging me to be allowed outside, ride her bike outside of the front door in our cul-de-sac which is set away from a main road. The door was open and she was right outside where I could see her. Within minutes, she was in, crying, as two girls had walked past her and told her that if she played outside she would get taken away from her mummy and daddy! Now either these children were just being horrible to a younger child, or they have parents who have heavily stressed the dangers which exist in our society to their children. As parents, we have many decisions to make about our kids, including letting them out of our sight. Many parents, including myself, make decisions about if, or when, it is ok for their child(ren) to play outside. Whilst there is always a risk that something could happen, in many cases, there is a chance that something will not, and so as parents we have to weigh up the risk against the chance and make our own informed decisions. It can also be child dependent. I would be much more likely to let my eldest child play outside of the front door, with the door open, than I would my youngest child at the same age - those who know my kids will know why!

It is a common belief that many children are abducted by people they know. In 2004, a Home Office Study of 768 child abductions which occurred in the UK showed that a surprising 56% of them involved a stranger who took upon an opportunity. 23% of the cases involved a parental dispute, leaving a further 21% of abductions where the child knew the person who took them.

If you have been considering how to talk to your children about what to do if a strange, or known adult approaches them and says/does something they don't like, wants them to go off with them, or attempts to take them, then here are a few links that may help:

Direct Gov gives some sensible tips about keeping young children and teens safe.

Netmums has some fantastic information on Essential Safety for Kids and Talking to your Child about Stranger Danger.

NSPCC Out Alone - Your Guide To Keeping Your Children Safe.

Child Alert How kids can stay safe, be smart and protect themselves from strangers and abduction.

Teigan Gets Lost - An online Video for Kidsabout "Safer Strangers, Safer Buildings" which advises kids to find a "safe stranger" (i.e a policeman/shop worker in uniform) or "Safer Building Police Station/Church/Shop) if they get lost.

As well as talking to our kids about staying safe when they may not be with us, we can now find out about convicted child abusers living in the UK through a website called Children Have Rights In Society. C.H.R.I.S. contains a search function which allows you to search records by area/county, so that you can see whether there is someone living close-by in your area who has been convicted of an offence against a child. Unfortunately, there will always be those who commit new offences, but it can be useful to know whether you are living close-by to a known child abuser.

Let's all Hope and Pray that April and other children like her are returned to their families soon.

If you have any great resources on this subject, please leave a link in the comments section below.