Surefish.co.uk discussion forum / Surefish.co.uk discussion forums / Current affairs

Education tools

newsreader24 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:10:35 GMT

I have just signed up to Edplace! It’s great I can get Maths worksheets, English worksheets and science worksheets K stage 1 - 4, it’s a great way to improve your kid’s school work! The brilliant thing is you can sign up for free here: http://www.edplace.co.uk/ and then decide if you want to subscribe or not!

Good neighbours

Mini — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:03:12 GMT

Recently in the news there have been stories about the lack of good neighbourlyness in England. What's your experience? On the whole I do not speak to many of my neighbours, but I do live on the main road of detached houses. However, if I'm out doing some work in the front garden then I say hello to the world and his brother.

I feel very fortunate to have a lovely neighbour on one side. Today when I arrived home from shopping I made him a cup of tea and we had a quick chat. He's replacing his fence which is far easier done from our side. So I sent Hubby to work in his car and parked mine out of the way and left the gates open for easy access.

He raised the subject of my other neighbour saying she had at last changed her horse car (a noisy V8 thing that woke everyone at 6.30am sharp). Then he moaned about her as he regularly does because she never responds if you say good day, or smile at her. He doesn't like it says its rude. I used to chat to her mother, but she suddenly disappeared. When I asked my good neighbour if Pearl was OK, he told me that he had just found out she had died about 3wks earlier. Yet our neighbour never thought to tell us.

Our neighbour, who does not speak to us, and has rang before now and complained about the noise during a birthday party. (It was at 5pm!) Once she even rang and complained about the noise my girls were making in our back garden, so I simply apologised and asked if they sounded good, because I could not hear them myself. I let her rant a bit and then explained quietly they were 200 miles away singing in Norwich Cathedral. She hasn't spoken to me since! Oops!

Does anyone else have good / bad neighbours?

Mini

Drop the Debt human chain 10 years on

Editor Andy — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:48:38 GMT

Please use this thread to share your memories about the Drop the Debt Human Chain in May 1998.

70,000 people gathered in Birmingham that day, where the G8 was meeting, to ask for billions of dollars worth of debt to be dropped. Since then $88bn of debt has been cleared, but the Drop the Debt campaign believes another $400bn should also be removed.

I was working for Reform, the magazine of the URC, at the time as well as taking pictures for other religious publications. I remember meeting friends who had gathered at Carrs Lane Church Centre, feeling a strange buzz of excitment. No one knew how many people would turn up and whether the chain along the route would be complete.

When the time came for the chain to link up, I got to the roof of a church and realised just how many people had turned out to show their support for the campaign. It was truly amazing.

I was then really lucky to stumble across the place where Clare Short, then Secretary of State for International Development, was going to address the crowd.

When the chain broke up, this small circle of orange chairs surrounding a stage and microphone was engulfed by thousands of people who were cheering, chanting and waving placards, waiting to hear what Ms Short had to say.

It was a magical day, and though each one of those people who were in Birmingham in 1998 could claim that they have wiped around £125,000 of debt, there is still a long way to go.

On Sunday, May 18, there are celebrations in Birmingham to mark the 10th anniversary of the human chain and to remind people that the campaign is far from over.

David Beckham 100 caps

crusader — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:21:52 GMT

On a lighter note, what an achievement that David Beckham will make tonight! 100 caps for England.

A man who is a true professional when it comes to football, who modelled grace and dignity when unceremoniously dumped by Steve McLaren, and an example of what can happen when you work hard and be professional in your attitude, don't moan and complain, and thereby get back in the England side. Well done David Beckham!