Festive Table

Well I think that there has been far too much of this over the festive period!!! The DIET starts today!!! Well mabye tomorrow ;-)

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Let's Party :-)

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The Peace Poem

What a beautiful concept:

The Peace Poem - children around the world were invited to submit 2 lines of poetry about peace to the United Nations. The lines were then collated together as one big poem and published on the web.

Ce long poème consacré à la paix, fruit de la réflexion et de la conviction de milliers d’enfants de par le monde, est pour moi comme une guirlande d’espoir qui, par la vertu des nouveaux moyens de télécommunication, ceint notre planète, en se riant des nationalités et des frontières.

In their wisdom, the children whose intermingled voices gave birth to the Peace Poem know that peace is far more than the absence of war. Children know that peace comes from the heart; it lives in the way we see others; it survives in the respect we show our neighbors every day. They also know, often better than adults, that today’s world is a global village and that we are all neighbors.

Sepamos escuchar a los niños poetas. Sus palabras sencillas y elocuentes nos recuerdan las verdades esenciales, pilares sobre los que sustentan la paz y la concordia : conocer y aceptar a los demás y, en ellos, reconocer nuestra humanidad común.

- Kofi A. Annan

Many Faces!

I am struggling to choose the best picture for this weeks '52 weeks photo challenge' how sad is that? I asked my flickr friends to help me. Would like you to tell me what you think too?!!!

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Now I have had Time to Reflect!

After my far too hectic Christmas/New Year thing I have at last had some space for my thoughts and time to reflect on how I feel about the Sapphire House decision. Check this Previous post for the good news and my thoughts are below.

For me the symbolic start of our campaign was the day we held our 24 hour candlelit vigil outside Sapphire House in November 2005. It was very uplifting to stand with my colleagues including many from other local departments. Even the local MPs came along on the day to offer support and talk to Sapphire House staff. This positive start was needed as there were many setbacks along the way and we had to try different and new angles to make ourselves noticed and get our voice heard.

When the U-Turn decision was finally announced 2 years later it was a relief to know that our campaigning had paid off and that the right decision had been made for everyone. Our experience shows that by standing together and being prepared for a long campaign it is possible to make a difference and I hope that friends and colleagues from other departments who are facing similar threats will gain inspiration from our success.

This is one of my favourite pictures from the day, I can't take the credit for the photograph though, it was taken by someone else ;-)

On Christmas Day in the Morning

This is my Christmas week photograph for the 52 week portrait challenge on flickr. I know it is a little late now ;-) but I have only just been able to get onto my computer to upload my Christmas photographs. In fact this is the first day I have had on my own for a long time. Guess what it's nice and peaceful ;-) :-) I have managed to laze about and do all sorts of things.

Another nice surprise was that someone researching the same family history branches as me phoned my back about some information I had sent him. He first phoned just as I arrived back from France which resulted in my sending him the information that I had. After a bit more investigation I think I may have something more of interest so I need to head for the scanner to copy the information!

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2008...

...is waiting ahead....
Let's cross the entrance trying to hold some faith of a better time for us and the world...

This is Dani's beautiful message for 2008, I thought I would share it with you :-)

2008..., originally uploaded by CasallArt.