Blog
Trying my hand at dowsing
From a child, I have always been fascinated by dowsing, watching the sticks twitch and point in different directions as an underground water source was discovered. So I was keen to try it for myself during a visit to Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds where it was...
David’s 18th birthday speech
David only had 15 minutes notice to prepare a speech for his 18th birthday, and I was so impressed by it that I put it on YouTube. As David spends so much time glued to his computer on social network sites, it amazed me for its fluency, confidence and humour. It was a...
Meeting up with women chairs
I'm spending more time in London than Cambridgeshire at the moment. And I'm heading off to the smoke again today. I'm very much looking forward to meeting a talented and dynamic woman, Dame Jo Williams, Chief Executive of Mencap, the leading charity for...
How much are memories worth?
A guest post by Audrie Reed. I met Audrie at a friend's house recently and she told me about her business of capturing family memories on video and recording them for posterity, and I thought it would make an interesting post. However, it's not all plain sailing. She...
MPs boost funds for Headway
I received a cheque for £750 yesterday from John Hayes MP, a generous patron of Headway Cambridgeshire of which I am vice chair of the trustees. John,Shadow Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills, suffered a serious head injury following a road accident in his...
Time now to ditch Strasbourg parliament
My MEP Robert Sturdy has a letter in The Times today stating it is time to ditch the absurd "travelling circus" to Strasbourg following the partial collapse of its ceiling. He says: Surely this is the perfect time to stop throwing away good money after bad....
Have you tried punting?
My son David is taking part in a sponsored punt race in Cambridge this evening, and he has banned me from going to watch. I doubt he will end up with a Cambridge blue as this is his first try at steering the long pole, along with team mates from the city's Dune Shoes...
Becoming a facilitator
Because of my increasingly involved role chairing trustees' meetings at Headway Cambridgeshire, I have signed up for a two-day facilitator's course in London next week. I am quite shy in the leadership role and am keen to learn the skills required to carry out this...
From student to soldier in South Ossetia
On Facebook, I read a message from a Ukranian friend Katerina saying how she was fed up reading "so much contradictions and lies" on British and Russian websites about the situation in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia She has been following the conflict on a blog...