Refugees Welcome Are Here!

The scenes in Hungary of a TV camera women kicking and tripping refugees are disgusting – and the rhetoric around their plight is making me so angry – some comments made on the article of the attack have left me really upset so here’s my rant!!

Refugees are very much welcome here as far as I am concerned!

I’m sick of hearing how terrible it is that “immigrants” – (actually they’re refugees please buy a dictionary and look up the difference) are coming into our country and eventually we’ll be the minority ….

….The minority of what? Because we are all HUMAN BEINGS and the UK is NOT unique, refugees are trying to find safety all across Europe – and we’ve taken less refugees than most other European countries – fact!

I would like all of you with children, with parents, with family to go look them in face and think what would you do?

What would you do if a small band of militants were torturing and raping your family and neighbours, beating and killing your friends and you, your child, your mom, your dad – any of you could be next – and your government stands by and does nothing – in fact they do worse than nothing – they treat you like animals too, the starve you and bomb you into submission when you protest! They support the military in attacking its own people and stand by while the atrocities happen.

Because I tell you what I would do. I would I would run!

I would run with my child in my arms and I would not look back. I would leave my job, and my home and everything I hold dear, and I would run into the unknown. and that’s exactly what these HUMAN BEINGS are doing. Running – for their lives!

And what do they face when they finally slow down running – when they have crossed deserts and oceans in the search of safety – Racism, bigoted small minded people who have NO idea what these people have been through and face scenes like this – Human beings physically attacking other human beings for wanting to get their children to safety!

It’s an absolute disgrace. Her side of the story in no way matches the scenes that were filmed – under attack? By a man with his child in his arms? By teenagers who have left  their homes, families and friends behind n the search of some peace? Really? Kicking out at children, tripping fleeing fathers is not self defense – it is single minded at best to get the shots for your job, a job you are secure in unlike the people you are attacking.

It is racist, bigoted, heartless and cruel at worse – which given the ownership of the channel she worked for is probably closer to to the truth

So now how do you feel now? What if that was you? Fleeing for your life,  with nothing but your child in your arms and the clothes on your back? With no idea where the rest of your family is – or even if they are alive. Moving from country to country because every where you turn, you’re not wanted and the people you are running from dead set on killing you in the name of religion, greed and selfishness and the people you are running towards dead set on sending you back because of the same?

Now are refugees welcome here?

I’ve been thinking

I watched the Northern Lights in Iceland and trekked 10km around the lakes at the foot of Matterhorn on the 150th Anniversary of the first accent to its summit.

I experienced a 5.3 magnitude earthquake whilst visiting New Zealand and bathed in a log fire heated bath under the stars while hiking around the Banks Peninsula.

I’ve fed wild Turtles on the Dalyan Delta, hunted the monster on Loch Ness,  rode a camel in the Sahara Desert, overcome my fear of the ocean to go swimming from a boat in the Aegean Sea and lay for hours on a blanket watching a metoer shower above our house with love of my life.

I gave birth, to one of the best people I know, and married the other.

I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, Made friends, lost friends, I’ve impressed people and depressed people and I’m writing all this here to remind myself that while day to day my life seems ordinary and it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, even the most ordinary lives can be full of adventure.

Yes I know it’s corporate bullshit – but

Love Candles

Line the pockets of the card shop day…

Sell chocolate at extortionate prices day…..

Put too much meaning in a bunch of flowers day….

Valentines Day. I know it’s all corporate bullshit designed to make money, but still, I like it. Or I would if we celebrated, my husband doesn’t. He doesn’t see the point. Because of all the reasons I pointed out above and more, but I can’t help being disappointed.

He laughs at me for being so soppy, it’s good natured but he’s bemused that I feel the need to express my love for him on this one day – when he knows I love him, and I know he loves me all year round, so I don’t bother any more. We’ve never made a a fuss of valentines day, we hardly make a fuss of each other, dating is something we’ve never done. Meals out yes, we do that of plenty, usually because it’s a birthday, or it’s got too late to cook (this happens more than I should admit)  – But those surprising, romantic gestures for each other we rarely make for each other.

We’ve been together 9 years. married nearly 2 and I can count one one hand the number of times I’ve been truly surprised by him – and those times have been truly special – They really have. So do I put too mush weight on Valentines day? Probably. Does knowing that make me want to celebrate any less? Unfortunately not. BUT  Do I love my husband, valentines or not. Definitely,

 

Apple Swirls

2 Bramley apples (I use golden delicious instead – leaves for a smoother puree), peeled, cored and cut into chunks
20g butter
30g caster sugar
Ground cinnamon (to taste)
1x 300g Puff Pasty sheet
3 tbsp raisins (I never measure just scatter to taste)
1 orange, zest and juice (I don’t use the Orange zest or juice)
50g Icing sugar

Place the apples, butter, caster sugar and cinnamon to taste in a small saucepan. Add 1 tbsp water, cover with a lid and place over a low heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble gently for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Lay out the puff pastry sheet and spread the apple filling over, leaving a 1cm border down each long side. Scatter over the raisins and orange zest then roll it up, from the longer edge, into a cylinder. Cut the roll into 12 discs (I did 18 Kat time) and lay them on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes until puffed up and golden.

Meanwhile, combine the icing sugar with ¾ tbsp of orange juice (i use milk instead of juice). Once the mini apple pie bites are cooked, remove from the oven and drizzle with the icing.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

So much love & wedding bells

Last month I had the privilege of attending one of, if not the most beautiful wedding I have ever been invited to and to top it all I wasn’t just there as a guest,  I was bridesmaid for one of longest standing best friend (and honorary big brother) John and his brilliantly extroverted husband Mike.

I can not even begin to explain the amount of love that we all shared that day.

Every detail was exquisite and every face wore a smile and yesterday I got to relive it all as John & Mike dropped me a line to say their very talented photographer Hannah May (having shot a couple of weddings myself I can tell you now how very jealous I am of her work) – had delivered their photos!

If I can share just one image with you that sums up this entire day for me it would be this, So much happiness and fun in one snapshot – from left to right there’s Leanne, Me, John Mike and Sophie, or the crazy friends, the smiling grooms and the perturbed cousin….

JohnMike-1192resize

 

…I’ll always be grateful I got to share this day with them!

Congratulations again Mr & Mr Burton-Fuller, I love you both very much!

When is a rational argument an irrational thing?

Irrational behaviors of individuals include taking offense or becoming angry about a situation that has not yet occurred, expressing emotions exaggeratedly (such as crying hysterically), maintaining unrealistic expectations, engaging in irresponsible conduct such as problem intoxication, disorganization, or extravagance, and falling victim to confidence tricks,

A rational argument becomes an irrational thing – when you are talking to an irrational person because no matter how many times you attempt to talk something through you’ll just talk your self in circles and you’re wasting your time.

When someone has decided their view of the world is the ONLY view of the world, however bizarre and inaccurate, when they are prepared to make bold brash statements that has huge fall out – and are so unwilling to even attempt to meet you half way then to keep trying is irrational.

 

So – this hurts more than a just a little bit.

My son didn’t have a security blanket when he was younger. No scrap of blanket that we couldn’t wrangle from his grip, or a teddy we had to magic away in the night to wash and dry lest he realise it had disappeared, so I’ve never *really* understood the seeming emotional turmoil these youngsters went through when they favourite blankie was gone…..Until now.

In the last week my world has been turned upside down and my security blanket hasn’t just been taken away for a wash, it’s been stolen. Yanked from my grip with me kicking and screaming and I am completely and utterly devastated. My family – the most important thing in the world to me have been cut in two by just one person via a simple text message and it feels as though things can never be the same again.

I’m bereft with no solution in sight and the person who is the ONLY person who can move towards fixing this, is also the person who is is responsible for breaking it in the first place, and they’re so willingly oblivious to not only the pain they’ve caused me but the ramifications of their actions to us all they’re completely unprepared to even try and face what they’ve done.

I’m heartbroken over what all this could mean.