And so it turns out there is rather more Stranger Danger in the area than we'd anticipated - both schools sent out warnings yesterday that a black car with two men had been seen in the area, trying to entice young girls into their car.
Its a good sign that the girls in question were sensible enough to refuse and then report it, although I can't imagine that having tried their luck and failed, the men in the car would be stupid enough to stay in the same area.
Saturday 26 November 2011
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Christmas Menu Trial Run
We're having guests for Christmas (queue a joke about most people having turkey, boom tish); it has been a couple of years since anyone graced our table over the festive season and so I'm actually having to think what to cook - not just for the main meal, but for supper on Christmas Eve, breakfast on the big day and a Boxing Day lunch as well. While I'm not getting *too* adventurous (no, Doug, we are NOT having goose), this is something that requires a little thought and a bit of planning. It also offers the opportunity to trial a few of the recipes on the run up to the day, before deciding exactly what to cook.
We started last weekend. Two potential contenders for Christmas Day breakfast and Christmas Pudding Replacement were rustled up, with varying results.
First up, Bacon and Parsley Hotcakes, served with a poached egg and a dollop of creme fraiche. I quite liked these but they had strong cheddar in them, giving them a rather over-powering cheesy taste; maybe a milder cheese would work better. Unfortunately, neither of the boys liked these (or rather Sam didn't, Jacob just refused to try them full stop), which rather rules them out as a potential breakfast dish.
The second dish was Sticky Orange and Marsala pudding, which was awesome, according to me, Sam and Doug. Jacob, however, didn't like it at all, which may be the deciding factor when we come to make a choice - which is a shame because it was easy to make and you can prepare and steam it up to 3 days before you eat it; a bonus for Christmas Day when every gas ring is being used to make your main meal.
This weekend; Chocolate Amaretti puddings with Almond Toffee Brittle.
We started last weekend. Two potential contenders for Christmas Day breakfast and Christmas Pudding Replacement were rustled up, with varying results.
First up, Bacon and Parsley Hotcakes, served with a poached egg and a dollop of creme fraiche. I quite liked these but they had strong cheddar in them, giving them a rather over-powering cheesy taste; maybe a milder cheese would work better. Unfortunately, neither of the boys liked these (or rather Sam didn't, Jacob just refused to try them full stop), which rather rules them out as a potential breakfast dish.
The second dish was Sticky Orange and Marsala pudding, which was awesome, according to me, Sam and Doug. Jacob, however, didn't like it at all, which may be the deciding factor when we come to make a choice - which is a shame because it was easy to make and you can prepare and steam it up to 3 days before you eat it; a bonus for Christmas Day when every gas ring is being used to make your main meal.
This weekend; Chocolate Amaretti puddings with Almond Toffee Brittle.
Friday 4 November 2011
Stranger Danger
On return to school this week we received a letter via the Juniors telling us that the police have warned them about reports of "suspicious cars" parked in the vicinity of the school during opening time.
My first reaction to this was that, in all probability, the suspicion was entirely in the minds of the people that reported the cars to the police and that it was just a couple of dads sitting in their cars after dropping their kids off, answering their text messages before heading off to work. Something innocent like that.
But what if..... The trouble is that no-one wants to be in the McCann situation where not only have they had their child abducted, they'd left said child asleep alone in the room, thus allowing the ease of her abduction. No one wants to be the parent that plays the (extremely long) odds of child abduction and loses.
Typically, all this co-incides with me giving Jacob a little bit of independence in his walk to school. Since he started Juniors, once we get to the school grounds he hares off down the service road leaving me and Sam to trail behind him carrying his bags; we normally arrive at the Juniors playground in time to hand him his bags before he goes in to school and we then turn round and walk back down the service road to the Infants. So I asked him if he would like to walk down the service road to school by himself. And yes he would, thank you.
I've had varying reactions from the parents of his peers; surprise, slight disapproval, real disapproval but also quite a lot of "hmm, not a bad idea". My next door neighbour is quite keen for her boy to do this, so we're wondering if we can actually get our shit together and arrive at the school grounds at the same time, thus allowing Jacob and Oliver to walk round to school together.
But I think it's probably time for a Stranger Danger conversation with Jacob. I'm going to have to give it quite a lot of thought before I do it, because it's a fine line to walk - particularly as, statistically speaking, it's more likely to be Not a Stranger Danger. It's worth noting that the only known paedophile in this area turned out to be the Deputy Headmaster at the Junior School....
My first reaction to this was that, in all probability, the suspicion was entirely in the minds of the people that reported the cars to the police and that it was just a couple of dads sitting in their cars after dropping their kids off, answering their text messages before heading off to work. Something innocent like that.
But what if..... The trouble is that no-one wants to be in the McCann situation where not only have they had their child abducted, they'd left said child asleep alone in the room, thus allowing the ease of her abduction. No one wants to be the parent that plays the (extremely long) odds of child abduction and loses.
Typically, all this co-incides with me giving Jacob a little bit of independence in his walk to school. Since he started Juniors, once we get to the school grounds he hares off down the service road leaving me and Sam to trail behind him carrying his bags; we normally arrive at the Juniors playground in time to hand him his bags before he goes in to school and we then turn round and walk back down the service road to the Infants. So I asked him if he would like to walk down the service road to school by himself. And yes he would, thank you.
I've had varying reactions from the parents of his peers; surprise, slight disapproval, real disapproval but also quite a lot of "hmm, not a bad idea". My next door neighbour is quite keen for her boy to do this, so we're wondering if we can actually get our shit together and arrive at the school grounds at the same time, thus allowing Jacob and Oliver to walk round to school together.
But I think it's probably time for a Stranger Danger conversation with Jacob. I'm going to have to give it quite a lot of thought before I do it, because it's a fine line to walk - particularly as, statistically speaking, it's more likely to be Not a Stranger Danger. It's worth noting that the only known paedophile in this area turned out to be the Deputy Headmaster at the Junior School....
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