Harry Potter is Jesus (by sarah)

(Because I got told off here is an added Spoiler warning - I do mention the end of book four and the whole Harry Potter series)

As some of you know and disapprove of! I am reading Jean the Harry Potter books, we are on book four which I had some trepidation about reading to her due to the ending but she is really into the story. I try and pace it so that we start the reading session with a scary/intense bit and end in a low key moment (so not generally at chapter endings!).

It was getting to the bit where Cedric dies and though there is a death at the beginning of the book this is the first one of someone you are emotionally attatched too/and or Harry is. So I thought I'd make things clear to Jean, 'Jean we are getting to the really sad and scary bit now, worse than the giant snake, we can change to another book?'

'No Mummy I've seen this one on telly.'

'Oh yes you have haven't you? But Jean I think the Harry Potter story gets very scary now.'

'It's ok Mummy because Harry is going to die and come back to life again because he's Jesus.'

I stare and think - how did she know the ending of the series - I ask her.

'I saw it in a film in my head when I slept.'

'Oh ok'

The I thought about it and you know she's right - Harry dies sacrificially to save the other wizards, because he chooses to die to save them his sacrifice protects them and he rises from the dead!

Story wise Jean didn't react to the scene where Diggory dies but this turned out to be because the discription ment she missed the fact he was killed and it was only when they go back to Hogwarts and Harry is cuddling the dead body that Jean went wide eyed and sad.

She still wants the rest of the story :/

Jean’s Sponsered Walk (by sarah)

Jean is doing a sponsered walk on Monday and as I am going to see very few people before then I thought I'd put the call out this way!

It's in support of World Vision's work in Ethiopia and is specifically a children's walk.

She's quiet excited about this but unfortunatly we got the form on Monday just after I'd seen loads of people over the weekend :/ and the last week - doh!

Anyway if you would like to sponser her - let us know and we'll put you on the list 🙂

A Planet in Paris (by sarah)

Jean came home from school announcing that we live on a Planet in Paris! She was most emphatic about this and when we asked her if she was sure and what did that mean she said, 'It means the worlds in danger'.

The school have learning themes - it turns out the current one is 'A Planet in Peril' - we couldn't stop laughing and Jean was most indignant you know in that way only 4 year olds can be!

A Case For the GMC (by sarah)

As some of you know around the time we started this blog my uncle died in horrific circumstances in Hospital and it has only just come before the General Medical Council which will probably produce little result.

There have been arguments over weather it was mansluaghter, murder or gross negligence etc...

I ended up holding Benny down whilst the emergancy physiotherapist attempted to manually pump his lungs out where the feeding tube had been switched on whilst in his lung 🙁

This broke his ribs but was the only hope to save his life by this point plus there were many things wrong like no water reservior in the breathing machine so he was drying out. Benny had Downes' Sydrome and was very scared that night, he was getting better and though it could be argued his quality of life was low - he thought he had a good deal as long as there was enough cake.

Basically even if it was done as a mercy act it was definatly NOT, it was horrible and he was scared and the knock on effect in the family where people have held themselves to blame becuase they trusted doctors to know when to switch the feeding machine on. (Benny when scared could fight over being fed).

Anyway - this is not the only case like this I have been hearing off. Al's grandmother was put on a drip with no Gloucose in it (as was Benny and also a friend of mine and Al's who was in hospital due to forgetting to eat :/ ). The Doctors told family that if they fed the old woman they would no longer get any state help to look after her. A nurse has told me a similar story about her grandfather which was one of the reasons she wont work for certain hospital trusts.

So as far as I can tell there is illigal euthenasia in our hospitals or something very amiss in the way we educate drs and nurses! And worse people who want to die and plead are kept alive and those who can not defend themselves are dying in the most horrific ways such as being what amounts to being starved to death or drowned.

I can only hope that it is ineptitude and they aren't really viscous killers and that an education reform could fix these things. My own experience of hospitals is that they are indeed very broken and need a massive over haul. Including sacking all the foot shufflers who pretend they can't here you're heart monitor alarm go off >:(

Anyway I started this post becuase I've written a poem about that night at the hospital and was intending to post it but thought I should add in some background.

A Case for the GMC

Wizzen broken monkey
Skin grey
Wrinkeled crepe paper
Downey whiskers
Sharpe dowdy white
In striped pajarmers
Convict of the ward
On death row
Drowning in food
A mistake
A cull?
Tortured
by those who save
Broken ribs
From pumping you out
Cracked lips
From resusitation
Now blue
Eyes revolve
As a horse in panic
They can not save you
They can't now
But they did not want to
Did they?

Of Broken Laptops and Technology Fail (by sarah)

Well my laptop basically died and thanks to Alaric, Seth and Andy using their assorted magiks I have something back which I can vaguelly use but it doesn't really work and is unreliable and may die again at any point. This has made my life just that little more interesting as there were many things I needed to be online for which I wasn't and so with asking others to post things for me etc... my phone bill is going to be high this month 🙁

This also leaves me in a quandary as to what to do really :/ I will probably continue to limp along with this broken thing and just hope that a new laptop appears somehow!

Anyway - this is why my email etc... has been a bit erratic :/