Note to self: add Monbiot to must read list

I was just finishing for the night, when I skipped through to WordPress’s Tag Surfer - which shows the latest posts on subjects in which you are interesteded.

Top of the list was The Monbiot plan on global warming, on the Relentlessly Progressive Economics blog.

I’ve come across Monbiot before, three or more years ago when I used to buy newspapers, including the Guardian, and have had his recent books recommended to me by readers of this blog.

And they feed this to children!

One of the duties of the duty parental supervisor at playgroup is to prepare the morning snack.

I’ve done this before so today I was expecting to prepare the usual pick-and-mix of apples, oranges, grapes, melon, cracker biscuits, raisins, bagels and yoghurt. The drink is a choice of water and milk or water and juice.

But today’s snack was to be a combination of grapes, raisins, crackers, “cheese” and “ham”.

The croft by night

The evening chores start with putting Orville, a Scots Grey cockerel, to bed with his brood of seven chicks (six hens and a wee cockerel). He’s useless with hens and was going to be eaten, but as he’s good with both small children and chicks he had a reprieve. He fusses over his brood like a hen with her chicks!

A parable from the Dreamtime

I took my turn on the parental supervisor’s rota at the Wee ‘Un’s playgroup today and, as usual, was in great demand at story time.

What the children love is that I don’t read from a book in a quiet and dignified manner (as most of the other adults seem to feel is appropriate).

Instead, I tell them a story, get them to join in with sounds and actions, and we romp about the hall as the tale plays out.