Malala's Big Day

 

Forth Road Bridge

    Malala Yousafzai, the girl who was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls rights to education has a big day ahead of her today (12th July). It's not only her sixteenth birthday, but she's also making a speech and delivering a petition to the United Nations in New York, advocating for a school place for every boy and girl globally.

    She and other children from all over the world are attending an education conference there, organised by Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and now UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

    We know that the schooling of girls in many countries is not allowed and a boy's education will  take priority. But although boys have the right  to be schooled, it is often not possible to do so, or is ignored. So I'm happy to see that education for boys is being acknowledged at this meeting too.

    Being educated isn't just about learning to read, write and do Arithmetic; education teaches us to tolerate and realise that we are all each others equal. Change is needed in the male attitude towards the female in third world countries, and by educating the children, the founds are being put down to a bridge which hopefully will close the gap between the two.

   


   

 

Walking on Sunshine

   

Example of Gothic Architecture in Barcelona

    Summer well and truly arrived in Scotland yesterday with the temperature reaching around 28 degrees centigrade in some parts. Expecting that the weather was going to be good all day I had a slight dilemma on my hands. Should I stay indoors and watch Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final on TV, or finish reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novel, The Shadow of the Wind, whilst catching some rays outside? The thing was I wanted to do both.
   
    I knew that watching Murray would not be a particularly enjoyable experience as I would be peeping at the TV screen through splayed fingers, and sighing with exasperation for a couple of hours. Therefore, weighing up all the pros and cons of both of my choices, I decided for my sanity and blood pressure that I'd settle down on my deck chair with Zafon's novel.

     I had read reviews of Zafon's books, author interviews and even managed to put a question to him via a live webchat, but I'm ashamed to admit that I still hadn't read one of his books. However, following a chat with a Spanish friend, who raved about Zafon's novels, I purchased a copy of, The Shadow of the Wind a couple of days ago.

    Making the decision to read, rather than watch yesterday was something I did not regret, as the emotions this book filled me with were something I hadn't experienced in a long time. The words of passion, fear, love were easily absorbed and the atmosphere of, Barcelona's, Gothic style buildings, were captured without a doubt.

Zafon describes doors similar to this in the book





    But in the end Carlos Ruiz Zafon wasn't the only winner yesterday, Andy Murray also did what he set out to do and he made history at the same time. He is the first British male to win the single's title in 77 years and even if the sun doesn't shine in Scotland today, the Scots and the rest of Britain will be walking on sunshine with pride, following Andy's great achievement.  

A sunny beach in Scotland

Whale of a Time

    Back on the 27th May I published a post titled 'Christopher Columbus's Last Pit Stop,' which featured the Island of La Gomera, part of a group of islands known as the Canary Islands, Spain. I had spent a long weekend there and I was overwhelmed by its natural beauty.

    Now it seems that the movie going public will also have the chance to experience its rugged allure in a new movie, which Hollywood Director, Ron Howard, is shooting on the island later this year.

 

    The movie is an adaptation of the 2000 US winner of the National Book Awards for nonfiction, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick.
   

 

 

    The Essex was sunk in 1820 by a sperm whale and a record of the event, written by one of the surviving crew also inspired Herman Melville to write one of the well known classics, Moby-Dick.

   

   

    On my trip I saw a couple of pilot whales and dolphins, but thankfully no Captain Ahab, or Sperm Whales. But, I did have a whale of a time. Sorry about the cliche.

 

 

    I should add that the name of the excursion boat is coincidental, I have no vested interest in this vessel. 

 

 

Groundhog Day

   

    Thinking of a topic for my twice weekly blog isn't always easy and today was one such hair pulling occasion. I spent a couple of hours reading magazines, newspapers and blogs in a hope for a glimmer of inspiration, but to no avail. Therefore, I decided it was time to throw in the towel and go chillaxe.

    My eyes and brain were sore with reading, so I thought I would watch a few hours TV. Searching through the listing magazine, only one scheduled programme caught my eye, but it wasn't on until 9pm. Michael Buble, to be exact. (Screams with delight). However, that was 7 hours away, meaning I needed to find something else to view.

    Surfing through the movie channels wasn't proving too fruitful either. Then I saw 'Groundhog Day' was on, checking the clock I saw that it was just about to start. Mmm, (scratch head). Should I watch it again? It's a film I did enjoy.

    Maybe not; I've watched it so many times now, that I feel as though I'm having a Groundhog Day moment every time I see the opening sequence. If you've seen the movie you'll know that each day when the main character Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray wakes up at 6 a.m, he relives the same day over and over again.

    At first he sees it as a way he can manipulate events, for his own personal gain. But as the day in  question dawns repeatedly, he fears that his life will be continually put on hold. Eventually, by changing his whole approach to life, he reaps his reward and awakens one morning to find that time has finally moved on.

    There are similarities here that could be applied to anyone's life, but I want to focus on a writers at this point in time. As an individual who hopes to master our craft it's important that we're not scared to tweak our work here and there. Learning by our mistakes as we go along, just as Phil Connors did. Without editing, or listening to advice from others, we will never take our projects forward and succeed in our craft.

   

   

Trouble Navigating

   

Canal boat on the Union Canal, Scotland

   At the beginning of this month, after a fashion, I've uploaded my profile on to the Goodreads website. For those who are now friends with me there, I can only apologise because it's all a bit gobbledygook to me and it's taking me a bit of time to get to grips with how the whole setup works. So if I'm meant to message you when you become my friend I haven't. Oops! Hi, I do want to be your friend and I am interested in what everyone has to say. Can you hear me grovelling?

    The thing is at present I don't have the time to sit down and navigate my way through every piece of the site. Yeah, I know I'm supposed to tell you what I'm reading. But I haven't even uploaded the books I've just finished, or about to read, never mind what I'm reading now. I'm trying to fit all this social media stuff in with my writing schedule and the writing takes priority. Eventually how it works will sink in and I'll be able to keep this ball up in the air along with the rest I'm juggling.

    Excuses now made, if you're not already my friend on Goodreads, why not? You can also join me on Twitter. Hopefully, you navigate through websites better than me and you'll click the button. Maybe I should hire the guy with the canal boat to do it for me.

   

   

Let's Talk Taboo

    Stopping kids accessing hard core pornography and other uncensored material, especially child abuse on the Internet is a problem for all parents. Parental controls can easily be bypassed, especially when children are more computer literate than most parents.

    A recent report has stated that children having access to certain types of pornography develops harmful attitudes and behaviours. Some believe that without the help of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, the unsavoury matter will be impossible to deal with. So it's been great news that Google has pledged $4m to help tackle the problem and other Internet providers are putting other safety measures in place.

   It is also hoped that by adding a more rounded sex education to the UK school curriculum, inclusive of effective relationships which would include ones of the same sex, and safe use of the Internet, the world will be a safer place for our kids.

  It's a problem that won't go away and I believe education has a huge part to play. But parents and guardians can't solely rely on schools to educate the kids of the rights and wrongs. It doesn't matter how awkward a parent feels about discussing this subject it has to be done.

    That's where I believe literature can help too and I mean both non-fiction and fiction. A good book as we know can be a great conversation piece and is a great way to get a subject matter across. I know that whatever we do, won't eradicate the problem, but not talking about sexual exploitation certainly won't make it go away.

   

   

Race for Life

    At some point in our lives we'll be touched by cancer. Whether we fall victim ourselves, or we are effected emotionally by a relative, or close friend contracting the disease it will make a lasting impression on us.

    I know in my grandparents day it was seen as a certain death sentence. Unfortunately for some of us it still is, but because of the wonderful research that is conducted by organisations such as Cancer Research UK, lives are being saved, or prolonged.

    Things are tough in this world when most of us are feeling the financial pinch, but it's important that we don't forget charities. Without our donations it will be impossible for them to continue with the work that they do.

    A close relative of mine is taking part in the Race for Life this weekend in Dalgety Bay, Scotland and he has been busily fund raising with his work colleagues over the last couple of weeks. The event itself, raises money for the charity but importantly it also increases awareness of the disease itself. This particular fund raiser takes place overnight, in various locations throughout the country because as Cancer Research UK reminds us, the disease itself never sleeps and all communities are affected.

    If you would like to find out how to donate, take part in fund raising events, or information on the disease itself, please click here www.cancerresearchuk.org