New Dawn to celebrate Women

Interesting exhibition in Westminster Hall that I spotted today...New Dawn by Mary Branson - Celebrating Women's Suffrage.... love these plaques and Glass discs they are inspired from the end rolls of all the stored Acts of Parliament .. clever idea...

http://www.parliament.uk/…/news/2016/june/new-dawn-unveiled/

Charles speaks out

I have often thought that is was all destined to be for Prince Charles to be as he is and not King with our Queen still strong and able to perform her duties. Charles does share more and more duties with her as with his sons.. But the beauty of Charles being Prince of Wales is that he can speak out on issues and over the years as carried great influence and spoke with a lot of sense on major issues.  So good to see an article in our Evening Standard on his concerns over the present Trump fiasco... It is good that someone with so much experience can perhaps help to modify the inexperience of the new US president that has been like a bull in a china shop over the first week of his post.  So thank goodness for Charles... we hope he can also help to recalibrate Mr Trump on the Climate Change issues....lol the way that we have protested against the state visit and Trumps dreadful immigration policy that caused utter chaos from actioning too quick and ill thought out ... was wondering if the royals would be getting Charles to barricade them him with a pile of solar panels hhhhh 

1,767,335 signatures 
our petition to stop the state visit at this moment of posting but as you click to copy and past it goes up more and more hhhhh

Parliament will debate this petition

Parliament will debate this petition on 20 February 2017.

You'll be able to watch online at parliamentlive.tv

1,767,482
The number now and not even finished this post 

Ma'am not to worry he might not be coming ... Keep Calm your citizens will sort it all out.. Cancel the banquet no keep it we can invite those on the foodbank to eat it instead... !!

Parliament meeting today

Good to attend Parliament APPG Friends of Syria meeting, today.  I like to keep updated to help me understand the pain the refugees and what they have fled from. We also keep on top of the war crimes and look at problem solving to resolve issues and respond with humanitarian support. It was good to Skype talk with a Save the Children worker in Syria but it was a very harrowing update. I was able to put in some reports from my activist contact in Turkey where the sheer agony of the refugees are expressed at their homeland ravage and savaged. There children lost, hurt and some taken to be used and abuse by dark regimes.  But we will get justice one day and perpetrators of all this pain and sorrow will be brought to accountability. 

Like the new information screens for the visitors to parliament... 

that was some weekend for us all

All mothers and Grandmothers look to our children and wonder what the world is turning out to be for them!

Not posted over the weekend as I have been absolutely fascinated by the Trump order on immigration ban. He clearly does not understand that to defeat a criminal gang you need to intelligently use intelligence.... His clumsy handling of his position as we all saw created so much pain and protest.  As I write this post we have crowds in Whitehall outside Downing street to protest against the State visit pomp and ceremony that Mrs May informally invited him too... It puts the Queen in a very awkward situation as we do not agree with the policies his executive orders are initiating forgetting the poem on the Statue of Liberty...

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Interesting article on the Statue of Liberty which was written in 2015 A little-known fact about Lady Liberty adds an intriguing twist to today's debate about refugees from the Muslim world. The statue’s designer, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was French, but the inspiration for the statue came from a Muslim woman in Egypt.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/statue-liberty-was-originally-muslim-woman-180957377/#Gdkpf8F8EKSTW5Up.01

The badly thought out policies led me to put this protest jpeg together - but I am increasingly getting worried about the well being of the president as a 70yrs old with some observable behaviour problems. Just like the Kings New Clothes story it seems like no one will go to his side and say Donald you need a check up..let some young progressive candidate come to the oval office and help us build a good future for all - with respect for all.. Instead we seem to have taken a nosedive into a previous time that of the 1930s different actors but same hate.  We cannot keep making the same mistakes over and over again... as each time we get closer and closer to losing all....

I was touched by Senator Chuck Schumer in New York trying to sort out the issues of travellors detained at the airport and his obvious pain and with tears in his eyes....So I am alarmed by the response of Trump to this. The Senator as been ridiculed by Trump for "fake tears and who was his acting coach...". Trump seeing this as another victimization in his paranoia and inability to make rationale judgments and see others pain with compassion and respect.... .sadly further example of doubts on Trumps suitability for the post and his mental state..... I watch with nursing eyes always and this is my response.

TO SENATOR CHUCK:
I have nursed for 38yrs saw life in the world safely and seen life out with dignity and comfort. I have held those in pain and know that you were weeping from your heart, as the country, its morals, it legislation, its honour, it liberty, it dignity is destroyed by ill thought out policies in full view of the world and with pain to the global family we are. Yes the pain is much for us all as we see the ripple effects on the world...we hold our children and grand children fearing the echos of 1930s different characters but the same hate! I stand and ponder how a business man can do this no company director in his or her right mind would put out new policies without consultation with experts without listening to the people, without training staff in the organisation on new goals of that policy... and in a democratic way debate with the senate....we all weep with you when we see fine citizens detained because of a blind sweeping policy that did not see the people behind those policies... doctors, lawyers, engineers, relatives visiting family and in some cases sick relatives, students with dreams and aspirations for the future...... there was a sentence that rings in my ears from Mr Trump's meeting with our PM he said he was a people person......so then how could he hurt the people as we saw.... as the world saw.... Keep Strong and Protect Sanity and Dignity and Freedoms with the fundamental for all - the right to respect....

The rose a symbol of USA a flower that has been on earth for millions of years. A symbol of love and care and sharing .. let us keep strong in our hearts to rise above all the hate and confusion that is in the world from a man.... and his wild west signing of his name on ill thought out orders..... 

Regreso a Casa

This is a tapestry and I love it and the artist.... This piece is called 

"Regreso a Casa", 

Homecoming

120 x 90 cm. Tapiz Tejido a Mano del Museo you can see more  on the website www.museomaximolaura.com and can contact the artist on 
info@museomaximolaura.com

Max Laura, master weaver, is internationally recognized as one of the most preeminent textile artists in South America. He is based in Peru and you can see the Peruvian influence in the style and colours... His facebook page is full of the way he designs and weaves the tapestries with a view of all the wonderful coloured materials he stocks too..... I enjoy the newsfeed...and I have found a link to the history of weaving which I am sure you will enjoy reading over a cup of tea...

http://maximolaura.com/magazine-articles/maximo-laura-weaving-through-time/

And here is the link to the facebook page for you to be enchanted by this artists work

Museo Maximo Laura 

Swiss Books - the Greek Wall

Another find at the Europe House 

https://prohelvetia.ch/en/2016/10/the-greek-wall/

I really need to get a copy of The Greek Wall by Nicolas Verdan..

“What is so beguiling about this novel, is its ability to reflect back to the reader the air, the colour of the sky, the smells, the appearance and the mood of people and things, the fear of some, the bluster of others, the nobility of a few.” LE TEMPS

A few kilometres along the Greek-Turkish border, there’s a gap where refugees can still slip through, but not for long, because soon the ‘Greek Wall’ will close off the route for these unhappy people, and perhaps banish this much coveted human trade.

Read a little to capture the story and you will see because of my project work of the Family Link Up of a refugee family why I am pulled to get a copy of this book to read it fully. 

Il vient, de ce côté du monde, une souffrance. Chaque nuit, elle s’insinue en silence dans le cours de l’Evros, avant d’épandre dans les champs, à l’aube, ses graines transparentes à la lumière de l’autre rive.

From that side of the world comes distress. Silently each night it invades the course of the river Evros; then, at dawn, it spreads across the fields, its seeds transparent in the light from the other bank.

EU language mix

I love learning about cultures and languages so the diversity of languages within the EU member states fascinates me... Picked up this leaflet from the Europe House with the basics in greetings and numbers.... 

Painted with Feeling

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” Oscar Wilde

Beautiful words from the website of this Maltese artist.... Josette Fenech.....I was impressed by her art display in the Europe House.  An exhibition called Horizons and to celebrate the opening of the 2017 Maltese Presidency of the council of the EU.

Wonderful titles of work to denote Dreams; Floating Soul and Mysterious Wave

When I explore this artist website she has a portfolio of different styles from Flowers to Seascapes and Abstracts.....http://www.josettefenech.com/

Love this one as reminds me of my mother with the pansies...

And this works well Swirl of Joy

Europe Trade & Brexit

Been a very interesting afternoon today in the Europe House Westminster Central London...... Was an open invite to look at the trade implications of Brexit.....it is complex.... more complex than folk realize and not being a Remoaner - truly there is more to this unraveling from the EU and government needs to listen to the experts to ensure a good pathway is created....... I need to read up more from my notes and references on trade tariffs....... as today never really thought about the fact that a product may be made in UK but if you need components for that manufacture that are made elsewhere in the EU then we could end up having extra cost from bringing in our borders.......that adds time on transporting and adds to the price.......Buckle up we could have a bumpy ride...!!

More on this when I have researched and digested all that was said..... and will load film footage link when I get it. 

New Life in Yorkshire success....

Story found on facebook today - So impressed with this amazing Syrian refugee Razan Alsous.  She has not only settled with her family in Yorkshire but been entrepreneurial in spirit to fill a niche in the market - with the development of Syrian traditional cheese. 

You can read the full story of this family on their website and order products too.... but I want to you to see the amazing knowledge and skills that the refugees have that had to flee the war in Syria.   It is such a waste of valuable people by their Despotic supposed Leader who turned against his own citizens.. We really do need to rebuild their lives and facilitate this as much as possible.  People that can add to and enhance communities not a burden as you see in this success story. 

Yorkshire Dama Cheese is a story of inspirational bravery by a woman who refused to let her circumstances define or constrain her. It is about finding a new place to call home and new experiences which has lead to the creation of a British multi-award winning cheese and dairy company. 

Here Razan Alsous, the Founder of Yorkshire Dama Cheese, tells her personal story:

“We came to the UK after the war in Syria in 2012. With my husband and three young children, we had lost almost everything and had to settle into a new life in Yorkshire. Initially I began searching for a job but despite having a pharmacy degree and a scientific background my lack of references and work history in the UK made it extremely difficult. 
After some time I started to look at other options. I have three children and wanted so badly to build a bright future for them. So I started to think what was around me – the expertise I could tap into, the sources of support and other opportunities available to me. I came up with the following:

Look at their knowledge base....

• I have a strong microbiological background, having graduated from the Medical Institute in Syria.

• My Husband is an electronic engineer who ran his own business supplying the pharmaceutical and food industries in Syria with Quality Control labs. 

• I was now living in Yorkshire where the wonderful, high quality milk is available locally (and I believe is  it is a national value)
• The government is very supportive for the creation of start up business.
• Nowadays the squeaky semi hard cheese that I know and ate every day for breakfast in Syria is very trendy in the UK and British people love eating it!

http://yorkshiredamacheese.co.uk/

and you can find the company on facebook too..
Yorkshire Dama Cheese

 
Love this photo of the intentness of Princess Anne listening to the story.  

Well done and looking forward to trying this cheese too....  

Isaac Newton appropriate today

HardTalk in Davos...

HardTalk was very interesting last night/
HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ursula Von Der Leyen, Germany's Defence Minister from the World Economic Forum in Davos.Does the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House along with Brexit mark a shift in power away from Europe and spell the start of a new world order? - very impressed with Ursula Von Der Leyen but was frustrated with Zeinab Badawi with her style of leading complex questions which were an over dominating interview style.... she at the beginning was giving little space and time for Ursula to answer...When we did hear from the Defence Minister her analysis and her balanced stance on global affairs was most impressive. I would like to find out more about her and equally impressed she is a mother of 7 and is competent mother and politician by the sounds......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct0c79
https://www.bundesregierung.de/…/UrsulavonderLey…/_node.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_von_der_Leyen
http://www.zeit.de/…/ursula-von-der-leyen-nato-donald-trump…

http://www.reuters.com/…/us-usa-election-germany-idUSKBN134…

Impressed with Coursera

Just sharing with you something that has been remarkable for me over the Christmas New Year Period and ongoing now.  I have found by chance on facebook the links to Coursera.org and been completely blown away with the opportunity to study and improve your knowledge base, give confidence and boost your CV. There are short online courses that are showcasing international universities some of the courses are free with the only outlay to be paid for certificate of completion.  There are paid courses too but manageable fees...... 

But how wonderful that though I am strapped for cash I can open the doors on this education and self development.  

I have completed and passed  Human Rights & Open Societies Utrecht University Netherlands....whilst sat on my sofa with lap top... :-) But was good for this first time experience to be from Utrecht as when I was in the Netherlands I visited Utrecht to meet up with one of the doctors I worked with in Leeds when he was in the UK... He was most impressed that I had found the place..... ik studeerde nederlands marr ik spreken neit zo goed.. lol 

very dynamic university and hospital when I was there in must be 1992....now here I am in 2017 passing work on my sofa with my laptop in West London.... Amazing life and its twists and turns on its journey.... !

all pass rates must be 80% and over.  So a great booster to me as an over 60 studying again.  

The other courses I am enrolled on are 

International Law - Leiden University and this is grabbing me it is so interesting. I can now so understand why lawyers build their careers in Law.

Children's Rights - Geneva University is a good course too I am enjoying.

The video lectures are good quality and come with transcripts.. and there are forum exchanges with other internationals students....and you can pace yourself too...

So well impressed... check it out coursera.org

Can you hear them?

Concern but hope

With all the developments of the new administration in the US I continue to be concerned that the Palestinians get respect and fair deal for their land to be recognized and respected. 

There is a Ten minute rule bill being presented in the House of Commons today by Joan Ryan MP on setting up the 

Israeli-Palestinian Peace (UK Participation) Bill 

I will get the transcript of this from the Hansard later this evening to load to this post.... But it is sounding like a good road to peace through those on both sides wishing to come together to work together..... Much more hope than what we are seeing with the Trump administration.  

The bill seconding reading will be scheduled for the 24th March... so will keep an eye on this and update..  

Mes Amis

Not evening yet but loved this image from La vie en couleur 

Peace

Love this image from the Open Societies Foundation.

Floating lanterns reflect the sunset at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, Hawaii. © Julie Thurston/Getty

Narcissistic Trump

In my attempts to understand Trump and his Trumpdom actions I found a couple of good articles that support my concern over some personality behavioral patterns.  

Nigel Barber writes in the Huffington post in 2016

Whether narcissism is a real disorder - as opposed to a dimension of personality on which we all vary - is controversial. Does Donald Trump conform to the clinical pattern?
Professional psychiatrists, and psychotherapists, are loath to go on record saying that Trump has a psychiatric disorder on the premise that one cannot do a diagnosis without an office visit and most narcissists are quite unlikely to recognize that they have a problem and to schedule an appointment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nigel-barber/does-trump-have-narcissis_b_11402754.html

A blogger named Max on this site goes into details in 2015 on his observations of Trump as what he calls a flaming narcissist...

• They are eternal youths, Peter Pans, who refuse to grow up and take on adult responsibilities
• They lives are consumed by a sense of their own grandiosity.
• This grandiosity reveals itself in the narcissist's flaming sense of entitlement
• Narcissists have no core center of their own existence. They are totally reliant on others for attention and approval, what psychologists label "narcissistic supply". 
• When someone ignores a narcissist, denies them approval, exposes their grandiosity, or actually confronts them and criticizes their actions, the narcissist reacts with rage.
• Another facet of this syndrome is paranoia. Narcissists are always suspicious that others are plotting against them and working against their interests
• Magical thinking. Peter Pans can fly and wave that magic wand and get whatever they want; how convenient. (on this point it would seem the magic wand is the pen that signs off orders!) 

http://www.discussionist.com/1015532669

My Trump observations: There are some worrying trends seen in the election build up- but mostly concentrated in the last 48 hrs..... and this creating a wall around himself by saying all critical people are enemies reinforces concern. To be a successful democratic leader in an open society that has at its core liberty, then you have to listen to the people you serve. Servitude is the essence of leading a nation. it is vital you listen to your citizens, it vital you respect your citizens and with this respect opposition to your views and that other parties and groups do form that nation. 

For a business man I find it disappointing that I would have thought he had better company director skills. Whilst defining your overall company policies there has to be a free flow of communication and listening from all departments. You have to listen to your experts and base your judgement of decisions on the facts presented..... It is not democratic but autocratic to forge full steam ahead with signing off policies and laws within a few hours of being in post. 

The country's constitution as President.Trump has just sworn to protect then immediately ignoring constitution is majorly worrying. Then to have press team to cover up obvious facts of attendance to the inauguration is of concern too. This is somewhat like the Kings New Clothes story - Saying what the King wanted people to say when it was blatantly obvious he was naked and no fine gown..!! He is trying to shield his perceived self interested success. The role now is most dominant and not the people he is serving and leading to create the so called Greater America... within hours it would seem he is serving his own ego and inflating to such as degree that he will not listen and hides behind the perception that the president cannot be questioned. 

The team of advisers need to true to themselves and the nation by advising with informed authority to guide this president or he will simply go full steam ahead and collide with a brick wall.. maybe the southern wall he intends to build......!!! it is not looking good thus far....rather becoming a megolamanical, deluded despot... and we sure have enough of them causing havoc in the world without another..... 

Success is not based on false friends and glitz it is based on how true your heart is to the people you serve and lead to ensure their liberty, their creativity, their protection, their dignity, their health and well being... so a very humbling role with compassion that is not weakness but strength....... sad that he swore on the bible and lots of references to Jesus PBH who was compassionate and caring, egoless and selfless....... 

so sad Trump as led to a transition of the USA to become a deluded Trumpdom...... even to ordering our Queen on what she should ALLOW him to do when he is visiting the UK........ wowee have we got some challenges ahead........

Wow Chitra is amazing....

My favourite author Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni is out in India at the moment... She lives in California and is a professor of creative writing.  

This is amazing... love what she put on her timeline....

"Friends, So exciting! Went to the City Palace of Jaipur, to see the famous Green Doors which are on the cover of Palace of Illusions. Had to take this photo, courtesy of Murthy!" 

and below is my copy off my bookshelf ... actually making me feel like reading it again. 

Note: Chitra had one of her books made into film Mistress of Spices... 

Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale. quoted from Goodreads site.

Stylish

Mayor gives support to Sisters today

Great photo from Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London... who joined the march today in protest towards Trumpety Trump and his misogynistic remarks on pussy grabbing. An assault and invasion of woman's privacy and rights to be respected........ 

My comment on the post is gaining a lot of likes and some comments back I will show you..... hang on a min..... 

Thank you for this support man, great photos too..... with sisters, daughters, mothers grandmothers, wives, midwives, nurses,doctors, lawyers, business leaders and so many professions we are in ....with an even greater role of bringing life in the world and nurturing new life..... seems some men forget they lived rent free for 9 months in a woman's body without which they would not be in existence.....so RESPECT....!!

Joe was the commentator: What about the men? Where is our thanks? What about the NHS which was also protested for today but was totally overshadowed by this pointless rally against trump...

Unlike · Reply · 4 · 2 hrs

My reply to his concern: Joe we are saying "some" men particularly one high profile one with a history of wandering hand problem and yes there are some kind considerate respectful men around thank goodness.....the birth of my second daughter was a great delivery with a kindly male medical student who kept me at ease.... and I have worked alongside some amazing male nurses and male midwives ...... yes Sad Trumpety Trump overshadowed the other major concern of the NHS.... and thank God we have a chance to be heard in protests, petitions and lobbying in parliament - rather alarmed how over in Trumpdom he is signing off new laws and dropping things he does not agree with without apparent debate in the senate and only hours into his presidency..!!! ..... So Yes here on our shores we do need to fight for the NHS.... having had 38 yrs in the NHS and my father a Charge Nurse before me ... I can say never ever seen it in such a stressed out state.... and quite simply you cannot treat people like parcels on a conveyor belt in a factory ... hospitals are to be healing sanctuaries not factory floors.... even me as a BSc RN RM had issues when I was a readmitted surgical patient with major wound breakdown and sepsis.... nearly died with that sepsis but the Grim Reaper was soon replaced by the bed manager hoovering over my bed once any sign of response to the IV antiboitics..... so turfed out I was as another needed my bed.... !!!