Remember to chammy, that's my advice...

I keep threatening to start blogging again properly, you know like an actual blogger who keeps their content current and their posts regular, but alas I run out of time!

I'm having a bit of a lull with the whole fundraising thing at the moment - it's getting to be seriously hard work now trying to winkle a quid out of anyone and I am wary of social isolation at work if I continue to hassle all my colleagues for money. They have been amazingly generous and account for a large proportion of the £1,110 I've scraped in so far and are proving to be a real life line. To be fair I am expanding all their waistlines for them in return by keeping them in a constant supply of cake, as well as recently branching out to curry, bread, oatcakes, chutney and so on.

I have also been a bit distracted with various other things - I became an aunty for the first time ever two weeks ago tomorrow which is so far a fantastic experience! So I've been trying to make myself available to be mother's helper/baby cuddler as often as possible in my spare time. When I haven't been busy with that I've been quite busy getting to grips with my new job which is equally exciting. Plus life in general...

I've been scratching around for new ideas to boost the fundraising efforts having started to get slightly panicky the whole thing could come to nothing. I was thinking about doing a retro school sports day and getting a bit nostalgic for that, and then someone I was talking to just in passing mentioned that a friend of his packed bags a la Scout at their local supermarket and bingo - I have a new idea that has actual LEGS!

I think I've also successfully twisted my brother's arm to come and do a sponsored car wash with me this weekend tagged onto a family celebration. I washed my own car at the weekend (it only gets a bath once every 6 mths) and I was chuffed to bits with my handiwork. My little Missy, which is really not much more than a bashed up old banger these days, looked all shiny and new. It was only when I was driving back from my sister's house on Sunday evening, inwardly chirping to myself, that I realised the watermarks all over my windscreen had reduce visibility to less than in a torrential downpour! I must remember to chammy next time!

Keep arms out of the hands of children

I've been admittedly really lame the last month or two posting updates to my blog - just too much to do and not enough time as always! But today I got this email update about the Arms Trade Treaty from Amnesty and was moved to get on and post it onto my blog. 

It's really appalling that in some African states children are turned into soldiers and brutalised....what's even worse is that we're arming them. So please, if you hate the thought of arming an 8 year old boy as much as I do make a donation to their campaign, make a donation to my challenge (which will go straight to Amnesty now) or read up about it and sign up for campaign updates from them directly www.amnesty.org.uk.

Here's the campaign email going round:

This July, governments will draw up the world’s first ever Arms Trade Treaty. We must make sure it’s tough enough to disarm dictators, warlords and human rights abusers.  I recently wrote to you about this and if you have not already done so,please donate to our urgent campaign at http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=12286

If this Treaty includes what Amnesty is calling for, it will be the most important human rights victory of our generation.

• It will keep arms and ammunition out of the hands of brutal and repressive regimes. That means no guns and tanks for President Assad to kill and repress the Syrian people with.  

• It will stop guns pouring into conflict zones. So state forces and militia groups in Somalia will no longer be able to give AK-47s to 8-year-old children to make them fight and kill.

• It will mean no weapons can be sold to human rights abusers. Not to warlords whose fighters rape women at gunpoint. Not to security forces who carry out executions and ‘disappearances’. Not to torturers who use guns to intimidate, repress and torment.