April 2017 Calendar

Westminster Attack

Following the attack in Westminster the statement below was issued by the Faiths Forum for London.

“We, as representatives of many of London’s faith

communities, deplore the terrible attack that has

taken place today at Parliament and Westminster bridge.

All of our religions exalt the sanctity of human life.

There is no justification for such a barbaric assault

on innocent people.

Terrorism has no place on our streets.

We pray for the victims of this attack,

and call for Londoners, and our nation

to stand together at this time.

We will redouble our efforts to work for peace,

compassion, understanding and hope.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who were killed during the attack, to all of those injured and traumatised by these events. My prayers also go to the family of the attacker.

Sunday Lunch

Always good to see students get to opportunity to enjoy a meal and an afternoon with a local family.  I'm immensely grateful to those who are willing to host and welcome students in to their homes.

Happy St Patrick's Day

"Top o' the mornin' to ya" 

Saint Patrick's Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.

Thanks Robbie for a fun event today!!!  Here's a sample of the quiz ...

1.  Liam Neeson starred in which film about an industrialist saving holocaust victims?
2.  Cork - born Graham William Walker is better known professionally as?
3.  What was the name of the Anglo-Irish polar explorer who led three expeditions to the Antarctic, dying in South Georgia in 1922?
4.  The Irish flag is similar in design (but in the opposite order) to that of which African nation?
5.  Kissing the Blarney Stone is said to confer which talent?
6.  It was believed unlucky to knit at night until you were certain who were asleep?  a) the children  b) the in-laws  c) the sheep
7.  What birds flying directly over a house were considered an omen of death?  a) chickens  b) crows  c) storks

Quiz answers:

1.  Schindler's List

2.  Graham Norton

3.  Ernest Shackleton

4.  Ivory Coast

5.  The gift of the gab

6.  (c) the sheep

7.  (b) crows

Diversity Fair

What an excellent Diversity Fair yesterday!!
A VERY BIG WELL DONE to Adriana for all her hard work in organising the event.  
As always with these things, there were some initial stresses but at the end of the day I would have to say it was THE BEST EVER that we've been involved in :-)
As usual, we moved our World Cafe down to the Student Hub to serve tea, coffee and scones. BIG THANK YOU to Frank, Denise and John for all their hard work serving and chatting with students and staff.

In addition, we had our usual colouring table, which was as popular as ever ...

We also had a Diversi-Tree, which people could decorate with flowers on which they wrote Hello or Welcome in their own language; or they wrote on a ribbon what diversity means for them.

Kesia had a Dutch stand ... I managed to get a pass mark in the general knowledge quiz and also the translation exercise (but only just!!).

The entertainment was both varied and excellent, with performances from local community groups/individuals as well as some very talented students.

Great to see Mayowa there, and
so glad the sound system was
better than last year!!

It was also good to have Wayne along doing caricatures. He was VERY popular and at the end of the event we had to turn away quite a queue of people!

My final praise is for the catering staff at the Student Hub - the food was EXCELLENT!!! We even let Wayne take the briefest of breaks to taste some.

A Day in Southend

"Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside. 

Oh, I do like to be beside the sea."

Not long home from a marvellous day in Southend-on-Sea. A place I visited often as a child, but haven't been to for years. For most of the day we managed to avoid all the rain, though it was cold enough.


The boys decided to go on one of the roller-coasters.

     

Then Annet decided she also wanted the experience, but she wasn't smiling like this when she came off the ride!!!

     

Now it was time to warm up with something hot. We found a lovely little place called Lena's Cafe which I'd really recommend  ...  it was clean, nicely decorated, friendly and the food was cooked fresh ... my sausage, egg, mushrooms and chips was truly scrumptious :-)

     

     

Finally, after refreshment, we had the energy to conquer the longest pier in the world  ...  all 2.16 kms. Actually, we took the train out to the end; then we walked a very windy way back.