Nihil illegitimi carborundum...

or 'Don't let the bastards grind you down'. Yes, I had to go to London last week. No offense to you Southerners, I'm sure there are good eggs among you but I only seem to meet the privileged and ignorant sort who seem to think my illness is not a problem because I don't loudly lament about it and are not aware of the poverty that exists down the street.
I had a particularly awful conversation ending in valium when a woman tried to convince me that it was OK to discriminate against poor and disabled people because at least they were only discriminated against and not being subject to female circumcision. Well, I did not know how to react.

Finally, back in Shefland my friend put it eloquently for me...
"That's bollocks, if everytime a problem arose people did nothing on the premise that something worse was happening somewhere else then no problem would ever be addressed." What takes precedence for action, the immediate devastation of a tsunami or the on going politics behind an horrific genocide?

Yes indeed, it is 'bollocks'. And I shall continue to fight for the 'small stuff' that the rich don't deem worth the time they charge out at £50 per hour to the even richer. Luckily, being unemployed and unwell, my time is only worth what I can achieve with it. Where there is misery, pain, fear or shame on whatever scale I want to be able to help. You have to fight for your ideals, for everyone. I refuse to be one of those people who looks at another's suffering and say 'others have it worse than you'.

Never let anyone belittle your emotions. You have a right to own your feelings, to express yourself and to roll your eyes at those who would have you believe that your pain is worth less than someone else's.

My latest cake - a big pink owl based on a soft toy owl from Tilly's Barn (my aunt's company) for my neice, Kate. It did have eyes made from dolly mixture but by this point she had eaten them. We had a very nostalgic little party. My sister made a pass the parcel, which being her first birthday Kate didn't understand but she enjoyed the music and the sweeties anyway. Then Dad hit the music again for musical bumps. Hats off to my eldest sister, Kate's mum, who managed to get half way through diving on the floor with the baby in her arms. My Mum, who's nearly 60, joined in too. It helps that she's only 5 foot tall.

I've got more pictures still on my camera to add at some point.