Famous UK Kidnappings

Kidnapping is a horrendous experience for the child and the family. Read my article about the most famous kidnappings in the UK
http://www.helium.com/items/2324225-most-famous-child-kidnappings-in-the-uk

We have rain

I woke up this morning at 6am and its raining. I tried to go back to bed but Colin was hugging the duvet and I was cold. I was also thinking about out pergola that we had erected on the terrace a couple of days ago. Looking from the door it looked okay but I know from previous years that all it takes is a good gust of wind to send it flying into the neighbours garden. I considered waking Colin to help me take it down but I was pretty sure that he would not thanks me. I decided to leave the shutters on the windows closed and ignore the potential disaster. Colin is now up and he seems to think that the pergola will be okay. I'm not so sure but we shall see.
I'm thinking about what I shall do today. Gardening is certainally out of the question. Maybe I will do some knitting. I'm trying to knit my daughter arm and leg warmers on four knitting needles. I finished one pair of arm warmers but they seem to baggy so I have unravelled them. I might also try and create a facebook page where I can display my knitted garments for sale.I already have them on Etsy but I have only made one sale.
In the past I have put items on Ebayuk but they really do not make a profit.Plus Ebay have changed their rules and they will not allow international sales until a certain number of items are sold in the home country.  I find this ruling really stupid because the Spanish Ebay is really limited and I am unlikely to sell knitted items here. I have contacted Ebay but just received a bog standard response which was not at all helpful.

Gota Fria

Today is overcast and the dark clouds are suggesting that we are going to have rain. Our friends tell us that we are due to have a storm over the weekend. I just hope that we are not due for a gota fria which is a very big storm. We had one a few years back when villages were flooded and river walls demolished by the raging water. Many said that the fault laid with the government who had stopped people cutting bamboo for their own use. They said that the bamboo had subsequently fallen and made damns in the rivers which were then demolished by the heavy rain which then flooded into the rivers. Who knows what occurred but the floods caused a lot of damage.
 Our poor friends Jean and Roy live by a river and they and their dogs had to be lifted from their property by the fire brigade. Their villa was totally flooded, their car ended up in the river and they lost their belongings. Fortunately our restaurant was barely affected, other than an inch or two of water in the kitchen.
The Spanish authorities were pretty good and the army were called into the villages to clear the damage. They gave people affected by the floods vouchers to go to restaurants and supermarkets to get food and a rumour circulated that old ladies were given knickers.
They also paid compensation to those affected  but our friends were not eligible for some reason. It has taken Jean and Roy a couple of years to get things back to normal. For them the thought of another gotta fria is worrying. We are quite safe where we are being up in the hills.
Today Jean and Roy are coming over to ours to bring our new cooker. Unfortunately Colin could not get it in the car yesterday
Today I am feeling much better and not so tired. The walk up the hill last Sunday really exhausted me but it was worth it for the views and also to take flowers to the cross where our friends sons ashes are scattered.

E Cigs and Burnt Biscuits

Hi everyone before you read my blog can I ask a small favour. I would be grateful if you can take a look at my Greenerearth Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OurGreenerEarth?fref=ts and click like and share plus  follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/greenerearth1 you can see the symbols for both at the side of this page.
  It won't cost you anything only a few seconds of your time.

Today is again overcast so I'm just thinking what to do. Yesterday I was so tired from our walk to the cross. I felt as if I had a huge hang over but I don't drink so there is no chance of that. My legs really ached and my eyes were sore and heavy. I spent most of the day laying on the sofa and falling asleep. I did however manage to knit one arm warmer which looks quite good.
I hadn't realised how unfit I am and hope that the pool will warm up soon so that I can swim again. I had thought about taking the plunge yesterday just to ease my aches but the water is really not warm.
Our Wikaniko project is going reasonably well although we would like more likes and shares on our facebook page hence the message at the beginning of this blog. Please try and give us a like and share because it would really raise our spirits to see a few more people showing interest.
At the moment I'm smoking on my e cig in an effort yet again to cut down on my smoking. Although the e cigs are good in that they give out vapour that looks like smoke and have  a red light at the end giving the look of a cigarette, the taste isn't that nice. I have spoken to the chemist about some tablets I heard about that help to stop smoking. However the chemist said that they can cause depression, nightmares and also increase the risk of heart attack. Whilst I'm not that worried about nightmares and depression the thought of the increase in a heart attack is worrying so I decided not to bother and go back to trying good old will power.
Today Colin is going out to buy a new cooker. The thermostat on our oven has given up. We have managed up to now but yesterday I tried to cook a few biscuits and they burned. It was really frustrating so a new cooker is a must.
Well that's it for this morning. Have a good day and thanks for reading.

Pat

Good morning everyone.  Today is overcast and the forecast is predicting rain. We shall see. I got up early this morning, well early for me and after I had fed the animals I felt really tired. My arms and legs ache
from the walk yesterday and even our old dog Muttley is hobbling around.
I think today that I might spend some time knitting. I have been practising knitting with four needles. My daughter told me that at the music festivals and fetes that she goes to, arm and leg warmers are very trendy. I think that I will have a go at knitting some for her. I have moved my knitting machine to the bedroom from the sitting room thinking that it wouldn't get much use during the summer because it is just too hot.
I've had a quick walk around the garden and the spinach is really coming on. In the past I have not really liked spinach but I have only eaten it boiled. Maybe it will be a good idea to look at some recipes and try different ways to cook it, my daughter reassures me that it not only tastes good but is also very healthy.

The benefits of adoption

Hi everyone before you read my blog can I ask a small favour. I would be grateful if you can take a look at my Greenerearth Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OurGreenerEarth?fref=ts and click like and share plus  follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/greenerearth1
  It won't cost you anything only a few seconds of your time.

All children need a family who can protect and nurture them from birth through to their adult lives. Sadly not all children are able to live with their families and need an alternative family to meet their needs. Equally couples are not able to have children or feel that they are in a position to offer a child a forever home. My following article looks at the adoption triangle and how the child, adopters and at times the birth family benefit.

http://www.helium.com/items/2304017-the-benefits-of-adoption

Catholic Church Involved in Child Trafficking

Hi everyone before you read my blog can I ask a small favour. I would be grateful if you can take a look at my Greenerearth Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OurGreenerEarth?fref=ts and click like and share plus  follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/greenerearth1
  It won't cost you anything only a few seconds of your time.

Once again members of the Catholic Church have been accused of abusing their positions of trust. The recent allerations involve Spanish women who maintain that priest and nuns stole their new born babies and sold them for financial gain.

The Catholic Church and Child Abuse

When is the Pope going to put his house in order and ensure that all priests and nuns accused of abuse are brought to justice? Yes, the Pope has apologized to victims of abuse but this is not enough. Victims of abuse don’t want sympathy or indeed prayers; they want justice and recognition that so called followers of God abused their positions of trust in the mot appauling way.
During the past few years a number of priests have been found guilty by the Courts of child abuse whilst others have been protected by the church. This surely cannot be right?
If the horror of sexual and physical abuse by the clergy is not enough, it now seems that nuns and priests in Spain, in collusion with the government, were involved in child trafficking for profit up until 1990.

Catholic Church Steals Babies

Recent cases brought by numerous women, throughout Spain, maintain that during Franco’s reign and up until 1990 new born babies were removed from mothers and sold onto couples, who were deemed by the Church as being more suitable. The women report that nuns and priest lied saying that their babies had died. The mothers were denied access to their dead babies and in one particular clinic the body of an unknown baby, which had been kept in a freezer, was shown to the grieving parents. Families were prevented from attending their child’s funeral which was often paid by the receiving family. Recent investigations show that many graves of the supposedly dead babies are empty or contain animals bones.
Furthermore families who tragically had their children stolen from them have found great difficulty tracing them because priest nuns and officials forged records, including birth and death certificates.
During a recent television programme, regarding this subject, a young Spanish man was able to confront an elderly nun who admitted to taking money from prospective parents to buy babies. The man was desperate to trace his birth family but the nun only lectured him to be grateful that he had been saved. The lack of empathy shown by this nun who clearly believed that she was justified in her actions was alarming.
Despite the pain this nun and many others like her have caused, history suggests that they are unlikely to be brought before the Court to answer to their crimes against humanity.