Rosie Scribble

Bupa Video Competition Launch

Bupa are asking: What does healthy mean to you?

Show them in a short video clip and you could see yourself in a national TV ad.

Their competition invites members of the public to upload short videos of what healthy means to them.  As healthy means different things to different people, this could be anything from water-skiing to singing Karaoke, or even completing a Rubix cube in record time. It could also mean getting back on your feet after an accident or a major set-back. It’s entirely up to you.

Three winning videos, selected from a shortlist voted for by the public, will appear on air as a Bupa TV commercial at the beginning of 2012. The first prize winner will also be awarded a MacBook Air (RRP £849) with two runner-ups prizes of Flip Mino 3 HD 2 Hour Camcorder - Black (RRP £149.99) being awarded to the two other winners.

The only rules are that participants’ clips must be 25 seconds long and should not contain anything inappropriate. Closing date is Sunday January 8 2012.

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Please talk to your children about alcohol

At the moment the topic of conversation in our house is internet safety. IJ has discovered the joys of Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin and seems to think befriending complete strangers online is perfectly acceptable, so we’ve had to spend a great deal of time talking about it.

Before long we’ll be having similar conversations about alcohol. Although internet safety is a topic I’ve had to go out and read about, I'm all too aware of the dangers of alcohol. And as an uneducated child is a vulnerable one, I won’t be allowing IJ out in the big wide world without her knowing the facts about alcohol. I’d be putting her at risk otherwise. 

Although they might not listen to us a lot of the time, Drinkaware has found that parents have the most influence on young children’s attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol. Given that the average age of a child's first drink is just under 14, it is essential that we talk to them before their friends have a greater level of influence, ideally before they start secondary school.

Even the most sensible child can be vulnerable as a result of alcohol. Help keep them safe and their friends safe. The results of not doing so can be devastating.

Plan your conversation today.

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Proud

They say you never really know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes.

But even then you don't know the journey they've taken or how far they've come.

It can be easier to listen to those who say you'll stumble and fall; harder to see the arms outstretched in front of you guiding you along the way.

To those who thought we'd never make it. Just look at us now. We're both smiling. I’m exceptionally proud of the journey we've made.

I may not have chosen to walk this path or predicted the challenges along the way. But I set out on this journey, just me and one delightful little girl, not knowing where it would lead and we’ve never looked back.

And we're still walking.

This week’s gallery theme is: something I am proud of.

Slow cooker Greek-style butter bean and potato casserole

I’m not known for my cooking skills, but even I have managed to successfully produce this Greek-style butter bean and potato casserole from the new Morphy Richards slow cooker cookbook. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients, and then you just leave it to cook for four hours. It’s a great recipe for a cold winter evening and great with a chunky bread roll. (Serves 6).

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
•  1 mild Spanish onion
•  4 garlic cloves, crushed
•  200 ml red wine
•  400 g white potatoes, diced
• 100g turnip, thinly sliced
•  2 x 410 g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
•  2 x 400 g cans chopped tomatoes 
•  Pinch of paprika
•  1 bay leaf
•  2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

A common sense post about water

Rather bizarrely, in my opinion, Brussels officials recently announced that there is no evidence to prove that water can prevent dehydration, according to the Telegraph. As a result, producers of bottled water are now banned by the EU from making such claims on their packaging. Apparently at the centre of this debate is the argument that: “reduced water content in the body is a symptom of dehydration and not something that drinking water could subsequently control.”

Here’s an important, non-disputable fact about water: Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and the lack of hygiene claim the lives of an estimated 2.2 million children under the age of 5 every year. Source: UNICEF.

The issue of whether manufacturers of bottled water can make claims about the link to dehydration on their packaging is clearly a First World argument and one that the people in greatest need of clean, safe water don’t have the luxury of partaking in.

UNICEF’s range of Inspired Gifts this Christmas includes a range of products that help families gain access to clean, safe water, including water pumps, water kits and water purification tablets.

For just £8 you can buy an emergency water kit which will enable a family caught up in an emergency or natural disaster to collect, store and even purify water. For £80 you can buy emergency water kits for ten families.

For £19 you can provide 5,000 water purification tablets for use when families cannot access fresh, clean water. £360 provides a water pump that will help provide clean, safe drinking water for a whole community. Imagine that.

Access to clean, safe water saves lives. That’s a far more relevant issue in my book than any argument over the claims drinks manufacturers are legally allowed to include on their packaging.

Photo credits: UNICEF UK.