What do you think of when you hear the word AFRICA?
Do you think of safaris? And villages?
You might think of drums and dancing. Or do you think of something else?
These are stereotypes of Africa, which means they are a conventional, over-simplified image or impression of the country.
I believe that you know immediately after giving birth that your child is different somehow.
As they grow, you notice that some milestones are different from the ones that your other children had and you silently chide yourself for comparing them.
Slower with walking, not speaking, unusual behaviour, unusual reactions to noise or red food.
You live with it every day and it becomes normal behaviour to you and your family, you adapt to the child’s needs and try to help them make sense of all that their jumbled up senses bring them.
Like a lot of teenagers, I decided to become a vegetarian. Some do so because they want to rebel, some people think it will be healthier, or just don’t like meat that much. I was convinced to go veggie when I was 13 after a biology dissection. It was only a rat, but it made me realise that I didn’t want to be eating animals as I have a pet rabbit and it was just too close to home for me. Also, a Jamie Oliver programme I accidentally watched featuring the making of sausages put me right off… But mainly for me, it was the animals.
This little flower gets a raw deal, often regarded as a weed to be dug up, but it is actually quite pretty, with its bright yellow colour and distinctive leaves. Even the etymology of its name is pretty. Millie explains the origin of dandelion, and how people in other countries refer to this cheery flower.
