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Hope you have a brilliant day and incredible year from all your good friends at Hope Child!

What do you suggest as a costume/fancy dress for the husband who hates to dress up?
We have a party every year and although I tell him (and any guests) that fancy dress/costume is optional,he insists that joining in is preferable to being the odd one out.

I should have known his aversion to this as before we got married his previous outfits were a snooker player (suit waistcoat/vest and trousers) and a gangster (suit). Needless to say he looked as if he'd just wondered in from a business meeting.

Last year I did his outfit as the Widow's next victim and he wore a tuxedo (okay,a suit but at least not one he could wear everyday).

The previous year I dressed him as a hangman in tunic and trousers .

If there was a Turner Prize for minimalist costume design I think I'd be nominated.

Hurrah! Have just found out that Desert Island Discs is now on BBC Radio Four's i-player which means that I can listen to it on my computer rather than try to hear it when it is broadcast on Sunday/Friday morning.

Who would have thought such a small pleasure would bring me so much joy. Just listened to Barry Manilow's selection while I work. Bliss!

Joye Louise,we've missed your wonderful comments,encouraging words and perceptive insight this week. Hope you're feeling better and that you are home soon and can come to Blogland where all your many friends are waiting.

To a lovely man who is fearless,thoughtful,kind, honest and open.

Happy Birthday Superstar

from us all at Hope Child

Do not be afraid! This book will help you on your journey and point out the uselessness of living in fear and anxiety. Lucado attempts to take the topic of fear from the New Age arena and puts it firmly on the Christian agenda.He does this by extensive use of Biblical reference and by having an extremely useful Discussion Guide for each chapter. This makes this book accessible not only to the individual seeker but to church and study groups. Using anecdote and stories he tackles the types of fear that beset us and urges us to reconsider our position. A heart warming and life affirming book that will be referenced time and time again.

Virginia Wolfe said that every woman needed one. The space,the silence,the place where no one holds their breath. No disapproval,no control,no stifling routine,no monitor,no confessor. Just the place to be,to stretch,to grow. A room to wiggle one's toes.

Should you differentiate your message to appeal to the gender of your audience? Yes, according to Elizabeth Pace, and it isn't being sexist, just sensible.
The book is meant to be a tool to help sales people connect with and sell more to their customers.Yet it has a wider purpose than that;all of us interact with each other to persuade and influence. If you ever wondered why you couldn't get your message across to someone of the opposite sex, then this book could help you out.Underpinned by scientific data and up to date research this provides a step by step guide on how to appeal AND close the deal. The anecdotes,tables of main facts and graphics ensure that this is a book that will easily enlighten and enrich all who read it.

A lovely thing about blogging has been discovering the support and kindness of others.

One thing I've noticed though is that some bloggers are constantly demanding attention or sympathy without much reciprocity.

Am I being heartless in thinking that we live in a world of symbiosis and that people need to treat others as they wish to be treated?

Or am I imagining rules of a blogging etiquette that does not exist?

Let me act from a place that is not me today. Let me see the world as others see it. Let me see their issues and concerns and take them for my own. Let me stop acting as if the world belongs to me & I am of the upmost importance. Let me set aside ego and its rampant desires. Let me do it just for today.