Tag: Mind

A Grab Bag

A pot-pourri of a post, featuring my website, mental health, public transport, a new find in the blogging world (for me), human evolution and a few pictures.

INTRODUCTION

I have spent a good part of today working on my website, www.londontu.be, and I also have some pictures that I have not previously shared, plus a few other things.

THE LATEST FROM LONDONTU.BE

I have recently created three new posts that I choose to share here:

 

THE MENTAL HEALTH TASKFORCE

Mind, the mental health charity, have produced this about the Mental Health Task Force:

Mind

MUSICAL KEYS

On Monday evening, Musical Keys had another session for autistic people. As well as my usual i-pad generated strings (cello only on this occasion), the session ended with something new – generating sounds by constructing lines on the i-pad screen for balls to bounce off (for those with long memories the approach is bit like reverse “bat and ball”). Here some photos relating to that event:

The Custom House viewed from Queen Street
The Mart.
This is exactly the sort of ride that I hate!
The Pilot Place development
A Rainbow while I was waiting outside (there was a session for youngsters going on, so I felt it best to stay outside although it was cold.
The Scout “Hut”
I-pad screen.
The lines and dots program.

A NEW FIND

To give credit where it is definitely due, it was a post by Mike Sivier at Vox Political that introduced me to anewnatureblog, which I am now following. The particular post that Mike shared and that I followed up on was this one. I subsequently also read this one. I highly recommend this blog.

BETTER TRANSPORT MAPS

It was also courtesy of Mike that I found the Guardian piece that led to my discovery of the better transport campaign. One thing they are doing is producing maps which show how transport services across the UK are being endangered. Just one example: in Norfolk, where I live the county council’s transport budget was £4m in 2010 and £2.67m in 2015 – a cut of 33% in five years (and as a regular user I defy anyone to suggest that Norfolk’s transport provision is not in need of improvement!).

A GIF ABOUT HUMAN EVOLUTION

This little GIF, which WEIT picked up via twitter, started life in Carl Sagan’s Cosmos TV series. I have two links for you:

  1. The original post in which I saw this GIF
  2. The GIF on its own.

SOME FINAL PHOTOS

This is the vehicle that Charlie Ross and Christina Trevanion are using in Antiques Road Trip
A squirrel darting up a leafless tree
close up of the squirrel
A blanket knitted by my mother for their camper van.

 

Petitions

Accounts of three petitions at different stages:
1)Provide tests for Group B Strep to prevent any more avoidable deaths of newborn babies, recently launhed via change.org
2)Mind’s petition calling for mental health services to receive a fair share of funding.
3)The successful change.org petition re Protein World’s vile “is your body beach ready?” ads

INTRODUCTION

This is going to be a very brief post, but there is some important information to share, about three petitions that are at different stages of their lives. Highly unusually for this blog there are no pictures.

PETITIONS

1: JUST TAKING OFF

The first of three petitions covered in this post comes from change.org and the title really does say all that needs to be said:

Provide tests for Group B Strep to prevent any more avoidable deaths of newborn babies

2: HAS BEEN DELIVERED TO THE TARGET

This petition, launched by Mind, calling on the government to ensure that mental health services get their fair share of funding, has been delivered to Downing Street bearing over 100,000 signatures. The full story can be read on the Mind website.

3: VICTORIOUS

When Protein World launched a series of ads targeting women with the question “is your body beach ready?”, the counter attack, in the form of a petition, was laucnhed via change.org, and 71,111 signatures later, change has been achieved. Huffington Post, so often a source of good stories, have the full story on this one.

AFTERWORD

I hope you have all enjoyed this post, and will be encouraged to share it. Another post in my special series, “London Station by Station” will be going up in the not too distant future and later this week I hope to put up some posts about Marxism 2015 which I shall be attending.