15th November is a sad day

There are some dates that hold particular significance.

People used to say they could remember what they were doing the day J F Kennedy was assassinated (22 Nov 1963). Some remember when Elvis Presley ​died (16 August 1977) or when John Lennon was shot (8 Dec 1980).

None of these hold particular significance for me.

The day that holds particular significance for me is 15th November.

I can remember where I was and what I was doing on different 15th November in various years.

On this day in 2004 I was shopping in Ilford. Nothing remarkable in that. I was about to start Christmas shopping and had taken a bus ride to the shopping centre in Essex. What was remarkable was that I was looking at Christmas cards and was struck by the thought that I shouldn't buy one for "mum and dad".

What I didn't know at the time was that my father had been taken to hospital. He died that night.

Four years later I was working at Alexandra palace. Bullet for My Valentine were playing. It was a normal day's work. I thought the main memory of the day would be stopping a concert goer from removing his trousers in public.

Knowing I'd be working on 15th, I'd rung mum the day before. What I didn't know was that she'd had a fall on the anniversary of dad's death. And although we'd suggested that a personal  alarm would be useful, she'd not agreed to have one. Consequently, it took a long time for her to be found and moved to hospital. She never recovered.

Each year around this time of year the Christmas Cactus that friends bought me when dad died comes into bloom. The rich red blooms light up the room and spark bright memories of spending time with my parents.

It's time for the Annual Halloween Treasure Hunt at the British Museum

It's time for the Annual Halloween Treasure Hunt at the British Museum

Introduction to the Missing Reindeer Party

Introduction to the Missing Reindeer Party

Puzzle makers get their game jam on

Puzzle makers get their game jam on: The first Laurier BreakoutEDU Game Jam on the weekend featured teams of youngsters, university students and teachers playing with locks, words and ideas to design puzzle games for classrooms.

When your city is under attack

This weekend’s attack in Paris has reminded me of the feelings of devastation I had when my city came under attack. During the 7/7 bombings in London my family were caught up in the horror across the capital. I heard the reports of the first explosion and instinctively knew it was a bomb. I knew my son was safely at school, having dropped him off before work, and managed to contact my husband, who was working the other side of London when I got to my office. However, I was unable to contact my daughter. The rising panic was exacerbated when I finally got through to her work placement and found she had not arrived.

It came as a welcome surprise when terror hit another capital city that I was able to find out very quickly via Facebook that my friends in Paris were safe. Using the #safetycheck feature they were able to notify us  that they were safe.

Similarly, Google made it possible for people to communicate with friends and family in France via its #hangouts app for free.

Words cannot express how it feels just hearing your loved ones are safe. Thinking about that time I waited for news still brings on tears. The relief when they all finally made it home - one having walked away from the bomb site at Kings cross and out of the capital - and the other having borrowed a bicycle to cycle 25 miles across in the city in lockdown – is indescribable.

Searching for loved ones

Not everyone is been fortunate enough to hear good news about their friends and family. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and to the people still searching for theirs.

As information emerges about the 129 people killed and the many hundreds injured, there are still a number of people missing. A website has been set up to register people missing after the attacks but the interior ministry warns that the site is frequently overloaded and may be unavailable at times.

The hashtags #rechercheParis (searching Paris) and #rechercheBataclan are being used to circulate the names and photos of those missing.

I hope people will join in the minute silence for the victims, which will be held in the UK at 11:00 GMT, to coincide with a Europe-wide silence at midday French time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Landlord Licensing - licence for councils to print money.....

Nearly 90% of landlords in England are private individuals who are responsible for 71% of all private rented households. (source: Landlord and Buy-to-let magazine issue 46). By 2016 it is predicted that one in five households will be in the private rented sector.



The West Winds, Newtownards - The observant will notice the wall separating the public and private sector houses Attribution: Photo by Albert Bridge

The Residential Landlords Association are reported in the Landlord and Buy-to-let magazine as saying institutional investment will not be enough to secure all the homes the country needs. It has called on the Chancellor to support the army of small landlords. Amongst the suggestions of Alan Ward, Chairman of the RLA are measures to boost the supply and quality of homes available to rent. He says "our recommendations would help unlock the enormous potential for the army of individuals who rent out property to expand and create more homes and through this, they will be feeding more resources back to the Treasury."

At the same time, local councils are trying to penalise private sector landlords rather than encourage them. Waltham Forest have been trying to bring in a controversial scheme of compulsory licencing throughout the borough. They claim that the private rental sector is responsible for anti-social behaviour within Waltham Forest. The private rented sector makes up one third of homes within the borough (source: Guardian-series 21/3/2014).

The original idea was to charge landlords £500 per property rented out, although there was no indication how this money was to be used to tackle anti-social behaviour. Indeed the landlords who paid the licencing charge were also charged with policing and disciplining their tenants. So, the proposal would lead to the council rolling in extra cash while forcing Landlords to tackle anti-social behaviour at their own expense.

Following a campaign by Waltham Forest Landlords and Victor Michael Letting Agents, the cabinet voted to assess the scheme and bring proposals back to the table after council elections in May.

We will have to wait and see what they decide.........
 

Run Rabbit Run

The DeVere theatre company has returned home to the Good Fortune theatre to start rehearsals for its next production.

 It is the first day of rehearsals and already there has been a change to the schedule. The part of the dead body is now played by Buck Mailer violently killed as he stood in the spotlight, stage centre......

Want to work out who did it?
Visit ITM Games to buy the dinner party game and find out.






Mystery Parties and Murder Mystery Parties are available from www.itmgames.co.uk
Visit ITM Games and Invitation To Events for Games details.