I have a blog? Why?

Thank you Daily Post for another prompt which I actually don’t mind answering.

Why do you blog?

When I started my blog I was at university trying to juggle uni course work, a job, husband, child and housework and just wanted somewhere to put my thoughts down on “paper”.  Hence the title “Fi’s Mutterings and Mumblings”.  Over the years I’ve dipped in and out of it and it has evolved into a platform for me to share experiences about family life with a child with a learning disability, speech delay etc; a husband who works away from home as a driver trainer which has led to a few posts about driving; my love of Disney and, in particular, Disney World; my attempts at the Swimathon and running to raise money for charity; and just about anything which bugs me or inspires me and I think others would, maybe, like to share.

I also have a business blog on my website, Your  PA Solution, which is a bit hit and miss at the moment but I hope to get it up and running again as I have recently changed hosting providers and am starting the blog again from the beginning.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond

This week’s photo challenge from Daily Post:

Do you have a photo which invites the viewer to look beyond? Are there hidden depths in the background? Is the focal point just a framing for the rest of the picture? If it’s not clear why we should look beyond, tell us! Lead us through the story in your photo. 

In a new post specifically created for this challenge, share a picture which means BEYOND to you!

I love photos taken at Disney especially those taken by the PhotoPass photographers because they frame the photo in such a way that whilst you know the focus is the people there is nearly always something which draws your eye in the background too.

The focus is the birthday girl in the middle but we also see the Castle and the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse

 

The entrance to the Magic Kingdom

 

Next to the fountain in Epcot but you can’t help but be drawn to the Epcot Ball too.

 

Daily Prompt: Ripped from the Headlines!

I haven’t responded to a daily prompt for a few days as I really didn’t feel inspired to and today really isn’t that different but I thought I’d give it a go anyway.  Today’s prompt is:

Head to your favorite online news source. Pick an article with a headline that grabs you. Now, write a short story based on the article. 

To be honest I headed to the tried and tested BBC news and all I found was a British Airways employee who has won her discrimination claim, HMV going into administration, Lance Armstrong talking about his “cheating” and a whole load of other negative stories including the fact that apparently our government think that it is a good idea to reduce the starting pay for Police Constables by £4,000 to £19,000!

OK, so this is the starting salary for new recruits with no experience of policing but still it seems to me to be a bit of a kick in the teeth for individuals who are out on our streets to protect us.  No wonder they have a shortage of bobbys on the beat.  Sure, £19,000 is more than my salary (if I worked full-time) and I have over 20 years experience as a secretary/administrator but I work in the safety of an office and I have never pushed myself to make a career out of my job.

How do they compare to starting salaries for other professions?

• Administrators/office juniors can expect to start at around £12,500 but they don’t have to qualify to enter the job or train before they are employed
• A newly qualified teacher can expect a starting salary of £23,010 – I wanted to confirm this on the Department of Education website but each link I clicked came up with an error!
• A regular soldier in the Army can expect £272 per week (£14,144 per year) whilst training and a minimum of £17,514 when trained (Army website)
• An army officer can expect £16,073 whilst training, increasing to £24,615 when commissioned (Army website)
• A newly qualified Registered Nurse is £21,176 according to the Royal College of Nursing’s 2012/2013 pay scales

Looking at this, it seems to me that the professions with the higher risks, ie police and armed forces are expected to do so for a lower salary than others.  Aren’t we lucky that there are still young people who want to risk their lives to keep us safe?

OK, rant over.