Naturally I want to leave behind something wonderful that creates a perpetual image of an interesting woman of the third millennium AD. But what is there to me really, what makes me ‘me?’ I have watched documentaries about the spread of mankind around the planet, the long walk from Africa, and have often said that all people are African, but some are more African than others. Half of my genes are English and I stake a claim to those being of good Celtic stock. I feel a strong tie to this south western land of green hills, red sandstone and mellow climate, and feel that I’ve been here a long time. But I may have only arrived with the Norman Conquest, with the Vikings, or on a coach from Llandudno. My other half is from the West African Igbo tribe, but those borders were only laid down by the raiding Empires in…

“Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act.” Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary – General

Across Women’s Lives: Major Issues Facing Females Globally

UN: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Worldwide, women live an average four years longer than men. In 2011, women’s life expectancy at birth was more than 80 years in 46 countries, but only 58 years in the WHO African Region. Girls are far more likely than boys to suffer sexual abuse. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among adolescent girls in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Almost all (99%) of the approximate 287 000 maternal deaths every year occur in developing countries. Globally, cardiovascular disease, often thought to be a “male” problem, is the number one killer of women. Breast cancer is the leading cancer killer among women aged 20–59 years worldwide WHO factsheet

Ben at the Daily Post says

In this week’s challenge, show us your take on a monument (broadly defined). It could be a fresh angle on a well-known tourist site, or a place nobody knows outside your community. It doesn’t even have to be an official monument. A legendary coffeehouse, a churchyard cemetery, the remains of a treehouse you’d built as a kid — anything can be monumental as long as it’s imbued with a shared sense of importance.

I visited Gallipoli and Anzac Cove a few years ago as part of a tour of Turkey. To be honest I wasn’t interested and could easily had a snooze while the  others went off to see the battlefields and memorials. I’m glad I did go, it was one of the most moving days I have ever experienced. I’ve written about it before, including a poem and if you’re interested click the Turkey tag…

APRIL ISNATIONAL PREVENT CHILD ABUSE MONTH

“EVERY UNWANTED TOUCH IS LIKE A BRAND, AN OPEN WOUND, A SCAR ON MY SOUL THAT NEVER HEALS…”

Here is some information that I picked up  from a Colorado news station

In 2013, there were 679,000 victims of child abuse and neglect throughout the United States; more than 10,000 were child victims from Colorado, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families. In 2014, the Kempe Children’s Center at Children’s Hospital treated 1,306 children for abuse, served 641 parents and caregivers and trained 9,605 child welfare professionals.

The Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse started as a Virginia grandmother’s tribute to her grandson who died as a result of abuse. She tied a blue ribbon to the antenna of her car as…