Frugal Times

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Cathy Short

more toys (Photo credit: The hills are alive (back for a bit….))

Have you ever had an unexpected bill? I had one this week! The car had to go in for it’s MOT and service. I had in my head that there would be a little bit of work…I knew that it would fail on the windscreen wipers! So I had in my head that it would cost a couple of hundred pounds. Hah! It failed on so much more than that and in order to make the car roadworthy again, I had to pay the people at the garage £1,116!!!! What!!!! I don’t have that kind of money! Where on earth was I going to find that kind of money by the end of the day? Maybe I would stumble across a grand down the back of the sofa or get an unexpected phone call from a distant relative that had just won the lottery or something. I didn’t hold out much hope for them. Handily I have a really nice bank who sorted me out with a loan and a temporary overdraft until the loan money goes into my account.

What this experience did, was make Rob and I reflect on our finances, what can we change and what can we cut back on. We have decided that the best thing for us to do is to set up a new bank account in which we transfer our spending money for the month, this way we can keep track of what we are spending and how much money we have left over. Shopping money, petrol money and anything else has to come from this small amount that we are transferring. The biggest change for me, will be stopping all the little spends like nipping to the shop to buy a sandwich or to Costas for a coffee, because they all cost too much money now – it’s all home-made for me now. But just because it’s home-made doesn’t mean that it has to be rubbish and just because we are sticking to a tight budget doesn’t mean that I have to skimp on the luxuries…well I can’t live without coffee! But it does mean a lot more preparation, a lot more thought, some creative thinking and a lot of bargain hunting. Check out the recipes section for some frugal recipes.

Even though I know that I am having to be very careful with spending at the moment, I know that I am not by any means on the poverty line. Even my budget of £25 per week for food, is nowhere near what some people have to survive on. People all over the world, in different countries, from different social classes are struggling to make ends meet at the moment. Today 25,000 people will die because they are hungry. Because they are trapped in extreme poverty, because they can’t make enough money to buy enough food to feed themselves and their families. I may be very tight in my budgeting at the moment, but I am not going to die of hunger. And I thank God for the food I do have. And I pray for those who don’t have. And even if it means I go without something I am still going to give to those who don’t have enough to eat, because they have as much of a right as I do to eat nourishing food. And I encourage you do do the same. This week go without your coffee or your shop brought sandwich or a drink down the pub and give the money to someone who doesn’t have enough food to survive.

Frugal Tips: Your Financial Update (homefront.prudentliving.com)
Frugality and Finance (noeffectobserved.wordpress.com)
Frugal Living Tips (debtconsolidationusa.com)

Reaching the Pole

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Isaac Jones

English: Last expedition of Robert Falcon Scott. The image shows Oates, Scott and Wilson (standing); and Bowers and Evans (sitting)

So last week and this week I have been involved in a Research & Development project for a theatre company called Theatre Delicatessen. I have worked with the company before many times, and on this project we are trying to research how to create a play about Scott of the Antarctic. As a result I have not had much headspace for anything else, which is why I have decided to tell you a bit about it.

The fact is that the story of Robert Falcon Scott’s second Antarctic Mission is quite extraordinary. It is also rather sprawling. There will be some of you who have hear of the expedition – perhaps some of you will know some of the names of the men on his team – Dr Wilson, Bowers, Edgar Evans and probably the most famous man on the final polar push (save Scott himself) – Captain Oates. OK, so you may not know his name, but you may still remember, faintly, the story of his death. Having reached their destination (one month after the Norwegians successfully stuck a flag in the South Pole) the party were making the 800 mile journey back to their base on the coast of Antarctica. According to diary extracts by all of the men on the mission, there were significant blizzards which prevented them from keeping up with the pace of their plans and reaching One-Ton depot (where they had laid supplies for the journey back). Oates was sick, and barely able to walk due to frostbite and an old war injury. Scott writes this:

He (Oates) has borne intense suffering for weeks without complaint…He did not – would not – give up hope till the very end. He was a brave soul. This was the end. He slept through the night before last, hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning – yesterday. It was blowing a blizzard. He said, ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ He went outside into the blizzard and we have not seen him since.

I am sure that many of you will recognise the story – or perhaps just his last words, even if you’ve never known where they come from.

One of the big questions for me is why did these men do this? Many of the men on the team (there were many more who risked their lives who were not on the final push to the pole) had been to the Antarctic previously. Of course at this point in history the technology was very limited, and keeping warm was a significant challenge. No one knew what to expect as no one had been to the South Pole before. Walking across the frozen ice of the barrier or onto the actual landmass of Antarctica is incredibly dangerous – the ice is constantly shifting, leaving great crevasses in your path, and it is always difficult to see anything. There are no defining features of the landscape and nothing lives there except penguins and seal – and they stick to the coastline. The way these men chose to travel was by man-hauling, which means literally dragging your supplies on sledges behind you. Frankly it is hard to explain the terrible nature of this expedition and how cold, how tiring, how dangerous it truly was. Yet, Scott was inundated with applications to join his expedition when it was announced. So, why?

This is one of the questions we’ve been thinking about, and we were lucky enough to be able to speak to Sara Wheeler, who is not only an expert on Apsley Cherry-Garrard (one of the men on the Terra Nova Expedition), but has also been to Antarctica. So, why did she go? In reality she was writing a book about Chile. All the maps of Chile whilst she was there showed a segment of the Antarctic, so she decided to go and managed to get a place on an expedition. But what was more interesting about talking to her was that she talked about the experience of being there. She told us it is unlike anywhere else in the world. Just surviving takes at least 1/2 the day. One phrase she used that we all scribbled down was that travelling to the Antarctic is “an opportunity to step of the world.” It is an ungoverned place – a place not bound by the societal structures by which we live.

It got me thinking about the challenges that life offers us all. What is our response? We cannot simply get off the world, so how do we manage them? I make no claim whatsoever to have the definitive answer to that question, but as I am writing for the Chennai Challenge blog I think I will try to link it in to our work. In order to cope with all of life’s challenges I think it is vital to be part of community. Whilst Scott’s men were in Antarctica they lived in community. They supported one another, whether in a party of 5 or in the main group at their base on Cape Evans. Trying to do it on one’s own simply doesn’t work. And that is why I think it is important to be active in your community – whatever that might mean. Christianity teaches this as love your neighbour. I think what Jesus meant was that we are all called, as human beings, to live in community with one another. To support your neighbour when they need support and be supported when you need it.

Whatever your communities are I challenge you to think about how you can play an active role in supporting others. If you’re in a church, then I suggest that this might be quite an easy challenge. If not, perhaps you just need to really think about what communities you do belong to. School, Work, Clubs, Neighbourhood, even virtual communities.

Both of our partners in Chennai (change of scenery!) work to enhance the opportunities for local communities to thrive. Oasis particularly frame everything they do around the world in the context of building communities. And I certainly think it is one of the things that has inspired us as a charity.

I didn’t really start this blog entry with a clear line of thought, and perhaps it opens more questions than it does answer them. But I suppose that’s never a bad thing. And it’s certainly not a bad thing to consider the importance of community and to challenge ourselves on how we might contribute to our own.

Great Scott! (owlerbrookschool.wordpress.com)
Review of “Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-1913″ by Richard Farr (rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com)

It ain’t what you do …

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Rob Short

“There is more than one way to skin a cat” apparently, although I cannot say that I have tried any of them. In life we are faced with hundreds of things to do every day, and we can choose how we do them. Does it make a difference how we do things, or are the results the things that matter? That is what I would like to explore today.

Of course good manners and etiquette dictate that the way we do things does matter. The end result could be that you have eaten a good meal, but the way you eat can make a difference. On a basic level, did you manage to get all of the food in your mouth? Or did you spray a load over the table? Did you remember to chew with your mouth closed? To get a bit more advanced did you use cutlery? Then further still, did you use the correct cutlery? Hopefully you weren’t using a steak knife to spread butter, or a fish knife to try and cut a lamb chop. So in this instance I would say it does matter how you do things.

Staying with food you can look at the production of various foods and see that how things are done that can make a difference to the food. Obviously we know that you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, but do you have to do things exactly to get the correct result? I am a big fan of Chilli Con carne and enjoy making it. Every time I make it, something different happens, I put something different in, I change it slightly and I have a tasty meal. The method doesn’t seem to matter too much. You could take this too far however and end up trying to make a cheese toastie by ironing your cheese sandwich.

Some foods do have very strict rules about how they should be prepared. Kobe beef can only be bought from Japan, because of the strict rules in place to have it officially called ‘Kobe beef’. In a similar fashion many foods have strict rules in place – champagne, stilton, Melton Mowbray Pork pie to name just a few. The method makes a difference.

The way we do things is not just limited to food however; think of taking time off work. For most people if you want to book a holiday there is some way that you tell your employer in advance that you want to have time off. Even if you have holiday owed to you, if you ring work half an hour before you are due in and casually say “By the way, I am just getting on a plane, I’ll be back in ten days”, you will get into trouble on your return.

In a similar way, the words we say are changed massively by the way we say them. Even a simple thing like ‘thank you’, which should be the sort of thing you do say, can be said in a certain way that will change how it is meant. Is it a sincere thank you, or is it laden with sarcasm? Or another example – sorry. The times when a child is forced to say sorry for some action ‘say it like you mean it’. The way we do things does have a difference, just like the Funboy Three and Bananarama said “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it”

At Chennai Challenge we not only try to do good things, but to do them in the right way. To illustrate this I have three examples. Firstly we are accountable in what we do. We are required to report to the Charity Commission, and have recently published the report for 2011-2012. This is us doing things in the right way. Secondly we try to be a bit different to other organisations that do similar things to us. When we have people on a team it lasts for far more than just the time in India. We have training that helps people to think about how to raise money, what to take with them and what to expect in India in terms of food and culture. We believe that the way we do things make sure we have a team of people fully prepared for the challenges they face in India. The final way we try to do things is to work with local organisations in Chennai. This means that the work we do and support isn’t a temporary fix, just happening whilst we are there, but long term help. The work of YMCA and Oasis continues even with us in the UK, but can be bolstered and enhanced by our input.

I think for Chennai Challenge it is not a case of “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it”, but more “It’s not JUST what we do, it’s the way that we do it”

JACKET POTATOES

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Isaac Jones

What follows is a news update from the amazing Mary Palmer on her continued efforts to raise awareness and funds for Chennai Challenge:

Well hello everybody, it’s been a while!

I’ve just got home from a windy day of jacket potatoes and face painting at the fun day/”party in the park” at the Monckton in Penkridge…. Suzanne, Emma and Auntie Jackie from team 2012 came to help out with my family and the Parlanes also helping to run the stall. We made £125.70, which is good considering the weather and lack of last year’s union jack hats!

Emma also challenged me to a Manchester United Badge, and I reckon I did a pretty good job!… (and by the way Emma and Suzanne - the ship represents Manchester’s trading history via the trading canal, and the devil is due to the team’s nickname from the 1960′s – “the red devils”)

However, when it came to painting my face, I was even luckier! Tia from Cubs had a turn with an orange sponge and a black paintbrush….

But I was glad to be an orange tiger again! I still have my “orange tiger team” flags and ribbons from Yellagiri on my windowsill… but that’s mainly due to me not tidying my room.

Anyway! Back to facepainting…

SO yeah, we had a great day AND raised some money for Chennai Challenge! Although I’d love to be going back to Chennai this summer, I guess it’ll be double fun going back next year and having such a such a big impact if there’s extra money made this year, for Sathymanagar Community Centre, for example.
Well, in the mean time – I’ve been busy revising, choreographing “We Will Rock You” in Wheaton Aston, oh AND we’re doing Joseph at school…I might have to ask Tia to paint me a moustache again as me and my friend are staring as the Butler and the baker, and the camel!

And finally: cheese then beans, not beans then cheese.

See you all on the 29th June – #first50

Mary x

Success

Posted on May 25, 2013 by yemmakelly

1986, was not only the best year to be born (not biased at all..) but was also the start of one of the most successful careers in football management. As you may have heard (or not if you are like my sister!) Alex Ferguson retired as manager of Manchester United Football Club. For me this was a very upsetting time as the he had been the driving force of my beloved football team since the day I was born. Since he announced his retirement I have enjoyed reading the reflections on his career which have put into perspective the enormous success and inspiration he was.

In some way, shape or form we all want success. Whether that is in our job, in our sports teams or in our family life, we want to accomplish something. So how can we be successful? Here are some ideas on how to be successful using Sir Alex’s way…

1: Imagine Success

Einstein said “the imagination is more important than knowledge”. Sir Alex dreamed of success and made it a reality. Of course there were bumps along his journey, we all know he is known for his controversy with the likes of Beckham (remember the boot to the head!). However, he got the job done with an extraordinary 38 trophies across 27 seasons, including; 13 League Titles, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 10 Charity or Community Shields,European Cup-Winners Cup, 2 Champions League Trophies, European Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and FIFA World Club Cup. (Sorry for the little factoid there but WOW!) So…dream and imagine your success to enable the ball to start rolling.

2: Get the motivation

You need to identify the things you love to do, the things that give you satisfaction and that in turn will provide the motivation. What if Sir Alex hated football? How could he have made a success of the club? The answer is he couldn’t! Enjoyment leads to success.

3: Take Risks

“Success…seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

–Conrad Hilton

Become active in your journey, don’t take the back seat as nothing will happen. Furthermore there is no point in giving up at the first hurdle, you need to keep going, reflecting on what was good and what went wrong and why. Sir Alex had many a defeat in his time, many of which I would like to forget…anyone remember the grey shirt excuse against Southampton? Oh dear! However that just provided him with more motivation to come back fighting.

4: Value people

In Sir Alex’s farewell speech it struck me how much of his success is based on the value of others, teamwork and respect. He knew that his success was a result of other people as much as himself.

“The players… I wish the players every success in the future. You know how good you are, you know the jersey you’re wearing, you know what it means to everyone here and don’t ever let yourself down. The expectation is always there. ” -

Sir Alex Ferguson

Finally there is not any shortcut for success, it’s just the result of preparation, hard working and learning from failure!
Success does not come through willpower alone, it takes consistency and determination. Doing something once won’t make a huge difference; it’s when you do that one thing many times over before you can achieve success. Sir Alex’s success is one which many people, United fans or not, are in admiration of. He is definitely an inspiration to many. Thank you Sir Alex for 26 years of success … now time to pass on the baton.

So your challenge today is start your own journey of success…no matter how big or small…imagine then go for it! Who knows you may be the next Sir Alex!

Chennai CHALLENGE