I have not been feeling well this week so a bit grumpy about not being able to get to any of the local events celebrating the 100th International Women’s Day TODAY! Seeing this in today’s paper has cheered me up though and made me feel that maybe I’ve done my bit today. If you want to read the whole article – click here and go to page 5 http://bit.ly/fJScVg

So back to predestiny. During our conversation Jacqueline told me I was wearing the colours of the suffragette movement – teal green and purple, my two favourite colours at the moment, I am so into teal and purple. I just had to wear the clothes I wore today, they were a bit grubby, but something told me to wear them, and no others would do, so I guess that’s what I mean about predestiny. I was meant to meet Jacqueline, meant to wear those colours, meant to get more “active” in my involvement in helping to raise awareness of climate change and try to stop it basically.

I’m also quite into synchronicity – which I also find happens a lot when I feel my life is going in the right direction. Sometimes I feel there is a path mapped out and there are symbolic things in my life which happen every now and again which tell me I’m on the right path. Wikipedia explains that Swiss psychologist Carl Jung Jung (below) “was transfixed by the idea that life was not a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order. This deeper order led to the insights that a person was both embedded in an orderly framework and was the focus of that orderly framework and that the realisation of this was more than just an intellectual exercise but also having elements of a spiritual awakening.

Then I got to thinking….some people enter a lot of competitions don’t they? And some people win loads of stuff. As a dedicated Green, I don’t need loads of ’stuff’ of course BUT since my business closed due to the recession, and life has been pretty tough financially over the past year, I think maybe I’m due a nice treat.

So – here’s the idea. What if I enter 10 competitions each day for a week. That would be 70 comps. Would I win anything? Lets give it a try.

Thursday 13th Jan: 1. This Morning Comp, 2. Marie Claire Chateaux Holiday Comp, 3. Handbag.com spa break Comp, 4. Handbag.com Selfridges Comp, 5. Loose Women Comp, 6. www.hereforaday.com Dyson Comp, 7. Classic FM Comp, 8. Local library comp 9. Classic FM ipad comp. 10. @MrCrabbyCrab’s comp on twitter

Friday 14th Jan: 1. Northdevon.com holiday comp 2. Families Online holiday comp. 3. http://www.asdamagazine.com holiday comp. 4. Adsa Seaside Break comp 5. http://www.holidayprizeworld.com comp 6. Ideal Home Mag Buxted Park comp 7. Ideal Home Mag Bed comp 8. http://rewardstoday.co.uk Ikea Shopping spree comp 9. Canderel M&S vouchers comp 10. Park Holidays comp

Saturday 15th Jan: 1. http://www.catalink.com M&S vouchers comp. 2……………..gave up as far too time consuming trying to find the competitions!!!

After a couple of weeks ‘off’ my diet, and Christmas officially over – it’s time to get back on track and start counting the calories again. My salad pictured is a scrumptious way to kickstart my new year efforts to lose two and a half stone. With only 200 calories, it’s a cornucopia of fresh salad leaves, carrot, onion, garlic, red pepper, beetroot and potato salad (the majority of the calories but deliciously worth it). As well as losing weight and getting my BMI down, I’m also raising funds for the highly respected Devon Charity Devon Air Ambulance and I’m absolutely thrilled to have raised over £150 so far, thanks to some incredibly lovely and generous people. Please check out my Virgin Giving page today and even if you can only spare a pound or two – please do chip in as it all helps us get closer to the £1000 target. Thank you.

Sharon

]]> http://www.sharonpavey.org/back-on-track-salad/feed/ 0 http://www.sharonpavey.org/black-friday/ http://www.sharonpavey.org/black-friday/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:06:02 +0000 sharon http://www.sharonpavey.org/?p=1079

100 years ago, on 18/11/1910, two women were injured and later died because they tried to enter Parliament. They were part of a group of Suffragettes who went to the Houses to demand a debate on the Conciliation Bill, a bill that would have given some women basic voting rights. Of the 300 who came, 200 women were arrested that day. There were 6,000 police. We call it Black Friday.

100 years have passed. Fewer than 1 in 5 MPs are women. Only 1% of the world’s money is controlled by women. For every 10 people displaced by climate change, 7 are women. There is a vigil being held at 6.30pm on 18/11/10 on College Green, Parliament Square to remember Black Friday. Bring a candle, a jamjar, a banner and a veil. Hear Caroline Lucas MP and Dr Diane Atkinson. Remember the Suffragettes. More details here. or you can see the Climate Rush Facebook page.

Here’s a link to the Climate Rush website – because “well behaved women seldom make history” !!!

Please add your comments below.

Ceri Goddard, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, said:

“The Comprehensive Spending Review, like the previous emergency budget, hits women hardest. It is women who will be the main losers as jobs are cut, public services are rolled back and benefits are slashed.

“The cuts are so deep and will hit women so hard that they risk more than women’s financial security – they threaten hard fought progress we’ve made on women’s equality. The Chancellor’s plans undermine the status of women as equal partners with men in the world of work, home and society as a whole.

“Of the half a million public sector workers facing unemployment, more than two thirds will be women. This is because 65 per cent of public sector workers are women, and more women work in the low paid, low grade and insecure work most likely to be hit. This comes on top of the 1 million women already unemployed in the UK – last month, 75 per cent more women signed on to unemployment benefit than men.

“The £18bn a year cuts to the welfare budget, as outlined today and in the recent emergency budget will also see women bear the brunt as benefits typically make up one fifth of women’s income as opposed to one tenth of men’s. Taking Housing Benefit as just one example – a million more women claim this than men, and many of these will be lone parents facing poverty.

“Targeting local government is tantamount to singling out women for the hit – 75 per cent of local government workers are women; cumulative cuts of 28 per cent in the budget for this sector will have a disastrous impact on women as both employees and service users.

“Rolling back public services hits women particularly hard not only because they tend to use services more frequently and more intensively then men, but also because of their sizeable caring responsibilities. Slashing at this aspect of the welfare state does more than reduce the support many women rely on, it also increases the burden they carry – many women with caring responsibilities for children and elderly relatives will find it harder to manage as the help they’ve thus far relied on dries up.

“The measures unveiled today seem, as is becoming a theme of the Coalition Government, to see women’s services and benefits as a soft target. But women aren’t starting on an equal footing – women typically earn and own less than men, and are more likely to live in poverty. They do not have the same independence and financial security that men do, and they are under-represented in boardrooms, in politics and in public life generally. Making women bear the brunt of deficit cutting measures makes a mockery of the government’s claimed commitment to fairness.

“Taken apart, many of the measures announced today will dismay women across the UK, add them together and they’re a disastrous blow for women’s equality.”

Find out more here http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/

The East Devon Green Party have written to all 20 councillors on the health scrutiny committee to object to the proposals to close the Maternity Unit:

Dear Councillor

I am writing representing the East Devon Green Party and would like to raise our objections to the proposed changes to the services at Honiton Maternity Hospital.

The East Devon Green Party objects to the closure of the unit and the changes to the way mothers and expectant mothers/parents will been cared for in the East Devon area. After attending several meetings, both at The Knowle and public consultation meetings and reading the literature involved, we do not feel that the proposed changes offer any improvement in services in our community. Quite the opposite in fact, we feel that moving the care from the unit to home based/midwife care will be extremely detrimental to the service. This is not offering women more choice, again quite the opposite. It limits choice and for many women. 24 – 48 care within the unit is what they need to establish breastfeeding and simply recover from an exhausting physical experience.

The East Devon Green Party are an active part of the Honiton Maternity Matters group which involves representatives from four political parties (Green, Labour, Conservative and LibDems) as well as many councillors, medical professionals and parents. There is a huge amount of upset and outrage about this proposal within this community and we are hoping that the scrutiny committee, of which you are a member is listening to all of the objections and will do the decent thing and not allow these unworkable and unfair proposals to go any further.

I look forward to hearing from you & hope to attend the meeting in the morning.

Kind Regards

Sharon Pavey (resident in Honiton)

Coordinator East Devon Green Party

www.sharonpavey.org

Photo above – Sharon Pavey on the right & Sharon Howe demonstrating at the East Devon District Council offices at the Knowle in Sidmouth.

]]> http://www.sharonpavey.org/east-devon-green-party-opposes-maternity-cuts-at-honiton-hospital/feed/ 0 http://www.sharonpavey.org/two-thirds-of-east-devon-new-mums-exhausted-when-they-leave-hospital/ http://www.sharonpavey.org/two-thirds-of-east-devon-new-mums-exhausted-when-they-leave-hospital/#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:21:09 +0000 sharon http://www.sharonpavey.org/?p=935

Almost two thirds of East Devon mums are exhausted when they leave hospital after having a baby.  That’s the results of a survey published today, by campaign group, Honiton Maternity Matters.

And a worrying 16 mums (almost half the respondents) then went on to ‘struggle to manage’ or ‘really struggle to manage’ when they returned home.

The online questionnaire, which was emailed to more than 2,800 people on the Facebook group ‘Save Honiton Maternity On-site Aftercare’ was aimed at women who had given birth at Honiton maternity unit and the RD&E since transfers from the RD&E and overnight stays ceased at Honiton in February.

A total of 39 women responded to the survey – thought to be around half of East Devon women giving birth in that timeframe – which listed 28 questions on local mums’ experiences, including breast-feeding support.

Ann-Marie Chapman from Axminster gave birth at Honiton in May.  After 48 hours with just a couple of hours sleep and then a difficult first night at home with her new baby, she was completely exhausted and struggled to cope.

She said:  “It was really hard.  I was utterly exhausted and was extremely teary. I was very lucky and had the support of my husband and parents who looked after my baby whilst my husband and I got little naps.”

And due to problems with trying to get a midwife to visit at the right time for help with breast-feeding, Ann-Marie decided instead to turn to her midwife sister-in-law for assistance.

Ann-Marie explained: “I had a horrible first night where my baby screamed and screamed but wouldn’t latch on properly.  We phoned the maternity unit to ask for advice but I wanted someone there in person.  Unfortunately the timing never worked.  In the end I had to ask my sister-in-law for help, who is a midwife at Yeovil.”

Retired Ottery St Mary GP, John Ackroyd said:  “I am not surprised by the results of this survey. A period of rest is very important after childbirth, whether normal or complex, for most mothers. In a community hospital experienced staff are on hand to assist with the practical initiation of breast-feeding and the essentials of baby care. Overnight stays allow this to occur but also allow recovery time from the exhaustion which accompanies many labours.”

Claire Wright, Ottery St Mary Town Councillor for West Hill, added:  “We had some very revealing remarks which prove that the new telephone advice system is impractical.

“Mums need three hands to receive telephone advice on breast-feeding – one to position the baby, one to adjust the breast and another to hold the phone.  It’s not fair and it doesn’t work.”

Ann-Marie’s experience is typical of the mums who completed the survey, with over half of the women (18 out of 33) not confident about breast-feeding when they were discharged.  13 of those women sought help once they were at home and seven women were visited by a midwife.  Three of those seven waited longer than 13 hours to be seen.  At Honiton’s maternity unit, women received instant face-to-face help and advice any time of the day or night they needed it.

Two women say they gave up breast-feeding due to difficulties.

The survey results are published ahead of Devon County Council’s Adults Health Scrutiny meeting debate on maternity services, which takes place next Thursday (23 September) at 10am.  At this meeting the scrutiny committee will decide whether or not to endorse proposals to end overnight stays at Honiton maternity unit.

Women from all over East Devon took part in the survey but the majority of respondents were from Honiton, with 16 (41%) of replies from the town.  Ottery St Mary and Exmouth had six and five responses respectively.  All the other East Devon towns had one or two respondents each.

Honiton Town Cllr, Vernon Whitlock said: “The results of the survey confirm that the retention of overnight facilities at Honiton Maternity Unit is not just a luxury, but an essential option for new mums. The unit and its staff have established an excellent reputation and provide a vital service which should be retained.”

Over half of respondents indicated that they would like to stay at Honiton Hospital for two nights.  The most popular reasons for this were rest and breast-feeding advice.

Over two thirds of women who gave birth at the RD&E said they did so for medical reasons only.  Just two said it was because the RD&E was their first choice.  The remainder of women (one quarter) said they gave birth at the RD&E because Honiton maternity unit was closed overnight.

Claire Wright commented:  “Although the numbers are quite small, one quarter as a proportion is significant and it makes us wonder that if the plans do go through, the numbers giving birth at Honiton would simply dwindle until it was difficult to justify keeping the unit open.”

“We are now looking forward to the scrutiny meeting next week, to presenting our findings and hearing the debate.  Many councillors expressed concern over proposals at their last meeting on 3 June.  We hope the results of our survey will convince them to reject NHS plans.”

Come along to Devon County Council’s Adults Health Scrutiny meeting debate on maternity services, which takes place on Thursday (23 September 2010) at 10am at Devon County Hall in Exeter. I’ll be there with other members of the Honiton Maternity Matters Group. We will be peacefully demonstrating outside before the meeting then attending the meeting where some of our members are hoping to speak. Email me for details or if you need a lift over there etc. sdpavey@googlemail.com

Sharon

Unfortunately – I don’t think anyone attending the meeting really felt that the panel of three NHS representatives were really listening to anyone, except themselves! Their initial presentation was supposed to take just 5 – 10 minutes and went on for about 20 mins, with the women trying to justify cutting the excellent maternity services at Honiton with stories of their own difficult childbirth experiences!!

Vernon Whitlock (town councillor for Honiton) was a great chairperson and supported the many mothers in the room, most with their own little ones playing at their feet, with their comments and questions about the cutbacks being proposed. The Save Honiton Maternity Unit group handed in their petition (photo at the top). We collected quite a few sheets of names on our own Green Party Stalls over the past few months, which contributed to the 1500 signatures handed in (with another thousand or two to be handed in at a later date). New MP for Tiverton & Honiton Neil Parish stood up to support the parents asking for these changes to be reconsidered. See Midweek Herald article here.

I came away from the meeting quite angry and disillusioned at the NHS not seeming to listen, but just going through the motions of showing that they are consulting the public. I would be interested in all the groups and individuals who are opposed to these changes getting together to work out how this can be fought as a collective. The East Devon Green Party is against cuts to NHS services and we are prepared to work with other groups and individuals in the area to oppose these changes. Contact me (Sharon) sdpavey@googlemail.com

The Deputy Prime Minister attacked the ‘measly’ two weeks he was given when his third son was born as he gave a major speech on the family. And he insisted the whole premise that mothers will be the main carers should be destroyed in what amounts to a revolution of parents’ rights. A new Childhood and Families Ministerial Task Force will look at the best way to re-balance the family set-up.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287357/Clegg-vows-end-tradition-women-doing-bulk-parenting-offering-flexible-leave-dads.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0rHfircii