Helen Chandler

A Life More Ordinary

Menu Skip to content
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • My books
  • Desert Island Books
    • My Top Ten Modern Fiction
    • My Top Ten Classic Fiction
    • My Top Ten Detective Fiction
  • Reviews
    • Interviews
  • 2016 Books
  • Two for Joy

Tag: Gardening

March 30, 2017 helenlouisechandler

Easter ‘break’

September 11, 2015September 25, 2015 helenlouisechandler

Summing up Summer

June 19, 2013June 19, 2013 helenlouisechandler

Cushion the blow

May 15, 2013 helenlouisechandler

The Virgin Gardener

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 helenlouisechandler

Spring?

Mumsnet Member

mumsnet

Search Helen’s site

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Instagram

#blackouttuesday
Privilege versus perfection. I used to be defensive about my privilege, feeling that the word implied that my life was as perfect as this cottage (see the tenuous link there), and if it wasn't then I wasn't privileged. I am trying to unlearn that, and understand that there are many types of privilege - gender, race, orientation, class, ability, to name a few - and that you can benefit enormously from one type, as I do, without possessing them all. White privilege confers on me all sorts of benefits I have never even had to think about - hence the privilege. I wasn't 5 times more likely to die in childbirth just because of my skin colour. My husband isn't 8 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police as he goes about his daily life just because of the colour of his skin. I am not raising my children to try and understand that they face a world of prejudice, violence and discrimination against them just because of the colour of their skin. I benefit from white privilege in thousands of ways every day, some tiny, some large. I am racist even when I don't intend to be because of this privilege, because of the system, because I benefit from the system without fighting against it l. I am sorry, and I know I need to do more, learn more, educate my children more, shy away from difficult conversations less. #blacklivesmatter #whiteprivilege #whiteprivilegeisreal #antiracism #useyourvoice
Playing lockdown bingo - we just rearranged half our furniture! Decided to put the dining table in the middle of the room instead of by the patio doors so it was easier to access the bikes stored in the side return. But our old round table didn't look right there, so we swapped it with this one which was in the garden office. Then we needed to move a toy storage Kallax out and upstairs to 5yo's room, which meant moving the sofa bed in there, and getting rid of a little chest of drawers. Then we decluttered the hall, and gave the ivy in the side return a massive haircut. If course we decided to start this at 5pm on a Sunday evening! However, it looks pretty good now, and will be much easier to get the bikes in and out, and a takeaway has just arrived! #lockdownlife #lockdownbingo #rearranging #housefaffing #creatingspace #ortryingto
We went to Italy today. My 5yo decided last night that she wanted to go on holiday (don't we all!), so this morning she patched her little case with swimming cossie and sunglasses, then we took a surprisingly turbulent flight on the sofa, and arrived in time for an al fresco bruschetta lunch. Not sure what the Italians would make of our gelato (Cornettos from the freezer), but my homemade pizza was on point for dinner. And out of the blue 5yo announced she wants to learn Italian, so homeschooling this week is going to be courtesy of the @duolingo app! #staycation #lockdown2020 #italiophile #learnitalian #being5 #homemadepizza
Today has been a mixture of pottering round the garden in the sunshine feeling reasonably content, but also battling with hideous PMT, exacerbated by all the sadness and anxiety and anger of the Covid situation, the political situation, the institutional racism situation...and the fact that I haven't had a break from 24/7 parenting for 10 weeks and am a bit knackered. #lockdown2020 #lockdownlife #pmt #pms #mygarden #wineoclock #tomorrowisanotherday
Sharing this post by @simon_goff1 because white people need to use our privilege to try and be allies and speak out in the face of this horrific injustice and systemic racism. #georgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #bethechange #standuptoracism

Twitter

  • RT @theJeremyVine: I only caught a few minutes of #Cummings presser. Can someone tell me if the government is still arguing that, if a pers… 1 week ago
Follow @HelenLChandler

Facebook

Facebook

Archives

2016 books advent Agatha Christie A Life More Ordinary anxiety autumn babies Back-to-School baking beach birthdays blogging Book launch books breastfeeding Cath Kidston cats Children Christmas cleaning community cooking Covid19 Facebook Family family time food Friends friendship Gardening Great British Bake Off half term happiness healthy eating Helen Chandler holiday holidays January Jennifer Weiner Katie Fforde kittens Lisa Jewell Liverpool London love marriage me-time mental health Miscarriage motherhood my year in books National Trust New Year NHS Nigella Oxford Parenting politics Pregnancy presents rain reading school shopping social media starting school summer summer holidays toddlers To Have and to Hold Two for Joy Walthamstow Waterstones Weather writing
Blog at WordPress.com.