Mother's Day!

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I thought I'd list a few, affordable gift ideas.

When buying a gift, you have to take into account what your mum (or grandma) likes and dislikes, for instance, my mum doesn't like lavender so I won't buy her any lavender scented soaps.

Cards

It's customary to buy cards for any occasion and Mother's Day is no different. The only thing is: what card do I buy?

This year, I've brought my mum a card with a dusty pink background with a darker pink dress adorned on the front. I'll be honest though, my sister chose it, not me. But the best thing about cards is that there are so many out there. Although, I will admit that I do find many of them repetitive and dull.

Flowers? 

There's no law saying that you HAVE to buy flowers for your mum on Mother's Day but I'm pretty sure that, as long as there is room for them, they're appreciated. Personally, I don't always buy my mum flowers but when I do, I buy a vase too so that she's not having to hunt one down, it just gives her less to do and more time to relax. 

if you do buy your mum/grandma flowers, make sure you ask if they're allergic to any kind of flowers so that you know what not to buy. When you have the flowers, be sure to slip one of those small cards in the bouquet, just a small message such as Mum, Thank you for being there. or Mum, you're the best. 

The Gift 

*gasps of horror*

Some people hate having to go out and find something for their mum on any day of the year, never mind Mother's Day. Admittedly, I'm one of those people. It's so hard. 

I know it's cliché to say, but my mum always say that she doesn't want anything, she just "wants to know that we love her" but for me, that isn't enough for such an important person in my life so I make sure to always buy her something along with flowers and a card.

This year, my siblings and I brought our mum a teddy holding a heart which says I love you Mum. Yes, I know it's cheesy and predictable but they always go down a treat, or so I've found. Along with the teddy, we've also got her a keyring with a bunny on...It's actually quite heavy. 

But you don't have to get you mum/grandma something so cheesy, here are a few ideas:

Sweets! They go down a treat if your mum has a sweet tooth...well unless she's a dentist... Personally, I don't buy my mum sweets because she isn't a big fan, no she is not a dentists, she just doesn't like sweets.

Chocolate! It's always a winner on Mother's Day...well if there are no chocolate monsters (AKA teenage girls or little kids) I do buy my mum chocolates and they always go down a treat. If you are going to buy your mum these, make sure that they're not the average off-the-shelf-of-a-supermarket-chocolates, get her something special...like Thorntons 

Jewellery! Personalised or not, your mum/grandma will love it! Whether it be a necklace, bracelet, earrings or a watch. With the watch, necklace and the bracelet, you can add an inscription to the front/back to make original and personal. The best thing is, they don't have to be expensive; I saw a necklace with Mum in the centre of a heart for under £20! 

Books! If your mum/grandma is a book lover like mine, it may be hard to find one that they haven't read. How about:

My Former Heart by Cressida ConnollyThe story of three generations of women: glamorous Iris whose heyday was in the Forties; her daughter Ruth, and Ruth’s two daughters, Isobel and Emily, who belong in the Eighties. Inspired by Connolly's experiences of raising three children, the novel is a powerful rejoinder to the infamous quote from her father, the critic Cyril Connolly: "There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall." It's best for strong women.

This is just one suggestion but there are loads out there! Like Call the Midwife for instance.

Ice cream! Okay, who doesn't love ice cream? Oh your mum...okay, I'll give you an idea in a bit. If you buy them ice cream a quick word of warning, DO NOT BUY SHOP'S OWN BRAND! This is because it will make you seem cheap and as if you brought it last minute...and make sure you buy something to go with it like a film.





A movie! Classic tear jerkers are great for Mother's Day but boys, run. As soon as you hand it her run; leave your sisters there with your mum to watch the film. It's for the best. How about Titanic, leave the females in your family to swoon over Leonardo DiCaprio while you go play on your Xbox or Play Station. Plus, it will keep her from pestering you about your dirty socks or getting a girlfriend. 

Actually, you know what? Any film with a remotely attractive actor in (apart from Tom Hiddleston - He's mine!" 

Free Gifts!

If you don't have much money, home-made gifts are just as appreciated as brought ones. If your creative with art, paint her something or make her a piece of jewellery. If you like writing, write her a poem, make it fancy with a boarder around it and in nice writing. 

So guys, these are just a few ideas about what to get your mum/grandma for Mother's Day, there are so  many more. I hope this helped though 

Summer 

xx

Interview: Clive Betts MP

I think it was last year that I interviewed Clive Betts MP for my school magazine with a friend of mine. However, we never actually got the interview in the magazine so I'm going to put it here.

Q. How can we, as a school, improve?

A. "You've already improved so much as a school from the last time I was where, you're in the tom 100 schools in the UK now, before you were in special measures. Attendance is up, exams scores are better and look at the new building and the refurbishments on this one! Overall, you've done well as a school...I'm not sure how you could improve more apart from sticking to whatever it is that you're all doing.

Q. What can we do about bullying? 

A. There are quite a few types of bullying, it all happens at every school, whether that be physical bullying, verbal bullying or on the internet. People need to learn, to do so, there needs to be a clear policy for them to follow.

Q. Tips on being an MP?

A. To be an MP, you need to be interested in current affairs and politics, you need to take notice of problems, not only in the UK, but all over the world. a desire to make things work is essential and to want to make a difference. First, to help know what is happening, read the newspaper, though, they do sometime exaggerate. When you have your qualifications, you need to join a political party, whichever one suits you best.

Q. What is the government doing with the money?

A. Taxes have been raised and the majority of it is being spent on the NHS and schools. This is because money is important for both of these. We do this to give children and young people the best quality of life but some do slip through the gaps I'm afraid.
The money is also going to poor countries, for clean water mostly. However, the money isn't always spent properly.

Q. Are we going to get another tax rise?

A. There will most likely be tax rises on cigarettes and alcohol but pubs are an important community asset so there won't be much of a tax rise on alcohol. There will be a larger tax rise on cigarettes due to them being extremely bad for the health and it will hopefully persuade smokers to cut down or even stop. To help with that, the packets will also be plain as to lower the appeal of buying a packet. Fuel, it's already ridiculously expensive, so should it be taxed further? 

Q. David Cameron or Nick Clegg?

 A. With the two leaders, so to speak, it's like a tennis match. One fires a question to the other and the other replies with a question, like the tennis ball.
When the two question each other, they answer a different question.

It's now that I notice, that Mr. Betts didn't exactly answer my last question...so it must be true, MP's don't answer the question you ask, they answer a different one. This must because either, they don't like the pressure or just don't like the question.

Please take into account that I got the answers from the notes that my headteacher took during the interview so the answers may not be completely correct.

After the interview, John (the other interviewer) and I were invited down to House of Commons by Clive Betts; he said we may have been able to interview other MP's too,  and we were actually organising it. However, it turned out to be too expensive on the train and it would take too long to get down to London by coach so we never got to go down.

Wingless Angel.

Wingless Angel is an original story by myself and can be found on the page 'Wingless Angel.' I will be posting chapter by chapter when they are ready.

Please, share with your friend - it would mean so much?

Summer
xx