Entries from July 2008

31 July, 2008

Baby power

Dot writes:
Aura and Jake and Claudie and Karel came over today. It was supposed to be a yoga mums meeting but it was just the three (six) of us. Never mind, we had a lovely time.
Jake: the power of cuteness

Karel: the power of intellect. (Hugh lurching towards the camera with food on his nose, and [...]

29 July, 2008

Literacy and teaching

Dot writes: freed by the heroic efforts of my husband to put our baby to bed, last night I indulged in an unfamiliar luxury: I watched some television. We didn’t have a television in the last flat. Anyway, I was very much interested by a programme on Channel 4 called Can’t Read, Can’t Write. It’s [...]

28 July, 2008

Positive thinking

Dot writes: I’ve just been to meet a very nice little three-month-old baby girl, whom I last saw as a bump. She was charming, making cute little noises and trying to roll over, and it was good to see her parents again, but I’ve come away feeling rather grubby because I was talking Hugh down. [...]

28 July, 2008

easy words, hard words, and literacy

Ken writes: The Observer has an article reporting claims that the English spelling system is so bad it actually holds people back.
English spelling reform is one of the things Dot and I enjoy discussing. She favours the status quo, which is why I like to find little articles like the above linked to subtly remind [...]

27 July, 2008

And now for something different

Dot writes: apart from my birthday post, we haven’t posted about anything but Hugh since 17th July, so, just in case our readers think we have wholly given up on the kind of sharp and relevant comment that originally drew them to Ken and Dot, can I just mention that I feel sorry for Gordon [...]

27 July, 2008

Dad power

Dot writes: it may have been subtly intimated before on this blog that Hugh, although clearly the world’s best baby in all the categories that really count, is not the greatest at sleeping. In fact we’d got to the point (by gradual degrees) where I had to go to bed with him every evening, and [...]

26 July, 2008

Still lactating

Dot writes: Hugh is over eight months old now, and jolly large (as recent pictures on this blog have illustrated); moreover, he has at least four teeth, two in each jaw and possibly another starting to come through in the top one; so we are getting to the stage when people ask not ‘are you [...]

23 July, 2008

The male line

Dot writes:
these pictures were taken on Sunday.
The direct male line of the Jorgensens – three firstborn sons:

Hugh’s first go on a swing. He approached it seriously and without frivolity.

23 July, 2008

Recent Hugh Photos

Ken writes (with additions by Dot):
Here are some recent photos of Hugh.

This one was taken in the room we stayed in while Dot went to the Leeds conference.

In the bath. Isn’t he beautiful?

On the deck of the ferry to Wales for Dot’s Leeds conference.

Here Hugh is playing on the living-room floor in our new flat.

23 July, 2008

Foolish Ken

Ken writes: I thought I’d give myself a DIY haircut this morning. It’s not difficult and it saves money. I’ve done it several times already. I have a pair of clippers and affix a no. 8 (one inch) attachment to it and buzz buzz buzz. Nothing simpler.
But it shouldn’t be attempted when you’re still feeling [...]