Banking on Tim Uncle

Slum dog millionaire thrust the street children of India into the hearts of millions but one man in Kolkata was already living the script. Banking on Tim Uncle tells the story of the real slum dogs whose lives have been transformed not by Hollywood but a city banker.

Disability is Other People

A new report by Leonard Cheshire Disability has shown 1 in 4 disabled people suffer discrimination when trying to use public services.

Run Around Twickenham Stadium for Charity

In 1988, Tim Grandage, a banker working in Calcutta, befriended a group of street children who looked after his car. They told him about their problems and needs. Tim did what he could to meet those needs, taking the children into his home.

But Tim met more and more children in need of his help and he soon left banking behind to care full time for Calcutta’s street and railway children.

Future Hope, run by Tim, is now a thriving school and home for over one hundred children. The school provides the children with an education and a real chance in life.

Most of the children brought to Future Hope have had to fight to survive and Tim helps them to adjust to school life through rugby. the boys compete in local and international tournaments, donning the colours of sponsors Harlequins. And now, with more and more girls coming to the school, they’re joining the boys on the field.

On June 5th Twickenham Stadium will be hosting a sponsored run for Future Hope – RUN FOR THEIR LIVES!

Get involved by clicking on the link below.

www.justgiving.com/Rachel-Mowbray

And if you need any further motivation to pull on your trainers for a round around the hallowed turf here’s a video of the children you’re running for

Blind Cords Strangling Children

Abi Mowbray

Children are dying because of unsafe blind cords.

On the fourth of February Harrison Joyce died when he caught his neck in a looped blind cord at his home in Staffordshire.

Just five days later 16-month-old Lillian Bagnall-Lambe died following a similiar accident.

Harrison’s Law

Now, the parents of three year old Harrison are calling for the government to take action.

The production of looped blind cords has been banned in the USA for over a decade following the deaths of hundreds of children in strangulation accidents.

Harrison’s law proposes that the UK follows suit and places a similar ban on the sale of dangerous blinds in the UK.

Accident Prevention

Speaking on the Harrison’s Law website, Roger Vincent, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), says:

“In an ideal world manufacturers wouldn’t produce blinds and curtains with looped cords. But even if that is addressed by the manufacturers there will be millions of these in homes.

“Our advice is that parents cut the loops on the cords and try to keep them out of the reach of children.”

Safety advisors recommend cutting the cords

Personal Experience

A looped blind cord makes a perfect rope for a child’s game and a perfect noose for an adult’s nightmare.

Strangulation is silent. Last year my two year old nephew hung from a blind cord while watching television in a room with his brothers.

But my nephew was one of the lucky ones. The paramedics got to him in time. Others have not and will not be so fortunate.

Blind Cord Safety Demonstration

Pill Cuts Cancer Risk

Abi Mowbray

Women who have taken the contraceptive pill live longer than those who haven’t.

That’s the conclusion of a study at Aberdeen University that looked at women who have been on earlier brands of the pill.

But is this all too good to be true?

Dangers Of Make-Up

Abi Mowbray

Bad news girls. That blusher you break out for special occasions could lead to you breaking out!

Most of us don’t hesitate to throw away out of date food but new research suggests that only 5% of women know that make-up also has a use by date that if ignored can lead to major skin problems.

Women in Cinema

Producer, Elizabeth Karlsen, talks about the success of female directors in the run up to tonight’s Oscars, at the Birds Eye View Film Festival in London.

If Kathryn Bigelow’s Hurtlocker beats box office smash, Avatar, she will be breaking new ground for women as the first to ever to take home the ‘Best Director’ award.

While Karlsen and the rest of the Birds Eye View team wait with baited breath for the imminent announcement, they are busy celebrating other undiscovered female creative talent throughout television and cinema in events held across London until March 12th.