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Jul 31 2012
This week, my guest is Simon Hay, soul healer, psychic, and medium. In an extraordinarily candid interview, Simon shares a great deal about his work, his background, his joys, his sorrows, and his thoughts on subjects that most of us don't discuss publicly. Sit back, cool peeps, and get to know this very interesting man.
Greetings, Simon. It is my extraordinary pleasure to have you as a guest today. You have offered to share some of the most personal details of your life with us. Few people are willing to share such intimacies. Why do you think you're so different?
Many of us maintain safe online personas; we temper our personalities to match our careers, or our audience. I prefer to be transparent. With my work I investigate and intuit my client's most personal thoughts and memories. I see images from the past and experience emotions that they've not shared with anyone else. Energy healing, for many, is an intimate experience. I believe, for people to trust me, it's respectful to let my guard down.
I'm also a private person, which may seem like a contradiction, I respect everyone's right to privacy, but I don't want to be so professionally polished that I'm not real. I protect my family, friends and clients, but I believe that the experiences I've had in my past have shaped me to be a healer now.
You are a full-time healer and medium. Tell us how you came upon this profession.
In 2000, after the death of my partner's father, my uncle and two mediums visited my home. During that visit four glowing human-shaped beings appeared in my lounge room. I felt peaceful and curious, so I attended the spiritual church run by the mediums.
Each service spiritual churches have guest mediums that speak about working with spirit and do readings for members of the congregation. The first four weekends I attended, the guest medium told me the same thing: "You should be up here doing readings."
Their messages encouraged me to attend a meditation evening for psychic development and to connect with spirit. The first time that I meditated I lost control of my body: my eyes were closed and I couldn't open them, a weight, like the feeling of a wet blanket, held me in place, I couldn't move my limbs, I felt nauseous, and it felt like something liquid-like was forcing it's way down my throat.
I popped out of my body and, standing and confused, I looked back at my seated body. Out of my body I was drawn to a light illuminating a tree. I walked towards the light and met my spirit guide, Gegu, a Buddhist monk and my twin brother in a past life. In an instant I knew who Gegu was, and the landscape he was standing in felt and looked real.
After this incident I meditated nightly and communicated with Gegu. He introduced me to healers from all cultures and periods of time, angels, indigenous elders, biblical figures, and then Jesus and his family arrived.
At this time, spirit and angels were physically materialising around me. Today, I see and communicate with angels, guides, Jesus and his family clearer and more directly than with spirit.
At the time I was a plumber, and, after watching a healing in the spiritual church, I volunteered to place my hands on someone. Heat flowed from my hands and the man I was touching fell asleep in his chair. I continued to heal, and lay drains, and often miraculous healings occurred. I don't like using the word miraculous, but it seemed that way.
In 2005, due to a chronic illness, I retired from plumbing. Conventional medicine didn't help me, so, with spirit's guidance, I healed myself. When I recovered I became a full time healer & medium.
I know that ghosts hang around for many reasons. Can you tell us what some of those reasons are? I'd love to hear about some of the most interesting ghosts you've met? (As if they're not ALL interesting! ☺)
The haunted house 😉 variety of ghosts are usually attached to a physical memory: a location, a vehicle, an item of furniture, an event. In some instances a period of time replays over and over and causes a poltergeist type experience.
Violent and sudden deaths – impact, gunshot, explosion – can also cause a spirit to hang around. Surprised and in shock, they simply miss the opportunity to go into the light.
Some spirits don't move on because of stubbornness or unfinished business. I advise everyone to sort out or let go off any uncomfortable emotion between family and friends.
Spirits need to return to the light, whatever the light is (?). I can tell you it's peaceful and spirits there are relaxed and happy. Also, all spirits are welcomed into the light, regardless of the nature of their deaths and lives.
A common visitor to my home is Mitch from Oregon. Mitch is a US Ranger and he brings spirits, who died in combat, to me to heal and pass into the light. He misses and visits his wife and daughter, but he can't go home until he's saved everyone. He brings combatants from both sides and civilians, and he breaks my heart with images of the daughter he never met.
Although he mostly observes, I enjoy visits from Pope John Paul. I wasn't raised with religious beliefs, and the Jesus I talk to in spirit is the man, not the Christ, so I was surprised when John Paul visited. He's curious about the real Jesus and is a warm intelligent energy to have breakfast with.
As a reporter and an ever-curious human being, I love opening my mind to possibilities. Do you run into a lot of skeptics? Or as the word is spelled in British English: sceptics. What would you like to say to them?
"Hi." 🙂 I like sceptics, and I get good results when I heal them, and this is the reason why: they're honest, "I'm a sceptic, and I think what you do is bullshit!" and they turn up.
I don't know why I have experiences with spirit, or how or why I'm able to heal, but I do have lots of interesting stories to share.
You didn't have ordinary parents. Can you tell us about them?
My father was a carpenter and then a school teacher, my mother was a housekeeper and then an alcoholic. She also spoke to ghosts. My father has told me that the first time he met her she was levitating a coffee table. She also did séances with friends and I joined in during my teens. She was a gifted trance medium and the scribe during the séance. Her posture and style of writing changed, mimicking the communicating spirit.
My parents separated when I was thirteen, it was inevitable. The wealth my father had accumulated was eroded when he was unable, due to an injury and botched surgery, to continue being a carpenter. My parents argued, and slept with other people, and it's that memory that shaped my future, the confronting and open sex, not the arguments.
The sins of my parents haunted me and, in hindsight, my relationships were doomed to failure. I found peace, healed, and broke the relationship patterns of generations of family.
You've told me that the mother of two of your daughters abused them and so protecting kids is especially important to you. Can you tell us more about this?
This was a difficult period in my life. The girl's mother was manipulative and predatory and the legal and social systems in place to protect children in Australia are inadequate, underfunded, poorly managed, and fail.
As a father and man I wondered how I didn't know. I felt guilty and angry for many years. Fathers are supposed to protect their children. For five years child protection services and the court system forced me to return my daughters to a pedophile.
We spent 200+k on legal fees over a five-year period to save my girls. It almost bankrupted me and contributed to my illness. No one was held accountable, the mother wasn't charged, and even though the girls came to live with me and had no further contact with their mother, no one was unscathed.
Pedophiles are protected in Australia and their victims have limited support. There is no justice in our courts, police and child services are powerless. This activates a vibration in consciousness, "it's okay to harm children." Something's wrong with that.
Governments spend trillions on war, and pennies on social issues. I agree with Michael Jackson, "children are our future."
You've shared with me that you were married once and in defacto relationships with three other women, and that you have a 26-year-old daughter and two teen daughters who don't speak to you. I'm sorry to hear that. Do you feel that emotional healing is a lot more difficult than physical healing? Are you optimistic about reconnecting with your daughters?
Emotional healing is difficult because the circumstances and the thoughts associated with the trauma – depression, anxiety, fear – replay over and over in our subconscious minds. Our energy fields vibrate at, we're broken, and it's this signal that attracts similar situations to us.
My parents separated, all my uncles and aunties separated, so an active vibration in my family is separation. Often, our environment creates our future (read Bruce Lipton's Biology of Belief). My stepmother's nephew died drunk in a single vehicle car accident one metre from where his dad died drunk in a single vehicle car accident. The nephew is vibrating at, I will die drunk in a vehicle accident, and in this case is magnetised to the location.
Healing is the bravest journey we can embark on. Essentially, we have to understand ourselves intimately – I call this process seeing the lies. Belief, "I'm happy." Vibration and subconscious programming, "I hate myself." – and then reinvent ourselves. It's like being reborn while we're still living. Mastering our mind is a beneficial practise for living a joyful and healthy life.
I'm hopeful that I can reconnect with my daughters, but I believe I'll never have a relationship with my eldest. We tried, but some things need to be left alone. My teen daughters are hurt that I separated with their stepmother, the only mother they care to have in their lives. I have to take responsibility for that, love them from a distant and allow them to heal.
Interestingly, I have two daughters born on the same date to different mothers. Both have been abused and both now don't communicate to me. I see and heal these patterns with clients, and I hope I can prevent this from reoccurring in future generations.
You have raised stepchildren. What have you found most challenging and difficult about doing so?
Not imposing my will and lifestyle into the home. Change has to happen without disruption. The souls of all children love their father's and whether father's are violent or kind, children will feel abandoned and miss them when they leave.
I believe, stepparents, driven by insecurity, often try too hard to be accepted. Love and respect grows over time. Patience ;). As an adult it's confronting to realise that, like children, we long to be loved. Love is a feeling and state of being we all seek.
I know it is painful for you to be a weekend/single dad. Please, tell us more about your feelings on this. What would you suggest to other men in the same situation?
Keep busy! I've spoken to a lot of single dads and most want to spend time with their children. It's a difficult subject to address because many of us are wounded by divorce and stay in the energy of blame or victim. Relax, and stay out of the fight.
It's not worth spending time with your children if you're arguing with your ex. All that tension affects the children. For me, it was the lack of control over my life and time with my children that frustrated me. Children should never have to suffer physical or emotional harm. Fathers, make peace with yourself first, then the past, and then enjoy every minute with your children.
You have views on sexuality that might shock a lot of people. I'll let you take it from here.
We focus too much on sexuality rather than love. Gender and sexuality have become interconnected and, I believe, the phobias around sexuality have been created by belief systems.
I have a lot of gay clients, and I'd like to drop the gay label. How about, beautiful people come to see me. With the first woman that I saw, as my hand floated across her hips I felt – my hand was 2cm above her – male genitals. I was surprised and moved my hand backwards and forwards: male genitals, female genitals … I concurred that this was spirit's way of telling me she was gay, which was perception, and I realised I was stereotyping my client, "You're gay."
In actual fact her energy field was perfectly balanced, equal parts male and female energy. My partner has a masculine feel in her energy field, but she's happy being hetrosexual. Does that mean I'm attracted to male energy? I'm comfortable if that's the case, and at ease with the idea of sleeping with a man. I haven't, and he'd be the one in a million man, or Jason Bourne, but that admission shouldn't be judged and it shouldn't sway me to act on that knowledge. I choose not to because I have a partner, family and a best friend who love me. I know myself, and love is love.
What's out of balance is society's perception and judgement. The weight of guilt and fear in my gay client's energy fields concerns me, and it's something we're all responsible for. How'd we get so hung up on sexual preference, practices and regularity? There's an association with relationships and marriage, and the whirlpool of emotions that stirs up, but, looking at the track record of longevity and happiness in relationships, something's wrong there.
Sexuality is an environment influenced and lifestyle choice, which is a human consciousness created state of living and not a state of being. Something to ponder :).
I'm forever being called picky but I maintain we're all picky creatures. What are you picky about?
The shoe rack! It drives me crazy when shoes are left on the floor in front of the rack. Actually, I have a list! How much time do we have?
I'm self-critical, I want to be the best at everything I do, but with healing and my work with spirit, there are few certainties, and it's probable that they're only experiences and not fact. I have to surrender control of my mind and body to forces that I know almost nothing about, which is liberating and terrifying.
Also, young dudes, pull your damn pants up!
I know that you do healing and mediumship events. How can people learn more about all that you do and contact you for an event? Do you do events all over the world?
Visit my website and blog :). I've been to the US and Canada, and I travel interstate here in Australia. If I had a host I'd travel anywhere. Contact me if you're interested.
Where else can people find you in cyberspace?
I'm on Facebook and Twitter. Connect and say hi :).
Any parting words for the masses?
I love you :).
Molly, thanks for having me ;). Nice shoes! Have you changed your hair?
18 Responses to "MEET SIMON HAY"
# Darlene Ardenon 31 Jul 2012 at 8:33 pm
Another fascinating interview! Brava, Molly!
# Stuart Ross McCallumon 31 Jul 2012 at 8:55 pm
Hello Molly & Simon:
In all honesty when I first got word that your next guest would be, Simon Hay, I knew it would be an engaging and fascinating interview. However, this is well and truly beyond my greatest expectation.
Thank you Simon for sharing highly personal information with Molly's readers. I firmly believe by freely speaking out about the good and bad happenings in our lives creates a better understanding and awareness for all.
Your strength of character shone throughout this interview, Simon, and I wish you the very best both personally and professionally.
Thank you both,
Ross 🙂
# Maria Savvaon 01 Aug 2012 at 2:16 am
Great interview, Molly and Simon. It was interesting to learn more about you, Simon. Intriguing to know that some ghosts hang around because they are attached to a certain piece of furniture LOL. I used to live in a haunted house… so all that ghostly stuff fascinates me. I've also had a few 'psychic' episodes, but have never really tried to develop any of that side of myself. I do find these topics fascinating though. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
# Sammy Suttonon 01 Aug 2012 at 2:54 am
Congratulations this is a fabulous interview. I am so impressed by your candidness and honesty. Hats-Off to you Simon Hay for exploring the possibilities of whole healing, and making a real difference. Sharing the realities of your life and the journey you have taken is very inspiring.
Best of Luck!
# Joy Katzen-Guthrieon 01 Aug 2012 at 3:58 am
Fascinating interview … I really enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your insightful responses, Simon, and to Molly for asking so many thoughtful questions about this field.
# Maureen Waltonon 01 Aug 2012 at 4:44 am
Thanks for being so candid. I admire your honesty.
# Paula Paquetteon 01 Aug 2012 at 5:15 am
Hello there. I really enjoyed your interview, Molly. I've decided I Like Simon and I had never heard of him. Now I feel as if I Know him! Thanks for the insight.
# Charles Rothon 01 Aug 2012 at 1:10 pm
This was a fascinating, enlightening, and very down-to-earth interview. I learned a lot from what Simon had to say. I imagine that a lot of people got some "clearing", as I would put it, from the information he expressed in this interview. – And, Molly, I thing you did a superb job of interviewing Simon Hay. Your questions were well directed, and Simon's responses were illuminating. THAN YOU for this excellent interview. :o)
# Sheri Wilkinsonon 01 Aug 2012 at 4:05 pm
Very interesting interview. Simon I find your world so intriguing, and would love to meet you in person some day. Great interview Molly!
Darlene, hello & thanks for commenting.
Ross, thank you! Honesty and trust build communities and sharing openly allows others to let go of the past and heal. I'm blessed to know you, and you are a true gentleman. Let's meet up soon.
Maria, thanks for commenting. I lived in a haunted house when I was 11 years old, but I don't recall seeing a ghost. Boxes of household goods were tossed around nightly. It's fascinating what you get used to.
Sammy, thank you!
Joy, thank you!
Maureen, thank you!
Paula, thanks for liking Simon 😉
Charles, thank you & yes, Molly asked wonderful questions.
Sheri, hi & yes, let's meet one day. I'll be around, flying angel airlines 🙂
# Donna Fulleron 02 Aug 2012 at 1:00 pm
What amazing insight into an amazing man. Thanks so much Simon. Your ability to love so profoundly is even more special when looked at in context with the difficulites of your lifestory. The probability is factual rather than experience in my humble opinion. Thankyou Molly for asking the questions that give so much more than the answer.
Hi Donna 🙂 Thanks for visiting & commenting. Thanks for trusting me with your beautiful family. It was a blessing spending time with you all. Much love.
# Dean from Australiaon 09 Aug 2012 at 11:09 pm
Incredibly brave, courageous and compelling interview which I've read and re-read a few times this past week. Simon, you seem to have evolved more than any of us will in our life time both spiritually and psychologically. I think that in order for one to be a medium and healer of such skill, requires an intricate balance between those two things.
I find it fascinating.
Dean, thank you! If evolution is putting one foot in front of the other and not giving up, then I agree. My farming background instilled in me the tenacity to make quick decisions, wrong or right, that gave me the confidence to always move forward. I do feel tough 😉 after so many emotional life experiences. It's also fascinating to me. I'm blessed to have a career that I love and I enjoy amazing experiences with spirits. It's humbling :). Take care, my friend.
# Sexual Psychicon 13 Aug 2012 at 1:56 pm
Okay, I'm love. 🙂
It's not common that the sensitives among us have such a sudden and dramatic awakening to their abilities — at least I didn't. I can only imagine how disorienting AND amazing that must have been for you.
Dr. Murray Bowen's writing speaks of multi-generational transmission of illnesses and family patterns. It's important work. But no one in the Bowen network has explained how behavioral patterns get passed on despite the sender having no contact with the receiver, and living in different times.
I think it's up to those of us in the metaphysical communities to fill in those gaps.
I saw Bruce Lipton give a presentation about a decade ago. I hope his concept that the environment influences cell membranes will be accepted science some generations from now. Just what constitutes that environment — vibrations or viruses, chi or chance encounters — might take longer to attract open-minded inquiry.
As for the shoes, well, don't come to my house!
Thanks for your work.
– Sallie
Hi Sallie 🙂 I think the vibrational patterns of illness are ever present in the field & become active with physical & emotional interaction. As soon as 2 people are in close proximity, potentially, a new life is forming before sexual interaction. One vibration recognises the other & creates potential futures. Take a child from a family with generations of abusive patterns & place it in a loving environment & the abusive vibration is neutralised but still present. It's looking for a 'host'. The child or adult comes into contact with violence & the abuse vibration becomes active. The outcome can go either way now. Topple into a cycle of abuse/abandonment like situations or stay in love. Is that right? I think it's close to being accurate but not provable. It's all a mystery & I like to keep it simple. Love you 🙂
# Sexual Psychicon 13 Aug 2012 at 8:55 pm
That is similar to what I heard some incest survivors postulate in the early 90s. I think the idea didn't catch on in part out of desire to avoid anything that looks like victim-blaming.
The idea was that once abused, a child has a frequency matching a particular kind of abuse. Abusers subconsciously recognize it and gravitate toward the abused. I think it is a feasible explanation for why once abused, a person is not uncommonly abused repeatedly, even when removed from the original people and environment.
Personally, I learned rather late (never too late eh?) in my 30s to avoid potential lovers with a certain pleasurable charge. I now stay away if I feel an immediate strong attraction to a man, and together we generate this particular kind of "charge," or buzz, or …. we just don't have the vocabulary for it, do we.
They were usually "bad boys," with whom I might have great sex, but the subsequent misery wouldn't be worth it! 🙂
I think your ideas above make perfect sense. I also suspect there is more to mysterious multi-generational patterns…it's a great topic for metaphysical study.
Lovin' you too, and our dialogue.
# Sarahon 17 Jun 2018 at 10:06 pm
Hi i would never want to be negative or speak badly about anyone i just feel i need to say this. I have seen many psychics over the years some not so good and others great. I went to see simon as i read the reviews (which are only on his website) and was so excited. I have never felt so uncomfortable. I felt like he was so vague and just trying to guess anything to be correct. I was there for 2 hrs and i dont believe he got anything right. It just went on and on where i had to keep saying no this isnt correct. Then i left and had to hand over $150. It actually made me feel for the first time ever that he is a fake. A complete fake but im thinking how does he travel all over the world. I just wanted to say something incase other people have felt like this. Ive searched every where to find non bias reviews but all i can find is whats on his website. Im sorry simon i dont mean to be horrible at all this is just how i feel and ive had psychics ive walked away from feeling like they wernt great and never felt like they were completely deceiving people. I could be wrong you could have just not got anything close to correct with me


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Not too long ago, I found myself falling into a rut; a bit of my creativity around cooking had faded, and I found myself getting bored with cooking. This happens from time to time, and it's not altogether a bad thing, especially since it often leads to some fun experimentation on my part. Most of the time these little experiments turn out pretty nifty. Tonight was one of them.
I had picked up some pepper bacon, and I almost always have a chicken breast in the freezer; it's one of the most versatile meats out there... you can really do almost anything with it. Today I decided to combine the two to see what would happen. I wrapped the chicken in two slices of bacon and held the bacon in place with a couple of toothpicks. After that, the delicious little package was introduced to my grill.
The side was equally fun and experimental. I cut a red pepper in half, roasted it on the grill, then stuffed it with some steamed cauliflower. Once ready, both the meat and veggies got a little kiss of cheese sauce.
Between the bacon, the cheese, and the cream in the cheese sauce, it's probably pretty close to a heart attack on a plate, but it was all sorts of tasty. The spicy sweetness of the pepper complimented the earthiness of the cauliflower nicely, and the pepper-bacon and chicken made for a nice pairing as well. The creamy sharp cheddar cheese sauce added just the right finish to the whole thing. Definitely one for the books.

subset: commoncrawl


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Do you think pirating music and movies should be illegal? Why or why not? ॐ
August 2017 – May 2016 – July 2015 –
ॐ Collectively Conscious ॐ is a community-powered, community-verified, alternative news/multimedia aggregation service for global citizens.
We are a community of artists and musicians, activists and healers, practitioners and seekers dedicated to contributing everything we possibly can to the massive shift in consciousness that is presently taking place on planet Earth. Our main focus is to raise awareness in regards to certain psychological, sociological and spiritual truths we have come to realize, ones we have experienced for ourselves throughout our personal lives and practice, but also to share what we... [Read More]


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Cecilie Giskemo
Cecilie started her vocal training at the age of ten, joining local choirs and attending private singing lessons at community music schools in Norway. Throughout her teenage years she took private singing lessons, which introduced her to classical, jazz, folk and pop music. In 2000 she started a BA (Hons.) in Jazz Studies at Leeds College of Music, Leeds, U.K. During the three-year course her main focus became performance and compositional styles within jazz and improvised music.
In the autumn of 2000 Cecilie came up with the concept of Expazz and recruited pianist Rob Barron, double bassist, Matt Deegan and drummer Henrik Salvesen. By March 2002 Expazz had recorded twice producing a demo and the CD Hermetic Words, and played that year at various venues in Leeds and at Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway.
In 2004 the project changed name to Periwinkle and Cecilie and Rob recruited a new drummer (Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud) and double bassist (Audun Ellingsen). This ongoing project has been touring and playing at different venues in Norway and the UK.
In 2002 she started working on a trio project named Pulque with guitarist Rune Mandelid and double bassist Audun Ellingsen, experimenting with the use of electronics and focusing more on original compositions. The trio played at Molde Jazz Festival in the summer of that year.
During 2003 she co-founded an a cappella vocal quartet Rřyst with three other Norwegian and English jazz vocalists Maria Jardardottir, Kari Nergaard Bleivik and Anna Stott. This ongoing project performs mainly original music written and arranged by the four vocalists, and conceptually works within jazz, Norwegian folk, experimental and contemporary music genres. Rřyst has performed at different venues in Leeds, completed several tours of the USA, England, Mexico, Zimbabwe and Norway and released their first recording, Nordic Initiative in spring 2005.
In October 2005, Cecilie completed her Master (MMus) in Contemporary Music at Dartington College of Arts, Devon, England, where she was exploring different approaches to musical performance through installation and multimedia performance-styles. The resulting project Lonesome George and InsideOut is a still on going project involving guitar player Rune Mandelid and clarinet player Saffron Beagley.
Throughout 2006 to 2008, Cecilie focused on her two main projects Rřyst and Periwinkle, as well as her Oslo -Norway based freelance career as a jazz vocalist. This resulted in three main tours to England, Mexico and Norway and a collaboration project with Rřyst and UK saxophonist Iain Ballamy and Norwegian drummer Thomas Strřnen.
In 2009, Cecilie moved to Zimbabwe on an exchange project, working as a music teacher at the jazz degree programme at the Zimbabwe College of Music. Throughout 2009 and 2010 she has been involved in several Zimbabwe based projects, working with fusing traditional Zimbabwean music with Western genres as well as working with poetry and dance. This has resulted in several collaboration projects: Unsound, Cecilie Giskemo Quartet, Dikson and Andrew Mamvura, as well as the current main project: WoCalling, that featured on Harare International Festival of the Arts 2010.
E-post: email@example.com
Flere lenker:
www.myspace.com/wocalling - WoCalling Project
www.myspace.com/roystmusic - Rřyst vocal quartet
www.sonicslamchorus.com - Music and Poetry project


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With the nation's jobless rate remaining unchanged at 7 percent last month, today's lesson on the economy sounds almost like a Bill Clinton speech: The great American job machine is stuck in neutral.
Illinois fits this description. The state's unemployment rate fell from 8.4 percent in March to 8.1 percent in April, a figure slightly higher than it was a year ago at the same time, giving Illinois the nation's third-highest unemployment rate.


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Sssh! Don't mention the 'P' word. But politics won't take the hint
Wiltshire Council's closure in July 2016 of Marlborough's Sure Start Children's Centre was not on the agenda for Monday's meeting of the full Town Council. The closure is due to be nodded through by Wiltshire's cabinet later today (December 15) - though marked as a 'Key Policy' it is not going before the full council.
When Sylvia Card stood up at Public Question Time at the start of the meeting to ask about the closure, she was told by the Town Mayor, Councillor Margaret Rose: "I'd rather you did not make a political platform. I don't want your party mentioned."
For avoidance of doubt Ms Card is Vice Chairman of the Devizes Constituency Labour Party and lives in Marlborough. She wanted to know what steps the two town councillors who also sit on Wiltshire Council (Councillors Dobson and Fogg) and the other town councillors, had taken to prevent the Centre's closure.
Councillor Fogg (who sits as an Independent on Wiltshire Council) while having sympathy for the plight of the Centre said: "If no one communicates, it is difficult to respond. Unless one is briefed, I don't think we can be expected to do very much without that briefing."
Councillor Stewart Dobson said he had spoken to Laura Mayes, the cabinet member in charge of the policy. She believed the surviving Pewsey centre would "deal with the problem." She would also be sending council officers to "places like Aldbourne": "She felt very confident that by sending officers they would provide services."
There was then an intervention from the floor by Marlborough's Team Rector, the Rev Canon Andrew Studdert-Kennedy: "The town council should be able to discover what is happening in the town - should it not be the responsibility of this body to know what is going on."
Councillor Dobson said the matter had been raised at Council six weeks ago: "Councillors were aware." Councillor Marian Hannaford Dobson added: "I am sorry we weren't able to do more."
Later councillors reached item ten on the agenda which would set the town's council tax level - the precept - for the next financial year.
The increase had been fixed at 4.34 per cent. But a late addition to the budget of £3,000 against further costs incurred when services are passed down to the town council by Wiltshire Council, put the increase up to 4.96 per cent.
For a Band D council tax-payer this will mean an annual payment of £156. Over the year that is an increase of £7.40 on the town's current council tax - or an extra 61 pence a month. But before those figures were agreed there was what one might call a political debate.
Councillor Stewart Dobson (who sits as a Conservative member of Wiltshire Council) expressed disappointment at the rise: "Should we not be doing what we can to reduce the budget. How can we cut back? I think we can trim things down."
Councillor Guy Loosmore took a very different line: "I don't think we should take the example of Wiltshire Council's cut and cut with their crumbling services down to almost nothing. We cannot be like Wiltshire Council."
"They're dismantling their whole structure and often passing it down with no money coming with it. We're under constant pressure from above to do more for less."
Which parts of all that was politics with a small 'p' or with a great big party 'P' is up to readers to decide.
When some criticism was made of the budget line for the Mayor-making ceremony, the chairman of the Finance and Policy Committee, Councillor Andy Ross made the point: "We're talking about a budget here - not expenditure. We're not asking people to spend it."
The new precept was passed. It remains to be seen whether Wiltshire Council will take advantage of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's permission to raise their council tax by up to two per cent to pay for more social care. And that really will be 'political'.


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SHELF LIFE FIT's Special Collections unit in the Gladys Marcus Library gets a $4 million upgrade
FIT's Special Collections and College Archives, a unit of the Gladys Marcus Library, has a brand-new home. Karen Trivette, head of the unit, says the roughly $4 million renovation and expansion—from 3,500 to 6,100 square feet—is a "phenomenal demonstration of respect for the intrinsic, informational, and historic value of the materials." Visitors now pass through a welcoming entryway with climate-controlled, LED-lit display cases and into a wood-accented reading room with improved lighting and space for approximately 40 visitors, twice its previous capacity. The unit hosts symposia for archivists, so the facility is outfitted for multimedia presentations. "Everything is state of the art," Trivette says. Climate-controlled storage with sliding steel shelves accommodates 20 percent more materials. With additional staff, the collection is now operating seven days and three nights a week. The new space will open in April.
Trivette says the collection competes in importance with comparable archives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Treasures include original fashion sketches and illustrations, rare and fragile photographs, and periodicals, many dating from before the Civil War. The J.B. Martin papers comprise 15,000 textile/surface designs from the venerable velvet manufacturer. (The Museum at FIT houses some of the corresponding fabrics.) Recent acquisitions include designer Marc Bohan's sketches for Dior, purchased with a $30,000 grant from the Buddy Taub Foundation. Legendary publicist Eleanor Lambert (1903-2003) donated her papers, as did Ruth Finley, age 91, founder of the influential Fashion Calendar.
This fertile ground for researchers has already borne fruit. In 2015, April Calahan, Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice '09, Special Collections associate, published a book drawn entirely from materials in the collection.
Trivette says the renovation, funded by federal, state, and city resources, raises the college profile in the scholarly community: "I see this as a step toward realizing FIT's strategic goal of becoming known for research and innovation." Just as important, the project makes a vital resource more available for the joy of intellectual epiphany. "Through this access," she says, "we're providing endless points of discovery."
Featured Photo: Trivette, head of Special Collections and FIT Archives, in the climate-controlled area that will house textile/surface designs from woven-velvet manufacturer J.B. Martin, among other materials. (Credit: Joe Carrotta, Photography '16.)


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Cat Boarding
Cats In The City Cattery
Our cattery has been established for over 12 years and is a favourite with many of our clients. Its success is attributed to the safe and caring environment we provide for feline visitors and the peace of mind we provide to cat owners when they are away from home. Each one of our veterinary practices has dedicated cat boarding facilities with extra capacity available during peak periods.
At AdelaideVet Trinity Gardens we have three large cat runs available throughout the year. During peak times such as school holidays, long weekends and from December to January we can also accommodate a further 14 cats. AdelaideVet Prospect can accommodate 30 cats at any time throughout the year. AdelaideVet Stirling can accommodate 12 cats, and at AdelaideVet Goodwood Road we have capacity for 18 cats.
Enquire today or make a booking!
See our newly revamped AdelaideVet Goodwood Road Cattery - see images.
Why you should board your friends with us
A comfortable home away from home... Bedding, litter trays, cat bowls and food are provided in a friendly and safe environment. You may bring your cat's favourite bedding and toys. It is a great idea to label all items and we request that you only bring the essentials!
Continued high quality of care... If your cat is on medication we will continue treatment as instructed. Make sure you bring your cat's medication with you when you drop him/her off.
Feeding twice a day... we feed all cats morning and night as per your instructions.
Premium cat food... cats are fed both dry food and tinned food. If your pet is on a prescription diet or food or has special dietary needs, please bring their food with you on admission.
Peace of mind... if your cat falls ill whilst you are away, you have complete peace of mind that he/she will receive the best care throughout their stay. Our healthcare team including qualified veterinary nurses and veterinarians are always nearby and on hand to help.
Just like they are our own... our cattery carers are passionate about felines. You can be assured your friend will receive plenty of attention and cuddles during their stay with us.
9 point Boarding Health Examination ...We are passionate about feline health care and helping our friends live long and healthy lives (all nine of them!). All cats who board with us receive a complimentary 9 point Boarding Health Examination during their stay. When you come to collect your cat, our receptionist or cattery carer will provide you with a checklist detailing the findings of the examination.
Whilst providing a home away from home when you cannot care for your cat, we also provide cleaning, feeding, cuddling and veterinary attention if necessary. Enjoy your time away whilst knowing your cat is in our excellent care.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tour our cattery facilities?
We are very proud of our clinics and our boarding facilities. We openly welcome you to tour our facilities at your convenience. Simply contact us to arrange a suitable time.
Is the cattery air-conditioned?
Our cattery facilities are air-conditioned and every cattery suite at our Prospect Cattery features individual air ventilation ducts to provide a completely odour free environment. For your cat's complete comfort the suites also feature a separate kitty litter room.
Do dogs have access to the cattery area?
Our cattery facilities are completely canine free. At Adelaide Animal Hospital our cattery rooms are feline only. Our cattery facilities at Prospect and Goodwood are complete purpose built facilities for cats only, with the Prospect Cattery located in a separate building. Our cattery facilities at Trinity Gardens and Stirling are fully secured and also offer large family runs for multiple pets to board together.
What are your boarding fees?
If your vaccinated cat did not receive their vaccination at an AdelaideVet, the cost for a single cat boarding is $29.10 per day. For multiple cats belonging to the same family, the cost is $26.21 per day for the second and other cats.
If your cat is a VIP Client (i.e. they have been vaccinated at an AdelaideVet), the cost for a single cat boarding is $26.36 per day. For multiple cats belonging to the same family, the cost is $23.80 per day for the second and other cats.
When your cat stays with us for 21 consecutive nights, you will receive the 21st night free. You will then be eligible to receive a significantly discounted boarding rate for every week of boarding thereafter.
If your cat is on medication, a surcharge may apply. This will be discussed when your booking has been confirmed. Due to high demand during the Easter and Christmas holiday periods, a $50 deposit is required to secure your booking. Please contact us for more information.
Our prices include food, cat litter and bedding.
VIP Cat boarding
If you have your cat vaccinated at any of our hospitals you automatically become a VIP member. VIP members receive a discounted boarding fee.
Total Wellness Plan Members
If your cat is a member of our Total Wellness Plan, you are entitled to an additional 5% discount on the already discounted VIP boarding rates!
Is there anything you need to do before your cat comes to visit?
To ensure the wellbeing of all cats, vaccinations must be current. If your cat has not been vaccinated by one of our practices, we must sight proof of vaccination before boarding your feline companion. As a general rule, cats should be fully vaccinated at least 10-14 days prior to their stay with us. For the comfort and protection of others, we also request that your cat is up to date with flea and worm prevention.
What are the check-in and check-out times?
You can check your cat in and out on any day of the week if your cat is boarding at our Trinity Gardens facility. At our Prospect, Stirling and Goodwood facilities, check in and out is available between Monday and Saturday.
What should you bring with you when you check-in your cat?
Things to bring on check-in:
- Your cat/s in their favourite carry cage
- Current vaccination certificate, not necessary if your cat has been vaccinated with us
- Medications
- Special dietary requirements
- Any belongings clearly labelled, although it is not necessary to bring beds, scratch posts and toys as we have plenty available
- Medical history
- Any behavioural traits your cat may possess so we know what is normal
- Medication and medication instructions
- Contact details including a contact phone number while you are away
- Reconfirm check-out date and time
Please note - It is a requirement that your cat is desexed in order to use these facilities.
To secure a suite for your cat, bookings are essential. During peak periods we recommend booking well in advance to avoid disappointment.
To book your cat/s at one of our cattery facilities, please use the Cattery Booking Booking Form. Alternatively, you can call your local practice to check availability and make a booking.
AdelaideVet Trinity Gardens 8169 9777
AdelaideVet Prospect 8169 9733
AdelaideVet Goodwood Road 8169 9755
AdelaideVet Stirling 8169 9766
VIP Cat boarding
If you have your cat vaccinated at any of our hospitals you automatically become a VIP member. VIP members receive a discounted boarding fee.


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Sixty years ago the Thames Estuary was regarded as "biologically dead" and largely devoid of wildlife.
But, in recent years seals have returned to the Thames as well as to the coastal and low-lying lands bordering the estuary.
Last year, scientists recorded more than 3,500 harbour and grey seals.
Now, they are starting the first count of seal pups to see how important the area is a breeding ground.
"These seals are higher predators in the estuary," says Thea Cox, conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London.
"Knowing how many there are is a really good indicator of the health of the estuary, what habitat is available to them, what food source is available to them."
Just a short boat ride from Ramsgate, we come across a colony of seals basking on a sandbank.
Some lie on the spits of sand lazily waving their flippers, while others swim towards our boat, showing off their diving skills.
"To understand particularly how many pups they are having will tell us about the reproductive potential of the population," says Thea Cox.
"It will add to the existing baseline that we have from five years of population surveys - a really good piece of new information that we will be gathering this year."
She studies the seals with binoculars, pointing out the two species of seal resident on this river. Most are harbour seals (also known as the common seal), while a few are grey seals, which are larger and have a longer, flatter nose.
Some of the harbour seals are about to give birth. ZSL biologists will be searching for new arrivals from land, air and sea over four days from Sunday.
The survey is taking place across the Greater Thames Estuary, which includes parts of the Kent and Essex coasts.
Why this story matters
Seals have been gradually returning to the UK coastline since seal hunting was banned in the early 1970s.
Numbers have risen in the Greater Thames Estuary and off the east coast of England.
But there are a number of emerging threats, including plastic pollution and competition between seals for food and habitat.
And an outbreak of a virus in 2002 led to the loss of nearly a quarter of harbour seals off the east coast of England.
"We've seen numbers increase, which is brilliant news, but that's not to say they still aren't subject to threats," says Thea Cox.
"Those could be from major construction projects in the estuary, dredging projects and general disturbance from human use of the estuary."
Our boat's skipper, Stuart Barnes, has been spotting marine wildlife for a decade. He saw pups near here for the first time last year, suggesting this could be an important breeding site.
"It proves that the environment is actually getting cleaner," he says.
"It's good to see that the waterways are actually nice for them. Once upon a time, with several industries around then, the seal population did die off; that's due to distemper as well as general pollution in the rivers."
By Helen Briggs. BBC News Science & Environment
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Home stagers often get frustrated in their home staging marketing efforts to real estate agents. An Ottawa home stager summed up many of our frustrations with this comment on Facebook:
"Answer me this….why are real estate agents so cheap they don't care about VALUE & RESULTS they only care about the cost?!"
The shortest answer to her question is that most real estate agents are making very little money right now and they're not willing to spend any more than is absolutely necessary on a listing, especially when they don't know if the house will sell at all.
Real estate agents aren't employees with guaranteed pay checks.
Home stagers have almost no ongoing expenses to keep their businesses running and we get paid when we provide our services when we follow the Staging Diva formula for starting and growing a home staging business.
Unlike us, real estate agents have considerable ongoing expenses with no money coming in until a deal closes. Without this positive cash flow, really why would they want to spend money on your home staging services when they won't get it back for many months, if at all?
This is one of the MANY reasons I advise against putting all your marketing efforts towards real estate agents which is a common mistake made by home stagers who haven't listened to Course 4 of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.
That said, real estate agents are one of our 4 key target markets. They can help build awareness for the importance of home staging in general and for a preferred home stager's services in particular.
To better your chances that a real estate agent will recommend your home staging business over your competition, here are 5 secrets real estate agents need to hear from you:
1. Home staging will make it easier for you to market and sell your listings because your MLS photos will be 100% more enticing, and once visiting a property, home buyers are more likely to make an offer on a home that shows well.
2. With 70% (US) to 90% (Canada) of home buyers searching online before ever calling a real estate agent, you will attract more leads with better photos, not only for the staged listing but from active buyers who will want you to show them other properties too.
3. Home stagers can address problems head on and tell your clients the things you don't want to say for fear of losing your listing. With so many people selling a home due to divorce, a home stager is an independent third party who will save you from having to get in between the different opinions of each spouse.
4. Home staging is a service you can recommend to your clients as a faster way to sell their home for more money, but it's not a service you personally have to pay for.
5. Your clients don't want to hear you recommend a $10,000, $20,000 or $50,000 price reduction because that's money right out of their pockets. Home staging services can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a consultation up to several thousand dollars to fully furnish a large or very high-end home. In every case, the cost to your client will be significantly less than the price reduction. This makes for a much easier conversation with your clients and keeps you on the "same team."
These are only some of the many marketing ideas, strategies and tips I share in Course 4 of the Staging Diva Program, "Staging Diva Sales & Marketing Secrets to Boost your Home Staging Business." In this home staging course, I also share how to build your home staging business without spending any money on advertising while attracting home sellers who are prepared to really invest in staging their homes for the real estate market.
Home stagers, have you found any other phrases particularly helpful when explaining the benefits of what you do to real estate agents? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Debra Gould has been an entrepreneur since 1989 and knows how to make money as a home stager. She developed the Staging Diva Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love. There are now more than 7,000 students in over 20 countries learning from her many products and services for home stagers.


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Back in the mid 1970's, Laura Ashley came to Adelaide. This little shop first opened in a now defunct city arcade and was a treasure trove of white cotton lace dresses and pretty floral fabrics. I loved visiting this shop and I'm pretty sure I touched every bolt of fabric as it sat propped on its shelf with it wonderful assortment of coordinating prints, stripes and florals.
As a teenager I began visiting the city by myself. I would always pop in and marvel at the prettiness of everything in this shop but with price tags way beyond my meager part time job income, I would generally walk out empty-handed. Then I discovered the discount table. Oh what delight this table would deliver. Fabric covered diaries....who cares if it was March, there was still 9 months of good diary keeping to be had. Soaps in broken containers and discontinued single rolls of wall paper and borders that were perfect for the dolls house. Then on one such discount table rummage, I discovered the best prize of all. A packet of Laura Ashley cornflower blue fabric squares for patchwork projects for just $5. Needless to say that little torn plastic bag came home with me that day and there it stayed waiting for the perfect project for about 30 years. It moved house with me several times and was then duly forgotten until 4 years ago when I found it again in a suitcase of craft 'stuff'.
"Hummm", I thought. "I've always wanted to make a quilt". So that Friday night I popped into a bookstore and bought two quilt books. Inside one book was a 9 patch quilt for a cot. It called for 11 different colour prints to be cut into 2 1/2" squares. "What's this inches business?", I thought to myself.
My fabrics were 12cm and I had 5 prints in my Laura Ashley stack. 12cm is roughly 4 1/2" and I decided not to cut them down but rather make the quilt in the book but use the full patch.
So early next morning after a sleepless night watching the clock tick down till the lovely fabric shop around the corner opened, I waltzed in with my squares hoping to select the remaining six lots of fabric along with white for the sashing.
I was bamboozled to say the least. So many gorgeous fabrics and absolutely no idea how to pick them. Luckily there was a very obliging staff member who helped me make up the balance of fabrics I needed.
Home I trotted with my fabric booty, new cutting mat, ruler and this roller blade thingy.
I cut and sewed all afternoon and by the end of the day I had a finished quilt top.
Looking back now, I laugh and shake my head in disbelief at all the mistakes I made because I didn't know any better.
I measured everything in centimetres when I should have used inches.
I concocted this measuring technique using my tape measure and placing my ruler on the 'wrong' side of the fabric....how it ended up straight and even is a miracle!
I used my regular foot because I didn't know what a quarter inch foot was.
My ironing is sloppy with many seams not quite fully pressed flat.
And of course the size of a cot quilt that should finish at 44" x 36" when cut from 2 1/2" squares ends up at 84" x 64" when made from 4 1/2" (12cm) squares!!
I started to baste it on my dining room table, tacking it down by hand and not knowing anything about taping down backing before placing batting and a top and blissfully unaware about pinning with safety pins.
And then I panicked. How was I going to quilt something that was over 2 metres wide on my 1980's Husqvarna?
I folded it up and put it away and went and learned a bit more about cutting, ironing, piecing, basting and quilting.
A couple of years ago I pulled the tacking out and used the batting for another project. Goodness knows what became of the backing....which by the way was completely inappropriate now that I think about it.
Then last week and many quilts later, I pulled that quilt top out of the cupboard with the intention of pulling it all apart. But I looked at it and thought, "Who cares if the seams are little wider than a 1/4"? They all match up, and the fabrics are so pretty."So I ironed that quilt top and bought some new backing and batting and now 4 years later, I'm a much braver and wiser quilter with better equipment and I'm ready to give it another go. And every time I look at this quilt I'll think, "thank goodness for that Laura Ashley discount table in that shop full of beautiful things I could never afford because if it wasn't for that reject cornflower blue patchwork fabric, I might not have ever become a quilter".


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What is Postnatal Massage?
Postnatal Massage is similar to Pregnancy Massage and is tailored to your individual needs to help you adjust to being a mother. Each session will involve full consultation, therapeutic massage bodywork, gentle exercises and stretching where appropriate.
KnotStressed Therapies are specialists in Posntatal Massage in Edinburgh. We are also well respected UK-providers of FEDANT-accredited Postnatal Massage Training for therapists.
Why is it important to continue massage postnatally?
During the postnatal period, your body is going through big changes and you need to be careful not to overstimulate it. The time it takes for your body to return to normal differs for different women and depends on factors such as your general health, the type of pregnancy you experienced, the type of birth, how well you are bonding with your child, the kind of baby you have and how easy you are finding breastfeeding.
It is important that you take care of yourself as well as your baby in the months following childbirth.
Benefits of Postnatal Massage:
Emotionally and physically the postnatal period can put a great deal of strain on mothers and massage during this time can help to:
Give nurturing and emotional support
Alleviate the muscle strain of pregnancy and childbirth
Promote pelvic floor healing and rebalance the spine and pelvis
Restore and normalise abdominal structures
Facilitate healing after a Caesarian section
Restore normal walking patterns
Prevent and reduce back and neck pain caused by newborn care
Can aid breastfeeding
Can I bring my baby?
You are welcome to bring your baby to the session so that he/she can lie next to you while you are being massaged. Alternatively, you are welcome to bring a friend or partner to help care for your baby while you enjoy your massage. Please let us know if you do plan on bringing your baby so that we can make sure you are both very comfortable. Thank you.
- 60 minutes £50
- 75 minutes £60
- 90 minutes £65
- 2 hours £80
Make a booking or for more information please contact KnotStressed.


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By generating a smooth uniform stroke the WaterFlywheel is unrivalled in its precise replication of the physiological benefits of rowing.
A uniform stroke is essential to spreading the work more evenly over the muscle groups, working the muscle groups in proportion to their strength, optimizing exercise benefit while reducing risk of injury.
Working the muscle groups evenly allows a high energy output within the limits of fatigue, lowering the perceived level of exertion and maximizing calories consumed.
A smooth stroke removes the inertial jerkiness and jarring typical of air resistance machines, making the WaterRower smooth and pleasant to use.


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Your Amazon seller rating is one of your best tools for making more sales.
When a buyer looks at your product among listings from other sellers, they have two things to base their buying decision on: value and trust. You can compete on value with lower prices and better shipping options. To compete on trust, though, you need an excellent Amazon seller rating.
Why Amazon Seller Ratings Are Important
Amazon seller ratings are prominently displayed when customers look at their buying options for a given product. In fact, the ratings are even more eye-catching than the prices. Just look at this example for a package of socks:
It's easy to tell which one of these will attract the most buyers. NY Lingerie offers the best value (the lowest price combined with the same free shipping as the next two sellers) and is the most trustworthy (it has the highest seller rating by far). That killer combination means it's no contest.
How Seller Ratings Work
A completely satisfactory delivery is worth 100 points. If little things don't go perfectly, then Amazon will start to chip points off of your score. On the other hand, you might get bonus points for exceptional service if you do everything right and deliver ahead of schedule.
Your scores are averaged together to get your seller rating. It's a fairly complex algorithm, with more weight placed on recent sales than previous ones, but it basically works like this:
If you got a 90 on one sale and a 100 on the other two, you'd have a score of about 97.
If you got a 0 on one sale and a 100 on the other two, you'd have a score of about 67. Ouch!
Just like with your credit rating, doing one thing wrong does a lot more to hurt you than doing one thing right does to help.
Here are the three most important things you can do to protect your seller rating:
1. Deliver As Promised
The first thing that Amazon judges you for is simple: do you actually do what you say you will?
This first applies to delivering when you promise to. If your listing says the item will ship within two days but you fail to confirm that it has gone out until day three, then Amazon will whack you—hard.
A late sale is worth 0 points. That will drag your score down quickly, and it will take a lot of perfect deliveries to make up for it.
Note that Amazon doesn't care if you failed to confirm the order as shipped because you missed the email, forgot to log on and mark it as confirmed, or had your Internet connection down at the time. You should always have systems in place to make sure that every delivery is made when you say it will be made.
If you want a truly exceptional seller rating, then deliver ahead of schedule whenever you can. This will give you a shot at getting bonus points.
Delivering as promised also applies to delivering what you promise to. You'll lose points if you have to cancel the order because you're out of stock.
You'll also lose some if the customer complains that the item they received didn't perfectly match the one in the listing—even if you included notes saying that it was somewhat different (e.g. missing a part or in a different color). They can also force you to refund them. You have to create a new listing if existing ones don't precisely match what you're selling.
2. Communicate with Your Customer—Quickly
Amazon does not make room for weekends and holidays. If the customer sends you a message, you must respond within 24 hours. Any later and you'll start losing points.
It isn't just Amazon with these high expectations; 41% of your customers expect you to respond within six hours. Past that point, your risk of a customer becoming upset and doing something to hurt your seller rating starts to increase. Always respond as quickly as possible.
Efficient communication is also essential to following our next tip:
3. Provide Great Customer Service
If a customer demands a refund (within reason), then provide it quickly and professionally. Customer ratings play a big role in your seller score, and negative feedback can hurt a lot. But there are worse things that can happen.
Those "worse things" are customers seeking assistance from Amazon under the A-to-z Guarantee.
Forcing Amazon to step in and solve the problem will go about as well as poking a bear. You'll get mauled with a -500 score for that sale. It only takes a handful of A-to-z claims to sink any seller.
The best way to avoid this sort of situation is, again, rapid communication with your customers. Make them feel like you are responding to anything they bring up and willing to help them with all their problems. Fast assistance can quickly defuse anger and prevent them from turning to Amazon.
We use Zendesk to manage communications for our own Amazon selling business and keep our seller ratings—and therefore our sales—high. In fact, that's why we invented ChannelReply—to enable smooth, rapid communication between eBay/Amazon and Zendesk. You can visit our homepage to learn more about our Amazon-Zendesk integrations.
The Short Answer
All in all, getting a great Amazon seller rating is pretty straightforward. Follow Amazon's rules, run your business honestly, make your deliveries as soon as possible, and respond to customers quickly. Do that, and soon customers will clearly see you as the best seller on the list.
For a better understanding of Amazon's rules, read up on their seller return policy, general return policy, and refund policy. Alternatively, find out how to make your customers happier with our online customer service tips or by mastering the art of providing exceptional service.


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Led by Principal, Elaine Bowker, the Executive Leadership Team sets the direction of the college and ensures it is focused on delivering excellence for all students.
The Board meets at least seven times a year and is responsible for overseeing the mission and activities of the College and ensuring effective strategic management and use of resources.
Find out what financial support is available at the College. Click here for more information or why not email email@example.com
The Learning Companies provide students with essential work experience in a commercially-run environment.
Our five campuses deliver a city wide reach, each with individual specialisms that provide the perfect environment where students can learn and develop.
Keep up to date with the goings on at The City of Liverpool College. A vibrant place to study, work and be involved in Liverpool.
The college has 2 nurseries: -
The Learning Exchange Nursery (L1)
Princes Road Day Nursery (L8)
We are the leading provider of apprenticeship training in the country, with links to some of the country's top companies and blue chip firms.
Our students are given unique opportunities to work with international brands, take part in major industry events and receive training from industry leaders.
Apprenticeship partners work closely with us to develop training which is second to none and give you the skills to go on to a successful career.
Home > Course Finder > Concept Art, Level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma
Our UAL Level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma in Concept Art is a 2-year Art and Design course that offers a different approach and set of skills than other art courses at the college.
This course is ultimately for people who are interested in art, illustration (for character design), games, movies, and CGI. Learning the principles and methods of art and design is paramount throughout this course; with the fundamentals of academic drawing, visual languages, research techniques, ideas generation, 2D & 3D design and basic animation skills being taught during year 1. Your final major project will be written by you with the help of your tutors and will result in your final grade for the first year (Diploma). All our students work in sketchbooks as well as digitally on this course. Your projects will be practical, work-related and fast paced. All software/hardware is demonstrated in sessions, prior knowledge of Photoshop (or other software) is beneficial but not essential. All our resources for learning are made available on our course VLE area so you can practice skills at home too. All projects are continually assessed.
In year 2 you will learn cutting edge, industry standard skills by completing larger, more demanding projects that are based on realistic workplace situations, scenarios, activities and demands. These projects encourage you to develop your own styles, interests and skills to consider your specialism and future direction. As well as learning about the employment area you have chosen, you will develop the skills you need to progress to either seek employment or progress on to University. The course runs for two years full time and is the equivalent to three A-Levels. The course has been written and developed for students interested in becoming Concept Artists in the gaming industry (and/or movie industry).
What will I learn?
You will gain a valuable insight into the world of a Concept Artist, which will include: Research into artists/designers working in the industry, sketching and visualising skills, art and design practice, anatomy (creatures and humans), location drawing, life drawing, ideas generation, sourcing your own images, educational visits (Chester Zoo – Leeds Armoury, Art Galleries, Museums, others TBC). Digital drawing/painting (Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator), 3D modelling (MAYA), 3D sculpting (Z-BRUSH), character rigging and animation. When possible you will be completing 'live' briefs set by local studios. The course aims to help you to build a professional portfolio (digital and print based) and to develop your skills in the latest industry standard software.
This course is Advanced Learning Loan eligible, which can fully cover the course fee.
Study Programmes for students aged 16-18
At The City of Liverpool College you will undertake a personalised Study Programme, which will help you to achieve your ambitions and career goals.
All of our Study Programmes are designed to help you to develop your skills and widen your college experience.
What you should expect from your Study Programme:
English and Maths
English and Maths skills are vital for employment and to secure a place on courses at a higher level, including university.
We have a team of tutors who will work with you to achieve these essential qualifications and enable you to apply these skills in your day to day activities and work.
Since September 2013 any young person who does not achieve their GCSE in English language and mathematics at grade C or above will have to continue their studies at college. Students who have a grade D in either subject must study these subjects at GCSE level.
Students who complete this course will have the opportunity to progress onto the 3D Character for Games BA (Hons).
Successful completion of the course can also lead into:
Freelance/Self Employment
UAL Diploma & Extended Diploma in Art & Design
5 GCSEs at C or above – Ideally one of which should be an Art based subject, however a good sketchbook containing observational drawings would also be accepted.
As part of the interview process we will be assessing your ability to represent your ideas visually and verbally. If you have a portfolio or samples of any visual work and or relevant experience please bring them with you to interview. If you do not have a portfolio a sketchbook containing observational drawings is always preferred.
The course will run over 15 hours per week for 33 weeks, over two years.
All of our courses are fast-paced and work related. They are filled with tasks that give you cutting edge skills and a fantastic grounding in ICT and in the Digital Arts.
© The City of Liverpool College 2015College information: +44 (0)151 252 3000. Switchboard +44 (0)151 252 1515
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Course bundles are designed for 16 - 18 year olds only.
Career Coach is designed to help you find a good career by providing the most current local data on wages, employment, job postings, and associated education and training.


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Jacobs, Aleda A MD 1 ReviewsOne of the best doctors EVER!!!
Dr. Jacobs was awesome! She actually took the time to SIT down with me to discuss my skin condition, and took the time to be sure I understood everything...and gave me a ton of samples before letting me go! She was very knowledgeable, and made me feel very comfortable--I had not felt that way seeing most doctors in the past. I wish more of my doctors were like Dr. Jacobs! She's fantastic!


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(206) 221-1535
Email: mhat AT [extension 'uw.edu']
Curriculum Vitae |
SSRN author page
B.A. 1991, Texas A&M UniversityM.A. 1993, Texas A&M UniversityJ.D. 1996, New York University School of Law
Michael Hatfield, Cybersecurity and Tax Reform, 92 Ind. L.J. (forthcoming 2018).
Michael Hatfield, Privacy in Taxation, 43 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2018).
Michael Hatfield, Taxation and Surveillance: An Agenda, 17 Yale J. L. & Tech. 319-67 (2015).
Michael Hatfield, Committee Opinions and Treasury Regulation: Tax Lawyer Ethics, 1965-1985, 15 Fla. Tax Rev. 675-735 (2014), reprinted in Ethical Duties to the Tax System: A Handbook 5-65 (Scott A. Schumacher & Michael Hatfield eds., University of Washington Gallagher Law Library, 2015).
© Copyright 2018, All Rights Reserved University of Washington School of Law
4293 Memorial Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98195


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Selected abstracts
- 6 Downloads
KeywordsPublic Health Colorectal Surgery
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Copyright information
© the American Society of Colon and Rental Surgeons 1998


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2005 Sessa Islamorada 21
- Description
- View Full Specifications
- Year:
- 2005
- Hull Material:
- Fiberglass
- Length:
- 21'
- Engine/Fuel Type:
- /
No description
Additional Specs, Equipment and Information:
Hull Shape: Modified Vee
LOA: 21 ft 7 in
Beam: 8 ft 2 in
Dry Weight: 2204 lbs
Engine Options
Engine Option 1: 1x
Fresh Water Tanks: (15 Gallons)
Fuel Tanks: (52 Gallons)
Seating Capacity: 7
Max HorsePower
Standard Equipment
Compass Shower with tank Navigation lights Bow roller Switch panel Teak inserts on bathing platform Automatic bilge pump Co-pilot seat Fuel tank lt. 200 Bathing ladder Battery switch Horn
U-shaped dinette and table convertible into double bed Wc storage room Fridge storage room Cushions Cabin lights Foredeck hatch
Battery Complete hood (with removable front and side panels) Bow sunbathing cushion Fridge lt. 42 Gas cooker Cradle Cockpit and cabin carpet Fishing rod holders Additional stern sunpad 12 V socket Auxiliary engine bracket Cockpit cover Hydraulic steering Electric anchor winch Chemical Wc Marine Wc
*This price is based on today's currency conversion rate.
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Words containing arraim
Found 1 words containing arraim. Browse our Scrabble Word Finder, Words With Friends cheat dictionary, and WordHub word solver to find words that contain arraim. Or use our Unscramble word solver to find your best possible play! Related: Words that start with arraim
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|Page (1) of 1 - 03/06/12
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Obama: Republican candidates display 'casualness' about war; says they are not in command
WASHINGTON (AP) ' President Barack Obama says Republicans on the presidential campaign trail display casualness about war when they urge military action to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Obama says the candidates do not have the same responsibilities he has. He says, "they are not commander in chief."
Obama made his remark in a news conference Tuesday where many of the questions centered on how he intends to respond to Iran's advances in nuclear technology.
Republican presidential candidates have accused Obama of being a fair-weather friend to Israel and weak on Iran.
Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum on Tuesday said Obama's plan to proceed with diplomacy is "another appeasement, another delay,"
Candidate Mitt Romney said thugs and tyrants will only respect U.S. resolve backed by military might.


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If you read the tutorial I hope you found it useful.
Helping fellow authors get the most from online marketing - #MT4A
Thursday, 11 April 2013
How to add a link to an image in Blogger
If you read the tutorial I hope you found it useful.
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text:
Works fine with win98se and autocad 2000i. It is a modified version of the driver supplied by Pacific Data for win3.X when they were still in business. It is supposed to work on win95/98.
Just download it to a floppy, go to "add a printer" and click on "have disk" and it should load right up.


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Peter Harrison Planetarium
Think of the Planetarium as a tour bus of the universe taking you on amazing journeys to explore and experience the wonders of the night sky with expert commentary from a Royal Observatory astronomer.
A visit to the Peter Harrison Planetarium can fly you into the heart of the sun, transport you to distant galaxies, show you the birth of a star or land you on Mars.
This content has been supplied by Peter Harrison Planetarium
Prices and Opening Times
|Child Ticket
|£4.50 per ticket
|Family Ticket
|£17.50 per ticket
|Concession Ticket
|£4.50 per ticket
|Adult Ticket
|£6.50 per ticket
This content has been supplied by Peter Harrison Planetarium
Opening Times
Royal Observatory opens 10am to 5pm daily, timed tickets for the Planetarium are available for a variety of daily themed shows.
Venue Details & Map
Peter Harrison Planetarium
- Address
The Royal ObservatoryLondonSE10 9NF
- Telephone:
- +44 (0)20 8312 6565
- email@example.com
- Website
- http://www.rmg.co.uk/see-do/planetarium-shows
- Public transport:
- Greenwich Mainline station Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich DLR
Facilities & Accessibility
For comprehensive independently assessed accessible information for Peter Harrison Planetarium, please see the DisabledGo website


text:
Jeremy Renner doesn't want his little girl to become famous just because her "jackass" father is.
While promoting his upcoming sci-fi drama Story of Your Life at CinemaCon on Thursday (14Apr16), the actor took time to gush about daughter Ava, whom he shares with ex-wife Sonni Pacheco. Jeremy, 45, talked openly about his three-year-old and described fatherhood as "the most important thing" in his life.
The actor recently posted a photo of himself and Ava in his trailer on the set of Wind River, a thriller he is shooting with Elizabeth Olsen, but the fiercely private star only revealed a little of the child's face.
"I still don't expose my baby's face, just to protect her or anyone in my family (who's) a minor," he told E! News. "I just think that's not my decision to make. You know what I mean? You don't need to be world famous just because your... dad is."
He added that it is too early to tell if Ava "has the acting gene" but he wouldn't stop her pursuing a career in show-business if that's what she wanted to do.
"I think she's definitely artistic for sure... I first and foremost want her to be a kid and have a lot of fun," he explained.
In Story of Your Life, Jeremy plays a physicist who is recruited by the military to try and communicate with aliens that have landed on earth. Also starring Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg, the film does not yet have a release date. The movie solidifies a busy and high-profile year for Jeremy, who stars as Hawkeye in Captain America: Civil War which is scheduled to be released next month (May16) and is also set to produce and guest star in a historic drama Knightfall which will premiere later in the year (16).


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I am a girl and I put creams on my face that the doctor prescribed for me, and he said that I should not let water touch it for at least 12 hours. I am a Muslim, praise be to Allah, and I have to do wudoo', but I am afraid to let water touch the cream on my face. Can I wipe the parts where there is no cream, or what?.
If there is a skin condition on the face for which the doctor has prescribed cream to be put on it. and he has said not to let water touch it for several hours so that the cream will remain for medicinal purposes, then in this case you should avoid putting water on those areas when doing wudoo', and wash the rest of it along with all other parts to be washed in wudoo', and you can do tayammum instead of washing the face, until there is no longer any need to put this cream on your face. End quote.


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Improve customer trust
By using the Orange Check ID Spain API, you can give your customers extra security as their identity is double-checked prior to any transaction validation. You'll benefit from reduced fraud, reduced costs and faster transactions.
Simple tool for your customers
Improve your drop-off rate by removing the steps that generate the most friction in your customers' journey.
Protected Privacy
Customer privacy and authorization are managed through dedicated dashboards, complying with European law on privacy management.
User authentication is performed by Mobile Connect for our Orange Spain subscribers.
As a company, Orange is taking clear and strong steps toward personal data protection and security.
Benefit from the power and protection of Orange Spain authentication
It allows you to verify the identity of your user, perform ID federation, and collect the end-user consent required to access his personal data.
This API is compliant with the OpenID Connect core specification.
Subscription steps
Check Id Spain is offered through our Digital Identity Services partners offerings. Therefore, a contract must ultimately be set up between you and one of our Digital Identity Services partner.
Feel free to review the online documentation to get familiar with the Check Id features.
If you are interested, please fill in the contact form to register your interest
note: you will be requested to sign-in or sign-up first
We will contact you to present the offer details and introduce our Partners.


text:
Charming Academy by Jessica L. Elliot
Amazon Book Description:
Growing up is a difficult process for anyone, but for a boy destined to be the Prince Charming of a fairy tale it's an absolute nightmare. Not only must Lucian learn the things normal boys are taught at school, he must also learn the particulars of quests at Charming Academy for Boys. It's not going to be easy! There are sarcastic dragons, vindictive witches, and to top it all off Lucian's princess hates him. Will he survive school to become the Prince Charming his parents believe him to be?
I first picked up this book in October of last year. Since then, I have read it four or five more times but it's taken until now for me to sit and write a review instead of just continuing on with devouring the rest of the series. I originally thought this would be a children's book that might or might not hold my attention. However, this book absolutely surprised me in the best of ways.
Plot – A-
Charming Academy is the first of a fairytales retold series. However, this book is not like most retellings. This is the story of how Prince Charming is prepared to save his princess. While it does not get to the actual retellings, the book retains the fairytale atmosphere. Lucian is the primary character and is destined to be Sleeping Beauty's prince; however, we also meet the princesses and the other princes, each destined for his own fairytale. I loved the way the princes' journeys are fleshed out. Charming Academy covers the six years of the princes' training at Charming Academy (a bit like the Harry Potter format for Hogwarts) but there are also numerous side plots especially as the princes get older and the seeds of their individual stories are planted. The book is 500 pages long yet the plot carries itself well and rarely, if ever, feels as though it's plodding. In fact, it was a jolt when I reached the end of the book and suddenly we're back with the babysitter telling the story to the boy. I was so caught up in the story that I had forgotten it was technically a story within a story.
Content – A
In the course of expanding the realm of fairytales and creating realistic characters, Elliot includes many of the same things we face in the real world. There is violence and death, which is to be expected for princes training to fight dragons among other perils, but this primarily occurs off-screen so we mainly see the aftermath. One exception that stands out is when a particularly brutish prince strikes his princess. However, this incident is skillfully used to demonstrate how unacceptable that sort of behavior is and can provide a talking point for parents about how boys and girls should treat each other. There are also two death scenes that have reduced me to tears each time I read this book. They aren't graphic but they are heartbreakingly poignant (and I still haven't forgiven her for these deaths).
The kiss of true love is important to most fairytales and Elliot incorporates that wonderfully into her book. As the princes and princesses are paired with each other from the beginning, they are intended to grow as friends and then in love. It takes a while for the hormones to kick in but there are times when Lucian is highly tempted to do more than kiss Moira's hand. However, the first kiss is so important to breaking enchantments that he resists the temptation. It's cute watching Lucian and Moira in particular grow from definitely not liking each other (though for Lucian it's a bit more of "she's a girl" little boy mentality) to being very definitely in love. Moira is a challenging princess to say the least and part of Lucian's appeal is that he is determined to be kind to her and to love her even when she tries to reject his love and the idea of loving him in return. Other than the hand-kissing and some kissing between already married adults, this is a squeaky clean story on the romance side.
Because this is a fairytale world, there are fairies and witches. The witches are interesting because they are used for discipline (believe me, these are teenagers who definitely earn their punishments) so spells are cast for punishment and once for a blessing. It fits into the fairytale setting and there is no mention of a spiritual connotation for the fairies or witches. I mentioned the teen factor because you do have characters being rude and even bullies, but there are always consequences. In a story about boys growing into men and being groomed to be worthy of the title 'Prince Charming', I appreciated the constant reminder that choices have consequences. Elliot skillfully made this clear in three different situations in particular, but I shan't say more for fear of spoilers.
Technical – B+
Charming Academy is an extremely engaging read. As I mentioned before, the prologue and epilogue are set in modern times where a babysitter is telling the story to a little boy but the main story itself is so engaging that I completely forgot about this so the epilogue was a bit of a jolt. The flow rarely slows down. In fact, there were a few times where I wished we had a bit more detail and less of the sweeping summary regarding the later school years but it never detracts from the story mood.
However, there is quite a bit of head hopping in this story even though Lucian is the primary narrator. It can be a little distracting at times when we slip so quickly into different heads, but I found that this bothered me less during subsequent readings since I knew to expect it. It's more of an omniscient third person POV storytelling style in this respect.
There is a smattering of typos throughout the book (perhaps five or six in the whole book), but it's nothing that detracts from the story. The language is also pretty modern for a story set in the medieval setting of the fairytale world, but it doesn't grate like one might expect. I was drawn into the story enough that the more modern language barely registered. The one technical aspect that truly bugged me in this book is the formatting of letters. The letters bounce from being the same size as the rest of the text to a huge font to being smaller than main text. There are enough letters present that I wished a single format was used across the board for them. Out of everything, it bothered me the most and what I would call a true distraction especially when it jumps to the huge font.
Final Grade – A- or 4.7 Stars
If you're looking for a fairytale retelling that breaks the typical mold, this book is for you. This is the story of Prince Charming more than the princess. It is perfect for anyone who has ever wanted the more detailed plots that will turn Prince Charming into more than the guy on the white horse. This charming read is meant for ages 10-18 but is well-written and engaging to the point that I highly recommend it for adults too. I recommend this book for fans of clean fairytale retellings and for parents seeking fun books that they can read with their children.
Next Week – Finding Prince Charming (Charming Academy Book 2) by Jessica L. Elliot


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Life provides turning points of many kinds, but the most powerful of all may be character-revealing moments.
Verified by Psychology Today
William Hirstein, Ph.D., is author of Mindmelding: Consciousness, Neuroscience, and the Mind's Privacy, and Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Elmhurst College.
Neuroscience has entered a revolutionary era, where progress in understanding the brain is occuring at a breathtaking pace. Many of their findings are relevant to ancient philosophical questions about the nature of our conscious minds, our sense of self, and our cultures and societies. Neuroscience can thus enlighten philosophy. At the same time, philosophers can enlighten neuroscience with their expertise in introspection, argumentation, and conceptual analysis, along with their vast history of work on the mind.


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Week 9 Reflection Blog Post: Mini Projects I
This week I enjoyed exploring all of technology tools for the Mini Project assignment part I because I can see myself using all of these technology tools in my classroom with my students. It is important to incorporate fun and engaging activities into my classroom because I want all of my students to feel motivated and excited about their learning. As our textbook Using Inquiry in the Classroom explains, "without student motivation, engagement will not happen and deep inquiry will not take place" (Coffman, 2013, p.2). The two technology tools that I have chosen to explore more deeply are telling stories with comics using Comic Life 2 (it is not a free program however you can download a free trial for 30 days) and creating a talking Avatar using Voki.
Telling stories with comics
This is a great tool for students to practice their Spanish writing and reading skills because students can create comic books and then read his or her partners comic book and comment on it. Our textbook Using Inquiry in the Classroom mentions, "technology tools are best utilized in a classroom when they enhance active engagement of the learner, utilize collaborative groups, encourage feedback and interaction" (Coffman, 2013, p.154). This technology tool can be used for any level of Spanish because Spanish I students can create a basic comic book and Spanish 4 students can create a more advance comic book. This is why I like this tool very much because I can use it for all of my classes. Also students can practice their speaking skills by presenting their comic books to the class. In addition, students can enforce their copyright skills since they have to upload images into their comic books. Teaching and enforcing copyright friendly skills in my classroom is important because the more I enforce these skills and have my students practice them, the more they will understand why it is important to only use images that are copyright friendly.
Here is a link to the comic book I created: La rutina diaria de Tommy (Tommy's daily routine)
Creating a talking Avatar using Voki
This is a really awesome tool! I had a lot of fun creating a talking Avatar and I know my students will have fun as well. In my classroom students from any Spanish level can practice their Spanish pronunciation by creating an avatar and then recording their own voice (I recorded my own voice into all the Avatars I created because I want my students to do so as well. I want to hear their Spanish pronunciation so I will not allow my students to use the typing option when creating their Avatar). Also by creating an Avatar students can practice their Spanish writing skills because before they record their voice they will need to write a script. For example, in the first week of school in a Spanish 2 and above class my students can create a talking Avatar and introduce themselves using Spanish. Students can talk about what they did over the summer, their favorite color, sport, describe themselves and their family members. Our textbook Using Inquiry in the Classroom explains, "when you make your activities personal and use technology as a real world tool, your lessons become more meaningful" (Coffman, 2013. p.21).
Here is a link where I have created an Avatar to introduce myself in Spanish
Coffman. T. (2013). Using inquiry in the classroom: Developing creative thinkers and information literate students. (2nd Ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
3 responses to "Week 9 Reflection Blog Post: Mini Projects I"
I loved your post! Your avatar is amazing, and it follows my mouse around — I was engaged with just that for a few minutes 😛
You used two projects that I didn't use, and I like how you put them to your own purpose. You found a great use for the comic strip, and Tommy's daily routine was adorable. I love how the images serve to explain, in context, words students may not have known before-hand.