Friday, November 27, 2009

Parenting all over again

She slept through until 7am! - The universal cry of young parents grateful for a full night's sleep and something we are experiencing again after more than thirty years as we now have a 12 week old puppy.

Biboo, named after Rita's nickname when a young girl in Assam, is a black labrador, cute beyond words and the most efficient means of transferring biscuits into energy that I have ever met. Until now, we have had to respond at any time during the night if she moves in case she soils the room, carrying her down into the yard and standing with her in the cold or rain while she performs.

Now, she sleeps through and last night even allowed the cat to sleep in the room. And we don't have to change any nappies!

How to forgive

Yesterday's BBC Radio 4's PM programme (27 November) carried an interview with a man who had been raped and abused from the age of 14 by a Catholic priest.

The interview was one of the most moving and impressive I have heard for a long time. Responding to challenging questions, the interviewee demonstrated incredible eloquence, wisdom and simple humanity regarding how to cope with abuse and abusers and how to apply moral and spiritual values in a secular society.

The interview deserves to be published (I suggested this to the BBC) and is worth litening to on the BBC's i-player system.