We have a new chart to reward good behaviour this week in our home, we have been doing tick charts to work on specific areas and I am pleased to report the girls are helping with the laundry well now, although not ironing, sadly. However, this week's plan is a bit different, whereby you start the day with 4 ticks, and you lose one every time you speak in a rude/whiney/whingey/aggressive/whatever thats not kind voice. It seems already to be working, with H massively backtracking her tone in the space of one word as she realises how she sounds. Wouldn't the world be great if we all had a chart like that? I was at school today, in Year 3, stunned by how long it takes to draw 2 parallel lines with a pencil and ruler, and it made me realise how much patience a primary teacher needs - more than any human can possibly muster.

Yesterday was such a beautiful sunny day and we packed loads in. Here we go: church, followed by trip to see Chinese new year dragons in town. then on to Hill Head beach to sit in the sun and meet up with some fab mates, so children all paddled and did things with shells, while I spent most of the afternoon queueing for ice creams from the kiosk, with the staff of one caught out by the unseasonably clement weather. If clement is a word.

Talking of China, I have been thinking about the Olympics and the human rights record of China, being as appauling as it is, and wondering if I should boycott the Olympics in protest? I mean, clearly they are going to win all the Ping Pong, but I was going to enter the shot putt and the triathlon ski events, but may halt my training in protest. Seriously, should I not watch it? I mean, I deliberately don't go to Turkey on holiday because of their human rights record, and I would not go to the USA for recreation for similar reasons, so should I not watch the Chinese Olympics? Has anyone else thought about this? I am wondering if I am the only person on the earth who worries about such trifles, but the news today about the Americans torturing confessions out of the various Sheiks they have unearthed (all alleged, of course) has turned my attention to torture once more. I am not sure that I want to perpetuate this acceptance of torture by spending my cash in the USA. But should I boycott all Chinese products as well? There would be nothing in my house. Life is too complicated when you start thinking about the wider implications of what we do with our dollars. Better to listen to the Archers, keep your head down and grit your teeth. Its hard to do all those things at once.