Ebony and Ivory

A black family with one baby boy already decided some day to have another baby. Everything went well, but after giving birth to a second son, something extraordinary happened which made everyone in the theatre room fell silent. The healthy newborn is white. The couple has no doubts what so ever about infidelity, and they recognize his features as their own. Raising this white child might challenge the parents as people may wonder why they have a white baby and the little boy might ask questions himself growing older. They parents worry, because children can be cruel or other people might think that this white child is a friend of their black son, or even adopted. And what box should he tick when he is asked to fill in ethnicity? In the family history it is rumoured that one of the great-great-great-grandmothers has given birth to a white child too, but there is no prove.

Personal comment:

I think this is a remarkable story and if I were the husband, I would really have my doubts; for some time at least. Their love for each other must be very strong to immediately believe that this is nature and not infidelity. And what a challenge they are facing; being a black couple with one black and one white boy. I think they will have to explain a lot and probably have to defend their child, because people might not believe that he is really their son. And I can only image how this might affect the relationship between the two brothers. In today’s society it is often an advantage to be white and I wonder if at one point in their life the two brothers will have to deal with discrimination and prejudice and how this might affect them, being born of the same parents. 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/05/15/shock-of-the-black-couple-who-had-a-white-baby-115875-23130646

Brushing your teeth in the dark might save your life

A little girl’s life has been saved because she brushed her teeth in the dark. She got a lovely toothbrush with a little light that shows how long she should brush her teeth. The very day she got it, her mum let her brush her teeth in the dark. Only then the mother noticed a strange spot in the little girl’s eye, what turned out to be a potential deadly tumour that can treble in just a week or so. Now, she only has to lose one eye, and not her life.

Personal comment:

Who would ever have thought that something that seems as redundant as a light on a toothbrush could turn out to be a lifesaver? Usually I do not like those gadgets, but reading this story made me think otherwise, or at least made me doubt a little.  I wonder, however, if I would have let my child brush her teeth in the dark.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3581644/Tumour-girl-saved-by-her-toothbrush.html 

No need for a doctor, I cure myself.

Some illnesses are not mentioned, but are causing a lot of discomfort for those who are inflicted by them. No need to go see a doctor, when you are embarrassed about your ailment; just go to the internet and find out what drugs you can order to cure yourself. But, is it wise to be your own pharmacist? For those who do see a pharmacist, their behaviour gives them away, as the outcome of a Pharmacy survey shows. Several types of ‘ashamed buyers’ can be recognized, so the behaviour of those shoppers gives them away as sufferers from a humiliation illness.

Personal comment:

I wonder if an article like this one turns more and more people to the internet. Being your own GP and buying your own drugs without consulting a professional pharmacist can be very dangerous and even life threatening. I am afraid that those who feel ashamed might get in serious trouble, because they are not using the right prescriptions. I feel for those who feel embarrassed, but medicating yourself might turn out to be Russian roulette and sometimes the damages done, can not be undone. So, put aside your shame; go see your GP, buy your drugs at your local pharmacist’s; lots of others have preceded you.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health-news/2011/05/09/ashamed-brits-are-too-shy-to-seek-treatment-for-embarrassing-ailments-115875-23117251

Care for a glass of royal wine, my dear?

Local wines are favoured by British consumers more and more. The interest in them has skyrocket since Prince William and his newlywed wife princess Katherine chose a British wine for their wedding breakfast. And even the Queen prompted interest in British wines as she plans to plant vineyards at the grounds of Windsor Castle. But British wines are not at all a novelty. The Domesday Book already mentions over forty locations of vineyards. Although Britain is not at all a large producer of wines, ever since the 1950s and 1960s British wines became more popular. The Sussex Downs are considered the best place to produce wines, but there are also some locations in the northern climes, although it is considered difficult to grow grapes there.

Personal comment:

I knew that it was possible to grow grapes and other more tropical fruits in Britain and I remember how unusual I found that information as I considered Britain to be a cold, rainy, and dreary country. That is to say, before I ever visited the UK. I was quit astounded when I first heard about grapes in England. Wines need sun and happy weather. Or at least I thought so, and I could imagine growing grapes as fruits to eat, but grapes as to produce wines? That I did not know, but I am not in the least surprised that the royals take part in the production of British wines. No better advertisement then a glass of wine, produced at your local castle grounds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13338907