John's Weird World

Once again I've had an interesting gig as 'Professor Fiddlesticks', entertaining children this weekend at a conference organised by Sibs.  My role was to provide a fun two hours with a circus show followed by a workshop where the children could try out different skills, finishing with an opportunity for some of them to show off these newly acquired tricks to the adults who had attended the meeting.

When the Co-op shop round the corner put up a 'Mosquito' device a while ago, I was quite pleased. Firstly, I could not hear it... being over 40, I'm well past the age of being able to hear the high-pitched siren, and secondly, it meant that I wasn't being asked by teenagers to get them some cider, which had happened on several previous occasions. However, the device has been deemed to be unfair to children and young people by Children's Commissioner Al Aynsley-Green, and he has called for it to be banned. I don't agree with him that it breaches their human rights, but I do believe it should be used with care.

In December I invited everybody who'd been involved in helping to set up York Credit Union to come for a drink to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first public meeting in 1997. Not many people turned up, but it was a good evening and I was pleased to meet one of the original volunteers, John Hume, a local businessman and philanthropist. Over several drinks we had a jovial conversation... and he proudly told me about his daughter's latest screenwriting success.

Bringing children into the world is a huge task and one that has consequences for the environment. John Cossham offers tips on eco-friendly child-rearing