Politics Round-up; Extraordinary commentators

I am adopting a slightly different approach to this months round-up and taking a closer look at the BiBs shortlist in the commentary category.

Politics can mean many things beyond simply the activity of those in parliament, and the thing that binds all of the nominees in this category together is a desire to improve the world, both for themselves and others. They use their voices to highlight campaigns, charities and inequalities. They discuss disability, political issues at home and abroad, matters of personal conscience and so much more. Each of these blogs is written by truly wonderful and inspirational people. Have a good read of the posts they themselves have chosen to share in this round-up, and if you haven’t already voted, then you have until midnight on the 12th of May to submit your choices.

The Rubbish Diet is only a few weeks old, but follows on from a long-term project, and is all about reducing waste. Buying less, storing better, recycling more, using leftovers and reusing materials. This particular post focuses on the successes of the project so far, and shares news of what has been going on up and down the country.

Why is her so stroppy? has the tagline ‘A stroppy older mum’s reflections on parenting and life – mixed with a shot of feminism’ It is fantastically written, and joyously forthright. This post on good press for bad mums had me nodding in agreement, and chuckling in recognition.

My Make Do and Mend Year is a fabulous upcycling blog, and it’s writer, Jen, has challenged herself to go a year without buying anything new. The blog is a great mix of recipes, thrift, craft and opinion. Her recent letter to David Cameron re environmental issues is an impassioned plea for him to step up to the mark and make a difference.

Ruth at Dorky Mum blogs about a wide variety of subjects. She is an active campaigner, helping spread the word for Save The Children and IF amongst other good causes. She writes magnificently on a wide range of subjects, and was also my predecessor here at the politics round-up. This post may be a few months old but is a perfect way to share how she feels about the world. Based around the US elections, it shares her personal take on the relevant issues.

Our Life With Leukemia share the photography and writing skills of Yasmin’s parents, as they document her battle with leukemia. Yasmin was diagnosed just after her second birthday, and shortly after the birth of the couple’s son. Wanting to do something positive, Karen and Andrew set up the blog to share their journey, raise awareness, and most importantly to fundraise for Great Ormond Street. This post showcases Karens amazing writing skills, and is a heartbreaking window into their lives.

LLM Calling is written by Emma, a lay minister and huge charity supporter. Particularly close to her heart are charities for those who have lost babies through miscarriage. She suffers from depression and is an impassioned advocate of keeping talking about mental health. We need to remove the stigma, and give people the support they need. This poem, Surviving in the Darkness, is a poignant view into life as a sufferer as well as a tribute to  Time to Change – a charity working to end mental health discrimination.

Rites For Girls is written by Kim McCabe who is using her experience working with young people to create a community looking at how we raise girls from childhood to maturity. There is lots of information for pre-teen and teen parenting of girls on the site, and fascinating stories of rites and rituals around the world. A great place for ideas to guide and support your daughters journey into Womanhood. This post focuses on the importance of one to one time.

Chris at Thinly Spread seamlessly blends her quest for ethical living into her warm and wonderful family blog. Delicious vegetarian food, and fabulous activity ideas for the whole family, sit naturally alongside information on earth hour and Save The Children campaigns. She feels strongly about environmental and waste issues, and practices what she preaches, all the while still being a fabulous read. She recently looked at the ethics of blogging and who we choose to work with, which gave a lot of us cause for thought about our own stances.

Lulastic describes herself as a modern hippy. She is a gentle parent, advocating co-sleeping, baby wearing and nappy free babies. She loves our planet, and lives accordingly – she stopped washing her hair (which looks AWESOME so I might stop washing mine too!) and upcycles as much as possible in the home. She is a feminist, and an activist, who is prepared to stand up for what she believes in, but her quirky take stops her posts from ever being dry. She would like to share her response to the Tory approach to childhood, herself firmly believing that childhood is a time for freedom of expression.

Just Bring The Chocolate is I confess a new blog to me and I was glad to find the content lives up to the promise of  a great name! In her words, she has been turned out of necessity into a disability advocate. She has a habit of taking on the system when she needs too, and says that ‘out of sheer bloody mindedness’ she usually wins! Her post ‘Dear Man In A Suit‘ is directed to Edward Timpson re special needs education reform. Not only did Mr Timpson read it, he quoted it in his speech about SEN reform. She is proof that one person can make a difference.

What can I say about Glosswatch? She writes so brilliantly and prodigiously about matters of a political and feminist nature that it is a struggle not to include her in my round-up several times each month. She writes for the New Statesman as well as her own blog, and is scarily clever, but exceptionally approachable. She slides family stories easily into posts of a serious nature, without it being unseemly. She is in her own words ‘a cuddly feminist’ This post is an entertaining and valid response to Richard Benyon’s assumption that those poorer than him don’t know how to keep food. 

Michelle from Mummy From The Heart was worried that she wasn’t political enough for this round-up. This from a woman who was brave enough to take a trip to Ethiopia with the ONE  campaign, so that she could help spread the word of the campaign and conditions for women in Africa. Politics for me is about being willing to take a stand for what you believe in and taking steps to make a difference, and she has certainly done that with her charity work.  This post looks at the power of bloggers to make a difference , something we should all try to do from time to time.

Autism Mumma has two children on the autistic spectrum, and is passionate about raising awareness of autism.  She has written some fabulous pieces about this sometimes ‘invisible disability’. In this post she writes to George Osborne about changes to disability benefits and the struggles undergone by hard-working  families with disabled children.

Frugal Queen lives up to her name. Her family paid off big debts in a short time, and are now paying off their mortgage superfast too. There are lots of incredible tips for living happily, but frugally on this blog. In this post she looks at the introduction of Universal Credit with particular focus on the fact that everyone will need to learn how to stick to a monthly budget.

TEAM HONK – TEAM HONK –  TEAM HONK. 2013 was the year of the honk, if you didn’t come across this inspirational blogging team then you must have been hiding under a rock. Mummy Barrow, Mammasaurus, and Penny from The Alexander Residence took a trip to Ghana with Team Honk, and they, and half the parent blogger world, spread the word about the good work that Comic Relief has achieved over the past 25 years. Not only that, but when they got back, the team grew in numbers, and fund-raising began- a big Team Honk posse made it up Snowdon, there were bike rides, cake sales, and a rather fetching silver frock, all contributing to a final total of over £10,000 raised for Comic Relief. What an achievement. You can read all about it here.

Last, but by no means least, Down Side Up, a truly inspirational woman. She and her beautiful down syndrome daughter Natty share their adventures in conquering the world on their fabulous blog. This year she spoke movingly and coherently to a cross party parliamentary enquiry into disability abortion law, and this week is visiting Number 10 on the invitation of Samantha Cameron. This week she writes about the shock re-election of Collin Brewer who had resigned earlier this year after commenting that ‘children with disabilities should be put down’, but he decided to stand again at the recent local elections, and is back in his role as a councillor.

I personally would give them all a prize for brilliance – best of luck to them all, and see you at the party! I will be back with a normal round-up next month, please pass on your posts for consideration, or link up your posts from the past month below.

About Sonya Cisco

Sonya Cisco is a 42 year old mum of three from Dorset. She spent 15 years playing in bands at various festivals and insalubrious locations throughout Britain and Europe. These days she is more of a home bod hence the title of her blog 'The Ramblings of a Formerly Rock'n'Roll Mum' , but she can still be persuaded to strap that bass guitar back on for special occasions. Has an opinion on everything, but always open to discussion. Likes biscuits a little bit too much.

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