Stephanie's Gap
Topic: Grandchildren
Stephanie asked me to take a photograph of her showing where her tooth came out! You might just see the gap. It is strange that Elliot lost his upper left tooth and Stephanie has lost her lower right tooth. She also has some new molars, which have come through rather early, I think. Both the children seem to be very happy to be back at school and they are always very keen to read their school books to us! They are doing very well and we are very proud of them.

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The Siege of the School in Beslan
Topic: Terrorism
Like everyone else in the world, I have been very shocked and upset by the terrible events in Beslan, Russia, this week. How can any human being be so evil and so wicked as to deliberately take the lives of innocent children? Absolutely nothing can excuse such callous brutality. What did they think it would achieve to hold a school to ramson and how did they envisage it ending? I know some terrible things have happened in Chechnya and that both sides have behaved badly and must share the blame. But, in the end, it is the ordinary people caught in the middle who suffer the most. Sadly it seems that terrorism is now a world wide plague - and I believe that the cure is dialogue. We must listen to these desperate people, try to understand their point of view and the politicians must find common ground to build on.

Update
The news published at the end of October by Russia goes a long way to explain the behaviour of these terrorists, most of whom were under the influence of hard drugs and tranquilizers. It seems that the terrorist organisations also prey on those unfortunate enough to be hooked on drugs. By feeding their habit they make them slaves to their will and destroy their humanity.

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Another Visit from the Tooth Fairy!
Topic: Grandchildren

My daughter sent me an email last night and told me that Stephanie's loose tooth had finally come out. So, last night/this morning (past 2 am - time flies when you are engrossed in something!) I worked very hard on another email from the Tooth Fairy! Found a very nice picture (which I nicked, again - well, only using it for one email!). Addressed it to both the twins. It would have been fun to see them receiving their emails this afternoon but, as my son-in-law has been unwell and his workplace told him to stay home one more day, we are missing our weekly visit. Anyway, here are their replies received this evening:

Stephanie's Reply
Dear Tooth Fairy. This is Stephanie. Please can you tell me what you look like - is that you in the picture and is that me sleeping? Thank you for the money and thank you for the e-mail. How do you know what name we are or did we tell you in our other e-mail? I love your music, it is nice and pretty and I like your wings in the picture.

I thought it was going to be in there forever and it wouldn't come out but I couldn't eat any apples and I like apples and one time I went to McDonalds and once I saw a chocolate donut but then Mummy said you can have a packet of fruit with grapes or the donut and I said 'can I have the fruit and grapes'.

Where do I have to look to see the tooth?

Grandpa tried to get my tooth out but I wobbled it too much and it hurt and then when I ate one of my crisps it came loose and I said to Daddy 'my tooth needs to get out' then he tried to get it out with his quite big fingers and Elliot said 'try and get it out with a tissue' and then I got a tissue for Daddy and he tried the tissue and he got it out. Daddy got a cup with some water and he poured some salt in it and I had to swish it round my mouth and it tasted really really HORRRRRRRIBBBLE.

I have to go now as Elliot wants to say something and I know you are very busyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elliot's Reply
Hello Elliot here. How are you? Thank you for my money when you came that Thursday. How much teeth have you got in the sky? Did you see our cat when you came? How do you sneak in without us seeing and how do you shut the door quietly when we are asleep? Is Stephanie's tooth better because she eats more fruit and vegetables and because she eats tomatoes. One day I ate a whole apple. Today we made some lego. What do you make. How much money do you have and how much money do you give us for our back teeth? Where is your computer or don't you have a computer?

I'll see you next time tooth fairy. I hope you e-mail back. I need to go to school tomorrow and I'm in year 2. I hope you have some nice sleep - do you sleep in the day? Now I need to go. I love you tooth fairy. Where is fairy land? Elliotxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Been busy doing yet another reply! I think I have a job for life here. Mustn't forget to change my Outlook Express properties back to my name instead of 'Tooth Fairy'!

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Accessible Web Pages
Topic: Web Design
I found another very useful website, Usablenet.com, last Saturday. Their 'LIFT Online' trial will provide you with a free 5-page sample report on your website which stays on their server for five days. These reports evaluate your pages for accessibility and usability and provide loads of links to all the W3C guidelines. I have been busy making notes on all the comments. However, so many possible problems were thrown up (all my images and links, for instance) that I feel like the old woman who lived in a shoe! I still have not caught up with all the results from CSE HTML Validator. I had to really rush through the last few page checks before it disabled itself!

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A Very Useful Web Authoring Tool
Topic: Web Design
I am currently checking my pages with the trial version of a program called CSE HTML Validator Pro 6. You can use it for 30 days or 100 validations, whichever comes first, after which it deactivates itself and you have to purchase the full version or delete the program. It is absolutely brilliant at spotting all sorts of coding and spelling errors and gives advice and tips on just about everything. It has also pointed me in the direction of Dan's Web Tips, another excellent website to add to my favourites. At present, I am halfway through the trial period, so I am being kept rather busy! I must admit that I was actually using the Validator last December but didn't have time to finish the trial period because of Christmas. I did delete it (and some clever coding somewhere prevents you reinstalling the trial version!) but then my computer crash last April wiped out any remaining traces on the hard disk, so I was able to install it again as I still had the csesetup.exe! Very naughty! I have got a magazine cd somewhere with a free early version of the program - will have to install that later or perhaps buy the full program.

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A Trip to London
Topic: Family Days Out
We went up to the National Archives (Public Record Office) at Kew again last Monday. I have been several times to browse through WW II Escape and Evasion Reports, which are very interesting. You can order up to three documents on line in advance of your visit so that they are waiting for you.


From Kew, we went over to my son's for the evening. A thirteen mile journey which took 40 minutes in the London Traffic! Andrew is progressing by leaps and bounds and enjoyed his slice of cucumber! However, he was a little bit off colour - not surprising, as my son emailed me yesterday to say his first tooth had finally appeared!

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Old Browsers (and I don't mean me!)
Topic: Web Design
Came across a website called AnyBrowser.com on which you can view a page as it appears on various old browsers. Ugh! Virtually all of my pages were a real mess! Very old browsers don't read style sheets at all and it appears that Netscape 4 can't read internal style sheets on a page. So, I am now linking my pages to the main style sheet plus another one specific to that page. (Will have to tidy that up when I have time.) Also, my table backgrounds don't show up. That means that a dark page background makes the text completely unreadable. How many people still have old browsers?

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Happy Birthday!
Topic: Grandchildren
The twins were 6 years old today! Took their presents over - they were very excited and very pleased to get some money, too. They are both saving up for special toys they want!

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Stolen
Topic: My Web Pages
Had a shock on Monday (hopping mad, too!). Found a webpage which had copied all of my words from my first Tribute page and from the story of the Traitor, several family photographs had been taken as well. It all looked particularly awful, too. Why? Well, he had not copied my external style sheet information - probably didn't know how to. I followed his link back to his personal pages and found he had listed a number of pages about people with his family name! All copied direct from the original sources (which all had copyright notices). Two or three emails later, he agreed to remove the stolen content.

Earlier in the year, someone I was corresponding with also took family photographs from my site without asking. It is the 'without asking' that is hurtful. The result of this episode was to make me frantically update all my pages in early April with a JavaScript 'No right click' program. I know this won't stop anyone who is determined but it will put off some people. People should realise that a published web page has automatic copyright, just as a published book does. Downloading an article for research or to read later is one thing but, if you find something you would like to include in your own website, you should ALWAYS ask permission first and, if permission is granted, give the source the appropriate credit. After all, would you think of visiting your local library, photocopying entire pages from various books, putting them together and then publishing the result as 'your' very own book?

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The Twins' Replies to the Tooth Fairy
Topic: Grandchildren
Yesterday morning, I was thinking about Elliot's tooth and I thought it would be great fun if the children received emails from the "Tooth Fairy". I searched the Internet. Found a poem about the Tooth Fairy, found a picture somewhere else (which I admit I nicked!). Put it all together for Elliot with music. Decided to use the same picture with a letter from the Tooth Fairy for Stephanie: "Congratulations Stephanie. You have a loose tooth!.....". Sent them off. Hopefully, they would get them before they went to bed. Well, they did. WOW! Were they a success. I think they went to bed rather late again last night - two late nights in a row, good job it is the weekend!

Here is Elliot's reply: (dictated to Mummy)
Thank you for the money. I was excited when my tooth was coming out and Grandpa pulled my tooth out and I was very brave and I didn't cry. Then Grandma took a photo of me. What time did you come last night? Did you come at 10 o'clock? I was in bed at 9 o'clock. I was very tired so I didn't want to stay up. My sister called Stephanie is a chatterbox and when I want to go to sleep she always chatters to me and I wish I could have seen you. Next time are we allowed to leave you a little present? I told people my tooth came out and I am very pleased. When my tooth came out my tongue could touch the gap and it felt very funny. Thank you for your e-mail.
Lots of love from Elliot xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I hope you have a nice time at your house. Where have you put my tooth?

Here is Stephanie's reply: (also dictated to Mummy)
Thank you for not leaving me out and I'll put my tooth when it falls out in a tin foil with salt and it will be in the same place as Elliot's. What do you make with the teeth? Do you make houses and do you make furniture? Do you make beds out of teeth? Do you only take good teeth or do you take good and bad teeth? I have a fairy watch so I can remember you all the time and do you have a name? I like your letter and I feel happy about you and I love you so much. I'll never forget you. I won't be sad if you don't reply because I know you are very busy.
Love from Stephanie
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My daughter's reply: You made their day sending those e-mails. Stephanie in particular is so happy and they both said to me 'so they really are real'. they 100% believe that your e-mails came directly from the tooth fairy and asked questions like 'how does she know my name, will the computer know where to send the reply'? Stephanie has been looking out of her window...

They wanted to reply because they were so pleased? All from them (although I changed some of the grammar). I did say that the Tooth Fairy may not have time to reply so don't get upset and they were fine with that.

The Tooth Fairy did find some time to reply. Seems Grandmothers have lots of different purposes in life!

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