Anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's Death

Stephen Lawrence was killed on 22 April in Eltham in 1993, 20 years ago today.  I heard his best mate Duwayne Brooks on LBC 97.3 this morning.  In fact I found excuses to stay in the kitchen so that I could listen to the radio.  He is now a Lib dem Councillor and from what I heard on the radio is very eloquent and passionate about what he does.

Having lived in London all my life, since 1973, I haven't witnessed a great deal of racism, but being married to a black man, I obviously have witnessed a little bit. I can't speak on behalf of Eltham though, having never been anywhere near it.

I would say, bringing up a mixed race son, now, in the year 2013, will see him experience less racism than he would have 20 years ago.  When he is singled out now, it is normally by people saying "aren't all mixed race children gorgeous".  Yes, thank you.  But equally aren't ALL children gorgeous.

If I was worried about racism, I could give Aaron a number two military haircut (thus hiding the curls of his heritage) and rely on the fact that he is surprisingly pale.  But no, I deliberately keep Aaron's hair long and curly, in an attempt to make sure he has his little afro, which is actually his signature statement.

In recent weeks Aaron has been saying "Daddy is black, Aaron is brown, and Mummy is white".  We didn't teach him this and we don't know where he gleaned it from, but I think it is innocently beautiful.  To him there are no differences in those 3 colours.  They are as equal as 3 of his toy cars of different colours.

What WAS funny is at nursery the other day, all the children were eating and Aaron broke the silence to say at the top of his voice "my Daddy is black" and he then pointed at a little girl and said "E, your Daddy is black too".  Bless him he singled her out as she is the same as him (white Mum and black Dad).

Plus, all of his cousins on his Dad's side are mixed race too (5 of them) so he does not at all feel unusual.

At the age of 40, the only racism I think me and my husband experienced as a couple was in Ireland (sadly the place of birth of ALL of my relatives). We went to Dublin for a long weekend whilst at University and we were stood together at a train station and someone shouted "go home".  Looking back it probably was 1993, the year of Stephen Lawrence's death.  

I would say Ireland and England have both come a long way since then.  I can't imagine it happening now.

As sad as the death was, and as much as the case was bungled, I am confident that the high profile case has pioneered lots of changes being made - maybe not enough - but I'd say we've come a long way.  This is probably largely down to the passion and drive of Stephen Lawrence's Mum, so as one Mum to another, I think of her today, on the anniversary of her son's death.

May he rest in peace. May his death not be in vain.  May she have the strength to continue the good work she has been doing.  May people embrace and understand each other and look beyond skin colour and appearances.

CAREX - The Nation's Favourite Handwash - £500 worth of Red Letter Day vouchers, plus a year’s supply of Carex hand wash to be won!

Would you believe Carex is nearly 20 years old?  No, neither would I.  I would never have thought it, but I guess I didn't really take much heed of hand wash till I became a parent.  Now, it is antibacterial handwash, after every activity.  It feels like we may always have had Carex but they only started in 1994.  Carex were actually the first brand to bring antibacterial liquid hand wash to the UK - read more here.  We have a Carex in the kitchen and another in the bathroom.  Carex is definitely our favourite & product of choice.

I have been remunerated to tell you about this competition but do not let that bother you, considering the prizes up for grabs! This is a post that is a pleasure for me to write, as I am already a loyal customer.  Also, I think what you have to do to enter will get your creative juices flowing whilst being good fun, especially for a parent blogger who will find this a walk in the park.  I've seen parent bloggers make videos that would rival professional ones, and with prizes like this up for grabs, now's your time to SHINE!

Like I said we are loyal fans of the product, so this is our kitchen and bathroom stocks, both of which got a hammering the last few days with Aaron having been really poorly.  So part of my dash out to get supplies today included the purchase of two new bottles.

Well they are celebrating being 20 years old in style let me tell you.

To celebrate its 20^th birthday, Carex has launched a nationwide competition to reward 20 busy pairs of hands around the UK!

The Carex Live Life Hands On Awards celebrate all the wonderful things that we do with our hands.

Carex want people to share a day in the life of their hands, showcasing the real life moments that hands unlock, every single day.  

Entries can be a couple of sentences, a short written diary, some photos or even video footage.

The competition is open to everyone, from busy mums, professional gardeners and nursery nurses to dustbin men, gymnasts, mechanics and lollipop ladies.

Continuing the theme of 20, Carex will pick 20 of the most compelling entries to each win £500 worth of Red Letter Day vouchers, plus a year’s supply of Carex hand wash.

Gooooood competition right!!??!?!

The Red Letter Day vouchers can be spent on anything from a complete chill-out weekend at a luxurious spa, an adventure trip with a partner to a family weekend with the kids.

To enter The Carex Live Life Hands On Awards visit:
http://www.carex.co.uk/carex-live-life-hands-awards 

The closing date for the competition is 10th June 2013.  That and other info can be found here: terms and conditions

I am supposed to tell you that it is £1.80 in all good retailers.  Perhaps it is, but personally I always get mine for a pound in Poundland or Savers - sssssSSSHHHhhhh - don't tell anyone!

This is a Sponsored post.