What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet"

Shakespeare's Juliet once asked this question and recently I have begun to wonder what makes a name. I have been wondering because in my other blog I have been seeing a great disparity in the number of views each post gets. The only thing which I can see that could make a difference is the name.

So what does make a good name? What appeals to people to make them want to read a blog post, or a book, or like a band, or even how a person is perceived because of their name. Would things be different if things had other names.

Joanne Rowling is a curious example. Her books are published under the name J K Rowling, but what does the K stand for? What is her middle name? The simple answer is she doesn't have one! The K stands for Kathleen, and is taken from her Grandmothers name. The reason it is there is that the publishers of the Harry Potter series felt that the target audience of young boys would respond better to books written by J K Rowling, who could be perceived as male and would bring up memories of other popular writers, J R R Tolkien for instance, than by Joanne Rowling, who is undisputedly female. Would Harry Potter have been as successful if she had used her own name?

I may never figure out why some blog names are received better than others. I may never find out if it is because of the name, it could for all I know be because of the weather or it might just be luck of the draw.

I suppose all that really matters in the end is that people do read it.

Hope you've enjoyed reading this one.

Let me know if you have any theories on this yourself.

Notorious AEG

Vacuum cleaner wanted

Must fulfil the following criteria

• Must not be too heavy
• Must not be too noisy
• Must not suck too hard
• Must have long reaching hose
• Must not be too expensive

Failing this criteria being met, I will accept any vacuum cleaner as long as the reviews are good and the website is responsive

So that's how children learn the word NO!

I never used to understand how a child learnt the word no. For most toddlers it becomes, at one time or another, their favourite word. I used to ask what possible reason could you have to say no to your child? I now understand.

My little boy is 8 months old, and since he has started moving around I have started to have to say no to everything. I put him on his playmat and the first thing he does is start moving off, first it was going to the radiators, No.Then under our nest of tables, No, No. Then to our extension lead, No, No, NO! Yesterday my wife caught him, just seconds before he put her phone charger in his mouth. It was plugged in and turned on, and she'd only been out of the room for two seconds.

How are we supposed to get anything done?

Well the extension lead is now out of reach, the tables are further back, the kitchen door has a stair gate across and my son is strapped to the floor, well not quite that extreme. We are taking every precaution but we may soon have to resort to putting him in the hall, shutting the doors, putting the dog in the kitchen and shutting the gate.

All this just to be able to stop the house becoming a complete mess.

Thanks for reading

Yours Negatively

Mr No.

I went away for 1 night and In my suitcase I packed

This week I will be going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. My wife and my son are coming too, and we are staying at a travelodge over night. Last night my wife and I sat down to plan out our trip and we realised just how much we need to plan.

Firstly we need to plan what we are taking with us. My list consisted of anti-perspirant, hay fever tablets, anti-depressants, 2 T-Shirts, Boxers, Socks and the clothes I'm wearing to travel in. My wife list had a little bit more, as she needs things like hairbrushes, hair ties, make up and remover as well as taking more meds than me. We both needed toothbrush, toothpaste, flannel, shower gel, pyjamas, coats, a phone charger and camera.

My sons list was considerably longer. He needs:-

4 sleep suits
3 sleeveless vests
1 short sleeve vest
2 T-Shirt and short outfits
1 pair of shorts
1 pair of trousers
2 long sleeve T-Shirts
4 pairs of socks
2 romper suits
6 Muslin squares
A jumper
A jacket
1 sun hat
1 pair of sunglasses
His giraffe comforter
His tigger
Some toys

Plus he needs food:-

6 biscotti
2 yogurts
1 fruit pot
3 jars of food
1 jar of porridge
Sandwiches
Crisps

Plus he needs bottles:-

1 bedtime bottle Thursday
1 breakfast bottle Friday
1 Juice bottle Friday
1 bedtime bottle Friday
3 lots of powder

Plus we need to take:-

Kettle
Travel cot
2 travel cot sheets
2 sleeping bags
Pushchair
Sun cream
Parasol
Calpol
Change may
Nappies
Wipes
Sudocrem
Nappy bags
2 towels
Flannel
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
7 spoons
2 bibs

I think we might need a bigger car to fit it all in.

Once we had finished planning what we need to take we then had to plan out the 2 days. We needed to plan a stop in on Thursday morning for a snack. We planned in where we were having dinner so we can feed him. We needed to plan in where we were having breakfast to feed him. We needed to plan in where we were having tea on the way home so we could feed in.

All in all taking a baby on holiday is hard work. So if you're think about going on a nice relaxing family holiday, just you, your partner and the baby, while you put the dog in kennels. I'd recommend putting the baby in the kennels and taking the dog, it'll be a lot less organising.

Thanks for reading

Yours

Stressed out about a relaxing short break