V is for Value

I’m sure when some people hear the word value they instantly think of money and how much something costs or is worth. That’s not what this post is about. Our blogging from A to Z post for the letter V is on the things we value.

We value family.

Ken and his sister Jean

Ken with his two boys – Jamie & Craig

Me and my oldest brother Shane

Me and my mum

A very old picture of my family – please ignore my huge glasses

We value the fact that in this country there is religious freedom – and there is the chance to learn and understand each other. The Hindu temple in Neasden, West London is a perfect example where you can see the beautiful building but then there is also a museum with an explanation of the religion.

Across the road from the temple is a restaurant which serves traditional vegetarian food – another thing we value, being able to experience different cultural flavours.

Another example of fantastic religious freedom is that parades can happen with no problems. We were in London one day a year or so ago and came upon this huge celebration of the Hare Krishna religion – it was a great atmosphere and everyone was getting involved.

Another great place to visit is the Hare Krishna temple in Hertfordshire. They have open days for the whole family, and it’s not about trying to convert people, they just want to exist peacefully with their fellow human beings. The picture is from their fabulous letting the cows out day that is at the start of spring.

We value that in this country people can protest peacefully and openly. I don’t want to get too political, as that’s a sure way to annoy people, but I think that we sometimes forget how lucky we are in the west when it comes to how we live our lives.

We value the fact that when we wanted to we were able to get married with no laws telling us we couldn’t and I believe everyone should have that opportunity. I believe in marriage equality – come on Australia, get your act together (sorry, slipped into political mode)

Me posing for the NOH8 campaign

We value having our two cats sharing our lives. They have very distinct personalities and can make the worst day feel better.

Muffin (monster)

(Princess) Cookie

We value the years that we had Bertie (Boo aka Jelly Bean) in our lives – he was a gentle soul and made me fall in love with him with one glance.

We value the unusual things we come across when we’re out and about. We recently, due to Ken’s eagle eye, came across a treasure trove which was a bit like a geocache but aimed at children. Now we do value our silliness and we’re very young at heart so we figured we were kids as well. The idea is if you take a treasure item then you have to replace it with something equally nice. So the item I chose is the orange dinosaur and I replaced it with a keyring with a parrot on it. When you’re done you have to put the container back where you found it and make sure it’s still well hidden.

Now I couldn’t do a blog on value without saying that we value each other – I very much value my beloved, everything he does for me and the love we share.