DaddyDay's blog



Why G-d made mums

By DaddyDay, March 15, 2010

Whether you celebrated Mother’s Day or not, I thought the following was a good tribute to mums / mummies / mothers everywhere, and is also quite amusing!

These were apparently answers given by 2nd year school children to the following questions:

Why did G-d make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the selotape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did G-d make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

More..



The real victims of al-Mabhouh's death

By DaddyDay, February 17, 2010

News of British passport holders unknowingly being caught up in a international diplomatic crisis is shocking to me, especially since I was at school with one of them, and who is married to a childhood friend of mine.

More..



5 Today

By DaddyDay, February 11, 2010

It sounds so clichéd, but I distinctly remember the moments leading up to Ilan's arrival and his actual appearance (by virtue of an emergency c-section), as if it were yesterday. In fact, it was five years ago today! Where the time's gone, I don't know!

An incredibly funny, bright, enthusiastic, engaging, sensitive, caring and loving little boy, Ilan is inspirational to me, teaching me new things all the time, and pushing me to learn more for my sake and his (and Michal's). I hope this continues as Ilan develops and grows.

More..



Tefillin causes bomb scare!

By DaddyDay, January 22, 2010

Unbelievably, it would appear that someone putting on tefillin, on-board a US Airways flight has caused a bomb scare!

One would have thought that airlines in a country with nearly 6.5 million Jews living in it, might have been better briefed by government agencies, with regard behaviours and artefacts from different religions, in order to avoid such needless situations!

More..



Anglo-Jewry: Maccabi football, fishballs and anti-semitism - what else?

By DaddyDay, January 18, 2010

In his sermon on Shabbat, Rabbi Naftali Brawer claimed that an alien parachuted into the Anglo-Jewish community for a weekend - who would read the JC on Friday night, go to shul, and listen to conversations - would conclude that "Judaism is about three things - Maccabi football, fishballs and anti-semitism."

The claim was made to illustrate the wider point that Anglo-Jewry "lacks a spiritual vocabulary, our judaism is defined by limiting notions, and We lack a positive sense of spiritual mission."

More..



A memorable end to the last decade

By DaddyDay, January 7, 2010

With the wealth of material provided to me by my gorgeous kids, there really should be no excuse for my blogs not being more regular than they currently are. So my new year's resolution is to blog more often.

More..



Bringing home the bacon

By DaddyDay, December 7, 2009

Just over a year to do the day of her release from Great Ormond Street, following a minor operation at the age of 2 weeks old, my daughter has been struck down with Swine Flu!

More..



Bare-faced British anti-semitism - you must watch this short video

By DaddyDay, December 2, 2009

On 1 December 2009, there was a pro-Israel rally outside the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) 'Christmas concert' at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church starting at 6pm.

In this short video, you will see a rather unpleasant man called John Sullivan who attended the PSC event, but was keen to share his racial hatred with the masses before he went into the Church, going on a tirade about the Jewish / Israeli zealots, amongst other horrendous statements. Watch the video now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fUKsDG9v2A

More..



My gorgeous one year old daughter

By DaddyDay, November 11, 2009

I'm not exactly sure where the time's gone, but I'm assured that my gorgeous daughter, Michal, was indeed one last Sunday. It seemed like only a few weeks ago that we spent two anxious weeks in and out of hospital with her!!

More..



The awful decline in shul-going standards

By DaddyDay, November 3, 2009

So, Simon Rocker's community has finally succumbed to the clap! Well, if he'd had the misfortune of visiting my shul - Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue - any time over the past 2-3 years, he'd have shuddered with embarrassment on many occasions, as oblivious guests 'celebrate' the Bar Mitzvah's completion of the Haftarah with a hearty round of applause, leaving the regular shul-goers to hide under our tallitot or behind our chumashim.

More..



Growing up far too fast

By DaddyDay, October 25, 2009

So Ilan's gone away with one of his grandmas for two days to Bournemouth during half-term. "Are you coming too?" he asked me as he was leaving the house, already knowing the answer! "Do you want me to come with?" I asked him? "No!" came the immediate response without a moment's hesitation!

He then jumped into his car seat, said goodbye and was already planning what would be on the radio! For my mum's sake, I just hope it wasn't Postman Pat or Bob the Builder for two hours!

More..



BBC Question Time - nearly with blood on its hands!

By DaddyDay, October 23, 2009

Watching last night's Question Time and the associated coverage, for me, the most appalling part of it was not the squirming Nick Griffin and his 'softened' fascist rhetoric, it was the sight of police officers nearly being crushed 'defending' BBC Television Centre against hundreds of manic protestors!

More..



I'm in super kvelling mode

By DaddyDay, October 14, 2009

I could use the chagim as an excuse for not updating this blog more regularly, but that wouldn't be fair...I just need to be more disciplined about it! After all, there's no lack of goings on with my gorgeous kids to keep this blog alive.

More..



More milestones

By DaddyDay, September 8, 2009

Well, in the month since last blogging, lots seems to have happened. Having apparently dealt with Ilan's use of the f-word (see previous blog post), we've had two more utterances of the word, the most recent being at Shabbat lunch! He was promptly served with a TV ban for the following two days, though suggested that perhaps he should be banned for a further two days! This was rejected by us, and there's been no repetition!

More..



Dealing with the F word!

By DaddyDay, August 2, 2009

There we were, enjoying a bit of rare warmth and sunshine at Willows Farm, with Ilan playing with a couple of his close friends, when that defining moment in your child's life happens...he uses a word which sounds awfully like a swear word! Having thought I'd heard this word used a couple of weeks ago by Ilan, I put it down to the fact that four-year-olds often make up words as part of rhyming games...and I think I was correct on that occasion. However, today was a totally different ball game, and there was no aural deception going on!!

More..



Salmon and crawling - an eight month celebration!

By DaddyDay, July 8, 2009

So, I go away for nearly two days work, to return to this evening to the exciting news that my daughter, Michal, who's eight months old today, crawled forward for the first time...and ate salmon!!

She's become something of a carnivore in the past two months, with a genuine aversion of fish, so this is clearly a culinary breakthrough!! On the crawling front, she'd been threatening to start moving forward for a few weeks, so I suppose it was only a matter of time!

More..



Finding a husband

By DaddyDay, June 28, 2009

More classic Ilan, which I feel compelled to feature in my blog. This phone conversation happened between him and my mum (Grandma Rosy) shortly before Shabbat began.

Ilan: "What are you doing for Shabbat tonight?"

Grandma Rosy: "I'm going to light the candles, then make kiddush hamotzei."

Ilan: "You can't make kiddush...a man needs to make kiddush...your husband should make it" (knowing my parents are not married to each other!)

Grandma Rosy: I don't have a husband, so I make it.

Ilan: Oh (long pause)...we need to find you a husband!

More..



The big wallet

By DaddyDay, June 8, 2009

While driving in the car yesterday morning, I had a most hilarious conversation with Ilan, about him buying a car when he's 17, which I must share!

Ilan: Grandma learnt to drive when she was 17.

Me: That's right. So did I.

Ilan: Can I learn to drive when I'm 17?

Me: Yes, of course.

Ilan: I'm going to get my own car.

Me: Really? Cars are expensive!

Ilan: Well, first I'll learn to drive your car,. Then I'll learn to drive Mummy's car, and then I'll buy my own car.

Me: How are you going to buy the car? You'll need lots of money.

More..



An inspired thought on Yom Ha'atzmaut - Why I love being a Jew

By DaddyDay, April 29, 2009

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for writing this. However, since it really struck a chord with me, I wanted to share it with you too.

This is why I love being a Jew

Our condition, in Israel, has never been better than it is now! Only the television and the media make people think that the end of the world is near.

Only 65 years ago, Jews were brought to death like sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 60 years ago, seven Arab countries declared war on little Israel, the Jewish State, just a few hours after it was established.

More..



Pesach - I've made it halfway!

By DaddyDay, April 12, 2009

In some ways, I really enjoy Pesach, but in others, it can be a major headache - full of the stress of cleaning, digging out annually used cutlery, crockery, and pans from the loft. Of course, my amazing wife is the model of serenity throughout, seamlessly putting together endless meal plans and cooking for small armies.

More..

12next ›last »