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October 20, 2014 By John Adams 9 Comments

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About me

I’m John Adams and welcome to my award-winning blog. Since 2011 I’ve been the main carer for my two daughters and run the household while my wife has worked full-time. This blog tells our story. Follow this link to find out more about us.

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This is award winning global affairs reporter and dad of three @ryanchilcote reporting from Najaf in Iraq.

I’ve often wondered what it’s like to be a father with an occupation that puts you in harm’s way.
Over on the blog, I speak to Ryan about how he has coped with being apart from his family while reporting from war zones.
It was also fascinating to hear that Ryan, who has worked for CNN and Bloomberg and interviewed people such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, took the decision to go freelance to spend more time with his family.

It’s a fascinating interview with someone who has a really interesting background. I encourage you to have read.

You will also find Ryan reporting on @newshour.

If you have kids, do you think you could do this kind of work?
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#ryanchilcote #pbsnewshour #globalaffairs #journalist #newsreporting #newsreporter #reporter #journalist #journalism #warreporter #warreporting #najaf #iraq #ryansrussia #russia #freelance #freealncelife #freelancereporter #dadbloguk #dadblogukqa #fatherhood #dads #dad #dadtribe #tv #tvnews #broadcastjournalism

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A shopping trolley. It’s a mundane, unglamorous item....but it may shape my daughter’s academic future. Why so? Well read on.... Like many families, we’re going through the secondary school application process. Due to proximity, there is one school we have to consider, but I’m not comfortable with it.

I’ve seen kids from this school misbehaving in public and this is where the shopping trolley comes in. The other night I partially filled in the application form with details of this school. The very next morning I was present when a bunch of pupils from this school shoved a shopping trolley down the staircase of a multi-storey car park.

I don’t expect teenagers to behave perfectly, but this is a bit of a regular theme with pupils from this school. Does the fact the pupils will behave in such a way while wearing uniform say something about a school?

It’s one of many issues we are considering as we prepare to hit ‘send’ on the school application form.

Follow the link in my bio for more. Do, however, leave a comment below and say whether you’d be put off applying for a place at a school if you witnessed such behaviour from the pupils.
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#schoolapplication #schoolapplications #secondaryschool #highschool #schooling #education #pupilbehaviour #studentbehaviour #shoppingtrolley #trolley #shoppingtrolleysofinstagram #school #schools #goodschools #badschools #ofsted #goodschool #badschool #carpark #multistorey #dadtribe #dads #fatherhood #dadbloguk #opinion #bethorton

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#AD have you ever used a dash cam that you can talk to? Neither had I until I tested out the Nextbase 522GW.

This is the highest spec model of the @nextbase_uk Series 2 range. It is Bluetooth enabled so you can connect it to Alexa via your phone. With that connection in place, you can get traffic reports, weather forecasts and send messages to any Alexa devices you have at home while on the road.

Aside from that, the 522GW has a wide-angle lens so provides a very broad prospective of the road, records footage and photographs in superb quality.

If you were thinking of upgrading your existing dash cam, a great trade-in deal will soon be available at @halfords_uk
Take your old dash cam to the store between 15 October and 18 November 2019 and get 20% off a Nextbase 522GW (RRP £149). More details on the blog (link in bio)

#dashcam #nextbase #dash #camera #G22W #halfords #tradein #deal #motoring #motorist #driving #incarcamera #safety #safedriving #safemotoring #caraccesories #carstagram #drive #auto #carswithoutlimits #dashcamera #dashcam #automotive #gifts #giftideas #videocamera

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I mean come on, what better target for a lightning strike than the Palace of Westminster??? Very much an experiment this one and I don’t pretend the image is perfect, but it was such fun to create!!!! The original was a shot of Central London taken on a dull, grey, day. It was an uninspiring picture so I thought I’d liven it up.

What you see here is a composite of five different images, three of them entirely fabricated using photo-editing software.

Do you approve of my choice of target?
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#lightning #lightningstrike #lightningbolt #lightningstorm #thunderstorm #thunderstruck #thunderstruck⚡️ #fotografia #photoediting #photoshop #dadbloguk #experiment #fun #palaceofwestminster #corridoorsofpower #millbanktower #atmospheremillbank #centrallondon #riverthames #londonscenes #londonviews #storm #stormyweather #weather #canonpics #editing #stormclouds #manipulationphotoshop #manipulatedphoto

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It’s ALL about secondary school at home at the moment. Our eldest daughter might not start until next September but with the application deadline for school places fast approaching, there’s been a flurry of activity.

We’ve visited schools, asked questions of other parents, looked into transport links and so on. I’ve come to realise there are various life skills Helen will need to learn between now and then, practical stuff like reading bus maps and softer skills such as making new friends.

This book was recommended to me. I’m going to read it first before passing it on to Helen.
If you have been through all this with your own kids, what tips do you have for a parent readying a child for secondary school?
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#secondaryschool #highschool #bigschool #schooltransfer #changingschool #tweenage #tweenager #teenager #school #schoolapplication #dadbloguk #education #schooling #goingup #secondaryeducation #teaching #teachers #growingup #parenting #family #familylife

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I’ve held off from posting this for a few weeks! Back in September I went along to the @amazon #DeliveredByAmazon event in London, a showcase of potential Christmas presents for loved ones.

It seemed just a little bit early to go posting about Christmas presents in September but with 77 days to go...today I am!

Go take a look at my stories and you’ll see a few of my favourite gift ideas. .
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#DeliveringSmiles #gifts #Christmasgifts #Christmaspresents #giftguide #Christmasgiftguide #Amazon #presents #ChristmasDay #Christmas2019 #familytime #giving #give #dadbloguk #swing #decorations #personalisedgifts #customgifts #customisedgifts #presents🎁 #presentsforhim #presentsforher #presentsforkids

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