I've always said you should write with your audience in mind. . . and that's been a long-term problem for me with the whole idea of blogging!  who's it for? why am i bothering?  but i've solved it!  this is for my kids. . . and a bit for my family; and of course for anyone else who finds it interesting.

Why now? Frits has played a part and so has Ammar. . . the real reason though is the stuff about the audience. . . I've had four or five rather different blog-ideas around for several years and have been paralysed by indecision or an inability to sort out an approach that works for me! now i have!

this one is obviously very personal (there's a locked section too, called, in the Arab way, the Family Room, where seriously personal stuff for the kids only is cached away) as for the rest, it's that ragbag of reactions and ravings that i would have imposed on my family members if they'd been within earshot.  Separately i am 'launching' two (two!!) more professional and probably more useful, blogs.

Yes, i intend to write here in a fairly stream-of-consciousness way (it's why I so hate spell- and grammar-checkers); yes, it will probably be a bit more thoughtful and structured than knee-jerk; yes, i have the huge advantage of being able to quarry from four/five/six years of saving bits that i might blog about; and yes, i will try to keep it chatty, not self-indulgent and a bit 'light' if I can. . .

 i'd love to hear from anyone reading this and enjoying it or having comments or questions. . . thanks!