Caped Crusader - Rebecca Smith
So I’m going along through the forest – usual route; same trees, grass, rocks.
Having become emboldened due to the fact I forgot my sandwiches, I’m heading off-piste. Sometimes you gotta take risks and, yes, it can be scary, but the end results can be surprising.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not daft. I haven’t met this wolf character (big eyes and teeth apparently) and things could get ugly. But honestly, what are the options? Take the chance that we won’t be wolfed down for dinner?
I reckon that if enough of us forge new paths through the forest we can shave some serious time off the journey. Not only that – more routes = more options = less being eaten.
It’s like this girl in my class – Rapunzel (home-schooled for a while). She got fed up and said, “Tell you what. Let’s cut the hair, weave it into a big fat rope and then I can get out. Anyone who wants to climb up can knock themselves out.”
My family are, er, financially constrained and it can be hard seeing all the shiny new toys and not touching. However, like the spoilt brat next door (Goldilocks – only child) with all the Barbies, she never fully appreciates them; will never know the absolute joy of finding a bargain or a freebie. We, however, make ‘horses’ out of dogs and castles on the stairs.
The Hood motto? Think really creatively and not outside the box for goodness sake. Use the darn box. Use the tape, staples, labels and tear it apart to make sure every single scrap of it finds purpose.
We do stuff better than anyone because we have to. Need is king, queen and knave in our house. It’s like shopaholics anonymous (except not, er, anonymous). Yes, I want it, but do I really need it? If I really do need it, what’s the best value for money for everyone in our extended family? Can others use it too and can it grow with us? Like hand-me-down capes. I know a lot about those...
Rebecca Smith works in Comms at Buckinghamshire County Council