Root Ginger : a study of red hair

Since this blog is all about raising Ginger – our flame-haired son – I can’t resist highlighting what looks like a stunning photography exhibition, due to open in London on 17 Feb 2009 at the Idea Generation Gallery. Root Ginger: a study of red hair is a collection of photographs of redheads accompanied by a book and film that delve into the life experiences of red clan members. Photographer and writer Jenny Wicks also explores the genetic lottery that decides our most visible, yet superficial traits - like hair colour - and our hidden depths, like whether we inherit life-shortening health conditions like Cystic Fibrosis.


As an ex-scientist I wasn't astonished that I (mousy haired with some bottle blonde for good measure) and my equally mousey husband produced a red haired baby, but Not-naturally-thrifty Husband has certainly found it a) surprising, b) counterintuitive and c) the cause of endless 'so, who's the father?' wisecracks. There's a great, accessible explanation in Glenn Murphy's book 'Why do fart's smell?', if you can bear to buy or even borrow a book of this title!

The exhibition has triggered some interesting comment in the Guardian - 'is Gingerism the last acceptable prejudice?' and an interview with Jenny Wicks on Spoonfed. In my wanderings around this subject I have also discovered a blog dedicated entirely to Gingerism. I haven't delved too deep - perhaps I don't want to hear the horrors of prejudice life could hold in store for my Ginger boy. I'd rather hold on to the reassuring words of his splendidly ginger uncle, who reports having suffered no more than the next slightly shy school boy.

We've been training hard for this

Mass redundancies, crunching credit and a housing market that's grinding to a halt. Tough times for us all - especially if you're trying to raise a family. The free papers I snatch when I occasionally brave the tube (not for the faint hearted, with Ginger plus pushchair), office and playground chat alike tell me all are tightening their belts.

But although we fear a direct hit, we three - let's call us Ginger, Thrifty Mum and Not-naturally-thrifty Dad - seem to have been in training for this era of shoe-string parenting for three hard years already. Ever since the NNT Dad (then a student) and I (on a modest museum salary) watched a little blue line appear on a pregnancy test back in late 2005.

It wasn't fashionable to be frugal back then but we've acquired all sorts of tricks to keep up appearances, enjoy this extraordinary thing called family life and spoil our son without breaking the bank. Sometimes the desire to splash out on shiny new mini-Boden kit, not to mention a sleep- and luxury-filled spa break has been almost unbearable. But we usually resist and overall we've had a ball.

I thought I'd use this blog to collect some of my money-saving thoughts together and hopefully share ideas with other thrifty parents. I know you're out there, and joining in this conversation won't cost you a penny!