Three Weeks review of Mothers Uncovered - the naked truth

Mothers Uncovered - The Naked Truth
Livestock

This is a show which expresses the paradoxes and dichotomies of being a mother, and is a further stage in Livestock's ongoing creative project on motherhood. It's a staging of four interlocking monologues inspired by real interviews, and they certainly achieve a high degree of naturalism and believability, managing to be both touching and funny, with the character of Lisa - played by the show's creator Maggie Gordon-Walker - as the stand out performance. Encompassing breast feeding and frustration, love and fear, mothers and men, dreams and A&E visits, 'Mothers Uncovered' is perfectly pitched at its target audience, as attested by the laughter of recognition and various whispers of "I know exactly what she means" floating around the venue.

Brighton Media Centre Studio, 21, 23 May, times vary, £8.00 (£5.00), fringe pp52.tw rating 4/5[xm]

Mothers Uncovered - the naked truth

I hope you'll all be able to come to our show in the Fringe - a set of monologues based on interviews from mothers from the first project.

There are 3 shows at the Brighton Media Centre, Middle St

Thurs May 21 @7.30

Saturday May 23 @ 1.00 (small creche operating for this - booking essential) and 3.45

email maggie@livestock.org.uk for more info

THANK YOU

Thank You
Thank you soooo much to everyone for attending the tea party at the Hanover centre on Tuesday. With your kind donations of cake, money and time we managed to raise a fabulous £112.30 which really can help change a childs life so again, thank you and see you next time...

Cathy and Jess x x

PETITION

Over the past six months we all have witnessed the most shocking tainted milk scandal that killed six infants and sickened nearly 300,000 more. These babies, well below 3 years, were fed milk powder contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used in fertilisers and plastic production. Imagine if the babies were not fed powder milk and in fact were fed on their mother’s milk. They could be saved from this unnecessary catastrophe
Add your name to the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN - NO MORE MILK SCANDALS! SUPPORT WOMEN TO BREASTFEED to stop the push towards feeding babies with milk formula, as well as demand support to women to breastfeed. Click here to sign the petition http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/en/Details_Petitions.aspx
Growing scientific evidence points out how vital breastfeeding is to infant survival with health. Women are being forced to stop breastfeeding and give their babies milk formulas because they lack support to breastfeed, whether at the time of birth in family or institutions, or when they are at work, and more importantly due to increasing commercial push to milk formula feeding. Potential disasters are thus waiting to happen across the world.
The problem is HUGE. Around 200 mothers give birth to babies every minute somewhere in the world. They need our support. Out of about 135 million children born annually, only 64 million begin breastfeeding within an hour and 71 million do NOT. About 48 million women are successful in carrying out exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and 87 million are NOT. Click to sign the petition http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/en/Details_Petitions.aspx to demand support for women to breastfeed.
Most people think of breastfeeding as something that happens between the woman and her child: that this decision is in the personal domain. However, several factors affect women's ability to breastfeed successfully: traditions, myths, status in the family and society, work load, confidence in her body and sexuality, economic needs, labour laws, domestic and workplace violence and harassment, availability of support services, advertising by commercial baby food manufacturers, and so on. These factors do not allow millions of women across the world to breastfeed their babies optimally.
How we respond to this crisis will shape the lives of our children – our future.Today, public concern alone can prevent potential milk scandals – public action to respond to the needs of women to enable them to give the best possible food to their babies. We need to Act NOW !
Join the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN- NO MORE MILK SCANDALS! SUPPORT WOMEN TO BREASTFEED. Click to sign the petition http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/en/Details_Petitions.aspx
The petition demanding support to women will be presented to the world leaders, at the World Health Assembly in May 2009. Your collective voices will put pressure on the leaders to prevent unnecessary deaths of children, to ensure that every woman in every part of the world is enabled to breastfeed successfully.
BE A CONNECTOR Forward this email to all your friends, your networks, and your family, and let us raise a voice our leaders cannot ignore.

First Friday Pox Party...?

Hello, all Brighton-based Mothers Uncovereders. As some of you know, we've been meeting at Home Cafe on Queens Park Rd on the first Friday of the month (except last month, which I forgot about) for coffee, chat (and pancakes). Sadly, I have a chicken pox afflicted little boy, so had best not take him into polite company. I read on the internet that some people (probably in America) hold 'pox parties' with the deliberate intent of introducing their wee bairn to the disease. If that appeals to anyone, you're very welcome to come over to mine. If not, then I hope some of you meet up and eat a pancake for me. Grrr.

Stop For Tea.

Stop For Tea

Please join us for a cuppa and help raise vital funds for the NSPCC

Dear All,

The NSPCC have created a wonderful fundraising events idea whereby we get to enjoy a nice cuppa with cake, catch up with old friends and new and help to change a childs life.

Please join us at Hannover Community Centre on Southover Street on Tuesday February 17th. 1- 3pm for tea, cake, raffle, rock 'n' rhyme session and a catch up with mums and little ones from all over the Brighton area to help raise money for the NSPCC.

For more information please contact Cathy on 07736297783.

Look forward to seeing you all there,

Cathy x

Mothers Uncovered: Facebook

Well I just thought we would say Hi.

I went to mothers Uncovered Monday and it was lovely.
Seeing all the pictures, FANTASTIC, you forget how small the little ones were. It seems so long ago now.
defiantly bought back some lovely memories!!!
So Maggie .... THANK YOU!!! Sorry I left early but it was the first time I have left Sophie for that long and I was getting a little panicky, I haven't managed to cut the apron strings properly yet.

Well whats been happening....

SHE SLEEPS!!!!! I found that she likes to be snug and warm now ( warmer than recommended ). I bought some fleece sleep suits and she sleeps for nearly 5 hours at a time. AMAZING!!!

I had to post this photo of my little angle, she has been drawing/scribbling since 1 month old ( with help ) now she does crayons/felts etc on her own but every time I tried to get my paints out she always wanted to try so I thought why not... as you can see I let her go a little mad but she loved it. acrylic on canvas... art in progress, apart from the hand print which I helped her with, its all her. then when it was time to clear up she cried... BLESS!!!

It would be nice to know how everyone is, I quite often look at the site to see for reply's / updates etc.
Well We had best go... Hope to see you all soon... maybe 1st Friday? hopefully sooner! Take care...
Heidi and Sophie xx

Facebook

Mothers Uncovered is now a group on Facebook. No idea how to send a link out but I'm sure if you're already on Facebook you can manage to sign up.

See you all next week at the exhibition

FIRST FRIDAY

Some of us went to 'Home' on Queens Park Road (at the bend where it turns into Egremont Place) about ten days ago to scoff pancakes. It was thought an excellent plan to make it a regular occurence, so introducing ....

First Friday.....

whereby on the first Friday of the month (I.E THIS WEEK!!) whoever is free to gather at Home from 11ish to whenever (but I'd need to go by 1.00 or so) to eat, drink and be merry - or miserable - as the mood takes them.For those that are working/doing other things/live too far away - please do set up your own meetings - post on the blog, that's what it's there for. If you're having trouble with the blog, please let me know.

Also, I've heard from about half of you that you're coming to the exhibition. It would help to know when you're coming, because I can then bring your photo/DVD on that day. And I'm still waiting on a couple of cards to add to the album.
all the best

Maggie

Exhibition

I hope you've all received your invites by now. Don't forget to tell me when you're coming.
Also, does anyone fancy going to Home (home, indeed, of lovely pancakes) on Queens Park Rd on Fri 24th for brunch.
And lastly, I have a lovely cleaner called Fraser (yes, a man that cleans!) that is looking for more work. Anyone interested call him direct on 07876430072

SWIMMING!!!!

To all babies.

Yes it is amazing 9 months old and all ready I can type on the keyboard, I would send texts but Mummy says that I am all fingers and thumbs where that is concerned!

Mummy is taking me to the King Alfred on Monday 6Th Oct @ 10am as I have a swimming lesson at 10.30am until 11.15am with the Little Ducklings ( its £4 ) and I was wondering if any of my little friends would like to come and join me in a round of splashing and kicking water at the adults? I promise that this time I will leave some of the water in the pool for swimming and playing and not try to drink it all!!

There are a few of us going but I was wondering if anyone else would like to come?

Also in a couple of weeks there will be a photographer there to take photos of us babies swimming under the water and having fun.

I love going swimming and splashing with all my little friends so I will hopefully see you all Monday.

Love Sophie x

P.S. Mummy also wants to know when the next meeting for pancakes is, no doubt I will get stuck with overcooked limp broccoli and cauliflower with a side order of more rabbit food. I'm telling you when I get to learn how to say more than ' mum mum mum mum ' I going to order a big slice of chocolate cake with a side order of milk!!!

SEE YOU ALL MONDAY!!! x

MOTHERS UNCOVERED EXHIBITION

Hi guys
You'll be getting your official invite through presently. If there's someone you think should come to one of the participant/guest screenings, please let me know. Otherwise encourage friends etc to visit during one of the public screenings. The Brighton Photo Fringe got the venue wrong (*&^%!!) so ignore what it says in the brochure.......
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Livestock presents MOTHERS UNCOVERED at The Tarner Children's Centre, Ivory Place, Brighton. 01273 296700

This exhibition is the result of three different groups of first-time mothers and their babies coming together to explore the rewards, expectations and challenges of motherhood. The sessions took place at Hangleton Park, Tarner and City View Children’s Centres.

You are invited to attend on ONE of the three dates below.
Photographs and writing from the participants will be on display, together with photography by Cecile Chevalier. There will also be an opportunity to view the film (30 mins approx) created from the sessions by Miriam King and to discuss the project.

These times are for participants and other invited guests.

Mon 10th Nov 6.00 – 7.15pm

Weds 12th Nov 3.00-4.45pm

Thurs 13th Nov 3.00-4.45pm

RSVP stating which date you will be attending to 01273 235336 or maggie@livestock.org.uk

Public viewings: Mon 10th Nov -Fri 14th Nov : 1.00-2.45pm ,
Mon 4.30-5.45pm