Swimwear Through the Decades

I was forwarded this infographic with regard to swimwear through the ages.  This is not a sponsored post, I just found the content interesting so thought that I would share it with you!

Sandra Bland

I have talked about many different subjects on this blog over the years.  I have never been afraid to write about any subject, but one subject that I have not covered so far are issues of race.  As Leah has written on her blog, the truth is that I was scared.

I did not know enough, I was frightened of getting things wrong; saying the wrong thing.  I did not want to stay silent and many times my fingers would be hovering over the keyboard as time after time I read about another black life needlessly lost.  I was so concerned about saying the right thing that I said nothing at all.

But this lady has made me face my fears and speak to you today.  Sandra Bland.

Source

Sandra was pulled over for not indicating a lane change.  In Waller County where Sandra was pulled over, 29.1% of the drivers who were pulled for a traffic stop were black, despite black people only making up 26% of the county's population - source  Texas has a long, long history with racism,

Sandra was ordered out of her vehicle, threatened with a taser, had her head slammed to the ground; was arrested and three days later she was dead.  They claim that Sandra hung herself, but there are many questions surrounding this, one of the harrowing being that she may have already been dead when her mugshot was taken.

Why was the video footage edited?  Why was her mugshot not taken with the same background as every single other mugshot (the background being the same colour as the cell floor).  Why does it look like she is lying on the floor?  Why did the version of how she supposedly hung herself change?

There are so many questions and not many answers.

Check out the below links:

What Happened to Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland: 5 Fast Facts

I have read story after story of unarmed black people being physically assaulted and killed by officers in the US.  Yet at the same time we see people like Dylann Roof who was arrested, given a bullet proof vest for his protection and given a Burger King.

Sandra Bland's name needs to be remembered.  She is not a statistic.  

Tips for Young Drivers

My niece is learning to drive at the moment.  Learning to drive these days is an expensive pastime, not only paying for the driving lessons after you pass, the cost of your car insurance and road tax.

There are some importance choices that you have to make when you choose to learn to drive and the first of those is choosing your driving instructor.  When I first decided to learn to drive, rather than getting recommendations, I choose someone from the Yellow Pages who had a cheap hourly rate.  Big mistake.

I was a very nervous driver in the beginning and for the first and second driving lesson; I did not even manage to proceed beyond driving on the car park.  What I needed was encouragement and patience.  What I got was ridicule and being told that there was little point in carrying on because I was wasting my money and his time.  He told me that I would never be able to do it.

That is a harsh thing to tell a seventeen year old that is nervous behind the wheel to begin with.  Whilst I was nervous, I was also determined so I decided to not listen to him, but instead fire him.  I got a new instructor; this time one who came highly recommended.  It may have taken me 18 months to pass my test, but I got there. 

The other importance choice that you have to make is selecting your car insurance provider.  There is no getting away from it; insurance for new drivers is expensive.  Thankfully though, if you do your research, you can find some great deals.

Companies like More Than have policies specifically with young drivers in mind that can assist with the cost of insurance by monitoring your driving by way of their Telematics Driving Style Score. 

When you buy their young driver policy they arrange to have a small Sm>rt Wheels Box fitted to your car which monitoring various aspects of your driving such as speed, smoothness and usage. Over the course of the year, you can earn back up to 10% of your premium by way of cashback.

By having the Sm>rtBox monitor your driving this will not only save you money but also encourage you not to take risks, speed or brake excessively because you know that the safer you drive, the more cashback you can get!

Do you have any stories from when you learned to drive? 

*Post written in collaboration with More Than however all opinions are my own