A dash of social policy, mince pies and Christmas spirit.

Well the gales are howling around me and I’ve spent the morning with a group of enthusiastic young people looking at social policy issues.  The students work as advisers with our Youth CAB project and are fired up about about the proposed Welfare Reform due to come into effect in 2013.

The reforms proposed aim to save £7bn however the student concerns, quite rightly, are that the proposed changes are likely to impact negatively on vulnerable and disabled clients – just like the one’s they see when working as advisers.  As one student commented, ‘this is going to make us really busy’.

In their project blog today they flagged up the fact that many children’s groups are concerned that the bill could plunge between 50,000 and 100,000 young people into poverty.  They know full well that this is going to mean people in their own community. Yet despite the howling winds, rain and proposed benefit reform I feel warmed today by their enthusiasm and their very real concerns about what the future holds for many vulnerable people.  It’s incredibly humbling and I take my hat off to them in their attempts to raise awareness and voice their concerns.

As we speak the community complex where I work is buzzing with Christmas and there are more than enough free mince pies to go around.  It’s only nature therefore  that thoughts to turn to the spirit of Christmas – so I thought I might just share a wee Christmas Winter Warmer with you.

In our house we’re a big fan of our slow cooker. Anyone who is busy will know the joy a slow cooker brings into your life. There is nothing nicer that getting home knowing that dinner has slowly been bubbling away all day and there is nothing for you to do than simply dish it up and enjoy.

Having time to be around the house at Christmas means that I can indulge in my passion for cooking and so the slow cooker used to be shelved, sitting lonely into the new year when the return to work madness begins once again. No more though. Our slow cooker has a special job this Christmas.  Did you know that your slow cooker is a fantastic way to make mulled wine!

For those of you that haven’t tried it I would urge you to give it a go. Sure you can make mulled wine in a pot, but the beauty of using the slow cooker is this….. it keeps the mulled wine at just the right temperature for ages (without you having to stand over it) AND it fills the house with the most wonderful smell.

I’m sure you have your own recipe for mulled wine, but here’s two for you anyway….one with alcohol (hic!) and one without.

So, whether you are planning to have chestnuts roasting on an open fire or a box of chocolates on your knee, kick back, enjoy your mulled wine of choice and listen to this……

Be warned though, enthused by our young advisers , I will return in the New Year with a rant about the Welfare Reforms!