Say A Kind Word To Someone Else At Least Once A Day

COMPASSION

Say A Kind Word To Someone Else At Least Once A Day

Few kids today are taught the value of empathy. It seems so hard for people to have compassion toward others and to actually understand what they are going through.

I was raised in a very loving family. As a child I was taught to put others before myself. We were always told to go out of our way to make someone else happy. My mom would tell me to say at least one kind word to someone every day. I will admit that it wasn't always very easy to do. But as soon as you see the look of gratitude in that person's eyes you just want to do as much as you possibly can.

I had an experience with a guy that I knew where people were always making fun of him. He was the guy that everyone liked to pick on. Because he was home taught, the only people he knew were the ones that he went to church with. Even there I would see people being mean to him. Every time I saw that happening I knew in my heart that it was wrong. From that moment on I decided I would make an effort to be his friend. I started taking him places with me and introducing him to people. I could tell by just doing that I was making him so happy. And I loved the fact that I was really making a difference in his life. For a while people were giving me a bad time for hanging around him. But it didn't matter to me, because I knew that what I was doing was right.

After a while I realized that he wasn't the kind of person everybody thought he was. And I was lucky to have him as a friend. And to this day we are still really good friends. People have almost completely stopped making fun of him. But the weird thing is that he never changed. What had changed was the hearts of others around him.

From this experience I've learned to be more loving and to show a little more empathy toward other people. What I did for my friend was so easy to do. And at the same time I had a lot of fun. I could only hope that others would start following my example. Before you start judging someone try to find out who he or she really is. You might be surprised. I want to make it a goal for everyone to say a kind word to someone else at least once a day. I can promise you that it will be the best feeling you ever get, knowing that one word could make someone's day a little brighter.

Going To Chruch

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV / 202 helpful votes

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Psalm 150:1-6 ESV / 135 helpful votes

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! ...

Colossians 3:16 ESV / 95 helpful votes

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 ESV / 60 helpful votes

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Matthew 6:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Psalm 122:1-9 ESV / 41 helpful votes

A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. ...

1 Corinthians 12:12-22 ESV / 23 helpful votes

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ...

Acts 2:47 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Psalm 150:2 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

John 3:16-36 ESV / 21 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ...

Acts 2:38 ESV / 17 helpful votes

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 56:7 ESV / 16 helpful votes

These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Psalm 84:10 ESV / 15 helpful votes

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Luke 4:16 ESV / 14 helpful votes

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

Psalm 122:1 ESV / 14 helpful votes

A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Romans 12:5 ESV / 12 helpful votes

So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Matthew 18:20 ESV / 12 helpful votes

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Ephesians 4:2 ESV / 11 helpful votes

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

John 7:1-53 ESV / 9 helpful votes

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. ...

Jeremiah 9:1-20 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the desert a travelers' lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. ...

Psalm 40:1-17 ESV / 8 helpful votes

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. ...

Psalm 40:1 ESV / 8 helpful votes

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Acts 17:19 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

Fake Babysitting Stories

The most terrifying babysitting experience of my life happened when I was about 17 years old. I was looking after a six-year-old boy and his three year-old sister, and after putting them to bed, I had settled in to perform the classic teen babysitting ritual of raiding their pantry for fun-sized snacks and watching Foxtel.

About an hour later, I went to check on the kids and make sure they hadn’t kicked their blankets off, when I discovered the six year old’s bed was empty. I checked in his cupboard, under his bed and behind his door and when it became clear he wasn’t there, or in the bathroom, I tore through the house calling for him in an urgent whisper I hoped wouldn’t wake up his sister. He was nowhere to be found.

The back door was unlocked and ajar, and I was filled with the most awful feeling of dread. I’d lost someone’s child. All of the horrible possible scenarios started flashing before my eyes and it was all I could do not to throw up. I’d never been in a situation remotely as terrifying as this, and after doing another few panicked laps of the backyard and house, screaming his name now, I picked up the phone to call the police. I was about to dial 000 when I heard a giggle coming from underneath the couch – the little rat had been hiding there since a few minutes after I put him to bed. I, of course, burst into tears and was a complete wreck until his parents came home. While I went on to babysit and nanny for many more families, I could never again bring myself to look after those kids again.

Babysitting can be a weird job sometimes

I’m not the only one who’s had a babysitting experience that rattled them. A recent Reddit thread asked ‘what’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you while looking after someone’s kid?‘ and the answers made for some pretty compelling reading …

The just plain crazy parents

“When I was 10 to probably 13 or 14 I babysat for a weird family in my town. They had three daughters who were super awesome and we always had a blast. When I started, the youngest was two weeks old. It turned into me babysitting for them more than their parents were home or I was at my own home. Anyways the parents are into weird stuff … One of the things they liked to do was for any major decisions they needed to make they would get out a sinker attached to a string and ask it questions. If it swung a certain way it meant yes and if it went the other way it meant no. Well anyway I’ve been watching these girls for a couple of years and one night the mother asks where the father and I go when he takes me home. I tell her that he takes me home right away. Well she says that it takes him 2 or 3 hours before he gets back. Obviously I’m stunned at what she’s insinuating, but they pay ok and I always knew they were crazy anyway. About a week after this, she tells me that I can no longer watch the kids because her sinker told her that the husband and I were having an affair. We weren’t. I was 12 for f***s sake and he was an ugly 37 year old. - Chrississippi69

When mum’s keeping a secret or two

“When I was 13 I got a job babysitting for my neighbours. They had two little girls that were just the easiest kids to look after. The mum and dad were super nice people. Dad was a nurse that worked mainly nights and mom worked from home and would ask me over Friday nights so she could go out and have some down time. I quickly found out though that she was seeing other men. The first night I went over there the mum informed me she would be home no later than midnight. Well, 4am rolled around and I’m woken up by noise out on the porch and see her hastily kissing another man and shooing him off. She apologises for being late, pays me (was $5 short) and I go home to my mum who’s p***ed that she kept me so late. The same thing happened two more times. She’d promise to be home at midnight and come home at three or four in the morning. Every time with a different guy. And every time she would stiff me a little of what I earned. My mum put a stop to it and called her out on cheating on her husband. They ended up getting divorced not long after that. - DomashnaRakija

Weird toilet behaviour

“I babysat regularly as a teen. One night it was business as usual. I had just laid the kids down for bed until I hear crying in the bathroom. Go in and the little one had a poop string hanging out of his bottom. I didn’t want to pull it in case it was wrapped around something so I’m trying to keep this kid calm and call his parents. They don’t answer. I call over and over with this kid freaking out. I call my mom who calmed me down, took their number, and then chain called them until she got a hold of them. They “rushed” home and took him to the ER. Definitely my weirdest night. The string came out fine, btw. Apparently the kid liked yarn … a lot.” - fantasyfreakazoid

Drug dealer daddy

“I babysat for a very prominent family in my town- wife was a CEO, husband a lawyer. It was the best job ever! Two easy-going kids, $15 an hour (this was 15 years ago, so that was a TON of money), access to their pool, and an open invitation for my friends to come swim while I was “working”. In between my first and second summer working for them the parents divorced and the dad bought a giant house out in the country where I’d watch the kids sometimes. He made it very clear that his office and all the outbuildings were strictly off-limits. Okay, whatever, no problem. He had a “grounds keeper” who was always prowling around, hitting on me, and acting like a total creeper. If the kids or I came within 20 feet of the (supposedly empty) stables he’d shoo us away saying he’d spotted a dangerous snake, just sprayed for bugs, or some other BS reason to keep us away. Came home from school a few months after my summer gig was over and saw the dad’s mugshot on TV. He’d been busted as some kind of small-time drug lord, selling cocaine to dealers out of his house in the country and his “grounds keeper” was a wanted sex offender.” - Alliebeth

Kids with knives

“There were three of them … I don’t remember their names now, but they were aged 12, nine, and six. ‘Nine’ was on some sort of medication, for an anger problem. ‘Six’ looked up to Nine and copied him, and 12, the sister, was more mild mannered but tolerable alone.

It started off normal, Six and Nine are riding their bikes around the neighbourhood and 12 and I are doing a puzzle. Eventually, the kids get bored, so we broke out their game of Connect Four. That went well for all of maybe five minutes. Nine lost his game to 12, so he throws the entire game set at her, and she continues to tease him which makes Nine angrier. Nine continues to throw things around and I ask him to stop, that’s not nice. He yells “SHUT UP” and tries to attack his sister. So 12 runs away screaming with Nine following behind, Six decides to try and get involved but somehow, Six trips and connects with Nine’s foot as he’s running, so now I’ve got 2 kids beating each other up and one with a bloody nose. I decide to leave Nine and 12 while I deal with the bloody nose. I’m holding a crying, screaming Six over the sink with hot water running and just letting him bleed there while I’m trying to stay calm and have Nine and 12 calm their sh*t. I did end up screaming “STOP!” to the kids, and they stopped.

Back to Six, who’s still crying over a bloody nose. I realise, holy sh*t, this sink isn’t draining. Nine goes “oh yeah, that sink doesn’t work.” Okay awesome, now I’ve got blood to clean off the carpet, tile, and now a sink full of bloody water. Of course, this is when Nine decides to lose his sh*t and grabs a pocket knife from his mother’s end table and tries to stab 12 with it. I take that knife from him, so of course he comes back from the kitchen with another knife. Yay.

Well, at least he stopped trying to stab his sister for the time being, so he resorts to stabbing all of his mother’s furniture instead. By now I’ve called the mum like four times, but she isn’t answering her phone. So I end up calling my stepmum, who’s retired military, because someone’s going to die and I’m starting to lose my shit, being 17 at the time. So, to recap, there is blood everywhere, holes in all the furniture, psycho Nine year old with knives (I put up all the kitchen knives but he had some hidden in his room). So my stepmum runs over to see exactly that. I explain to her the situation, and she ends up restraining Nine while I clean up this mess.

Finally, their mum calls back and I explain the situation to her as well, and she says calmly, “yeah his medication must have worn off. Just tell him he’s done nothing wrong and to give him what we wants”. OK, maybe that isn’t the exact words, but that’s basically what she told me to do. F*ck that. I got out of there, got paid $80, and that was my very last time babysitting.” - stonedkangaroo

Have you ever had a crazy babysitting experience?

More from Kidspot:

• How to select a babysitter without regretting it
• All about babysitting
• Babysitter checklist

More related reading:

• Babysitters of Reddit speak out via Reddit
• The 15 most chilling things kids have said to their babysitters from Viral Nova
• Babysitting horror stories from Cafe Mom

School holidays

Forget "just surviving" the holidays - here are some ideas to help you and your family and whānau have fun and “thrive"!

Your child needs the holidays to recharge their batteries and refresh themselves, ready for the next term. Holidays are also an opportunity to spend time with your child and have fun together.

Keep it simple, affordable and fun. The key is enjoying time with your child – it doesn’t have to be a chore or cost a lot of money.

Tips to “thrive”

• take the pressure off yourself - decide that you’re just going to enjoy hanging out together without the hustle and bustle of the school term
• if you’re working in the holidays, use the evenings or time when you’re not working to have fun time with your child, free of the school time routines
• if you're signing your child up to school holiday programmes let them be involved in choosing them - many programmes have a specific focus, like art and craft, or sports, and your child will have more fun if they're doing something they like
• remember all the free, fun games and activities you enjoyed as a kid (before iPads, PlayStation and X-Box)? You’ll be surprised at just how much fun you’ll still have – and your kids will enjoy them too!
• at the start of the holidays get your child or children to write a couple of ideas for things to do in the holidays and put them in a jar. Each day pull one out of the jar to do that day
• especially with younger children, don’t forget the old favourites – playdough, fingerpaints, water play and bubbles
• cries of “I’m bored” are okay. Children often come up with their most creative play when they’re bored. Let them know it’s their choice to be bored, or they can choose not be bored
• bring some balance into the holidays – organise some activities, but also have some quiet time each day, where everyone does something by themselves, including you! It could be reading, drawing or listening to an audio book
• get your child involved in the day to day running of the household.  They often like to help plan and make the meals.  Helping with housework also teaches your child lots of important skills about being organised, being part of the family, co-operating and contributing!

Some fun ideas

• organise play dates with friends – they’ll love the extra out-of-term time together, and it can be a way to share the childcare when you're working
• let your child build a tent or hut using old sheets, blankets and odds and ends from around the house
• get the whole family out into the fresh air – it could be a bike ride, a trip to the beach, or a visit to a park or reserve in your area that you’ve never been to before
• plan an “expedition” – take the bus or the train, and get them to map out a walking adventure. You could even take a snack and have a picnic. Young children will love dressing up in character for their adventure
• get messy – check out the messy play ideas on the Ministry's website, use a tarpaulin, water and dishwashing liquid and make a “slip’n’slide” down a hill, or start a vege garden
• visit your marae or family you haven’t seen for a while. School holidays are a great time to talk to your kids about where they are from and who they are
• take part in some of the free school holiday activities that libraries, local councils, and even shopping centres offer
• think about the projects your child has been doing at school. You may find some activities, events or exhibitions in your area that will help your child to get a better understanding of what they’ve been learning at school. Or your child may have been on a school trip and want to go back and share it with you
• have your kids find some music and make up a dance, or find a favourite story and make up a play. Maybe they can invite some family or friends over for the performance.

Holiday programmes

If you work during the school holidays and want to find a holiday programme to enrol your child in:

• check with your school - many programmes are based at schools
• keep an eye on your school newsletter - often school holiday programmes are advertised through schools
• ask friends and family for recommendations
• check out church and community notice boards
• your workplace may even run a holiday programme.

You can check out the Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) Subsidy on the Work and Income website and find out if you are eligible for help with the cost of your child's school holiday programme.

Keep up their learning too

• encourage them to read throughout the holidays - they might like to read in the mornings before they get up, at night before they go to bed, or help you by reading to their younger siblings
• keeping a holiday journal can be fun - plans, drawings, photos, and stories of things they do all help their literacy skills over the holidays, and kids love to read and re-read them in the future
• helping out with cooking and baking makes use of their maths skills and shows them how maths is all around them
• tell them about your work, and how your work day was.  You might even be able to show them your work and share more about your work life with them.

It’s important to remember that your child can’t be left on their own if they are under 14 years old.  This also means they can’t be dropped off at the mall, the library, or swimming pool on their own without reasonable supervision or care. You can be fined under Section 10B of the Summary Offences Act 1981.

Enjoy the holidays - make the most of the downtime, have fun with your child, and take the opportunity to catch up with whānau and friends! 

Funny Back to School Stories Back to the OHP

Funny Back to School Stories

Back to the OHP

Dear All,

When I returned from my holiday, I notice from our schedule for the September weekend that during the 'Worship' day we will be looking at 'Worship and vision, multimedia in worship.'  I thought the following definition taken from the writings of St.Adrian de Plass might inform the session and stand as a warning to us all!

Overhead Projector: often referred to as an OHP. Confusion with the term OAP is a bad idea, as discovered by a man in one of our local churches who announced the following:

'I have been going through the OAPs in our church and it has become clear to me that many of them are simply no use to us any more. They are elderly, shabby, difficult to understand, poorly put together, old fashioned and often theologically unsound. Some of them are literally falling apart. I have weeded out a number of these redundant OAPs and I suggest we store them in the church cupboard until the autumn. Have a look though if you wish, and feel free to take home any that you fancy, otherwise I will dispose of them on the church bonfire'.

Every blessing

Hugh-John

The Golden Rule of Teaching - Know your Pupils

A head teacher is making his rounds of the school when he hears a terrible commotion coming from one of the classrooms. He rushes in and spots one boy, taller than the others, who seems to be making the most noise.

He seizes the lad, drags him to the hall, and tells him to wait there until he is excused. Returning to the classroom, the head teacher restores order and lectures the class for half an hour about the importance of good behaviour.

'Now,' he says, 'are there any questions?'

One girl stands up timidly. 'Please sir,' she asks, 'may we have our teacher back?'

Story

As the holidays approach, giant Asian factories kick into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness... and may the Holidays be Blessed for you and yours!

Story

Featured in the exhibition is the well-known Shakespeare Beadle bust, created three centuries later than any other piece. Usually residing on Level 2 of the Central City Library it shows Shakespeare contemplating the world which he holds in his hands. This bronze bust was created by Professor Paul Beadle through a commission from the Auckland City Council. The plaque below this sculpture, however, doesn’t tell us about its complicated, and mostly unknown, history.

Ref: Paul Beadle, Bust of Shakespeare, Bronze, 1970.

Records from the Auckland City Council archives tell us that in 1967 £500 was left as a bequest from Florence Walker for the creation of a statue of Shakespeare “similar to that at Stratford-upon-Avon.” Councillors at the time debated over accepting the donation with some putting forward that there were plenty of statues of Shakespeare and that the money would have been better if it were going to something else. Others quoted the Bard and put forward Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language in favour of accepting the bequest.

Ref: excerpt from the Auckland Star, 1 June 1967, page 4.

The bequest and its terms were eventually accepted by the Council and they commissioned Paul Beadle to create the bust, giving him artistic flexibility in the appearance of the sculpture. They also contributed another £500 towards the project from the Improvement Trust Account in order to cover any other costs.

Paul Beadle was a Professor and Dean of Fine Arts at Auckland University from 1961 to 1977. He cast the bust in bronze using the lost wax process. The Shakespeare figure was cast for the sculptor at D.M.S foundry, Penrose and the sphere, which features semi-relief figures representing humanity, was cast by the sculptor himself. They were then welded together. Completed in 1972, the work has run into issues because it was unbalanced for some time until it had a proper base created. 

Ref: excerpt from the New Zealand Herald, 24 September 1975, section 1, page 6.

The bust was originally created to be under the care of Auckland Art Gallery but was never displayed there. The Council also considered placing the Shakespeare bust in Albert Park to replace one of the existing white marble statues which were in poor condition. Instead it was placed in the Auckland Public Library Rare Book room (now the Sir George Special Collectionsreading room).

Concerns arose in 1976 that “the work [was] not receiving appropriate exposure” and so they considered moving it to the Mercury Theatre in August 1976 on permanent loan, but this never eventuated. The bust also receives a mention in The Governor’s Gift, Wynne Colgan’s book about the Auckland Public Library 1880-1980.

The life of Shakespeare’s bust in Sir George Grey Special Collections has been one which involved uncertainty but which has always been based on the public enjoying and appreciating the sculpture itself and what it represents.

We plan to create a new plaque for the sculpture which honours both Paul Beadle, the artist, and Florence Walker, the woman who made the original bequest. Little is known about her and we would love to hear from anyone who has a connection to her to understand more about her life. Do you have this connection? Let us know!

In the spirit of the bust we also encourage you to learn more about Shakespeare at our current exhibition, ‘Shakespeare in his time’, where the bust is on display. See more about it in this Newshub segment which ends with some lovely shots of the bust: Shakespeare's secret work on display.

Helping

For an assembly about helping others / co-operation, tell the story about the two greedy brothers who were locked in a room with endless piles of their favourite foods.

The only rule was they had to eat the food with metre long spoons, holding the spoon at the very end. (Demonstrate how impossible this is by taping a spoon onto the end on a metre ruler).

They were so greedy they nearly starved until they figured out they could feed each other with the spoons! (Demonstrate with two children).

Explain that you can solve problems together if you look at things from a different viewpoint and that two heads are better than one!

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A visitor has contributed a story which could be used with this idea:

There was once a king who was just and kind and honest. He ruled his land fairly. The kingdom was peaceful, prosperous and happy.

The king had just one problem: his brothers. These two men were cruel, selfish, and mean, but above all, greedy. At royal parties, they would push, poke and barge their way to the front of the queue for the buffet. Then they would gorge themselves, eating and drinking until they could hardly move.

One day, the king decided to do something about these two awful brothers of his. In the middle of the night, the royal guards woke the brothers and marched them downstairs into a small dark room they had never seen before.

Inside the room was a table. On the table was every kind of food you could imagine. There were pies and puddings, cake and crumbles, buns and breads, roasts and rolls, tarts and trifles, and dish upon dish of tasty things.

Standing next to this table heaving with goodies was the king, looking very stern. The king commanded his brothers that they must eat the food that the royal kitchens had prepared for them, but they must follow two important rules when doing so. The brothers looked at each other, then at the king, then at the food, their mouths watering.

“Rule number one,” the king went on. “You must only eat the food using the spoons I give you. Rule number two. You must only hold the spoon by the very end of its handle. Break either of these rules and you will be thrown into the dungeon.” The king then walked out of the room, locking the door behind him. The two greedy brothers rushed forward to grab the spoons, pushing each other out of the way.

(At this point get two kids up onto the front to have a go at eating with the big spoons- desert spoons taped onto a metre stick work well. Give the kids a couple of broken biscuits which are easy to eat and can usually be found somewhere in the staff room)

However much they pushed, shoved and criticised each other, the two brothers were unable to eat even one crumb of the delicious food. It was only after three days of trying, when they were weak with hunger and half-mad with frustration, that they came up with the idea of helping each other. Only by co-operating, taking turns and carefully feeding each other, were they able to get any food at all.

The next day, the king opened the doors of the brothers’ room and found two very different men inside. They had learned how to think of others, how not to be selfish and how to work as a team.

I wonder if you can do that today?