Down by the old Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, I snapped these pictures of reflections in the water. Isn't it interesting that we use the word "reflection" in two ways? It may concern an image of something echoed upon a water surface or on glass. But of course it can also concern thought processes after an event - weighing things up, mulling things over. Connected wise sentence openings might be - "Upon reflection..." or "I will need to reflect upon that...".
The second kind of reflection is about establishing clarity but a visual reflection is often unclear - not an exact image of the scene or item reflected. Ripples on water or cracks in glass will alter the image - perhaps making it slightly surreal so there is a sense in which it is rather odd that the term "reflection" is applied to both processes.
Anyway, I must stop reflecting on reflections and go upstairs for a shower. There I shall see my manly physique reflected in the bathroom mirror. I shall be off to Oxfam in an hour. Reflecting upon charities, I should like to send a giant "Boo!" out to all those mean-spirited people whose ignorant excuse for not giving to charities is that donations are mostly squandered upon administration and wealthy chief executives' salaries. It is a myth.
Out of every £1 that Oxfam receives, just 10 pence is spent on support and running costs. 37 pence is spent on emergency response work and 42 pence is spent on ongoing development work. Upon refection, I deduce that this is a very acceptable balance. For example, the full-time manager of our shop, Catherine, receives a salary of just over £20,000 a year. Would those charity ignoramuses really expect her to work for free?
Now cease this sofa-based indolence - to the shower Moriarty!
I suspect that reflection has the same meaning in both senses. One is the reflection of an image while the other is a metaphorical looking at a mirror. And as far as mirrors and I are concerned, metaphorical is best.
ReplyDeleteMR PARROTS Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?
DeleteMIRROR Not you Rhodesy! Take a hike or get some cosmetic surgery.
If you consider how our mentally reflecting upon events or ideas is also never a 1:1 representation of the original event or idea, but always filtered through the "cracks" and bent surfaces of our own minds, it is not so dissimilar to the reflection of a building on the surface of water, or of trees in the glassy facade of a building.
ReplyDeleteAs for charities, I think some people's reasons for not giving to them might be genuine concern that their donation never reaches the intended purpose. We have probably all heard too many stories of money being squandered, either due to poor management skills or corruption. Still, we should not always believe each and every story we come across in the media, nor should we believe all charities are the same. There are certainly some like Oxfam, who really do what they are supposed to be doing with the money.
Thank you for reflecting upon the two meanings of "reflection". You make a good point Professor Riley. Regarding charities I am afraid I haven't heard any verifiable stories about major charities squandering money.
DeleteInteresting breakdown of Oxfam YP
ReplyDeleteThe missing 11% is nearly all spent on promotion, advertising etc.. Oxfam needs to get its messages across and maintain a high profile in the public eye.
DeleteGreat photos, Yorkie. And they've caused me to reflect!
ReplyDeleteActually, in a few moments I'm off to one of our local OP Shops up here on the hill to drop off a carton of glassware and other stuff. (We have OP Shops...one run by the RSPCA and the other run by the Presbyterian Church).
I took the bull by the horns (and it didn't complain or charge)...and decided to do some de-cluttering - not before time!
And there is still more to be done...just not today.
At first I thought an OP shop was somewhere Australians could go for swift medical operations... but now I know different.
DeleteWe have those places, too.
DeleteAre they called hospitals or HOSP shops?
DeleteVet clinics...
DeleteWill the people of oxfam want to reflect on your freshly showered manliness?
ReplyDeleteI am back from Oxfam where I am known as Oxman.
DeleteAre your reflexes reflected in your movements?
ReplyDeleteI shall ponder upon your rumination Emma - as I am sure many men have done before me.
DeleteAs I write this I only have the first three comemnts in front of me. The first two have said more ably than I what I would, upon reflection, have said.
ReplyDeleteExcellent use of commas as parentheses Graham.
DeleteIt's too bad that some charities give others a bad name. It really gets low when churches are involved in such actions.
ReplyDeleteBad stuff seems more likely to happen with small, poorly managed charities but even then I think it is quite rare.
DeleteMmmm. Having read through the post and the comments on today's topic maybe I should just stick to choosing the photo of the day. It's the canal reflection which shows a building not visible in the photo frame. I'll just say this about charities and donors; people who refuse to donate money based on the theory the money is squandered are using that excuse as a cover-up for their own mean attitudes.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
That building you can see is The Straddle Warehouse which straddles the very last section of the canal. I took that odd picture through one of the arches of The Terminal Warehouse - through a rather dirty window.Thanks for calling by again Alphie. Your view about resistant donors matches mine.
DeleteI don't know about Oxfam, but one of my beefs with charities is that when I give them money, they badger me incessantly for years afterward to give them more. I can make a donation, and then I'm on their e-mail list forever, getting newsletters and solicitations every few days. And they NEVER LET GO. I understand the need to develop a reliable pool of donors -- and fortunately, in the era of e-mail, they no longer need to spend money on postage and stationery to keep people on the hook. (It used to drive me crazy that they were spending my donation on re-soliciting me for more donations.) But it's still a bit frustrating. I wish they would let me decide when to give rather than asking, asking, asking. You know?
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean Steve and I share your exasperation with this modern approach to charity campaigning.Such methods tend to turn me off particular charities - creating the opposite effect to the one intended.
DeleteI'll second that. One or two got hold of my cellphone number because I'd used that to donate. That annoyed me and I told them that if I received another call they'd never get another donation. They didn't call again.
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