We had visitors at the weekend. They’d been to a family reunion where some of their relatives were very old. One of our guests said she’d enjoyed hearing some of an uncle’s reminiscences and about the hardships he’d experienced, without complaining. She felt that younger members of the family had no idea what his life was like at their age. I agreed with our guest that there’s an enormous difference between today’s young people’s expectations and those of their great-grandparents.

Suffolk Humanists met in Ipswich on Wednesday 12th April to talk about what it means to be a Humanist. The small but select gathering (there were absences due to illnesses and holidays) was lively. Some spoke of their frustration that Humanism was not well known, saying they’d heard about it by attending a Humanist funeral. Why aren’t more people aware of Humanism, they asked. There are many reasons for this, including the attitude that since Humanism is common sense, why give it a name or join an organisation?

E-mail: mail@suffolkhumanists.org.uk Event description: T4TD by Margaret Nelson on BBC Radio Suffolk (95.5, 95.9, 103.9 & 104.6 fm). Listen online or listen again the same day.

E-mail: mail@suffolkhumanists.org.uk Event description: T4TD by Margaret Nelson on BBC Radio Suffolk (95.5, 95.9, 103.9 & 104.6 fm). Listen online or listen again the same day. Apologies if you tried listening on 12 April – the event was listed in error.

A message from Andrew Copson of the BHA – email your MP about faith schools. The Government’s current Education and Inspections Bill will inevitably lead to a proliferation of ‘faith’ schools and city academies controlled by religious interest groups. Polls show from 64% to 96% of the UK is against this policy. Why then, do most MPs continue to ignore this issue? We need to convince them that opposition to the creeping gift of our education system to religious interests is genuinely and widely held in their constituencies.

In this summary of Internet highlights, some useful tips on avoiding scams and staying secure online. Some of this may sound obvious, but we hear feedback from people who aren’t so confident using the Internet, so this is a straightforward introduction to safe surfing, with some links to great free tools to protect you while you enjoy the web. Question: Which of these e-mails is actually legitimate? Send this message on to ten of your friends and Microsoft will track them and pay you!

Rebecca Smithers, Guardian education editor Friday April 7, 2006 “Teachers are to call for an end to state funding for faith schools in an attempt to halt the growing influence of religious organisations in education and end the controversial teaching of creationism. Britain’s biggest teaching union, the National Union of Teachers, warned yesterday that religious fundamentalists were gaining control of state schools – predominantly through the government’s city academy programme – and some private businesses had too much influence over the curriculum.

Crucifixion stories for children & the AGM report. Download the newsletter as a PDF file and leave it lying around for your friends to read.

Humanism isn’t just about challenging the religionists, or faith schools, or funerals. It’s also about values – about doing the right thing – so if we’re serious about saving the planet (and most would say we are), should we be using traditional light bulbs? Shouldn’t they be banned? Have you got rid of yours? A 2001 survey of public attitudes to Quality of Life and to the Environment showed that only a third of the respondents regularly used low energy bulbs, which use 67% less energy than traditional bulbs.

Suffolk County Council’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met on Friday 31st March to put the finishing touches to the new Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in Suffolk. It will be presented to the county council’s cabinet for approval on 6th June. Humanist SACRE representative Margaret Nelson reports that Humanism will be included in the syllabus, as recommended by the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority’s 2004 non-statutory national framework for RE.