So what is the deal with charities?
At the moment there is a famine going on in Africa. Potentially hundreds of thousands of people are going to die, with a huge chunk of these being children.
If you have read any newspaper or watched the TV recently then this will be pretty obvious.
I will hold my hand up, I give nowhere near as much money to charity as I should. For this current famine, I think I texted £3 and convinced myself that was great. I do give some more on a monthly basis to other charities but when I think about it, it really is nothing. I do go through the usual ways to make myself justify not giving more, for example every outgoing matters, or that I do enough anyway, but really they are just stupid excuses.
Now please, this is not some way of me subtly trying to show of that I give something at all, because trust me I am not proud of it. But the point I do want to raise is actually there is another reason, which isn’t entirely selfish, as to why I don’t donate to every cause I believe in.
Very simply I don’t trust charities.
Now whether this is right or wrong I have no idea. This argument is absolutely not based on any fact or statistics but it is based on what seems to me like a pretty widely held view.
I was walking down Carnaby street like I do most days and for once spotted a t-shirt of one of the charity workers I do believe in. I must say some of the charities, whilst I am sure are important to many people, are quite far down in my pecking order. It was for the RSPCC and their full stop campaign, which I wholeheartedly believe in. I have been meaning to donate to them for ages, and whether I was in a good mood or something I don’t know, but I stopped and pledged £10 a month. When I went back to the office, a really nice guy I work with asked me what I had in my hands, and I told him it was a pack from the RSPCC because I just donated to them.
He looked shocked and gazed at me like I was an idiot and there was something he knew that I didn’t. So I asked him what was on his mind.
He then went in to one about the corruption of charities, how do we know where our money is going etc etc. It seems the more people I talk to, they also share this view.
It does seem that people generally don’t trust charities, and to be honest I can kind of see why.
If we take comic relief for example, the kind of money generated, its amazing. But it does seem year in year out that the steps to making any change are quite small, and that even £70 million doesn’t really do that much. Again, rightly or wrongly, sometimes I do sit there and think where the fuck is all the money going? Why are we back in this situation again?
Whether its charities, or the actual people on the ground who are the problem I am not really sure, but whatever the case, it seems to me that aid does not get where it needs to. Particularly in Africa’s case you hear so much about corruption, that my conclusion now is that if I do donate, the aid is just going to be sold for profit, and the people who need it the most are going to suffer.
This perception has to change. The public need to understand where every penny they are donating goes to, particularly overseas. There needs to be watchdogs in place that tracks aid the whole way and there needs to be 100% reassurance that every single penny is going in to the correct place.
I want to know that if I give £20 quid a month, its going somewhere, because then I will be tempted to give more, and I would think a much larger % of the population would also give more.
There is also another thing I would like to add, asides from donating, what else can we do. To me people who cannot even drink water whilst I swan about trying to figure out whether or not I drink the Malbec or the Montrachet is unacceptable and unfair. Shit like this should not be happening in the world we live in.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
whats wrong with British Tennis, and a bit more
ok, so I am watching the Wimbledon Semi final, where Andy Murray is already two sets and a break down, and by the time I have finished this, he will be giving some drab interview about why he lost.
Most of the people who know me, know how I feel about Andy Murray. Its fair to say I am not his biggest fan. Its nothing to do with the fact he is Scottish, and it is certainly nothing to do with how he plays tennis. In fact he is my type of player. He hits the ball flat, deep and except a distinctly average serve for his height, he is pretty much a complete player.
But for me, this Wimbledon, and Andy Murray, is what sums up is the poor state of British Tennis.
At the moment this country is completely under-performing in every department. The 5 targets that Roger Draper has been set by the LTA have been missed by a country mile, whilst spending an absolute shed load of money. Literally millions. I wont go in to the details of this, because we only need to see that Andy Murray was the only Brit past the 3rd round at Wimbledon this year to see just how bad things are.
So the question is why are we so bloody awful at tennis?
To bring it back to my mate Andy, the biggest flaw in his game in my opinion is nothing to with his technique or condition, but its his head that is where the problem lies. I dont mean his stupid adolescent beard and irritating hair. I mean whats in-between his ears.
From my brief experience within the tennis set up in this country when I played for Bucks, I always felt everything was about technique. How to hit a ball, how to move your feet, how to hit a volley, how to serve. But I always felt that actually how to win a tennis match was just simply left to me to figure out.
This was something I always felt when playing county tennis, you were just kind of supposed to get it. You were always supposed to just figure out what was required and know how to structure a tennis match.
Ultimately, to me, it seems for some reason in British tennis we are adverse to actually teaching people how to win. We seem perfectly able to teach technique, and how to work really hard in practice, but thats where it stops. Surely technique and practice are a given?
If you take Nadal, before each game, and when the coin is tossed, to me he looks like a warrior. He looks mean, he looks hungry and he is jumping around like he literally wants to rip his opponents arms off.
I find it amazing how Nadal channels this energy in to his matches. You can see Murray literally self implode, he channels his energy negatively. When things are not going his way, he looks at his stupid mum for support, he throws his racket and shouts at himself. How often do you see Nadal and Federer channel their energy this way. They get their heads down, focus and the warrior prevails. With Murray, the spoilt, needy child prevails.
Surely if we could instil this hunger and desire to win, at any cost, our players would be more successful.
Now dont get me wrong, I am all for playing to enjoy, and I dont want to ever be the kind of father who pushes my kids if they dont want to be pushed. But if someone has talent, if a kid shows a spark and willing, surely the best thing we can do is nurture this talent, but most importantly teach them how to win, and to be mentally strong and how to have a hunger which means winning at any cost.
I am not a psychologist, and for all I know the LTA may be teaching kids to win but to me it seems in Tennis in this country we are not creating fire in our players. With all these facilities, and resources, it seems like we are almost spoiling our players and missing the point.
When it comes to Andy Murray, stop relying on your stupid mum for support, stop looking at her when things dont go your way. Until Andy Murray gets his mum out of his mind, and realises a tennis match is his battle, he will never win a grand slam. He has the ability to, but not the head and not the fire in his belly.
Most of the people who know me, know how I feel about Andy Murray. Its fair to say I am not his biggest fan. Its nothing to do with the fact he is Scottish, and it is certainly nothing to do with how he plays tennis. In fact he is my type of player. He hits the ball flat, deep and except a distinctly average serve for his height, he is pretty much a complete player.
But for me, this Wimbledon, and Andy Murray, is what sums up is the poor state of British Tennis.
At the moment this country is completely under-performing in every department. The 5 targets that Roger Draper has been set by the LTA have been missed by a country mile, whilst spending an absolute shed load of money. Literally millions. I wont go in to the details of this, because we only need to see that Andy Murray was the only Brit past the 3rd round at Wimbledon this year to see just how bad things are.
So the question is why are we so bloody awful at tennis?
To bring it back to my mate Andy, the biggest flaw in his game in my opinion is nothing to with his technique or condition, but its his head that is where the problem lies. I dont mean his stupid adolescent beard and irritating hair. I mean whats in-between his ears.
From my brief experience within the tennis set up in this country when I played for Bucks, I always felt everything was about technique. How to hit a ball, how to move your feet, how to hit a volley, how to serve. But I always felt that actually how to win a tennis match was just simply left to me to figure out.
This was something I always felt when playing county tennis, you were just kind of supposed to get it. You were always supposed to just figure out what was required and know how to structure a tennis match.
Ultimately, to me, it seems for some reason in British tennis we are adverse to actually teaching people how to win. We seem perfectly able to teach technique, and how to work really hard in practice, but thats where it stops. Surely technique and practice are a given?
If you take Nadal, before each game, and when the coin is tossed, to me he looks like a warrior. He looks mean, he looks hungry and he is jumping around like he literally wants to rip his opponents arms off.
I find it amazing how Nadal channels this energy in to his matches. You can see Murray literally self implode, he channels his energy negatively. When things are not going his way, he looks at his stupid mum for support, he throws his racket and shouts at himself. How often do you see Nadal and Federer channel their energy this way. They get their heads down, focus and the warrior prevails. With Murray, the spoilt, needy child prevails.
Surely if we could instil this hunger and desire to win, at any cost, our players would be more successful.
Now dont get me wrong, I am all for playing to enjoy, and I dont want to ever be the kind of father who pushes my kids if they dont want to be pushed. But if someone has talent, if a kid shows a spark and willing, surely the best thing we can do is nurture this talent, but most importantly teach them how to win, and to be mentally strong and how to have a hunger which means winning at any cost.
I am not a psychologist, and for all I know the LTA may be teaching kids to win but to me it seems in Tennis in this country we are not creating fire in our players. With all these facilities, and resources, it seems like we are almost spoiling our players and missing the point.
When it comes to Andy Murray, stop relying on your stupid mum for support, stop looking at her when things dont go your way. Until Andy Murray gets his mum out of his mind, and realises a tennis match is his battle, he will never win a grand slam. He has the ability to, but not the head and not the fire in his belly.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
something positive and something spicy
Ok, so I have not written my blog for a while after quite an enthusiastic start. A tiny daughter, a decent sized vegetable plot and many large work things have been keeping me busy.
Another big reason for the absence has also been due to a conversation I had with my mum.
I was walking with my parents through the lovely landscape of Speen trying to get Ella to have her afternoon nap. As she started to nod off, my mum started to show some concern towards my royal wedding rant. Particularly with regards to some of the language, which I guess any good mum should do, but also because of how negative the tones of what I have been writing about were. My initial response was that she was missing the point, and I kind of acted like an angry teenager and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t care what you think” I said.
The whole point about addressing the unfairness of the royal family is to positively state how nice it would be if our system worked differently, or worked fairly, and that money was used for the wedding was used for better causes.
However, I do realise and accepted that anyone who makes a bit of noise and attempts to point out why things are wrong, come across negative. Take Johann Hari, who I cannot recommend enough, although he is campaigning for some of the most important causes and raises some amazing points, he is sometimes portrayed as “negative”. I guess when people write about things that we don’t really like to think about or admit, it doesn’t sit very well, and anything that disturbs our middle class bubble view of things never goes down well (not accusing my mum of this by the way). So from here, to not only please my mum but actually just to talk about some less serious things, I am going to alternate my blogs. One which will try and raise a serious point and give some food for thought, and one which is just generally nice.
So as my first positive blog, I want to tell you about a condiment.
I love condiments.
I love all condiments, ranging from a simple ketchup or mayonnaise, to a complex, deep and broody chilly sauce.
My recommendation is Quita D’avo. I have just got back from Portugal, after not having been for a while, so I am literally eating this stuff for breakfast.
Quita d’Avo offer a range of Timorese sauces with a plethora of different heats, textures, flavours and end uses. Some are marinades, some are full blown chilli sauces, and some are well, just freaking awesome. Out of their whole range, my suggestion to you is the all rounder. The Quinta D’avo, Preporado Timorese sauce, “the spicy sauce from Timor.”
Where to begin.
When this sauce first hits your lips, you get a nice punch of acidic, lemon flavours which to be honest is kind of surprising. As the flavour develops, the lemon fades, with a wonderful chilli kick replacing it with a hint of red peppers. There are a number of undertones including other citrus flavours, and some kind of special ingredient I cannot quite put my finger on, which I guess is part of the delight. Honestly there is a glut of flavours in this bad boy.
I would recommend eating this sauce with literally anything but it works really well with chicken, sausages and fish. One thing I will say is that it is a dominant flavour so it will kick the shit out of anything else you are eating, in a good way.
A great point about this sauce is that regardless of what you seem to mix it with, it just works. I have even smeared this all over vegetables to give them a bit of life.
I have just picked one sauce, which actually weirdly is not on their website, but take a look on here and you will see how extensive their range is.
http://www.quintadavo.com/
Also, some good news, Simon Dudderidge informs me its available in Waitrose! Get down there.
Another big reason for the absence has also been due to a conversation I had with my mum.
I was walking with my parents through the lovely landscape of Speen trying to get Ella to have her afternoon nap. As she started to nod off, my mum started to show some concern towards my royal wedding rant. Particularly with regards to some of the language, which I guess any good mum should do, but also because of how negative the tones of what I have been writing about were. My initial response was that she was missing the point, and I kind of acted like an angry teenager and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t care what you think” I said.
The whole point about addressing the unfairness of the royal family is to positively state how nice it would be if our system worked differently, or worked fairly, and that money was used for the wedding was used for better causes.
However, I do realise and accepted that anyone who makes a bit of noise and attempts to point out why things are wrong, come across negative. Take Johann Hari, who I cannot recommend enough, although he is campaigning for some of the most important causes and raises some amazing points, he is sometimes portrayed as “negative”. I guess when people write about things that we don’t really like to think about or admit, it doesn’t sit very well, and anything that disturbs our middle class bubble view of things never goes down well (not accusing my mum of this by the way). So from here, to not only please my mum but actually just to talk about some less serious things, I am going to alternate my blogs. One which will try and raise a serious point and give some food for thought, and one which is just generally nice.
So as my first positive blog, I want to tell you about a condiment.
I love condiments.
I love all condiments, ranging from a simple ketchup or mayonnaise, to a complex, deep and broody chilly sauce.
My recommendation is Quita D’avo. I have just got back from Portugal, after not having been for a while, so I am literally eating this stuff for breakfast.
Quita d’Avo offer a range of Timorese sauces with a plethora of different heats, textures, flavours and end uses. Some are marinades, some are full blown chilli sauces, and some are well, just freaking awesome. Out of their whole range, my suggestion to you is the all rounder. The Quinta D’avo, Preporado Timorese sauce, “the spicy sauce from Timor.”
Where to begin.
When this sauce first hits your lips, you get a nice punch of acidic, lemon flavours which to be honest is kind of surprising. As the flavour develops, the lemon fades, with a wonderful chilli kick replacing it with a hint of red peppers. There are a number of undertones including other citrus flavours, and some kind of special ingredient I cannot quite put my finger on, which I guess is part of the delight. Honestly there is a glut of flavours in this bad boy.
I would recommend eating this sauce with literally anything but it works really well with chicken, sausages and fish. One thing I will say is that it is a dominant flavour so it will kick the shit out of anything else you are eating, in a good way.
A great point about this sauce is that regardless of what you seem to mix it with, it just works. I have even smeared this all over vegetables to give them a bit of life.
I have just picked one sauce, which actually weirdly is not on their website, but take a look on here and you will see how extensive their range is.
http://www.quintadavo.com/
Also, some good news, Simon Dudderidge informs me its available in Waitrose! Get down there.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Why the Royal Wedding is wrong
Surprise surprise as I left the office today I shot my mouth off. I had a five minute rant because someone asked me where am I going to be enjoying the Royal Wedding. I went very red and totally went off on one. To my horror, I received a really hostile reception when I finished my rant. So I looked in to it and to my surprise, according to some opinion poll, the BBC is saying that 1/5th of the population are republican.
The reaction I faced at my mouthing off and this stat surprised me immensely and not because this is a high figure, but because I thought it would be so much higher. I thought it would be the minority of the general public who would be behind this complete and utter waste of time Wedding and Royal Family.
I know what you are thinking, "what a negative arsehole." You are asking why pick fault with something like the Royal Wedding, "just enjoy it for what it is and enjoy the day off." I will enjoy the day off no question but as for the rest of it...
Quite frankly this Royal Wedding business makes me cringe, not just because of how badly the last one ended up, but because how much the country is embarrassing themselves by being so brainwashed in to thinking its important, and ohh its so good for the economy. Do one!
To start with the Royal Family in general, my problem is that they are supposed to be the pillars of society, leading from the front and demonstrating what is good with the world. They should be the most infallible part of our society that says to the wider public, "look at us, this is how you should live your lives, this is how its done."
They could not be further from this.
Apart from the Queen, and maybe William (who is well known for hating his position) every single one of them are a complete disaster, yet bizarrely the general public lap this shit up like someone is intravenously feeding them catnip.
Lets take Prince Andrew, who is openly friendly with Jeffery Epstein who is a convicted sex offender and seems to love dealing with despotic leaders.
Then there is Princess Margaret who loved a good affair, a good drugs binge and some serious drinking.
Princess Anne nearly killed two boys with her dangerous dog Dotty and has a criminal record for speeding (does that mean she has an asbo?). Seems dotty to me.
If Edward VIII had not abdicated with Wallis Simpson, a Nazi sympathiser would have been King.
You get the point.
To become a Royal you dont need anything more than being born in to it. No election, no democratic process. Just the fact you have been born in to this "special family" gives you the right to a life time of luxury and people thinking you are something special. So ultimately its complete chance who gets to be King or Queen. This seems like such a contradiction when you think how elitest and meritocratic the rest of our society is. Wouldn't it be great if we could choose the figure head of our Country and for them to be accountable to pissing around all the time?
I bet you are thinking the whole point of the Royal Family is that the tradition and heritage is pivotal to the UK's identity. Its what makes us different and unique.
From my perspective its a heritage based on snobbish bullshit this country seems to have ingrained in its psyche. Its this stupid notion derived from grandeur and bravado that people in privilege are supposed to be important and that we should all look up to them.
There is frankly no substance to this argument, people earn the right to be looked at from below. In a world of such uneven distribution of wealth, now more than ever privilege should be earned fairly and not given away.
Now, I am one for tradition and heritage, I god damn love it dont get me wrong, but the Royal Family are far from what I would class as real tradition and heritage. When I think about what encapsulates this country and our real heritage its about substance and things that are constant and have real meaning.
Its about our rolling hills, our rich and diverse history, our great cities, the Peak District, a picnic by the River Thames, our sense of humour, our ability to poke fun at ourselves, our great music scene, the NHS (for all its flaws), Rugby, Cricket, our ability to create fine Ales, Cheddar cheese, Cornwall, Atlee, Jamie Oliver (haha), a good Cox apple, allotments, pubs, I could literally go on all day.
So let me ask you, why is it that we need a bullshit wedding to rejoice and have street parties? Why do we need an excuse to celebrate, especially when what we are celebrating is so flawed?
Another point I can already here you making is that its great for tourism and our economy. Granted, it does have some impact, but amazingly out of the top 20 tourist attractions in the UK the only Royal Family related attraction is Windsor Castle at 17. Legoland is actually higher at 15, so to rip of Johann Hari even more, does that mean our next King can be made out of Lego? May as well be.
I know this blog will come across really negative and people who are just happy to go along with this Royal wedding for what it is will think I am making a big deal over nothing. Yes, maybe there are more important things to point out and maybe me caring so much is a waste of energy.
My response to this is simple.
Give the money you are going to waste on this wedding to charity. For once show some decency and have a modest wedding where the love of the couple is the important point. Finally, stop dicking about with Tax Payers money you total an utter bunch of muppets!!
The reaction I faced at my mouthing off and this stat surprised me immensely and not because this is a high figure, but because I thought it would be so much higher. I thought it would be the minority of the general public who would be behind this complete and utter waste of time Wedding and Royal Family.
I know what you are thinking, "what a negative arsehole." You are asking why pick fault with something like the Royal Wedding, "just enjoy it for what it is and enjoy the day off." I will enjoy the day off no question but as for the rest of it...
Quite frankly this Royal Wedding business makes me cringe, not just because of how badly the last one ended up, but because how much the country is embarrassing themselves by being so brainwashed in to thinking its important, and ohh its so good for the economy. Do one!
To start with the Royal Family in general, my problem is that they are supposed to be the pillars of society, leading from the front and demonstrating what is good with the world. They should be the most infallible part of our society that says to the wider public, "look at us, this is how you should live your lives, this is how its done."
They could not be further from this.
Apart from the Queen, and maybe William (who is well known for hating his position) every single one of them are a complete disaster, yet bizarrely the general public lap this shit up like someone is intravenously feeding them catnip.
Lets take Prince Andrew, who is openly friendly with Jeffery Epstein who is a convicted sex offender and seems to love dealing with despotic leaders.
Then there is Princess Margaret who loved a good affair, a good drugs binge and some serious drinking.
Princess Anne nearly killed two boys with her dangerous dog Dotty and has a criminal record for speeding (does that mean she has an asbo?). Seems dotty to me.
If Edward VIII had not abdicated with Wallis Simpson, a Nazi sympathiser would have been King.
You get the point.
To become a Royal you dont need anything more than being born in to it. No election, no democratic process. Just the fact you have been born in to this "special family" gives you the right to a life time of luxury and people thinking you are something special. So ultimately its complete chance who gets to be King or Queen. This seems like such a contradiction when you think how elitest and meritocratic the rest of our society is. Wouldn't it be great if we could choose the figure head of our Country and for them to be accountable to pissing around all the time?
I bet you are thinking the whole point of the Royal Family is that the tradition and heritage is pivotal to the UK's identity. Its what makes us different and unique.
From my perspective its a heritage based on snobbish bullshit this country seems to have ingrained in its psyche. Its this stupid notion derived from grandeur and bravado that people in privilege are supposed to be important and that we should all look up to them.
There is frankly no substance to this argument, people earn the right to be looked at from below. In a world of such uneven distribution of wealth, now more than ever privilege should be earned fairly and not given away.
Now, I am one for tradition and heritage, I god damn love it dont get me wrong, but the Royal Family are far from what I would class as real tradition and heritage. When I think about what encapsulates this country and our real heritage its about substance and things that are constant and have real meaning.
Its about our rolling hills, our rich and diverse history, our great cities, the Peak District, a picnic by the River Thames, our sense of humour, our ability to poke fun at ourselves, our great music scene, the NHS (for all its flaws), Rugby, Cricket, our ability to create fine Ales, Cheddar cheese, Cornwall, Atlee, Jamie Oliver (haha), a good Cox apple, allotments, pubs, I could literally go on all day.
So let me ask you, why is it that we need a bullshit wedding to rejoice and have street parties? Why do we need an excuse to celebrate, especially when what we are celebrating is so flawed?
Another point I can already here you making is that its great for tourism and our economy. Granted, it does have some impact, but amazingly out of the top 20 tourist attractions in the UK the only Royal Family related attraction is Windsor Castle at 17. Legoland is actually higher at 15, so to rip of Johann Hari even more, does that mean our next King can be made out of Lego? May as well be.
I know this blog will come across really negative and people who are just happy to go along with this Royal wedding for what it is will think I am making a big deal over nothing. Yes, maybe there are more important things to point out and maybe me caring so much is a waste of energy.
My response to this is simple.
Give the money you are going to waste on this wedding to charity. For once show some decency and have a modest wedding where the love of the couple is the important point. Finally, stop dicking about with Tax Payers money you total an utter bunch of muppets!!
Monday, 11 April 2011
Why seeing obese kids is so wrong
I had a few ideas about what I was going to write about in my next post when I hopped on the tube this evening. I had a few topics in mind about oil, Libya etc. But then I thought actually, lets start with something a little more accessible. I didn’t have much engagement on the drugs thing so lets keep it a little less serious for now.
But, as I found my preferred spot within the tube carriage I realised I was struggling for slightly less “serious” things to talk about that I could really be arsed with. Then just as I was about to put my Sennheiser headphones in my ears (the CX-300 ii, I got them for a tenner and you cant beat them) when something hit me, literally.
Just as the doors at Regents Park were closing a gabble consisting of two mums and about 7 kids rampaged in to the standing area of the carriage. They actually were very polite, very apologetic for nearly snapping my shin in half and their kids had a lovely shy, yet cheeky character to them. Blood pressure dropping and problem over right? Wrong. Pretty much every one of these kids were what I would class as morbidly obese, even the youngest lad, who could not have been more than 4 years old had an overhang.
First of all I am going to put a disclaimer in here, before all of the usual backlash happens:
This post is not aimed at kids with genuine difficulties (both emotional and physical), illnesses and whose weight is something completely out of anyone’s control. The last thing I want to do is upset anyone out there with weight problems which they genuinely cannot do anything about.
Ok disclaimer out the way.
Once the severity of the situation hit me I felt genuine rage, and actually thought about asking the two women in charge, “sorry ladies, but what the flying shit are you feeding your kids?” Then I realised there was no way I was in the mood for such a confrontation and actually the Mums look relatively handy.
Within a few seconds this rage turned to genuine sadness, as I realised these really sweet kids have no choice in what they are being fed. They have no choice in the fact that they will probably have some form of diabetes or heart condition by their mid teens. They also have no choice in the fact that they are being given a serious disadvantage in life.
I have great admiration for what Jamie Oliver has been trying to do and continues to do. The whole time I have been watching his programmes on this matter I have thought fair play for not just sitting on your cash and not doing something helpful like so many wealthy people seem to do, but also fair play for choosing this as the topic of focus.
What astounded me on his shows is how people seem to get so defensive and argue with the points he is raising. Its almost like these people feel they are entitled to make their kids fat and expect no consequences. Its so baffling to me that people just dont get why what they are doing is so bad.
The next question here is naturally, who is to blame?
There is no question parents have to take responsibility as they are the ones who are ultimately in charge of the nutrition of their kids. But there was an underlying reason why I didn't confront the two mums on the tube today, and it wasn't just because I bottled it.
I have been very lucky growing up as I have been encouraged to eat, yes, a lot of food, but most importantly good quality food. My dad is a Dentist who applies his scientific knowledge to nutrition and subsequently has written books on the subject and my Mum has always supported this. I was also taught from many trips to France as a kid that food is fun and trying things like shellfish, snails and things that are still moving is a positive thing.
I think its safe to say there is a big percentage of families, the ones on the train included, who dont have this relationship with food and in fact have no clue at all about just how important it is and how it can impact their lives, not just in a superficial way.
Surely this boils down to education?
Why are we not doing more to educate families and kids, and encourage institutions to serve nutritious food? Why are we not thinking of creative ways to incentivise families to feed their kids properly? If people dont know any better, and they have easy options its obvious what path they are going to chose. Apart from anything else, you would think the savings to NHS would make it logical if nothing else?
By the way, please dont give me the argument of cost because thats total bullshit. Eating healthily is not more expensive!
On Jamie Olivers crusade, at every turn he has faced resistance. Not only from defensive, narrow minded members of the public but also from larger, more powerful forces with ulterior motives. If there was one criticism I would point at Jamie Oliver its the fact he didn't question further why these barriers were in his way.
Its easy to forget that supermarkets, food companies, fast food chains are massive business, just as the Petrochemical and Pharma companies are.
We have to question why governments are not doing more to regulate the food industry and help people who are not educated in this area to know any better. Its easy to blame parents, and its probably justified to an extent, but there is more to it than that and surely the blame lies with the people who can really make a difference?
But, as I found my preferred spot within the tube carriage I realised I was struggling for slightly less “serious” things to talk about that I could really be arsed with. Then just as I was about to put my Sennheiser headphones in my ears (the CX-300 ii, I got them for a tenner and you cant beat them) when something hit me, literally.
Just as the doors at Regents Park were closing a gabble consisting of two mums and about 7 kids rampaged in to the standing area of the carriage. They actually were very polite, very apologetic for nearly snapping my shin in half and their kids had a lovely shy, yet cheeky character to them. Blood pressure dropping and problem over right? Wrong. Pretty much every one of these kids were what I would class as morbidly obese, even the youngest lad, who could not have been more than 4 years old had an overhang.
First of all I am going to put a disclaimer in here, before all of the usual backlash happens:
This post is not aimed at kids with genuine difficulties (both emotional and physical), illnesses and whose weight is something completely out of anyone’s control. The last thing I want to do is upset anyone out there with weight problems which they genuinely cannot do anything about.
Ok disclaimer out the way.
Once the severity of the situation hit me I felt genuine rage, and actually thought about asking the two women in charge, “sorry ladies, but what the flying shit are you feeding your kids?” Then I realised there was no way I was in the mood for such a confrontation and actually the Mums look relatively handy.
Within a few seconds this rage turned to genuine sadness, as I realised these really sweet kids have no choice in what they are being fed. They have no choice in the fact that they will probably have some form of diabetes or heart condition by their mid teens. They also have no choice in the fact that they are being given a serious disadvantage in life.
I have great admiration for what Jamie Oliver has been trying to do and continues to do. The whole time I have been watching his programmes on this matter I have thought fair play for not just sitting on your cash and not doing something helpful like so many wealthy people seem to do, but also fair play for choosing this as the topic of focus.
What astounded me on his shows is how people seem to get so defensive and argue with the points he is raising. Its almost like these people feel they are entitled to make their kids fat and expect no consequences. Its so baffling to me that people just dont get why what they are doing is so bad.
The next question here is naturally, who is to blame?
There is no question parents have to take responsibility as they are the ones who are ultimately in charge of the nutrition of their kids. But there was an underlying reason why I didn't confront the two mums on the tube today, and it wasn't just because I bottled it.
I have been very lucky growing up as I have been encouraged to eat, yes, a lot of food, but most importantly good quality food. My dad is a Dentist who applies his scientific knowledge to nutrition and subsequently has written books on the subject and my Mum has always supported this. I was also taught from many trips to France as a kid that food is fun and trying things like shellfish, snails and things that are still moving is a positive thing.
I think its safe to say there is a big percentage of families, the ones on the train included, who dont have this relationship with food and in fact have no clue at all about just how important it is and how it can impact their lives, not just in a superficial way.
Surely this boils down to education?
Why are we not doing more to educate families and kids, and encourage institutions to serve nutritious food? Why are we not thinking of creative ways to incentivise families to feed their kids properly? If people dont know any better, and they have easy options its obvious what path they are going to chose. Apart from anything else, you would think the savings to NHS would make it logical if nothing else?
By the way, please dont give me the argument of cost because thats total bullshit. Eating healthily is not more expensive!
On Jamie Olivers crusade, at every turn he has faced resistance. Not only from defensive, narrow minded members of the public but also from larger, more powerful forces with ulterior motives. If there was one criticism I would point at Jamie Oliver its the fact he didn't question further why these barriers were in his way.
Its easy to forget that supermarkets, food companies, fast food chains are massive business, just as the Petrochemical and Pharma companies are.
We have to question why governments are not doing more to regulate the food industry and help people who are not educated in this area to know any better. Its easy to blame parents, and its probably justified to an extent, but there is more to it than that and surely the blame lies with the people who can really make a difference?
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Why the drugs argument is so frustrating...
For my first post, to anyone who I see on regular basis, this is going to seem like relatively old news. However, the reason I chose this topic to kick things off is that today I was reminded how far away from getting anywhere on this point we really are.
I was listening to five live in the car on my way to lunch, when Kate Silverton and her guests announced they were going to be discussing the current law on drugs. My ears pricked up, I turned the volume level up and quite soon the language spewing out of my mouth was pretty much as foul as it gets (Cat will vouch for this).
The reason for my frustration was not actually aimed at what was coming out of the guests mouths, as of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it was the lack of thought and understanding behind their opinions. It was the same antiquated viewpoints that seems so ingrained in people's mind that just baffles me.
So many people have written about this subject and illustrated the facts that I am not going to bother to do the same. For me, the current situation is beyond statistical quarrelling, and there are so many real life examples (one example being Portugal, where not many people realise that all drugs are decriminalised) that suggest at least questioning our stance on drugs is something we must take seriously.
To put this in to further context, I remember listening to the radio (maybe I need a swear box in my car) a few years back when the then Health Secretary, Alan Johnson was taking questions in Luton. The question arose "should we change our stance on drugs?" The best answer Mr Johnson could muster is that "there is no way we can even think about doing this because of the health implications and what it would mean for society" or something along those lines. In addition to this ignorant and to be honest expected answer he gave, it was the tone of his response that really pissed me off. It was that tone that implicated the person who proposed the question is some thrill seeking drug baron who wants drugs to be legalised so he, and his bong nailing friends can get messed up without any consequence.
Its this kind of attitude that is so dangerous and completely wrong. I thought at the time "you are the Health Secretary for fucks sake, shouldn't you at least explore all the options and take this question seriously?"
There is this strange stigma and taboo around drugs that amazingly so many people hold on to without asking any questions. My argument here is not whether drugs are good or bad, frankly thats obvious, but rather shouldn't we look a little further than the ridiculous Leah Betts type headlines?
Let me ask a question here, which for some of you will be easy to answer, but for some of you it may not:
Even if the results of reclassifying drugs were so positive it was undeniable, would you actually do it because of the moral viewpoints that are stopping you from taking it seriously?
I ask this because in my opinion, its not the facts or the statistics that are stopping this debate being taken seriously, its the bullshit we have been fed since day dot from the media and government that we as a society, simply cannot shake.
I was listening to five live in the car on my way to lunch, when Kate Silverton and her guests announced they were going to be discussing the current law on drugs. My ears pricked up, I turned the volume level up and quite soon the language spewing out of my mouth was pretty much as foul as it gets (Cat will vouch for this).
The reason for my frustration was not actually aimed at what was coming out of the guests mouths, as of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it was the lack of thought and understanding behind their opinions. It was the same antiquated viewpoints that seems so ingrained in people's mind that just baffles me.
So many people have written about this subject and illustrated the facts that I am not going to bother to do the same. For me, the current situation is beyond statistical quarrelling, and there are so many real life examples (one example being Portugal, where not many people realise that all drugs are decriminalised) that suggest at least questioning our stance on drugs is something we must take seriously.
To put this in to further context, I remember listening to the radio (maybe I need a swear box in my car) a few years back when the then Health Secretary, Alan Johnson was taking questions in Luton. The question arose "should we change our stance on drugs?" The best answer Mr Johnson could muster is that "there is no way we can even think about doing this because of the health implications and what it would mean for society" or something along those lines. In addition to this ignorant and to be honest expected answer he gave, it was the tone of his response that really pissed me off. It was that tone that implicated the person who proposed the question is some thrill seeking drug baron who wants drugs to be legalised so he, and his bong nailing friends can get messed up without any consequence.
Its this kind of attitude that is so dangerous and completely wrong. I thought at the time "you are the Health Secretary for fucks sake, shouldn't you at least explore all the options and take this question seriously?"
There is this strange stigma and taboo around drugs that amazingly so many people hold on to without asking any questions. My argument here is not whether drugs are good or bad, frankly thats obvious, but rather shouldn't we look a little further than the ridiculous Leah Betts type headlines?
Let me ask a question here, which for some of you will be easy to answer, but for some of you it may not:
Even if the results of reclassifying drugs were so positive it was undeniable, would you actually do it because of the moral viewpoints that are stopping you from taking it seriously?
I ask this because in my opinion, its not the facts or the statistics that are stopping this debate being taken seriously, its the bullshit we have been fed since day dot from the media and government that we as a society, simply cannot shake.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Why I thought this would be a good idea...
To be honest, I have always been very cynical about blogs. I wont go in to why.
Recently, however, it dawned on me that the people who happen to be my friend on Facebook dont actually want to hear me ranting and raving all the time, and even my mum mentioned to me I should probably tone it down a bit.
It seems people use Facebook to air meaningless self indulgent tripe (probably me included) than actually discuss anything worthwhile. I have absolutely no problem with this, self indulgent meaningless tripe is kind of essential, but one observation I have made about myself is that I seem to have opinions on lots of things, that I seem to want to air in some way (usually after a few pints to a poor innocent individual who has no care in the world for what I have to say).
So rather than repeatedly airing my views on Facebook or to peoples faces I thought I would set up this blog to put down thoughts, opinions, topics of debate in a more channeled way. I have decided: I am no longer going to use Facebook to inflict my thoughts on to others.
I must say, I kind of feel like a total tool doing this and if I was reading this by someone else my thoughts would be so ludicrously negative its not even funny, but hopefully by doing this I can:
- raise some thought provoking points
- save my friends on Facebook from reading things they never really signed up for
- learn a few things
- channel my opinions in a more constructive way
So, lets see what happens. If you fancy reading then awesome, if not, no worries and if you think I have an over-inflated opinion of my own opinion then I dont really blame you.
I am off to have a Lamb Chilli Massala and a 4 pack of Heini's with my wife, and think about how in my next post I can intelligently explain why I hate the Daily Mail so much.
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Recently, however, it dawned on me that the people who happen to be my friend on Facebook dont actually want to hear me ranting and raving all the time, and even my mum mentioned to me I should probably tone it down a bit.
It seems people use Facebook to air meaningless self indulgent tripe (probably me included) than actually discuss anything worthwhile. I have absolutely no problem with this, self indulgent meaningless tripe is kind of essential, but one observation I have made about myself is that I seem to have opinions on lots of things, that I seem to want to air in some way (usually after a few pints to a poor innocent individual who has no care in the world for what I have to say).
So rather than repeatedly airing my views on Facebook or to peoples faces I thought I would set up this blog to put down thoughts, opinions, topics of debate in a more channeled way. I have decided: I am no longer going to use Facebook to inflict my thoughts on to others.
I must say, I kind of feel like a total tool doing this and if I was reading this by someone else my thoughts would be so ludicrously negative its not even funny, but hopefully by doing this I can:
- raise some thought provoking points
- save my friends on Facebook from reading things they never really signed up for
- learn a few things
- channel my opinions in a more constructive way
So, lets see what happens. If you fancy reading then awesome, if not, no worries and if you think I have an over-inflated opinion of my own opinion then I dont really blame you.
I am off to have a Lamb Chilli Massala and a 4 pack of Heini's with my wife, and think about how in my next post I can intelligently explain why I hate the Daily Mail so much.
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