CanO Water Opens Educational Hub to Encourage Londoners to Think about Swapping Single Use Plastic Bottles

CanO Water Opens Educational Hub to Encourage Londoners to Think about Swapping Single Use Plastic Bottles 1 CanO Water Opens Educational Hub to Encourage Londoners to Think about Swapping Single Use Plastic BottlesCanO Water, the alternative to single use plastic bottles, is launching a new campaign to encourage Londoners to be more environmentally friendly. The #canthebottle education hub, in Old Street station, will raise awareness of the damaging effects of using plastic. The campaign encourages Londoners to visit the hub, and drop off their plastic bottles, receiving in return, a more sustainable can of water. 

 The Stats

In the UK, we consume 18 billion plastic bottles a year and only a quarter of these are recycled. 

38 million plastic bottles end up in landfill every day and drinking one bottle of water a day has the same impact on our environment as driving a car for a kilometre. 

Plastic water bottles also contribute to several health issues due to BPA which is the industrial chemical that is used to make plastic. The ripple effect of BPA on our health effect your sleep, mood and has even been proven to promote risk of breast cancer cell growth. 

A report published by the NHS reveals that it also increases risk of lower sperm count or creates an erectile dysfunction. By making smarter choices with such a simple swap, CanO Water is encouraging people to become part of a much bigger movement and come down to #canthebottle

 The temporary space features powerful imagery, showing the current state of our beaches and oceans, contrasting with projected imagery from 2050, highlighting the devastating consequences of continuing to use plastic bottles. There will be educational talks hosted by a range of experts, as well as drop in opportunities to speak to the founders about their mission.

The educational hub runs until the 20th. Come down to take part in the #canthebottle campaign and learn how you can make a difference. 

CanO Water launched in 2015 hoping to inspire other millennials to work together in hope to ban ‘eco-unfriendly’ products.  Determined to offer everyone an alternative to single – use plastic bottles, CanO Water created  a simplistic and stylish aluminium can. Aluminium has the highest recycling rate of any drink on the market, recycle your can and it could be back on the shelf in as little as 6 weeks. Cans provide a long shelf life by protecting products inside from light, oxygen and other factors that can affect taste, and product safety. The ‘can’ also has a smart releasable lid making it the perfect on – the – go product. 

CanO Water has recently caught the eye of several high profile environmentalists such as David Gandy, Ellie Goulding and Dougie Pointer by offering a simple alternative that can really make a difference. Most notably, the brand was flown by Vanity Fair to feature at their prestigious Vanity Fair’s 2017 Oscar party. The state of California has banned plastic bottles, and the guest list for the event included well known sustainability personalities, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep.

Carol Smillie & The Underwear Changing Women’s Lives

Carol Smillie & The Underwear Changing Women's LivesIt is not easy being a woman. First there are periods, then possible post maternity leakage (do this pelvic exercises now!) or other bladder issues. But help is at hand at last: DiaryDoll are a range of protective underwear with a concealed waterproof layer which offers girls and women that extra peace of mind and comfort.

DiaryDoll is a pioneering range of pretty clever pants and the brainchild of TV presenter Carol Smillie. With teenage daughters dealing with their monthly cycle, Carol originally developed the range for young women who might be worried about heavy periods whilst at school, playing sport and sleepovers. They definitely serve a great purpose for this but also stress incontinence (which an estimated 1 in 3 women suffer with), during / post-maternity and SUI, commonly known as  ‘sensitive bladder’, or ‘pelvic floor weakness’ (which is believed to affect approx 9 million women in the UK).

dairydollsreview dairydollpostmaternitypelvicfloorperiods dairydollpinkperiodspostpartnum dairydollwaterproofunderwear dairydoll

Just like any other pants in the drawer, they are soft, comfortable and machine washable. They are available in black, white, pink and blue online and in 122 Boots stores across the UK. They sold over 400 pairs in 8 minutes on QVC.co.uk and are available in Debenhams.com, JohnLewis.com and pharmacies across the world.

When Kate Winslet openly admitted ‘by third sneeze, it’s game over’ on Graham Norton’s chat show, sales rocketed.

Carol comments, ‘Sales have really taken off, over 35,000 in fact, but not without a little resistance. We underestimated the level of taboo that still surrounds this whole topic. The launch into Boots is a huge deal for us – it’s a big step towards getting this sensitive but very common problem out in the open and getting more people talking about it.’

Knowing Frost is popular with mothers, and women in general of course, we decided to ask to see the underwear. Was it comfortable and discreet? Well yes and yes. The underwear looks good and is comfortable. We were worried there would be rustling but the pants are luckily noise free when you walk. If I was not pregnant I would definitely wear these pants when I had my period. Although be advised that they are to be worn with sanitary protection. The pants are machine washable, very soft and streamline. I would say order a size bigger than you are. They fit small. I always buy underwear bigger than my actual size and I found the 12 I was sent to be a bit snug.

Diary Doll underwear is available here.

www.diarydoll.co.uk

 

 

It Happened To Me: A Tampon Got Lost In My Body

There is nothing like sharing stories to make you feel like you’re not alone in a situation – we can all identify with a bit of true-talk after all. Not only that, being open and honest about real things that happen to real women is the fastest way to smash taboos and get us all talking about tricky topics. Femcare subscription service Pink Parcel speaks openly to a current subscriber about a particular time a tampon got lost in her body.

unnamed

Here, Kay, 24 tells us about the time a tampon got lost inside her…

“I was right at the end of my period. You know, that time in the month when you’re still bleeding a tiny bit but not really enough to justify wearing a tampon. Usually I’d just whack on a panty liner, but I decided to use a lite tampon to be on the safe side. I had a work event that day and wanted to wear a pair of tight, light grey trousers that I’d bought especially. I really didn’t want to risk any potential accidents with a squiffy pad.

“The day passed in a hectic blur. I was rushed off my feet and the event finished with drinks with my team. The glasses of wine I drank went straight to my head, but that wasn’t surprising. It had been a busy day and I have a low tolerance to alcohol around the time of my period. I said goodbye to my colleagues and went off to meet my boyfriend in another bar. It was a friend’s birthday so we ended up drinking some more and danced – the weekend had arrived and all I wanted to do was let my hair down and then sleep! It’s safe to say I was pretty tipsy and after a few hours my boyfriend and I went home to my flat, had sex and crashed out.

“At that point, I still hadn’t taken out the tampon I’d put in early that morning, in fact I’d totally forgotten about it. Yes, even during the sex. My boyfriend didn’t realise that I had a tampon in either. I’m still not sure how, but he didn’t.

“I woke the next morning with a hangover, but sorted myself out with a big breakfast and a long walk by the river. I honestly never gave the previous day’s tampon another thought.

“Fast forward a month and I noticed something wasn’t right when I started spotting. I’d bleed for a day but then it would stop, only to start again a few days later. I even thought I might be pregnant and did a test. It was negative, but I knew something weird was going with my periods. I was no longer regular and just couldn’t understand why. My cycle had been like clockwork for years.

What’s going on?

“So I went to the doctors. As it happens, I was due to have a smear test so booked one in for the following week. I was anxious in case it revealed something sinister but the results came back after a couple of weeks and they were all clear. A relief.

“But the irregular bleeding and low tummy cramps continued and were a complete mystery to me. Another month or so passed this way and my boyfriend marched me back to the doctors. He knew something wasn’t right too.

“They sent me for a scan. An internal one known as a ‘transvaginal ultrasound’ where a three-inch probe was inserted into my vagina to get a good look at my cervix, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes – everywhere that could possibly be causing me this problem. I was told the ultrasound usually detects cysts, fibroids, pelvic infections, ectopic pregnancies and even cancer. I was preparing myself for any of these scary sounding things.

“But when I was sat back in my doctor’s surgery, getting the results, I couldn’t believe it when he said they showed nothing abnormal. Internally my lady bits were the picture of health.

“So I went back home no wiser, wondering then if I’d been over-exaggerating and that maybe the spotting was just normal girl stuff. Not so. For the next month, things seemed to get worse. I didn’t know from day to day if I’d be bleeding or not and it started to take over my life.

“When I went back to my doctor a final time in tears, he referred me to a female gynaecologist to take another look.

The big reveal

“I wasn’t expecting what that appointment would reveal. As I lay there, with my legs in stirrups and with a trainee male doctor looking on, the gynaecologist inserted a speculum into my vagina and got out her light. “Do you think you might have left a tampon in?” she asked, “I think I can just about see the string.” My mind whirred. No, surely not?

“In the next moment she went in with an instrument and whipped out what I can only describe as a soggy, grey mass. It was disgusting and was taken away before I could see it properly or smell it. Thankfully.

“My mind then did the maths. That tampon has been inside me for four months. Four months! In which time I’d inserted other tampons as normal and had sex. Not to mention had a smear test and an ultrasound scan. When I asked the gynaecologist where it had been all that time, she said it was lodged sideways at the top my vagina near my cervix, compressed with the moisture. Apparently it happens way more often than you think, but she was surprised I hadn’t experienced any unusual discharge or odour. I said if I had I might have suspected it sooner.

“I’ve only told my best friend and my mum this story and of course my boyfriend could hardly believe the outcome either. He feels guilty as he played a major part in pushing it ‘up there’. Any other time in my life I’ve always changed my tampon every few hours and wouldn’t have thought it was possible to lose one. Let alone for four months! It just goes to show what can happen with a crazy-busy day, a few drinks and forgetfulness. I won’t be doing that again.”

 

 

 

First look at The National Theatre Salomé trailer

SALOMÉ – a new play by Yaël Farber
theatre, salome, trailer

Previews from 2 May, with Press Night 9 May. Continuing in the repertoire until 15 July. Broadcast to cinemas by NT Live on 22 June.

The story has been told before, but never like this.

An occupied desert nation. A radical from the wilderness on hunger strike. A girl whose mysterious dance will change the course of the world. This charged retelling turns the infamous biblical tale on its head, placing the girl we call Salomé at the centre of a revolution.

Internationally acclaimed director Yaël Farber (Les Blancs) draws on multiple accounts to create her urgent, hypnotic production on the Olivier stage.

Salomé is designed by Susan Hilferty with lighting design by Tim Lutkin, music and sound by Adam Cork, movement direction by Ami Shulman, fight direction by Kate Waters and dramaturgy by Drew Lichtenberg. Cast includes Philip Arditti, Paul Chahidi, Ramzi Choukair, Uriel Emil, Olwen Fouéré, Roseanna Frascona, Lloyd Hutchinson, Shahar Isaac, Aidan Kelly, Yasmin Levy, Andrew Lewis, Anna Lindup, Theo T J Lowe, Isabella Niloufar, Lubana al Quntar,and Raad Rawi

Hundreds of Travelex tickets at £15 available per performance.

nationaltheatre.org.uk

@nationaltheatre

 

 

Debra Messing ‘Pressured’ to Go Nude in A Walk in the Clouds

Debra_Messing_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_FestivalDebra Messing has revealed she was “pressured” to shoot a nude scene in 1995 film A Walk in the Clouds by the director Alfonso Arau and the film’s producers.

The Will & Grace star starred opposite Keanu Reeves in the film, it was her first major film and was not a pleasant experience. She also said that she contacted her agent about the directors request and was then informed she would likely be fired if she said no.

She went on to say that she was berated after approaching Arau about the scene. “Your job is to get naked and to say the lines. That’s it,” he reportedly said. When the time came to film the scene the filmmaker made her feel uncomfortable “He lifts (the sheet up), scans my naked body, then drops the sheet on top of me like a used Kleenex,” she said at the MAKERS conference in California, “He walks away without a word…The whole thing was a power play, a game. And the goal, to demean me, to strip me of my power and make me feel on a cellular level his dominance over me.”

 

In the end only her back was exposed in the film. The 48-year-old actress also reportedly had issues with Alfonso after he berated her for how she looked.

“How quickly can we get a plastic surgeon in here’, ‘Her nose is ruining my movie! I can’t do this! Look at this!”‘ Alfonso reportedly said.

Messing was “frozen, horrified, mortified” and “felt deep shame” about her Jewish heritage after his comments.

British Book Awards: Books of the Year shortlists announced

thebritishbookawardsThe six category shortlists for the 2017 Books of the Year Awards were announced at the 2017 London Book Fair by Chair of the Judges and Contributing Editor of The Bookseller Cathy Rentzenbrink who said “there’s innovation, experimentation, good old-fashioned story-telling and beautiful production values.”

 

2016 marked a step-change in the British Book Industry Awards.  A complete revamp of the Books of the Year, creating four new categories – for Children’s, Début Fiction, Fiction and Non-fiction – with an overall Book of the Year winner, was introduced to celebrate the books that best demonstrated the real value of publishing; a close collaboration between publisher and author that culminates in something extraordinary for the reader. This year, industry magazine The Bookseller, which runs the awards has acquired the British Book Awards, meaning that it will run as a unified event for the first time since 2004. Now known as The British Book Awards (or “Nibbies”), the 2017 ceremony is further expanded to include additional book awards:Crime and Thriller titles will have their own category, while non-fiction is split into Narrative and Lifestyle.

 

The winners will be revealed at a glamorous awards ceremony on Monday 8 May at Grosvenor House in central London which will bring together authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and literary agents for a night celebrating the entire book industry.

The shortlists, which consist of six books in each of the six categories and which uniquely honour not just the author and illustrator of a title but the entire publishing team, are:

Books of the Year – 2017 shortlists

Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Faber & Faber)

The Sellout by Paul Beatty (Oneworld)

The Muse by Jessie Burton (Picador)

Cartes Postales from Greece by Victoria Hislop (Headline Review)

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell (Headline)

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Serpent’s Tail)

 

Debut BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon (Borough Press)

The Girls by Emma Cline (Chatto & Windus)

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal (Penguin General)

What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (Picador)

Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris (Doubleday)

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford (Faber)

 

Crime and Thriller BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Widow by Fiona Barton (Bantam Press)

Dodgers by Bill Beverley (No Exit Press)

Night School by Lee Child (Bantam Press)

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant (Mulholland Books)

Conclave by Robert Harris (Hutchinson)

I See You by Claire Mackintosh (Little, Brown)

Non-fiction: Narrative BOOK OF THE YEAR

Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon (Headline)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (The Bodley Head)

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Canongate)

East West Street by Philippe Sands (W&N)

The Good Immigrant, ed by Nikesh Shukla (Unbound)

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen (S&S)

 

Non-fiction: Lifestyle BOOK OF THE YEAR

Hello, is this Planet Earth? By Tim Peake (Century)

Sidemen The Book by The Sidemen (Coronet)

The Unmumsy Mum by Sarah Turner (Bantam Press)

Five on Brexit Island by Bruno Vincent (Quercus)

Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan by Joe Wicks (Bluebird)

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking (Penguin Life)

 

Children’s BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher, Shane Devries (illus) (Puffin)

Oi Dog! Kes and Claire Gray and Jim Field (Hodder)

Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story by Nadiya Hussain, Clair Rossiter (illus) (Hodder)

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargreave (Chicken House)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J K Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne (Little, Brown and Pottermore)

The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams and Tony Ross (Harper Collins Children’s Books)

The category winners will be decided by six panels of judges, and a separate panel will go on to choose the overall Book of the Year. The category winners and the Book of the Year will be announced at the awards ceremony on 8 May 2017.

Comments from the judges:

 

Cathy Rentzenbrink, chair of the judges said: “What a delight it is to be celebrating the huge variety on offer from UK publishing. Our shortlists are full of unleashed imaginations, smart ideas, brave new worlds and personal stories tamed on to the page. There’s innovation, experimentation, good old-fashioned story-telling and beautiful production values. It is a joy to judge this prize and to be able to consider every part of the journey from the author’s mind to the readers’ hands.”

 

Sarah Shaffi, Online Editor at The Bookseller and deputy chair of judges said: “At the core of the 36 fantastic books on our shortlist are great writing and great stories, which are illuminated by passionate authors, agents, publishers, retailers and more who help get the book from dream to reality. Celebrating the work of an entire team is key to our awards, and it’s wonderful to be able to shine a light on the many people involved in helping a book succeed.”

 

Produced by leading industry magazine The Bookseller, the British Book Awards represent a high point in the book trade’s calendar, with winners including Publisher of the Year, Book Retailer of the Year, and Independent Bookshop of the Year. TheBooks of the Year awards recognise the publishing as well as the books, with both author and publisher as recipients of the prize.

 

 

 

Writing About My Experiences With Autism to Help Myself and Others

Writing About My Experiences With Autism to Help Myself and Others aspergersThis week is the release of my book Look Into My Eyes which is about my experiences as someone who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and also my experiences professionally from around 20 years working with those who have autism, their parents/carers, employers and supporting professionals.

I was diagnosed with ASD a couple of years ago. Following my adult diagnosis I felt compelled to try to learn more about myself. Until I sought diagnosis I wasn’t a fan of labels. I understood that they could be helpful, but I was also aware of people being treated as the label and not as a person, and some of these people would end up doing the same to themselves, viewing themselves as a label, not as a person.

What led me to seek diagnosis was that I was facing workplace discrimination which I felt powerless to tackle. It was making me depressed and suicidal. It was only when I reached this point that I decided if I had a diagnosis then I would get occupational health support to improve my situation at work. It took almost a year from visiting the GP to receiving diagnosis. In my work with families I had often encountered parents who had a negative view of the expected future for their autistic child. In many cases I could see strengths in these children that the parents weren’t noticing because they were dealing with the problems everyday like violence or challenging behaviour. They had sought diagnosis because of problems the child was having, so when they were told “your child has autism spectrum disorder, it is a lifelong condition” they often heard “the problems with your child will be there for life.” Many of these parents didn’t know much about autism, and hadn’t focused on the strengths their child had, so part of my role as a family worker was to help parents recognise these positives, and help them to learn how to work with the strengths whilst teaching their children how to handle the challenges.

After getting diagnosed I felt that I was in a unique position to help others. Due to working as a psychological therapist and family worker I had better insight about myself as a starting point than most, and I felt if I wrote down about myself I could look objectively at what I had written as if the writing on the page was a client, giving me an opportunity to gain greater insight and understanding. I thought if I wrote a book like that going through my life from birth to present day I would be able to write something which shows what the world is like from within the mind of someone with autism, as well as saying what I, as someone with autism, find helps me, what doesn’t help me, and what I think would be helpful around the different issues I’ve faced at different stages of life. I would also be able to share tips and strategies from a professional perspective, and my wife kindly wrote a chapter about her experiences being in a relationship with someone with autism.

I found the process of writing the book insightful, giving me greater understanding about myself. I have also had many people say how helpful it has been for them to understand why I am the way I am, and many readers have commented how the book has helped to give them a look inside the mind of their child, helping them to better understand their child, and given hope to them about what their child may be capable of in the future if their skills are channelled and they are helped with the challenges they face.

Daniel jones

About Me

Dan Jones is author of parenting books including Sleepy Bedtime Tales, which includes 11 bedtime stories to be read to children to help them sleep, and additional tips and strategies for helping children sleep, Relaxing Tales for Children, which is 11 stories to be read to children to help them relax. The stories in these books are targeted at 4-7 year olds. Dan is also author of Look Into My Eyes which is an autobiography through the lens of Asperger’s Syndrome, that includes an extensive chapter of tips and strategies for parents/carers, teachers, friends, employers, and those with autism spectrum disorder, and a chapter written by Dan’s wife about being in a relationship with someone with Asperger’s. Dan has almost 20 years’ experience working within child and family support.

Website: www.alt-solutions.org

These links are for the books mentioned and direct people to their local Amazon website:

Sleepy Bedtime Tales: http://apn.to/prod/1517364248

Relaxing Tales for Children: http://www.apn.to/prod/1539976882

Look Into My Eyes: http://apn.to/prod/1542551196

 

 

1/3 of Females Put Off STEM Careers

Photo of the Week- Women in STEM Introducing Girls to Engineering Credit-wikimediaA THIRD OF UK FEMALES INTERESTED IN STEM CAREERS ARE PUT OFF BEFORE LEAVING SECONDARY SCHOOL

 

  • 46% OF UK FEMALES AGED 16-24 HAVE CONSIDERED A CAREER IN A STEM INDUSTRY, BUT ONLY 13% ARE IN STEM ROLES TODAY*

 

  • 31% OF FEMALES AGED 16-24 BLAME LACK OF ‘REAL-LIFE’ CAREERS EDUCATION FOR THE LACK OF FEMALES IN STEM CAREERS

 

  • 23% OF FEMALES AGED 16-24 SAY THE WAY STEM SUBJECTS ARE TAUGHT AT SECONDARY SCHOOL PUT THEM OFF A STEM CAREER

 

  • 13% THINK STEM INDUSTRY WORK EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE MANDATORY

 

Debut, the student and graduate careers app has today published a report that reveals the reason why females aged 16-24 are not pursuing career aspirations in STEM industries. The report reveals that despite almost half (46%) of all females considering a STEM career while at school, only 13 percent make it through to fulfilling their plans.

 

The research, which involved 500 females aged 16-24 revealed that their interest in STEM careers ended before leaving secondary school. According to the females asked, the top five ways that secondary schools could fuel their interest in STEM careers more are as follows:

 

1)      Provide ‘real life’ STEM careers education, such as ‘a day in the life of’ videos (31%)

2)      Make STEM subjects more interesting to learn (23%)

3)      Make STEM industry work experience mandatory (13%)

4)      Promote the fact that STEM careers pay better salaries (10%)

5)      Promote the fact that career progression is better in STEM industries (9%)

 

The Debut app, which has been downloaded more than 50,000 times, has seen 88 percent of students register a profile, and from those registered, only 16 percent are females studying or graduating in STEM subjects, compared to 22 percent of males.

 

Since its launch 12 months ago, Debut has showcased 432 STEM roles on the app, however only 34 percent of all applications received were from females.

 

Debut has fast become the recruitment method used by most the UK’s leading graduate employers, includingEY, Microsoft, Barclays, Capgemini, Rolls-Royce, L’Oréal, and General Electric – they benefit from being able to ‘weight’ applications, especially in the STEM industries, to promote equal opportunities.

 

“It would be great to see more STEM employers going into primary and secondary schools, or better still, live streaming direct from their organisations into the classroom, to give young people an insight into what STEM careers involve. Companies would benefit from this time investment in the long-run.”