Top 20 most Stressful Things about Parenthood

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Frostie

The answer to this could be everything. No, we jest. A recent poll of 2,000 parents has revealed the Top 20 most stressful things about parenting. The nightly teeth-cleaning battle, the bedtime routine and the dreaded school run are among the most stressful things about parenthood, a study has found.

The average mum and dad spend almost two hours a day feeling stressed, with trying to keep the house tidy the most common cause.

Others feel the strain at bath time, while trying to get children to behave in public and shopping for new clothes with the youngsters in tow.

Mornings – complete with getting the children out of the door for the school run, persuading them to finish their breakfast and clean their teeth – are the most stressful time of the day, claiming five of the 10 top stresses.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos, who has been working with belVita Breakfast to help relieve parents, particularly in the mornings, said: “The stress and challenges of parenting can feel overwhelming – especially when we feel under pressure to get a lot done in a short space of time.

“Morning can be especially challenging and it’s key to develop a positive, convenient routine in the morning as it sets the rhythm for the day.

“When it’s ‘back to school time’, trying to get everything done and leaving the house on time is at its most pressurised so developing strategies that you give you and your family a sense of control is really important.”

The study by belVita Breakfast of 2,000 parents of school-age children, found that staying on top of the house chores is the biggest cause of stress for mums and dads, while getting the children to do their homework and the bedtime routine are also big triggers.

Researchers also found the average parent spends one hour and 48 minutes of each day feeling stressed, with 63 per cent going as far as to say the majority of their stress is parenting related.

Mornings are the worst time of day for parents with the average mum and dad having at least one day a week where they struggle to get out of the front door on time for school and work.

The children taking too long to do things is usually to blame for the family’s lateness, followed by youngsters not doing as they are asked and not getting out of bed.

But as a result of the frantic mornings, one in five parents has dropped the kids off at school after the bell and the same percentage have ended up late for work as a result.

Others have given the children lunch money instead of a lunch box, sent them to school in dirty or un-ironed uniform or with wet hair.

As families prepare for the dreaded ‘back to school’ week, it’s not just kids who bear the brunt of the ‘morning madness’, with over a third of parents forgetting breakfast and 38 per cent having a fight with their partner over who takes on the most in the morning.

Eighty-seven per cent even said they look forward to the weekends when they don’t have to worry about the school run and leaving the house on time.

It also emerged that 66 per cent of parents believe mums bear the brunt of the morning and back to school stress, with half admitting they often argue with their partner about who gets the raw deal.

Top 20 most stressful things about parenthood

1. Keeping the house tidy and the chores up to date

2. Getting the children ready and out of the door in time for school

3. Getting back into a school/morning routine after the school holidays

4. Getting children to do their homework/reading

5. The bedtime routine

6. Getting children to eat certain foods

7. Getting children to clean their teeth

8. Making sure my children are well behaved in public

9. Getting back into a school/morning routine after the school holidays

10. Getting children out of bed in the mornings

11. Meal times

12. The school run

13. Entertaining children on a rainy day

14. Remembering everything they need for school

15. Shopping for new clothes

16. The back to school period

17. Getting children to sleep through the night

18. Getting children to eat their breakfast

19. Juggling your children’s different after school/weekend clubs schedule

20. Getting children dressed in the mornings

The Modern Day Signs of Class. How Classy Are You?

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Frostie

Minding your manners, avoiding emotional Facebook rants and knowing what cutlery to use are the modern day signs of class, according to new research.

Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is the cornerstone of class according to a survey of 2,000 Brits, followed by reading widely and having good table manners.

Avoiding text speak, being bilingual and maintaining great posture also made the top 50 touches of class.

For women, subtle make-up, never drinking from a bottle and displaying cleavage sparingly were signs of holding yourself well.

While for men having a firm handshake, knowing when to admit you’re wrong and owning a tailored suit made the cut.

A spokesperson from European fashion brand Peter Hahn, who commissioned the study, said: “Projecting the essence of class successfully requires a number of factors to work harmoniously, from your dress sense to your manners to your skillset.

“It helps if you have read your way through a bookcase of classics or can speak a couple of languages, but if your skirt is too short, your bow tie too sloppy or your posture too lax, your classy persona can falter.”

Also in the top 50 were being able to handle your drink and knowing poetry that doesn’t just begin and end with ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ from William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’.

Placing a napkin on your lap when eating and not wearing football strips as casual wear also featured.

For women, smelling nice, confidence and sensible heels are sure-fire signs of classy couture.

While for men, crisp white shirts, holding the door open for others and taking pride in their appearance are all ingredients that go into making gents suave.

Age is also a factor in levels of class. Brits believe the optimum age for classiness is 45 and that men and women generally get better with age, though men more so.

Dignified decorum on social media is a must for a quarter of Brits, while a fifth thinks wine knowledge is a sign of sophistication.

Despite these simple rules of class and etiquette, 86 per cent of Brits believe that people lack class nowadays.

In fact, an honest 36 per cent happily admit to having no class, with just one in 10 Brits confident in their classy credentials.

Nearly three quarters of those surveyed think that a touch of class is an important trait, but also believe that the manners, behaviour and fashion sense necessary are dying out in modern times.

TOP 50 SIGNS OF CLASS:

1. Says please and thank you

2. Is well-read

3. Has good table manners

4. Doesn’t swear

5. Knows what cutlery to use

6. Is discreet

7. Doesn’t start eating a meal until everyone else at the table has their food

8. Holds doors open

9. Never drinks directly from the bottle

10. Doesn’t use text speak

11. Avoids emotional Facebook or Twitter rants

12. Gives up a seat on public transport for someone else

13. Able to speak more than one language

14. Has great posture

15. Doesn’t gossip

16. Brings gifts for hosts when attending events

17. Shops in Waitrose

18. Doesn’t get drunk

19. Knows correct way to pour a bottle of wine

20. Places a napkin on lap when eating

21. Doesn’t discuss money or how much things cost

22. Knows more than two types of wine

23. Knows correct way to hold a wine glass

24. Doesn’t wear football strips as casual wear

25. Is a good listener

26. Doesn’t watch reality TV

27. Knows Mozart from Beethoven

28. Owns a timeless pair of shoes

29. Is up to date with current affairs

30. Has good culinary knowledge

31. Has National Trust membership

32. Only gives compliments when they actually mean it

33. Attends the Chelsea Flower Show

34. Prefers champagne to prosecco

35. Pays the bill

36. Isn’t easily flustered

37. Doesn’t get into arguments

38. Never borrows money from friends

39. Knows more poetry than ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ from William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’

40. Never forgets a meeting

41. Doesn’t fill the wine glass to the top

42. Uses the word ‘supper’

43. Rarely eats takeaways

44. Listens to Today on Radio 4

45. Avoids drinking instant coffee

46. Is a generous tipper

47. Knows how to flirt properly

48. Never caught running for the bus or train

49. Arrives fashionably late to a party (but not too late)

50. Owns a pedigree dog

TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY WOMAN:

1. Wears subtle make-up

2. Ages gracefully

3. Confidence

4. Never drinks directly from the bottle

5. Accepts compliments graciously

6. Doesn’t wear heels higher than she can walk in

7. Always smells nice

8. Doesn’t downplay her intelligence

9. Reveals cleavage sparingly

10. Wears dresses tight enough to show she’s a woman, but loose enough to prove she’s a lady

TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY MAN:

1. Respectful of women

2. Holds the door open for others

3. Takes pride in his appearance

4. Stands up when women join the dining table

5. Takes his hat off when indoors and in the company of women

6. Has a firm handshake

7. Knows when to admit he’s wrong

8. Owns a tailored suit

9. Always smells nice

10. Wears crisp white shirts

When it comes to classy celebs, the Royal Family are considered beacons of style and substance, with Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry securing top spots in the countdown.

Taylor Swift, Emma Watson and Idris Elba are also considered some of the classiest public figures around.

As for the decade with the most charm and swagger, the 1950s come out on top followed by the decadent 1920s.

By comparison, just one per cent of those surveyed chose our current decade as the classiest of the last hundred years.

The Peter Hahn spokesperson added: “We’re all accustomed to the adage ‘sex sells’, but actually leaving something to the imagination can be much more alluring than the shortest skirts or an overt cleavage.

“At Peter Hahn we know that a well cut garment will achieve the perfect silhouette, which is far more likely to get you noticed for all the right reasons.”

Frost Editor Catherine Balavage Writes Poetry Book

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Frostie

Frost editor Catherine Balavage has released her new book, What Do You Think?: A collection of poems. This is Catherine’s fourth book. She has previously written three non-fiction books on acting, wedding planning and blogging.

In her fourth book Catherine Balavage turns to poetry. A collection of poems that speak from the heart and tell the truth about the world. You will be left nodding your head in agreement and relating to these poems about love, loss and life. The book features poems over the course of Catherine’s life. The first one was published when she was just 12-years-old. The poems cover every aspect of life, from love, motherhood, loss and even mean girls.
Best-selling author Margaret Graham wrote the foreword.

I’ve long thought Catherine Balavage is an extraordinarily accomplished young women: author, writer, editor and actor, mother, wife, and she can add poet to that roll of honour.

In What do you think? a collection of her poems written throughout her still young life, she connects with the vast majority of the human race, as she writes of the struggle to achieve a sense of who a person is, the efforts to release oneself from early angst and stand tall; finally achieving confidence potential and contentment.
In her introduction Catherine says that As an artist it sometimes feels like you are born without skin, yet spend your life rolling around on razor blades. Well, quite.

In What do you think? Catherine has written poems that could be songs – I could hear music. She has written poems beating time with the rhythm in her head, poems hauled up from experience, observation and unflinching, sensitive thought.

A triumph.

What do you think?: A collection of poems by Catherine Balavage is available on Kindle and in print.

In Search of the Past – A visit to the Somme Part 4 by Penny Gerrard

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Frostie

Private Gilbert Sexton

The first morning of the Gerrards and Hodsons’ Somme trip had been spent finding graves and memorials to Richard Hodson’s family members. Now, well-fed and watered after our omelette lunch at a typical French tabac, we were up for our next challenge – this time to find the site at Fromelles where Francis’ uncle, the eighteen year old Private Gilbert Sexton, son of William Henry and Elizabeth Sexton of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, of A Company 2/1^st Buckinghamshire Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was killed in action at on 19 July. Gilbert’s 18^th birthday was not until at least July 2016 – meaning that he must have enlisted under age as so many other keen young boys did.

“What we called ‘Gilbert’s Field’ at Fromelle the scene of the gas cylinder disaster”

Our research had verified the old family story. We had found that on 18 July 1916, on the day before the battalion was involved in a key battle, an Australian battery fired high explosives shells which dropped short on the gas cylinders which A Company had stored in their trenches. This error inflicted 78 casualties among those who were in the process of moving them back out of range of the German guns. Gilbert was amongst those wounded by friendly fire and died the next day. The Battalion suffered 178 casualties before the attack with a further 322 killed or wounded during the assault on 19 May. We found it painful to stand at the roadside looking across the peaceful fields imagining the horror of that mistaken attack as so many young men were either killed by the explosion or, worse I suspect, overwhelmed by the clouds of poisonous gas as Gilbert was.

“The Grave of Gilbert Sexton in Merville Town Cemetery”

We were now very keen to find Gilbert’s grave and headed for the town of Merville – several miles away from Fromelles where many of those involved in the friendly fire incident on the 18^th were taken for burial. Unlike most of the War Grave Cemeteries which seem to stand alone in the countryside, secure within their boundary walls, Gilbert’s grave lay within rows of war graves in the middle of the Merville Town Cemetery surrounded by the imposing and ornate tombs of the town’s civilian population. Again there was a great feeling of sadness as we came to his headstone set among those of his comrades from the Buckinghamshire Battalion with whom he died. It was somehow comforting to think that his resting place was amid the bustle of a small country town. Blue aubrietia flourished at the bottom of the stone, almost hiding the words “Gone but not forgotten” which Francis’ grandparents must have chosen. Gilbert was the fourth of twelve children and his little sister Flo, who was later to have Francis, was only two when he disappeared from her life, leaving her with not even a memory of the big brother she lost.

“The war graves amid those of Merville’s residents”

Our time for exploring was gone for that day because we had an important engagement to fulfil. We were to attend the Last Post Ceremony which has been part of the life of the people of Ieper (formerly Ypres) for the past 70 or so years. The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is one of the largest British and Commonwealth memorials to those whose bodies were never found in the battlefield area of the Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders. Engraved on its walls are the names of 54,389 officers and men from the UK and some Commonwealth Forces and the nightly ceremony recognises the courage and sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their town.

“The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing” at Ieper (formerly Ypres)”

Well before the 8pm start time we joined the packed crowd clustered under the arches of the gate and as the ceremony got under way we were touched by the sound of the bugles playing the Last Post and the fleeting glimpse of the British Legion Standard Bearer taking part. An unidentified English choir sang of war and loss and the crowd was hushed – perhaps each thinking of particular members of their family who had given their life in that awful war. We were glad that the two members of Richard’s family whose Somme experiences we would be tracking down the next day had both survived.

The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club By Marlena de Blasi

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Frostie

The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club By Marlena de Blasi

REVIEW BY JAN SPEEDIE

The true life stories of four Italian women – the food is delicious, the recipes closely guarded secrets, the friendships lifelong.

Marlena is an American author living and enjoying life in Italy with her Venetian husband Fernando. They have settled in the small town of Orvieto in Umbria where Marlena enjoys exploring the friendship of some local women and their love of cooking.

Marlena discovers that on a Thursday evening four local women meet in a derelict stone cottage to gossip, laugh and argue but mainly to cook. She is delighted when she is invited by Miranda, the group leader, to join them. Slowly she is accepted by the other women and invited to cook for them. Sitting in the candle lit room, following good food and local wine the women Miranda, Ninucua, Paolina and Gilda tell their intriguing individual life stories.

Glorious Italian food. If you are keen on simple authentic dishes Marlena’s book is for you. Remember no Italian meal is served without a simple pasta dish to start to assuage the appetite and here are recipes galore.

Marlena de Blasi has been a chef, journalist and restaurant critic; now an author of international best seller books with her memoirs and a novel. She has also published two cookbooks of Italian food. Marlena and her husband live in Orvieto in Umbria, Italy.

Published in Paperback by Windmill

Available from May 2016. Priced £8.99

Also available in ebook.

Don’t trust your scales – why you should be focusing on reducing your visceral fat, not your weight

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Frostie

By Andy Kay, Training Manager at British Military Fitness

If you’ve been watching your scales to see if your exercise regime is paying off, you might be wasting your time. New research has found that doing between two and four months of endurance training can cause either no, or very minimal, reduction in body weight, with participants in a study losing only between zero and 4kg of weight.[1]

Does this mean you should throw in the towel and swap evenings working up a sweat for nights on the couch? No! The same researchers studied the reduction in visceral fat, and found that after two to six months it was markedly reduced, with participants who had lost no weight, having reducing their visceral fat by 6%.

So, what is visceral fat?

Visceral body fat is what is created when the body stores excess calories as fat cells around your organs. You might not always be able to see it on the outside but excess visceral fat is bad news, being known as a risk factor for coronary heart disease and diabetes, as well as being linked to a number of different cancers and even Alzheimer’s disease.

This is because an excess of visceral body fat can interfere with liver function and can disrupt your organs’ normal function. This can lead to an increase in cholesterol, particularly bad cholesterol, as well as increased insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

How much is too much?

It can be hard to identify if you have too much visceral body fat, but the World Health Organization recommends that a waist to hip ratio higher than 0.9 for men and 0.85 for women is high risk. Divide the circumference of your waist by the circumference of your hips to work this out.

What can you do about it?

As the researchers found, exercise is highly effective in reducing this type of fat, even if it has little effect on weight, with every 1% reduction in body weight associated with a 3% reduction in visceral body fat. Steady state cardio such as running, cycling and swimming, as well as exercise classes based on high intensity interval training such as BMF, are highly effective in reducing fat and helping people to get fitter. Exercise two to four times a week to gain the benefits, and ensure you are leading an active lifestyle the rest of the time, with more time spent walking and less spent sitting down.

What are the first steps to reducing visceral fat?

If you have a high waist to hip ratio and want to reduce your visceral body fat the first step is to get active and start exercising. From there, the focus should be on limiting portion sizes and making sensible choices when it comes to nutrition. Swap sugary and salty snacks in favour of complex carbohydrates, protein and vegetables and try to prepare as much of your own food as possible.

For more information, please visit: www.britishmilitaryfitness.com or to sign up to a free British Military Fitness trial go to: https://www.britmilfit.com/try-bmf-for-free/

[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12406/abstract

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch on as Land Rover BAR Rule The Waves In Portsmouth

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Frostie

Land Rover BAR Rule the Waves in Portsmouth

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch on as Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team take the series overall lead on previous leaders Emirates Team New Zealand and current Defenders Oracle Team USA

Britain’s chances of winning the America’s Cup for the first time were given a significant boost at the weekend after Sir Ben Ainslie’s team sealed an emphatic victory on their home water of Portsmouth.

Land Rover BAR started the weekend tied in second place with current America’s Cup defenders Oracle Team USA. Two days of action packed racing on the Solent saw Land Rover BAR do the Portsmouth double and emerge as overall winners for a second time following their victory in July 2015. The result leaves their American rivals in third and take the lead on current leaders Emirates Team New Zealand to 367 points with two races to go.

Among the hundreds of thousands of supporters that turned out to cheer the British team on were The Duchess of Cambridge – Royal Patron to the team’s official charity, the 1851 Trust, accompanied by The Duke of Cambridge. Their Royal Highnesses watched the action from the water as Land Rover BAR thrilled the home crowds on the final day of racing.

The British summer finally arrived creating a perfect setting for both the Land Rover BAR sailors and spectators as the team raced their way into 1st place in an action packed weekend of sailing.

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Team Principal: “It’s brilliant for us as the home team to win again in front of our home crowd, all our supporters. It means a huge amount to us, we’re delighted and I think that for a new team to be leading the World Series now is a good indication of how far we’ve come, but there’s still a long way to go, a lot of hard work between now and the America’s Cup.

“It was a real team work day, these boats are really hard to handle on such a short course. The guys did an incredible job with the boat handling and that’s what really got us out of some of those tough situations.

“Full credit to the team and everyone back at the Camber at the base, we’ve got a hundred odd people there, designing and building boats and components for the Cup next year, and I think it’s a big moment for them as well to know that we can go out and win these events.”

Two days earlier Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh also visited the base to spend time with members of Land Rover BAR’s technical and engineering teams.

Portsmouth America’s Cup World Series weekend results:

Land Rover BAR – 82
Oracle Team USA – 81
Softbank Team Japan – 69
Emirates Team New Zealand – 62
Groupama Team France – 58
Artemis Racing – 53
Overall leader board results:
Land Rover BAR – 367
Oracle Team USA – 366
Emirates Team New Zealand 357
Softbank Team Japan – 328
Artemis Racing – 315
Groupama Team France – 292

How School Bosses Spend Your Millions

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Frostie

An investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches can reveal that some bosses of academy schools are spending taxpayers’ money on luxury hotels, top-end restaurants, first class travel and executive cars.

The Academies programme may have started under Labour, but it was pushed through a rapid expansion by David Cameron. In just five years the numbers have grown from 600 to more than 5000, they are now controlled by trusts and run like businesses. Over 3,000 of these schools are part of chains known as multi-academy Trusts, which are in control of millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money.

Expenses:
More than £14 billion of public money now flows directly to Academy Trusts. For the first time, the expenses of some of those running thousands of Britain’s academy schools can now be disclosed following a raft of Freedom of Information requests.

Dispatches looked at the expenses of more than 100 Academy Trusts, they reveal:
• The chief executive of another Trust spent almost £1000 on hotel bills, including a £245 stay at a luxury golf resort in Cheshire
• The executive principal of a Trust spent more than £1400 on two hotel bills including £909 at the Park Plaza in London
• One Trust pays a monthly Broadband bill for executive principal’s home in France
Research by Dispatches shows that largest 40 Academy Trusts have spent more than £1m of public money on executive expenses since 2012.

One of the most notable uses of taxpayer’s money is by Ian Cleland of the Academy Transformation Trust in Birmingham, which runs 22 schools. Mr Cleland is paid £180,000 per year. The Academy’s expenses reveal that he spent 3,000 on first-class travel and over £1,000 on restaurant bills. The Trust also pays for the use of his XJ Premium Luxury V6 Jaguar car including around £3000 on items like new tyres, a vehicle health check and insurance for himself and his wife. His expenses include a meal at Marco Pierre White totalling £471 and Bank totalling £703.45.

The Academies Transformation Trust said they are “committed to being… transparent” and to “achieve value for money”. They confirmed the credit card is only used for business purchases, including work-related expenses for other members of staff. The most efficient rail fare is booked wherever possible, his role “requires significant, regular travel… hence the car maintenance costs…” which are paid for by the Trust. He is “reimbursed for his business mileage only”.

Margaret Hodge, former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said: “This money is supposed to be there for the education of our children… the governance system is inadequate, there ought to be proper oversight so these things don’t happen.”

The Department for Education said academies are “subject to stricter oversight and accountability than council-run schools” and that it “proactively oversees academy governance and… spending.”

Salaries:
Dispatches has found that more than half of largest 50 chains pay their chief executives more than the Prime Minister (£143,000).

Last year the chief executive of the Aspirations Academies Trust which runs 12 schools trust pays its chief executive and Founder Stewart Kenning a total package of £225,000 and his wife Paula Kenning £175,000 as executive principal and Founder.

The Co-Founder and President of the Aspirations Academy Trust, Dr Russell Quaglia is based in the USA. In the past three years the US organisation that he founded was paid more than £200,000 by the Trust. Dr Qualiga’s standard rates show that an average visit to the UK costs $8,300 for travel, hotels and meals, consultancy rates start at $8,000 per day and rise to $15,000. When added together it equals $190,000, approximately £114,000. He says that he gives the Trust a substantial discount, only charging around £90,000 per annum.

The Aspirations Academy Trust said, “Dr Quaglia is a highly respected figure in International Education.” The figures quoted “represent value for money” and ignore the free support that is not costed. “The amounts charged are significantly below cost” and “in line with the Department of Education rules.”

On Mr and Mrs Kenning, the Trust said, “The Kenning’s pay is not “out of line” with their previous earnings as “principles of outstanding schools” and “reflects the responsibility” in running a £33m organisation “with over 500 staff”.

Related Party Transactions:
Dispatches have discovered that Academy chains have spent millions of pounds of public money with business deals which are in some way connected to the Trust.

Out of 100 Trusts Dispatches surveyed, around half had paid money to directors, trustees or their relatives through business deals or even direct employment. In one year these related party transactions added up to more than £9 million of taxpayer’s money. These deals are permitted as long as they take place at cost, and the parties involved do not make a profit.

Examples uncovered by Dispatches include:
• One Trust awarded a £123,000 two year contract to the chairman’s daughter for clerking services.
• Another Trust spent more than £100k over two years to a recruitment firm owned by the Trust’s managing director.
• One trust spent £695,000 in one year on IT services from a firm majority owned by one of its members.
Margaret Hodge told Dispatches: “The Department for Education should be much tougher on them, should not allow them to take place… I just think it’s wrong.”

The Department of Education said these transactions “can save money” and “must be disclosed” in academies’ published, audited accounts. “In the vast majority of academies’ transitions” no concerns had been raised, but where they are they “will investigate” and “take swift action”.

HOW SCHOOL BOSSES SPEND YOUR MILLIONS: CHANNEL 4 DISPATCHES – Monday 25th July, Channel 4, 8pm

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