Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

Victoria Pendleton Lights Up

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Victoria Pendleton is set to light up the velodrome tonight in the women’s sprint final; if she brings home another gold for GB, the EDF Energy London Eye will shine gold in the evening

In anticipation of Team GB Golden Girl Victoria Pendleton’s quest for Gold this evening EDF Energy is celebrating her achievements so far in the Games. Attached is a creative shot of Victoria who is using bike lights to shine Team GB colours in a show of determination.

This shot is part of EDF Energy’s Energy of the Nation campaign, encouraging everyone to get behind the Games by tweeting their 2012 support. Energy of the Nation is measuring all Olympic-themed tweets and transforming this data into a spectacular lightshow on the EDF Energy London Eye every night throughout the Olympics at 9 and 10pm.

Men’s Fitness deputy editor builds the body of an elite athlete in just 12 weeks

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As the world’s greatest athletes are winning gold to compete in the biggest sports spectacle on the planet, it’s easy to think that getting the body of an elite Olympian requires being blessed with great genes and dedicating every waking hour to exhausting training and sticking to super-strict diets.

But you’d be wrong. Men’s Fitness magazine, the UK’s best-selling fitness title, has proved that it practices what it preaches by putting one of its writers on the cover of the magazine following a 12-week body transformation challenge that saw him change his physique from an out-of-shape journalist into one that wouldn’t be out of place in the Olympic Village.

In the September issue, on shelves now, the magazine’s deputy editor Joe Warner proves smart training and sensible eating it all it takes to completely change the way you look in as little as 12 weeks.

Training for just one hour four times per week, Joe lost 8kg of fat – the equivalent to 16 large packets of butter – while building 10kg of lean muscle mass to build a body worthy of gracing the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine.

‘After turning 30 I decided to see whether I could get into the best shape I have ever been in,’ says Joe Warner. ‘I am just an average guy with a busy 9-to-5 desk job but I wanted to discover for myself how far I could push myself to achieve the “elite athlete” physique I’ve always wanted. By training right and eating well I burned off my belly and built a proper six-pack. If I can do it, anyone can.’

‘Joe has proved that training hard and eating healthily is all you need to do to transform your body into one that can grace the cover of the UK’s best-selling fitness magazine,’ said Nick Mitchell, founder of Ultimate Performance Fitness who oversaw Joe’s 12-week challenge. ‘A smart training plan, executed with 100% effort, really is the best, and most effective, way to build the body you’ve always wanted.’

Why I Love Cricket By Rory Bremner

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BREMNER BRINGS ‘SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT’ TO THIS YEAR’S FLt20 FINALS DAY

One of Frost Magazine’s favourite comedians, Rory Bremner, has teamed up with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is fronting a comedy festival campaign which has seen a host of comedians visiting Friends Life t20 games across the country. This has all been a part of Rory Bremner’s ‘Stand Up for Friends Life t20’ tour – and now it’s Rory’s turn!

Comedians Jimmy McGhie, Paul Sinha, Rob Beckett, Stu Goldsmith and Chris Martin have all visited First Class county clubs across the country on the tour which brings together two of the nation’s favourite pastimes – cricket and comedy. However on 25th August Rory Bremner himself will be on hand to bring ‘Something Completely Different’ to the Friends Life t20 Finals Day at Glamorgan’s SWALEC Stadium.

Like the other comedians involved Rory will interact with the crowd, pose for pictures with fans and inject fun and laughter into the match-day experience. Rory will be slipping in and out of character as he gets involved with a variety of activities throughout the day.

This season’s Finals Day will be hosted by two celebrity presenters, and Rory will be alongside them commenting on the matches, aiding the coin toss, inspecting the crease, commenting on the famous Mascot Race and much more in a variety of flawless celebrity impressions.

In the run up to his highly anticipated appearance at Finals Day Bremner has recorded some exclusive content for the ECB which to date has seen him impersonate some of the biggest characters in cricket including David “Bumble” Lloyd and Geoffrey Boycott. The final video ahead of the season finale see’s Rory impersonate a variety of names including David Gower, Henry Blofeld, Tony Blair as well as everyone’s favourite cricket fan Stephen Fry:

The comedy tour spearheads a wider marketing campaign around the Friends Life t20 2012 season by the ECB entitled ‘Something Completely Different’. The campaign has seen the Friends Life t20 competition being promoted in a fun, fresh and exciting way from the use of ‘Balldogs’ to ‘Wiggle Wicket’ to comedy match day hosts. The aim is to bring even more fans to the competition – which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Rory Bremner, the curator of the tour, said:

“Twenty20 cricket has been one of the games great success stories in the last few years and I can’t wait to host the FLt20 Finals Day, interact with the fans and showcase some of my cricketing impressions. Finals day is a great day out for cricket fans, sport fans, groups and families alike and I can’t wait to be involved later this month.”

Steve Elworthy, ECB spokesperson, said:

“The ‘Something Completely Different’ theme aims to put the fun of being with your friends and family and leaving with some great memories at the heart of your summer. We couldn’t think of a better way to do this than to bring comedy to cricket to enhance what is already a fantastically unique matchday experience, and we have had some great comedic names on board touring the grounds. We are extremely excited to have Rory on board and are thoroughly looking forward to having him at Finals Day.”

Get a Gold Medal Relationship by Jenni Trent Hughes

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GET A GOLD MEDAL RELATIONSHIP

by Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert for eharmony.co.uk

How an athlete prepares for podium success can teach us a lot about how we can strive to find a good relationship, enjoy the experience and deal with any knock-backs along the way. So, with the world’s finest athletes about to take centre stage in London, eHarmony®, the online matchmaker, applies the key traits of sports psychology to help singles achieve dating success.

“There are certain characteristics that athletes share and these are all values and beliefs that can help us not only in relationships but across all elements of our daily life.” Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert, eHarmony.co.uk. So whether you’re a novice dater or a relationship pro, put Jenni’s four gold medal winning traits in to action:

1) Confidence – when athletes feel confident, they are more readily able to turn sporting potential into superior performance. If someone like Usain Bolt walks into the stadium feeling threatened by his competitors or imagining all the possible things that might go wrong even he will be unlikely to end up on the podium. Many of us go into relationships holding up the possible negatives, dragging in past disappointments, and then walking straight into the result we’ve expected.

· Relationship tip: Raise your expectations: Winners are winners even before they first win. Date with confidence in yourself and allow future partners a fresh slate when entering a relationship.

2) Stamina – is an essential quality for a championship sportsman or woman, especially in events like the marathon or swimming where you really need to go the distance. Using your energy wisely means you will have enough of it in reserve when you need that little bit extra to achieve success. It’s the same in a relationship. If you’re aiming for a long run you should be prepared to go the distance to gain the best of the rewards.

· Relationship tip: Spend your emotional energy wisely. Avoid unnecessary drama, make love not war – avoid emotionally engaging in trivial matters, and save your energy for bigger matters that truly count.

3) Control – the difference between those that make it to the big league and those that don’t is the unwavering belief that they deserve to be there. They believe they are in command of the situation and have the necessary skills to achieve their desired result.

· Relationship tip: You are in control of you. Don’t fret and worry about what the other person is doing, thinking or saying – you can’t control that. Concentrate on your own behaviour and be responsible for it. Behave in a way that you feel will produce the best results.

4) Perseverance – unexpected stumbling blocks are inevitable for athletes, singles and couples alike. How you react in the face of adversity is often what determines the height your career reaches and it is the same in relationships. Michael Jordan famously said: “I have failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Be it a sports injury, performance slump or any of the hitches that a relationship may experience, positive thinking techniques aid recovery, keep your attitude on track and keep on the road to the relationship medal podium.

· Relationship tip: Don’t throw in the towel. If you’ve done your homework in advance then ensure you work together to resolve any conflict. You’re a team after all.

“Remember, you deserve to succeed, and while you may not be able to win gold for the 100 metre race you can certainly be a winner in the dating race!” Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert, eHarmony.co.uk

Manchester City Stars Interviews

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Manchester City stars lift the pre-season Blues with Umbro. We have some video interviews with the Manchester City stars below. Watch and enjoy!

Mario Balotelli, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart all face the camera as they prepare for the new season.

As well as giving their opinions on the new kit, the City stars shed some light on a variety of different topics, including;

– Mario Balotelli reveals that a career in UFC would have been his second choice after football!

– Samir Nasri gives his verdict on the cuisine of the North West.

– Vincent Kompany talks about his progression from being a central midfielder, to arguably the Premier League’s best centre-back.

– David Silva explains how he copes with the physical side of the Premier League and the great British weather!

– Joe Hart provides an insight into his approach when facing a penalty

The Home shirt retains City’s iconic sky blue colour and also incorporates black detailing and trim which takes influence from the 1969 FA Cup and 1970 League Cup winning kits. The new Away shirt sees a return to the classic maroon colour worn by the FA Cup winning teams of 1934 and 1956, also tailored by Umbro.

The away kit is on general sale now, while the home kit goes on sale 26th July. Both kits are available to buy at www.umbro.com.

www.umbro.com / www.mcfc.co.uk

Balotelli:

Silva:

Kompany:

Nasri:

Hart:

Film Producer Chris Morgan goes to war with Cabo Films and Wefund

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UK film producer and screenwriter Chris Morgan has teamed up with Cabo Films and Wefund, to develop, produce and release a uniquely placed motion picture called ‘Coup’, and in doing so, is participating in the largest UK crowd funding exercise to date.

The feature has already begun development, and raised an amazing £750K on Wefund, the UK’s largest crowd-funding site. It is well on its way to becoming the largest film funded success on a crowd-funding site globally.

As Wefund gathers momentum in the UK, film has become an ever important segment and industry suited for crowd funding. Wefund hopes to set a precedent for the future funding of independent films, and change the way traditional films are made, enabled by this exploding new form of funding.

Chris said, “I am extremely excited by both this project and the opportunity presented by Wefund.com. I will lay bare the film-making process from pre-production through to post-production (editing) and invite the crowd to join me on that journey”.

Mike said, “We’re delighted to have this fantastic and ambitious project on Wefund. By choosing to crowd fund this film, Chris and Cabo Films are recognising that the old way of doing things can be improved upon significantly by involving the public in the film making process. The audience will be centre stage. We’re excited to see what happens.”

Speaking on the announcement, Martin Warner said, “Cabo Films looks to identify with stories that connect with the world in real terms today, and done right, cross different cultures and geographies, and can be understood and watched by all ages – we believe Coup is an important feature for the UK market, and a film with world-wide appeal.”

To be a part of the crowd, and help fund ‘Coup’, or, simply to join us on the journey, please visit http://wefund.com/project/coup-film/p30307/

The Week in Syria

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There seems to be no let up for the people of Syria after another brutal week. Even Foreign Secretary William Hague described the situation as “bleak” and said that a peaceful resolution to the 17-month conflict looked “unlikely”. Kofi Annan quit as United Nations’ envoy to Syria.

Hague spoke as Syrian forces clashed yet again with rebels in Aleppo. Hague has yet to persuade Russia and China to back any international efforts for a path to peace.

Hague did not dismiss talks of Tony Blair to replace Kofi Annan. Annan said that his mission had failed.

Hague told Sky News: “It is a bleak time for Syria. This is, I’m afraid, the situation we warned about for some time. We won’t give up on the diplomatic work but given the situation we will of course step up our humanitarian assistance.

“We don’t want the situation to be resolved by violence. We want a peaceful transition in Syria. Sadly, we do not have the unity in the [UN] Security Council to put the decisive pressure on the Assad regime.

“Kofi Annan will be carrying on with this work until the end of August. Whoever takes on that role, it is going to need some change in the circumstances on the ground for Russia and China to change their position.

“If persuasion and argument was going to achieve a change of position, we would have done it by now.

“It might only be a further change of the circumstances – the further collapse of the regime, greater bloodshed – which brings Russia and China to change their mind.”

Hague said that the support Britain has given to Syria so far has been “non-lethal” and that Syria is now in a full-scale civil war.

“Here is regime that for 17 months now has waged war against its people. It has in many cases driven people to warfare and conflict.

“The prime responsibility for this situation lies on the regime. We are on the side of people who seek their freedom anywhere in the world.

“I do think it is right to support democratic movements in favour of the people.”

Meanwhile things have gotten worse in Aleppo as more than 20,000 government troops amassed around Syria’s second city, as the government warned the “main course” was yet to come.

Government artillery bases have fired mortars and rockets into the rebel held districts and in rebel-held Saheddin district, jet planes dropped bombs.

“The battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetiser… The main course will come later,” a senior government security figure warned.

“All the reinforcements have arrived and they are surrounding the city… The army is ready to launch its offensive, but is awaiting orders.”

Andy Murray Wins Gold In 2012 Olympics.

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Andy Murray met his old nemesis Roger Federer on the Wimbledon court again, and took the gold home. Murray won two Olympic medals today at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

The Scot beat the Swiss tennis champion on the same court were he was defeated at Wimbledon. Afterward he joined his mixed doubles partner Laura Robson where they lost in the deciding tie-break.

The audience chanted “Team GB, Team GB, Team GB” as Murray took gold. He won gold in less than two hours and then went into the player’s box to hug his girlfriend Kim Sears and his mother Judy.

Murray said: “It’s number one for me – the biggest win of my life.”

Brit Ben Ainslie also won a gold for Team GB after becoming the most successful sailor in Olympic history

Britain is not in third position on the medal table with 37 in total – 16 golds, 11 silver and 10 bronze. Go Team GB!