Category Archives: Life & Style

350,000 Signatures Collected To Support Animals.

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‘White Rabbits’ Deliver Petition To European Commissioner John Dalli Urging EU-Wide Sales Ban on Animal-Tested Cosmetics

Humane Society International and LUSH Cosmetics Collect 350,000 Signatures In Support Of a Cruelty-Free Europe by 2013

Twenty-seven ‘white rabbits’ descended on Brussels to deliver a 350,000-signature petition to John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, to help end the suffering of animals used to test cosmetics sold in the European Union. Dressed in white-rabbit costumes, the petitioners, each representing one of the 27 EU Member States, are part of Humane Society International’s campaign to ban the sale of animal-tested cosmetics by 2013.

HSI teamed up with global cosmetics retailer LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics to collect the signatures from consumers eager to see an end to cosmetics cruelty. Celebrities such as Leona Lewis, Ricky Gervais, Ke$ha, Melanie C, Mary McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, Sir Roger Moore, Virginia McKenna and Brigitte Bardot are amongst the petition signatories.

The EU banned animal testing for cosmetics in 2009, but ingredients can still be tested on animals in other countries such as Brazil, China and the United States and then be added to cosmetic products sold in EU shops. A ban on selling these animal-tested cosmetics is due to come into force in March 2013. As the EU is the world’s largest market for cosmetics sales, the ban would create a major financial incentive for cosmetic companies to stop animal testing. However, Commissioner Dalli is considering a proposal that would undermine the ban by giving cosmetics companies a loophole to continue profiting from animal suffering.

“Our rabbits are bringing a heartfelt message to Commissioner Dalli about animal-tested cosmetics sold in Europe: Animals are dying because Europe is buying. We and hundreds of thousands of consumers are calling on EU policy makers to keep their promise to stop the suffering by banning the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in 2013,” said Emily McIvor, EU senior policy adviser for HSI/Europe. “Let’s close Europe’s doors to cosmetics suffering and ensure that the EU goes cruelty-free.”

Humane Society International’s bid to ban animal-tested cosmetics in Europe is part of its global Be Cruelty-Free campaign which aims to end cosmetics animal testing worldwide. LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics supports the campaign and helped to collect petition signatures throughout its EU stores. Representatives of LUSH have written to Commissioner Dalli refuting the case made by some cosmetics companies that the ban would harm commercial interests.

“LUSH is a highly successful global cosmetics retailer making tens of thousands of innovative beauty products each year, sold in 48 countries through our 700 stores, and we have never needed or wanted to test on animals because thousands of ingredients that are already known to be safe are available,” said Hilary Jones, ethics director at LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. “I cannot imagine why any company anywhere would want to cause animal suffering when making quality, safe, cruelty-free products is so easy. Our customers want to buy cruelty-free cosmetics, and we are delighted to respond to that clear customer demand.”

In cosmetics testing, animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and hamsters are force-fed cosmetic products and ingredients, or have them dripped into their eyes or on to their skin. In some cases, animals are chemically overdosed to the point of death or chemicals are fed to pregnant mothers to see the effect on their unborn babies.

Check out hsi.org/becrueltyfree for campaign news and cruelty-free consumer advice.

Cha Cha Moon | Restaurant Review

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15-21 Ganton Street, W1F 9BN. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus.

Meals served 11.30am-11pm Mon-Thur; 11.30am-11.30pm Fri, Sat; noon-10.30pm Sun

Main courses £7-£8

Telephone: 020 7297 9800

On Thursday night we headed to Cha Cha Moon. A Chinese restaurant right in the heart of trendy Soho. The first thing that strikes me about Cha Cha Moon is the decor: it is incredibly stylish with an open kitchen and a bar at the back. The tables are long benches and there is also a good garden space. Of course the decor is not the main thing you want in a restaurant, that’s the food and the service. Both of which are first-class here. The atmosphere was buzzing and very much in keeping with the Soho surroundings.

I have to admit that I love chinese food. We started with the chicken dumplings and Cha cha mooli. The dumplings were excellent. They were crispy and tasted divine when dipped in the perfectly seasoned garlic chilli sauce. The Cha cha mooli was something I’d never had before, but it looked very interesting on the menu. It was Turnip cake, dried shrimp, Chinese chive, Chinese salami beansprout, spring onion, egg. It didn’t disappoint, everything somehow came together in a dish that was delightfully different.

We also had the Seafood ho fun which is Scallop, prawn, squid, red and green pepper, onion, black bean, ho fun. It tasted superb and the portion was very generous. Everything, particularly the seafood, was perfectly cooked. We also had Crispy duck lao mian: Crispy duck, cucumber, cū mian, we really enjoyed this classic chinese dish with the noodles Cha Cha Moon specialises in.

For dessert we had Banana and melon fritters. I had never had melon fritters before and they tasted just as good as the banana fritters. The fritters came in a deliciously warm sugary syrup. The cool vanilla cream on the side was the perfect contrast and when it was all combined with the crispy fritters it was a simply fantastic dessert.

Cha Cha Moon also does very good drinks. An expert cocktail maker is constantly at work behind the bar and there is a good selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. We had the Golden Sunrise (Peach, mango, mint, goji berry), Chan Chan Tei (Beetroot, spinach, pear, apple), Pina Colada (White rum, pineapple, coconut, cream) and Mango Juice.

I loved my Pina Colada. It was superbly made. The Chan Chan Tei was a great savoury drink and very healthy.

The service was excellent. The food came extremely quickly and everyone was very warm and friendly. Highly recommended.

Thunderstorms in Hawaii

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When the storm comes you have to decide are you going to stand up to it or run for cover…

Hollywood photographer Tyler Shields and Dina Eastwood have been fighting publicly on their reality show on E!, during what was meant to be a holiday in Hawaii at Clint Eastwood’s retreat. Tyler was a champion skater in his youth, touring with the legend Tony Hawk, and so he took what could have been stormy weather inside the household, and turned it into acrobatic inspiration in the great outdoors in the shoot above.

Some of the filming of the above daredevil moves (Tyler is the man doing the backflip into the ocean) and beach side romance below will feature on E!

Things got intense in Hawaii it certainly was no vacation!

BACK TO SCHOOL | Theatre

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Arty Kamikaze, Take 3 Management and Pleasance present

BACK TO SCHOOL

Wednesday 1st – Sunday 26th August 2012

Pleasance @ Braidwood Community Centre, 69 Dumbiedykes Road, EH8 9UT

Back To School is a site-specific, interactive experience where audience members are cast as students, premiering at the Pleasance for this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Part-comedy, part-social experiment, this new show from Britain’s modern day “Mary Poppins” in collaboration with playwright Ranjit Bolt (among others) promises to delight and amuse.

Mixing comedy and masterclass, ‘pupils’ attending ‘Saint Dumbiedykes’ will study insect dissection with one of the country’s most renowned entomologists, take sex education classes with flirtation expert Tracey Cox, hear their graduation speech given by Jonathan Ross as well as enjoying irreverent takes on the school assembly, school dinners (make sure to eat your greens) and the end of term disco. With a a resurrected school hamster and a mystery celebrity playing the school bell, Back To School promises to be a rollicking good show, full of Fringe fun, dark surprises and extra-curricular chaos.

The show is the brainchild of ‘Super Tutor’ and comedian Clementine Wade (founder of Arty Kamikaze productions). Wade commented; “Whether we loved or loathed school, we’ve all been through it! The nightmares, the celebrations, the trials and tribulations, all make up its theatre. Using this well-known format, normally the exclusive privilege of the young, the audience can relax from the responsibilities of adult life, enjoy the luxury of learning, whilst potentially exorcising a few demons.”

Developed in response to the renowned psychological experiments of Zimbardo and Milgram, Back To School and Back To School Disco are new theatrical experiences that play on the social construct of the school. Arty Kamikaze aim to amuse and enliven, giving the audience another chance to be big kids and mess around in assembly, spicing up the educational debate and proving it is never too old to be young and never too late to learn.

Back To School is being showcased at the Braidwood Community Centre which currently faces closure. Arty Kamikaze chose to work in partnership with the Centre to raise its profile and support its work as a hub for the Holyrood community. Throughout August, the performance team will be running free, daily community events, from storytelling to CV surgeries, for local Edinburgh residents to raise funds to regenerate the Centre.

Back to School will take place at Braidwood Community Centre, 69 Dumbiedykes Road, EH8 9UT from 1st – 26th August. The show lasts one hour and thirty minutes. Dumbiedykes Road can be found off Holyrood Road, running alongside Holyrood Park.

Previews: 1st – 2nd August, 4pm (£8)

3rd August, 1.30pm and 4pm (£8)

Weekday shows: 7th-9th, 14th-16th, 21st-23rd August, 1.30pm and 4pm (£10)

Weekend shows: 4th-5th, 10th-12th, 17th-19th, 24th-26th, 1.30pm and 4pm (£15)

School Disco: Every Friday and Saturday, 10pm – 1am (£10)

Sex and The City Fragrance Launched

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Sex and the City may be over but the glamour lives on. News of a Sex and the City fragrance pinged into our email box. It looks good.

Sex and the City Sunrise – the crisp-sparkling perfume for a summer day in the city

Created to evoke the feeling of a laid-back brunch in a sun-drenched outdoor café in Manhattan, “Sunrise” has fresh top notes of Mandarin Oil ORPUR®, Italian Bergamot, White Peach and Watery Red Fruits that delight and tease the senses. This indulgent scent reveals mid notes of Rose de May, Violet Leaf, Star Jasmine and Lily of the Valley for a soft and flowery touch, while White Cedar, Cashmere Musk and Sandalwood in the base note add to the fragrance’s aromatic complexity.
Price: £22.50 (Eau de Toilette, 100ml)

Sex and the City Sunset – the sensual and mysterious scent of the vibrant nightlife

Capturing the soft and warm beauty of sundown reflected in the iconic skyline of New York City, “Sunset” features classic top notes of Blood Orange, Violet Leaves, Freesia and Green Apple that give the fragrance its feminine and floral bouquet. Blended with mid notes of Vanilla Orchid, Muguet and Sugary Plum that tempt with their sultry and delicious appeal, the base notes of Musk, Woody Amber, Benzoin and Tonka ground the fragrance with a memorable finish.
Price: £22.50 (Eau de Toilette, 100ml)

TV STAR CRISSY ROCK’S JOY AS SHE SHOWS OFF “ROLLS ROYCE OF TEETH”

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Comedian Crissy Rock is proudly showing off her new set of “Rolls Royce teeth” after enduring years of agony and embarrassment.

Crissy, who is also one of the stars of the hit TV show Benidorm, saw her teeth destroyed after she took chemotherapy-based drugs for vulval cancer in 2003.

Her teeth crumbled causing her to have all of them removed and she went on to have dentures fitted while living in Spain during the filming of Benidorm.

She said: “I spent £10,000 having dentures fitted with a Spanish dentist, but the result was devastating. When I saw my teeth I cried. They looked like something out of a joke shop. It was a real botch job that left me looking like Hannibal Lecter.”

Crissy resolved to get her teeth looked at again after appearing on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here last year during which she had to remove her dentures as she prepared to jump out of a helicopter.

Now, after four months of treatment with the UK’s leading denturist Barrie Semp, of The Smile Centre in Manchester, Crissy is proudly showing off what she has dubbed the “Rolls Royce of teeth” which cost £20,000 to fit.

Crissy said: “My teeth have been individually handmade and tweaked to look a bit worn and slightly crooked to appear more natural. Even the gum looks real.

“For years I couldn’t bite into an apple and had to check restaurant menus for things I could eat. These new teeth are rock solid and I can eat whatever I want. They have given me my dignity back as well as a nicer smile.

“They have already made a huge difference, not just to my mouth but to my life.”

Barrie Semp said: “The problem with Crissy’s teeth was that she had them fitted abroad and there was no aftercare. Also the dentistry work she had done was very poor and had completely failed. It was a total mess.

“Each new tooth has been handcrafted with faint cracks and blemishes where necessary to make them look very real. The gum work is also hand-stained to blend in with the patient’s gum colour, so it looks as if the patient’s natural teeth are growing from the natural gum.

“Crissy can eat anything she likes now and can even jump out of a helicopter without having to take her teeth out.”

ChildLine, 25 YEARS OLD!

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Esther Rantzen writes for yano on the launch of ChildLine and the way it has been at the forefront of pioneering the plight of children, who are in danger in their own homes.

Times have changed so much. Back in 1986, soon after ChildLine was launched, one broadsheet newspaper called ChildLine “the phone line that encourages children to sneak on their parents”! As if ChildLine was a threat to good parents and happy family life. As if children were being encouraged to inform on their parents, like those in Mao’s China. When in fact over the last 25 years we have learned that even given the safety of a confidential phone-line, children will go to great lengths to protect their families. As one child who contacted ChildLine because she was terrified that she was pregnant by her father said, “It was my job to suffer.”

But 25 years ago was a very different time. Then most people had no idea that some children could be suffering terrible abuse or neglect behind the net curtains in perfectly respectable homes. When, in October 1986 we revealed that fact in a special programme called Childwatch which launched ChildLine, it was such a painful message that the temptation was to blame the messenger – a tabloid newspaper labelled our programme “the most dangerous show on television”.

I believed then, and believe now, that the only way to tackle a problem is to admit it exists, and try to resolve it. On that first night, when we opened our phone lines ChildLine received 50,000 attempted phone calls. Buoyed up by the children’s faith in us, and by the fact we knew from the start we were saving lives and preventing abuse, we continued to publicise ChildLine’s work and the Freephone number 0800 1111, and to expand and develop as fast as we could. Now 25 years later we have 12 bases around the country, have created on-line counselling services, and, wonderful news, at last we are meeting the huge demand from children. At last we can now answer every single child who needs us.

Over the last 25 years we have helped almost 2.7 million children, and have tracked huge changes in young people’s lives. Back then, for many children the only way to contact ChildLine safely was to run to a phone box. Some put their lives at risk, escaping from their homes in the middle of the night to ring us. And because so many thousands tried to get through, and we simply hadn’t enough money, or volunteer counsellors, or phone lines to answer them all, many of them failed to get through. When they did, I remember speaking to children who described abuse that had been going on for ten or fifteen years – as long as they could remember. Now, the good news is that half the sexually abused children who contact ChildLine do so within a month of it starting. And it seems from our statistics that sexual and physical abuses are happening less often. I believe ChildLine has played its part as a deterrent. Abusers know now that abused children can ask for help.

Mobile phones have been a crucial liberation for children. Now they can ring us from anywhere, at any time. So has the internet. There are some problems, like self-harm, or depression, which so destroy a child’s self confidence that they dare not attempt to talk about them. So they contact us on-line instead – and our counsellors have developed the skills to counsel them effectively via the internet. Now sexual abuse has been replaced as the most common problem, it is still in the top five, but at the very top of the list now are serious family problems. This makes us at ChildLine wonder what has happened to our family life that causes so many children so much unhappiness? At the moment we are analysing those calls, to try and find some answers.

ChildLine has never been a threat to good parents. But it may reveal ways we can support our children and protect them from pain more effectively. It did 25 years ago. It does so still today.

Vanessa Vallely Interview Part Two: We Are The City Founder Tells All.

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Part 2

Tell us about your day job. You are head of business management at Aviva

“Basically, it is a business management role. It’s just insuring that the business operates and that the department runs effectively. So there is a risk audit, finance, a bit of HR. I provide support to the COO and the leadership team. So I make things happen and I get things done. I very much enjoy it, it’s a supportive role. I am mentoring other people in Aviva as well and growing a talent pool. I have some good relationships here and let it be said that Aviva have been massively supportive to the website. They know I run the website, they know that I go off and do charity things and they are one of the most supportive employers I have ever worked for. It’s a fantastic place to work.”

If you could have had any other career what would it have been?

“When I left school, I thought I wanted to be a policewoman, and then I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, then a judge, then I wanted to go into the army. So when I look back, they are all quite authoritarian, so I definitely wanted to rule the world in some kind of guise. If I could have had another career I think I would have been a midwife, because it was something that always interested me. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to do it, but I liked the thought of bringing children into the world.

“The funny thing was is that I was not naturally maternal before I had kids, if I heard a child crying in the supermarket I would be like, ‘Shut that child up’. When I had my own baby, it kicked in. I always found it hard to play with children because I was an only child and I played on my own. When I play with my own children, I tend to go off on my own and I have to bring myself back again. I was just used to playing that way. I would still like to be a midwife actually. It is still something that interests me to this day.”

You have won a lot of awards, which ones are you particularly proud of?

“The women in banking and finance award I was very proud of. My mum and dad were there and my dad hadn’t been very well. They divorced 38 years ago but they get along really well. To have them both there was special to me because they have seen me get to where I have gotten to. It was great to be recognised by such a wonderful body. That means so much to me. For the second one, I went to Washington to pick it up. That was a global award and the same one as the three women I have nominated have won. So I have said to my girls, “No more awards please’. I have won quite a lot. My job now is to judge awards and put other women forward, raise their profile and help them along in their career. I have had five award winners in the past year.”

That’s a good rate!

“That is a good rate. But all of them have achieved amazing things, setting up networks, giving effort and giving back to the next generation of women. So if I am in a position to help them, then of course I am going to.”

Your parents must be very proud of you.

“Yeah. My mum is my biggest fan. I mean, she helps me a lot. There is a lot of support behind me. There is my childminder, I don’t think I could do anything without her. There is an ironing man who comes and collects my ironing. It’s the best £30 a week I have ever spent. He would be the last to go. My husband is a huge support. There are a lot of people who enable me to do what I do. I help them all back in different ways. It’s a two-way street. My mum still works, she’s only young, she’s not even 60 yet. So obviously she helps me as much as she can. She is also my best friend. That helps. I confide in her a lot. When I am getting too tired she is the one that says to me, ‘Enough’.”

Mums know

“Exactly, mums know. I am like a train, I just keep going.”

How important is the support of Wearethecity for women?

“There has been a shortage of women in financial services, engineering and IT. The gender issue it not as prevalent as it once was, but at a high level, there is a lack of women in senior roles. And then there is a shortage of women making it onto boards. The City gets a lot of bad press, but we do contribute to the world economy, the UK’s economy. It’s not all million pound bonuses. You are talking about a very small percentage of people. It’s not all financial workers either, there are a lot of people who work in the periphery, you have the bars and the restaurants, and the shops and the retail outfits. It is not just financial services.

“I would encourage women to come up here and try to work. Try and see if they can have a career in the City. It is an exciting time and we are waiting here to support them.”

What do you think of the current government? Do you think they are doing a good job?

“I try to stay clear of politics. One of the things I don’t get involved in is politics. I don’t stay on top of the policies or anything like that. I have no particular alliance to any party. What I would comment on is when they do things that affect young families, because it is a struggle having kids and bringing them up. Childcare is a major thing for young couples, and women returning to work and stuff like that. I have no particular pick of the politicians, I don’t think any of them can be trusted. That would be the only thing I would say.”

Do you think you have a good work/life balance?

“Sometimes not. It was an unique week last week. I dropped my phone down the toilet, I lost my cash card, and I had tonsillitis, one of the kids caught nits, it was just a calamity of errors. I got lost on the same stretch of motorway that I have driven on a hundred times for an hour and a half, going backwards and forwards. I think I was just having one of those weeks. On Sunday night I didn’t get to bed until 11. I didn’t get to wash my hair so it’s dry shampoo on the Monday as I’m going out the door.

“There are weeks when I get it and I learn to appreciate when I’ve got that balance. When it’s Sunday night and the kids are clean, my personal emails are clear and I am on top of work – everything is in it’s box and I have learned to appreciate those moments for what they are because they don’t come around that often. Sometimes, 80% is good enough. If 80% of my washing is done, if there is a little bit in the basket, then I don’t need to tick the box. Sometimes you have to accept that some things are out of your control. You just have to do what you can. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

I work for a good employer, so I only work four days a week. My one day a week off I spend on wearethecity, on my charities, on the awards, I pick my kids up and I drop them off. I have been offered lots of different jobs, even when I have been working here and I haven’t taken them because the employers were not open to me working flexibly. That doesn’t work for me as I have lots of commitments. I am a non exec to charities, I’m a school governor, I’ve got two kids and I can’t do it all without a certain level of flexibility from the people that I work for.”

How do you relax? Do you relax?

“Lots of people would say no, but I know when I need a break. In a couple of weeks, I am going off to Spain on my own for two days and I have booked my bed by the pool. I will just lay there. I relax by thinking, believe it or not. I am not like any girl. I don’t like shopping, believe it or not. I can’t think of anything worse than trying on clothes. I also have a big beef with high street sizes. You can go in one shop and feel great because you’re a size 12 and you go in another shop and you are in a 16. The labelling is all wrong. It can ruin your shopping experience.

“Because I am an only child I am quite comfortable in my own company. Much as I always say I need my sisters – I think the network that I hang out with are my family –  I still like taking time out to be on my own. I try and not do anything.

“I am never without my phone. I’ve got two and I can text on both of them at the same time. I will give any child a text competition run for their money. I get up at half five to get my own personal email down and get my own stuff done, so when the kids get up it’s their time. My life is like a military operation. So when I do get some down time, I do take it.”

Anything else?

“Wearethecity are opening a job board in September. Women can have a portfolio career. I want to teach women that they can come and work here. I would like to think in my lifetime that I make a difference. I would love for a woman to achieve something and we don’t all celebrate because it is not a rare thing. I hope that happens in my tenure, the next 40 years or however long I live. That would put a smile on my face.”

Part one is here.