Category Archives: Life & Style

Bake a Difference with ‘Cake Boy’ this October to help support some of the world’s poorest people

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Local celebrity patissier Eric Lanlard calls on cooks nationwide to help raise funds to support Concern Worldwide’s life-changing work.

Eric Lanlard, owner of luxury cake boutique, Cake Boy, is asking people across the country to Bake a Difference and raise vital funds for Concern Worldwide’s work in tackling hunger in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Concern Worldwide’s London office is based on the river in Battersea, near to Cake Boy.

Bake a Difference runs in association with National Baking Week, (17-23 October) and Concern wants people to hold bake-sales during the week, at school, home or work, and donate the proceeds towards Concern. All money raised will go towards Concern’s child nutrition programmes.

Eric said:

“I adore baking, for work and for pleasure. It’s the perfect way to relax, and make something wonderful for your friends and family. And cake sales are also a simple and fun way to raise money – no-one can resist a cupcake baked for a good cause. So this October, I’m asking fellow baking enthusiasts to set aside some time and hold a cake sale or coffee morning for Concern Worldwide’s Bake a Difference campaign. All the money you raise will go towards Concern’s work with children suffering from malnutrition, children who without Concern’s help might not survive. Come on, join me, and make a very simple gesture to help some of the world’s poorest children get the support they need.”

Lucy Brown, Fundraiser at Concern said

“We are thrilled Eric has agreed to support our campaign – especially since we are neighbours!

Concern works with the world’s poorest people to help transform their lives. Last year alone, we helped over nine million people living in extreme poverty. But we can’t do it without your help. To help inspire people, we will regularly issue new recipes on our website from scones and cookies to delicious and healthy savouries such as baked samosas. So come on, help us Bake a Difference this year.”

The event is also being supported by fellow celebrity chefs Ainsley Harriott, Paul Rankin and Nick Nairns.

For more information about taking part, and for help with fundraising ideas and recipes, visit www.concern.net/bakeadifference or call 020 7801 1874 or email bakeadifference@concern.net

Wendy's Baby Diary: 21 Weeks – On Holiday

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I write this at 8.40pm, missing the last day of the Edinburgh fringe festival, my bottom lip jutting out in disappointment – so near and yet so far. We are staying in Kippford in the Scottish borders, a good 2 hour drive from the land of the fringe.

But this is a lovely part of the world to be in – staying in a beautiful holiday home with a fantastic view of the estuary and rolling hills, with yachts, a kite buggy and waterskiing  in view and a shell beach accessible from the property’s front garden it is idyllic for Dillon’s first holiday.

Bottom teeth

Dillon has a second tooth visible already and he’s not yet 5 months old. It is happening so quickly!

High pitched

Dillon has been babbling for a while but recently he has started high pitched squealing, sounds like he is practicing to be a choir boy or piglet.

 Car travel

It took us 7 ½ hours to get to Scotland including a stop at services, which was very close to how much time it should have taken. All this was thanks to Dillon being very well behaved on the drive. We seem to have learnt from our previous mistakes – we can’t leave him in the back seat unattended, he needs to have his mum there with milk, dummy, teething materials and anything else he may require to hand. Then we have a good journey.

Infacol

The baby has been crying a lot in the evenings and we think this had been caused by wind. Although it takes some getting used to, giving Infacol to Dillon before a feed seems to have helped his digestion and temper a great deal.

 Nose and Gums

I love the triangular shape of the underside of his nose and the top set of gums in his mouth. When he was smaller his chin quivered. The skin on his cheeks is so soft I’ve never felt anything like it. These traits are common to all babies, I never realised how adorable I would find them. His smile and laugh light up the room. Sometimes I want him to stop growing and just stay how he is – perfect. But then I’m so sentimental I cried at Abba’s Slipping Through My Fingers (Mamma Mia)before I had him. I can’t get over the thought that once I was his size, once his grandparents were, once everyone was a tiny helpless baby – even the biggest, toughest, wealthiest, tallest, most beautiful, oldest, powerful people were tiny, possibly breastfed and wet themselves.

There is no internet connection here so I don’t know how long it will be before I can get this online.

Until next time – cherish each moment.

 © Wendy Thomson 2011

Wendy Thomson is the editor of www.femalearts.com an online publication which promotes women in the arts and in business.

Can “Friends With Benefits” really be the start of something beautiful?

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Can “Friends With Benefits” really be the start of something beautiful?

In the eponymous Hollywood film, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are FWB, ‘friends with benefits’ – they like each other, they definitely fancy each other, but they’re just not ready for a romantic relationship. But off screen, can two people really have a non-committed relationship without one person getting hurt?

According to relationship scientists from eHarmony.co.uk, studies show that people who choose to become ‘friends with benefits’ are not ready for a committed long-term relationship and find that sticking with this type of casual set-up works better for them than moving it on.

This is particularly true of men. A new study (2011)[1] found that men were more likely to desire casual sex without the need for a monogamous relationship whilst women were more likely to crave a deeper emotional connection, hoping for it to develop into a full blown relationship. So, if casual fling evolves into committed relationship, how likely is it to be a happy one?

A study by Paik (2010)[2] investigated how different sexual encounters could predict relationship satisfaction. By surveying married or cohabiting couples, Paik found that relationships that began as sexual encounters, such as casual dating or non-romantic (friends with benefits), were significantly less satisfied with their relationship than couples whose first sexual encounter was in a serious committed relationship.

So relationship science says “be warned”. Whilst an intimate encounter with an old buddy may seem like a good idea at the time – and makes a great Hollywood script – in reality there could be tears later on.

TEACHER’S PESTS, PETS AND PREFECTS: What your child's name means.

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Children called Aaron, Callum, Abbie and Courtney strike fear into the nation’s teachers, it has been revealed. Researchers found kids bearing these monikers are thought to be the naughtiest in class by over 1,000 British tutors.

In fact, one in five teachers polled claim they think they can tell how a child will behave just by looking at the new class register in September. And if names such as Connor, Aimee, Brandon and Chloe are on the list, school teachers think they are in for a difficult year.

Lisa Penney, spokesmum for www.bounty.com who compiled the report said: “Rightly or wrongly, it’s only natural to make some assumptions about what children may be like from hearing their names – whether you mean to or not – and teachers aren’t any different.

Whether it’s from previous experience with pupils, or people they’ve known from their own past, certain names seem to strike a nerve with teachers – although I’m sure they are all more than happy to be proved wrong!”

Other boys who are likely to be troublesome in the classroom are called Adam, Aiden and Jack.

Lads with the names Joshua, Kyle and Reece also command more of their teacher’s attention, as they fail to abide by the rules.

While lasses called Abigail, Bethany and Amy have been identified as some of the hardest to manage by tutors. And Alice, Amber and Charlotte are amongst other names which teachers dread seeing on the class register.

But as the survey suggests, the class register isn’t the only way teachers judge how a child is likely to behave. A third of those polled admitted they often form an opinion on which children will be more difficult when meeting their parents.

And once the school year has started teachers go on to judge their pupils behaviour by how rude they are to both them and other children. More than half of those questioned can’t stand it if a child bullies their peers, while 36 per cent reprimand children who shout in class.

Teachers are also more likely to label a child as naughty if they refuse to do what they are asked, ignore requests to sit down quietly, and fail to listen.

And when asked why they think their more troublesome pupils play up in class, two out of three teachers said they’re looking for attention and three out of five believe it’s because they aren’t disciplined at home.

Making naughty children sit separately from others to think about what they’ve done was found to be the most effective method used to deal with naughty children.

But incredibly, more than a third of teachers say that it is often the naughty children who have the most friends at school. And two thirds say that while a child might appear naughty, they are just behaving that way to get attention from their peers.

Lisa Penney from Bounty continues: “We were really interested to find that some of the children who have been labelled as the naughtiest in the class have also been identified as the brightest in our poll – with Aaron, Adam, Abigail and Charlotte appearing on both lists.

These names also appear on the list of the most popular children in school, suggesting that whilst they’re disruptive in class the ‘naughtier’ children are actually better at learning with other members of the class looking up to them.”

Students named Jack, Ben, Emma and Emily are also highlighted as the children everyone wants to play with.

TOP 10 NAUGHTY BOYS

1. Aaron

2. Callum

3. Connor

4. Brandon

5. Adam

6. Aidan

7. Jack

8. Joshua

9. Kyle

10. Reece

TOP 10 NAUGHTY GIRLS

1. Abbie

2. Courtney

3. Aimee

4. Chloe

5. Abigail

6. Bethany

7. Amy

8. Alice

9. Amber

10. Charlotte

TOP 10 BRIGHTEST BOYS

1. Aaron

2. Adam

3. Alexander

4. William

5. Christopher

6. Thomas

7. Matthew

8. Ben

9. Alex

10. Edward

TOP 10 BRIGHTEST GIRLS

1. Abigail

2. Charlotte

3. Alice

4. Elizabeth

5. Abbie

6. Hannah

7. Amelia

8. Grace

9. Emily

10. Bethany

TOP 10 MOST POPULAR BOYS

1. Jack

2. Ben

3. Aaron

4. Adam

5. Alex

6. Callum

7. Daniel

8. Thomas

9. Alfie

10. Sam

TOP 10 MOST POPULAR GIRLS

1. Abbie

2. Charlotte

3. Alice

4. Aimee

5. Amy

6. Abigail

7. Chloe

8. Emily

9. Sophie

10. Emma

Recession Delays Women Having Babies

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The recession is having a direct effect on birth rates, with one in four women being forced to delay or reconsider having a baby, according to the 2011 Red National Fertility Report.

The results, published in Red’s October issue out on Tuesday 6th September 2011, shows the effect the recession has had on women trying for a baby – from how much they would be prepared to pay in order to conceive, to postponing motherhood due to redundancy and the rising costs of living. The report surveyed over 2,500 Red Magazine readers aged 30-45.

Key findings include:

· The recession has resulted in a 25% drop in babies tried for, with 10% of women saying the recession had made them postpone trying for a baby, and 15% saying they’d decided not to try at all.

· Baby prices have dropped more than house prices – with the average amount women would be prepared to spend to conceive dropping from £15,000 to £12,000 – a 20% drop in just 12 months. * The average house price is down 2.65% from July 2010 to £163.981 – Halifax House Price Index.

· The percentage of women who would be prepared to spend £50,000 to guarantee them a baby has dropped even more dramatically from 10% to 6% – a 40% drop over the same period.

· Following increased financial pressure on the NHS, when it comes to offering free IVF, 62% of women don’t think it should be available for anyone who wants it – up 17% from 2007 (45%). This suggests that when funds are tight, fewer women perceive having a baby as a right for all.

· Due to lack of IVF on the NHS, 61% have paid for IVF privately, with only one in five getting all their treatment for free.

Sam Baker, Editor-in-chief of Red Magazine, said of the findings: “This report provides an incredible in-depth view on the effect the recession has had on women’s baby plans.
The comparable figures show that the last year has hit women and their families hard, with many having to postpone or reconsider trying for a baby.”

Brigid Moss, Red magazine’s Health Director added: “Fertility treatment can be expensive, and this report shows that fewer people have been able to afford it, while the NHS provision for fertility treatment remains a postcode lottery. The report shows that having problems trying to conceive and treatment is also stressful, too. Both of these factors only add to the stress of someone who’s having problems trying to conceive.”

THE REPORT IN FULL:

MONEY

· The recession has resulted in a 25% drop in babies tried for, with 10% of women saying the recession had made them postpone trying for a baby, and 15% saying they’d decided not to try at all.

· Baby prices have dropped more than house prices – with the average amount women would be prepared to conceive dropping from £15,000 to £12,000 – a 20% drop in just 12 months.

· The number of women prepared to spend over £50,000 to guarantee them a baby has dropped even more dramatically from 10% to 6 % – a 40% drop over the same period.

· Due to lack of IVF on the NHS, 61% have paid for IVF privately, with only one in five getting all their treatment for free.

· A staggering 100% of women surveyed would, or have, cut back on school fees to pay for fertility treatment. 94% of women say they would cut back on all aspects of their lives to pay for fertility treatment if they needed it (includes holidays, eating out, pensions, savings, health insurance, clothes and selling possessions).

· Most women paying for fertility treatment have said that the money came from savings (88%), but 17% received a gift or loan from their family, 13% took on extra work and 13% put fertility costs on their credit card.

· 23% would consider moving / down-grading their house to get free NHS IVF provision to help them conceive.

· 17% of women who need fertility treatment have been prevented because of the costs, and 12% said the recession has directly prevented them from having treatment or more treatment.

GOVERNMENT POLICY / NHS

· Following increased financial pressure on the NHS, when it comes to offering free IVF, 62% of women don’t think it should be available for anyone who wants it – this is up 17% from 2007 (45%). This suggests that when funds are tight, fewer women perceive having a baby as a right for all

· 74% of women believe the government should ensure women are provided with three free cycles of IVF on the NHS.

· 95% think it’s unfair that there are different NHS IVF provisions depending on where you live.

· Nearly 60% believe that women should be given IVF on the NHS even if they have a child with their current partner, rising to 90% if they have a child from a previous relationship.

· BUT 62% don’t think that IVF should be available on the NHS to anyone who wants it.

SUCCESS CONCEIVING

· 23% of the women asked have had problems conceiving.

· For those who have had IVF treatment, 38% have only had it once, and 10% have had it more than five times.

· When it comes to the success of IVF, 45% got pregnant and had a baby, 31% didn’t conceive and 5% conceived naturally.

· 18% would consider going abroad for treatment if provisions were not available at home.

STRESS

· Fertility treatment is more stressful than the recession – 59% found it more stressful than dealing with financial concerns.

· 40% find the process more distressing than the ending of a relationship.

· Three in four (71%) found it more stressful than moving house.

· Nearly two thirds (62%) found fertility treatment more stressful than being made redundant.

· A third of women (36%) said that fertility problems made them depressed with 2% even signing off work due to stress / mental health problems.

· Nearly half of women(47%) said their husbands found it hard to cope when they were not getting pregnant.

EGG FREEZING

· 27% of women have considered freezing their eggs for the future.

Stylists Talk Bags As Converse Launch New Range

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With Converse launching their first bag collection just in time for the new school year, a handful of the UK’s finest experts on style and self-expression representing fashion, music and culture reminisced about what defined their own unique style, getting nostalgic about what it means to be an individual once the new term begins. Provided simply with a canvas duffle bag from the Converse Bags & Accessories launch collection, a pencil case and notebook, they got creative to express their personal style in their very own special way…

Sam Voulters
About: Fashion Editor at Vice, Sam Voulters is 22, stylist, brand consultant and writer.
What was your favourite school bag? “I had a CAT backpack with tippex all over it.”

‘Synamatix’ – The Daily Street
About: ‘Synamatix’ is Editor in Chief & Mixtapes Director of the UK’s finest streetwear blog The Daily Street and specialises in sneakers and menswear as well as covering the UK underground dance music scene.
What was your favourite school bag or accessory? “I had a wicked rucksack in olive green, covered in band logos, skate logos etc. That was my greatest bag by a mile.”

Chantelle Fiddy
About: Chantelle Fiddy is a journalist and renowned commentator on London’s grime scene, whose music credentials include penning for Ctrl.Alt.Shift, RWD Magazine, Mixmag, Sunday Times Style and Dazed & Confused as well as presenting on Channel 4’s ‘Generation Next’ and making multiple appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Review Show. You’ll mostly find her online.
Describe your school style. “My school style flitted between record bags and (hideous) rave jackets (I hereby admit to rocking a Technics number) to holding my (entire mop of unbrushed) hair up with felt tip pens and wearing leg warmers alongside my yellow shirt and green blazer.”

Larry B – WORK IT
About: Ripe for reminiscing are some of the team behind London’s coolest 90s night, Work It. Work It have a reputation for drawing the biggest crowds with a cult following craving their unique blend of music, hosting nights and events for Selfridges, Lovebox 2010, Warner Music, London Fashion Week and Vogue Fashion Night Out.
Describe your style at school. “My style at school was your general London rudeboy schoolboy.”

About Converse Bags:
For AW ’11 Converse took the illustrious heritage and iconic style, that has seen their classic sneakers and Chuck Taylor All Star logo omnipresent since the 1900s, to create their first ever dedicated Bags & Accessories Collection. The debut collection reflects the simple and versatile styling synonymous with Converse complete with the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star logo, steel eyelet details and the ever versatile canvas.

The new line of Converse Bags & Accessories is available now at stockists including Schuh, JD Sports and www.blackleaf.com. Prices range from £19 – £54.95

Interview: Iwan Thomas MBE

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As an athlete, Iwan Thomas MBE has been there, done it, and got the medals to prove it, including a gold from the 1997 World Championships. When it comes to track and field, he knows his onions, which is why he’s landed a plum job as commentator for Channel 4’s coverage of the World Athletics Championships from Daegu in South Korea. Here, we take the opportunity to pick his brain regarding Britain’s best medal hopefuls, as well as Usain Bolt, Oscar Pistorius and much more.

The World Championships are almost upon us. Are you excited?
I am, actually. It’ll be a bit strange going to a World Championships and not being a competitor, being on the other side of the fence, but I’m really looking forward to the experience. I’m a bit worried about the food – you see people on Twitter [Iwan tweets as @Iwanrunner], showing pictures of people eating live octopus and things like that. It’ll be interesting. Maybe I’ll lose some weight over the two weeks. But I’m really looking forward to it.

Who do you see as Great Britain’s outstanding medal prospects this time around?
You’ve obviously got Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu – they’re both reigning World Champions and will be trying to defend their titles. Then you’ve got other athletes who have had a massive breakthrough in the last couple of years, like Dai Greene, and also Jenny Meadows in the 800m, she’s running really well this year. I’d never say anyone was a banker, because athletics is a pretty strange sport, but you’d be looking at those guys to get medals. You’ve also got people like Chris Tomlinson and Greg Rutherford, both in the long jump. At the recent Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace, they came second and third, and Chris has got a British record this year, so he’s in tremendous form. I think in major championships it’s all about the underdogs coming through and doing well, so you never know. As a whole, the British team is in a pretty good place.

You’ve got athletes like Christine Ohuruogu, who’s always been a big event runner, but she’s not had a good year this year, has she?
No. She’s had a few injuries. I’d be very surprised if she became World Champion again. Don’t forget she’s a world champion and Olympic champion, though, so you can never count her out. She’s a performer. But if you look at current form, she’s had these injuries, and she’s struggling this year. It’d be fantastic to see her run well, and it would also be really good for the women’s 4×400 relay squad as well- they’re all doing well at the moment. You’ve got Christine, the likes of Jenny Meadows who can come down to 4×400, and you’ve got Perri Shakes-Drayton, who’s another emerging talent this year in the 400m hurdles. She’s someone to look out for, she’s an outside chance for a medal as well.

Talking of athletes who have really broken through in the last couple of years, Mo Farah must be up there as well.
Oh yeah, 100%. I don’t want to put the kiss of death on him, but Mo is in the best form of his life. He’s beautiful to watch, he’s not scared of the big athletes, he’s beaten everybody. It’ll be interesting to see whether he tries to do the double [run both 5000m and 10,000m] but without a doubt, Mo is someone I can’t wait to watch. Without putting the medal round his neck and putting pressure on him, I’d be very surprised if he didn’t become world champion.

What sort of shape do you think British athletics is in as a whole at the moment?
I think it’s pretty good. Three or four years ago it was going through a bit of a transitional phase – a lot of good athletes had retired, a lot of guaranteed medallists – the likes of Jonathan Edwards, Steve Backley, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis and so on. Everybody retired, and it left a bit of a hole. But over the last two or three years, we’ve got the new stars coming through. It’s exciting times, it really is.

Away from team GB, who are you looking forward to watching?
Obviously any athlete in the 100m final. That’s the blue riband event, I can’t wait to watch that. It’s going to be interesting to see Usain Bolt, because although he’s not been beaten this year, he’s not running as convincingly as he has in the past. He’s going to be under a little bit of pressure. I think he’s going to win the 200m, but the 100m is by no means a foregone conclusion. If his countryman, Asafa Powell, can get himself together -he’s had a few injuries – who knows? I don’t think Usain Bolt will be in a position to celebrate ten metres before the line this time, he’ll be pushed all the way.

What else are you looking forward to?
I always enjoy my old event, the 400m. It’s close to my heart. To be honest, I’m just a massive athletics fan, so all the events. I’m looking forward to watching Goldie Sayers in the javelin as well – she’s had a good year this year. I’m so excited about the whole thing. I think a lot of events will be really close. As a neutral, that has to make for a really exciting spectacle.

You mentioned the 400m. One of the stories of the championships is going to be Oscar Pistorius, isn’t it? What do you think about his presence there? [Pistorius is a double amputee who runs on special carbon fibre artificial limbs]
I think it’s great for the sport, and great for Paralympic sport. I know there’s a lot of controversy behind it. I’m probably a little bit biased, because I’m friends with Oscar and I’ve trained with him, but he’s worked very hard to get where he has done, and I think you’ve got to take your hat off to him. Long may it continue. The bottom line is he’s been cleared to run by the governing body, so let him run. It’ll put a few people’s noses out of joint, because he’s going to beat a lot of able-bodied athletes, but I think it’s fantastic for him and the sport.

How far do you think he can go in the competition?
A good lane draw is vital. If he’s drawn in lane 1 and it’s raining, it’s not good for him – he doesn’t like running in rain. But if he gets a good lane, then I think he could definitely make the semi-finals, and when you make the semis of a world championships, anything can happen on the day. He’ll have to run near his best to get through the heats, but I think he’ll do that.

Channel 4 is covering the event for the first time this year. What can we expect from their coverage?
I hope we do the sport justice. You’ll have a lot of people who are used to having watched it on the BBC for years, but I think we’ll do it slightly different. I think we could make it very modern, and appeal to the masses. There will be different audiences watching it – you’ve got your die-hard athletics fans who know everything, and also hopefully newcomers to the sport who won’t understand all the technicalities behind the events,. So it’s our job to try and portray that without being patronising. I think, hopefully, we’ll do a good job, and people will come away and enjoy the coverage.

Are you looking forward to working with Michael Johnson?
Definitely. I can’t wait to work with Michael. I had a long career against him, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him as an athlete. I also respect him as a pundit as well. I think he’s very good at his job, he tells it how it is, and I’m looking forward to sitting next to him on a sofa and hopefully forming a nice little double act together.

How have you taken to life in front of the camera? Are you enjoying it?
Yeah, I am actually. I think my career was cut short with bad injuries, and I never got back to running fast after the injuries, and don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be ten years younger and still competing, but if I can’t do that, the next best thing is trying to help others enjoy the sport that I love so much. I really enjoy TV work.

You’re still the British 400m record holder. Do you want to keep that, or would you like to see it broken, because that would mean the next great 400m runner was coming through?
If I’m honest, a bit of both. As a lover of the sport, I’m really surprised it’s still standing. You’d think with technology, and better understanding of nutrition and training, it would go. As a lover of the sport, I‘d definitely like to see my British record go. But it also indicates to me how good our generation was. In 1998 Roger Black came forth in our British trials, running 44.6. Someone running 44.6 would be number one in the world this year.

Was that one of the secrets of your success, that you, Roger, Jamie Baulch and so on were all pushing each other on?
Absolutely, 100 per cent. Domestic rivalry is crucial. If I hadn’t had to run 44.3 to be Britain’s best, perhaps I would have only run 44.8. I still would have trained as hard, but subconsciously I think you need to be pushed on. We’ve always had great 400m runners. Half of me is very proud to have the British record, but if I’m honest, I’d like to see it go.

Lastly, you alluded to this at the beginning, but how will you feel being out there trackside when the 400m final is going on?
I miss it every day. Whenever I’m out there and there’s a 400m race about to start, I get the jitters and want to start doing my stretches. I think to myself, “You know what? I could still do that.” But I can’t, I don’t train and I’m old. I miss the sport every day. You can guarantee, when the 400m is on, I’ll be on the edge of my seat, jumping around like a loon, because I’ll wish that I was still out there.

Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 starts Saturday 27 August. Iwan Thomas is part of Channel 4’s team of experts who will be bringing you extensive coverage from Deagu, with expert opinions, in depth interviews and live commentary of the entire Championships.

For the latest Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 News – http://athletics.channel4.com/index.html

By Benjie Goodhart

Thanks to Channel 4’s coverage of the IAAF World Championships 2011.