50% pregnant women will avoid flu vaccinations this year due to perceived risk

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giving birth, birth, childbirth, the truth about giving birthBabies born to women who have flu are four times more likely to be born prematurely and have a low birth weight

The peak season for flu in the UK begins in November and between 2009 and 2012 it was the leading cause of death for women in the UK who died during pregnancy or shortly afterwards. It is estimated that that the flu vaccine (which helps to protect both mother and baby), could have prevented half of these deaths. In a bid to raise awareness of the importance of vaccinating while pregnant, the UK’s leading support resource for mums to be, Emma’s Diary, in conjunction with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), has surveyed more than 2,600 women about their experience of vaccinations.

The results revealed that 44% (nearly half) avoid vaccinations (including flu) while pregnant, through fear of the health risks to their unborn baby and also risks to their own health.

The study asked women what their reasons were for avoiding vaccinations designed to protect mother and baby, such as flu and whooping cough; worries about health risks to both mother and baby was the number one factor (44%), this was followed by admissions from women about their hectic schedules with many claiming ‘they simply don’t have enough time to have the vaccination’ as being a main reason (16%). A further 11% say they don’t believe in vaccinations and others say they either don’t need it or they believe the vaccination is ineffective. These findings come despite the real risks associated with babies born to women with flu, such as a greater chance of premature birth (being four times more likely), low birth weight and in some cases it can lead to stillbirth or even death in the first week of life.

The research revealed the most pregnant women rely on their midwife to obtain information about vaccinations. As such, midwives across the country are working hard to ensure that pregnant women have access to all of the information they need this season to make more informed decisions about the vaccinations that can protect them and their unborn babies.

Nick Watts, Managing Director at Emma’s Diary said: “Working with the RCM on the pregnancy vaccination research has been hugely beneficial and insightful. We’ve been able to tap into our engaged audience to better understand women’s perceptions of having vaccinations during pregnancy. We are using these findings to help shape new resources that will support pregnant women in making more informed choices on having vaccinations while pregnant now and into the future.”

Mandy Forrester, Head of Quality and Standards at the Royal College of Midwives said: “One of the most important findings to come out of our survey was that pregnant women want and need more time to talk about vaccinations with their midwives before they make a decision. Having that time is so important because there can be misconceptions about some vaccinations and although it is useful to have leaflets and websites to refer to, there is nothing quite like having a real conversation, to talk through any concerns or questions.”

The RCM is working closely with Emma’s Diary to develop new resources to boost awareness of vaccinations in pregnancy, and to share the findings of its survey to pregnant women across the country.

For further information on vaccinations while pregnant please visit: http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/pregnancy-and-birth/pregnancy/1st-trimester-of-pregnancy/avoiding-pregnancy-risks

Flic Smart Button Review

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Frost has reviewed this cute little smart button. It has a variety of uses. We hooked it up to our Spotify so it could control the music. It is very smart indeed and very handy. It is easy to set up. Makes a great present, for Christmas or beyond.

 

Flic smart button

Available at flic.io or amazon.co.uk | RRP £29.99

Flic, the world’s first ‘do anything’ smart button is the ultimate tech accessory for the that brings simplicity into the smart home. This simple stand-alone button acts as a shortcut for your favourite smartphone apps, including Domino’s Pizza, Uber or Spotify with endless possibilities to use.

Flic buttons can be used to:

  • Turn smart light switches on or off, set a mood colour or dim
  • Connect through the Flic Hub to SONOS, Samsung Multiroom, Bose Sountouch or Spotify to control music from anywhere
  • Act as a doorbell, open and close blinds or control heating
  • Order pizza, Uber or services like cleaning or in-home pampering

In fact, if there’s an app for it, chances are you can access it with a Flic button, so uses and combinations of uses are almost endless.

 

Transhumanism – The End of Perception By author and conspiracy researcher David Icke

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Mind control is everywhere, but we call it something else – the TV news, political speeches, advertising, PR, education, science, journalism and religion. The list is endless.

Mind control sounds far-out and sci-fi, but all it really means is the control of perception. Control a person’s perception and you control their life. Control collective perception and you control the world. Perception is all. Our perceptions dictate the entirety of what we think, say, and do.

How many form their own perceptions by direct research, compared with those who download them from external sources? The answer, if the truth be told, is comparatively few. These sources peddle agendas which manipulate the human mind, and so human behaviour.

Mass mind control – perception control – is real, and can be confirmed in generation after generation who believed in the reality of so much which was later shown to be blatant nonsense. Most people believe only what they are told to believe.

This has always been so since the few seized control of mass communication. It began with religious zealots and now it’s the global media and internet corporations. As Morpheus might have said in The Matrix: ‘Are those your thoughts you’re thinking now?’

This is bad enough, but we stand at the cusp of something far worse: the end of human perception itself – the end of the human mind. Does this sound extraordinary? Yes, of course it does. But it’s also true.

As smartphone leads to tablet to Bluetooth, smartwatch and microchips (holdables, wearables and implantables) the stated goal of the Devil’s Playground, or Silicon Valley, is to connect the brain to Artificial Intelligence (AI) which will then hijack and override human thought.

There is no attempt to hide this any longer. Witness Google executive and PR man for Frankenstein, Ray Kurzweil, and his contention that humans will have ‘cloud-powered brains’ by 2030:

“Our thinking … will be a hybrid of biological and non-biological thinking … humans will be able to extend their limitations and “think in the cloud” … We’re 

going to put gateways to the cloud in our brains … We’re going to gradually merge and enhance ourselves … In my view, that’s the nature of being human – we transcend our limitations.

“As the technology becomes vastly superior to what we are then the small proportion that is still human gets smaller and smaller and smaller until it’s just utterly negligible.”

Put another way – it’s the end of humanity in any form worthy of the name. The AI manipulators are open about this now because we are told to believe – perceive – that literally losing our minds will make us ‘super-human’. In fact, it will make us sub-human.

‘Our’ perceptions would be only what AI tells us they are, and thus I say we are facing the end of human perception and the dawn of AI perception.

They who control AI would then control every human thought and emotional response. If I asked you who or what does control AI, the reply would be silence. We see the bag-carriers for this nightmare scenario, but who in the shadows are the real architects? Anyone know? Anyone even asked?

We are – again literally – giving our minds away and calling it ‘technological progress’. We are sleepwalking into perceptual oblivion and calling it ‘evolution’.

So who does control AI? The answer will blow your mind – while you still have one.

Everything You Need To Know But Have Never Been Told by David Icke (David Icke Books) is out now, priced £14.99. Visit www.davidicke.com.

 

Win a copy of Everything You Need To Know But Have Never Been Told by David Icke
We have three paperback copies of Everything You Need To Know But Have Never Been Told by conspirarcy researcher David Icke, usually priced £14.99,to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, just email frostmagazine@gmail.com with your name and address. UK applicants only.The three lucky winners will be notified by 16th of December and will receive their prizes shortly

Inside Pussy Riot – Theatre Review by Paul Vates

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The Saatchi Gallery, London

“a sugary, gluten-free version of the real thing.”

Photo Credit – Kenny Mathieson, Design – Zoe Koperski

Director Christa Harris is quoted in the programme thus: ‘Inside Pussy Riot is what theatre in 2017 is all about; the chance to create work, which will send ripples through society, provoke an audience to action and consequently work towards change.’

 

For those who don’t know – or can’t quite recall – Pussy Riot made international headlines in February 2012 when five of their members staged a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Security stopped them after 40 seconds, but the women escaped. Then on March 3rd three members were arrested, two were jailed in a penal colony under Hooliganism laws. The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leaders’ support for Vladimir Putin during his election campaign. They were finally released two years later.

 

Photo Credit – Kenny Mathieson, Design – Zoe Koperski

In collaboration with Les Enfants Terribles and produced by Bird & Carrot, Inside Pussy Riot is an immersive, theatrical, punk event, lasting 60 minutes. We are a small group of a dozen or so and start by filling out some forms, then we are led through a variety of locations and situations, meeting bizarre and unlikeable characters along the way. Basically, we are arrested, tried and imprisoned in a remarkably ridiculous short time. The process matches what the two Rioters went through.

 

Pic

Photo Credit – Kenny Mathieson, Design – Zoe Koperski

The whole piece doesn’t quite know where to place itself – silly or serious. It lands somewhere in the middle. I believe we’re supposed to leave with a new perspective on freedom, justice, prisons, war, government, abuse, politics, equality, establishment – all the topics Pussy Riot rages against. We should be leaving angry and ready to storm parliament. Instead, I left feeling angry and frustrated at missed opportunities, misguided threats and unfulfilled promises. I found the comic elements forced and the real peril (in the very few times it was there) not followed through with any true drama or belief. The all-female cast has an 18-strong ensemble and they throw themselves into it with gusto, but somehow hold back from committing to the scenarios so as not to cause offence.

 

 

The audience that will visit this spectacle at the glorious Saatchi Gallery, just off Sloane Square, will not leave ready to do battle to improve the lot of the poor and correct the injustices of society, then will laugh at the silliness they were willing to join in with and nod sagely at the ‘tragedies’ that befell them – then go for a swift macchiato before jumping into their gas-guzzling vehicle in order to be home before the babysitter loses control, all the while planning when the revolution will occur, checking their diaries: ‘How about April? The weather’s nicer then. Oh, when’s Easter? Maybe not. It may have to wait until July, because there’s that weekend break we promised ourselves in Venice, plus Johnnie’s wedding in May. So, the end of July, it is. Once the exam season is out of the way…’

 

What I mean by this surreal ramble is that the audience the show will attract in SW3 is probably not the best social strata that will gain the most from it. This show needs to be in working-class areas of the UK where there is a feeling of real hardship on a daily basis.

 

Inside Pussy Riot is Pussy Riot Lite, a sugary, gluten-free version of the real thing. Nadya Tolokonnikova survived the Russian State’s prison conditions and has tried to tell her story. I think she has been let down by a production that simply isn’t as brave and riotous as it claims to be. The ripples the director hoped to send out are hardly noticeable and if this is what theatre is about in 2017, I hadn’t realised it was all so polite and nice. What was intended to be a roar, instead becomes a contented purr of smug satisfaction – ‘Aren’t we being rebellious?!’

 

 

Venue:                     Saatchi Gallery, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY.

 

Performances:         Daily from 11.15am – up to December 24th 2017.

Check itinerary on website.

 

Tickets:                    www.seetickets.com and www.insidepussyriot.com

Prices start at £21.50.

 

Length:                     60 minutes. You may be on standing throughout.

 

Twitter:                     @LesEnfantsTerr, @pussyrrriot, @tolokno, #insidepussyriot

 

Notes:                      Ages 14+ at parental discretion. Contains nudity.

 

Photography:           Kenny Mathieson and Zoe Koperski.

 

After the Snow By Susannah Constantine Book Review

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We all know Susannah Constantine from her Trinny and Susannah days when she told women what to wear. The careers of the two fashionable women went stratospheric. They both became very successful indeed. When After The Snow reached Frost HQ I was immediately grabbed by the cover. It is beautiful and really encapsulates the book. But a book cannot be judged by its cover alone. Is it any good? Yes and yes again. Susannah Constantine is a writer of great talent. Everything from the story, to the characters, to the observations are just pitch perfect. I loved this novel. It was just superb. I really could not put it down. It was also a window into a world that most people do not get to see. I highly recommend this book. It does not disappoint.

Christmas morning, 1969.

All eleven-year-old Esme Munroe wants for Christmas is for her mother to be on one of her ‘good’ days – and, secretly, for a velvet riding hat. So when she finds an assortment of wet towels and dirty plates in her stocking, she’s just relieved Father Christmas remembered to stop at The Lodge this year.

But later that day Esme’s mother disappears in the heavy snow. Even more mysteriously, only the Earl of Culcairn seems to know where she might have gone. Torn between protecting her mother and uncovering the secrets tumbling out of Culcairn Castle’s ornate closets, Esme realises that life will never be the same again after the snow…

Susannah Constantine provides a rare glimpse into the secret lives of the scandalous upper classes. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown

After the Snow By Susannah Constantine is available here.

Unwrapped: My Kind of Christmas Dinner

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I really don’t like mentioning the C word – not until at least December anyway – but there’s always going to be an exception. And the Christmas Dinner will always be my exception.

Last year I stumbled upon this fabulous event for young people leaving care. I didn’t give them a thought before – did you?

TCD – The Christmas Dinner

I wrote about the Leeds Christmas Dinner because a friend’s post on Facebook caught my eye. Perhaps you remember it? Perhaps you were a Secret Santa yourself. If not you can read about it here.

It’s the easiest way of giving and stepping into the Christmas Spirit while all those brilliant volunteers do the hard work. And those who give of their time so freely are from all walks of life – teachers, PAs, lawyers, waitresses, actors, photographers and social workers to name but few. Juggling homes, families and stressful jobs, they give up huge amounts of time to make Christmas special for many young people who may otherwise remain forgotten and lonely.

The Christmas Dinner is an annual project founded by the poet Lemn Sissay MBE for communities to provide a Christmas Day for care leavers aged between 16 and 25. This is the THIRD year a Christmas Dinner has been held in Leeds, mobilising the community to put on a scrumptious and magical Christmas Day dinner, turning Christmas into a time to cherish.

Lemn Sissay MBE

Lemn Sissay is a former care leaver himself so knows how tough this time of year can be for young people. Now Chancellor of the University of Manchester he continually inspires others to step up and get involved. And you can get involved without leaving your armchair. Bliss!

Volunteers look after every element of the event, from present wrapping, collecting food donations, dressing the venue, to helping to cook and entertain on the big day itself.

 

If you are in the area – and there are nine Christmas Dinners planned for this December – then why not join in. And if that’s not your particular bag and you’re up for Secret Santa – the bit I love the best – then why not click the link to the Amazon page and select a gift. Couldn’t be easier – and no wrapping!

Gifts range in price from £3.99 for a lip balm to £65 for a smart watch, and a variety of gifts that will suit most people’s pocket in between. Any one of them would make someone very happy indeed.

If only all of Christmas could be so easy!

I am being glib, I know, but sitting here at the keyboard allows me to be. It doesn’t mean that I’m not counting my blessings and looking forward to all the family descending here for Christmas – Brussel sprouts and all. Family can be many things but mostly it’s about caring for each other. Who that other is is up to you.

Well, there’s still so much to do before the big day and I’m determined to ignore it as best I can until the last possible minute.

Until then, I’m hoping over to Amazon right now to make my selection.

Care to join me?

To be Secret Santa follow me The Christmas Dinner wishlist for Leeds

You can find more about the other Christmas Dinners at http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-christmas-dinner-2017

 

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: GUILDING THE LILY – Jane Cable meets Book Guild author Sally Jenkins

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How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

Around 40% of my working life is spent on writing and writing-related activities. I work for a multinational IT consultancy three days a week which, in theory, leaves two days for the business of books. In reality, domestic trivia eats into those two days but I try to make up that time on a Saturday morning when I can, plus if I’m aiming at a deadline I will squeeze in an hour’s writing before or after the day job.

What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?

Like most writers, I can’t earn a living solely from writing, hence the three days working in IT. The money I earn from writing comes from several sources, some passive, such as royalties (which I’d like to increase!), and some from sources that require active input. My best-selling ebook is Kindle Direct Publishing for Absolute Beginners, which is a guiding hand for writers brand new to e-publishing. Earlier this year I updated the book to include some of Amazon’s latest offerings, such as publishing a paperback through Amazon KDP. I sell the occasional story or filler to women’s magazines (Tip: Take a Break are one of the best payers if you have an anecdote that fits their Letters Page). I give talks about my writing to groups such as the Women’s Institute and to libraries. Sometimes I’m paid for the talks (and if I’m really lucky I get a free dinner as well!) but they all give me an opportunity to sell paperback copies of my first grip-lit thriller Bedsit Three and my bumper Coffee Break Story Collection and also to collect email addresses of readers interested in hearing when my next book is out. I’d like to grow this side of the business in order to get a better return on the amount of preparation required to devise a talk. Recently I’ve also been asked to do Kindle and paperback formatting for writers self-publishing on Amazon for the first time. Currently I restrict this to straightforward text-only books but it might be something I choose to grow in the future if giving up the day job becomes a reality.


What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?

Over the last few years I’ve gradually moved from short stories to novels. I write grip-lit (psychological thriller meets commercial women’s fiction) and straight commercial women’s fiction. I was elated when Bedsit Three won the Ian Govan Award and, as a result, the novel was published in e-book and paperback format. Another highpoint was The Book Guild recognising the commercial potential of my second grip-lit novel, The Promise, and offering me a place on their partnership publishing program. The partnership means we both invest in the publication costs and The Book Guild’s marketing arm is behind me, selling into bookshops, generating media publicity etc. We share the royalties. The Promise will be published on 28th January 2018 and I’m very excited!

Tell me about your latest project.

I’m working on my third grip-lit novel. I’m fascinated by how past events can impact our current lives. For example, in Bedsit Three the upbringing of one of the characters drives his destructive behaviour. In The Promise there are serious repercussions for something the heroine did three decades earlier. In my current work-in-progress, the protagonist wants revenge against someone who stole his girlfriend when they were teenagers.

 

Sally Jenkins writes grip-lit and commercial women’s fiction. She lives with her husband in Sutton Coldfield and has two grown-up daughters. Find out more about Sally and follow her blog at https://sally-jenkins.com/ or follow her on Twitter @sallyjenkinsuk or on Amazon.

 

What are the Essential Ingredients for a Gritty Crime Novel?

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The crime thriller genre has always been a big seller. It has evolved over the years along with readers’ tastes. A few decades ago it was all about slick gangster flicks, driven by a morbid nostalgia for criminals like Capone, Dillinger and the Kray twins. At the turn of the century the gritty crime thriller ruled and now, thanks to a collective obsession with Nordic noir, that genre is making a return.

But what makes for the quintessential gritty crime novel? Here, author Eli Yance, whose new novel Consequences is best described as a high-octane blend of classic Brit gangster flicks Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Get Carter and Sexy Beast, provides his top tips.

Humour

I am a firm believer that there should be humor in every genre. I write comedy novels under a different pen name, so I’m a little biased, but it’s something that has worked for me in every genre. In horror, it’s a great tool to help move the story along, keeping the reader interested before you get to the scary parts. In the crime genre, it can help the reader to associate more with the protagonist and the story—it just makes everything feel a little more realistic.

Humour helps to break down barriers. It’s why we use it to break the ice; it’s why we use it more when we’re anxious and it’s why it works so well in introducing readers to characters in a story.

Multiple Stories

The best crime stories involve a multitude of characters and storylines and they invite the reader into each of these. Writing the story from multiple perspectives, following completely different trajectories and then bringing them all together in the end is the best way to keep the story interesting.

It also allows the author to tell the same story from different perspectives, bringing multiple protagonists into the same narrative and ultimately reaching a climax where they all clash.

The Unexpected

Most stories are better with a twist and it’s almost a necessity for this genre. It doesn’t have to be big but it should leave the reader guessing. Just make sure it’s not clichéd and it’s not disappointing. A reader can love your writing style and your

story, but if they arrive at an ending that lets them down, they’re going to hate the book.

I find that the best way to write a twist ending is to just see where the story takes you, stop when you reach the climax and then let a few friends read it. Ask them how they think it will end and how they think it should end and then write an ending that none of them mentioned.

If you can throw a few twists in as you are building towards the climax, even better.

A Bad Good Guy

If all the bad guys are funny and entertaining and the protagonist is a clean-cut detective, it’s just not going to work. The readers won’t side with someone who goes by the book. The best protagonists are always flawed, because that makes them more relatable, but in gritty crime novels those flaws should be bigger and more obvious.

You don’t want to create a psychopath who has little regard for human life and literally does what he or she wants. But readers are always happy to get behind someone who wears their heart on their sleeve, gets angry and violent when the bad guys get their way and is always prepared to bend the rules. It’s a cliché, yes, but for a reason.

 

Consequence by Eli Yance (Skyhorse Publishing) is out now, priced £12.99 in paperback. Visit Amazon UK.