Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 59
December 20, 2013
Big boys don't cry...
… but perhaps they ought to.
The rest of us will certainly be shedding tears if the current male generation fails to grow up with a decent sense of what it is to be a man.
Some schools have started teaching 'manhood' lessons, which was the ostensible reason for my invitation to join a BBC Radio Five Live discussion with Anne Atkins and Danny Chaplain earlier this week. If you missed it, you can listen here (ff 38 minutes in for the start of the discussion) and I was pleased to be asked because it's a subject I feel passionately about, both as a father and as a teacher for many years in an all boys school.
Because the sad fact is that too few boys these days know how to be men.
Many have no role model but that's not all - the messages they get from what they see and hear (and maybe read) are utterly skewed. In a way, it's a wonder any boy in our society can grow into a decent, caring, considerate human being. It's far from easy.
And it's not easy being a man these days, either. We - men - aren't what we used to be! Years ago there were definite types - working-class, working hard, watching football on Saturday afternoon and staying in bed on Sunday morning. There were variations on that theme but people - men, boys - knew basically who they were and where they stood.
Now, of course, things are very different and in many ways that's also a good thing. Men these days can be as many different kinds of 'man' as they want. They don't have to conform to rigid stereotypes if they don't want to.
But therein, as Shakespeare would say, lies the rub, Stereotypes are sometimes useful templates, and without them many boys and young men search desperately for some direction.
And where do they get it?
Without a man - men - to measure themselves against, many boys get it - get an idea, an image of what it means to be a man - from sources that are at the very least unreliable and - at worst - destructive and demeaning to women.
Yes, I mean porn. And the ubiquity of porn. And the fact that, faced with porn, boys and young men are at last given the security of seeming to be part of something bigger than themselves, some shared (if utterly skewed) sense of manhood. Porn - and to a lesser extent, sport - form part of the tiny shared language of manhood and, as such, can give impressionable young men an idea of masculine identity.
If only we could talk to each other properly. But that's the underlying problem. Men can't talk to each other. Pub conversations are just set pieces - scripted, with their own inner structures and rules. We grow up knowing what to say and how to say it pretty quickly. Say the wrong thing, or say it in the wrong way, and it can be curtains. Men's talk is more pantomime than parley.
Teaching manhood in schools might be a start but it's up to us all to give boys the chance to understand and discuss what it means to be a man. If that can't happen elsewhere then schools should certainly fill the breach. But classroom lessons aren't a substitute for learning from someone, seeing them, copying what you admire and rejecting what you don't and working out what's good for you.
Let's hear it for the boys.
At the very least, it might save some trees…
The rest of us will certainly be shedding tears if the current male generation fails to grow up with a decent sense of what it is to be a man.
Some schools have started teaching 'manhood' lessons, which was the ostensible reason for my invitation to join a BBC Radio Five Live discussion with Anne Atkins and Danny Chaplain earlier this week. If you missed it, you can listen here (ff 38 minutes in for the start of the discussion) and I was pleased to be asked because it's a subject I feel passionately about, both as a father and as a teacher for many years in an all boys school.
Because the sad fact is that too few boys these days know how to be men.
Many have no role model but that's not all - the messages they get from what they see and hear (and maybe read) are utterly skewed. In a way, it's a wonder any boy in our society can grow into a decent, caring, considerate human being. It's far from easy.
And it's not easy being a man these days, either. We - men - aren't what we used to be! Years ago there were definite types - working-class, working hard, watching football on Saturday afternoon and staying in bed on Sunday morning. There were variations on that theme but people - men, boys - knew basically who they were and where they stood.
Now, of course, things are very different and in many ways that's also a good thing. Men these days can be as many different kinds of 'man' as they want. They don't have to conform to rigid stereotypes if they don't want to.
But therein, as Shakespeare would say, lies the rub, Stereotypes are sometimes useful templates, and without them many boys and young men search desperately for some direction.
And where do they get it?
Without a man - men - to measure themselves against, many boys get it - get an idea, an image of what it means to be a man - from sources that are at the very least unreliable and - at worst - destructive and demeaning to women.
Yes, I mean porn. And the ubiquity of porn. And the fact that, faced with porn, boys and young men are at last given the security of seeming to be part of something bigger than themselves, some shared (if utterly skewed) sense of manhood. Porn - and to a lesser extent, sport - form part of the tiny shared language of manhood and, as such, can give impressionable young men an idea of masculine identity.
If only we could talk to each other properly. But that's the underlying problem. Men can't talk to each other. Pub conversations are just set pieces - scripted, with their own inner structures and rules. We grow up knowing what to say and how to say it pretty quickly. Say the wrong thing, or say it in the wrong way, and it can be curtains. Men's talk is more pantomime than parley.
Teaching manhood in schools might be a start but it's up to us all to give boys the chance to understand and discuss what it means to be a man. If that can't happen elsewhere then schools should certainly fill the breach. But classroom lessons aren't a substitute for learning from someone, seeing them, copying what you admire and rejecting what you don't and working out what's good for you.
Let's hear it for the boys.
At the very least, it might save some trees…
December 18, 2013
One week today...
… and it'll all be over.
Heard that already? I have. Plenty. And it annoys the hell out of me on about every level.
First, of course, it concentrates the mind on all that is as yet not done, not bought, not wrapped, not ordered, not arranged and how little time there is still left to do it. And as if that wasn't enough, there's then the realisation that - well, yes - this time next week 'it' will be over in a manner of speaking, if you're referring to the opening of presents and consumption of copious quantities of food and drink.
But hang on. That's only the beginning. Next Wednesday - Christmas Day - is when it all kicks off. There are twelve days of Christmas, y'know. And if the eponymous song is anything to go by, the fun will ramp up each and every day and culminate in the biggest bash of all on January 6th.
And if - like me - that particular date always leaves you feeling a little 'flat' fear not! For behold, I bring you glad tidings of the fact that Twelfth Night is in fact only the feast of the Epiphany and not really the end of Christmas at all. (Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men, but you knew that already.)
Mind you, there is one thing about today that should create mild panic. And it's this. Today is the last day for posting Christmas Cards if you only want to be charged 50p for doing so, that is. Yes, the last day. Quick! Stop reading this rubbish and get out and catch the post.
Or not, as the case may be. Because is next week (as I've already said) is just the start of the great festival of Christe Mass.
So here's a thought! Why not send cards 'after' Christmas?
Because it's not 'after' after all!
Mind you, it'll still cost as much.
Which is why I'm not sending any.
Sorry!
(That's my excuse, anyway…)
Heard that already? I have. Plenty. And it annoys the hell out of me on about every level.
First, of course, it concentrates the mind on all that is as yet not done, not bought, not wrapped, not ordered, not arranged and how little time there is still left to do it. And as if that wasn't enough, there's then the realisation that - well, yes - this time next week 'it' will be over in a manner of speaking, if you're referring to the opening of presents and consumption of copious quantities of food and drink.
But hang on. That's only the beginning. Next Wednesday - Christmas Day - is when it all kicks off. There are twelve days of Christmas, y'know. And if the eponymous song is anything to go by, the fun will ramp up each and every day and culminate in the biggest bash of all on January 6th.
And if - like me - that particular date always leaves you feeling a little 'flat' fear not! For behold, I bring you glad tidings of the fact that Twelfth Night is in fact only the feast of the Epiphany and not really the end of Christmas at all. (Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men, but you knew that already.)
Mind you, there is one thing about today that should create mild panic. And it's this. Today is the last day for posting Christmas Cards if you only want to be charged 50p for doing so, that is. Yes, the last day. Quick! Stop reading this rubbish and get out and catch the post.
Or not, as the case may be. Because is next week (as I've already said) is just the start of the great festival of Christe Mass.
So here's a thought! Why not send cards 'after' Christmas?
Because it's not 'after' after all!
Mind you, it'll still cost as much.
Which is why I'm not sending any.
Sorry!
(That's my excuse, anyway…)
December 14, 2013
UNICEF UK presents "No Place Like Home" with Ewan McGregor, Rita Ora and more...
The Middle East is suffering its worst weather for over fifty years. I've never seen anything quite like this, the Pyramids in Egypt covered in snow:
But that means there are hundreds of thousands of refugees suffering too. We like cold on our Christmas cards; we love to sing of bleak mid-winters and frosty winds but the reality for those without a home this Christmas is well and truly bleak.
Text WARM to 70111 to donate £3 to UNICEF UK's Syria Winter Appeal. Donate by credit card at http://www.unicef.org.uk/syria (including viewers from outside the UK).
In this short film Ewan McGregor, Michael Sheen, Tom Hiddleston, Emma Bunton, Rita Ora and Tinie Tempah join UNICEF UK in support of our Syria Winter Appeal for the children of Syria.
Thank you - your help really makes a difference to children's lives in Syria.
But that means there are hundreds of thousands of refugees suffering too. We like cold on our Christmas cards; we love to sing of bleak mid-winters and frosty winds but the reality for those without a home this Christmas is well and truly bleak.
Text WARM to 70111 to donate £3 to UNICEF UK's Syria Winter Appeal. Donate by credit card at http://www.unicef.org.uk/syria (including viewers from outside the UK).
In this short film Ewan McGregor, Michael Sheen, Tom Hiddleston, Emma Bunton, Rita Ora and Tinie Tempah join UNICEF UK in support of our Syria Winter Appeal for the children of Syria.
Thank you - your help really makes a difference to children's lives in Syria.
December 13, 2013
Waitrose Christmas: Dessert
Discover Heston's fantastic new party food range and delicious desserts, available in store and online:
Sponsored video
Sponsored video
December 11, 2013
Guesting on the Love All Dads Podcast
You know what they say: one door opens and another… opens too. (Don't they say that?)
Or maybe it's buses - you wait all year for something interesting to come along and then three things happen at once.
The first (and probably progenitor of the other two) was my invitation to The House of Lords a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the Fatherhood Institute. Next, a little later that same week, came an invitation to cross swords once more with the Daily Mail, this time in the person of Quentin Letts and with Jeremy Vine acting as referee.
Then finally, last week, came a wonderful invitation to spend an evening chatting with a fabulous group of chaps - a couple of whom I've met - via the medium of Skype. It was just like an evening down the pub, really. Except there was no beer. Not here, anyway. And I was alone on my sofa. Oh, and the technical wizard that is John Arnold recorded and edited it all and miracle dictu transformed it into episode 16 of the Love All Dads podcast. The other participants were Tom Diary of the Dad Briggs, OneDad3Girls' Darren, Lewis - DadWhoBlogs and of course John.
It was great craic. Here's the podcast…
Or maybe it's buses - you wait all year for something interesting to come along and then three things happen at once.
The first (and probably progenitor of the other two) was my invitation to The House of Lords a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the Fatherhood Institute. Next, a little later that same week, came an invitation to cross swords once more with the Daily Mail, this time in the person of Quentin Letts and with Jeremy Vine acting as referee.
Then finally, last week, came a wonderful invitation to spend an evening chatting with a fabulous group of chaps - a couple of whom I've met - via the medium of Skype. It was just like an evening down the pub, really. Except there was no beer. Not here, anyway. And I was alone on my sofa. Oh, and the technical wizard that is John Arnold recorded and edited it all and miracle dictu transformed it into episode 16 of the Love All Dads podcast. The other participants were Tom Diary of the Dad Briggs, OneDad3Girls' Darren, Lewis - DadWhoBlogs and of course John.
It was great craic. Here's the podcast…
December 6, 2013
Boston Floods!
It's not every day you step outside your front door and find the street has turned into a river…
We'd been warned. We knew it could happen. By late afternoon we knew it would happen. And we knew - roughly - when was likely to happen.
What you can't ever know is how quickly it all starts to happen. One minute you're thinking about perhaps unplugging the telly and moving it upstairs, the next you're dashing about taping up your front door and your elderly neighbour's air-bricks and frantically moving everything you can as high as you can, using any and every possible vantage point…
Then, all you can do is go upstairs and watch and wait…
… and hope, of course, that the waters don't rise any higher. And thankfully - for us - they didn't. Although we were surrounded, front and back, by a couple of inches it didn't quite reach the height of the front or back doors. We stayed dry. Many didn't. And having come so very close I can only extend my heartfelt sympathy to those unfortunate few who found their defences breached.
Floods happen and on the grand, global scale of things this was relatively minor. Heck, at times as the sun rose over the park this morning it even looked pretty:
Although what it left behind wasn't always very pleasant…
Thankfully, now, the threat has subsided and normal service is slowly being resumed. Teams of volunteers and council workers are clearing up and householders are doing their best to restore a semblance of normality to their lives as they return home.
I've only ever seen picture of floods and flooded houses, factories and shops on TV news reports before. When it happens to you and - literally - on your doorstep things look very, very different.
We were lucky.
But many weren't.
And as you watch the news, think of being them.
I nearly was.
We'd been warned. We knew it could happen. By late afternoon we knew it would happen. And we knew - roughly - when was likely to happen.
What you can't ever know is how quickly it all starts to happen. One minute you're thinking about perhaps unplugging the telly and moving it upstairs, the next you're dashing about taping up your front door and your elderly neighbour's air-bricks and frantically moving everything you can as high as you can, using any and every possible vantage point…
Then, all you can do is go upstairs and watch and wait…
… and hope, of course, that the waters don't rise any higher. And thankfully - for us - they didn't. Although we were surrounded, front and back, by a couple of inches it didn't quite reach the height of the front or back doors. We stayed dry. Many didn't. And having come so very close I can only extend my heartfelt sympathy to those unfortunate few who found their defences breached.
Floods happen and on the grand, global scale of things this was relatively minor. Heck, at times as the sun rose over the park this morning it even looked pretty:
Although what it left behind wasn't always very pleasant…
Thankfully, now, the threat has subsided and normal service is slowly being resumed. Teams of volunteers and council workers are clearing up and householders are doing their best to restore a semblance of normality to their lives as they return home.
I've only ever seen picture of floods and flooded houses, factories and shops on TV news reports before. When it happens to you and - literally - on your doorstep things look very, very different.
We were lucky.
But many weren't.
And as you watch the news, think of being them.
I nearly was.
December 4, 2013
Happy Christmas... Card
Yes, the humble folded cardboard greeting with a picture of (in most cases) a robin or (in a few) snow-covered churches, fresh-cheeked choirboys or comic Santas is 170 years old this year.
But will it reach its double century?
Three of these quaint anachronistic greetings have already reached me here at Dotterel HQ, though I've no idea who they're from as I can't quite bring myself to open them. Not until I've at least got my head around who I'm going to be sending my own season's greetings to this year. And the way things are going, that won't be until Christmas Eve.
I remember one Christmas, singing in a choir (as I still do) and in the pub (as is traditional) between Christmas Eve Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass a few hours (and a few pints) later one senior lay-clerk sitting at the table with a box of cards and writing them to all and sundry and asking anyone in the vicinity if they'd like a card. It was like a book-signing.
'Name?' he'd bellow.
'Er… Tim. Of course. You know.'
'Very well then,' he'd growl as his teeth clenched the remains of a cigarette, scribbling with a flourish and then handing me a card.
'Merry Christmas!'
I hope that won't be me this year.
In fact, I know it won't because one thing I have (slowly) managed to wean myself away from is the habit of sending a written card to those I'll see over the festive season - those I'll therefore be able to wish a 'Happy Christmas!' to in person.
Writing a card, handing it to somebody and then telling them some variant of the printed greeting inside the envelope they're holding seems rather pointless, like handing somebody a postcard when you've come back from your holiday.
But perhaps that's just me? (Bah, humbug!)
In fact I could even happily hasten the demise of the traditional card by using social media (Facebook, Twitter, even You Tube) as a substitute for sending greetings to those far flung friends and relations I won't be seeing. It's not that I don't like Christmas. I love Christmas. Always have. And everything that goes with it. Well, almost everything.
Am I alone in my antipathy towards these venerable pieces of printed paper? Surely not.
The fact is, I do like receiving cards but really only from those I haven't heard from since, well… last Christmas.
Oh, and one other thing. If you are sending cards, and you're in the habit of including one of those round robin letter might I humbly and modestly steer you towards this advice?
Honestly, it'll make everybody happy.
But will it reach its double century?
Three of these quaint anachronistic greetings have already reached me here at Dotterel HQ, though I've no idea who they're from as I can't quite bring myself to open them. Not until I've at least got my head around who I'm going to be sending my own season's greetings to this year. And the way things are going, that won't be until Christmas Eve.
I remember one Christmas, singing in a choir (as I still do) and in the pub (as is traditional) between Christmas Eve Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass a few hours (and a few pints) later one senior lay-clerk sitting at the table with a box of cards and writing them to all and sundry and asking anyone in the vicinity if they'd like a card. It was like a book-signing.
'Name?' he'd bellow.
'Er… Tim. Of course. You know.'
'Very well then,' he'd growl as his teeth clenched the remains of a cigarette, scribbling with a flourish and then handing me a card.
'Merry Christmas!'
I hope that won't be me this year.
In fact, I know it won't because one thing I have (slowly) managed to wean myself away from is the habit of sending a written card to those I'll see over the festive season - those I'll therefore be able to wish a 'Happy Christmas!' to in person.
Writing a card, handing it to somebody and then telling them some variant of the printed greeting inside the envelope they're holding seems rather pointless, like handing somebody a postcard when you've come back from your holiday.
But perhaps that's just me? (Bah, humbug!)
In fact I could even happily hasten the demise of the traditional card by using social media (Facebook, Twitter, even You Tube) as a substitute for sending greetings to those far flung friends and relations I won't be seeing. It's not that I don't like Christmas. I love Christmas. Always have. And everything that goes with it. Well, almost everything.
Am I alone in my antipathy towards these venerable pieces of printed paper? Surely not.
The fact is, I do like receiving cards but really only from those I haven't heard from since, well… last Christmas.
Oh, and one other thing. If you are sending cards, and you're in the habit of including one of those round robin letter might I humbly and modestly steer you towards this advice?
Honestly, it'll make everybody happy.
Christmas Card 170 Years Old
Yes, the humble folded cardboard greeting with a picture of (in most cases) a robin or (in a few) snow-covered churches, fresh-cheeked choirboys or comic Santas is 170 years old this year.
But will it reach its double century?
Three of these quaint anachronistic greetings have already reached me here at Dotterel HQ, though I've no idea who they're from as I can't quite bring myself to open them. Not until I've at least got my head around who I'm going to be sending my own season's greetings to this year. And the way things are going, that won't be until Christmas Eve.
I remember one Christmas, singing in a choir (as I still do) and in the pub (as is traditional) between Christmas Eve Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass a few hours (and a few pints) later one senior lay-clerk sitting at the table with a box of cards and writing them to all and sundry and asking anyone in the vicinity if they'd like a card. It was like a book-signing.
'Name?' he'd bellow.
'Er… Tim. Of course. You know.'
'Very well then,' he'd growl as his teeth clenched the remains of a cigarette, scribbling with a flourish and then handing me a card.
'Merry Christmas!'
I hope that won't be me this year.
In fact, I know it won't because one thing I have (slowly) managed to wean myself away from is the habit of sending a written card to those I'll see over the festive season - those I'll therefore be able to wish a 'Happy Christmas!' to in person.
Writing a card, handing it to somebody and then telling them some variant of the printed greeting inside the envelope they're holding seems rather pointless, like handing somebody a postcard when you've come back from your holiday.
But perhaps that's just me? (Bah, humbug!)
In fact I could even happily hasten the demise of the traditional card by using social media (Facebook, Twitter, even You Tube) as a substitute for sending greetings to those far flung friends and relations I won't be seeing. It's not that I don't like Christmas. I love Christmas. Always have. And everything that goes with it. Well, almost everything.
Am I alone in my antipathy towards these venerable pieces of printed paper? Surely not.
The fact is, I do like receiving cards but really only from those I haven't heard from since, well… last Christmas.
Oh, and one other thing. If you are sending cards, and you're in the habit of including one of those round robin letter might I humbly and modestly steer you towards this advice?
Honestly, it'll make everybody happy.
But will it reach its double century?
Three of these quaint anachronistic greetings have already reached me here at Dotterel HQ, though I've no idea who they're from as I can't quite bring myself to open them. Not until I've at least got my head around who I'm going to be sending my own season's greetings to this year. And the way things are going, that won't be until Christmas Eve.
I remember one Christmas, singing in a choir (as I still do) and in the pub (as is traditional) between Christmas Eve Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass a few hours (and a few pints) later one senior lay-clerk sitting at the table with a box of cards and writing them to all and sundry and asking anyone in the vicinity if they'd like a card. It was like a book-signing.
'Name?' he'd bellow.
'Er… Tim. Of course. You know.'
'Very well then,' he'd growl as his teeth clenched the remains of a cigarette, scribbling with a flourish and then handing me a card.
'Merry Christmas!'
I hope that won't be me this year.
In fact, I know it won't because one thing I have (slowly) managed to wean myself away from is the habit of sending a written card to those I'll see over the festive season - those I'll therefore be able to wish a 'Happy Christmas!' to in person.
Writing a card, handing it to somebody and then telling them some variant of the printed greeting inside the envelope they're holding seems rather pointless, like handing somebody a postcard when you've come back from your holiday.
But perhaps that's just me? (Bah, humbug!)
In fact I could even happily hasten the demise of the traditional card by using social media (Facebook, Twitter, even You Tube) as a substitute for sending greetings to those far flung friends and relations I won't be seeing. It's not that I don't like Christmas. I love Christmas. Always have. And everything that goes with it. Well, almost everything.
Am I alone in my antipathy towards these venerable pieces of printed paper? Surely not.
The fact is, I do like receiving cards but really only from those I haven't heard from since, well… last Christmas.
Oh, and one other thing. If you are sending cards, and you're in the habit of including one of those round robin letter might I humbly and modestly steer you towards this advice?
Honestly, it'll make everybody happy.
December 2, 2013
Cyber Monday Christmas Gift Guide
I confess I hadn't heard of cyber Monday until last week but it coincides very nicely with this year's Christmas Gift Guide, which I've brought forward just in case today any of these items might be available as an online bargain.
First, the awkward squad - those friends and relations it proves almost impossible to buy for either because they've already got everything or because they have such demanding tastes. Something that might just meet both criteria without breaking the bank comes from the Ashleigh and Burwood range which includes this rather stylish (and very fragrant) Mercury Decadent Vase Diffuser Set (£24.49 on the Ashleigh & Burwood site but only £20.39 on Amazon).
But there are some people who wouldn't thank you for anything as frivolous as this, and for them why not combine practicality with luxury with the Thane H20 X5 Steam mop? I say 'mop' but this new addition to the Thane steam-cleaning range is actually a floor cleaner, fabric steamer, window cleaner, handheld steamer and carpet cleaner all in one and turns ordinary tap water into super charged and continuous steam meaning you can dispense with detergents.
I confess I'm quite excited by this (I know, sad…) and can't wait to try it out so there'll be a full review to follow. Meantime, if you're interested, it can be had for £89.99 (a £10 reduction on the RRP) courtesy of a voucher code available for use at Robert Dyas which can be had via the Idealo price-comparison website. More of them later.
Of course, all parents (along with a great many aunts, uncles, grandparents and godparents) will at some point be buying toys as part of their Christmas shopping. That can be a bit of a nightmare as not only can they carry an eye-watering price tag but - safely wrapped in plastic and cardboard - their durability and ability to withstand hours of heavy-handed playing can be impossible to assess accurately. Tonka (whom I well remember from my own youth) recently launched a new Tonka Town range and every bit as robust as the old tin Tonka toys I used to play with of old and The Tonka Town Fire Station playset is just £21.33 on Amazon (rrp. £39.99).
What we all need, if course, especially when buying toys is an open, honest an trustworthy opinion from the experts - the kids who are actually going to play with them and Charlie was selected earlier in the year to be part of the Tesco toy team… a day playing with toys and being filmed talking about them. And, of course, giving an honest opinion...
Toys, of course, can vary in price enormously and it can be a lifetime's work seeking out the best deals. Sites like Ideolo, however, can do the hard work for you and present an easy way to save a fortune. And with the new Ideolo iPad app the searching and price-matching just got a whole lot easier. I gave it a try searching for something on Charlie's (extended) Santa wish-list and here are the results:
The app's home-page… just touch a pic to begin a search
Narrowed down to all-things 'Lego'…
Just add words...
and 'bingo'… the product I'm looking for with a range of discount buying options
Of course, shopping online isn't without it's risks and there are a few simple precautions you can take to help cover yourself if there are any problems.
Most important, for anything costing over £100, is to use a credit card as your means of payment. That way - under the Consumer Credit Act - should anything go wrong (the company go bust, the goods not arrive) the credit card company will be jointly liable and you may get all your money back. But beware when entering your credit card details online and make sure you're on your own computer, that the wifi is protected and that your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
Right, so that's toys and gifts for the hard-to-please but what about, well… you know, that special person, that certain someone, that deserving, er… dad who works so hard all-year-round and deserves something special to unwrap on Christmas Day?
Well, ahem, far be it from me to put ideas into anyone's heads but speaking as someone who - since the advent of smartphones - has stopped using cameras completely (in favour of the increasingly high-resolution lenses available on those gadgets we still quaintly call a mobile) the New Nokia Lumia 1020 (which I had the good fortune to have a play with on Saturday) ticks a great many boxes, especially with its stonking 41MP camera as well as dual capture facility and features like manual exposure level, white balance, shutter speed and ISO normally only seen on DSLRs.
All this and it makes 'phone calls, too!
Mind you, not everyone is as as avid a phone-snapper as I am, but we all need a little 'me-time' now and again, and that can be hard to find during the festive season. So why not create your own with something like these urBeats DRE earbuds from DrDre, shutting out all around you while listening to something soothing on your iPod or smartphone. With Precision-machined single-billet metal housing to prevent vibrations and unwelcome sound from tainting your listening experience to ultra-flexible and tangle-free cabling these are the headphones for a dad who might be woken from his Christmas afternoon nap by a toddler crawling all over him… or worse.
Heck, with a built-in mic you can even take calls without taking them out of your ears or holding your phone like a walkie-talkie.
Perfect for all those Christmas Day phone calls you'll be taking from all the grateful recipients of your thoughtful present-buying!
Beats by DRE
First, the awkward squad - those friends and relations it proves almost impossible to buy for either because they've already got everything or because they have such demanding tastes. Something that might just meet both criteria without breaking the bank comes from the Ashleigh and Burwood range which includes this rather stylish (and very fragrant) Mercury Decadent Vase Diffuser Set (£24.49 on the Ashleigh & Burwood site but only £20.39 on Amazon).
But there are some people who wouldn't thank you for anything as frivolous as this, and for them why not combine practicality with luxury with the Thane H20 X5 Steam mop? I say 'mop' but this new addition to the Thane steam-cleaning range is actually a floor cleaner, fabric steamer, window cleaner, handheld steamer and carpet cleaner all in one and turns ordinary tap water into super charged and continuous steam meaning you can dispense with detergents.
I confess I'm quite excited by this (I know, sad…) and can't wait to try it out so there'll be a full review to follow. Meantime, if you're interested, it can be had for £89.99 (a £10 reduction on the RRP) courtesy of a voucher code available for use at Robert Dyas which can be had via the Idealo price-comparison website. More of them later.
Of course, all parents (along with a great many aunts, uncles, grandparents and godparents) will at some point be buying toys as part of their Christmas shopping. That can be a bit of a nightmare as not only can they carry an eye-watering price tag but - safely wrapped in plastic and cardboard - their durability and ability to withstand hours of heavy-handed playing can be impossible to assess accurately. Tonka (whom I well remember from my own youth) recently launched a new Tonka Town range and every bit as robust as the old tin Tonka toys I used to play with of old and The Tonka Town Fire Station playset is just £21.33 on Amazon (rrp. £39.99).
What we all need, if course, especially when buying toys is an open, honest an trustworthy opinion from the experts - the kids who are actually going to play with them and Charlie was selected earlier in the year to be part of the Tesco toy team… a day playing with toys and being filmed talking about them. And, of course, giving an honest opinion...
Toys, of course, can vary in price enormously and it can be a lifetime's work seeking out the best deals. Sites like Ideolo, however, can do the hard work for you and present an easy way to save a fortune. And with the new Ideolo iPad app the searching and price-matching just got a whole lot easier. I gave it a try searching for something on Charlie's (extended) Santa wish-list and here are the results:
The app's home-page… just touch a pic to begin a search
Narrowed down to all-things 'Lego'…
Just add words...
and 'bingo'… the product I'm looking for with a range of discount buying options
Of course, shopping online isn't without it's risks and there are a few simple precautions you can take to help cover yourself if there are any problems.
Most important, for anything costing over £100, is to use a credit card as your means of payment. That way - under the Consumer Credit Act - should anything go wrong (the company go bust, the goods not arrive) the credit card company will be jointly liable and you may get all your money back. But beware when entering your credit card details online and make sure you're on your own computer, that the wifi is protected and that your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
Right, so that's toys and gifts for the hard-to-please but what about, well… you know, that special person, that certain someone, that deserving, er… dad who works so hard all-year-round and deserves something special to unwrap on Christmas Day?
Well, ahem, far be it from me to put ideas into anyone's heads but speaking as someone who - since the advent of smartphones - has stopped using cameras completely (in favour of the increasingly high-resolution lenses available on those gadgets we still quaintly call a mobile) the New Nokia Lumia 1020 (which I had the good fortune to have a play with on Saturday) ticks a great many boxes, especially with its stonking 41MP camera as well as dual capture facility and features like manual exposure level, white balance, shutter speed and ISO normally only seen on DSLRs.
All this and it makes 'phone calls, too!
Mind you, not everyone is as as avid a phone-snapper as I am, but we all need a little 'me-time' now and again, and that can be hard to find during the festive season. So why not create your own with something like these urBeats DRE earbuds from DrDre, shutting out all around you while listening to something soothing on your iPod or smartphone. With Precision-machined single-billet metal housing to prevent vibrations and unwelcome sound from tainting your listening experience to ultra-flexible and tangle-free cabling these are the headphones for a dad who might be woken from his Christmas afternoon nap by a toddler crawling all over him… or worse.
Heck, with a built-in mic you can even take calls without taking them out of your ears or holding your phone like a walkie-talkie.
Perfect for all those Christmas Day phone calls you'll be taking from all the grateful recipients of your thoughtful present-buying!
Beats by DRE
December 1, 2013
Addis Beza: Helping Prevent HIV Through Dance
Today is World AIDS Day and I've been sent this remarkable story from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. They write:
Today's young people are the first generation that has never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In Ethiopia, where more than half of the population is under the age of 24, cultural attitudes among the older generation towards sexual health issues are making it difficult for young people to arm themselves with the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe.
But one enterprising group of youngsters in Addis Ababa, the BEZA Anti-AIDS youth group, are determined to use their combined talents for music and dance to get messages about HIV prevention across to the public and their peers. Members of the youth group, all aged between 15 and 20, have founded a dance troupe called Addis Beza, meaning “to live for others”. The troupe perform regularly in popular public spots around Addis Ababa, using the occasion to hand out information leaflets and to encourage people to get tested for HIV free of charge so that they know their status and can be treated accordingly.
The mobile testing clinics are organised by the Organization for Social Services for AIDS (OSSA), Ethiopia’s largest NGO working on HIV, and attract up to a thousand people over the course of five days. If somebody is found to be HIV positive, they are then referred on to a local health facility for access to treatment, care and support.
At the youth club centre, as well as training long hours to learn dance moves, members take it in turns to offer a drop in counselling service for young people and to give out free condoms.
Habtegoregies Hailu, better known as Habte, is the club’s chairman, and is determined to help them navigate through their teenage years.
“We’re going to save ourselves first, and then become a shelter for others who need protection,” he says. “This is the start not the end for us, helping protect young people from HIV.”
The Youth Group’s Debates
The club’s regular debate session is always well attended by members and this month’s topic - what is the right age to start having sex – drew quite a crowd. At these debates, opinion is often fiercely divided, but everybody gets the chance to express their view.
Club chairman Habte’s offering sees him open up the floor to personal opinion and thought. “How much control we do we have over ourselves, over our bodies? Marriage is not necessarily a timetable for having sex. It’s ok to experience, but we must be careful. It’s ok to jump in and enjoy life but do we take responsibility for our actions? Enjoy life but go and get information on how to enjoy it responsibly and carefully.”
Charismatic troupe leader Samson, 17, had this to say: “We have to have sex, we strongly have to. Because the Bible says to be reproductive – so we have to fulfil God’s word and use our body. What is it for otherwise?”
Wendimagegne is more hesitant: “I’m waiting until marriage, because otherwise we won’t be able to handle the consequences. We’re not knowledgeable enough at 16.”
Samson and his story
Samson is typical of the kind of young person that the club aims to attract. Now a model student taking an evening class in hotel management, he was once branded a troublemaker and had a history of petty stealing. Brought up by his grandmother, his father died when he was a baby and he has no real knowledge of his mother. Remembering when he was younger, he says: “We got into fights with gangs from other villages and had problems with the police.”
“I feel I have benefitted greatly from joining Addis Beza,” he continues. “The main benefit is a change in my life. Although I joined for the dance troupe, I’ve learnt lots of things. I did not have self-awareness until now and it has helped me to teach other people what I have learned. There is a big difference between the old me and the new me.”
Samson has seen first hand the tragedy that HIV can hold for young people if they do not have the knowledge they need to understand how to manage the virus. His friend Abel took his own life on discovering that he was positive, too frightened to reveal his diagnosis to his family for fear of being rejected.
“If you catch HIV it means that everyone will discriminate against you,” Samson says. “People will think that you can’t live with anyone, that it is an alien disease. [Before joining the youth group] the opinion I had is that it’s not even possible to eat together. Our families used to say that it's a punishment from God.”
“I did not have any knowledge and didn't know its methods of transmission, but I have learned to practise safe sex, when I should start having sex, what I need to do after sex if a woman gets pregnant.”
With young people aged 15-24 accounting for 40% of new HIV infections globally, Samson and his fellow dancers are playing their part as duty bearing citizens. “I want to make Ethiopian culture known to the world,” he says proudly. “Here we say that we want to be the light for others.”
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Link Up
Ethiopia is one of five countries currently being targeted by the Alliance and its partners through Link Up, an initiative that aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of more than one million young people living with and affected by HIV.
Over the course of the next three years, Link Up will reach more than one million young people aged 15-24 by implementing tailored HIV and sexual and reproductive health interventions to increase uptake and access to services and reduce unintended pregnancies, new HIV infections and HIV-related maternal mortality. In Ethiopia the initiative aims to reach 140,000 young people to improve their sexual health.
What can you do to help?
Show your support to Addis Beza, the Link Up programme and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance by:
Sharing the dance troupe’s story (Click to Tweet) (Share on Facebook) #LinkUp
Keeping up to date with the work being carried out through Link Up at www.link-up.org
Follow the International HIV/AIDS Alliance on Twitter @theaidsalliance and on Facebook
Today's young people are the first generation that has never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In Ethiopia, where more than half of the population is under the age of 24, cultural attitudes among the older generation towards sexual health issues are making it difficult for young people to arm themselves with the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe.
But one enterprising group of youngsters in Addis Ababa, the BEZA Anti-AIDS youth group, are determined to use their combined talents for music and dance to get messages about HIV prevention across to the public and their peers. Members of the youth group, all aged between 15 and 20, have founded a dance troupe called Addis Beza, meaning “to live for others”. The troupe perform regularly in popular public spots around Addis Ababa, using the occasion to hand out information leaflets and to encourage people to get tested for HIV free of charge so that they know their status and can be treated accordingly.
The mobile testing clinics are organised by the Organization for Social Services for AIDS (OSSA), Ethiopia’s largest NGO working on HIV, and attract up to a thousand people over the course of five days. If somebody is found to be HIV positive, they are then referred on to a local health facility for access to treatment, care and support.
At the youth club centre, as well as training long hours to learn dance moves, members take it in turns to offer a drop in counselling service for young people and to give out free condoms.
Habtegoregies Hailu, better known as Habte, is the club’s chairman, and is determined to help them navigate through their teenage years.
“We’re going to save ourselves first, and then become a shelter for others who need protection,” he says. “This is the start not the end for us, helping protect young people from HIV.”
The Youth Group’s Debates
The club’s regular debate session is always well attended by members and this month’s topic - what is the right age to start having sex – drew quite a crowd. At these debates, opinion is often fiercely divided, but everybody gets the chance to express their view.
Club chairman Habte’s offering sees him open up the floor to personal opinion and thought. “How much control we do we have over ourselves, over our bodies? Marriage is not necessarily a timetable for having sex. It’s ok to experience, but we must be careful. It’s ok to jump in and enjoy life but do we take responsibility for our actions? Enjoy life but go and get information on how to enjoy it responsibly and carefully.”
Charismatic troupe leader Samson, 17, had this to say: “We have to have sex, we strongly have to. Because the Bible says to be reproductive – so we have to fulfil God’s word and use our body. What is it for otherwise?”
Wendimagegne is more hesitant: “I’m waiting until marriage, because otherwise we won’t be able to handle the consequences. We’re not knowledgeable enough at 16.”
Samson and his story
Samson is typical of the kind of young person that the club aims to attract. Now a model student taking an evening class in hotel management, he was once branded a troublemaker and had a history of petty stealing. Brought up by his grandmother, his father died when he was a baby and he has no real knowledge of his mother. Remembering when he was younger, he says: “We got into fights with gangs from other villages and had problems with the police.”
“I feel I have benefitted greatly from joining Addis Beza,” he continues. “The main benefit is a change in my life. Although I joined for the dance troupe, I’ve learnt lots of things. I did not have self-awareness until now and it has helped me to teach other people what I have learned. There is a big difference between the old me and the new me.”
Samson has seen first hand the tragedy that HIV can hold for young people if they do not have the knowledge they need to understand how to manage the virus. His friend Abel took his own life on discovering that he was positive, too frightened to reveal his diagnosis to his family for fear of being rejected.
“If you catch HIV it means that everyone will discriminate against you,” Samson says. “People will think that you can’t live with anyone, that it is an alien disease. [Before joining the youth group] the opinion I had is that it’s not even possible to eat together. Our families used to say that it's a punishment from God.”
“I did not have any knowledge and didn't know its methods of transmission, but I have learned to practise safe sex, when I should start having sex, what I need to do after sex if a woman gets pregnant.”
With young people aged 15-24 accounting for 40% of new HIV infections globally, Samson and his fellow dancers are playing their part as duty bearing citizens. “I want to make Ethiopian culture known to the world,” he says proudly. “Here we say that we want to be the light for others.”
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Link Up
Ethiopia is one of five countries currently being targeted by the Alliance and its partners through Link Up, an initiative that aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of more than one million young people living with and affected by HIV.
Over the course of the next three years, Link Up will reach more than one million young people aged 15-24 by implementing tailored HIV and sexual and reproductive health interventions to increase uptake and access to services and reduce unintended pregnancies, new HIV infections and HIV-related maternal mortality. In Ethiopia the initiative aims to reach 140,000 young people to improve their sexual health.
What can you do to help?
Show your support to Addis Beza, the Link Up programme and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance by:
Sharing the dance troupe’s story (Click to Tweet) (Share on Facebook) #LinkUp
Keeping up to date with the work being carried out through Link Up at www.link-up.org
Follow the International HIV/AIDS Alliance on Twitter @theaidsalliance and on Facebook
