january issue m&a express

Mansfield & Ashfield Express, January 2013 2

January 2013

Happy New Year to all our readers, clients,

printers and distributers I wish you all good

luck in the coming year and I hope your en-

deavours end in success and the year filled

with good tides. This year promises to be an-

other fast paced event as we sink further into

the information age with the parliamentary

elections only two years away and the start to

yet another regeneration program for the

Mansfield area. With the completion of the

new Bus Station and ground works set to

begin soon for the new £2.4 million retail and

office development on the former Queens

Head Pub site and also the re-start to that eye-

sore of a housing project on Stockwell Gate,

Mansfield should be getting a little face-lift.

Hopefully with a more comprehensive trans-

port system linked in with the trains and some

newer shops this should help regenerate the

town a little faster, and now that we are offi-

cially out of the recession according to the

government it seems things are getting better,

maybe it’s just me being overly positive in the

New Year but I have a good feeling about

2013.

Once again we will have another busy year for

the community calendar with Valentine’s Day

just around the corner and then bumbling into

spring it won’t be long until it’s time for the

summer in the streets and Oxjam Takeover

festival again! Well whatever events this year

brings we hope you hear about it from us first

or at least read the overview about it with us.

This year we promise to bring you more, more

Mansfield Nova Paralympic Gold Medallist

Ollie Hynd has been awarded an MBE for his

services to swimming in the New Years Hon-

ours List.

He won a gold in the individual S8 Category

200m medley, a silver in the 400m freestyle

and a bronze in the 100m backstroke during

the summer's Paralympic Games in London.

This set of performances meant that Ollie was

the most successful male swimmer on the Par-

alympics GB team at London 2012.

The 400m freestyle race even became a family

affair, with Ollie's brother Sam picking up the

bronze.

Ollie was quick to pay tribute to those who

had helped him achieve his success, including

his coaches, family and friends:

"It is such an honour to be awarded an MBE,

especially as such a young person, and I am

very humbled. I want to say a big thank you to

those who have worked and supported me to

achieve success in the water, in particular my

family and coaches Glenn, Jill and Tim."

Success in London was achieved in dramatic

circumstances, after he broke his wrist during

the first Paralympic swimming trials in Lon-

don. At one stage even attending the games

was in doubt, but with the aid of support from

medical and coaching staff, Ollie was able to

work his way back to peak fitness in time for

the games. A major inspiration for him during

that difficult time was his idol, Michael Phelps,

who sustained a similar injury before going on

to competitive success. Ollie said:

"I was devastated after I had my injury, but

knew that Phelps had a similar thing happen

to him and went on to great things. Very

quickly, I set my goal on going from being in

my cast to becoming Paralympic Champion,

and never looked back."

The hard work has already started again for

Ollie ahead of the World swimming champi-

onships in Canada this year. He has recently

returned from a training camp in Dubai, and

has already been back in competition.

MBE for Ollie Hynd rounds

off a year to remember

Mansfield District Council is set to purchase a

derelict block of flats and piece of land after

the owner of the site went into administration.

In 2004 the Council sold ten blocks of flats in

Victoria Court, Mansfield, for £1m to Finsbury

Estates Ltd. The sale was conditional on a

number of covenants, which included the right

of the Council to re-purchase within 21 years

of completion of sale if Finsbury Estates Ltd

failed to substantially complete the refurbish-

ment of the flats to the satisfaction of the

Council within 12 months. Although the com-

pany have successfully completed the refur-

bishment of the blocks numbered 1-18, the

remaining blocks (nos. 19 - 48) have not been

completed. Over the years, the Council has

been in discussions with the Finsbury Estates

regarding the completion of the works and

also to determine their plans for the site,

which included demolition of the remaining

blocks to make way for a new development on

the site. The Council adopted a flexible ap-

proach with respect to the company’s propos-

als. However over the last few years little

progress was made. The company has now

gone into Administration and Receivers have

been appointed by the company’s bank. The

Receiver has appointed two new companies to

manage the refurbished properties and the

site. The value of the site is now significantly

less than what the Council achieved in 2004.

The cost of acquiring and demolishing the site

is estimated to be approximately £240,000.

Cllr Mick Colley, Portfolio Holder for Tenancy

Services and Housing Needs, said: “This is an

exciting opportunity to make a real difference

to the area by removing what has become an

eyesore and creating a more attractive and

welcoming environment. “The acquisition and

redevelopment of this site will help reduce

crime, regenerate the area and create jobs in

construction, provide new housing to meet the

needs of a range of customers including vul-

nerable people and improve the current site

from an environmental perspective.”When the

purchase of the site is secured, the Council in-

tends to demolish the buildings and hopes to

start developing plans for a comprehensive re-

development of the area in spring / early sum-

mer 2013.

Council to buy back derelict flats

From the Editors Desk...

local news stories, and more film and book re-

views more local music reviews with the

bands themselves and hopefully get our Mayor

Tony Egginton back into print with his award

winning column and comments within our

publication instead (If the other, more promi-

nent local papers won’t help him get the word

out then I guess it will have to be the little old

express). However as I mentioned in my last

editor’s note, we can only cover so much here

without prior knowledge to events or without

your involvement within the context of local

news stories so please if you have a story that

you think needs telling, a local hero who de-

serves praise and has received none or a club,

group or society you are either establishing, is

going strong and needs promotion or is plac-

ing an event please contact us at the office on

01623 624 326 or alternatively you can write

to [email protected]

So please ring or write to us regarding any sto-

ries you think deserve to be published, and

please keep in mind that we only promote

good news, meaning we try not to cover upset-

ting local tragedies, rather we would prefer to

cover uplifting stories, events that make us all

proud to be locals. I know that Mansfield isn’t

the prettiest place and some rather ugly things

happen within it, but it’s ours and this is our

attempt at a community paper that actually

cares, so let’s fill it with all the beautiful things

that DO happen that no-one mentions or is

given barely a moments attention, and let’s

make 2013 the year it deserves to be.

Yours Sincerely, Jake Manton, The Editor

Mansfield & Ashfield Express, January 2013

Reason. Feeling. Action =

The Case for Compassion

Do you think that compassion and empathy

have a place in society anymore? Would you

be surprised if I told that it is only in the last

10 years or so that science has started to

really study empathy and compassion and that

they are quite literally blown away by what

they are finding? Within an age of scientific

endeavours and materialism – what place do

inner values, ethics and personal integrity

have - if any?

Perhaps it’s easier to reflect on their absence

as an indicator of their importance. A distinct

lack of ethics, values and insatiable greed have

led to the banking crisis that is affecting us all.

And with the increasingly interdependent

society we can no longer just see ourselves as

local groups whose activities don’t affect a

wider whole. If the stock markets open lower

in Tokyo our own pensions are now affected.

Last weekend in London I attended the

Empathy and Compassion Conference and

helped facilitate workshops in ‘Compassion

and Empathy in society’. This conference con-

sisted of neuroscientists, educational profes-

sionals, community engagement workers and

professionals from all walks of life – even

lawyers and a British Lord showed up.

Scientist after scientist provided the research

as to how highly diverse the positive impact of

compassion and empathy is to our wellbeing.

The research may surprise you. They demon-

strated how it makes us wiser and enables us

to make more successful decisions by more ef-

fective use of our brain. It makes us more at-

tractive to potential partners and makes us

healthier by reducing inflammation in the

body. It has even been shown to slow down

time.

Basically there is now a substantial body of ev-

idence in evolutionary biology, neuroscience

and other fields suggesting that, even from the

most rigorous scientific perspective, unselfish-

ness and concern for others are not only in

our interests but also, in a sense, innate to our

biological nature.

What Do We Mean By Compassion

Part of the challenge is with the word compas-

sion itself. Somehow the word seems to have

become dislocated and marginalised in such a

way that it is now considered soft or unimpor-

tant – or something just related to religion.

What it certainly doesn’t mean is ‘pity’. Just

look at the work of Nelson Mandela, Aung San

Suu Kyi or the Dalai Lama, all who have prac-

ticed and embraced compassion and what

they have accomplished.

Compassion itself is defined as having 3 com-

ponents – a thinking or reasoning component,

a feeling component and an active element.

Thinking - We have the ability to understand

people as well as investigate the nature of cir-

cumstances and situations. We can reflect on

what helps and harms ourselves and others.

That is the reasoning component.

Feeling - Have you been in a meeting where

somehow at the end you are all feeling the

same mood? That is the feeing component –

we are actually biologically empathic. That is

scientific fact. Our brain and bodies are inti-

mately linked into the states of others. That is

why emotions are contagious.

Action - We’ve all seen the massive public out-

pouring of support for those affected by

tragedies related to the Tsunamis or wide

scale hunger. When we see suffering we are

spontaneously moved by a feeling to relieve

that suffering. That seems to be a fundamen-

tal experience of being a human.

You may be surprised that compassion has the

same impact on our brain as receiving money,

or experiencing pleasure – it feels good. We

even become happier when we see others per-

form acts of kindness. Participants in studies

who spend money on others rather than

themselves also feel significantly happier. We

become more creative and effective as it has a

broadening effect on the brain – more of our

resources become available to us. It’s the op-

posite of a narrow self focused attention that

restricts the minds view of the world it is in.

Self- absorption related to ‘me, myself, I’, is as-

sociated with increased feelings of sadness

and a rise of narcissism in the western world.

The amount someone uses ‘I’ in a sentence has

even been correlated to increased risk of heart

disease.

Compassion has been shown to make us more

attractive. We are social beings, feeling

strongly connected to people who show us

kindness. Research reveals that both men and

women rate kindness as one of their most de-

sired traits in their mates.

Inflammation in the body is at the root of can-

cer and other diseases and is generally higher

in people undergoing lots of stress or those

living the ‘good life’. But research with indi-

viduals who were happy because their lives

were filled with meaning and purpose – focus-

ing on others through compassion, empathy

and even altruism have low inflammation lev-

els.

The Harvard Men Study

One of the longest-running psychological stud-

ies of all time—the Harvard Men study fol-

lowed 268 men from their entrance into

college in the late 1930s all the way through to

the present day. From this wealth of data, sci-

entists have been able to identify the life cir-

cumstances and personal characteristics that

distinguished the happiest, fullest lives from

the least successful ones. George Vaillant, the

psychologist who directed this study for the

last 40 years, told the Atlantic Monthly that he

could sum up the findings in one word: “love”.

There are “70 years of evidence that our rela-

tionships with other people matter, and mat-

ter more than anything else in the world.”

So as we approach Christmas - perhaps we can

reflect on the importance and meaning of

compassion and empathy for ourselves, loved

ones and even strangers.

Fundamentally we all want to be happy and

none of us want to suffer. Isn’t that true? We

may go about this in very different ways, but

the goal is always consistent and makes us the

same in the shared human drama we call life.

May you have an excellent New Year full of

meaningful connections, love and laughter.

DarranTruteBiography: Darran Trute has facilitated and

co-ordinated workshops which have helped

organisations integrate mindfulness and em-

pathy practises within intense business envi-

ronments. These workshops were specifically

for CEO’s, managers and staff across the vol-

untary, government and commercial sectors.

Email: [email protected]

What Do We Mean By Compassion?

Part of the challenge is with the word

compassion itself. Somehow the word seems to

have become dislocated and marginalised in

such a way that it is now considered soft or

unimportant – or something just related to

religion. What it certainly doesn’t mean is ‘pity’.

4

Mansfield Citizens' Panel member Emma Cor-

nell is celebrating after being picked out of the

hat to win a £50 gift voucher.

Emma is one of 380 members who belong to

Mansfield District Council's Citizens' Panel,

which gives members of the public the oppor-

tunity to express their views on a wide range

of local issues. The prize draw was open to

members who returned their questionnaires.

Emma said: "I enjoy being a member of the

Citizens' Panel, as it's interesting having your

say about Council services and I enjoy reading

the feedback from other members. The Panel

is an opportunity for people to give their opin-

ions and tell the Council what to focus on. The

questionnaire is very easy to fill in - I do it

from my phone."

Members are emailed an online survey in

March, June, September and December, in

which they are asked questions on topics such

as how the Council is performing, how it

should shape its services and what its

priorities should be. The survey is easy to

complete with tick boxes to mark your re-

sponses and the occasional comment box.

Anyone who lives in the District and is aged 16

and over can join.

Cllr Andrew Tristram, Portfolio Holder for

Corporate Issues, said: "Being a member of the

Citizens' Panel is vital to the development and

future success of Mansfield. The results from

each survey are fed back to Council depart-

ments, who use the information to deliver

services in the best possible way. We really

want to hear from the people of Mansfield and

the Citizens' Panel is an effective way for peo-

ple to get their views across."

For more information and to join the panel

visit www.mansfield.gov.uk/panel email

[email protected] or contact the Com-

munity Engagement team on 01623 463 372.

A paper version of the Citizen Panel survey is

available for people, who do not have access to

a computer.

Emma’s a Prize Citizen

•Advanced Periodontitis: In this final stage of

gum disease, the fibres and bone supporting

your teeth are destroyed, which can cause

your teeth to shift or loosen.

Is there a treatment? Yes, there is an effective

treatment available that allows the gums to

heal and retighten around your teeth. Gum

disease treatment involves measuring six

points around each tooth to determine the

severity and how far the disease has advanced.

The area is then anesthetised and using spe-

cial tools we remove any tartar or bacteria

from below the gum line. By doing so this al-

lows the gums to reattach to the tooth surface

giving greater support for the tooth.

What are the symptoms of gum disease? The

earliest sign of the disease is bleeding gums,

they may also look red and swollen. Symp-

toms can include:-

•Gums that are red, puffy or swollen, or tender

•Gums that bleed during brushing or flossing

•Teeth that look longer because your gums

have receded

•Gums that have separated, or pulled away,

from your teeth, creating a pocket

•Changes in the way your teeth fit together

when you bite

•Pus coming from between your teeth and

gums

•Constant bad breath or a bad taste in your

mouth

If you have any of the above symptoms it is im-

portant to seek advice from your dentist.

Gum disease is very common, it is estimated

that half the population has some degree of

gum disease and most people experience it at

least once in their lifetime. If left untreated it

can lead to Periodontitis which can destroy

the ligaments and bone that hold your teeth in

place which can lead to tooth loss.

What is gum disease? There are three stages

of gum disease, gingivitis, periodontitus and

advanced periodontitis.

•Gingivitis is the earliest stage which presents

as inflammation of the gums caused by plaque

build-up at the gumline. Plaque not removed

by brushing or flossing produces toxins that

can irritate the gums causing gingivitis.

•Periodontitis is the next stage where the sup-

porting bone and fibres that hold your teeth in

place are irreversibly damaged.

Ask Dr. HeathGum disease is very common, it is estimatedthat half the population has some degree ofgum disease and most people experience it atleast once in their lifetime.


Beauty

Even when your skin is looking tired and pale, you can look blooming lovely byadding a touch of colour to your cheeks. Blushers are an essential part of a beauty regime for those without a naturalrosy glow. There are so many product types and colours to choose from andmany different ways to apply them.

Slim definition: if you have slightly chubby

cheeks and would like a more contoured look,

apply blusher in the hollows, just below your

cheekbones. For accuracy, suck in your cheeks

and brush in upward strokes in the hollows.

Use an illuminating highlighter along the top

of your cheekbones. This will create the illu-

sion of fuller cheekbones and a slimmer face.

Rosy apples: the apples of your cheeks are

the fullest part. If you use a pale illuminating

shade applied directly to your apples, it will

instantly create a fresh looking glow.

Application tip: do not get carried away with

applying blusher. If applied elsewhere on your

face it will look as though you are wearing the

wrong shade of foundation. Stick to the apples

or hollows. If you want to add colour in other

parts, opt for a bronzer that can be swept all

over your skin instead.

Hold a piece of blank white paper up to your

makeup-free face. What colour jumps out?

Most average, pale skin has yellow undertones

which look best with warm blushers such as

peach or brown. If you can identify red under-

tones, opt for cool pinks. Red tones usually

suit silver jewellery, while yellow suit gold.

Product choices

Powder: the ideal choice, for most. Powders

can either be loose, compact or in ball form.

They are easy to apply and will not overly dis-

turb your foundation base. Once applied over

your base, powder blushers are long lasting

and easy to add to for an evening look.

Cream and compact stick: these must be ap-

plied over liquid foundation but before you set

your foundation with a powder. You can obtain

a fresh, youthful finish with a cream or stick

blusher and are a good choice on warm sum-

mery days as they are more likely to stay put.

Fluid: these are an acquired skill. Fluids,

sometimes described as cheek stains, can be

difficult to blend to a natural finish. Lots of

blending may disturb your base so they are

best used in small areas, like your apples.

These are great for adding a healthy glow to

your well-protected face on holiday.

Blushing

with Beauty

1. Clean your hands

The first thing you need to do before you start

a manicure is make sure your hands and nails

are nice and clean. Using the pointed end of a

cuticle stick, dig out any dirt from underneath

your nails, taking care not to jab your nail bed.

3. File your nails

Once your cuticles have been carefully pushed

back you can start to file the nail ends. Make

sure to move in one direction from the end of

the nail to the centre and the same on the

other side. Moving your emery board back and

forth along the edge of your nails will weaken

them and may cause them to split. Aim to cre-

ate a natural looking oval shape, that is neither

too square nor too pointed but in line with the

natural shape of your fingers.

When you are pleased with the shape, gently

brush the nail file in a downwards movement

across the end of your nail to get rid of any ex-

cess nail ends.

Give Yourself a

Proffessional

Manicure

If the credit crunch has got you tightening

your purse strings, you might think a mani-

cure is a luxury you just can’t afford. However,

you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get

your nails looking good, in fact you don’t even

need to step into a salon.

You can get your nails looking salon-great in

the comfort of your own home, with little ef-

fort, expense or time. Simply follow the four

steps below to achieve salon-perfect talons. All

you’ll need is: nail polish remover, cotton wool

pads, cuticle remover, cuticle stick (often

called a hoof stick), an emery board and some

clear or coloured nail polish.

2. Remove cuticle

Once your hands and nails are clean and dry,

apply some cuticle remover to the cuticles

which is the skin that covers the top of the

nail. Let the remover sink in for a few minutes

and then gently push back the moistened cuti-

cle with the cuticle stick. This should not be

painful, if it is then chances are you are push-

ing too hard with the stick.

4. Apply nail polish

Once you are happy with the shape of your

nails, apply a coat of clear or coloured nail pol-

ish to each nail. Pick up a small amount of pol-

ish on your brush and paint one stroke down

the centre of your nail. Your brush should hold

just enough colour to accomplish this. Next,

gently apply a stroke of polish to the sides of

the nail. The nail should be completely

coloured in three strokes. Allow to set for a

minute or so before applying the second coat.

If you wear polish regularly it is advisable to

take it off and leave nails bare for at least two

days a week to ensure healthy growth.

Mansfield & Ashfield Express,January 2013 9

Homemade Beauty Everybody likes to try to look their best but expensive face creams and body lotions can take theirtoll on your wallet. However you can still treat yourself to a relaxing facial, some luxurious face-cream or body lotion all for next to nothing. You might think you'd need a degree in chemistryor cosmetology to make your own beauty products from scratch but in actual fact this couldn't be further from the truth. You can create some luxurious, natural products using items you probablyalready have lurking around your kitchen cupboards. As well as saving a penny or two you can resteasy knowing exactly what you're putting on your face. No need to worry about nasty chemicals andsynthetic fragrances. All these ingredients are natural and edible. So get in the kitchen and cook upsome natural beauty!

face mask repeat the mashing process and

apply the avocado liberally to the face area

and relax.

Soothing foot balm

1 tablespoon almond oil 1 tablespoon olive oil1 teaspoon wheat germ oil 12 drops eucalyptusessential oil Everyone's feet can get a bit whiffy in the sum-

mer heat but you don't need to spend a for-

tune on expensive foot creams. Simply

combine the ingredients in a bottle and shake

extremely well. Rub into the feet and heels

nightly to smooth and soften rough dry feet.

Soothing eye treatment

2 moist teabags 2 slices of cucumberWho says looking good has to cost the earth?

These two homemade eye treatments are sim-

ple easy and very cheap. For the first treat-

ment take two very thin slices of cucumber, as

these are great for brightening and nourishing

the eyes; press them lightly on to the eye area.

Make them thin slices so they make contact,

yielding into the contours of the eyes.

For the second treatment take two moist tea

bags and place them over your eyes. This will

help fade under-eye bags because they contain

tannin and polyphenols which have an astrin-

gent effect.

Chemical-free facial/body scrub

2 tablespoons of sea salt Forget paying out for posh facial scrubs, sea

salt removes dry, flaky, dead skin from your

face and body with ease. Wet your face or

body and apply a couple of tablespoons of sea

salt. Then gently massage the area with a wet

flannel or fingers. After one or two minutes,

rinse with cold water to tighten the pores.

Natural eye make-up remover

1 tablespoon castor oil 1 tablespoon light olive oil. Castor oil is excellent for removing eye

makeup. A combination of castor, olive or

canola oils is especially nice to remove mas-

cara at the end of the day. Even the most stub-

born makeup glides off effortlessly with this

light oil mixture - all without the addition of

harmful chemicals so close to the eye area.

Moisturising hair/face mask

1 medium avocado Avocados contain skin-nourishing vitamin E

and phytosterols, which are similar to the

skin's own lipids and provide a barrier to envi-

ronmental elements and lock in moisture. To

make a nourishing hair pack that will leave

you with a gorgeous shine, mash one avocado

into a smooth paste and spread on clean,

damp hair for 20 minutes, then rinse. For the

non-invasive cosmetic treatments still need

careful consideration and should always be

carried out by trained professionals.

If you have considered the matter carefully,

and preferably talked it over with your GP,

here are a few non-invasive treatments that

are targeted at the facial area:

Restylane (www.restylane.com) is an in-

jectable gel that is administered by trained,

medically qualified practitioners throughout

the UK. It is designed to work by enhancing

the skin's stocks of hyaluronic acid, directly

adding volume to either soften the signs of

ageing or enhance features. The procedure

usually takes less than 30 minutes and the

benefits can be seen immediately. Restylane is

long lasting, but not permanent. The

hyaluronic acid gel of Restylane closely resem-

bles natural hyaluronic acid, helping to reduce

the risk of an inflammatory reaction or other

side effects. The most popular treatment is

Restylane Lipp, which is used to fill out wrin-

kles and folds or to sculpt lips. The product is

naturally degradable and it is estimated that it

lasts six to 12 months before a new treatment

is necessary. It is formulated to work in har-

mony with the natural anatomy of the lip. The

Face and Body Clinic (www.thefaceandbody-

clinic.co.uk) situated in London's Harley Street

offers non-invasive treatments for skincare,

anti-ageing and hair removal. Skincare thera-

pies on offer include non-chemical facial peels,

mesotherapy without needles and skin

tightening treatments.

Anti-wrinkle light refinement is the clinic's lat-

est treatment. It uses formulated ampoules,

infra-red and blue light and bio-resonance

waves to aid relaxation, stimulate skin and en-

courage cell regeneration. The treatment,

which costs from £80 per session, claims to

produce long-term improvements to wrinkles

and fine lines without any of the side-effects

associated with older-style lasers, such as

scarring, reddening and sunlight sensitivity.

Tear Trough Rejuvenation by Raman Malhotra

(www.ramanmalhotra.com) uses hyaluronic

acid products to help reduce the appearance

of bags and dark circles under the eyes.

In the lower eyelid and cheek area, loss of vol-

ume accentuates the bony orbital rim between

the lower eyelid and the cheek. This leads to

the pronounced appearance of natural fat

pockets and accentuation of tear trough shad-

ows. The treatment helps reduce dark circles

by creating a smooth lower eyelid contour and

reducing shadowing. It lasts between six and

12 months.

David Gault has recently launched a new anti-

ageing facial treatment at the Portland Hospi-

tal in London. Portrait Plasma Skin

Regeneration is a non-surgical procedure to

improve skin laxity, texture, pore size, acne

scars and surface pigmentation as well as re-

duce the depth of wrinkles by removing su-

perficial tissue. The treatment takes 20-30

minutes.

Non-Invasive

Treatments to

Cosmetic Surgery

Most men and women with ageing faces

would like to do something to turn the

clock back a few years. Filling the gap be-

tween invasive cosmetic surgeries and

over-the-counter beauty products is a

range of non-invasive cosmetic surgeries

that are easier on the pocket and far less

painful.

Non-invasive cosmetic surgery is taking off

fast in the UK thanks to the wide availabil-

ity of well-known treatments such as Botox

and cosmetic dermal fillers. But a word of

caution: before you take the plunge, re-

member that


Fashion

The tide is definitely turning against the use of

very young, very skinny models as Brits cast

aside unrealistic aspirations and open their

minds to the natural look. There is strong pub-

lic consensus with 80% of Brits saying fashion

designers should not be allowed to use under

16s on the catwalk, and an equal number

wanting to see an end to size zero models on

the runway, according to the latest YouGov

poll. Interestingly, almost eight out of 10 peo-

ple feel that designers would actually help,

rather than hinder, their business by using

more average-sized women in fashion shows.

Debates surrounding the size and ages of

models appearing on the global catwalks are

as frequent as the shows themselves, with

proposals to ban models aged under 16 and

those below a certain Body Mass Index (BMI)

regularly suggested as a way to legislate the

controversial industry. At this year's New York

Fashion Week, the Council of Fashion Design-

ers of America tried to limit models to those

aged over 16, while in 2006 Madrid Fashion

Week organisers controversially banned mod-

els from the catwalk if their BMI dropped

below 18 - the lowest "normal" limit. But

while models under 16 were officially banned

in the capital in 2007, London has still to

make any moves towards setting a weight or

size limit for catwalk models, with many de-

signers adding fuel to the debate by still re-

portedly refusing to showcase their clothes on

models even slightly closer to the UK

averagesize 16. A report published last year

also suggested that "too-large" women on the

catwalk wouldn't necessarily promote a

healthier body image than continuing to use

their "too-slim" colleagues. The YouGov sur-

vey, conducted in the run-up to Milan and

Paris Fashion Weeks, echoes the findings of

ITV morning show Lorraine's search for the

UK's most naturally beautiful people, known

as the 'Lorraine: Naked' competition. Kate

Middleton - the Duchess of Cambridge - was

named the most naturally beautiful female

British female celebrity, gaining 33% of votes

from the 1,752 viewers who took part and

coming out streets ahead of her closest rivals,

This Morning host Holly Willoughby, Harry

Potter star Emma Watson and her own sister

Pippa, who drew 17, 16 and 15% of the votes

respectively. Also polling 15% were actress

Kate Winslet, singer and former X-Factor

judge Cheryl Cole, and singer, TV presenter

and model Myleene Klass. A total of 14%

voted for curvy model Kelly Brook and actress

Helen Mirren.

Famously sensual TV chef and food writer

Nigella Lawson follows on 13% while pop sen-

sation Adele tied with Strictly Come Dancing's

Alesha Dixon and fellow Strictly star and East-

Enders actress Kara Tointon with seven per

cent of the votes. Supermodel Kate Moss re-

ceived just four per cent of the votes, along

with singer Charlotte Church, and R'n'B star

and former X-Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.

Fashion Needs to

Grow up Says Brits

There's no denying that shapewear has been a

godsend, designed to even out our lumps and

bumps and give us a smooth silhouette under

that little black dress. But let's be honest - it's

never been the most flattering option for a big

night out. Every woman of a certain age re-

members the scene from Bridget Jones' Diary,

where Bridget finally gets her man while look-

ing svelte and stunning in a figure-hugging

black evening dress - only to reveal at the cru-

cial moment that a giant pair of flesh-toned,

control top granny pants had been doing all

the hard work for her.

Thankfully, there is another option if you'd

rather wear something a bit sexier under your

outfit for that big date. The "It's My Secret"

range from www.kaleidoscope.co.uk features

beautiful designs with control panels built into

the clothes themselves. Choose from dresses,

jeans, trousers and skirts: there's an option for

every occasion so you can banish your unflat-

tering undies to the back of the drawer for-

ever.

The It's My Secret Dress (pictured, £59) comes

in sizes 10-22 and features a shaping tube,

running from the waistband to the thigh to

smooth your tummy and give you a flattering

silhouette, while the ruched sleeves and gath-

ered front will have you brimming with confi-

dence for that big night out.

Jeans can be a problem item if you're worried

about your tum, but the collection's stretch

jeans (pictured, £39), available in black or

or blue washes, feature a control panel in the

tummy area to offer a bit more streamlining.

The straight-leg style goes well with pumps

for daytime wear or heels for an evening look,

making them ideal for any occasion.

Also available in the collection are smart black

trousers (£32) and skirts (£28), offering the

comfort of an elastic waist but without the

bunching and wrinkling: ideal for a night out

our a day at the office. And for a more casual

look, choose from the long-line denim skirt

(£35) or black capri pants (£17.50).

With looks for all kinds of occasions, the It's

My Secret range is a secret worth keeping.

Featured items from www.kaleidoscope.co.uk

Dress - 24R225 (£59)

Jeans - 69X954 (£39)

Shapewear:

It’s My Secret

Shapewear: Useful but never themost flattening choice of under-wear for a big night out. Now anew clothing range with controlpanels has hit the market, so you can banish yourmost unflattering undies to theback of the drawer forever...


High Heel Comfort?It’s the fashion faux pas that is rarely talked

about and remains one of the hidden secrets

at the bottom of many women’s wardrobes.

Most of us girls have parted with our hard-

earned cash for a pair of must-have shoes,

only to find these treasures are transformed

into a toe torture contraptions halfway

through the night. Once or twice is forgivable

and perhaps even understandable, but now

new research has revealed that women keep

making the same mistake when it comes to

fashionable footwear - and are frittering away

£2.5 billion a year on uncomfortable shoes

they rarely wear. The average woman in the

UK spends £136.52 on five new pairs of shoes

every year, at a cost of £27.40 per pair. But in-

stead of investing wisely in shoes they can

wear more than once, three out of the five

pairs of these must-have heels end up at the

bottom of the wardrobe having only had one

or two outings because they hurt their new

owners feet. The research, commissioned by

shoe specialist Hotter Comfort Concept, also

revealed that 40% of the 1,000 women ques-

tioned admit choosing their shoes purely be-

cause of how they look - and not how they feel.

But incredibly, almost a third who have tried

on shoes and know they’ll be sore but still buy

them because they just can’t resist the look,

and often kid themselves into believing their

feet will adjust. This determination to perse-

vere with their purchases means 62% of

women spend at least one day a week wearing

uncomfortable shoes, with 48% hoping to

wear them in until their feet get used to them.

But still we refuse to give up! More than half of

women say they hang on to their hellish heels

for up to a year before admitting defeat and

throwing them away, despite only wearing

them once. They also revealed that they own

at least four pairs of shoes just to be worn

when sitting down or Dinner Shoes that look

amazing but are excruciating to actually walk

in. Regionally, women in Chelmsford buy the

most shoes, treating themselves to an average

of seven pairs every year whereas women in

Leicester buy the least, getting by on just four

pairs a year. Worcestershire is revealed as the

worst county for footwear faux pas as women

there admit that 70% of their shoe collection

has only been worn once because they are too

painful, whereas Cambridge females are the

most comfort-savvy with just 20% of their col-

lection having been worn only once. Lisa Mc-

Carten from Hotter, said, “shoes really can

change your life: they have an impact on the

health of your feet, can influence how you feel

and play a significant part in how much you

enjoy your day. Not only do uncomfortable

shoes make for a bad day, squeezing your toes

into ill-fitting footwear can also damage your

feet causing pain and discomfort in later life.

We all want to look our best, keep up with our

busy lives and have fun; stylish comfy shoes

are an essential part of the modern woman's

wardrobe to help her tackle all three”.

Women brought to heel

on fashion faux pas

The UK fashion industry had a chance to cele-

brate some brilliant home-grown talent re-

cently, with the announcement of winners of

the UK Fashion Exports Awards.

The top prize, the Gold Award for Exporter of

the Year, went to Orla Kiely.

Kiely, a Dublin-born textiles specialist, has

rapidly become a household name since first

hitting the headlines in the mid 90s when she

was commissioned by Harrods to produce a

range of hats. This followed her spot on the

graduation catwalk of the Royal College of Art.

Since then, her signature stem print has ap-

peared on fashion products ranging from

clothing to china and chocolates. The Orla

Kiely retail brand includes new stores in Paris

and Hong Kong and its website now attracts

shoppers from 14 countries.

Also presented with an export award was

Joseph Ettedgui, founder of the Joseph shops.

For more than 30 years, Ettedgui has been a

well-known figure on the international fashion

circuit and has done much to create a positive

perception of the UK fashion industry.

Other London-based winners included, in the

lingerie and beachwear category, Amoralia, a

specialist in luxury maternity lingerie. Stars

such as Toni Collette and supermodel Karen

Elson are fans of the brand.

For women's accessories, Sam Ubhi picked up

an award, having notched up 20 years in the

business, beginning with luxury handmade

jewellery and subsequently expanding into

bags. And in the womenswear section, Ariella,

one of the UK's leading names in cocktail,

evening and special occasion wear since the

1960s, took the main prize.

Paul Alger, executive director of UK Fashion

Exports, says: British companies are having to

be even more creative both with their collec-

tions and their marketing to grow their ex-

ports year on year, but our award winners and

finalists demonstrate it can be done.

These prestigious awards are organised by UK

Fashion Exports, an independent trade

association that gives practical help to Brisitsh

fashion exporters, as wells as to overseas buy-

ers, designers and retailers. The industry is

worth some £3bn a year and represents one of

the most creative sectors within the UK

economy.

Past winners of the awards have included

some familiar names including the likes of Ben

Sherman, Rose Marie Bravo of Burberry,

figleaves.com, Jeffrey Rigers, Mulberry and

John Smedley.

The World Buys into

British Style


Cheesy Music Keeps us Fit

The Pressure is On

12

stress-related illnesses, including emotional

problems. It can be very helpful during the dif-

ferent stages of pregnancy and for sufferers of

multiple sclerosis.

It would be wrong to say that shiatsu in itself

can cure all these ailments, but in some cases

it can help dramatically.

Acupressure was used to treat morning sick-

ness on 350 women attending the Royal Ma-

ternity Hospital in Belfast in 1988. They were

randomly allocated to three groups and the

severity of morning sickness was recorded

daily for four days. The treatment group

pressed a wrist acupuncture point, whereas

the second group used a pretend acupressure

point and the control group had no treatment.

There was much less sickness in the genuine

and dummy pressure groups compared with

the control group and no adverse side effects

were reported in the patients pregnancies.

The immediate effect of treatments differs

with each individual. A sense of wellbeing is

common. Because of the deep relaxation that

usually occurs and the stimulus to the major

body systems, you may have some healing re-

actions. But there can be a short-lived down-

side to receiving this sort of treatment. Some

people feel cold or flu-like symptoms, aches

and pains or headaches after the first treat-

ment. These symptoms will usually only last

for a day or so and subside with each subse-

quent treatment. If these symptoms persist

you should consult a qualified physician im-

mediately. In general, any such effects you may

experience are positive signs from your body

telling you it is making an attempt to correct

its own condition in a natural way.

Feeling stressed? Maybe a bit of alternative

pressure could solve your problem.

Shiatsu has been helping people for thousands

of years and is one of the growing trends of al-

ternative therapies in the UK.

Shiatsu is an oriental therapy that evolved

from a tradition of healing art stretching back

through the millennia.

It uses a combination of pressure and assisted

stretching techniques in treatments. This

stimulates the circulation and the flow of lym-

phatic fluid, releasing toxins and deep-seated

tensions from the muscles, stimulating the

hormonal system and the immune system and

acting on the nervous system. This allows the

recipient to relax deeply and to get in touch

with his or her own healing power.

Shiatsu can help alleviate stress and fatigue,

increase circulation of the blood and lymph,

reduce blood pressure and muscle stiffness

and increase vitality and stamina.

It originated in China at least 2,000 years ago,

when the earliest accounts gave the causes of

ailments and the remedies that could be ef-

fected through a change of diet and way of life.

The use of massage and acupuncture was also

recommended.

Acupuncture, massage and herbal medicine

evolved side by side to treat the range of dis-

eases. The traditional massage of ancient

China was known as anma and found its way

to Japan to be adopted and adapted by the

Japanese.

The therapy that is known today as shiatsu

has gradually evolved with time from anma

under influences from both east and west.

problems, musculo-skeletal problems and any

While you're purposefully pounding the tread-

mill at your local gym is your MP3 player se-

cretly blasting out 80s power ballads and Milli

Vanilli? If so you're not alone. Don't believe us?

Well next time you're working out, take a look

round because chances are that stern-faced,

muscular guy next to you on the rowing ma-

chine is enjoying Rick Astley's greatest hits.

This is because gym-goers love secretly work-

ing out to cheesy hits they wouldn't dream of

listening to in public, according to a new sur-

vey by gym operator Fitness First, which sur-

veyed 200 of its 400,000 members in the UK.

If you enjoy working out to Abba, A-ha and the

like then you're in good company as 60 per

cent of fitness fans pop on headphones and get

sweaty to songs they wouldn't openly admit to

liking because they are so naff. And it is not

just women who like exercising to their

favourite cheesy hits. Male gym-goers con-

fessed that Eye of the Tiger by the band Sur-

vivor is the song which inspires them most

while pounding away on a treadmill.

The song, made famous as the theme tune to

the Sylvester Stallone movie Rocky III , topped

the poll with 19 per cent of men having it on

their MP3 player for gym use only.

Psychologist professor Cary Cooper from Lan-

caster University, describes it as the ultimate

song about macho heroism and believes male

fitness fanatics probably imagine they are

Rocky while working out. Ah bless. However

women enjoy equally cheesy anthems to moti-

vate themselves in the gym with their

favourite being Dancing Queen by Abba

closely followed by Life is a Rollercoaster by

Ronan Keating. The artist both sexes freely

admitted listening to in the gym was pop icon

and fitness queen Madonna. A total of 26 per

cent of woman and 17 per cent of men say

they listen to the super-fit queen of pop while

training. Not surprisingly, calm and restful

classical music didn't feature highly as a

favourite among gym-goers with just two per

cent saying they tuned into the likes of Bach

and Beethoven. This is because gym goers

want to listen to upbeat music which inspires

and motivates them, according to Cooper. "The

kind of music people listen to in the gym is

very different from the music they might listen

to at a spa or health farm which is much more

relaxing and calming. At the gym people want

stimulating and motivating music. People will

listen to high energy stuff at the gym on head-

phones which they would never listen to at

home or in the car. But privately they probably

like it and it fits with what they are doing," he

says.

Mansfield & Ashfield Express,January 2013

Animal Magic

Wet and Wild

13

suggests that stroking an animal prompts

your brain to release endorphins or feel-good

hormones. This helps you feel calm and there-

fore lowers your heart rate and blood pres-

sure. This is supported by claims that families

owning a dog or cat are not as stressed and

visit their doctors less often than those who

don't, say scientists from Cambridge Univer-

sity. Pets make you feel optimistic and relaxed,

which lowers your blood pressure. Dogs give

the best results, as you get exercise when you

take them for walks. Studies show that older

people who own pets are more healthy and ac-

tive than those who don’t.

As well as feeling healthier, pet owners are

less likely to suffer anxiety, loneliness and will

have more confidence than people without

pets. There is also a positive effect on their

emotional health and people who live alone

with a pet are less likely to be depressed than

those without animal company.

But pets don’t just brighten up your mood.

Some could actually save your life. Many ani-

mals can warn their owners about oncoming

illness and there are many reports about dogs

detecting cancer, while some can identify

other types of illness, such as hypoglycaemia

(dangerously-low blood sugar levels) in dia-

betics and oncoming epileptic fits.

These health benefits of owning a pet are

strong reasons to get one, but consider all the

options first and do your homework. Animals

are a huge responsibility and although they

may seem like fun, there is a lot of hard work

involved as well. The Petclub website offers a

wealth of advice and tips on how to choose the

right pet for you and on keeping it healthy.

As a nation of animal lovers, many of us often

prefer our four-legged friends to our human

ones and it’s not difficult to see why. Animals

offer unconditional love, companionship and

fun, but did you also know that owning a pet

can reduce blood pressure, alleviate depres-

sion, conquer stress and release feel-good en-

dorphins that make you feel happy?

Its true, and it doesn’t seem to matter what

type of pet you have, from parrot to poodle in-

teraction with any animal can produce these

health benefits. According to a recent study,

owning a pet not only helps you to keep down

stress levels, it may also help to prevent heart

disease and depression. Even watching a tank

full of tropical fish can lower blood pressure,

at least for a while. Remarkably, studies have

also shown that heart-attack victims who keep

pets tend to live longer.

The publisher of the pet information website

petclubuk.com, Chris Jones, says looking after

a pet brings out our nurturing instinct and

makes us feel safe and unconditionally ac-

cepted. Pets make wonderful, loving compan-

ions and everyone should consider having one

as part of their household, he says. The

chances are you’ll live longer and feel better

by owning a pet.

If you thought only dogs and cats were good

for your health you couldn’t be more wrong It

doesn’t matter what pet you get. It could be a

dog, cat, parrot, a goldfish or snake. The only

thing that matters is that the animal really in-

terests you.

Among the many medical studies that claim

owning a pet is good for your heart, one

A growing trend in bathroom design in recent

years has been towards wet rooms. These are

state-of-the-art mini spa areas in your own

home with all mod cons and are particularly

ideal for the sporty family who like to be in

and out of the shower with no time wasted.

These are especially useful if you have limited

space and prefer showering to bathing. And

they are a doddle to keep clean. Wave goodbye

to grotty shower curtains or screens that get

grained with limescale. Many older homes

have tiny bathrooms quite out of proportion

with the other rooms in the house. If yours is

the sort of bathroom where you can't swing a

cat - tub, toilet and wash basin all squashed

into a few square feet - you may think the time

has come to make some major alterations.

Wet rooms do tend to be quite an expensive

option as the floor needs to be lined to make it

waterproof, but this doesn't seem to be affect-

ing the snowballing popularity of the projects.

The latest innovation in washroom design, the

wet-room is perfect for creating space with a

shower, toilet and basin - but no bath.

What makes it a wet room, as opposed to just

a bog-standard shower room, is that the

shower is open-plan. This means you can do

away with that lime-scaled cubicle and all the

water simply drains away through a hole in

the floor. As well as creating a feeling of spa-

ciousness, much of the reason that wet rooms

have become the latest big thing in bath-

room design is that they create a spa-like

ambience that many people are keen to

replicate in their own homes. Much of this

is created by the choice of more luxurious

shower fittings, with the addition of fea-

tures such as body jets and removable

shower handsets as well as a fixed head.

What's more they are incredibly simple to

keep clean with a simple swish around with

a mop and few crevices and boundaries to

trap unwanted grime. More people are en-

joying the liberating experience of shower-

ing under flowing water that cascades

across the floor free from restrictions of

doors and trays. It's usually most practical

to site a wet room on the ground floor or in

a basement. The entire room must be made

waterproof and the floor must be entirely

rigid, while having a slight slope in the di-

rection of the waste outlet. In older houses

with wooden floors this can be difficult, as

timber is flexible. Most wet rooms are clad

entirely in ceramic or stone tiles. The ap-

peal of a wet room is lost if you are standing

under a dribble of water rather than a pow-

erful flow. The importance of powerful

showering equipment cannot be stressed

enough. Shower columns are an ideal way

to combine all the requirements in one easy

to install unit.


ACROSS

1. Soldier's weapon

4. Helicopter blade

7. Belief

8. Tense situation

9. Intervals

12. Drink, ... de menthe

14. Discover

15. Egypt's capital

16. Start

17. Solid earth, terra ...

DOWN

1. Regal

2. Makes easy

3. Equally balances

4. Red (complexion)

5. Stage-play enthusiast

6. Speed trap device

10. Disney dog

11. Intact

12. Main

13. Bonus

Solutions on page 24

Scribble Pad

ACROSS1. See through a cross father (11)

6. Irish group made to leave Madeira (1,1,1)

8. Estimating worth of ordinary seaman (6)

9. Navy chiefs seen with cup (8)

11. Officially noted on musical disc (2,6)

12. Whole ten affected by anger (6)

13. Spool unravels into coils (5)

15. Should rafters drop boat that takes the burden? (9)

17. Filed nails of chap I healed (9)

19. Fantastic kind of fuel (5)

21. More reckless than a slice of bacon! (6)

23. Hi, Jean! Nick sounds healthy (8)

26. Magnificence hiding under rag (8)

27. Cat has iron-on stripe (6)

28. Part of another article (3)

29. Spooner led debtors to undeliverable post (4,7)

DOWN1. Term heard ahead of oil disruption (7)

2. PM shows up after lunch (9)

3. Son and I could start a kind of boom (5)

4. Little Edward is in a whirl! (4)

5. Single rat switched shapes (9)

6. I rack key loudly for Baghdad native (5)

7. Responses show unusual rawness (7)

10. Cockney harms weapons (4)

14. Achieved goal or throne (9)

16. Dear old lover is dreamy (9)

17. The ideal man - could Orville or Wilbur be said to have

qualified? (2,5)

18. 24-hour periods in birthday suit (4)

20. Astronauts' shuttle service vehicles (7)

22. Fish to move on ice (5)

24. Clumsy pet after bins' contents (5)

25. Laura's displaying a charismatic glow (4)

Scribble Pad

Scribble Pad

Cryptic Crossword

Quick Crossword

14


Homemade burgers are delicious and healthy, and these aremildly spiced with the addition of sweet chilli. If you prefer ahotter taste, add some crushed chilli flakes or finely choppedchilli peppers to spice them up even more. Makes 8 burgers.

INGREDIENTS

1tbsp vegetable or olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

Lettuce

Tomatoes

450g lean minced beef

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp fresh mixed herbs,

chopped

1 tbsp egg, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese

Red onion rings

Burger buns

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Remove from pan and drain any excess oil with kitchen paper, then leave to cool.

2. In a large bowl and using your hands, mix together the mince with the rest of the ingredients. (If you_ using extra chilli flakes, add them now). When combined, stir in thecooled onions. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide the mixture evenly into 8 and shape each piece into a burger patty, then place inthe fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

4. Cook the burgers (dry-fry or grill) for 5 minutes on each side, then serve with the redonion, lettuce and tomato and a slice of cheese in a burger bun.

Steak and Ale Pie

Sweet Chilli Burgers

15

Mama’’’’’’s Cookbook

INGREDIENTS

1tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1kg braising steak, cut into small

chunks

500ml strong ale

3 beef stock cubes

1/2 tsp chilli powder

2tsp dried thyme

175g mushrooms, chopped

300g ready-made puff pastry

1 beaten egg, to glaze

salt and pepper

This traditional pie can be found on pub grub menus all over the country but is just aseasy to make at home if you've got a spare couple of hours. This recipe uses ready-madepastry for a bit less work. Serves 4.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas Mark 3

2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan and add the onion and garlic, frying for

1 minute

3. Add the steak and fry until each cube is seared. Leave the juices in the pan.

4. Add half the ale and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the thyme, chili and the rest of the ale. Season to taste, then crumble in the

stock cubes.

6. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes before transferring to

a large casserole dish, adding a dash of water if the gravy doesn't fully cover the

steak and mushrooms.

7. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.

8. Whilst baking, roll out the pastry and cut to the right size for your casserole dish.

Remove the dish from the oven, cover with the pastry, trim to fit, brush with the egg

to glaze, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes at 180C/Gas Mark 4.

9. Remove from the oven and serve.

Method


Dear Fred

I have been through two jobs in just one

year. The first I quit because I did not re-

ceive the hours they'd promised to me.

The other I was fired for data entry "er-

rors" which actually may have been made

by lenders going back into the system

changing numbers I had endorsed. Prob-

lem is, with such short periods of work in

addition to a termination, I feel it is work-

ing against me securing new employment.

And I don't know what answer to give

when asked why I left my last job. Please,

please help with any answers you might

have. I have been out of work for 8

months now and my dole money is not

sustainable

Suzie

Fred Says

Sorry to hear that as a result of unfair

treatment you've had difficulty finding

work. As for how to answer that question,

"I was blamed for an error someone else

committed" seems to cover it.

It's important that you find yourself

some employment as quickly as possible.

You're well aware of that, but it would be

particularly helpful if you found yourself

something, perhaps voluntary or perhaps

short-term, so you'd have updated refer-

ences and some constructive way of occu-

pying your time and proving that you want

to work and have skills to offer. Helping

out on a community project, a charity or

hospice would stand you in good stead

even if it were part-time. The websites of

local councils or particular charities could

be useful here. You might even consider

working overseas for the experience if that

would suit your circumstances and tem-

perament. Enter "working abroad" or

"volunteer work abroad" in a search en-

gine - and beware! Check that you don't

have to fund your travel or volunteer work

yourself. Then your "gap-year" (or month,

or whatever) would be a nice neat line be-

tween then and now.

But another approach is to talk to agen-

cies, especially ones offering temp-to-

perm work. That way you get the agency's

support to keep the company up to its

promises; you get to "try before you buy"

so you can find a company and work that

suit you while still getting paid; you have

the agency with all its contacts wanting to

find you a job to line their own pockets as

well as yours; and short-term work will

will help to dilute the impression given on

your CV by the two jobs in one year. Making

your CV more skills-based and giving less em-

phasis to start and end dates could be helpful

too.

If you haven't already done so you could try

www.jobseekers.direct.gov.uk and www.job-

centreonline.com. They, in combination with

your local Jobcentre, can give you information

and advice if you ask for it as well as point you

towards opportunities, including perhaps fur-

ther training, interview presentation skills and

so on. An online search may also find you op-

portunities for working from home, but do be

careful about what exactly it entails and how it

fits in with the tax and benefit position. Fur-

ther job-hunting offers, support and skills can

be accessed via our own

www.talktalk.co.uk/sitemap.

You can also make the best of offers the local

councils may have for the unwaged: free use of

swimming pools, for example, entry to exhibi-

tions and art galleries, or minimal prices for

adult education courses for vocation or pleas-

ure. You're entitled to have a life so while

keeping a firm eye on avoiding debt; I hope

you'll build in some sociable, fun and reward-

ing activities.

Well done for having the initiative to write in!

The main thing is to keep trying - and to be-

lieve in yourself.

Dear Fred

I love my partner dearly but I can't cope with

his aversion to soap and water and clean

clothing. He wasn't like this when I first knew

him. He lives in my house and helps with the

bills but I hate him being in my bed because

quite frankly, he smells. The idea of sex with

him is abhorrent for the same reason. I've

tried dropping hints and also just being direct

but nothing works. I don't want to ask him to

leave but I will have to if he can't respect me

enough to spend 5 minutes a day in the

shower. He has enough time to spend 4 hours

a day in the pub when I'm at work. Any sug-

gestions? Many thanks,

If you have aproblem or are inneed of advice,

contact Fred for hiswords of wisdom at:

[email protected]

Ask Fred

Fred Says

It's hard living with anyone whose personal

hygiene isn't good enough. It's not only of-

fensive to the nose, it can be a health hazard

and it can certainly spell death to intimacy.

You've tried to tackle this without a posi-

tive response from your partner. You might

try assertiveness once more: "I love you but

right now I don't want to be close to you be-

cause you smell unpleasant. Please will you

have a good wash and put some clean

clothes on?" may do the trick. Equally, it

may not. Alternatively you might ask him

what the problem is because you can't help

noticing he's been reluctant to have a

shower and wear clean clothes. Perhaps be-

tween the two of you, you can come up with

a solution. This problem-solving approach

could be viewed as supportive.

You could suggest having a sexy shower

together. You could tell him on any given

night, "I'd love to sleep with you on another

occasion but right now I don't want to be-

cause you smell dirty. Will you sleep in the

spare room/on the sofa tonight if you won't

have a good wash?" And stick to your guns,

politely but firmly.

If at the end of a week of these tactics he

still hasn't addressed the issue construc-

tively, you might give him an ultimatum.

The fact that he regularly has time to spend

hours in the pub could indicate someone

with an alcohol problem, in which case if

he's unwilling to sort it out, recognise that

that's not about you but his addiction. No

one can fix anyone else's drinking problems

so either you could go to Al-Anon (www.al-

anonuk.org.uk) for support in a relationship

with someone who has a drink problem, or

you could kick him into touch. Good luck.

Got a problem? Why not ask our resident agony uncle Fred. Don’tbe fooled, Freds wealth of life experiences make him the perfectman to offer quality advice and solutions to some of your biggestproblems.

“I love my partner dearly but I can't copewith his aversion to soap and water and

clean clothing. He wasn't like this when Ifirst knew him. He lives in my house and

helps with the bills but I hate him being inmy bed because quite frankly, he smells...”

“I have been out of work for 8months now and my dole

money is not sustainable...”


PISCESFeb 20th - March 20th

AQUARIUSJan 21st - Feb 19th

CAPRICORNDec 22nd - Jan 20th

SAGITARIUSNov 23rd - Dec 21st

SCORPIOOct 24th - Nov 22nd

LIBRASept 24th - Oct 23rd

VIRGOAugust 24th - Sept 23rd

LEOJuly 24th - August 23rd

TAURUSApril 21st - May 21st

ARIES

CANCERJune 22nd - July 23rd

GEMINIMay 22nd - June 21st

January 2013 Capricorn Summary:

January is the month each year for Capricorn to shine. With

The Sun in Capricorn until January 19th you can maximize

your prospects in many aspects of your life. Take a little care

with romantic relationships however. Do not try to push your

partner too much with your point of view whilst Mars and

Venus are out of balance. Despite the two planets of male and

female opposition being equally either side of The Sun, they

are not favourably aligned with each other.

January 2013 Aquarius Summary:

Aquarius is well placed to make a positive start to 2013. Mars

remains in Aquarius throughout January 2013, adding to

Aquarius its power towards all types of interpersonal relation-

ships. You have a excellent opportunity to network and make

new friends. This can have very positive effects on both your ca-

reer and love life, as well as with friends and family at home

January 2013 Scorpio Summary:

Scorpio enters January 2013 from a position of power. Saturn

remains in Scorpio for some time to come, always a fallback of

solid foundations on which Scorpio can call when other align-

ments cloud the issue in hand. This now presents Scorpio with

a Series of opportunities as The Sun and the inner planets

move away through Capricorn and wend their way through

other people’s thoughts and feelings.

January 2013 Libra Summary:

January 2013 will require a lot of adaptability in relation-

ships with friends and colleagues from Libra. You will have to

think quickly and have answers ready for anything you

started last month. Any harsh words from you will more than

be repaid in this hangover from December. On several occa-

sions during January the aspects of Mars in Aquarius and

Venus in Capricorn against Uranus in Aries at opposition with

Libra will combine to further complicate the relationships

Libra has with other signs.

January 2013 Virgo Summary:

A new year and a renewed enthusiasm for Virgo in January

2013. With little of negative focus primed for Virgo there is

opportunity in many aspects of your life to make progress.

This is especially true in the work place as your career options

are at maximum during the next month or so, especially as the

balance of Jupiter in Gemini trine with Saturn in Scorpio still

provides an air of authority to Virgo carried over from last

month. If you are intending to make any work related de-

mands or changes then the earlier in January you implement

this better.

January 2013 Gemini Summary:

For Gemini, January 2013 is a time to take full charge of your

own destiny and not rely on anyone else to provide for your

needs. Since the ingress of Jupiter many months ago you have

allowed too many chances to pass you by. With a relatively

quiet time for Gemini this month, you come directly under the

focus of the King of Planets, and you can easily make this work

to your advantage.

January 2013 Cancer Summary:

With so much planetary opposition to Cancer in January 2013,

you may feel there is no way to turn for the best. At a time

when you should be able to call on friends and family for sup-

port, you may find them questioning your motives instead. The

conjunction of Mercury and Pluto on January 6th is one such

time. Whilst Pluto in Capricorn is well known to sooth Cancer,

the effect of Mercury is to turn this on its head.

January 2013 Leo Summary:

In January 2013 you may find yourself with more than one run in

with the authority figures in your life. With Mars in Aquarius at

opposition with Leo all month, you will find various people look-

ing down on you with a less than favourable demeanour. Once The

Sun enters opposition with Leo on January 19th, you will get the

feeling everyone's eyes are on your back. Leo will just have to

withstand the pressure and remember The Sun is your planet, and

if you try your best to resist you will make those uncaring individ-

uals realise Leo cannot be pushed around.

January 2013 Taurus Summary:

Make the most of the start of 2013, especially in your career.

With Saturn now well established at opposition with Taurus in

Scorpio, you have a greater sense of learning and intellectual

inner development. We never stop learning, and Taurus will

find knowledge easier to assimilate. Take this as an opportu-

nity to gain greater responsibility in your career.

January 2013 Aries Summary:

Make the most of the start of 2013 now that Uranus is well

and truly direct. Once the conjunction in Capricorn of The Sun,

Mercury and Pluto passes the square with Uranus after Janu-

ary 9th, outside influences on Aries are very much in the de-

scendant. This is the ideal chance for Aries to take charge of

those aspects of your life that others have too long tried to con-

trol for you. There are places in this world both physical and

spiritually you have never been too that are simply longing for

your presence. Go see where they are.

January 2013 Pisces Summary:

Pisces can look forward to a positive start to 2013. There is al-

ways the dreamy Neptune to fall back on when times are hard,

but you also have a little added power from the inner planets

combining with Neptune throughout January 2013. It is impor-

tant that Pisces does not get ahead of themselves at those times

Neptune is in direct resonance with the other planets. January

1st is a case in point as Mercury on the cusp of Sagittarius and

Capricorn is sextile with Neptune.

January 2013 Sagittarius Summary:

January 2013 is something of a relief for Sagittarius after the

hectic focus of recent months. Now The Sun has passed in to

Capricorn, and the inner planets are following, you can sit

back and do your own thing without the prospect of inquisi-

tion. The final little jolt to the Sagittarius senses will come on

January 9th with The Moon in Sagittarius at opposition with

Jupiter in Gemini just as Venus leaves Sagittarius for Capri-

corn. Expect any relationship issues unresolved from last

month to be at the fore and thrown in your face.

March 21st - April 20th

Your Monthly Horoscopes With Selina Santos... Your Astral Guide


Puzzle Solutions

Foysal, owner of The Mint proudly displays his collection ofawards...

The magnificent culinary creations of chefs

like Hester Blumenthal have inspired an inter-

est in food with an historic flavour in many of

us.

While few of us can hope to equal the perfec-

tions of the ground-breaking food artist,

there's no doubt his influence has changed the

nature of what we cook in our own kitchens.

Now a stunning new book from the British Li-

brary aims to feed our desire to find out more

about recipes from days of old - and how they

can give us new ideas to spice up our own

menus.

The Curious Cookbook: Viper Soup, Badger

Ham, Stewed Sparrows & 100 More Historic

Recipes contains some of the most unusual

recipes from historic cookery books, from the

Middle Ages to the Second World War.

Collected by expert Peter Ross, the book in-

cludes recipes from the earliest manuscript

and printed cookery books in the English lan-

guage and takes the reader through the lavish

gastronomic spectacles of the 17th and 18th

centuries to the austerity of the Victorian

kitchen and the ration-book cookery of

wartime 1940s Britain.

The book is evidence of how there is far more

to food than just taste.

Some of the most outlandish recipes, such as a

pastry stag that bleeds and pies containing

live frogs, were clearly designed to delight and

entertain guests.

Others reveal a seemingly limitless appetite

for all manner of birds and animals. From bar-

becued otter and sauted tortoise to kangaroo

soup, roast peacock and sparrows on toast, it

seems no species was safe from the adventur-

ous cook!

The titles of some recipes give little away as to

their actual contents. But bunny hugs, bosom

caresser and whore's farts (mutton pancakes,

an egg-based cocktail and deep-fried fritters

respectively) do show the fun that could be

had with naming recipes.

To our delicate modern palates, dishes such as

chopped brain fritters, cod's head and shoul-

ders, imitation entrails and fishy mince pies

may not appeal, but there is no denying the in-

genuity of other creations, including ketchup

that lasts 20 years, portable soup and even a

cure for the plague.

Peter Ross, principal librarian at the Guildhall

Library, says: I have always loved learning

about what we ate in the past: it tells us about

how people lived in a way that almost nothing

else can.

Researching the book I looked at thousands of

recipes from the medieval period to the Sec-

ond World War; some were alarming or curi-

ous, and many showed the inventiveness,

sophistication and daring of generations of

British cooks.�

Through dozens of carefully selected recipes,

combined with an engaging and informative

commentary, the book offers an engrossing, if

not always tantalising, insight into what our

ancestors ate.

* The Curious Cookbook: Viper Soup, BadgerHam, Stewed Sparrows & 100 More HistoricRecipes is published by the British Library, priceÂ£14.95. The book is available from the BritishLibrary Shop, tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7735, and on-line at www.bl.uk/shop as well as other UKbookshops.

Weird and

wonderful

recipes from

throughout

the ages


This was my first visit to The Mint restaurant and I

must admit that I was curious after checking the

website out as to why this Indian restaurant should

win not just one but four awards in the past two

years. Surely there must be hundreds of curry

houses all over the Midlands to compete against?

What makes The Mint stand out from the crowd?

The menu online did not seem expensive so I was

expecting quantity to reign over quality and had

prepared myself for such upon entering the doors to

the restaurant. Firstly I must point out that the wel-

come we received was heartfelt from the staff at this

establishment and put us in good stead for the

evening. Secondly, the restaurant is a lot larger than

perceived by looking at their website. It is apparent

that The Mint can cater quite easily for larger par-

ties as well as providing intimacy for those perhaps

on a dinner date. The decor was outstanding and

provided a relaxed ambience throughout our visit.

Now for the moment of truth as we placed our or-

ders with the staff. First up for our starters we or-

dered garlic mushrooms, chicken tikka and mince

samosa’s. The side dishes were brought out in-

stantly along with our drinks. First noticeable point

was the side dishes, they were fresh and unlike

other restaurants we have reviewed had not wilted

with age. A good start in my eyes but even more im-

pressive were the actual starters when brought to

our table. The chicken tikka was succulent and very

tender whilst providing a delightful experience on

the taste buds. The garlic mushrooms arrived finely

chopped wrapped in a pastry that can only be de-

scribed as a joy to consume with the sauce inside

providing a taste sensation of spices and herbs. The

third starter of mince samosa’s were probably the

best samosa’s that we had ever tried even if that

seems like a slightly over the top statement to make.

Already I was beginning to realise why this restau-

rant is so highly recommended and has

won the awards it has. Next we ordered the main

dishes and I was starting to look forward to trying

the arriving dishes. Out came a mixed Biryani, lamb

korma and a chicken jalfrezi. We sat in silence for a

half minute whilst we tried to register how large the

portions actually were. I had expected lack of quality

to replace quantity but we felt that we had been

given the best of both worlds. The korma was

cooked to perfection and oozed flavour. The mixed

Biryani consisted of tender chunks of chicken tikka,

lamb tikka and mushrooms assorted with an array

of herbs and spices. Yet again, this was a delight to

taste and I would recommend this dish to everyone

that enjoys good food. Last up was the chicken jal-

frezi with it’s mix of tomato, peppers and green

chilli’s. The taste explosion taking place within my

mouth was one that I will certainly be repeating in

the not too distant future. Unfortunately due to time

constraints put upon us with our next appointment

we did not have time to puruse the desert menu and

to be honest, i’m not sure if I actually had any room

left to fit any more food in my stomach. We left the

premises feeling like we had not paid enough for the

quantity and quality of the food that we had tasted

and will certainly be visiting the restaurant again.

Overall in my opinion, just like the impression from

visiting the Mints’ website we know that the restau-

rant is big on quality and quantity which is a rare

achievement in these times of economic hardship -

affecting a lot of eating establishments across the re-

gion. We left safe in the knowledge that the awards

this restaurant has won are completely deserved

and I know that the awards will carry on coming to

the owners whilst they are doing such a great job.

After our impressive visit to The Mint I had the oppor-tunity to speak to the owner and find out how theycan provide such a great service to the area and con-gratulate them on the awards they have won. Everybody, meet Foysal Chaudhury, one of Mansfieldsgreat success stories, local philanthropist and proprietor of The Mint.

Editor: Foysal, when did you realise that you had

a passion for cuisine?.

Foysal: When I was young (laughing), this is my

fourth year as a restaurant owner in the Mansfield

area. I am a local Mansfield resident and have lived

here for the last eight years. I believe that Indian

cuisine is the number one food in the UK and al-

though I have owned restaurants in the past, I never

worked hard enough to make them a success. Now I

am of an age that I work extremely hard for my suc-

cess and have gone out of my way to ensure that we

offer the best possible dining experience for all of

our customers. From day to day this business has

gone from strength to strength and although I do

earn a little money from it, I give a lot back to the

community through financing charity events, foot-

ball teams and other activities. As far as the restau-

rant goes, I will go out of my way to ensure that

every visitor is happy as I create friendships with

the majority of my customers and we gain lots of re-

peat customers. I deserve an award for my customer

services alone. (laughing).

Editor: I did notice how friendly and welcome

you make your customers feel which really im-

pressed us on our visit.

Foysal: I won the BCA this year, the Bangladesh

Caterers Association UK award which fills me with

pride as I beat so many other restaurants across the

region. This was a massive achievement for us and

we had TV reporters along with the national media

at the awards ceremony. We feel that we have put

Mansfield on the map as we beat finalists from

twelve other regions to be voted as the best.

Editor: How do you feel the local economy across

Mansfield has affected your business?.

Foysal: I have watched a lot of businesses go bust

whilst in Mansfield and this motivates myself to

offer better value to our customers. We work ex-

tremely hard to keep us at the top and that is why it

feels so good to be recognised with the awards that

we have won this year.

Editor: Any plans for expansion?.

Foysal: I would like to open the floor above to max-

imise the potential for The Mint but my dream

would be to open up the Midlands first ever gold

plated restaurant.(laughing). We could beat Gordon

Ramsey.

Editor: Any last words for our readers?.

Foysal: I would just like to thank everyone for sup-

porting us over the last few years and that I have

never been as happy from a business point of view. I

look forward to a great new year and seeing all my

customers who have now become my friends.

Charitable Restaurant Owner

Proves His Foods Worth


indeed weaken and strengthen over time,

there is no indication that is has ever disap-

peared completely. A weaker field would cer-

tainly lead to a small increase in solar

radiation on Earth – as well as a beautiful dis-

play of aurora at lower latitudes – but nothing

deadly. Moreover, even with a weakened mag-

netic field, Earths thick atmosphere also offers

protection against the sun’s incoming parti-

cles.

Next is the doomsday ‘preppers’ guidebook,

the Mayan calendar and its mysterious end

date of twenty-first December 2012. Now if

you haven’t heard this theory of the end date

within the Mayan tzolkin calendar (Long

count) then you have probably been hiding

under a rock. Films, books, alternative re-

searchers and documentaries have all been

shouting about this supposed end date. Now I

am an open minded kind of person, but when I

read accounts such as “the Mayans knew long

ago about these catastrophes because they

were keen believers in following the trends of

time and tracked the passing of these cata-

clysmic events by watching the skies”. These

kinds of statements are half baked at best, yes

the Mayans watched the stars in fact they even

used child priests, called jaguar priests raised

from birth and were kept deep within the tem-

ple pyramid complexes in the pitch black until

night when they would come out and study the

stars. And to even further illustrate the point

there are references to ‘smoking mirrors’

which loosely translates as telescopes through

anthropologist interpretation of social context

within both the Mayan and Olmec civilisations.

The point is that even though they studied the

ecliptic plane of our galaxy the Milky Way, the

doomsday theorists are suggesting that the

Mayans knew of (supposed) destructive events

thousands of years before their civilisation was

even founded, and because of the cylindrical

stone calendars they chiselled towards the

end of that civilisation, you could interpret

them in such a way that they are about to end.

However what the Mayans actually said is

much stranger, whilst theorists are searching

for external events the Mayans were actually

studying human behaviour or cycles of con-

sciousness, not only are the tzolkin calendars

literally round like a circle (indicating that

they actually never end) but they are broken

down into sections indicating different peri-

ods of human behaviour. I think where these

doomsday prophets have got the destruction

theory from is that before the start of another

cycle (both short and long count aspects)

there is a period of ‘destruction’ or ‘breaking

down’ before a new cycle begins. This aspect is

far more fascinating because it shows the

Mayans had a greater understanding of the

natural world than we first previously thought

as science clearly shows us that before any

chemical marriage there is a chemical divorce

in any reaction, exothermic or otherwise. So in

conclusion of the Mayan mystery, yes they

studied cycles of time and the human condi-

tion, no they were not predicting the end of

the world, essentially what they were trying to

tell us is to watch our actions and make sure

we are ‘light of heart’ their term for a healthy

soul (which can also be found in the ancient

Egyptian culture) and that it is the species that

goes through these cycles of destruction and

renewal moreover than the actual Earth itself.

More space bound doom appears in the form

of impacts from comets and meteors which in

my opinion is the more ‘realistic’ option as we

can scientifically prove that these types of im-

pact events have occurred time and time again

throughout the Earths rough past, the most re-

cent of these events being ‘The Tunguska

event’ June 30th 1908 at the heart of Russia.

Although they aren’t always extinction level

Prophetic prophecies or fallacious

foretelling? The 2012 phenomenon is a huge

talking point both online and in general con-

versations between people who either find the

information intriguing or feel they have an in-

sight into esoteric knowledge. For those of you

wondering what the 2012 phenomenon is,

quite succinctly put it’s a collection of disas-

ters or Earth changing events of which some

were predicted (supposedly) thousands of

years before the fact. From rogue planets writ-

ten within ancient Sumerian cuneiform script

(one of the earliest written languages in west-

ern history) hitting the Earth or the ancient

alien culture that once lived upon the Earth

(Nibiru, Eris or Planet X) are coming back to

judge their mortal progeny, the former being

us the Human race.

Other theories range from an actual polar

shift meaning that the earths axial wobble will

fall over completely and thus physical north

and south will alter their positions, as you can

imagine this is a very silly idea, and it stems

from a truth about the magnetic reversal of

the poles. Scientists know that at some points

in the Earths turbulent past there have been

many magnetic reversals at least once every

two-hundred to three-hundred thousand

years. Meaning that the magnetic North and

South have swapped, and even if this hap-

pened today scientists predict that the only

group affected will be the compass makers

and possibly ships at sea, however most ships

today use satellite guided relays to track their

positioning globally. Another doomsday hy-

pothesis about a geomagnetic flip plays up

fears about incoming solar activity. This sug-

gestion mistakenly assumes that a pole rever-

sal would momentarily leave Earth without

the magnetic field that protects us from solar

flares and coronal mass ejections from the

sun. But, while Earth’s magnetic field can

events, the fallout from deuterium inundated

comets and meteors can leave an area affected

like the explosion from a hydrogen bomb.

However since the advent of modern space

flight we have put into Earths obit many detec-

tion systems, the latest of which is ‘The Sen-

tinel Space Telescope’ and this system will be

observing the inner solar system from the Sun

to Jupiter for extra orbital debris. This system

will then track and predict the orbit (calcu-

lated within seconds, thanks to the advance-

ments in Quantum computing and solid state

memory) of the objects trajectory. This infor-

mation is then relayed with the myriad of

watching stations around the globe to see if or

when the object will be heading to Earth.

However as with the nature of the giant cos-

mic game of snooker that our planetary solar

system is constantly involved with it would

probably only take a slight deflection from an

explosive or another solid object to propel the

‘extinction level event’ away from our orbit

and say towards a more hungry and apprecia-

ble Jupiter or Saturn. On the whole 2012 was

just another year, and people should spend

more time concentrating on real threats such

as nuclear war, starvation, poverty the avail-

ability of clean drinking water and major

droughts that are occurring worldwide. I think

the most succinct quote about the 2012 phe-

nomenon comes from Don Yeomans a senior

research scientist from NASA “There appar-

ently is a great deal of interest in celestial bod-

ies, and their locations and trajectories at the

end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one

love a good book or movie as much as the next

guy. But the stuff flying around through cyber-

space, TV and the movies is not based on sci-

ence. There is even a fake NASA news release

out there…”

Article By Jake Manton

We’re still here... every couple of years or so adoomsday prophecy seems to come along, lastyear, the ending of the ancient Mayan calendarhad many people believing that this coincidedwith the end of the world, thankfully they wereproved wrong (as usual) but the phenomenonmade quite a big impact on the year 2012... sowhat was all the fuss about?


‘Were you expecting an exploding pen? We

don’t really go in for that anymore.’ That’s Ben

Whishaw’s Q to Daniel Craig’s James Bond in

‘Skyfall’ – a Bond movie that boldly struts for-

ward while looking back over its shoulder to

the past. That’s what the 007 films are all

about – an evolving mix of tradition and

progress – and here we have director Sam

Mendes (‘American Beauty’, ‘Revolutionary

Road’) bringing to the franchise a stately look,

sombre mood and ample room to breathe.

Saying that, the fiftieth anniversary of the 007

movie project demands the odd knowing

wink, to the likes of the classic Aston Martin

DB5 from ‘Goldfinger’ and even the crocodiles

that Roger Moore hops across in ‘Live and Let

Die’.

The Bond films are savvy magpies, smartly

pinching the shiniest, newest jewels of

moviemaking for themselves. 2008’s ‘Quan-

tum of Solace’ came a cropper by putting its

hand too obviously in the till of the ‘Bourne’

films. But ‘Skyfall’ much more subtly takes its

cues not only from the current, moodier breed

of superhero movies, but also from the world

around us. There are nods to terrorism, data

theft, hacking and even attention-grabbing

government inquiries – but nothing is specific

or exact enough to mean anything significant.

This is a Bond movie: atmosphere is all. The

appearance of contemporary relevance is

enough.

The story sees Bond in an emotional crisis

after a failed mission to Istanbul leaves the

names of secret agents in the hands of an un-

known villain. Trips to Shanghai and Macau

follow as 007 pulls himself together and tries

to find the culprit for Judi Dench’s M and

Ralph Fiennes’s Mallory, her Whitehall supe-

rior. There’s trouble at home, too, as a bomb

explodes in the MI6 building in London and it

becomes clear that M is under threat.

Meanwhile, a delicious foe emerges in Silva

(Javier Bardem), a camp, creepy and smooth

character who dares to challenge Bond’s mas-

culinity in an arresting scene in which his

hands run up 007’s legs. But the film’s many

commercial sponsors can rest easy: Craig’s

harried, stern Bond is as inscrutable and

wordless as ever. He has plenty of welcome

one-liners (‘I’m just changing carriages,’ he

quips, leaping from the roof of one train car to

the next), but delivers them like someone

cracking gags at a funeral.

‘Skyfall’ is a highly distinctive Bond movie. It

has some stunning visual touches: motorbikes

racing along the roof of Istanbul’s Grand

Bazaar; the neon playing off the precipitous

glass of a skyscraper in Shanghai; the Scottish

landscapes of its bleak finale. Also, it mostly

manages to convince us that there’s something

at stake by giving a hint of Bond’s emotional

life beyond this story: rooting his crisis in his

relationship (or lack of) with his parents,

without coming on too heavy-handed or

pleading with the psychology.

Mendes knows there’s a risk of coming over

po-faced by omitting the traditional pleasures

of a Bond movie, and his approach seems cal-

culated to stick to the formula while moving

things forward. Still, the role of the Bond girls,

played by Naomie Harris as a MI6 colleague

and Bérénice Marlohe as a femme fatale, feel

token and underwhelming. The tourism ele-

ment of ‘Skyfall’ – especially the Macau section

– is awkward too.It’s only in the second half of

the film, which takes place entirely in the UK,

that you get the feeling that Mendes has

played the compulsory 007 cards that any

Bond director has to. Now he’s properly able

to get stuck into a punchier, more unified mix

of action, emotion and story that climaxes in a

fittingly isolated and lonely final showdown

between Bond and his latest nemesis.

Daniel craig returns

to the scr

een as Bond...

james bond. we review

the latest

bond movie,

skyfall

Ben Whishaw as Q in ‘Skyfall’...

Dench; M comes under threat in the new movie...

On ya bike... Skyfall sees Bond in an emotional crisis after a failed mission to Istanbul leaves thenames of secret agents in the hands of an unknown villain.

review - skyfall

Movies


Mobile phones are now such a part of our lives

that for most of us they're the last thing we

see at night and the first thing we look at in

the morning.

Our addictive relationship with the gadget has

grown in proportion to the apps we rely on to

direct our daily lives - not all of which are to

our benefit.

The dangers of using a mobile while driving

are well documented and do attract a £60 fine,

three penalty points and higher insurance pre-

miums.

Yet new research reveals that despite the prac-

tice being illegal since 2003, three quarters of

British drivers see others using mobile phones

on some or most journeys, while a quarter

spot drivers using their mobile on every trip.

And it's not just talking that's the problem -

some drivers are texting, emailing, Tweeting,

updating their social networks or taking pho-

tographs on the move.

The AA/Populus poll of nearly 21,000 drivers

found 42 per cent say they used a hand-held

phone in the car even though nearly two

thirds admitted it distracted them from driv-

ing.

Some 20 per cent confessed to texting behind

the steering wheel, four per cent admit to

checking emails and two per cent have sent

emails or read Twitter or Facebook updates

on the move.

Another worrying and morbid development is

Another worrying and morbid development is

the advent of digital rubber necker drivers

who feel the need to use their phones to film

or photograph serious crashes on the motor-

way, says the motoring organisation.

In one incident on the M1 in Northampton-

shire, police recorded 80 drivers using their

phones or cameras to photograph emergency

services carrying out a four and a half hour

rescue of a woman trapped in her crashed

truck. The seriously injured driver was even-

tually flown by air ambulance to hospital and

survived the crash. The police have contacted

most of the drivers to warn them about their

illegal and irresponsible behaviour but have

not brought any prosecutions.

Edmund King, AA president, says: Drivers

need to concentrate on driving rather than be

distracted by their digital technology. Our re-

search shows that some drivers are now using

their smart phones for more than talking on

the move. It is really not smart to talk, text or

tweet on the move.

Digital rubber neckers who photograph

crashes really are morbid voyeurs who should

be concentrating on the road and not the vic-

tims of crashes. It’s beggar’s belief that these

macabre motorists should put their lives and

others at risk through their lust for twisted

metal. We would like to see the police target

more mobile phone abusers so that the mes-

sage gets out that it is not accetable.

Using a mobile while driving is dangerous and was

made illegal in 2003, yet it’s still common to see

drivers talking, texting, tweeting or even taking

photos on their phones - a crackdown is needed...

Motoring:Mobiles Driving Motorists to Distraction

Mobile Distraction


Sport“Robbed by a Handball”

Mansfield Give Football Giants Liverpool a run for their Money

and Unfairly Miss out on a Much Deserved Match Replay...

Robbed by a Handball – Suarez controls the ball with his hand putting Liverpool unfairly in the lead

Mansfield Town put in an heroic performance

against one of the most illustrious clubs in

English and European club football – premier-

ship big boys Liverpool.

Facing Liverpool was a daunting prospect for

the Stags and securing a win would have

caused one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup

History – and while a win was highly unlikely,

Mansfield came tantalizingly close to securing

a match replay at Anfield. In fact, it can be said

that they undoubtedly deserved one as there

is no doubt at all that Suarez’s 59th minute

goal - which secured Liverpool’s victory –

came about after his hand made contact with

the ball. The goal should not have been al-

lowed. It appears that Suarez instinctively

controlled the ball with his hand, bringing it

down to his foot so he could easily tap the ball

over the line and into the net; unlucky for

Mansfield and gut wretchingly unfair.

Liverpool dominated much of the first half

with debut striker Sturridge securing an early

lead in just the 7th minute of the game. For the

first half hour of the game the Blue Square’s

Mansfield were outclassed by Premier League

Liverpool and many people were expecting a

Liverpool whitewash, but near the end of the

first half an improvement was evident in

Mansfield’s game and after the break they re-

emerged a completely different team. Mans-

field began an onslaught on the Liverpool

defence, coming tantalizingly close to securing

an equalizer several times, Liverpool keeper

Brad Jones was forced to make an handful of

saves, a shot was blocked and another was

plucked from the goal line. It was breathtaking

stuff, the Mansfield team were putting in a

performance they should rightly be proud of -

giving the seasoned Liverpool defence, which

included England international Jamie Car-

ragher a run for their money.

The score should have remained 0-1 but the

referee’s inability to spot Suarez’s handball

caused Mansfield to go 0-2 down. Undeterred,

the Stags fighting spirit persevered and they

were rewarded with what should have been

an equalizing goal, with Mansfield’s brilliant

striker, Matt Green firing a low shot past the

Liverpool keeper and into the back of the net.

With just 11 minutes to spare Mansfield were

dominating the game with Liverpool securing

the odd counter attack. It was incredible to

watch and I’m sure many football fans across

the country were rooting for the Blue Square

underdogs and craving a goal that would see

victory snatched from the premier league big

dogs at the last hurdle - the David and Goliath

element is an important aspect of the FA Cup

and one which makes the tournament so ap-

pealing. But unfortunately it wasn’t to be and

after four minutes of added time Mansfield’s

FA cup dreams were dashed and Liverpool se-

cured a place in the next round, facing Old-

ham, the team that knocked out Nottingham

Forest, another East Midland Team – who un-

like Mansfield, can boast of an impressive, il-

lustrious past European career.

But against a team that has won the European

Cup/Champions League a grand total of five

times and is 93 league places above them,

Mansfield put on one hell of a performance

and - to quote what Mansfield chief executive,

the beautiful Carolyn Redford was seen to

mouth at full time - were “robbed by a

handball.”

Mansfield - 1 Liverpool - 2


Mansfield’s Matt Green fires one past England international Jamie Carragher

He said: "Carl Wright has been brilliant to us

but we needed bigger premises. This place is

special to Kirkby, it's got so much history and

as soon as you walk into the building you can

feel the atmosphere of what it used to be like.

"We've tried to restore this as a place for peo-

ple in the local community to enjoy."

The gym will be open six days a week for any-

body who wants to learn how to box or keep

fit. There is also Juniors and Ladies classes

running as well as the amateur boxing classes.

The club are also planning to host their own

big night of amateur boxing in Kirkby in the

spring.

Article by David Statham

For more information contact Richard on07968 369342 or visit Kirkby-in-Ashfield Ama-teur Boxing Club on Facebook

The signs inside and outside the dilapidated

Waggon & Horses pub in Kirkby-in-Ashfield

still advertise the public house's upcoming

events for the year 2009. The cosy architec-

ture inside remains and the steel sign hanging

over the entrance door still casts a shadow

over the Chapel Street pavement.

But soon a bell will sound in the building, not

to signal last orders but rather the rebirth of

the historic drinking establishment as a

brand-new fully-equipped boxing gym- the

new home for Kirkby Amateur Boxing Club.

Recently granted the forgotten, crumbling

premises on a minimum two-year lease by

owner Paul Clements of Nottinghamshire-

based letting agency Clements, Shelton & Co,

Kirkby ABC's coaches, gym members, amateur

boxers and their wives and girlfriends spent

their December holidays helping to renovate

the building which dates from the mid-17th

century and known as one of three Inns to

have existed in Kirkby in 1675.

And now they're looking forward to dropping

the paint brushes, drills and shovels and trad-

ing the hard-hats and boots for boxing gloves

and gum shields.

The large function room will host the punch

bags and a full-sized boxing ring and the gym-

nasium, complete with cardio machines and

free weights, will be in the space previously

occupied by tables and chairs in the seating

area.

Kirkby Head Coach Richard Wheldon said:

"It's a real shame to see such a great place as

this go to ruin. I drive past it every day and

I've noticed its condition just getting worse.

"It's been a big project. When we first came in

we found the lead had been taken off the roof

and all the copper piping inside of the building

had disappeared. There was no running water,

the toilets had been smashed to pieces, the

ceilings had caved in and every floor was

flooded." unsuccessful when applying for

much-needed funding meaning

every cost for equipment and refurbishments

has had to come out of the staff's pockets or

funds have had to be raised by various spon-

sorship events including bag-packing in a local

supermarket.

Richard said: "Because of the lack of funding

we haven't been able to pay anybody to come

in and help us do the repairs. But I'm a plas-

terer by trade, Chris, our coach, is a roofer by

trade and a few of the boxers are skilled

plumbers or labourers and friends and family

have given up their own time to help turn this

place around and I can't thank them enough."

Kirkby's boxing club has several registered

amateur boxers, including an East-Midlands

champion, and have members representing

the club almost every month at shows and

competitions around the region. Richard said

the club's increased popularity was the main

reason they had to relocate from their previ-

ous gym at Carl Wright's Haulage Company at

Station Yard on Church Hill.

'The Next Round's On Us!' Kirkby Boxing Club move into the Waggon & Horses pub Green celebrates his goal

By the tap: Club members Jay Lapko & Damon GodberMain picture (from left) Francine Wheldon, gav Carpenter, JordanCameron, Richard Wheldon, Chris Jowett & Samantha Flint

january issue m&a express

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