Over the years of Big Brother, Celebrity Love Island, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here etc (the list is endless!), the shows have had the ability to turn its participants into national celebrities, some are short lived some last for very long periods. The most notable in talent programs is the Idol series. The series over the past 5 years has spawned music stars in many countries other than the UK. It is aired across the world and unlike many other shows it is had massive success. Shows such as, Big Brother have made partial celebrities out of their participants, e.g Brian Dowling as a presenter on morning TV. 

Instant celebrity, soon it will be on the shelves of your local supermarket next to the instant coffee or instant meals!

Mike

It is not wise to go camping and think your going to get 5 star luxury. It’s basic, it’s “of the earth”, it’s getting lost in the wilderness! We had torrential downpour right through the stay but I loved it. Not one item of clothing came back without mud on it! Thank g-d for washing machines.

The camp site I was at had no phone signal, and you know what? It was utterly refreshing to be able to get away and not be bombarded with calls, emails and texts. Technology hey, ironic but it does get old!

ThIs weekend i’ve spent a pound on showers, got attacked by Mosquitos, been freezing cold at night, ate package food, been afraid to use the toilets and you know, I’d do it all again!

Mike

I just read an article in the recent edition of skymag. The oscar award winning female writer who penned the script for Juno was orginally a blogger. She described blogging as her own private bubble. It’s true in what she says, I am unsure in how many people read my blog, but it is a way for me to put down my thoughts and feelings.

iPhone and blogging – who knows maybe one day I’ll be receiving an award for best script!

Mike

I have just stumbled across an article in the Guardian newspaper. It discussed the seven weeks a patient named Joan Dorling spent on a hospital ward. This fiesty lady endured a broken neck and a lack of care that as a health care professional emabarrasses and appalls me. I can only imagine what the family must be going through.

One of the tragedies surrounding the death of Joan Dorling is the lack of appropriate residential care for people with dementia. If there were more places available in local residential care homes for people like Dorling living with dementia, it is probable that her premature death could have been avoided. So the NHS does not appear to be the only villain in this tragic tale. How culpable is the social care system?

As a social class we seem to forget that we are living in an ever ageing community, better health care breakthroughs equals longer life expetancys. However a life is not worth living if the basic ammenities and provisions are not laid out for the geriatric community.

I have seen what goes on in the hospitals, I have seen the way some elderly patients are just left to stew in their chairs. Unless this current governent put forward a dosier outlineing some major changes for social services this situation will continue to spiral.

Mike

I just sat down to write this post with a glass of Baileys in my hand. It occurred to me during this drinking session that I have not got a clue how Baileys is made.

Wikipedia says

Baileys was the first liqueur to use cream and alcohol together in a manner sufficiently stable to allow commercial distribution. The cream and whiskey are homogenized to form an emulsion, with the aid of an emulsifier containing refined vegetable oil. This process prevents separation of the whiskey and cream during storage. The quantity of other ingredients used is not known but they include chocolate, vanilla, caramel and sugar.

According to the manufacturer no preservatives are required, the whiskey alone is used to preserve the cream.

The cream used in the drink comes from Avonmore Waterford Plc. This is a co-operative dairy located about 70 miles outside of Dublin. More than 4 million litres of Irish cream a year is used in the production of Baileys, this amounts to 4.3% of Ireland’s total milk production.

Yum yum!

Mike

I can’t help but think that the fundamental difference between these 2 unique cases is a difference in the class system.

When Shannon dissapeared, there was such a fuss of attention on the local council estate in Dewsbury (the area I work), the area in which Shannon lives. All fairness to West Yorkshire Police they knew they were dealing with a potential case of child abduction and they did throw themselves in all directions to search for her. In the Dewsbury area, Shannon’s name was plastered all over the prominent areas.

Contrast the media riddled McCann campaign with the brave efforts of a friend of Shannon’s mother, who managed to persuade her local branch of Asda to donate 24 white T-shirts on which the girl’s photograph had been printed. The Dewsbury community can not and did not operate in the same way that the “McCann very well oiled publicity machine” ran. The locals didn’t have the resources nor the know-how to operate that scale of publicity. Shannon’s mother must have known this was the case, otherwise would she really have perverted the court of justice if she thought she wasn’t going to get away with it.

It was always cloak and daggers with Shannon and to some extent the same with little McCann. However a deprived background, a dysfunctional family and a down-on-its-luck Yorkshire mill town: none of this is Shannon Matthews’s fault, yet it seems that she is paying the price.

Quoted from a paper:

“Her family may seem feckless. Neighbors can’t afford to run a PR campaign. How the public spotlight faded on a missing girl.”

A class war? Definitely.

Mike

I need ideas for a holiday in summer that wont end up bleeding my bank balance dry. I originally was meant to be jetting into the sunset to good old Los Angeles. However after consolidating the internet I was horrified to see that flights are ridiculously expensive. Call me naive but I am sure £700.00 is a rather hefty price tag for a flight. My posterior is not fussy where it sits!

If I am sitting on a flight that has cost me my arm and leg then I want the best service! I do understand that while one of the double-bed suites on Singapore Airlines’ A380 might be prohibitively expensive, there are cheaper options, and with some flights, seats with extra legroom can be had for a small surcharge. I also want to lounge about preflight and enjoy the benefits of the executive lounges. They offer a less stressful environment and, frequently, complimentary soft drinks, snacks, newspapers and free internet service (blogging etc..).

I also have the option of touring Europe. I am torn on this decision though. Tips for travelling on a budget are:

• Stay outside the city centre – Honestly what use is that? I am going to Prague, but I’m staying outside the main tourist area? I’m not doing a suburban tour!
• Dine in – So instead of spending my money on yummy restaurant food and enjoying the fine cuisine of the local area I’m going to consider buying food items that will rot in my “outside the city centre hotel room.”
• Travel during the off season – Again I want the hustle and bustle. I want the atmosphere of a lively area. I want to see people. I want to meet people. Instead ill be walking around in idyllic Italy waiting to meet a fellow student who obviously has similar ideas.
• Pack Light - A sensible suggestion that I have heard from a few people. How this will save money I have no idea. Energy yes, but money no. I also cannot see how 3 tops, 2 shorts, and a some underwear will see me through a tour of Europe. Sorry but I need to pack heavy

Looks like I am going to end up staying in the UK. Oh well Great Yarmouth here I come!!

“To understand Europe you have to be a genius – or French.”

Mike

“There are no missing objects. Only unsystematic searchers.”

Mike

After doing what can only be classified as an intense workout in the gym I came to a conclusion about most of the people who workout alongside me. We all suffer from the same problem, its related to schizophrenia, it’s what is called Gym Psyhcosis.

Psychosis is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often descrived as involving a “loss of contact with reality.” People suffering from this are known to be psychotic.

It appears that most people become this raged animal, grunts, snorts, growls and other animal noises all seem to be apparent when people are working out. It’s as though people become enraged and there inside animal comes out. Me personally am a Hyena, I just laugh at everybody else making the most horrendous noises.

Gym etiquette is highly important. You have a responsibility to each other to ensure that you do your bit.

1. The biggest annoyance is when someone walks away from a machine, leaving a slimy pool of sweat behind. Thanks! Always bring a towel with you and wipe the machines down when you’re finished
2. My next biggest annoyance is the person who leaves six million KGs on the leg press machine. I don’t know, maybe I look stronger than I am.

The gym, what a lovely place to spend a quiet evening!

Mike