In a significant year for UK sport, 2012 has already seen Non Stanford win 11th place at the ITU World Triathlon Series in Sydney, and 21st last weekend in San Diego. Fresh from her great performance in San Diego, she says: “Overall I was pleased, if you’d said to me last year that I’d finish 21st in a World Series event I’d have been delighted.”

Her women’s World Series Ranking has since leapt to 18th position, impressive when you consider that in 2010 she ranked 118th, and at 79th in 2011. Did she expect this? “Not at all!”

Currently based in Leeds but originally from Swansea, Stanford describes herself as a “loyal South Walian, temporary Yorkshire dweller”. She graduated in 2010 with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Birmingham, which is where she unexpectedly began her triathlon training.

From her early teens, Stanford trained as a cross-country runner, but in 2008 after a series of injuries kept her from running, she began swimming with the university triathlon squad:

“I was picking up injuries all the time and struggling to keep running, which was really demoralising, so in the end I decided to do some swimming to keep fit.”

Everything changed when the university’s triathlon coach persuaded her to train with the team: “I loved the variety of the triathlon training and had a really positive experience with it. From there I didn’t look back. It’s an interesting sport, it’s different, and it’s really challenging, and people really appreciate that.”

After winning 2nd place in the 2009 British Triathlon Super Series, she received the Paul Weston Triathlon Scholarship, allowing her to concentrate on competing professionally as a triathlete. The following year, while also completing her degree, she won bronze at the Premium European Cup in Brasschaat, 10th place in the prestigious French Club Championship, and 5th at the Triathlon de Paris. Since 2011, she has taken top-ten positions at the ITU Triathlon World Cups in both Ishigati and Antalya.

Basking in the current success of the British Triathlon Squad, which also includes brothers Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, Stanford describes how triathlon is definitely a sport which is gaining momentum in the UK: “Up until four or five years ago I didn’t know what a triathlon was either, and with so many British athletes doing so well it’s definitely raised the profile. It’s a challenge for the masses too, as so many people are now running a 10k and marathons, triathlon is something new and it’s a shinier model.”

Stanford now forms part of the British Triathlon Federation’s World Class Development Squad. As well as 18th in the world, she is also the third highest ranked British female triathete, after World Champion Helen Jenkins and Vicky Holland. Sport can often be fiercely competitive, but Stanford describes how the British squad support each other: “You’re not fighting each other, we’re there to help each other and everyone gets on really well. I think that’s key for Helen [Jenkins] going into the Olympics knowing that she has the backup and the support of the whole team.”

As two high profile Welsh athletes, Stanford and Jenkins have helped to boost Wales’ sporting accomplishments. President of Welsh Triathlon, Dr Dean Hardie, told The Fresh Outlook: “It has been a tremendous start in the Olympic year for Welsh Triathlon, with stunning performances from Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins in the ITU World Triathlon Series. [In San Diego] Non had a solid race finishing 21st in a very strong field, while Helen took 1st place. Helen has already been selected for the Olympic team but there are still two places up for grabs. The final Olympic selection race for Team GB is in Madrid on 26th May where another good performance from Non could see her dreams come true.”

In the run-up to London 2012, Britain’s triathlon chances are looking spectacularly good, and Stanford sees this as a way for the sport to grab more public interest: “With people like Helen [Jenkins] doing so well, [Britain] has three very realistic gold medal chances, not just medal chances, so I think public interest will just keep growing over the next few years. It would be great to get triathlon on the main TV channels!”

What do the next few years hold for Non Stanford? “My main aim is the World Series now, to keep putting in good performances there, as well as the Under 23s World Triathlon in Auckland in October. It’s every athletes dream to go to the Olympics to represent their country. The Olympic Games is very special and to go [there] would be like a dream come true for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I’ll definitely keep training towards that in the next few years.”

Within four years, Stanford’s progress has taken her to the elite races amongst the best in the world, so what advice would she give to budding young sportspeople who hope to follow her example and become professional?

“Patience, perseverance and enjoyment! Find a sport that you really enjoy; it’s your job and you do it full-time, training 30 hours a week, so you really have to enjoy it.

“Also, don’t worry about being number one when you’re younger, it doesn’t matter, just train and learn and enjoy it. As long as you stick at it and have patience and persevere, especially through the hard times, it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

By Jo Powell

[Image courtesy of Dr Dean Hardie, Welsh Triathlon]

A model and makeup artist, Ryo has been involved in shoots all over the world, and her career seems set to reach new heights.

Ryo’s start in modelling came because of what she calls simple “coincidence”. Six years ago one of her old friends – also a model – told her that she should consider getting into the field. She looked into it and things progressed from there.

“I chose to make an account with a modelling network with photographers. I made an account with nothing but some old Myspace pictures that I did with some makeup on. This model saw the pictures and I got asked to do some shoots and I’ve been doing it since.”

After a two-year hiatus from modelling between the ages of 17 and 19, Ryo has “been modelling nonstop since,” in a career that has taken her as far afield as London and Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong shoot conjured some fond memories. “It was amazing,” she says.

“I did this amazing shoot with a girl called Cake Injection. It was 12 o’ clock at night, and we had wine glasses with goldfish in them. It was by far the most random and crazy photoshoot I’ve done, and the photos are incredible.”

Ryo is a naturally creative, imaginative person, and this has led into her profession. Through her career she has developed a clear preference for “creative modelling”, driven by her education. “I did three years of fine art at college, and I’m an artist at heart. Anything that’s funky, unusual or creative, that’s what I love to do.”

The study of fine art is perhaps what drives Ryo to be the unique model that we see today. Her move into both modelling and being a make-up artist, she says, was a natural one. “It was kind of an easy thing to fall into from painting in my degree to painting my face with makeup for shoots.”

Her style is striking and unique, something she says she developed during university, during which time she decided to enter the world of makeup artistry as well as modelling.

“It’s a weird one because as you can see I don’t have eyebrows – I draw them on,” she says. “I never wore make-up [before], ever. High school, college, I had strawberry blonde hair and eyebrows, nothing too quirky.

I was quite gothy in a way. It wasn’t until maybe the end of the first year of university that I just shaved my eyebrows off and started to draw them on.”

The lack of eyebrows is a stark, interesting quirk. During our interview they were a bright orange, adding to the vibrancy of her outfit.

That same sense of originality runs throughout her work. She loves and enjoys the work of fellow models, but when it comes to inspiration? “I’m sort of inside my head.”

“I had the same kind of questions when I was doing fine art – stuff like ‘who inspires you?’ There are models that I like, but I don’t think I see their stuff and think,’oh wow, I want to do that too.’ But I love all their styles individually.”

Ryo’s ideas often come from a more unique place than her colleagues. “I get ideas from dreams, I sketch them, I contact photographers with them. That’s often my personal stuff; … though I can’t do that all the time.”

She strives to be innovative, wanting to do things “in a way it hasn’t been done before.

“People say you can’t do that, it’s been done before, and I say, ‘they haven’t done it like I’ve done it.’

“It’s hard to be truly unique. Everything’s been done before. You can’t choose a specific shoot and say, ‘this is mine.’ It’s about getting your ideas, adapting things for yourself. I get an idea and I go for it, adding my own twist.”

Simply being creative is not enough to make a living, however, something Ryo learned a couple of years ago. “I used to just charge £50 for a day, but people told me that if you don’t charge enough people aren’t going to respect you. Nowadays I charge properly.”

The financial side of modelling has some pitfalls. Ryo claims some of her pictures have been used without her permission. After a shoot in London – involving ballet shoes that left her feet “in agony” – photos from the session appeared, having allegedly been sold all over the world and used in various salons. “I found them online and asked them: ‘Why are you using my image?’

They said they bought it from some website – and they had no idea that it had been stolen. It happens quite a lot. I have a friend in Poland who saw a poster of me outside a nightclub once,” she claims.

Despite this, Ryo sees the positive side: “I just take it as a kind of flattery.”

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Ryo Love Official Facebook Page]

According to NET TV, the election will take place on June 17, with supreme court judge Panagiotis Pikramenos to occupy the position of caretaker PM.

Greece’s governmental problems came about as a result of deadlock over whether to continue with the austerity measures required by an international bailout agreement, with the uncertainty further disrupting a troubled Eurozone.

Austerity measures due to be imposed on Greece by international lenders have been met with strong opposition from certain factions in the government, and there is a fear among EU officials is that this will lead to an anti-bailout government – causing Greece to exit the Euro.

However, unless Greece can satisfy the demands of the EU and the IMF, Greece’s last remaining lines of credit will be cut off. Without this credit, Greece will not be able to pay its bills and could drop out of the euro altogether.

Michael Arghyrou, a senior economics lecturer at Cardiff Business School, was cautious about the consequences of Greece exiting the Euro, saying to the BBC: “The country would end up in a volatile period. There would be institutional weakness.”

“The worst case scenario would be a social and economic breakdown, perhaps even leading to a totalitarian regime.”

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of vas vas]

In Rent, a musical written by Jonathan Larson, a group of HIV-positive New Yorkers are at a support meeting, when a young man stands up and starts singing. One by one, the whole group joins in, each able to engage with the four lines that constitute the lyrics: “Will I lose my dignity? / Will someone care? / Will I wake tomorrow / From this nightmare?” From the sidelines, the impromptu choir is recorded by a documentary filmmaker.

Although Rent is a fictional account of the problems faced by people living with HIV, the characters’ fears for their potential loss of dignity and the possibility of isolation are still concerns for HIV-positive people today, 23 years after the events portrayed in the film. Scientific understanding of the virus may have advanced significantly, but public understanding of the epidemic has come to a standstill, and, like in the musical, it is the journalists or the filmmakers on the sidelines who are best placed to dispel myths, eradicate stigma and end discrimination.

It is not surprising that stigma should be one of the main issues addressed by HIV and Aids-related charities, since for most people living with the virus, the greatest threat to leading a full working life is not health problems, but the misapprehensions that surround the disease and lead to potential discrimination. While HIV is a life-threatening condition, advances in treatment mean that Aids is no longer an inevitable development, and research published in the Lancet in 2008 showed that a patient who is diagnosed today at the age of 20 can expect to live to nearly 70. Antiretroviral treatment, which became available in 1996, improved health so dramatically that it was referred to as the “Lazarus syndrome”.

Yet, in spite of this, people living with HIV still face discrimination and stigma all across the globe. According to the National Aids Trust, one in three people with an HIV-positive diagnosis have faced discrimination at some time. There was, for instance, the recent case of Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania, which allegedly refused entrance to an HIV-positive 14-year-old boy on account of their fears that he would infect someone, which provoked outrage and a lawsuit from Aids-awareness activists.

Research into HIV and Aids discrimination in Zambia by the Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/Aids (NZP+) has shown that not only does the stigma surrounding the disease have a negative effect on the person’s social and working life, it can also prevent the infected person from seeking the necessary healthcare and support.

Kunyima Banda from the NZP+ told The Fresh Outlook, “Our research has shown that stigma is found in families, in the church and in the workplace. We’ve come across people who have been fired for being HIV-positive, and people who have wanted to stop work because of internal stigma. We’ve found that people are being excluded from family gatherings. In Africa, when there is a funeral or a wedding, everyone comes together, but you find that some people might not even be able to contribute to discussions in these events because they think that once they are HIV-positive, they are not able to contribute positively to the discussion.

“People fear how others would react to them, so that in itself becomes a barrier for them to access services. Others say they are worried about confidentiality – once they test they don’t know if the counsellor will keep the information private or tell people about their status, so that will also prevent them from accessing services.”

Much of the stigma surrounding the issue arises from fear of catching the virus as a result of ignorance about how the disease is transmitted. The NZP+ acknowledged the power of the media in redressing misapprehensions about HIV transmission, and held a media engagement session on Friday with the Zambian Information, Broadcasting and Labour Permanent Secretary, Amos Malupenga. This consisted of discussions about ways in which the media could be reformed to create a culture of responsibility surrounding the reporting of HIV and Aids.

Ms Banta told The Fresh Outlook about the proposals that came out of the meeting: “The press is a powerful tool in highlighting the stigma that is occurring and its impact, as well as helping us in looking at current policies and if there are any laws that do not protect people living with HIV. We’ve launched an award for deserving journalists who consistently write about HIV and Aids correctly. The meeting brought out the real issues that affect people living with HIV and recommended that the media pick up stories with a human interest, stories to do with policy change, so that the rights of people living with HIV are protected.”

Caitlin Mahon, from the UK HIV and Aids charity Avert, which aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, told The Fresh Outlook that the work being done in Zambia was “extremely positive” and reinforced that “the media can be a great catalyst for perpetuating good information; however, the appropriate measure need to be put in place to ensure that the appropriate information is printed.”

According to Ms Mahon, there are a number of threats to responsible coverage of HIV in the media: “Misinformation about HIV may be transmitted, or comments may be taken from people who aren’t experts in the field, or in Africa, say, where homosexuality is illegal, newspapers might be printing verbatim what the government says, which could also be perpetuating stigma.”

Increased coverage of HIV and Aids related issues in the media could be the way to tackle the problems that the UK faces with regards to Aids discrimination, where, after extensive exposure in the 80s and 90s, the problem has been pushed to the sidelines

Ms Mahon said: “New infection rates are increasing in the UK, and this might have something to do with people becoming a little bit more liberal. There’s this perception of sexual health, where if someone gets Chlamydia they can take a pill and then it’s gone. I think there needs to be a national TV campaign about HIV to put it back in the limelight.”

By Sophie Yeo

[Image courtesy of Trygve.u]

“Over one million older people in the UK live isolated and lonely lives. A million more feel trapped in their own homes and one in five older people see other people less than once a week. This may be due to having no family, physical disability or living remotely,” say UK charity Friends of the Elderly.

It is therefore unsurprising that the Social Care Institute for Excellence has reported that a number of older people are at risk of depression and other forms of mental distress. While a relatively small number of elderly people attempt suicide, it is thought that this might be the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in regards to the existence of under-detected psychological, physical, social and health problems.

Retired nurse Joan Miller*, who previously worked on an elderly care ward in East Glamorgan Hospital, told The Fresh Outlook: “I witnessed depression many times. It would normally run hand in hand with the aging process problems and they were all on medication for the depression. Older people can be more prone to depression because of the loss of their spouse or another loved one in the family, someone they depend on. Bereavement was always a big factor.”

When Ms Miller was asked if she had ever experienced any suicides amongst any of her patients, she said: “Two people spring to mind, they were quite elderly, I would say 80-plus. It was very sad. We had their backgrounds given to us before we actually met the patients. They were both female and they basically wanted to end their life in a dignified manner – i.e. not having to go to a nursing home or maybe to a relative. They felt it wasn’t what they wanted, to be a burden. They chose to try and take their own lives.”

When asked if more can be done to prevent depression in older people being ignored, she said: I don’t know if it is ignored, I think it is maybe not recognised because an elderly person in my experience would do everything they could to hide if they had a problem.”

It can be difficult for those who work with the elderly to spot signs of depression as they often have a large number of patients who may not always alert them to the fact that something is wrong. According to a UK-wide Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey, almost nine out of 10 NHS community nurses (89%) have seen their case load rise over the last year, while 59% said they were spending less time with their patients.

An article on ‘Ageing and Society’ reported that isolation has also been identified as more common amongst those who are widowed. While the majority of widowed people are women, it has been suggested that isolation can be more extreme for widowed men. However, the relationship between widowhood and loneliness is reported in nearly all studies, some of which have noted that it is more intense in early widowhood, when the loss of an intimate companion is most painful.

Richard Furze, CEO of Friends of the Elderly, told The Fresh Outlook: “The effects of isolation – including loneliness, depression, feelings of low self-worth, poor health and diet – can be devastating, with isolated individuals being less likely to obtain the services they need or seek help. In our ageing society isolation will become more common but we can all play a part in preventing vulnerable people from suffering its consequences. We can all help to end isolation – offering your support for an hour a week sounds like very little, but it can mean the world to an older person.”

Charities like Friends of the Elderly and Contact the Elderly can make a big difference in combating loneliness amongst older people. In 2011, 272 isolated older people received regular friendly phone calls or visits arranged by Friends of the Elderly and 1,052 older people enjoyed a social occasion or group holiday funded by Friends of the Elderly Supporting Friends Service.

Friends of the Elderly say that there are simple steps everyone can take to help reduce isolation among older people: “If you see an older person struggling, for example in the supermarket, ask them if you can help and then stop to have a chat if they want. Don’t forget your own older relatives and friends; try to call or visit them, Stay in touch and regularly check on older neighbors or friends – drop by for a chat.”

Contact the Elderly is a national charity tackling acute loneliness among isolated older people aged 75 and over by organising free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups of elderly people in local communities across England, Scotland and Wales.

Keith Arscott, chief executive of Contact the Elderly, said: “Research shows that loneliness and social isolation can lead to depression and anxiety. Some of the older people who are referred onto our tea parties do display signs of depression, as a result of being lonely and socially isolated, due to the loss of friends, family dispersal and reduced mobility. Our tea parties make a profound difference to the wellbeing of our older guests, with 86% feeling happier as a result of our service, 86% feeling less lonely and 22% stating they see their doctors less.”

*Names have been changed to protect the interviewee’s identity.

By Talia Rose Hughes

[Image courtesy of Sara Yun]

Currently, India lie 164th in the Fifa World Rankings. Earlier this year they hit an all-time low of 165th, but even their highest ranking – 94 in February 1996 – was hardly in the sports’ upper echelons. Their peak came in 1950, when India qualified for the World Cup but chose not to compete.

India’s semi-professional National Football League was first introduced in 1996, but was disbanded 11 years later and replaced with the fully professional I-League. However, the league’s progress has been blighted by myriad issues with finance and television coverage, meaning it has not been able to expand in the way some might have thought it would.

These are just surface problems, though. Firstly, most I-League teams are ‘institutional’ teams, meaning they represent a company – and the football club is merely a social element of that company. However, one Indian footballer, who did not want to be named, believes the problems are more political. “Here, most people know that, especially in football, the most talented players will be always out of the team,” he told The Fresh Outlook. “The players will get into a team through politics even if they’re not as talented.”

The result of this is, of course, a decrease in quality across the board. Furthermore, the majority of star players in the I-League are foreign, particularly in attacking areas; for instance, not a single Indian footballer has won the I-League’s Golden Boot since its inception. The lack of a genuine grassroots system goes some way towards creating this problem and this leads to lower match quality: “People can’t enjoy real talented football matches here. There are not enough quality matches to satisfy or impress the people.”

Of course, football is not the number one sport in India as it is in the UK. India faces a similar problem to the United States in that it is very clearly not the priority sport. In India, cricket dominates sporting culture. Players like Sachin Tendulkar have legendary reputations and football has been unable to compete with that level of exposure and fame.

Then, of course, there is the fact that football in India competes with the more polished product from overseas. The Premier League and La Liga offer a higher match quality than anything in the I-League, which struggles as it is to get TV time. A recent television deal collapsed, meaning all I-League games in the 2010/11 season, except those in the Kolkata region, were not broadcast. After a struggle, though, the I-League struck a new deal and regained nationwide broadcasts.

Even the Premier League’s coverage, however, pales in comparison to the adoration cricket receives. The I-League being largely dominated by the institutional teams does not help matters, since cricket’s IPL provides local teams for people to get behind and support.

The footballer told The Fresh Outlook he has tried to break into the game professionally but it is notable that he went outside India in an attempt to find his big break. “In India if you want to be a footballer then you need political influence. We don’t need talent here. We need political recommendations,” he says. He went to a European club in an attempt to find a living in football: “They were satisfied with my talent, but said that I don’t have enough speed to play with them. But they were very happy with my skills.”

It was thought that the profile of football in India would be raised slightly by the purchase of Blackburn Rovers FC by Indian poultry company Venky’s. However, Aydeep Basu, football correspondent of the Calcutta-based Telegraph newspaper, said Blackburn’s recent relegation had gone almost unnoticed in India – and that not enough had been done to promote the club in the owners’ home country. “Venky’s never tried to promote the club in India,” Basu told AFP. “Forget an Indian player; they did not even hire a dressing room attendant from here.”

The footballer believes it made “some difference”, but was less than enthusiastic about the impact they had; interest in the Premier League seems confined to clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal.

The introduction of the I-League has significantly expanded Indian football in recent years, but considering the population, it is still surprising. The number of Indian players who have played or are playing in top European leagues forms a very short list, not even in double figures. With an Indian father, former Sunderland striker Michael Chopra is the first player of Indian heritage to play in the Premier League, but due to the Indian government’s policy on dual citizenship, he will likely never play for the international team.

Some might point to the poverty of certain areas but that did not stop the likes of Ronaldinho rising to greatness from the slums of Brazil. No, the problem in India is a cultural and political one. But with the I-League renegotiating television rights, things appear to be looking up.

Are things changing? “Yes,” says the footballer. “If politics does not get in the way, Indian football will definitely grow up. We have a high population and we also have very talented footballers here.”

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of whl.travel]

Nine-year-old Martha Payne started taking photos of her school lunches and posting them on her NeverSeconds blog. Along with the photos, Martha, who writes as ‘Veg, rates her lunches on a ‘Food-o-meter’ of how much she enjoys a meal. She counts the number of mouthfuls to measure portion size and gives each meal a health rating. She also lists price, which courses she eats and if her meal has any hair in it.

Despite only beginning a few weeks ago, NeverSeconds has attracted over 300,000 hits from around the world. Most of those who comment on the blog are appalled at the small portions and the poor quality of the food for a growing youngster.

“The good thing about this blog is Dad understands why I am hungry when I get home,” Martha blogged on a day when she only got one potato croquette with her pizza. “I’d have enjoyed more than 1 croquet [sic]. I’m a growing kid and I need to concentrate all afternoon and I can’t do it on 1 croquette. Do any of you think you could?”

However, NeverSeconds did not start off as a campaign. Speaking to The Fresh Outlook, Martha’s dad Dave Payne said the blog came about after a newspaper writing project Martha did at her Argyll school.

“She came back home and said, Dad, I’d really like to do some more writing like that,” Mr Payne said. “She wanted to write every day. School dinners are something that she has every day and it was a reference point. We got the school’s permission to take photographs and to do it and they were very supportive.”

When Mr Payne saw Martha’s photos he was shocked.

“She never was 100% happy about school meals and it wasn’t until I saw the pictures that I actually sat up and thought I wish I’d listened to her earlier,” he said. “You can read on the back of the menu that it meets 2008 Scottish Government guidelines and you assume it’s going to be healthy but until they come back and you have a glimpse at their life through their eyes, which the photo does so well, and then their description of it, you just don’t realise really as an adult what your kids are going through at lunch.”

Mr Payne said, however, that the family was not trying to start a campaign.

“Martha’s enjoying the blogging and she’s interested in the pictures people are sending in of their lunches around the country and around the world,” Mr Payne said. “She’d like to keep doing it and she’s interested in the affect that it’s having but she doesn’t want to upset people with it. She’s just simply showing a glimpse of her life every day.

“What I’d like to happen is if kids started doing it all over the place. I think it’s so powerful to show what we are offering the kids, what’s being put in front of them.

“The comments on her blog have been fascinating. Lots of comments saying that their food in their school is much better which is heart-warming, really.

“I think it’s been very big news in Spain, Italy, Japan and Germany, particularly Spain. It’s quite interesting how these countries deem food to be so important in their culture, the ones that have really picked up on it.”

Martha wanted to put a “pieces of hair” rating on her blog after once finding a hair in her meal before she started blogging.

“She’d read other people’s blogs and she liked the ones with photos and she liked the ones with these funny little lists so that was where the list came from,” said Mr Payne.

“She did find one yesterday and I did say are you sure because people will pick that up,” Mr Payne said. “It was under the cucumber which makes you suspect it was probably one of hers.”

Mr Payne acknowledges that Martha could go to school with a packed lunch but he would like her to keep having school meals.

“We’re great believers in school dinners and that she gets a choice at school. She doesn’t get a choice at home, she gets what I’m cooking for the family that day, so I like her having a choice about food and I also like the fact that she sits down and has a blether. We eat all our meals together as a family and so I like the fact of her sitting down with her friends and eating.”

Although Martha does write about liking some of the lunches she gets, her photos show meagre portions of vegetables and no fruit.

Argyll and Bute Council said in a statement that their school meals are “fully compliant with nationally agreed nutritional standards”.

“Young people make a choice from at least two meals and salad, vegetable, yoghurt and cheese options are available each day,” the council said.

“Our menus are designed in conjunction with pupils, parents and teachers through local focus groups and in fact, our uptake of school meals is amongst the highest in Scotland. We regularly conduct customer satisfaction surveys, which receive positive feedback and all feedback we receive is considered in the development of our menus.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, Jane Murphy of Argyll and Bute Council said the photos on Martha’s blog only seemed to show half a meal.
“Unfortunately the pictures just demonstrate really what Martha has chosen for those four days,” Ms Murphy told the radio programme. “The four pictures don’t demonstrate the examples of the million meals that our service produces annually across Argyll and Bute.”

“The attitude of the council has been kind of negative,” Mr Payne said. “It could have been so positive. It could have been, let’s do something about it; let’s see what we can do to improve.

“They’re happy to give the impression that Martha is choosing not to have these things and the truth is when she asked for veg, what you see is what they give her. And it’s called NeverSeconds because you can’t go back,” he said.

“The lady on the radio said I had a choice everyday of mini tomatoes and watercress, but I have never seen them,” Martha blogged.

NeverSeconds has received the support of Jamie Oliver who has long campaigned for more nutritious school meals. He tweeted it was a “shocking but inspirational blog.” Many comments have urged Martha to keep blogging.

“The comments we’ve had have been very supportive,” Mr Payne said.

Representatives from Argyll and Bute Council visited Martha’s primary school on Tuesday and her blog seems to have had an impact:

“For the first time ever I have seen at lunch cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrot and cucumber shreddings,” Martha posted. “I didn’t see any watercress but I may have missed it.” The meal ranked 9/10 on the food-o-meter.

“I was asked today for the first time, ‘Is that enough for you?’” Martha wrote.

Mr Payne said that while he doesn’t want his daughter to be turned into a national campaigner for improved school meals, the way Martha’s blog has taken off shows how much people care about children’s food.

“Hopefully children blogging about their school dinners will become more normal and it will become almost expected and a good project for classes to do,” he said. “Martha asked people to email pictures in with her ratings so that she can put food on as a comparison but it would be great if someone else took over the baton as it were and gave kids a portal to do this. If all this publicity can be used for good then we’re for that.”

By Anna Foden

[Image courtesy of neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk]

Job adverts listing perks such as gym membership, private healthcare and a company car may be nothing unusual but what about promises of free beer? Some companies are now offering “free beer after five” as a perk in their recruitment ads.

In the current climate of concern about binge drinking and the cost of alcohol-related hospital admissions, is it wise to encourage drinking in the workplace? Does having a pint with colleagues promote team building and bonding or can it run the risk of excluding people who don’t drink alcohol? Would job seekers be put off by a recruitment advert that implies a boozy work culture?

Accountant Helen Jones* experienced the negative side of workplace drinking when her boss told her in an appraisal that she wasn’t engaging with her team or building team relationships.

“His justification was that I was very quiet at the Christmas party and that I didn’t join in the conversation enough and I didn’t have a drink although he’d put a bar tab on,” she told The Fresh Outlook. “He said I sat on the edge of the group. Everyone else was having their pints of beer and I sat there with my coke.”

Ms Jones said she had medical reasons for not drinking but didn’t want to tell her boss this.

Alcohol Concern, the charity which campaigns against alcohol misuse, says employees should not feel pressure to drink in any work situation or social situation relating to work.

A 2010 survey into health in the workplace by the insurer Aviva reported that only 45% of those surveyed said they experienced no sense of obligation to drink alcohol in a work situation and only 7% of employers said they would actively discourage drinking at work social events.

Alcohol Concern says employers should have policies in place to ensure non-drinkers do not feel excluded or pressurised because of alcohol.

“I would probably be wary of having drinking linked to a job,” Professor Moira Plant of the University of the West of England’s Alcohol and Health Research Unit told The Fresh Outlook. “Once people leave work then they have the right to do what they want really, within reason, obviously,” she said. “But if you start linking it to work I’m not really sure what kind of message you’re giving over. It’s self-selecting if you don’t drink. You probably won’t want to have anything to do with that.”

Professor Plant said a workplace which promotes “free beer after five” could have a negative impact on drinking habits.

“We know that what increases consumption is reduction in price and there’s quite a clear link – the cheaper it is, the more people drink in a general population and that’s why the issue of minimum pricing is around so clearly just now,” she said.

Neon Play, a company in Cirencester making games for mobile devices, listed “free beer on Fridays” in a recent recruitment ad. “Beer Friday” is also number three of a list of “10 reasons to work with us” on the company’s website. Employees go to a local pub on Fridays and, the website promises, “the drinks are on us”.

However, CEO Oli Christie told The Fresh Outlook that this is not about drinking alcohol. “It’s a good way to get the company to all spend an hour out together on a Friday lunchtime out of work and a little bit of fun really,” he said.

Some of the other 10 reasons to work for Neon Play are having a day off on your birthday, supporting a local charity and a posh bog roll guarantee.

“When we started the company, we were in Cirencester, not London or Bristol, and so we needed to come up with ideas that would help make the company seem more attractive to potential employees,” Mr Christie said. “The culture and ethos that we wanted to engender here at Neon Play was really important to us because we want to get people who believe in what we do and share our sense of fun and values. So some of them are nice things like you get your birthday off as a free day and we give 1% of our profits to a local charity but also we buy everyone a drink on a Friday.”

Mr Christie said Beer Friday is not about getting drunk. “Not everyone drinks,” he said. “I personally drink a pint of orange and lemonade so we’re not all doing shots and getting plastered. I think it’s just a nice thing to get everyone to the pub to have an informal chat about the weekend and stuff rather than to work. Otherwise it’s all work, work, work. But we’re not there to get drunk, it’s more to go to the pub and have some time out.”

In response to concern that workplace drinking might lead to a drinking culture, Mr Christie said this had never been an issue at his company.

“It’s very much not a drinking culture here at all,” he said. “People have one. If they do have beer at all it’s just one pint or a gin and tonic. It’s not multiple drinks. We’ve never had one issue with anybody here with a drinking culture at all.

“It’s very much not you have to drink. It’s more lets go to the pub but Free Beer on Fridays sounds better than Free Diet Coke on Fridays.”

Mr Christie said he didn’t believe potential employees would be put off by the mention of free beer.

“We’re an open-minded bunch of young people here who make games so it doesn’t put people off. In fact, on the contrary, people love the 10 reasons to work at Neon Play. Hopefully it’s attractive to young people who want to get into the games industry that your boss will buy you a drink on a Friday as well,” he said.

*Name has been changed.

By Anna Foden

[Image courtesy of thepicturedrome]

The Rio+20 conference, also known as the Earth Summit, due to take place from June 20 to 22 2012, will see a collection of world leaders meet with participants from the private sector, governments, NGOs and more coming together to form a plan to “get the future we want”.

The conference marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

One of the conference’s main focuses will be how to establish and maintain a greener international environment, and will examine seven key issues crucial to this. They are: jobs; energy; cities; food; water; oceans; and disasters readiness.

The Rio+20 website states that sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It comments that “sustainable development consists of three pillars: economic development, social development and environmental protection.”

“Governments are expected to adopt clear and focused practical measures for implementing sustainable development, based on the many examples of success we have seen over the last 20 years,” the website adds. These blueprints for plans will be successful schemes put in place in 1992 such as Agenda 21. “Rio+20 is a chance to move away from business-as-usual and to act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the future.”

One of the organisation’s staple designs for worldwide success includes thinking about a global level, national level and a regional level, so it encourages public participation as well, asking people to make their own commitments which they can register them on the official website.

Rio+20 are openly advertising the importance of volunteers and many external organisations will be taking part in the conference. Alongside the conference, there will be exhibitions, fairs and presentations held by partners of the organisation.

The World Youth Association (WYA) are just one of the organisations getting involved with through their campaign ‘Road To Rio’ which kicked off in February. It began with the Commission for Social Development where the WYA ensured that: “The fight against poverty is focused on the level of the individual – emphasising the importance of educating and investing in persons so that their natural capacities may flourish.” They aimed to “highlight the conditions necessary for persons to bring themselves out of poverty and live in accordance with their dignity.”

Other associated WYA events have tackled “issues of health care, shelter, education, equal participation and protection for women,” and “the importance of meeting basic demands for access to clean water, sanitation, and adequate healthcare so that all persons, and in particular youth, may take concrete steps toward authentic development.”

Speaking to The Fresh Outlook, a representative from the WYA said: “Rio +20 is expected to set the sustainable development agenda for the coming years. It is at the Rio Conference that the first steps will be taken toward the development of the Sustainable Development Goals, which will replace the current framework established by the Millennium Development Goals that are set to expire in 2015.

“We see our presence at the Conference as vital in order to ensure that the final outcome document reflects the importance of authentic sustainable development and solidarity between the developed and developing worlds.

“As a global coalition of young people, the World Youth Alliance recognises that sustainable development can be achieved only through a person-centred approach. Upholding the dignity of the person must be the primary goal of sustainable development and the means by which we create a sustainable world.”

Volunteers are also encouraged to share their testimonials of what is happening on a personal and independent level on the Volunteer Action Counts website. These stories will be showcased at the summit in June via a multi-media presentation.

With just over a month to go and almost 5000 testimonies shared as ‘actions counted’ the Rio+20 Conference seems to be the next big step in helping fight inequality, poverty and climate change.

By Susie Thorne

[Image courtesy of Lorando Labbe]

Community organising has played a part in the civil rights movement, Barack Obama’s rise to power, and even the American Revolution. Yet, for something that is not only enormously influential but also by its very nature has the potential to reach out to each and every one of us, the idea of this social phenomenon is often met with confusion.

Even President Obama, who began his career in 1985 with the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organising group, recalls in his memoir Dreams from my Father: “When classmates in college asked me just what it was that a community organiser did, I couldn’t answer them directly.” So what is this idea that turned Martin Luther King’s dream into reality and put the first black president into the White House?

For Citizens UK, the foremost group in community organising in Britain, it is about authentic politics: “politics came from the people, and so it should return”. But while it is an inherently political movement, its purpose is not to gain votes. Daniel Stone, the charities and communities vice president at the Oxford University Student Union, told The Fresh Outlook that it was his disillusionment with politics that led him to believe that the way forward lay in a more grassroots approach: “My interest in community organising came out of a frustration with mainstream politics, and I don’t think that frustration is just going to go away in the future. I am still quite frustrated with politics. I think politicians need to rethink about how they’re engaging with their constituents.”

Rather than attempting to canvass for a particular party, community organising is about holding politicians to account for their actions, and creating awareness within the community that it is not necessary to wait for politicians to act. One of the most powerful agents of change is the community itself. A community organiser, rather than acting as a voice for the community, instead creates a sense of collective power within a neighbourhood or a group, reminding people of their own capabilities.

A community organiser does precisely what the name suggests; they take the concerns of the community at large and organise these individual voices into coherent demands, which can then lead to action. Therefore, while the greatest community organisers may have also been some of the greatest speakers of our time, their greatest skill ultimately lies in their ability to listen, and to turn the thousands of voices that they hear into one powerful cry for change.

For Daniel Stone, the changes that need to be made can only be identified though conversations with the individuals whom these changes will benefit: “There’s been a lot of going out and speaking to people in the local community, just trying to listen to them, trying to figure out what some of the issues and problems were, and thinking about some of the solutions that we could work on together.”

The Reverend Peter Baker is a key figure in voicing community concerns in Cardiff, in his role as Senior Pastor at Highfields Church. He too told The Fresh Outlook that listening lay at the heart of effective action: “I listen to conversations, I try to reflect on those, and with my leaders I bring together a whole bunch of objectives for any given year, and then we will drill down details of those in the community on a small group basis.”

With the help of a strong leader, even a seemingly trivial conversation can be an agent of tangible change. The 1000-strong congregation at Highfields, with the help of local leaders, have been able to raise their voices not only in hymns but also in creating improvements to the community they live in, benefitting and providing support to people outside the church walls. Projects that the church has been involved in include the creation of a food bank, a programme to help ex-offenders, lunches for the elderly, and an event called the Big Weekend: “We did car washing, we cleaned up graffiti, picked up litter, went down the local park and gave stuff out, trying to do stuff to make a difference where we live.”

It is a great example of how small acts can lead to great changes. Citizens UK has changed the lives of 10,000 families with their Living Wage Campaign, which aims to create a locally adjusted minimum wage, in order that the worker is paid enough to sustain themselves in the area in which they live. This hourly rate is adjusted every year by the GLA, and in London it currently stands at £8.30 per hour. The campaign so far has earned over £70 million of living wages, and the Living Wage Foundation has accredited over 100 living wage employers.

Highfields may be a Christian institution at its heart, but this does not stop them reaching out to forge meaningful relationships with other faith groups in the area. Peter Baker told The Fresh Outlook: “We ran a course about two months ago called Friendship First, which was a programme to help us meet some of the ethnic minority groups that live within our community, and some of us went to the local mosque to meet some of the people there. As the leader of a large voluntary organisation, I would say one of the largest responsibilities is building bridges of understanding and awareness within the community.”

Ultimately, the idea of a community transcends the boundaries of faith, race and class, since each group is united by their shared concerns. For Daniel Stone, while some will always be apathetic, it is the compassion for those around us that can create the coherence which drives forward change. In a community, one is always at least indirectly affected by the large scale issues, since they afflict those with whom one interacts every day. “People care about trying to make society a bit different. Most people will get involved.”

By Sophie Yeo

[Image courtesy of Kowen1208]