Met Police Press Release. Summer 11'.

Mayor of London visits Newham to thank Officers

Newham Police welcomed the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson to East Ham Police Station to joint patrol down East Ham High Street to visit local businesses that had been affected by the disorder and looting.

During the afternoon of Wednesday, 24 August the London Mayor walked with officers down the High Street, listening to the scenes of violence and disorder they faced on the streets of Newham.  Boris thanked local officers for their hard work and persistence during the disorder and personally visited the businesses affected to show his support.

Acting Borough Commander Sean Vickers said: “It was a pleasure showing the London Mayor around the affected areas and businesses and giving him an opportunity to hear some of the experiences our officers endured.

“His presence was well received, with crowds of people approaching him to talk and have their picture taken.”

This press release was written while I was on placement with the Metropolitan Police as a Press Liaison officer in the Borough of Newham in Summer 2011.

Birds worst enemy: Double glazed windows.

Sally (age) and husband Duane (age) Arnold of Kendal, Cumbria; arrived home at the end of last week to discover a huge Owl imprint on their bedroom window.

Experts from the The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) state that the bird is likely to be a Tawny Owl due to its size and shape.

Owl imprint impressioned on Sally Arnold's bedroom window, Cumbria.

The imprint itself is created by ‘powder down’ a substance found in the feathers of many birds. 

Most birds which crash into windows would leave a smudge of powder down for their impression.  Yet this photograph clearly displays this birds eyes, wings, feathers and chest in ghostly detail. 

Val Osborne, Head of the RSPB’s Wildlife Enquiries team said: “We don’t very often see an imprint of a bird that’s flown into a window that’s this clear and where it’s pretty obvious exactly what kind of birds it is.

The RSPB comment on their website that double glazed windows pose a greater risk as they produce clearer reflections. To overcome these reflective collisions the RSPB sell bird self-adhesive window silhouettes which start at £5.10 - the most effective being a bird of prey, the Hawk. 

Despite the fixtures aiming to reduce these occurances, the RSPB stress, ‘please understand that these measures will greatly reduce, but never totally solve, the problem.’

With window strikes being an issue, the RSPB give a short description on what to do if you discover a bird that has flown into a window on their website.

As for the victim, Sally added: “Fortunately, there was no sign of the bird and we can only assume that it had flown away probably suffering from a headache!”


Peter de Souza
Daily Mirror

Adam (marathon runner lol)

When did you decide to run and the London Marathon and why?

Always wanted to run marathon but I needed the right time.  My granddad passed away a year and a half ago through complications of Parkinson’s; and my uncle passed away in January this year, and felt like I should do something to celebrate the fact that I’m fit and healthy!! I think it was around New Year that I emailed a few different charities about places (the ballot was closed ages ago, but was emailing to see if they had any cancellations etc.).  My new year’s resolution was to get fit and raise money for charity, so it was good to combine the two and do something like a marathon.  The charities I emailed were British Red Cross, British Heart foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Bowell Cancer UK and Parkinson’s association I think.  British Red cross got back to me and said they had someone drop out, so I went for an interview and Passed!! Yeah!!

I remember you were posting your training distances of facebook to keep your supporters and sponsors up to date. When you were completing these distances, could you believe you were going to run the whole 26miles?

I did most of my training at night as I was in uni 9 to 5 pretty much every day.  Every weekend I had my long run (I can give you exact distances from a table I have).  I knew I could run the 26.2 miles, having ran close to that in training, but I knew it would be very hard indeed and I would need the adrenaline of the big day and the crowd to push me.  Injuries were the biggest problem as I only had 2.5months to go from being able to run to the bus stop to being able to run a marathon.

What was going through your head while running? Did you have any peculiar thoughts, daydreams or realizations?

I’m not exactly sure what I was thinking about during the run.  I was constantly looking out for friends and family in the crows but didn’t get to see them!!!  I was trying to take in the scenery and take in the occasion more than anything (with it being my first time to London). I kept thinking about the feeling of crossing the finish line and what I would do once I would cross it - that was a massive drive!! The biggest drive for me was people shouting my name as I went around...that was such a good feeling.  At mile 25 the British Red Cross team had a group of supporters cheering everyone on, when they cheered it actually sent a shiver down my spine (never really felt that properly before) it was amazing.  I was also worried that I’d started too quickly and wouldn’t make it.  I ran past people that looked so fit that had to stop to rest, and people in ambulances getting oxygen which worried me slightly!

Did you ever hit the wall? - if so what was going through your head?

I had hit the wall in training and it is a very real thing! It’s like you’re running in syrup, and just can’t seem to move your body.  It’s awful.  Thankfully in the marathon, I had lots of lucozade provided and many glucose gels in my bumbag that helped me keep my glucose and glycogen levels high, and with the crowd behind me, the wall didn’t really hit me as hard as I imagined.  It still hit me though – mile 18…I will always remember it!!

I had a Red bull energy shot given to me before the race which I kept in my hand throughout the whole marathon, I wanted to use it when I really needed it, as a last minute energy boost. I drank it at about mile 23, and it helped hugely, although it made me feel a bit sick.

After the race, you told me this was the best thing you have ever done. - A week on, do you still have this opinion?

It was honestly the biggest sense of achievement I have ever felt.  I loved every second of it.  I would have done it again the day after if my body would have let me!  It’s definitely on a par with getting those A-level results, although made slightly better by the fact that it was a personal achievement that I had proved to myself that I could do it.  Yes, it was the best thing I have ever done!!

As a spectator, I thought the crowd support was brilliant. Do you agree? 

I don’t think I would have completed it without the crowd. As I said, the crowd carries you around the course. Having my name printed on my vest helped hugely!! The people shouting my name in those last few miles really made the difference.

Now that you have done it, would you do it again? - Or encourage others to do it?

I would encourage every person to do exactly what I did...it was perfect!! Couldn’t have been better!! The weather helped too! I am now well and truly hooked on running and would love to run it again sometime, (in a better time hopefully). My friend has just signed up for the Leeds half marathon, after I raved about the London marathon. Good for him!!

Adam (marathon runner lol) xx

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/ll--u1p6ksY

The end of an era.

The fate of 2012 doesn't seem so bad anymore.

An underrated song.

The Discoverer or the Discovery? Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures

Four pounds, plus £1 booking fee on this exhibition at Manchester’s Museum of Museums; and that is all I would pay.

I had never been taught much about the Egyptians at school, therefore I taught myself at a young age; this exhibition was like a field-trip for my infant-self’s independent learning.

Using headphones, we were guided around the museum and were given a descriptive insight on the life of Tutankhamun, the history of his family and his destiny to become a ruler of Egypt.  I found the tour’s portrayal of the young King’s family tree very detailed considering that most of the evidence of the Egyptian dynasties is hidden under the sands of the Sahara.

Despite the interest given, I found the history difficult to follow; the headphones mentioned the ‘18^th Dynasty’ and the ‘New Kingdom’?  A brief history of the Egyptian era would have been useful.  Was Tut King during the end of the Egyptians or at the beginning of their age?

Once Tut’s life story was over, the tour really began and I was surprised to find that it was based entirely on Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb, having heard little about him.

The voices on the tour switched often from Carter reading pages from his diary to spectators expressing their opinion on his agendas as well as other company.  The tour was coming alive.  Despite the various setbacks, Carter never gave up.  The voices made me feel pity for him and his passion was so powerful you could almost feel it.  The guide made me feel that his determination has been almost forgotten, and his name should be made clearer in history books.

The voices created suspense and anguish, I felt I was with Carter as he discovered, bit by bit, the ornately decorated tomb.  Relief and awe followed as the exhibition presented replicas of the treasures found in the tomb.

Gold.

The amount of gold a nineteen year old King was buried with is incontrovertible.  Displayed beautifully, accurately, and according to the timescale of how Carter found it; it was a golden moment.

When the headphone tour was complete the guides took over and told us how Tutankhamun’s mummy looked when it was discovered.  The withered flowers surrounding him were thought-provoking; I had seemed to have forgotten that these events had really taken place thousands of years ago; with regards to grieving our dead not much has changed.

When and if you got the chance to question a tour guide, they seemed to be from a Howard Carter fan-club, worshiping his ambition and discoveries.  Furthermore they were more reliable than the voices on the headphones.  During some questioning it came to my knowledge that the audio tour had told some fibs.  For example, after a Cobra killed a Canary in the mines of the dig (a dead Canary being a bad omen) locals were allegedly scared away from the tomb.  Yet this may not have been true; the local helpers were all most likely, tomb robbers and would have grabbed anything shiny that they saw. Far from being afraid they would have been eager to see what was inside, regardless of a dead bird!

My housemate and I wanted to know about the ‘curse’ that was placed on the young King’s tomb in relation to the death of Carter.  To our surprise, there was no curse!  This myth was created by the media to make the discovery more exciting and to sell more newspapers.  It is interesting to see how the media has changed little in the past 88years since his discovery.

The tomb and treasures of Tutankhamun were fascinating, despite the exhibition being entirely compiled of replicas.  I would be confident to recommend this to anyone; although the real treasures lie in the Cairo Museum, this exhibition allows a visitor to get up close and personal with King Tut’s closest possessions. The exhibition was awe-inspiring and I am overjoyed at having paid £5 entry with a student card, and not the typical £14 entry.  The £9 I saved has been placed in a jar on my window sill – my Egypt fund!

Tell the devil I said “hey” when you get back to where you're from.

In all relationships, is there always one person who likes the other more?

The Tormentors: Unable to confront them

I was reading a short article in the Mirror.co.uk concerning the continuous nuisance of bullying.  I was reminded of a girl I know who was frequently bullied in her secondary school.

I really dislike the word ‘bullying,’ phonetically and semantically it creates connotations of immorality, unfairness, cruel, wickedness and perhaps evil. 

Victims for bullies are often stereotypes, yet my friend has a different and more distasteful reason to be picked on.  Facial Deformity and being one of the “special kids” was her vindication to years of torment.

It’s completely unfair.

The upset I got from hearing her crying is nothing compared to the troubled life she lived at school.

Sometimes I imagine the bullies ill-treating her and wonder why they do it.  These people are cowards and it is times like this when I want to believe in karma.  

She didn’t deserve that.  No one deserves that.

Every week we talked on Facebook, and I kept encouraging her to tell her teachers what was going on; eventually she did and the teachers said to tell them if the problem was persistent. 

In her last years of school the bullying still occurred, but was less severe.  Her relentless reports of hating school began to dwindle yet I feel guilty that I did not do enough to stop it from happening. 

Now I am pleased to say, I saw her recently and she is enjoying college and is becoming more ambitious in her future career.

I genuinely look forward to hearing her updates on life and hope they will be optimistic.

Reference: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/01/07/coleen-nolan-on-school-bullying-verdict-115875-22831288/

Inadequate Resolutions

Every year I get invited to a friends house to bring in the new year, but I know I will never go.

I celebrate every New Year with my family, and I wouldn't change it for anything.  

When my friends heard I was working in my uncle's pub (The Dunkirk Inn, Nottingham) they gave me a sigh as though they felt bad for me; on the contrary I was very excited.  The reason for this predictable sigh is because I kept using the word 'work' or 'behind the bar' as to what I was doing.

Only now am I realising that negative connotations come from those words; I will have to consider my choice of vocabulary for next year.  

Whilst in Nottingham, after pretending to to know the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne and the many Jägerbombs consumed; I took a step back from reality and realised I hadn't made any new year resolutions.  They are tradition, whether you stick to them or not.

I find showering is the best time to be alone with yourself and catch up with your thoughts.  Today, about midday I showered and came up with my resolutions and wrote them on the steamed wall. 

The usual, get fit, study harder... But I discovered that my real resolution is to become motivated, to actually abide by the resolutions.  

So how do you become motivated?  My brothers response was a few 'erm's' and stuttered words.  I thought he would help me as he studied motivation for part of his dissertation.  Fifa 2011, on the other hand is a very good distraction.  

What I find interesting are the people who do stick to their yearly vows and how they accomplish them.

I wonder if on the 31st of December, there are people who do take a moment to reflect, not on what the year brought them, but on the promises they made at the beginning; and can honestly have pride in their success.

Little Crackers: Catherine Tate

An unforgettable Christmas Cracker that will be heard at the table of my Christmas meal.

Directed, written and starring in her short 10 minute autobiographical story; Catherine Tate shows us where it all began and combines it with the festive season: ‘My First Nativity’.  Her cracker is one of the best in the anthology of short films which are written by and feature twelve of Britain’s comic stars, shown on Sky1 on the run up to Christmas.

Madeleine Power who plays the five year old Tate continuously delivers the phrase “I’m shy” which contradicts our stereotype of Tate, of always being comical and not afraid to speak her mind.  Furthermore the stereotype of her ginger hair never fails or fades.  

Playing the fourth King in the Nativity: Gary Glitter…who else?  Tate displays to us a snippet of her rise to stardom, with an applauded version of The King of Glam-Rock’s ‘I’m the leader of the gang’ on her very first Nativity.

As well as the Christmas theme, Tate recalls her disconcerting moments of wetting herself; however, unsurprising to us; Tate delivers this message with an endearing moral at the end of story.

“Dedicated to little girls everywhere who are too shy to put their hands up to go to the toilet.”

Funny, Charming and directed by Tate herself, Catherine Tate’s Little Cracker is one to watch this Christmas.