A student from Durham has died after suffering an attack brought on by a heart condition. It appears that she had an attack previously when on a school trip was taken to the doctor but the parents were not notified at the student's request. This is line with the Gillick Principle that says teachers and doctors should not reveal medical information to parents if the student tells them not to. The parents are now suing the council despite the law being followed heaping more stress and pressure on the individuals involved. As someone who leads trips I will take full responsibility for anything that happened if I am responsible (such as the teacher that decided to take a group of students next to a railway line) but someone has advised the parents poorly as they seem to seek someone to blame. In many opinions the law maybe wrong or at least misguided but don't pressurise those people who have to follow it.
Friday, 29 August 2008
Monday, 25 August 2008
Fun Olympic stories
The Iceland men's handball team got to the final, everyone had the day off and cinemas were showing it for free. They lost but got only their fourth medal ever.
Du Li who allowed her nerves to get the better of her and instead of winning gold ending 5th, broke down on national TV and had so many letters of support. A few days later she won gold in her next event.
Sally McLean won silver when the leader in the hurdles fell over and in the post race press conference all three medalist were laughing and giggling about how lucky they had been.
Matthias Steiner who had an argument with the Austrian Weightlifting Federation, he moved to Germany and whilst waiting three years for citizenship to come through met and married a local lady who in the run up to the games was sadly killed in a car crash. He won gold by 1 kg
Matthew Emmonds blew the lead in the shooting for the 2nd successful Olympics. In Athens on his last shot he fired at the wrong target and scored 0, this time he needed to get 7 or better but he got the shakes and could get 4.
Steve and Christophe Guenot who won medals in wrestling by practice on each other and their father, mother and uncle who are also wrestlers.
Togo winning a gold in canoe slalom.
Du Li who allowed her nerves to get the better of her and instead of winning gold ending 5th, broke down on national TV and had so many letters of support. A few days later she won gold in her next event.
Sally McLean won silver when the leader in the hurdles fell over and in the post race press conference all three medalist were laughing and giggling about how lucky they had been.
Matthias Steiner who had an argument with the Austrian Weightlifting Federation, he moved to Germany and whilst waiting three years for citizenship to come through met and married a local lady who in the run up to the games was sadly killed in a car crash. He won gold by 1 kg
Matthew Emmonds blew the lead in the shooting for the 2nd successful Olympics. In Athens on his last shot he fired at the wrong target and scored 0, this time he needed to get 7 or better but he got the shakes and could get 4.
Steve and Christophe Guenot who won medals in wrestling by practice on each other and their father, mother and uncle who are also wrestlers.
Togo winning a gold in canoe slalom.
The Olympic Ideal tarnished?
I have enjoyed a lot of the sport in the Olympics but the whole thing has left me with a few concerns.
1. The way that China approaches sport through the setting up of sports factories to mass produce athletes to compete, taking young children and putting them through a gruelling program until they are either the best of they break (physically or mentally). I am not bothered that the two Chinese gymnasts might have been under the age of 16 but rather when interviewed they admitted having not talked to their parents for over a year and not being home for 5 years. China seems to have missed the point, after all its not the winning but the taking part. Apparently after the star Chinese hurdler pulled out with an injury the state media was broadcasting reassurance that it was okay to still support him despite the fact that he had failed.
2. Some of the judging is set up to fail. By placing a judge in each corner of the ring/ mat so at least one will not see each punch /move/ throw and these leads to some wild inaccuracies in the scoring. The TV coverage is so good and general from a good angle that the judges often are better off watching the TV.
3. The lengths that the Chinese were prepared to go to enjoy success. The fabrication of passports for athletes, sentencing old women to hard labour for protesting that they were not paid for the compulsory purchase of their house, arresting people who went to the official protest area they had set-up, the forced clearance of residents from various areas and all of the other various issues that have arisen makes it questionable whether the decision to locate the games in China was a good one - despite the quality of the sport.
4. Selling a lot of tickets to sponsors who then don't turn up leaving half empty arenas while real fans can't get tickets. Why not re-sell any seats that are not filled 10 mins from the start.
1. The way that China approaches sport through the setting up of sports factories to mass produce athletes to compete, taking young children and putting them through a gruelling program until they are either the best of they break (physically or mentally). I am not bothered that the two Chinese gymnasts might have been under the age of 16 but rather when interviewed they admitted having not talked to their parents for over a year and not being home for 5 years. China seems to have missed the point, after all its not the winning but the taking part. Apparently after the star Chinese hurdler pulled out with an injury the state media was broadcasting reassurance that it was okay to still support him despite the fact that he had failed.
2. Some of the judging is set up to fail. By placing a judge in each corner of the ring/ mat so at least one will not see each punch /move/ throw and these leads to some wild inaccuracies in the scoring. The TV coverage is so good and general from a good angle that the judges often are better off watching the TV.
3. The lengths that the Chinese were prepared to go to enjoy success. The fabrication of passports for athletes, sentencing old women to hard labour for protesting that they were not paid for the compulsory purchase of their house, arresting people who went to the official protest area they had set-up, the forced clearance of residents from various areas and all of the other various issues that have arisen makes it questionable whether the decision to locate the games in China was a good one - despite the quality of the sport.
4. Selling a lot of tickets to sponsors who then don't turn up leaving half empty arenas while real fans can't get tickets. Why not re-sell any seats that are not filled 10 mins from the start.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
UK Olympic medal table
1 China Gold 46 Silver 15 Bronze 22 TOTAL 83
2 USA Gold 29 Silver 34 Bronze 32 TOTAL 95
3 Britain Gold 17 Silver 12 Bronze 11 TOTAL 40
4 Russia Gold 16 Silver 16 Bronze 19 TOTAL 51
US Medal Table.
1. United States Gold 29 Silver 34 Bronze 32 TOTAL 95
2. China Gold 46 Silver 15 Bronze 22 TOTAL 83
3. Russia Gold 16 Silver 16 Bronze 19 TOTAL 51
4. Britain Gold 17 Silver 12 Bronze 11 TOTAL 40
Interesting yet subtle difference. to show yourself in the best light.
1 China Gold 46 Silver 15 Bronze 22 TOTAL 83
2 USA Gold 29 Silver 34 Bronze 32 TOTAL 95
3 Britain Gold 17 Silver 12 Bronze 11 TOTAL 40
4 Russia Gold 16 Silver 16 Bronze 19 TOTAL 51
US Medal Table.
1. United States Gold 29 Silver 34 Bronze 32 TOTAL 95
2. China Gold 46 Silver 15 Bronze 22 TOTAL 83
3. Russia Gold 16 Silver 16 Bronze 19 TOTAL 51
4. Britain Gold 17 Silver 12 Bronze 11 TOTAL 40
Interesting yet subtle difference. to show yourself in the best light.
The A-Z of the great adventure
Jess came up with a really good idea and as a teacher I am used to borrowing/ stealing good ideas and adapting them for my own use so thank you Jess and next time I see you I will get the beers
A is for Airshow. The Chicago Airshow provided a big tourist event when I was beginning to flag even if the Blue Angels were anti-climactic.
B is for Beer. In 1908 a canal was dug to change the course of the Chicago River so it took all the pollution away from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River, when it got to St Louis it was then bottled and called Budweiser
C is for Commercialism. Everything in America is sponsored but my favourite was providing money to sponsor the fact the next TV program had less adverts then normal.
D is for Dogs on planes. In one airport the travel box had to go through the x-ray machine and will the dog was out it got loose and caused chaos.
E is for Environmentalism. The high price of petrol means that all the car adverts are not about how good the vehicle is but how efficient they are.
F is for Filipino Day - a rather lack lustre parade in San Francisco with a number of odd floats.
G is for Greyhound. I am glad that I noticed that the long distance coach was first come, first served as the people at the back of the queue did not get on as the bus was full and had to wait four hours for the next one.
H is for Honesty. The number of people asking me directions (with a broken sense of direction) or to take photos (usually wonky) was high. Must be the honest face.
I is for Information. After the loss of Internet through the damaged laptop I found that I was addicted to information especially when GB went from 2 to 11 gold medals and I could not find out who had won them.
J is for jogging. Jogging is good for you but a lot of people do it right next to main roads where pollution decreases its benefits somewhat.
K is for killing. In Chicago someone fired some shots into the air close to the hotel (within earshot) the police arrived swiftly and shot him dead. It did not make the news but the concierge told me about it.
L is for Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who approached me on three separate occasions asking questions like if god answers prayers and is life pre-determined?
M is for Mazda. The second hire car had a semi-automatic gear box which was much better and allowed me to choose when to change gear.
N is for Nathanael Starbuck - when away for a long period good books are needed and this series by the writer who created Sharpe were very good.
O is for Olympics. Glad to be back to BBC coverage.
P is for Phelps. Even after he had won eight gold medals Phelpsmania was in full swing. Three days after his final win what he had for breakfast was the first news story (seriously). They also tried to link his name to every situation so for instance Barack Obama was described as having to do a Phelps ( i have no idea what they meant either).
Q is for Quality. One of the best hotels provided free gin and tonics, another gives lifts to the airport or metro stops, a third had free afternoon tea. Also if you just arrive they will usually check you in anyway. The earliest I arrived was noon and they had a room ready.
R is for Richard the tour guide. A very amusing Brit who did the tour round LA and was an aspiring actor.
S is for Star. When in Hollywood Brooks and Dunn where getting their star on the sidewalk (no I had not heard of them either). Apparently to get a star you have to have been famous for five years and pay $15,000. Not as glamorous as it seems.
T is for Taxi Drivers. Why are you asking me where it is? You live here or are you taking me round the houses to inflate the fare?
U is for Undignified. Trying to take a large suitcase through a narrow turnstyle in a metro station and I pretty much got stuck and had to try and climb over the whole thing. Made me look like I was fare-dodging.
V is for Variety. I went by jet, turboprop, train, coach, car, bike, trolley (tram), trolleybus, metro, cable car, weird vertical tram thing, foot, and boat.
W is for Water. Tap dancing in water seems tricky and adds to the probability of slippage but they were very good.
X is for Xylophone. At a performance in Chicago they were using the Stradivarius of xylophones.
Y is for You are now arriving in Houston. No we were not, the attendant appeared to be on the wrong flight.
Z is for ZZZZZZ. If you are travelling from US to Europe then get the very last plane (9pm or later), board as the very last person and head for a bank of empty seats so you can lie down and sleep. Both times the plane has never been more than 25% full.
A is for Airshow. The Chicago Airshow provided a big tourist event when I was beginning to flag even if the Blue Angels were anti-climactic.
B is for Beer. In 1908 a canal was dug to change the course of the Chicago River so it took all the pollution away from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River, when it got to St Louis it was then bottled and called Budweiser
C is for Commercialism. Everything in America is sponsored but my favourite was providing money to sponsor the fact the next TV program had less adverts then normal.
D is for Dogs on planes. In one airport the travel box had to go through the x-ray machine and will the dog was out it got loose and caused chaos.
E is for Environmentalism. The high price of petrol means that all the car adverts are not about how good the vehicle is but how efficient they are.
F is for Filipino Day - a rather lack lustre parade in San Francisco with a number of odd floats.
G is for Greyhound. I am glad that I noticed that the long distance coach was first come, first served as the people at the back of the queue did not get on as the bus was full and had to wait four hours for the next one.
H is for Honesty. The number of people asking me directions (with a broken sense of direction) or to take photos (usually wonky) was high. Must be the honest face.
I is for Information. After the loss of Internet through the damaged laptop I found that I was addicted to information especially when GB went from 2 to 11 gold medals and I could not find out who had won them.
J is for jogging. Jogging is good for you but a lot of people do it right next to main roads where pollution decreases its benefits somewhat.
K is for killing. In Chicago someone fired some shots into the air close to the hotel (within earshot) the police arrived swiftly and shot him dead. It did not make the news but the concierge told me about it.
L is for Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who approached me on three separate occasions asking questions like if god answers prayers and is life pre-determined?
M is for Mazda. The second hire car had a semi-automatic gear box which was much better and allowed me to choose when to change gear.
N is for Nathanael Starbuck - when away for a long period good books are needed and this series by the writer who created Sharpe were very good.
O is for Olympics. Glad to be back to BBC coverage.
P is for Phelps. Even after he had won eight gold medals Phelpsmania was in full swing. Three days after his final win what he had for breakfast was the first news story (seriously). They also tried to link his name to every situation so for instance Barack Obama was described as having to do a Phelps ( i have no idea what they meant either).
Q is for Quality. One of the best hotels provided free gin and tonics, another gives lifts to the airport or metro stops, a third had free afternoon tea. Also if you just arrive they will usually check you in anyway. The earliest I arrived was noon and they had a room ready.
R is for Richard the tour guide. A very amusing Brit who did the tour round LA and was an aspiring actor.
S is for Star. When in Hollywood Brooks and Dunn where getting their star on the sidewalk (no I had not heard of them either). Apparently to get a star you have to have been famous for five years and pay $15,000. Not as glamorous as it seems.
T is for Taxi Drivers. Why are you asking me where it is? You live here or are you taking me round the houses to inflate the fare?
U is for Undignified. Trying to take a large suitcase through a narrow turnstyle in a metro station and I pretty much got stuck and had to try and climb over the whole thing. Made me look like I was fare-dodging.
V is for Variety. I went by jet, turboprop, train, coach, car, bike, trolley (tram), trolleybus, metro, cable car, weird vertical tram thing, foot, and boat.
W is for Water. Tap dancing in water seems tricky and adds to the probability of slippage but they were very good.
X is for Xylophone. At a performance in Chicago they were using the Stradivarius of xylophones.
Y is for You are now arriving in Houston. No we were not, the attendant appeared to be on the wrong flight.
Z is for ZZZZZZ. If you are travelling from US to Europe then get the very last plane (9pm or later), board as the very last person and head for a bank of empty seats so you can lie down and sleep. Both times the plane has never been more than 25% full.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
The Bean
In a park in the centre of Chicago is this piece of sculpture which reflects the skyscrapers that surround it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)