Chessington World of Adventures ejects parent for being embarrassing

Kids who object to their parents being “embarrassing” after stumping up £33 per teenager/adult and £22 per child to get into the “attraction” have been given free reign over the summer to call out, and in extreme cases eject, parents who show them up.

That means parents in a typical family of four, having paid up to £110 just to get in (and that’s before being ripped off at the burger/ice cream/cold drinks stands) could face ejection for:

1. Kissing or hugging their kids
2. Holding their kids’ hands
3. Treating their kids like babies
4. Shouting or telling their kids off in public
5. Telling their friends embarrassing stories about when they were younger
6. Trying to be cool
7. Daring to go on rides with their kids
8. Wearing embarrassing clothes
9. Calling out to their kids
10. Telling bad jokes

In fact, a press release for Chessington World of Adventures states that “A sign banning embarrassing behaviour is displayed on-park and whilst Chessington bosses have said that they won’t throw parents out for flouting the ban, they have briefed employees to point out any rule breakers in order to save children being left red-faced in public.”

That didn’t stop bosses having to apologise to a family when an overzealous junior employee tried to eject the embarrassing (read: doing their job as a) parent.

The news comes just a couple of months after problems at the theme park left visitors stranded on a monorail and residents in a large part of the surrounding area without power … twice in one week. Park management deny a capacity problem, but perhaps their time and energy would be better invested in improving the park instead of stopping parents from doing what they’re supposed to.

Kids that are easily embarrassed by their parents can always forego the expensive trip and stay at home instead.

Dolly Parton’s UK Imagination Library delivers its 100,000th book

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is celebrating the delivery of the 100,000th book through its UK programme.

Four year old Thomas Donkin from Wigtownshire received the very special delivery, which included a personal letter from Dolly herself, from postman Alan McColm this week. In her letter to Thomas Dolly explained: “I love books and the adventures they bring; and it is my hope that children everywhere would be able to enjoy the fun that books offer.”

Children in Wigtown were some of the first in the UK to become part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library – launched in the UK in December 2007 by the music star to encourage a love of reading in pre-school children. Its roll out in the UK built on the educational programmes resounding success in the US and Canada, where it has now delivered over 22 million books.

Thomas’ father Chris Donkin commented: “It’s a great scheme. We all look forward to the monthly arrival of Thomas’ books from the Imagination Library and share in enjoying the tales they contain. This month’s delivery was of course particularly special as it contained a letter from Dolly herself.”

Children in Wigtown have been receiving books through the scheme, which is part-funded and run by the organisers of the Wigtown Book Festival, since April 2008. Stena Line Wigtown Book Festival event spokeswoman Catherine Campbell said: “We are all absolutely delighted that a child from the Wigtown area received the 100,000th book, especially as it coincides with the start of this year’s annual book festival.”

“The festival runs 25th September to 4th October, with over 180 events taking place including a full children’s programme, so we’ll certainly be taking time to celebrate the book’s arrival.”

Since Dolly launched the library in the UK, the Imagination Library has been adopted by communities across the UK. Dolly Parton explained: It’s my dream that every child has a library of books which their parents can read to them from the moment they are born. I’m really excited that we’ve now shared 100,000 books with kids in the UK.”

Dolly Parton launched the scheme in her home county of Sevier, Tennessee, in 1996. The scheme works by local sponsors paying for children in their community to receive the books. In 2007 Rotherham Council became the first UK authority to join the Imagination Library, which is part of Ms Parton’s umbrella charity, the Dollywood Foundation, with more communities signing up in the past 18 months.

ImaginationLibrary.com

UK’s first ever Business Mum Week announced

This year sees the first Business Mum Week, a week of activities and meet ups across the UK. This whole week is dedicated to women who balance business with family life on a daily basis to ensure a better future for their families.

Business Mum Week will take place from Saturday the 3rd – 10th October. It is run by MumsClub, the online business club for mums, and supported by PR expert and author Antonia Chitty of Family Friendly Working.

The aims of the week are to:

• inspire more entrepreneurial mums to start a business from home,
• encourage business growth by providing business mums access to information and ideas,
• develop online and offline support through a national network of home-working Mumpreneurs.

Business Mum Week recognises the challenges such women face and the achievements they have already made by dedicating a corner of their busy family home to turn their business ideas into reality.

Activities are being planned across the UK including local meet-ups organised by current Mumpreneurs, a personal branding evening at Harvey Nicholls in Birmingham, workshops to provide information for starting family friendly businesses, and various other events to be announced. At all of these events, copies of ‘The Business Mums Journal’ will be freely available.

The key feature of the Week will be the inaugural Mumpreneur Annual Conference which will officially launch the week of activities. At the event on Saturday 3rd October at the City Inn, Birmingham, attendees will hear from experts in various fields who will pass on valuable information that will help both start ups existing businesses to flourish. There will be opportunities to network face to face with other women and the day will close with the winners of the 2009 Mumpreneur Awards being announced.

In the lead-up to Business Mum Week, MumsClub is inviting all Mumpreneur businesses to enter the free Mumpreneur awards. Nomination forms are available online now.

MumsClub founder, Jane Hopkins, said, “This is the perfect time to launch this business mum week. We are in a recession and women with families are looking for options. With so many reports of redundancies and the future potential for job losses, it has never been a more important time for families to have options. Being self-employed is the perfect way to combine family life with generating a second income into the home. Women now have the freedom to get paid to do something they love. Great for household finances, great for self esteem, great for the work-life balance. Starting up from home is low cost, low risk, and from a personal point of view, is incredibly rewarding.”

Antonia Chitty, of Family Friendly Working and head of PR for Business Mum Week said, “this is a great initiative and I’m happy to support it in any way I can to ensure more women with children are aware of the family friendly working options out there. This is a great way to both highlight the work of mum owned businesses and support the growth of more.”

easidream: a revelation for Sleep Deprived Parents

Ask any new parent what the most difficult thing they have to overcome is, and the majority of them will say sleep deprivation.

easidream is a clinically tested baby sleep aid that helps to ease the transition from womb to world by gently mimicking rocking sensations that baby experienced whilst still in the womb. This ‘womb experience’ helps to trigger a calming reflex in baby so reducing crying time and inducing quality sleep.

During trials, the use of easidream saw babies settle down to sleep much quicker and average crying times were reduced from 18 minutes to less than one minute.

It can be used from birth in almost any cot and helps baby establish a healthy sleep pattern that will benefit the whole family. easidream is the brainchild of mum of six Lynda Harding who came up with the idea after struggling to get her youngest son (now 7) to settle down to sleep.

The development of easidream has been a long process but now she is about to see all of her hard work and determination come true.

“easidream is an independent and retro-fitted sleep aid that fits snugly into a normal cot,” explained Lynda. “It works by stimulating the rocking feeling of being cradled by placing a pneumatic pad underneath the cots mattress. It also encourages babies to fall asleep on their backs, which is proven to be the safest sleeping position for babies under six months old.

When you are sleep deprived yourself you are tempted adopt high-risk methods of encouraging your baby to sleep such as lying them ‘front down’ or letting them sleep on the sofa or in bed with you. If used from day one easidream will allow your baby to settle straight into a healthy sleep pattern and no one needs to get over tired.”

How does it work?

A slim line ventilated platform fits under your baby’s cot mattress. Air tubing links this to a control unit that operates the functions. The platform can either rock gently from head to toe or roll gently from side to side. There is a timer for up to 45 minutes and a choice of 2 speed settings, one in time with mum’s resting heartbeat and a slower speed setting that can be used for weaning off at a later stage. The platform is pneumatically powered so there are no worries about anything electrical being in the cot. In the early stages of your baby’s life easidream can even be used in a moses basket. You just place the platform on the floor and place the basket on top.

A plush ‘dream’ sheep called Ewan can be attached to the bars of the cot by his velcro tail (or sit him by the basket). Ewan has a choice of four soothing heartbeat sound combinations plus a warm glowing pink light. The light can be activated at the same time as the sound and both last around 20 minutes.

Working together, the platform and ewan provide soothing motion with calming sounds and glow and in a short time you can create the perfect combination to help your baby drift off into a long and peaceful sleep.

Trials were carried out using babies and parents from a Hampshire nursery by university researchers from the Brighton School of Nursing and Midwifery. The sleep diaries that the parents kept revealed to researchers that the average crying time reduced dramatically and the time taken for babies to settle dropped, in some cases by 90 per cent.

easidream has already been shortlisted as a finalist at the Baby Product Association Concept Awards.

The following people / companies were also instrumental in bring easidream to market.

Maddison Design Ltd, of Fittleworth, West Sussex
GBE Designs Ltd, of Goring, West Sussex
Maggie Stewart, from the University of Brighton’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Available from the end of this month, priced around £249 for the easidream system and £24 for Ewan the dream sheep.

“Mummy friends” are best, finds new poll

Eight out of ten mums relied upon the support of “mummy friends” they made while pregnant or as a new mum, while four out of ten are still in contact with those mums up to ten years afterwards, according to a new survey by What’s On 4 Little Ones.

Over half of new mums made friends with others at mother and baby groups, while antenatal classes and introductions from other friends came in joint second place.

“I made some of my best friends when I was pregnant with my daughter Alice. Five years on, many of these are still firm friends and I’m sure we still will be when our children are having children of their own!” said Sam Willoughby, founder of Whats on 4 Little Ones and winner of the Practical Parenting Business Mum of the Year award.

“Taking part in local activities gave me the chance to meet other mums, share tips and advice and make lasting friendships. Plus Alice had the chance to have fun, meet other children and learn new skills too.”

British relationships suffering due to poor sleep

If sleepless nights are causing problems and arguments between you and your partner, you’re not alone.

A recent survey suggests that over a third of British couples argue because of sleep-related issues.

Research shows that two out of five people get less than six hours of sleep each night, leading to both health and relationship problems.

One in ten people are kept awake by their partner every night, while a quarter say they are woken up at least once a month.

The top five health conditions that cause arguments between couples at night are:

1. Back Pain
2. Restless leg syndrome
3. Night terrors
4. Nocturnal cramp
5. Teeth Grinding

One in five Brits have slept in a different room because of a night-time row and one in four of those polled suffers from sleep envy and are jealous of their partners restful nights sleep.

A third of people in the UK say they end up sleeping on the sofa after a night time argument, while one in three choose the spare bedroom. One in twenty Brits have even slept in the children’s bunk beds in order to get a restful sleep!

Other interesting revelations from the survey include:

• Over half of us are regularly too tired for sex, while 1 in 10 would go without sex in order to get a good nights sleep
• Nearly half (44 per cent) would have more sex if we didn’t feel so tired
• Spooning is the UK’s favourite sleeping position – over a third of British couples (38 per cent) doze off with the man spooning the woman
• Nearly 20 per cent of romantic Brits fall asleep holding hands with their partner
• Not everyone likes to snuggle up – nearly half of all couples (48 per cent) regularly sleep turned away from each other, on opposite sides of the bed
• 36 per cent of people admit to sleeping better on their own – one in twenty have separate beds every night

Solving Sleep Problems

If you are having sleep problems which are leading to problems in your relationship, whether you are not able to fall asleep, wake up too often, don’t feel well-rested when you wake up in the morning, or simply want to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep then try the following top tips put together by sleep expert Chris Idzikowski:

Here are the dos and don’ts to help you get better nights sleep

Do:

• Plan your night – follow a set routine each night that gives you time to relax
• Relax – Try having a warm bath or reading a book before bedtime
• De-clutter – Make your bedroom a clutter free, restful place, with soft lighting
• Invest – buy the best bed you can afford – the average person spends 25 years in their bed so it is essential that your bed is right for you and your partner
• Use the 20 minute rule – get up and rest somewhere else and do not return back to your bed until you feel sleepy
• Exercise regularly – just be careful not exercise too close to bed time as this can prevent the brain from relaxing quickly

Don’t:

• Try to fall asleep – Tell yourself to let go of being awake, rest your eyes and visualize yourself slowly sinking into bed
• Drink alcohol – alcohol cab make you restless and is a diuretic which means more trips to the bathroom at night
• Drink caffeine – this will stay in your system for six hours and act as a stimulant – try herbal or fruit tea as an alternative
• Eat a heavy or spicy meal less than 2 hours before bed – your body needs to rest and not be busy digesting
• Watch TV in bed – this will disturb your partner as well as stop your mind from relaxing
• Keep electrical components in your bedroom

For further tips or to complete the first ever interactive sleep personality quiz to identify how good your sleep is, visit www.goodsleepadvice.com

The survey was carried out by Crampex (the only over the counter product for muscle cramp at night) to highlight November’s Sleep Disturbance Month.

Survey: Flexible working still the number one priority for mums

The economic recession has not dented women’s desire for flexible working, with almost all working mums rating flexible working as “very important” to them, according to the annual survey by WorkingMums the UK’s leading jobs site for working mums.

Although significantly more women had been made redundant over the last year – up from 14% last year to 27% this year — over three-quarters [79%] of the 1,677 women surveyed said they needed flexible jobs.

When asked what they thought made for a family friendly employer, offering flexible hours for full time jobs came out top at 85%, just ahead of offering some homeworking for full time jobs. Offering part time work and flexibility around emergency cover or school holidays came next, followed by support for childcare. Way down the list came extended maternity pay, with just under a third [31%] considering this a sign of a family friendly employer.

The survey comes as Workingmums.co.uk launches its Top Employers platform, which showcases the organisations which are already benefitting from the skills and experience working mums have to offer because they are forward thinking in offering the kind of family friendly policies which mums are demanding.

Carole Willsher, recruitment and diversity specialist at British Gas, said, “British Gas is delighted to sponsor the WorkingMums survey. We are very interested to note the high value placed on flexible working by employees. This is something we have made great strides to reflect in our own award-winning family friendly working practices. British Gas offers flexible working to all employees at all levels and 60% work flexibly, over half of these being men.”

The survey ranks the kind of flexible working which working mums favour:

• Flexi-time was the most popular form of flexible working, with 80% rating this as important to them
• Over half [54%] wanted some homeworking.

Despite their overwhelming desire for flexible work, there was little change from last year in the number of women saying they had been forced to take a career break due to problems around finding work that fit with their family life. Thirteen per cent had taken time out of their career because they couldn’t juggle work and family life or felt their job lacked the flexibility they needed.

Although three quarters of women [76%] said their employers were supportive, the number who said their employer was not supportive has stuck at 24%.

Many women said they had considered setting up their own business as a way around the flexibility problem, showing that employers who miss out on the experience and skills of working mums could risk losing them or, even, facing them as competition. Some 45% said they had looked into this option.

There were far fewer working mums working full time this year. Only 24% worked full time and 60% did part-time jobs. The number earning less pro rata than when they went on maternity leave remained the same at 53%, suggesting many women had taken less challenging jobs in order to get the flexibility they required. Moreover, more than half [54%] would accept a less well paid job in return for flexibility with 40% prepared to consider this option.

There were still significant numbers of women who didn’t know about the extension of flexible working to parents of children under 16 – 32% said they didn’t have any idea about this – and 64% didn’t know that they are entitled to up to 10 Keeping In Touch Days [KIT Days] during their maternity leave so they can go into the office and get updated on developments. Just over a fifth [11%] actually used KIT Days.

There also appeared to be a reluctance on women’s part to discuss flexible working options before going on maternity leave with nearly half [48%] saying they hadn’t had a conversation with their employer about returning to work flexibly prior to taking their maternity leave.

Nevertheless, 83% said having some flexibility in their job would help them to return. Forty-nine per cent said they would favour a staggered return, with their hours increasing gradually as they settled back into work. Around four fifths [79%] said having some degree of homeworking would help them to work full time.

Of those mums who were not working, 73% perceived lack of appropriate flexible jobs as a barrier to them going back to work. This was a rise of 10% on last year’s figure.

• 72% felt lack of available flexible jobs was a problem
• Over half [55%] found childcare costs an impediment
• 30% rated lack of confidence as a big issue.

However, 71% of those in work felt their work was fairly or very flexible. The overwhelming reason for going back to work was money with 93% citing this as a reason, but 72% wanted to work for their own self esteem and 83% enjoyed their job.

Gillian Nissim, founder of WorkingMums.co.uk, said, “This year’s survey shows that flexible working is top of working mums’ agenda and will not go away. It is the key issue that employers must grapple with if they want to retain the kind of skills offered by working mums. Many of our candidates have over 15 years’ experience in their career fields and a significant number have management experience. The recession has not reduced the urgency of this issue for working parents and employers who want to be prepared for the eventual upturn in the economy would do well to listen to their voices rather than risk losing them to more forward-thinking rivals.”

CBBC goes “Inside Life”

CBBC will go behind the scenes of the BBC Natural History Unit’s landmark new series, Life, to find out just what it takes to get footage of the world’s most extraordinary wildlife.

CBBC scoured the country in search of 10 secret agents to embark on 10 fact-finding assignments across the UK to report back to the Life team.

The budding naturalists set to work on their assignments but what they don’t know is a secret mission awaits and they will each be sent on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

As the CBBC agents head off to the four corners of the globe the excitement begins to show as the challenge of the mission sets in. From Alaska to Madagascar, getting up close and personal with polar bears and hands on with lemurs, the CBBC agents get to work alongside the world renowned Natural History Unit as they endeavour to get the perfect shot.

This epic adventure offers a chance of a lifetime for the 10 agents who all keep a video diary and report back their exploits, all with the same goal: to find out what it takes to get the shot and capture the moment as they take the CBBC audience on their journey Inside Life.

Inside Life is ten half-an-hour programmes narrated by Barney Harwood.

Look below for full details of each programme and interview with each “secret agent”:

Polar Bears

Agent – Louise
AKA – Lou
Age – 14
Destination – Alaska, USA
Mission – Film polar bears in the freezing Arctic

Lou loves adventure and is set the challenge of getting top survival tips for the Life team to help them survive filming in the Arctic. She has no idea when she meets a real arctic explorer that she is about to become one herself in pursuit of polar bears in the freezing cold winds of Alaska.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
It has definitely made me more aware of the world and just how fragile our environment is. When I saw the Arctic ice melting with my own eyes, instead of just reading about it, it became much more real to me.

What was your scariest moment?
We had a panicky moment when a polar bear decided to investigate us, and we had to dash into the truck, but I wasn’t really scared because I was so excited to see it so closely! My scariest was probably the flight from Fairbanks to Kaktovic, which was in a tiny old 20-seater plane. It was really bumpy and my ears were very painful!

What was your most exciting moment?
Landing in Kaktovic – I looked out of the window and I saw complete whiteness, then as we got lower I started to see individual pieces of ice floating on the sea, and that is when it really hit me that I was actually going to land, in the Arctic! There were polar bears on the runway when we landed, and that was when I saw them for the first time, it was incredible.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
Oh, the amount of camera equipment you need to take to film polar bears in the Arctic for two weeks, six airport trolleys loaded higher than me!

Kimodo Dragons

Agent – Isobel
AKA – Izzy
Age – 14
Destination – Komodo Island, Indonesia
Mission– Find and track Komodo Dragons

Izzy’s mission takes her to London Zoo where she learns how to spot tracks and signs of the komodo dragon from their resident expert keeper. Izzy will need her wits about her as she faces numerous challenges in what it takes to be be able to get that shot.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
It has made me aware of how many different opportunities the world has to offer and how big it actually is. It also made me very aware of how fragile some of the world’s ecosystems are, particularly because of the terrible damage we saw to the coral reefs.

What was your scariest moment?
At one point Doug (the cameraman) was making me run along a track to get a shot he wanted, several komodo dragons must have heard this and thought it was a deer running because we were soon surrounded by three large adult dragons looking for a meal. I was the meal. I was terrified.

What was your most exciting moment?
It was all totally amazing. There are so many, while coral reef swimming we spotted a family of clown fish living in a huge anemone, seeing wild dragons in their natural environment and waking up on my 12th birthday on the top deck of the Pearl Fisher to see the moon set and the sun rise over a tropical island.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
The monkeys on Rinca Island catch the burrowing crabs by dangling their tails into the burrows and pulling out the crabs as if they were fishing.

Gibbons

Agent – Bryony
AKA – Bryony
Age – 12
Destination – Khao Yai, Thailand
Mission – Track gibbons and set up a tree platform to film them

Bryony is given the task of testing out a new filming platform to report back to the Life team. Her head for heights is put on trial when she finds out she is off to Thailand to track and film gibbons in the giant rainforest trees. Scaling the dizzy heights to film gibbons swinging through the jungle canopy and she uncovers some harsh realities on a visit to the local gibbon sanctuary.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
It was my first time in front of real television cameras and I really enjoyed working with the camera crew. I was reminded just how important team work is, and the experience also made me more patient, as I had to repeat things for the camera just to make sure everything was perfect. I discovered just how hard it really is to work in TV, but it definitely has not put me off!

What was your scariest moment?
I don’t get scared of very much, but I have to say that the first time I climbed a tree (in Bristol) and reached the top, it truly was frightening. Surprisingly, even though the trees in Thailand were higher I was less scared climbing. I had great trust in Tim and Pam (production team), so found the whole thing much less scary! As for the animals, none of them scared me, not even the tiger that had been trapped in a cage all its life, you would think it would have scared me going so close up to it, but you could see that it was really very friendly.

What was your most exciting moment?
Definitely revealing the banner with my overseas mission. I had absolutely no clue what was coming and the moment I read it my heart literally skipped a beat! When I climbed the tree in Thailand and saw (even after all those weeks that the camera crew had been out there and got no footage) a family of gibbons, which was what (after all), the whole experience was for.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
It wasn’t very nice but the most interesting thing that I learnt was about the poaching of gibbons and wild animals for food or money. It was horrible to see just how bad things were, especially the bad treatment of animals that were really gentle and wouldn’t hurt a fly. It was definitely interesting, just not very nice.

Garter Snakes

Agent – Matt
AKA – Matty
Age – 14
Destination – Manitoba, Canada
Mission – Film mass emergence of snakes with a thermal camera

Reptile mad Matt is sent on a mission to investigate how the RAF use thermal cameras to find people and animals, what he doesn’t know is that his knew found skills will be put to the test. Every year, deep in the heart of Canada, thousands of snakes come wriggling out of their dens and Matt’s new skills will be used to reveal some unusual cold blooded garter snake behaviour.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
Since I’ve come back from Canada I feel like a different person, I’m much more confident at doing things than I was, and I want to take part in things much more as well. I’ve been on holiday to Portugal where I have been looking at lizards and snakes and following their tracks in the sand.

What was your scariest moment?
There were no scary moments just enjoyable and exciting ones, that make the adrenalin pump through your veins and makes you want to do it again and again.

What was your most exciting moment?
There were loads of exciting moments but the best were handling the red sided garter snakes, going up in the helicopter and walking around the zoo in Canada looking at all the different animals especially the ones I hadn’t seen or heard of before.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
One of the most interesting things I saw was the red sided garter snakes side-winding on the snow, another interesting thing was the thermal imaging camera and how it picked up the smallest amount of heat through the undergrowth. The White buffalo was another interesting sight and I enjoyed the story about its history.

Frigate Birds

Agent – Gregory
AKA – Greg
Age – 13
Destination – Tobago, West Indies
Mission – Film Frigate birds from a helicopter

Console-ace agent Greg will need all his gaming skills to capture the tricky shots necessary for the Life team. Using the latest aerial filming equipment from Hollywood it’s up to Greg to film frigate birds from a helicopter.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
Inside Life has changed my approach towards animals and their habitats. It’s shown me how different species treat each other and the world around them. It’s given me an insight into how the parents treat their young compared to other species of life.

What was your scariest moment?
My scariest moment of the experience definitely has to be when I and the film crew were reporting with Steve on a huge slope next to a frigate bird’s nest because either side of us there was a huge drop down to the rocky shore.

What was your most exciting moment?
My most exciting moment was when I went up in a helicopter, high above Tobago. It was my first time in a helicopter and it was the most amazing experience.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
Just learning about how cameramen work their equipment was incredible for me. Getting to watch them in action I see how much hard work and the extreme lengths that cameramen go to for the right shot. They go where no one has ever gone before and dare to do what no one has ever done before.

Fish Frenzy

Agent – Sam
Age – 14
Destination – Patagonia, South America
Mission – Find and film a giant bait ball

Sam is packed off to South Wales in search of expert advice on spotting dolphins in a bid to help the life team film a bait ball (shoal of fish) out at sea. Spanish speaking Sam has no inkling that his language skills will be needed to complete his assignment in Patagonia.

How has your experience reporting for inside life changed you?
I used to watch nature programs like Planet Earth, and I found them breathtakingly amazing but I didn’t realise just how much it took to capture five seconds. Inside Life has opened my eyes to wildlife in a way I couldn’t have possibly imagined, I thought I knew lots about wildlife but I was barely scraping the surface!

What was your scariest moment?
It was scary when we went up in a tiny four-seater plane to look for whales along the coastline. The takeoff was one of the scariest moments, and I was holding on to my seat for dear life and it didn’t help that the wind was blowing us off course! However the views from up there were amazing and I realised this was a once in a lifetime experience and I tried to enjoy every moment – no matter how turbulent.

What was your most exciting moment?
There are so many moments – when we came face to face with amazing animals on the trip, but for me, the most exciting moment was when we heard that there was a whale in the bay. We ran outside and there was a crowd of people all rushing to catch sight of the whale and take pictures, this made me realise how important Life and Inside Life really are, they will change people’s perspective and views on nature and wildlife altogether, for the better.

Tell us something interesting you learnt?
While in Patagonia we were told of a Southern Right Whale they had found earlier that year with a big harpoon in its side. They wanted to remove the harpoon to give the poor whale some relief and also try to discover who had committed this awful crime. When they inspected the harpoon they discovered that it was really old and rusty and realised that the whale was over 150 years old!

Tigers

Agent – Scarlett
Age – 12
Destination – Bandhavgarh, India
Mission – Record the sound of tigers in the wild

Getting up close and personal is a must to capture the stunning sound of tigers that the Life team require. Scarlett has never been abroad let alone come face to face with wild tigers. Her mission to India includes recording the alarm call sound of the animals that share the forest with these predators.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
When I found out about the mission in India, I was a bit dumbstruck because it came out of nowhere and I couldn’t believe it was going to happen to me. The whole experience has made me more independent, self confident and aware of different our worlds are – India is a very interesting and very hot country!

What was your scariest moment?
The scariest moment was definitely coming across a giant bull elephant when we were trying to film the tigers. I am frightened to death of elephants and they are so huge in real life you just don’t think they are going to be that big so when I saw it my heart kind of froze.

What was your most exciting moment?
There were a few really exciting moments, flying in a plane for the first time, seeing my first tiger up close, out and about in the wild, and seeing the Taj Mahal, it truly is one of the wonders of the world.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
Tigers are even more beautiful in the wild than in captivity and soon no one will be able to see them like this if we keep taking away their habitat.

Rock Climbing Fish

Agent – Jacob
AKA – Jake
Age – 12
Destination – Hawaii, USA
Mission – Film fish climbing up a waterfall

Jacob is an expert climber and jumped at the chance to check out specialist kit used by the life team. Little does Jacob know that his research will take him to Hawaii on the trail of this remarkable fish, known as a Gobie, with some interesting ocean encounters on the way, and an overactive volcano.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
Taking part in the series has changed the way I see TV, as there is lots of work involved and lots of planning. I really enjoyed working as part of the production team and would love to do something like that in the future. I really enjoyed all technical stuff especially the cameras.

What was your scariest moment?
We had to go out diving at night, so that we could see the manta rays feeding, and it was the scariest part because it was pitch black and you really couldn’t see anything.

What was your most exciting moment?
I hadn’t really seen manta rays before apart from at aquariums in tanks and they look so small. When you see them in the wild they are humungous and swimming all around you it was so exciting.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
Before I went on the mission I had never heard of it before and I genuinely didn’t believe that gobies could climb until I saw it, and they really do climb up waterfalls, they do it with a sucker underneath their tummy.

Bahamas Reef

Agent – James
Age – 15
Destination – Bahamas, The Caribbean
Mission – Film the sinking of a wreck to form an artificial reef

Gadget fanatic James is sent on an exercise to test out an underwater filming kit. He has no clue that he’ll be using it for real in the Bahamas on his mission to sink a wreck onto the sea bed and turn it into a reef. That is if he can learn to scuba dive first.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
Overall, it was a truly amazing and unforgettable experience, and I’ve gained a lot of confidence. Learning to dive made me more aware of life under the sea and also gave me and my Dad a new hobby.

What was your scariest moment?
My scariest moment was when I had to dive for the first time, it’s not as easy as it looks!

What was your most exciting moment?
It was really exciting when I watched the footage of the boat sink because it meant that all of my hard work and preparation had been worth it and made that moment possible.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
Whilst I was in the Bahamas I realised that there is so much life underwater and so much more exploring to do.

Madagascar Lemurs

Agent – Billy
AKA – Bill
Age – 14
Destination – Madagascar, Indian Ocean
Mission – Find ring-tailed lemurs behaving badly!

Bill heads to Woburn Safari Park where he is greeted by some cheeky lemurs and their keeper. His assignment is to research their behaviour, but he has no idea his mission won’t be complete until he arrives in Madagascar! The Life team need to track down and film a group of lemurs behaving badly, and Billy is determined to catch the naughty primates red handed.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
It’s the first time that I have been anywhere like Madagascar – it was an amazing experience, the wildlife and the sights and smells it was all really exciting. I really want to travel more, see the world, and see animals in their natural environment.

What was your scariest moment?
The very first time I went to the reserve was pretty scary, because the lemurs were all running around freely. I’d never been so close to wildlife and it took a while for me to get used to them being around me but when I got used to it, it was really interesting to see them.

What was your most exciting moment?
The most exciting part of my trip to Madagascar was when we went up to a peak, near the city; we could see right across the island and the views were amazing!

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
I really enjoyed learning about the country, because Madagascar is unique plants and animals that aren’t found anywhere else in the world.

PhotoBox & ChildLine 2009 Young Photographer of the Year

PhotoBox has partnered with the NSPCC and their ChildLine service to support the Child’s Voice Appeal, which aims to answer every child’s cry for help. With this competition PhotoBox will create a platform for young people to celebrate their talent and passion for photography while raising money for a great cause.

The competition launched on September 8th and aims to capture the world of young people through their own eyes. It will be judged by an expert panel including renowned photographers, Annabel Williams and Charlie Waite along with senior representatives from NSPCC and PhotoBox.

Children are encouraged to enter via youngphotographer.photobox.com and their photographs will be grouped under four age categories – under 8 yrs, 9-12 yrs, 13-15 yrs or 16-18 yrs with different money can’t buy prizes for each.

Prize details for each category:

• Under 8yrs – tickets to the premiere of the new Disney film UP for a family of four on Sunday 4th October 2009
• 9-12yr old – tickets to the premiere as above
• 13-15 – a private screening of Disney’s ‘UP’ for winner and 50 of their friends
• 16-18 – a one to one photography masterclass with Charlie Waite
• Eight runners up; £100 credit to spend at PhotoBox

Some of the prizes have kindly been donated by Disney Pixar, which celebrates the release of its latest 3D animated Blockbuster; UP, landing in cinemas on October 9th.

All competition winners, runners-up and other highly commended entries will win a photo book featuring all winning images. This photo book will also be available to buy at PhotoBox to help raise money for the NSPCC.

PhotoBox UK, Managing Director, Mark Chapman said, “We want to engage with young people to celebrate their passion for photography. We believe we can raise awareness of a remarkable and serious cause by allowing young people to inspire and motivate us with their diversity and talent through photos. We are proud to partner with the NSPCC in this aim.”

Head of Corporate Partnerships at the NSPCC, Tracy Griffin said, “A picture paints a thousand words and for many, an image can express so much more than what can be said. A photographic competition fits in very well with our Child’s Voice Appeal, which aims to answer every child’s cry for help. All funds raised through the photo book from the competition will go towards the NSPCC’s Helpline and ChildLine so that more calls for help can be answered and more unheard voices can be listened to.”

The competition closes on 29th September, with the winners announced on the 1st October.

ERGObaby introduces the Heart2Heart Infant Insert

ERGObaby has unveiled its newest product, the Infant Insert Heart2Heart, an innovative design with cushioning at the back and bottom to support the natural curvature of a baby’s developing spine.

The ERGObaby carrier, when used with the new Infant Insert Heart2Heart, enables parents to use only one carrier for all the years of a baby’s growth, and keeps parents close to their baby — all while being HandsFree.

ERGObaby USA, Inc. was created seven years ago when Karin Frost, owner and designer, needed a comfortable and supportive baby carrier for her own son. The ERGObaby carrier is now distributed all over the world and offers an entire line of products that supports babies and parents in a loving and attached way. In addition to the Infant Insert Heart2Heart, six new carriers are being introduced at the ABC Kids Show in Las Vegas, as well as several new accessories.

“We are so excited to bring these products to market for the benefit of new babies, and to support parents who want to carry their babies in a comfortable way,” said Karin Frost. “Our ultimate goal is to educate and promote baby carrying internationally.”

ERGObaby has worked hard to ensure that the design of the new ERGObaby Infant Insert Heart2Heart supports the development of newborn babies. ERGObaby has researched the available expert opinions and analyses regarding baby carrying and physical development of the newborn baby. Based on this research ERGObaby has designed the ERGObaby Infant Insert Heart2Heart to position the newborn baby in a way that experts agree is conducive to its proper development. And, as always, ERGObaby has taken into account the comfort of the parent or caregiver of the newborn baby.

ERGObaby has received numerous awards, including the iParenting Outstanding Product, Parenting Magazine’s Top 20 Products in 20 Years, JPMA Safe Product Award, and ShapeYou.com’s Top Gear and Great Gear of the Year. ERGObaby has also received numerous celebrity endorsements.

Costs just $25 and is available now. Product page

Survey: Busyness and lack of time endangering close relationships

64% of people don’t feel that they give their close relationships enough time according to a new survey published today

The busyness of modern life is taking its toll on our relationships, according to a new survey released today. Many of the 1,000 people interviewed for the Great Relationships Survey admitted that lack of time was the greatest threat to their relationships.

• 64% don’t feel that they give their close relationships enough time
• 44% see their best friends only once a month or less
• 63% feel regularly stressed or tired
• 75% agree that there is never enough time to get through the things they need to do each day
• 28% spend more than 45 hours at work each week
• 14% don’t take at least one day off from work
• 97.5% admit their relationships could be improved

These are just some of the comments from respondents asked about the greatest threats to their relationships:

“Time and prioritising who to spend time with. And too much on the “to-do” list.”

“Time (not enough) + children (third on the way) = tiredness and busyness.”

“Trying to fit too many people in. Not seeing friends enough so that we never get past the ‘catching up phase’ and actually just ‘hang out’. I want to live my life with my friends, not just tell them about life when I see them!”

Relationships consultant and former BBC journalist, Sarah Abell, who compiled the survey for her book “Authentic: Relationships from the Inside Out” said, “Long working hours, the demands of parenting, never-ending ‘to-do’ lists, household chores, overflowing inboxes and the pressures to have it all, do it all and look fantastic are causing many of us to feel stressed.”

“The problem is we can’t have great relationships if we are too stressed, tired or busy. We can fool ourselves that a slower day IS coming, that children only need quality time, that busyness is an OK excuse for not seeing our friends, that our spouse (if we have one) will understand if we are too tired (again) to have sex or that we’ll feel better once we’ve had a holiday. But the truth is life is not going to change unless we make the choice to do things differently.”

In her book, Sarah Abell identifies three different attitudes towards time; the engines, the anchors and the sailing boats.

1. The engines – are always busy. Their mantras are ‘I’m so tired’ or ‘Not now – I’m busy’. They are always on the go and hardly ever relax. They feel driven to keep going and believe that if they don’t do whatever needs doing – it won’t get done. If they don’t feel stressed themselves – those close to them often do! Many engines find delegating difficult. Some engines are compelled by circumstance to be so busy but others are driven by some internal motor. They find stillness uncomfortable and feel time is being wasted if they aren’t achieving something. Engines often need help to have fun, relax and to learn how to prioritise their time – separating the urgent from the important. On the plus side engines make things happen and keep the show on the road!
2. The anchors – prefer to take life easy. Perhaps rather too easy! They tend to be much more passive or lazy than your average person. They enjoy relaxing, having fun and try and get away with the minimum work or chores. Their mantras are ‘I’ll do it later’ and ‘Can’t you just chill?’. Some anchors just feel entitled to an easy life and don’t see why they should exert themselves. Others don’t want to push themselves forward because they are worried of failure and believe not trying is better than having a go and getting it wrong. Anchors often need encouragement to take the initiative or lend a hand. However, on the plus side they can help engines learn how to take a more relaxed approach to life.
3. The sailing boats – have a better work/life balance. They understand the times to be busy but also appreciate when to let go and enjoy a slower pace. They have healthier boundaries and are able to say ‘no’ when they have to. However, they are also happy to say ‘yes’ to a demand or request if they think they can do it. Sailing boats are often the people who have looked at their priorities and decided where they will invest their time, energy and money. They make sure their most important relationships get the best of them – not just the dregs left after every thing else. (Jesus was the classic example of a sailing boat!)

There’s no such thing as the average Joe Bloggs…

Size is a big issue for 21st Century boys

Female body shapes have long been the subject of analysis and debate, with women from all corners of the world comparing their figures to a pear, apple or string bean. Now, for the first time a boys clothing specialist aims to uncover the truth about the male physique.

Online retailer Joe Bloggs Clothing, is launching a pioneering study, that will delve into the unchartered territory of boys figures, the results of which promise to revolutionise sizing for boys aged 7-16 years old.

The iconic brand will survey 5,000 boys to discover the average height, waist and inside leg measurements for each age group, in a bid to reveal the shape of the 21st Century boys.

Joe Bloggs’ PR and Marketing Director Bushra Ahmed commented, “Joe Bloggs has been a successful boys brand for over 20 years, during that time fashion has changed as boys aged 7-16 years old have become more style conscious than ever before.

“We also know that body shapes have changed dramatically, there’s no such thing as the average Joe Bloggs anymore! As our campaign photograph demonstrates, 15 year-old boys come in all shapes and sizes, so therefore the way we size our clothes must reflect that.

“We will be the first clothing experts to survey this age group and get to the bottom of the sizing issue, making it easier for boys to buy clothes and look good.”

The Photograph

From left to right: Otis (6ft 2inches), Tim (5ft 7inches), Jordan (4ft 11inches) These three boys prove that there’s no such thing as the average Joe Bloggs, all aged 15-16, but very different in size!

The Survey

If you’re a boy aged 7-16 years old, or your son is, then you can take part in this national survey simply by logging onto joebloggsclothing.co.uk. Every boy that takes part will be entered into a free prize draw and could win one of the hundreds of Joe Bloggs prizes on offer.

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