If It Takes A Village, Where Are The Villagers?

I watched a television show this week that made me cringe. Not in a small, mildly disconcerting way but in a what-the-hell-followed-by-outrage kind of way.

Gok Wan is back on the trail of positive body image again, this time with his show The Naked Truth which explores the issues surrounding teen body image in our society.


Source: pinterest

I like Gok and have enjoyed his other shows but to be honest, I was not sure about what appeared to be a bit of bubblegum psychology so when I chose to invest an hour of my time in this versus Holby City, The Fixer, The Exit List and Cowboy Builders, I was prepared to be a bit disappointed. 

(Actually having just read this list back, I do know why I chose it but I digress.)

Of the three stories featured, it was Paige's that made me see red. A gorgeous, slender 15 year old so obsessed by looking like the airbrushed photos online that she photoshops pictures of herself. The thinner thighs of websites like thinspiration (although having looked at the site, there are plenty of  'healthy' pictures too) and seeing a 'gap' between the tops of her legs were her holy grail and while their visit to see a real life fashion shoot (and the digital manipulation involved afterwards) seemed to do the trick, it disturbed me to think how this beautiful girl had arrived at these conclusions in the first place.


Source: pinterest

Gok's also out promoting his 1-hour Body Confidence sessions to the education community and while I whole-heartedly agree that this is an important investment in the self-esteem of our future generation, I wonder - aside from it being one hour in a whole year - how this can ever be enough. 

It seems to me that the current obsession with style over substance and the appeal of easy-celebrity has led to a loss of meaning in contributing to community and being proud of your work. Images in the media are insidious and further efforts to promote healthy bodies and un-touched pictures can only help. But doesn't the key to all of this start at home?

Back in September last year, Chris Lloyds' Wallbook Weekly Why Children Fail inspired a bit of a Gidday rant on a similar theme. If parents really are at their wit's end in knowing how to deal with this, then shouldn't part of the investment pie be directed here too? But then who decides what to 'teach' and how to 'measure' the outcome is a thorny issue at best. 

In response to my post back in September, some of my followers of the parental variety mentioned their strong belief that 'it takes a village to raise a child'. For me, a village starts with a sense of community. And the prevailing community for our teens is the online one.

Source: pinterest

Last year's riots in London shocked the world capturing image after image of violence and arrogant entitlement. But what it also showed was the power of social media.

So does the answer (or at least part of the solution) lie here?

Snow Stories...Fabulous Finchley

This is probably not the first snow post you will read today, nor is it likely to be the last you will stumble across particularly if you are reading anything about the UK. 

But I can't help it. I get all excited and Australian when the white stuff falls so I beg your pardon today if I seem unoriginal.

Last night's snow fall here in London has left 4-5cm of pristine whiteness over Fabulous Finchley as I discovered on opening the curtains this morning...

My snowy back garden

 ...so I quickly dressed, cleared the front path...

Not that I want to seem like a big girl or anything but this shovelling  snow sh*t is hard work!

 ...and set off to snap some of snowy Finchley.

A couple of inches covered the cars in the street - that's quite a bit of snow for Londoners. (I can hear some of my followers from colder climes scoffing about now).

I passed a few early on in my snowy shuffle that were committed to business as usual...

Determined local restaurant staff braving the elements...

...as was this mad jogger. Just silly behaviour really!

 ...but undeterred, I shuffled on until I reached my destination...

...and began to snap away.

Taken from the main gate above - I love the Narnia-esque quality of this shot (could that be Mr Tumnus up ahead?)

No tennis today...

...but plenty of action on the swings!

Families were out in force and it seemed that in every corner I beheld a flurry of activity...

There was much 'work-in progress' going on as well and even this poor pooch got caught up in the adventure of it all.

Doggone it! It looked much smaller before...

Maybe he should have paid better attention...

Helpful sign??

Anyway getting back to the action, it appeared that the park had been invaded by a few rather cool customers...

Hats off to the clever clogs who made this one!

Is it my turn on the swings yet?

Nice 'do'

Do you think this one's on the property ladder yet?

This seated cutie made me laugh out loud

Shrek in snow...love your work!

By now, all this shuffling about glove-less in the snow had developed me a yearning for a nice warming cuppa and the toasty cosiness of Gidday HQ so I headed for home...

Leaving Finchley's snowy playground

A fabulous splash of colour in the wintery day

Gorgeous architecture just around the corner

Almost home...

 ...and arrived, wide-eyed and happy and filled with that magical feeling that only a Winter Wonderland, and the anticipation of a steaming mug of hot chocolate, can bring.

Hope you find a little of your own magic this Sunday.

When Two Tribes Go To War...

I celebrated my 8 year anniversary in the UK on the 21st January. I have had many firsts here - broken bones, high teas, baking exploits, snowfalls, sub zero BBQs just to name just a few. But until last Sunday, I had never been to a football match here.

In Melbourne, the prevailing game is AFL and while I would never say I was a mad fan, I watched games sporadically on the telly, chatted avidly about the Footy Tipping around the water cooler at work and have been to the MCG twice - once to watch my beloved Brisbane Lions reign supreme on the last Saturday in September 2001 and again, to the traditional ANZAC Day match between Collingwood and Essendon in 2007 on one of my prodigal visits down under.

Since getting 'off the boat' in 2004, I have grown to enjoy a good game of soccer (as we call it), enjoying the World Cup/Euro matches from the comfort of my couch at home but had failed to develop either the inclination or the opportunity to sally forth for real. So when a friend got some great tickets for last Sunday's match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium, who was I to say no!?

Here at last! Emirates Stadium 29th January 2012

A little context first. My friend is an Arsenal supporter and this was the 4th round of the FA Cup (it said so on the program) so things were bound to get heated. His partner had not been particularly keen to attend so I got a guernsey by default (A-down-the-hill and I call that being an 'emergency handbag') so I felt compelled to band together with said friend in the Arsenal camp. But in any case, Emirates is the home ground for Arsenal and we were completely surrounded by the red and white so cheering for anything but a Gunners win was likely to be bad for my health. And at heart, I'm a wimp pragmatist.

Pre-match colours from the Gunners fans

Oh dear, fun over!

The match started and Work Friend was kind enough to give me a few pointers on the teams themselves and patiently answered my neophyte questions so that I could follow the action. I'm no soccer football expert but it wasn't long before I was muttering and shouting with the best of them. When I heard these immortal words pass my lips - What's he doing kicking it there when there's no-one forward? (I'll spare you the swearing) - I suspected I may have been converted.

At half time things were not looking good (Aston Villa 2-0 Arsenal) but two penalties early in the second half (converted from the boot of Robin van Persie and yes he's Dutch) levelled the score and before long Arsenal led 3-2.

Match just getting underway - after this I was too busy swearing watching to take pics

As the match progressed, the stadium was filled with chanting with my favourite being 'Who Are Ya?!' as forty odd thousand Gunners fans celebrated the equalising goal early in the second half. Unfortunately, match rivalry here spills over into a bit more vociferous argy bargy off the pitch and between that and the high ticket prices (£50+ per adult at least), I'm disappointed to say that football here does not have the same family feel as in Australia. 

Work Friend said he loved the tribalism of it and that's the perfect description. The atmosphere in the stadium was absolutely electric and given the chance, I would definitely go again.

But first things first: I believe Arsene Wenger is awaiting my post-match analysis...

Your 2012 Five A Day - February

Here we are in February, the month when that Mother o' mine will visit Gidday HQ and  I am fervently hoping for a little of the white stuff to fall, or the box of thermals and winter footwear I highly recommended she send across (rather than traipse around with them in Egypt for two weeks) will go to waste.

Recently I posted about getting back out on the dating scene and with all of that frisson and angst to look forward to, this month's Violent Veg musings could not be more apt...

Here's to a frisky February!

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Five A Day Back Catalogue
January