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10 things we didn't know before the 35th week of 2008

1. Twenty-three wedding cakes were made for the nuptials of Charles and Diana.
2. That third brake light, the one in the rear window, is called a chimsil.
3. Aircraft oxygen systems have just about 12 minutes worth of reserves.
4. And when deployed, the oxygen flow can be so light that passengers can be confused into thinking something is wrong, and pulling oxygen masks from the ceiling.
5. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can be even more painful.
6. Most people have an above average number of feet.
7. Shetland is the fattest part of the UK.
8. There are more than 150 books with the "...before you die" premise in their titles.
9. Life really does imitate art.
10. Almost a third of BT payphones have been removed in the past six years.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Create Not Hate

Is a new initiative set up by Quiet Storm.

The idea: to work with young people affected by violence, specifically gun and knife crime, helping them to envision creative solutions to the situations they find themselves in, and empowering them to put these solutions into practise...so demonstrating to society the untapped potential they have to offer, and maybe inspiring them to pursue a career in the creative industries as well.

Why? Because it's better to do something than just talk about the problem.

To kick things off, we ran a competition with kids at Lambeth Academy (close to where Billy Cox was shot last year), who were asked to write a short film about the consequences of gun crime. Throughout the process, those taking part where mentored by Lambeth-born QS founder and CD Trevor Robinson, and other QS creatives.

The winning script, 'A mother's Tear' was written by Jaron Williams and Alimur Rahman, with QS then producing and directing the film with their input (because we felt it was important to make this more than just a theoretical class room exercise).

You can see it on the CnH website in a bit more hi-def, or over at Youtube...

Here's a news report from Sky...

Given the interest generated, and doors opened, by actually doing something, new projects and opportunities are stacking up, so watch this space.

But we are always on the look out for more help and involvement...

• PROJECTS: key to CnH is having live projects to work on, things that will actually get made. So if you can provide a 'canvas' (metaphorically or even literally) upon which kids can develop creative solutions to the challenges they face, let us know.
• DONATIONS: some projects will come with funds attached. Others won't. So if you have money (charitable donations always welcomed!), time, or practical skills to offer, again let us know. For instance, we couldn't have made this film without crew, editors etc. giving time for free.
• MENTORS: when it comes to film or print, we are well within our comfort zone when it comes to working directly with kids. But if we start to run multiple projects, we will need more mentors. And there may well be opportunities in areas such as fashion design or architecture which definitely need specialist involvement. So you know what to do.

Anyway, all very exciting. And a nice change from just selling stuff.

10 things we didn't know before the 34th week of 2008

1. Misheard song lyrics are known as mondegreens.
2. The Banana Splits theme tune is very similar to reggae classic Buffalo Soldier.
3. Clouds can be breast-shaped.
4. And thunderclouds are so menacingly dark because they are four to five miles (6.4 to 8km) thick.
5. A 72oz steak is about the size of a large telephone directory. And since 1960, 8,000 people have managed to eat one - plus all the trimmings - in under an hour.
6. DNA from 3,000-year-old skeletons can be matched to living descendents.
7. Jerry Springer, the American talkshow host, was born in a London Tube station during World War II.
8. Some chemotherapy drugs are made from yew tree clippings.
9. The Queen no longer sends telegrams to those turning 100.
10. The rock hyrax - a modestly proportioned rodent - is the closest living relative to the elephant.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Beautiful British Columbia

(Elmine)

As this summer marks Josh's transition from the cosy realms of primary eduction to the harsh realities of secondary life, we decided it was a good time to have a bit of a blow out hols to celebrate. Hence the last 3 weeks spent enjoying the delights of British Columbia (Canada's most westerly state, for the geographically challenged out there).

And because I know you're all dying to hear what we got up to, here's a potted summary…

Vancouver:

• Picked up the Dodge Avenger - OK to drive (although we often found ourselves begging for manual when driving in the mountains), but Josh was happy as he thought it looked a bit like something out of Need for Speed.
• Kicked off with a leisurely cycle around rather huge Stanley Park.
• Then tried hanging off the Capilano Suspension Bridge and tree canopy walk, whilst enjoying an 'authentic rain forest experience'…a recurring phrase of the holiday.
• Climate fact: on the coast at least, BC is taken up primarily by the last remaining major tract of temperate rain forest - amazing, but by definition wet. And this wasn't one of their better summers, so we felt right at home!

Whistler:

• Highway 9, the Sea to Sky Highway, and only credible route between Vancouver and Whistler, managed to suffer a massive 'size of small houses' rock slide the evening before we were meant to travel.
• Bit of a national embarrassment judging from the news, given the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler winter Olympics, and the concerns voiced by the Olympic top bods about said road.
• Only alternative was the 7 hour 'long way round', so off we went.
• A beautiful drive who wouldn't have made otherwise, and tho busier than usual, still practically deserted. But the roads were in an appalling state (so no wonder the sky fell into the sea on highway 9!)
• Top hotel tip - if you want cheap luxury, go 'off season' to a ski resort (nice!)
• First up, zip-lining down thru the rain-forest on wires as long as the Eiffel Tower, 200ft over white water ravines. Do it if you get the chance.
• Then a spot of horse riding. All finished off with some canoing - including a few rather sticky moments involving beaver dams.
• We were so busy, in fact, we didn't even make it up to the top of a mountain.
• But I did fit in a 5k run - seriously NOT to be recommended at altitude.
• Then, after a mere 4 days (and showing that national embarrassment is a powerful motivator), highway 9 was miraculously (genuinely if you look at the pictures) reopened, so it was off to Vancouver Island for the next leg of our journey.

Victoria:

• Pot capital of the world apparently (although a lot of places we went thru laid claim to be world capital of something).
• We were only there for a day, but what a gloriously sunny one it was.
• And, it transpires, Victoria (as state capital) was hosting BC's 150th anniversary that very day.
• Loads of events, big concert, fly by from the Snowbirds (Canada's Red Arrows), and speeches from the Canadian PM (inc booing - glad to see we're not the only ones! Not sure why tho - any hints Canadian readers?).

Tofino:

• As far west as you can go pretty much.
• A national park. Miles of sandy beaches. And we were in a log cabin 100m from the water. Nice.
• And what star fish and sea anemones - never seen such big ones in situ.
• We managed to pull ourselves away form the sand to do some sea kayaking...but 3 hours was a tad tiring!

Port McNeill:

• Wilderness central, with not much of anything in the town itself.
• But amazing views and a lovely B&B (thanks Joan).
• Went whale watching…but saw no whales sadly.
• Although we did have 20 or so porpoises racing with the boat, which was cool.
• Took a walk thru bear infested woods which was a little scary.
• Particularly given the warnings of grizzly sightings, and signs warning us to take appropriate precautions - what these were they didn't say.
• Stopped to chill on a beach for while, only for an orca pod to breeze by, just a few metres off shore. It was a 'Moment'.

Vancouver (part 2):

• A drive back down the appropriately named sunshine coast turned into something out of Wacky Races, given the 2 ferries which were part of the journey - fail to make a connection and you're stuffed.
• Checked out Granville Island - the arty Covent Garden of Vancouver.
• Spent the last afternoon at the outdoor pool in Stanley Park.
• Then finished off with dinner in downtown Vancouver's rotating restaurant and it's skyline views - skyscrapers, sea, mountains, the works.

Next year it's a week's camping in the Lake District methinks.

10 things we didn't know before the 31st, 32nd and 33rd weeks of 2008

Just cos holiday shouldn't get in the way of useless information, here's a 3 week compendium addition...

WEEK 31

1. Bees act in a similar way to serial killers.
2. Liz Taylor has broken her back five times.
3. Lake Baikal in Russia holds about a fifth of the world's fresh water.
4. The blank stickers for visa stamps are called vignettes.
5. Dyslexics can find it particularly difficult to learn the piano.
6. Van Gogh often reused canvasses to save money.
7. Seals can navigate from the position of stars.
8. Mick Jagger's officially a pensioner.
9. Being single in middle age can increase your risk of dementia.
10. In a drinking contest between a pen-tailed tree-shrew and a human, the former would win.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

WEEK 32

1. Cataplexy is a rare condition that means laughter can bring on paralysis.
2. Flat-earthers call spherical-world believers "globularists”.
3. The number 8 is an auspicious number in China because its Mandarin translation is "ba", which sounds like the word for "prosper".
4. All countries have rights over resources up to 200 nautical miles from their shoreline.
5. The Japanese have a day to celebrate greenery called midorinohi.
6. Pet dogs can catch human yawns.
7. Fencing is Italy's most successful Olympic sport.
8. Sportsmen make better decisions in heat.
9. Some people can hear what they see.
10. Robins only became a symbol for Christmas in the 19th Century, when postmen - who mostly brought mail at Christmas - wore scarlet waistcoats and were known as Robin Redbreasts.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

WEEK 33

1. Olympic swimmers can consume more than 12,000 calories a day while training. And not get fat.
2. Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson was once ranked seventh in the UK at fencing (men's foil).
3. There were 1,048 babies named Gertrude in 1907 but none in 2005.
4. Octopuses do not have eight legs. They have six arms and two legs.
5. The number of farmland birds in the UK is about half of what it was in the 1970s.
6. Penguins receive knighthoods.
7. Ear infections can affect the risk of being obese because they influence the nerves governing taste.
8. A rooftop luggage carrier increases fuel consumption by 20%.
9. Mills and Boon still publish at least one sheikh romance a month.
10. Buying oil only requires a 10% deposit of the market price.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Break time is over

I'm back, after 3 weeks off. More of which later. But first...

(although see above because the "..." thing doesn't really work when the newest posts always appear at the top)