Hello there, buddies.
Many members of the FBU, the Fire Brigades Union, went on strike a couple of days ago in protest against the proposed movement by the government regarding their pensions and age of retirement. Among these firefighters was my dad. My dad has been serving in the fire brigade for well over 23 years now and is 100% dedicated to his job. A few years back I was proudly stood in the audience when he received his medal for 20 years service - this is not the only medal that my dad has received; he has a collection of several different medals because of his service in the fire brigade. I ask you to keep this in mind throughout this post and consider your opinion based on someone who has an inside view to the goings-on of the life of a firefighter.
I am going to begin this post by telling you a bit about the fire brigade, the work they do, and the sacrifices they make. First of all, and from a slightly selfish aspect, as my dad is a firefighter they work in shift patterns. This means that they work several days and nights on call or at the fire station, and then have a few days off of work. Due to this shift pattern, it often means that my dad is stuck working on Christmas Day. Although they do not need to be in the station all day, they do have to attend for an hour in the mornings (8am until 9am) which means we wake up on Christmas Day as a family without the presence of my dad. You are probably thinking "well what is the problem if he is then home all day?"...well I will tell you. Many people cook on Christmas Day, and many people cause house fires because of forgetting the turkey is in the oven etc. This means my dad is then called out on Christmas Day to attend to these fires, often when we are about to eat our Christmas lunch. The last few years have lead to my dad having to be on call on Christmas Day - it is often that he isn't called out at all, or is called out right when we would like him home. I understand that this is often unavoidable, but it would be nice to once have my dad home all day on Christmas.
On a slightly less selfish note, firefighters risk their lives on a daily basis for the sake of others. Many people seem to overlook the fact that they aren't paid a lot to do what they are do - my dad earns less than £30, 000 per year. I think it is the most overlooked and underpaid job for the amount of stress and strain they go through. Being a firefighter not only requires a significant level of physical fitness, but you have to be mentally strong and prepared for the things they could be faced with. I have been told many stories by my dad about the things he has had to deal with and the scenes he sees and I wonder why he hasn't been traumatised by them. I have so much respect for firefighters, there is absolutely no way in hell I could ever even begin to comprehend how they deal with things they do.
Moving on from my rambly rant, the government have proposed some changes to the pension system and age of retirement. The first thing that has been proposed is that the retirement age will be considerably increased to 60 years old. Now I pose this question to you - do you think that a firefighter would be able to carry out his job successfully and safely at 60 years old? I couldn't do the job now as a 20 year old, let alone as a 60 year old. I would like to see some of the politicians proposing this change try to do some of the things they do; would love to see them carry a fully grown man out of a burning building, climb a 40ft ladder to reach a collapsing roof, or cut a victim out of a dangerous car in a road traffic collision (RTC). Government, please enlighten me on how you expect a man or woman approaching their 60th birthday to do this? Many people in their current state could not do this.
On a related note, there has been a proposed rule of capability. This would mean that if someone does not prove themselves as capable to do their job then they will essentially be fired. This means that they would have to maintain a certain level of physical fitness to avoid being fired. This level of fitness is likely to be that of a new recruit who would happen to be in their 20s. Now please tell me how you expect a 60 year old to have the fitness level of a 20 year old after having completed over 40 years service? This is something I find to be absolutely baffling. I propose that if the government expect this to be attainable, then they should all be put through a physical fitness test and examination to determine whether they, in their current state, could do this job. It would be extremely interesting to see the look of sheer dismay on their faces when they see that they are nowhere near that level.
There is also now some age discrimination going on with this new proposal. It would mean that it would now depend on what age you joined the fire service as to whether you can retire on the existing pension plan, or whether you are simply forced to work until your 60th birthday - obviously dependent on this capability rubbish. This is also something I just find ridiculous. I think that there should just be one pension scheme for every firefighter no matter when they join - it just seems as if the government are manipulating everyone. If this is their plan to tackle old age and unemployment then they have really got the wrong end of the stick. Pretty sure I could do a better job at sorting it out than what they have done so far.
To conclude, I would like to draw your attention to one small, but very important, detail. This is the detail that the Scottish fire service did not go on strike last week. This is due to the fact that the Scottish government are separate from the Westminster Parliament and they have addressed the fact that there are issues in this proposal and have began negotiations with the Scottish fire brigades in order to solve them. This is something I find both amusing and irritating - how can one government address and begin to solve issues when the other is completely stubborn and thinking only of themselves? This is going to rapidly turn in to a political rant so I shall stop there.
The government really need to sort their shit out and address the fact that this proposal is ridiculous and should stay as just that...a proposal. If anything, this would lead to a deterioration in the fire service if firefighters are forced to work past a logical age and it is likely that it will not run as smoothly as normal.
I would love to hear your opinions on this topic, so please do comment in the box below.
As always, thank you for reading and I shall speak to you next time.
Toodle-oo.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Big announcements!
Hello there, buddies!
So I have just cracked 8000 viewers which is absolutely mental! So thank you so so so much to everyone who has ever read, shared or talked about my blog. I have you guys to thank for everything!
I thought that this would be a good time to make this announcement instead of chucking it in the middle of a normal post and having it go right in one ear and out the other.
I have decided that since my blog is going down so well that if I get over 10 000 viewers by the end of the year, I will purchase the rights and copyrights to my name and become my own website!
I have spoken to one of my amazing friends who is going to work on some graphics with me so I will be having a massive overhaul on here and everything will have a brand new look!
I will be keeping with my general idea of the fact that my blog is based on me ranting and that it is all personal and whatnot, so the content itself will probably not change. I will be sticking to my core pages of "rants", "raves" and "rambles" and also my new series "how it should have ended" will be there too (read more about that below) but possibly adding a few new things, so read about that below.
Rants
My rants seem to be the favourite of you guys so I will just stick to them as they are I think. I have made a recent list of things I want to talk about in this segment, so there are loads of different things I have planned for you. I will also be able to add more styles of rants when I get back to uni, so stay tuned for all that!
Raves
My raves page seems to be just full of random posts that don't classify as rants or rambles. They are mainly consisting of "how to" posts or random chatter about things. So I want to know what you guys want to see on this page. So let me know in the comments!
Rambles
My rambles page is quite popular with you all, too! I think I will be keeping this how it is and whatnot, but let me know if you want any changes to it!
How It Should Have Ended - original series
If you are a regular reader to my blog you will know that I am starting my own original writing series based on traditional fairy tales. This series is me re-writing them in different genres - probably horror - just simply as something for a creative outlet for me. I am planning on starting this series in September, with the first one being published on September 30. I cannot promise I can stick to that date as the first few weeks of uni are hectic, but I will be working on it for at least half an hour every day. You can read the synopsis of my series here. I am definitely taking suggestions on this series, or if any of you would like to feature in it, illustrate it or co-write then get in touch! All my links are at the end of the post, or on the right.
Potential new segments
I am hoping to launch a few new segments on here in the new year. I am unsure of the final list, but they will be weekly segments about anything. I am thinking the first one will be readers choice where you guys take control. This can be either by making videos, sending me segments to put in, or telling me what to write. Comment below with your opinions.
University segment
I am considering doing a segment on my blog of university survival, student tips, and a life of a student sort of thing. Although this will be aimed largely at students, it will be a good read for anyone who just wants a general giggle. So let me know your opinions on that.
News
After the incredible success of my ask.fm post (which you can read here) I am thinking that a few posts about things like this - aka areas of concern and news headlines - might go down well with you all. Not sure what you will think, but I might trial some as and when the time is right so I can see how well it goes down.
YouTube
You all know I have a YouTube channel but I don't use it because I am lazy. I am going to get this completely up and running in the new year and have it fully functioning with new uploads every week. I will be working with a friend of mine in September to make a rather amusing video, so stay tuned for that!
Social media
All my media links are to the right and at the end of every post, but I want to know if there are any sites that you guys use and want me to add myself on? Let me know.
Challenges
I do have a challenges section on my blog at the moment which have a few things that people have tagged me in or asked me to do. I am thinking of getting rid of that segment completely and introducing them as normal posts, but I am still thinking that through.
Layout
The layout of my website at the moment has been dubbed "messy and terrible looking" so I am thinking that this might be a general thought from you guys. I am quite annoyed at the manner this was put forward to me as I quite like the layout of my blog, but I will be changing it slightly with my new graphics. I am unsure of how I am going to do this yet, but I know my social media links will look different, and I will do a new header. The pages may change position, too, but we shall see what the designs look like!
Suggestions - what you want to see
Last but not least, I want to hear from you about what you guys want to see. So contact me by any of my links or even by commenting.
So I think that is everything I needed to tell you for now....
Vikki is also back from her holiday so I am sure I can rope her in to do some stuff with me for my blog - so stay tuned for those in October!
If you enjoyed some of the things I have mentioned in this then let me know, and click "Join This Site" to know when I post new articles.
As always thank you for reading and I will speak to you tomorrow!
Toodle-oo!
So I have just cracked 8000 viewers which is absolutely mental! So thank you so so so much to everyone who has ever read, shared or talked about my blog. I have you guys to thank for everything!
I thought that this would be a good time to make this announcement instead of chucking it in the middle of a normal post and having it go right in one ear and out the other.
I have decided that since my blog is going down so well that if I get over 10 000 viewers by the end of the year, I will purchase the rights and copyrights to my name and become my own website!
I have spoken to one of my amazing friends who is going to work on some graphics with me so I will be having a massive overhaul on here and everything will have a brand new look!
I will be keeping with my general idea of the fact that my blog is based on me ranting and that it is all personal and whatnot, so the content itself will probably not change. I will be sticking to my core pages of "rants", "raves" and "rambles" and also my new series "how it should have ended" will be there too (read more about that below) but possibly adding a few new things, so read about that below.
Rants
My rants seem to be the favourite of you guys so I will just stick to them as they are I think. I have made a recent list of things I want to talk about in this segment, so there are loads of different things I have planned for you. I will also be able to add more styles of rants when I get back to uni, so stay tuned for all that!
Raves
My raves page seems to be just full of random posts that don't classify as rants or rambles. They are mainly consisting of "how to" posts or random chatter about things. So I want to know what you guys want to see on this page. So let me know in the comments!
Rambles
My rambles page is quite popular with you all, too! I think I will be keeping this how it is and whatnot, but let me know if you want any changes to it!
How It Should Have Ended - original series
If you are a regular reader to my blog you will know that I am starting my own original writing series based on traditional fairy tales. This series is me re-writing them in different genres - probably horror - just simply as something for a creative outlet for me. I am planning on starting this series in September, with the first one being published on September 30. I cannot promise I can stick to that date as the first few weeks of uni are hectic, but I will be working on it for at least half an hour every day. You can read the synopsis of my series here. I am definitely taking suggestions on this series, or if any of you would like to feature in it, illustrate it or co-write then get in touch! All my links are at the end of the post, or on the right.
Potential new segments
I am hoping to launch a few new segments on here in the new year. I am unsure of the final list, but they will be weekly segments about anything. I am thinking the first one will be readers choice where you guys take control. This can be either by making videos, sending me segments to put in, or telling me what to write. Comment below with your opinions.
University segment
I am considering doing a segment on my blog of university survival, student tips, and a life of a student sort of thing. Although this will be aimed largely at students, it will be a good read for anyone who just wants a general giggle. So let me know your opinions on that.
News
After the incredible success of my ask.fm post (which you can read here) I am thinking that a few posts about things like this - aka areas of concern and news headlines - might go down well with you all. Not sure what you will think, but I might trial some as and when the time is right so I can see how well it goes down.
YouTube
You all know I have a YouTube channel but I don't use it because I am lazy. I am going to get this completely up and running in the new year and have it fully functioning with new uploads every week. I will be working with a friend of mine in September to make a rather amusing video, so stay tuned for that!
Social media
All my media links are to the right and at the end of every post, but I want to know if there are any sites that you guys use and want me to add myself on? Let me know.
Challenges
I do have a challenges section on my blog at the moment which have a few things that people have tagged me in or asked me to do. I am thinking of getting rid of that segment completely and introducing them as normal posts, but I am still thinking that through.
Layout
The layout of my website at the moment has been dubbed "messy and terrible looking" so I am thinking that this might be a general thought from you guys. I am quite annoyed at the manner this was put forward to me as I quite like the layout of my blog, but I will be changing it slightly with my new graphics. I am unsure of how I am going to do this yet, but I know my social media links will look different, and I will do a new header. The pages may change position, too, but we shall see what the designs look like!
Suggestions - what you want to see
Last but not least, I want to hear from you about what you guys want to see. So contact me by any of my links or even by commenting.
So I think that is everything I needed to tell you for now....
Vikki is also back from her holiday so I am sure I can rope her in to do some stuff with me for my blog - so stay tuned for those in October!
If you enjoyed some of the things I have mentioned in this then let me know, and click "Join This Site" to know when I post new articles.
As always thank you for reading and I will speak to you tomorrow!
Toodle-oo!
Monday, August 05, 2013
Ask.fm concerns - RIP Hannah Smith
Hello there, buddies.
I want to start this post off by saying RIP Hannah Smith. Hannah was only 14 when she took her own life last week.
Just as a warning to my readers, if there are any comments of a negative kind surrounding this matter you will be reported and blocked. Suicide is a very serious matter and I want no negative comments surrounding this at all.
Hannah was bullied online by people using the website ask.fm. For all of you who do not know what ask.fm is, it is a website where people can sign up and ask others questions and post comments to people. There is the option to ask questions anonymously so that you cannot be identified. The site is extremely controversial and is based in Latvia. Ask.fm have issued a statement saying that they are not responsible for the content posted and that they do not monitor what is posted. This is a discussion point I shall move on to later.
Hannah, who was from Leicestershire, hanged herself due to comments posted on this website last Friday. She indirectly called for help by posting an image saying "You think you want to die, but in reality you want to be saved" on a social media site on Thursday, the day before she took her own life.
Hannah's father posted this message on his Facebook page:
I want to start this post off by saying RIP Hannah Smith. Hannah was only 14 when she took her own life last week.
Just as a warning to my readers, if there are any comments of a negative kind surrounding this matter you will be reported and blocked. Suicide is a very serious matter and I want no negative comments surrounding this at all.
Hannah was bullied online by people using the website ask.fm. For all of you who do not know what ask.fm is, it is a website where people can sign up and ask others questions and post comments to people. There is the option to ask questions anonymously so that you cannot be identified. The site is extremely controversial and is based in Latvia. Ask.fm have issued a statement saying that they are not responsible for the content posted and that they do not monitor what is posted. This is a discussion point I shall move on to later.
Hannah, who was from Leicestershire, hanged herself due to comments posted on this website last Friday. She indirectly called for help by posting an image saying "You think you want to die, but in reality you want to be saved" on a social media site on Thursday, the day before she took her own life.
Hannah's father posted this message on his Facebook page:
"On Friday morning my daughter was found hanged. Last night I seen her ask fm account and someone had been telling her to die. The person that created this web site should be done for manslaughter (sic.) any parents that have children please dont (sic) let them go on this site"
"My heart is broken in 2 and is gonna take a long time to repair I just hope that none of you have to go through the pain Im goin through rite now and love u all (sic)"
I personally find this so heartbreaking. The father also posted an image of flowers that had been placed outside Hannah's house.
The Leicestershire police have seized both her phone and her laptop to be used in the investigation.
Various messages have been posted on Facebook by her friends, boyfriend and family saying how shocked and saddened they are at her sudden death. I will not be posting these messages on here out of respect for the involved people and to not further show their identity.
This is not the first time that a teenager has taken their own life over comments made on this website. Two girls ages 15 and 13, and a boy aged 15 have also taken their own lives due to these awful comments.
There has been a tribute page set up for the teenager online which currently has over 6000 supporters; both of friends and strangers offering their support.
Hannah received some incredibly horrible comments on her ask.fm page where people called her a variety of awful names and many told her to kill herself or to die. Someone even told her that her uncle deserved cancer and to die. This is completely unacceptable and no one ever deserves anything like that whatsoever. There were many comments on her page, of which I will not be mentioning on here due to the incredibly harsh nature of them.
All of the comments posted to Hannah's page were all done by an individual, or group of individuals, anonymously so their identities could not be traced. This I find highly pathetic. How can someone say things like that to a person online and feel nothing for what they have said? Ask.fm, along with many other social media sites, allows people to use the internet as a mask and hide behind it. They feel big and clever on the internet when they think they are unidentifiable. I hope for Hannah's sake that the vile humans who posted these comments to her page are traced and charged for her death. I do not even care how old they are, things like this should be completely intolerable.
I have a strong hate for this website, which has now only been deepened since hearing about this. Ask.fm is a website which simply fuels hate and pretty much no good ever comes out from it. Hannah was tormented for pretty much every aspect of her life, seemingly by people who knew her, due to this website. Frankly I agree with her father, Dave, in that either the creators of the website or the people who wrote the comments should be charged with her death. Many people will probably argue against this, but there is a rule in law called the 'but for' test. This means that but for the actions, the result would not have occurred. This definitely applies here - but for Hannah taking to this website and receiving these comments, she would not have been driven to taking her own life. Now all you awful people out there who are thinking that it is "her fault" I ask you this: do you sign up for a website expecting to be hauled this huge amount of vile abuse? No. You do not. How would you feel if this was your child? I am telling you, even I feel absolutely helpless after reading this case.
I will go out of my way to get this site taken down if I have to. No one should ever suffer the amount she did, nor should they receive the hurtful and vile comments that were sent to Hannah. The sheer fact that she was affected so much by the comments to the extent that she took her life should prove that this website is completely vile.
I believe this calls for an extreme crackdown on bullying and cyber bullying. Although it is probably an unsolvable situation, there can be things done to lessen it, and to protect vulnerable young people.
RIP, Hannah.
RIP, Hannah.
I ask you to share this post and to sign this petition by clicking here to ban the Ask.fm site to prevent further deaths.
Thank you.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
I have some news!....
Hello there, buddies!
I have some really cool news for you all!
If you read my posts a lot then you will know that I am a student at university. Also, if you follow me on Twitter you will know that you have the option to view my posts from there.
Through this I have been given an amazing opportunity to write for an online student magazine called student Noodles. You can view the site by clicking here.
Student Noodles is an awesome magazine for university students with so much cool stuff on it from posts all about uni, some amazing discounts on items, and also reviews on things. It really is an awesome site and you should definitely check it out.
They have given me the opportunity to write a series of articles about university entitled "University Survival Guide". How cool is that?!
Basically, a few times every week there will be a new post about one aspect of uni. My planned posts rang from before you go to uni right up to your last day, so there is something for Freshers and returning students. Of course, my lovely readers who don't go to university don't miss out because there will be some bits in there for everyone.
The planned way I am going to do it is use my introductory paragraph direct to my blog, then give you guys the link for the full article over on the Student Noodles website. Panic not, there are no viruses or spam that I will be leading you to, it is simply to give you an opportunity to read my entire article and to have a rummage around the website!
So, when you see the banner like the one above, you know that you are going to be seeing some of my featured work!
My first post may be debuting any time soon, so keep your eyes peeled for it!
I am so happy and very lucky to be offered this amazing experience and I definitely want to take you guys along with me on this journey.
I would absolutely love to get you guys involved, so do please leave comments if you are going to uni and you are worried about something,or you just simply want to ask a university-related question, as I will be sure to answer them and I might even do a Q and A post where you can be featured on the post also.
You can do that by either tweeting me @LovelyChubly with the hash tag #UniQnA so that I know it is related to that!
Hope to hear from you guys soon, and I hope that you will all read my posts!
Toodle-oo!
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Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The reason behind the death of Cory Monteith
I yet again have the unfortunate job of revealing to you more details surrounding the cause of death of the Glee star.
The will be a very quick and simply informative post.
After the autopsy was fast-tracked through the system, it has been reported that a cause of death has been established.
The coroner found that Cory died of a fatal combination of alcohol and heroin. Despite the actor coming out of rehab and staying sober, it was reported that he lead something of a double life. He reportedly was a hard-worker whilst in LA, but as soon as he returned to Vancouver he associated with friends who fueled his addictions.
After a report suggested that drugs were not a reason behind his death, the toxicology report clearly stated otherwise. It has now been reported that evidence of drugs usage was evident in the room.
The investigation is continuing into the tragic death of the 31 year old actor, with more details to follow.
His co-star girlfriend released a statement on Sunday asking for privacy and close sources said that she is devastated and inconsolable.
Glee officials are still unaware how they will deal with the death of the star in the TV series, but are organising meetings to discuss it. It is undoubted that Cory's death will have a huge impact on the show, leaving a massive gap where he used to stand.
Even as a fan, I found his death very upsetting. There will no doubt be something missing when the awkward but unbelievable cute Finn Hudson doesn't appear in the new series of Glee, set to debut in the USA in September.
The will be a very quick and simply informative post.
After the autopsy was fast-tracked through the system, it has been reported that a cause of death has been established.
The coroner found that Cory died of a fatal combination of alcohol and heroin. Despite the actor coming out of rehab and staying sober, it was reported that he lead something of a double life. He reportedly was a hard-worker whilst in LA, but as soon as he returned to Vancouver he associated with friends who fueled his addictions.
After a report suggested that drugs were not a reason behind his death, the toxicology report clearly stated otherwise. It has now been reported that evidence of drugs usage was evident in the room.
The investigation is continuing into the tragic death of the 31 year old actor, with more details to follow.
His co-star girlfriend released a statement on Sunday asking for privacy and close sources said that she is devastated and inconsolable.
Glee officials are still unaware how they will deal with the death of the star in the TV series, but are organising meetings to discuss it. It is undoubted that Cory's death will have a huge impact on the show, leaving a massive gap where he used to stand.
Even as a fan, I found his death very upsetting. There will no doubt be something missing when the awkward but unbelievable cute Finn Hudson doesn't appear in the new series of Glee, set to debut in the USA in September.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
RIP Cory Monteith
It is with a saddened heart that I learned today of the death of Glee star Cory Monteith.
The 31 year old was found in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, Canada.
Cory has only just come out of rehab, yet it is still unaware of whether this is a drugs-related death. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow (Monday) to determine the cause of death (I shall keep you posted with updates), but it is said that no foul play is involved.
Monteith, who played the character of Finn Hudson in the hit TV show Glee, was dating co-star Lea Michele.
Hundreds of tributed have been piling in on Twitter from fans, friends and celebrities. Monteith's co-star Mark Salling responded to the news this morning with a simple but heartbreaking "no".
The news spread over Twitter this morning and currently several hashtags are trending worldwide:
#AllFandomsHereToSupportGleeks
#RipCoryMonteith
#StayStrongLea
#Finn
#Gleeks
#DontStopBelieving
I myself was awoken this morning by a text from a friend alerting me of the news. I most definitely did not believe it at first and it has taken until now, having read about 40 news articles for it to actually settle in.
A lot of you will be thinking "why are you so upset over this? You didn't even know him". Well to you people I say this:
When you are a dedicated member of a fandom (the Glee fandom naming their members Gleeks) you do tend to form an emotional attachment to characters and actors. Whether you view this as weird or not, a part of something you love is now missing. Glee will never be the same without Cory in it. Waking up this morning to find that a vital part of one of your most favourite things is missing is really hard. A lot of people are going through the same thing this morning, some such as family, friends and co-stars of Cory will obviously be considerably more upset. The Glee fandom will now, and forever will be, missing one of its most important links. Cory will not be forgotten. Many fandoms around the world have come together this morning in support of Gleeks and the family are friends of Cory. Many have started a trend on Twitter called #MentionYourIdolToTellThemYouLoveThem after many Gleeks have posted images such as these:
Glee is currently up for a Teen Choice Award, so please do go vote for them by clicking HERE in memory of Cory.
Now all that is left to say is that my thoughts really do go out to his family, friends and especially to Lea. They have to unshakable support of the fandom, and of everyone.
RIP Cory Monteith x
The 31 year old was found in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, Canada.
Cory has only just come out of rehab, yet it is still unaware of whether this is a drugs-related death. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow (Monday) to determine the cause of death (I shall keep you posted with updates), but it is said that no foul play is involved.
Monteith, who played the character of Finn Hudson in the hit TV show Glee, was dating co-star Lea Michele.
Hundreds of tributed have been piling in on Twitter from fans, friends and celebrities. Monteith's co-star Mark Salling responded to the news this morning with a simple but heartbreaking "no".
The news spread over Twitter this morning and currently several hashtags are trending worldwide:
#AllFandomsHereToSupportGleeks
#RipCoryMonteith
#StayStrongLea
#Finn
#Gleeks
#DontStopBelieving
I myself was awoken this morning by a text from a friend alerting me of the news. I most definitely did not believe it at first and it has taken until now, having read about 40 news articles for it to actually settle in.
A lot of you will be thinking "why are you so upset over this? You didn't even know him". Well to you people I say this:
When you are a dedicated member of a fandom (the Glee fandom naming their members Gleeks) you do tend to form an emotional attachment to characters and actors. Whether you view this as weird or not, a part of something you love is now missing. Glee will never be the same without Cory in it. Waking up this morning to find that a vital part of one of your most favourite things is missing is really hard. A lot of people are going through the same thing this morning, some such as family, friends and co-stars of Cory will obviously be considerably more upset. The Glee fandom will now, and forever will be, missing one of its most important links. Cory will not be forgotten. Many fandoms around the world have come together this morning in support of Gleeks and the family are friends of Cory. Many have started a trend on Twitter called #MentionYourIdolToTellThemYouLoveThem after many Gleeks have posted images such as these:
My thoughts go out to Lea Michele who has to deal with everything. After writing and rewriting something regarding her, I found a Twitter image which explains it all perfectly.
Glee is currently up for a Teen Choice Award, so please do go vote for them by clicking HERE in memory of Cory.
Now all that is left to say is that my thoughts really do go out to his family, friends and especially to Lea. They have to unshakable support of the fandom, and of everyone.
RIP Cory Monteith x
Monday, July 08, 2013
What's in a name?
Hello there, buddies!
I had originally planned this post for a lot later in the lifespan of my little blog, but due to the recent media shitstorm (to be frank), I think this is the right time to talk about it.
If you do not know what I am talking about, this will be referring to Katie Hopkins little scrap with the lovely Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning. This was all based on the fact that Katie judges a child based on their name, and if she doesn't like the name, or thinks that it belongs to the child of a "working class" family then she forbids her children from playing and interacting with the child.
Katie branded names such as Tyler, Charmaine and Chardonnay as "working class" and that she associated them with not doing homework, always being late, and being badly behaved. She then goes on to say that she dislikes a large variety of names such as geographical names, names related to seasons, and footballer's names. This I find slightly ironic as one of her children is named India.....is this not a geographical location? After being confronted by Phillip Schofield about this, she claimed that India was not a location. Hear that, map makers? You need to take India off the map as it is no longer claimed as a location!! Another one of her children is named Poppy, which could be related to a season, no?
Does she not think that forbidding her children from playing with others is restricting them? I think it might come back to bite her on the ass one day when her children lack specific social skills and become snobs like their mother. Then again this may be something that she wants. Her children are not going to get the opportunity to interact with people of their own age, but of different backgrounds, which may affect them later in life when they enter the working world.
I strongly dislike judgmental people (you shall see this soon when I write another rant surrounding this) and for someone to judge a child of all people really ruffles my feathers. Has she never heard of never judging a book by its cover? I am a strong believer of this, and I cannot stand it when I hear so many people, including my mother, judging a person by small things such as their appearance. There is no way that she can know the background of these children. Besides, they didn't choose their names did they? The fact that she won't even give this child, chosen by her own children, a chance really pisses me off.
She also then said she dislikes names of children meaning 'beautiful' to which Holly informed her that her own daughter is called "Belle". Katie then essentially backtracked her statement by saying that any child of Holly's would be beautiful. She completely went against what she just said....this also shows she judges people by how they look. Is she an idiot? She isn't exactly model-looking is she? She even admits this herself in the interview!
Katie claims that children with intelligent names are likely to be more intelligent and have better future prospects. Since when does a name make a child more intelligent? I am sorry, I didn't realise that a name injected wisdom in to a person's brain. In a previous interview, Katie has said that she thinks people with the name Tyronne are more likely to become criminals. Well, frankly I find this quite racist. I know a lovely guy named Tyronne who is NOT a criminal, nor will he ever be. Furthermore, Katie says that she looks for children with good prospects for the future. After a bit of research, I have discovered that her children are quite young. Now I don't know about you, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life until about two years ago (I am approaching 20 years old now), so how can a say 10 year old have good future prospects?! This I just find absurd.
I take my hat off to Anna-May Mangan who was opposing Katie in the debate. She really stood her ground, and I have to say I agree with her. She labelled Katie as an "insufferable snob" and claimed that her argument was "snort worthy". Anna-May then went on to say that judging a child by their name is old fashioned and unkind. This lead Katie to retaliate with something that clearly offended Holly as the women began to have a debate among themselves leading Phillip to have to tell them all to be quiet.
I literally cannot comprehend why Katie would hold her children back so much! A child should be free to both make their own mistakes in life and also to befriend who they so wish. If you don't make mistakes, how can you be expected to learn, and to become a better person? I shall have you know, I befriended someone with what Katie would call an "acceptable name" who turned out to be everything she has named as someone who would have a lower class name. So what do you say to that, Katie? A name does not define a person whatsoever, and anyone can be a hateful, snobby and spiteful bitch.
I do not think Katie is in any place to judge someone based on their class after having been on several reality TV shows....and being caught having sex in a field with a married man, do you? She is clearly a classy lady, Mrs Snobby-Pants.
Branching off from this slightly to something which has royally pissed me off. Katie has claimed that people with tattoos will never be high achievers. I am a proudly tattooed person, and I am currently studying at university doing Bsc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. Now then, Katie, would you say that I am not achieving high? My tattoos have never held me back from anything at all, and have in fact had the opposing effect with employers actually welcoming this as it shows diversity and individuality. I think you might find that many people in a much higher status than Katie are tattooed also. I have often wondered to myself if Katie has seen the image of a tattooed doctor? (Below).
Looking at the first picture you would have no idea that this guy had tattoos, yet I guarantee if anyone saw him looking like he does in the second picture that they would brand him as a "thug". This man is a high status surgeon I believe. Katie, would you class him as an underachiever? I wouldn't - this guy saves lives on a daily basis. I would say that is an amazing achievement, would you not?
I am going to end this here for now, it may be continued at a later date.
I have to say, before these things I actually had a small amount of respect for Katie as I admire the fact that she is proud to speak her mind. However, this respect has completely diminished as I have realised how judgmental and narrow-minded she is.
Toodle-oo, peeps!
I had originally planned this post for a lot later in the lifespan of my little blog, but due to the recent media shitstorm (to be frank), I think this is the right time to talk about it.
If you do not know what I am talking about, this will be referring to Katie Hopkins little scrap with the lovely Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning. This was all based on the fact that Katie judges a child based on their name, and if she doesn't like the name, or thinks that it belongs to the child of a "working class" family then she forbids her children from playing and interacting with the child.
Katie branded names such as Tyler, Charmaine and Chardonnay as "working class" and that she associated them with not doing homework, always being late, and being badly behaved. She then goes on to say that she dislikes a large variety of names such as geographical names, names related to seasons, and footballer's names. This I find slightly ironic as one of her children is named India.....is this not a geographical location? After being confronted by Phillip Schofield about this, she claimed that India was not a location. Hear that, map makers? You need to take India off the map as it is no longer claimed as a location!! Another one of her children is named Poppy, which could be related to a season, no?
Does she not think that forbidding her children from playing with others is restricting them? I think it might come back to bite her on the ass one day when her children lack specific social skills and become snobs like their mother. Then again this may be something that she wants. Her children are not going to get the opportunity to interact with people of their own age, but of different backgrounds, which may affect them later in life when they enter the working world.
I strongly dislike judgmental people (you shall see this soon when I write another rant surrounding this) and for someone to judge a child of all people really ruffles my feathers. Has she never heard of never judging a book by its cover? I am a strong believer of this, and I cannot stand it when I hear so many people, including my mother, judging a person by small things such as their appearance. There is no way that she can know the background of these children. Besides, they didn't choose their names did they? The fact that she won't even give this child, chosen by her own children, a chance really pisses me off.
She also then said she dislikes names of children meaning 'beautiful' to which Holly informed her that her own daughter is called "Belle". Katie then essentially backtracked her statement by saying that any child of Holly's would be beautiful. She completely went against what she just said....this also shows she judges people by how they look. Is she an idiot? She isn't exactly model-looking is she? She even admits this herself in the interview!
Katie claims that children with intelligent names are likely to be more intelligent and have better future prospects. Since when does a name make a child more intelligent? I am sorry, I didn't realise that a name injected wisdom in to a person's brain. In a previous interview, Katie has said that she thinks people with the name Tyronne are more likely to become criminals. Well, frankly I find this quite racist. I know a lovely guy named Tyronne who is NOT a criminal, nor will he ever be. Furthermore, Katie says that she looks for children with good prospects for the future. After a bit of research, I have discovered that her children are quite young. Now I don't know about you, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life until about two years ago (I am approaching 20 years old now), so how can a say 10 year old have good future prospects?! This I just find absurd.
I take my hat off to Anna-May Mangan who was opposing Katie in the debate. She really stood her ground, and I have to say I agree with her. She labelled Katie as an "insufferable snob" and claimed that her argument was "snort worthy". Anna-May then went on to say that judging a child by their name is old fashioned and unkind. This lead Katie to retaliate with something that clearly offended Holly as the women began to have a debate among themselves leading Phillip to have to tell them all to be quiet.
I literally cannot comprehend why Katie would hold her children back so much! A child should be free to both make their own mistakes in life and also to befriend who they so wish. If you don't make mistakes, how can you be expected to learn, and to become a better person? I shall have you know, I befriended someone with what Katie would call an "acceptable name" who turned out to be everything she has named as someone who would have a lower class name. So what do you say to that, Katie? A name does not define a person whatsoever, and anyone can be a hateful, snobby and spiteful bitch.
I do not think Katie is in any place to judge someone based on their class after having been on several reality TV shows....and being caught having sex in a field with a married man, do you? She is clearly a classy lady, Mrs Snobby-Pants.
Branching off from this slightly to something which has royally pissed me off. Katie has claimed that people with tattoos will never be high achievers. I am a proudly tattooed person, and I am currently studying at university doing Bsc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. Now then, Katie, would you say that I am not achieving high? My tattoos have never held me back from anything at all, and have in fact had the opposing effect with employers actually welcoming this as it shows diversity and individuality. I think you might find that many people in a much higher status than Katie are tattooed also. I have often wondered to myself if Katie has seen the image of a tattooed doctor? (Below).
Looking at the first picture you would have no idea that this guy had tattoos, yet I guarantee if anyone saw him looking like he does in the second picture that they would brand him as a "thug". This man is a high status surgeon I believe. Katie, would you class him as an underachiever? I wouldn't - this guy saves lives on a daily basis. I would say that is an amazing achievement, would you not?
I am going to end this here for now, it may be continued at a later date.
I have to say, before these things I actually had a small amount of respect for Katie as I admire the fact that she is proud to speak her mind. However, this respect has completely diminished as I have realised how judgmental and narrow-minded she is.
Toodle-oo, peeps!
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
RIP to the 19 firefighters killed in Arizona
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the fire in Arizona, USA which has claimed the lives of 19 firefighters.
The fire started after a lightning storm on Friday (June 28) in Arizona, USA as has so far destroyed 8400 acres of land. Approximately 1000 people have had to vacate their homes, and 200 houses have been claimed by the fire.
I have left it a few days since the news broke to write this post as I am still finding it very difficult to write.
My heart really goes out to the families of the firefighters who have died in this fire. As a daughter of a UK firefighter, I know how scary it can be when they go off to a call, but I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain and emotion these families are going through at the moment. Some of these men are so unbelievably young; they didn't get the chance to even start their lives properly.
I read an article today on the Daily Mail website about the last conversation between Juliann Ashcraft and her husband who was attending to the fire, Andrew Ashcraft. I hope that she would not mind me writing this post. Her husband had been continuously texting her throughout the day to inform her that he was OK, until he stopped texting. I won't lie, I was in tears after reading that article. He leaves behind 4 young children. I am refraining from putting pictures of her and her family up on my website as I believe this would be a breach of their privacy, and I would not want to affect them at this sad time. You can read more about her story by clicking here.
Each of the men who died in this fire, in my opinion, died heroes. Now you may dispute this, but I think anyone, no matter how little someone may think their existence may be, is a hero when they put their lives on the line daily in order to save the life of someone else. These men were trying to extinguish a fire, despite being caused naturally, was destroying the lives of thousands of people. It is completely unarguable in my head that these men did absolutely everything they could to keep the residents of the Arizonian town safe, I find it very sad that in this circumstance that it then involved them losing their own lives.
The emergency shelters that the men had put up in order to protect them from the fires unfortunately did not save them from the fire, nor could the helicopters. It has been reported that when the bodies of the men were found, some where inside their shelters whilst others were outside, suggesting that the fire has overcome them very quickly.
This has been the biggest incident claiming the lives of firefighters since 9/11, and is the deadliest blaze for firefighters in America for almost 80 years. The entire crew for this city was claimed by this fire, apart from one survivor who is in a critical condition.
To anyone who wishes to say that the firefighters must have been in the wrong (I have seen several comments surface on the internet saying this), I would like to say that firefighters are trained to the highest of standards, and they were undoubtedly following the safety protocol here, and that is was the unpredictability of the fire which in fact claimed their lives.
Fire Chief Dan Fraijo has been quoted saying "we grieve for the family. We grieve for the department. We grieve for the city. We're devastated. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet".
Residents of the town have been since laying down tributes and flowers outside the gates of the fire station since the news broke on Monday. I sincerely hope, for the memory of these men, that they are rewarded for their bravery in some way. These men deserve the highest of commendation for their sacrifice. I don't care what anyone else says, they really do deserve that.
Over 1000 people gathered on Monday night in the gymnasium of the university in Prescott, Arizona in memory of the 19. President Obama has called the men heroes, and has since deployed other crews to help as the fire still continues to burn.
Here are the names of the 19 men who were killed:
Andrew Ashcraft - 29
Robert Caldwell - 23
Travis Carter - 31
Dustin Deford - 24
Christopher MacKenzie - 30
Eric Marsh - 43
Grant McKee - 21
Sean Misner - 26
Scott Norris - 28
Wade Parker - 22
John Percin - 24
Anthony Rose - 23
Jesse Steed - 36
John Thurston - 32
Travis Turbyfill - 27
William Warneke - 25
Clayton Whitted - 28
Kevin Woyjeck - 21
Grant Zuppiger - 27
Writing so many names is horrible. I will not be putting pictures up of these men.
Reading and having to write about something like this makes me really appreciate the fact that after over 20 years in the fire service, I still have my dad safe and sound. I couldn't even tell you how scary it is every time I know my dad is out on a call, and there is always that horrible little voice in the back of your head saying "what if he doesn't come back?". Just thinking about that really gets to me, so knowing that these people are currently having to go through that is so heartbreaking.
My thoughts are with the families affected by this. So many of the firefighters were so young too, which is really sad, many of them not even in to their late 20s.
I know that firefighters knows when entering the profession that it is dangerous, but nothing can prepare anyone for this sort of thing. Fires on this scale are unpredictable and completely uncontrollable. I hope that the families are getting all the support that they need, and that someone honors these men in the highest possible way.
There are currently investigations under way to figure out what could have caused these deaths, and there have been suggestions of wind gusts being investigated.
Approximately 250 firefighters are still battling the fire, and around 18 other hotshot crews have been deployed.
I welcome all comments on this post, but if there is one negative comment on here about these men or the circumstances you will be reported and blocked for the foreseeable future from this site.
The fire started after a lightning storm on Friday (June 28) in Arizona, USA as has so far destroyed 8400 acres of land. Approximately 1000 people have had to vacate their homes, and 200 houses have been claimed by the fire.
I have left it a few days since the news broke to write this post as I am still finding it very difficult to write.
My heart really goes out to the families of the firefighters who have died in this fire. As a daughter of a UK firefighter, I know how scary it can be when they go off to a call, but I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain and emotion these families are going through at the moment. Some of these men are so unbelievably young; they didn't get the chance to even start their lives properly.
I read an article today on the Daily Mail website about the last conversation between Juliann Ashcraft and her husband who was attending to the fire, Andrew Ashcraft. I hope that she would not mind me writing this post. Her husband had been continuously texting her throughout the day to inform her that he was OK, until he stopped texting. I won't lie, I was in tears after reading that article. He leaves behind 4 young children. I am refraining from putting pictures of her and her family up on my website as I believe this would be a breach of their privacy, and I would not want to affect them at this sad time. You can read more about her story by clicking here.
Each of the men who died in this fire, in my opinion, died heroes. Now you may dispute this, but I think anyone, no matter how little someone may think their existence may be, is a hero when they put their lives on the line daily in order to save the life of someone else. These men were trying to extinguish a fire, despite being caused naturally, was destroying the lives of thousands of people. It is completely unarguable in my head that these men did absolutely everything they could to keep the residents of the Arizonian town safe, I find it very sad that in this circumstance that it then involved them losing their own lives.
The emergency shelters that the men had put up in order to protect them from the fires unfortunately did not save them from the fire, nor could the helicopters. It has been reported that when the bodies of the men were found, some where inside their shelters whilst others were outside, suggesting that the fire has overcome them very quickly.
This has been the biggest incident claiming the lives of firefighters since 9/11, and is the deadliest blaze for firefighters in America for almost 80 years. The entire crew for this city was claimed by this fire, apart from one survivor who is in a critical condition.
To anyone who wishes to say that the firefighters must have been in the wrong (I have seen several comments surface on the internet saying this), I would like to say that firefighters are trained to the highest of standards, and they were undoubtedly following the safety protocol here, and that is was the unpredictability of the fire which in fact claimed their lives.
Fire Chief Dan Fraijo has been quoted saying "we grieve for the family. We grieve for the department. We grieve for the city. We're devastated. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet".
Residents of the town have been since laying down tributes and flowers outside the gates of the fire station since the news broke on Monday. I sincerely hope, for the memory of these men, that they are rewarded for their bravery in some way. These men deserve the highest of commendation for their sacrifice. I don't care what anyone else says, they really do deserve that.
Over 1000 people gathered on Monday night in the gymnasium of the university in Prescott, Arizona in memory of the 19. President Obama has called the men heroes, and has since deployed other crews to help as the fire still continues to burn.
Here are the names of the 19 men who were killed:
Andrew Ashcraft - 29
Robert Caldwell - 23
Travis Carter - 31
Dustin Deford - 24
Christopher MacKenzie - 30
Eric Marsh - 43
Grant McKee - 21
Sean Misner - 26
Scott Norris - 28
Wade Parker - 22
John Percin - 24
Anthony Rose - 23
Jesse Steed - 36
John Thurston - 32
Travis Turbyfill - 27
William Warneke - 25
Clayton Whitted - 28
Kevin Woyjeck - 21
Grant Zuppiger - 27
Writing so many names is horrible. I will not be putting pictures up of these men.
Reading and having to write about something like this makes me really appreciate the fact that after over 20 years in the fire service, I still have my dad safe and sound. I couldn't even tell you how scary it is every time I know my dad is out on a call, and there is always that horrible little voice in the back of your head saying "what if he doesn't come back?". Just thinking about that really gets to me, so knowing that these people are currently having to go through that is so heartbreaking.
My thoughts are with the families affected by this. So many of the firefighters were so young too, which is really sad, many of them not even in to their late 20s.
I know that firefighters knows when entering the profession that it is dangerous, but nothing can prepare anyone for this sort of thing. Fires on this scale are unpredictable and completely uncontrollable. I hope that the families are getting all the support that they need, and that someone honors these men in the highest possible way.
There are currently investigations under way to figure out what could have caused these deaths, and there have been suggestions of wind gusts being investigated.
Approximately 250 firefighters are still battling the fire, and around 18 other hotshot crews have been deployed.
I welcome all comments on this post, but if there is one negative comment on here about these men or the circumstances you will be reported and blocked for the foreseeable future from this site.
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