vallierojas: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Weatherwatch: glow-worms

The glow-worm is named both well and badly: although it is a kind of beetle, not a worm, it certainly does glow. Or the female does, at least. Being flightless, she needs to use subterfuge to attract a mate. So as the males fly overhead, she illuminates a small patch towards the rear of her abdomen, which produces an extraordinary greenish-yellow light, via a process known as bioluminescence. This can be seen up to 50 metres away, especially on moonless nights.

Glow-worms have suffered in recent years through a combination of habitat loss and light pollution. The weather, too, has an effect: warm, muggy nights from June to August usually see more activity than cool ones.

The best places to look for them are along unlit country lanes, especially with hedgerows and grassy banks, where the females can safely hide until they emerge for their nocturnal performance. Once glow-worms have successfully mated, the female will lay her eggs. These, too, are affected by weather conditions, taking just four weeks to hatch during warm summers, but over six weeks in cool ones.

Glow-worms would have been a familiar sight to our rural ancestors, and unsurprisingly figure in our weather forecasting folklore. Some sayings seem to contradict each other, with one rhyme claiming that "When the glow-worm lights her lamp, the air is always damp", while another says that "When the glow-worm glows, dry, hot weather follows".

Stephen Moss

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2011/aug/30/weatherwatch-glow-worms

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Objects of desire: kit from Britain's coolest shops

British-made treasures from gorgeous shops around the country

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2011/aug/05/cool-unique-quirky-uk-kit

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Weatherwatch: glow-worms

Stephen Moss

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2011/aug/30/weatherwatch-glow-worms

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Housing minister to 'get Britain building again' in market crisis

Grant Shapps reveals plans to release large amounts of public land after NHF report shows falling ownership and soaring prices

The housing minister, Grant Shapps, has admitted that house prices in Britain have become "too unaffordable", following a report warning that the housing market is in crisis as home ownership falls and property prices soar.

But the minister insisted that government plans would get "Britain building again" as he outlined a number of measures, including planning reforms and a release of thousands of acres of public land, designed to increase the number of homes built.

"The charge is correct. House prices are too unaffordable in this country," said Shapps. "The government's responsibility is to respond to people's aspirations and lots of people ? want to own their own properties. I think the government should stand right behind them, and we will."

Shapps sought to reassure aspiring home owners who are priced out of the market, as the National Housing Federation published a study on Tuesday which forecast that ownership in England would slump to just 63.8% over the next decade ? the lowest level since the mid-1980s.

The federation, which represents England's housing associations, blamed the bleak outlook on an under-supply of homes, which it warned risked locking an entire generation out of the housing market.

David Orr, chief executive of the federation, said it was time to face up to the fact that Britain had a "totally dysfunctional housing market" with home ownership in decline, rents rising rapidly, and social housing waiting lists at a record high.

Huge purchase deposits, combined with high house prices and strict lending criteria, had sent home ownership into decline in recent years, and the downward trend would continue for the foreseeable future, the federation's independently commissioned forecasts predicted.

With 105,000 homes built in England in 2010-11 ? the lowest level since the 1920s ? the federation called for more government investment in affordable housing.

Orr said home ownership was increasingly becoming the preserve of the wealthy, and, in parts of England, such as London, the "very wealthy".

He said: "At the heart of this crisis is a chronic shortage of new homes. Despite the overwhelming need to increase supply, house building has slumped to a 90-year low, plunging the country even deeper into the mire.

"Ministers need to make unused public land available to housing associations, local authorities must assess the level of housing need in their area, and housing has to be finally treated as a top political priority."

Doing the rounds of television studios on Tuesday, Shapps blamed a tripling of house prices, between 1997 and 2007, which put home ownership out of the reach of many. "Despite the need to tackle the deficit we inherited, this government is putting �4.5bn towards an affordable homes programme which is set to exceed our original expectations and deliver up to 170,000 new homes over the next four years."

But the NHF said this move represented a 63% cut on the previous programme of spending on homes to rent or buy.

Shapps also pointed to a government scheme to make more public land available for homes. "We are releasing enough government land to build Leicester twice over across the country ? it is a massive programme. The new-homes bonus is a multibillion pound incentive to communities to build programmes, and we are hugely reforming the planning system, which is massively complex."

But Labour said that the government's changes to housing policy would make it "harder, not easier" for people to buy property.

Alison Seabeck, Labour's shadow housing minister, said: "For many months Ed Miliband has been campaigning to protect the promise of Britain ? the commitment that each generation will do better than the last. The Conservative-led government are breaking this promise by cutting investment in housing and removing the requirement on local authorities to allow new homes to be built, putting renting or buying a property out of reach for far too many people."

The NHF forecast that the proportion of people living in owner-occupied homes in England would fall from a peak of 72.5% in 2001 to 63.8% in 2021. In London, the majority of people living in the capital would be renting by 2021, the number of owner-occupiers falling from 51.6% in 2010 to 44% by 2021, the NHF added.

The only English region experiencing any increase in owner-occupier numbers over the next 10 years would be the north-east, with a rise from 66.2% to 67.4%, the federation predicted.

Jenny Jones, a Green party member of the London assembly, called for better protection for the increasing numbers of people in the private rental sector as levels of home ownership declined. More and more Londoners were relying on "one of the most insecure rental sectors in Europe" where tenants were unable to resist rent hikes and were "scared to challenge slum landlords", she said.

H�l�ne Mulholland

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/30/housing-minister-get-britain-building

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Channel 4 are broadcasting Chris �Morris?s film Four Lions the week before the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Insensitive publicity stunt, or important alternative voice?

Chris Morris's suicide-bomber satire Four Lions was deemed close to the bone by many reviewers. Have Channel 4 gone too far this time?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/poll/2011/aug/30/four-lions-channel4-poll

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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Beekeeping takes flight in primary school

Learning to look after bees has transformed the behaviour of unruly pupils, says headteacher

When a swarm of bees descended on Charlton Manor primary school in Greenwich the teachers' first reaction was concern. Some were afraid they would have to close the school. But what struck headteacher Tim Baker was how calm the pupils were ? and how fascinated.

A bee catcher was called in to collect the uninvited swarm. But Baker was sufficiently intrigued by the children's reaction to arrange for himself and two members of his staff to go on a beekeeping course. A year later, the school got its own hive.

Beekeeping has now been thoroughly integrated into Charlton Manor's curriculum. In PE, the children study the waggle dance that scout bees do to tell the other bees where nectar is to be found. In cooking lessons, they use honey in their recipes, and in geography, they learn how different parts of the world make use of bees.

Business advisors have helped the children open a shop selling honey in the school playground. The pupils weigh the honey and work out pricing, write ads for the shop and design branding for the jars.

An unexpected benefit has been the effect the bees have had on behaviour. Baker says they have had a "massive impact" on challenging pupils:

"One of the big things for me is getting children to think of others, and to be aware of their responsibility to others. With some children, you can't get them to understand that in relation to other children, but you can show them using bees, chickens or plants."

One pupil was a regular visitor to the school's behavioural support house because of his violent outbursts of kicking, punching and throwing furniture around. While he struggled with academic work, he discovered that he excelled at the the practical side of beekeeping: making the wooden frames that go into the hive, and dismantling the hive to access the honey.

When the Guardian's bees expert, Alison Benjamin, visited the school, the pupil told her: "The bees made me peaceful and calm."

Jo Sparkes, the school gardener, told Benjamin: "We think it is the scale of the responsibility he has been given that he is responding positively to. He can't kick off around the hive because we, and the bees, need to trust him.

"It's not just him, other unruly children have also risen to the challenge. They have finally found something they like to do at school and they are good at."

Chris Deaves, from the British Beekeepers Association, has helped write a guide for teachers thinking about introducing bees to their schools.

He says: "The first thing teachers always ask is, can we keep bees?. And the answer is, yes. Unless there is a restriction in your tenancy agreement, there is no law against keeping bees."

The second question tends to be about safety: "Parents and governors worry about the effects of stings. People get over-excited about bee stings: although there are occasional tragedies, these are extremely rare."

A properly thought-out procedure should take care of such anxieties, he advises. Benjamin's book on urban beekeeping contains a section on how schools can assess risk.

Deaves stresses the importance of consulting an expert about where to put the hive. Bees follow flight paths, and you want to avoid establishing one across the school playground.

Surprisingly, having a hive on site doesn't mean that there will be more bees around. Bees forage 2-3 km from their hive ? and not within 100m of it.

Baker wholeheartedly recommends beekeeping: "When I first looked into it, I was thinking of the curriculum. But it has had unexpected spin-offs ? it has given parents and children a common interest, improved the behaviour of disaffected pupils, and worked on the two extra 'r's' in the curriculum: respect and responsibility."

Frederika Whitehead

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2011/aug/30/beekeeping-in-schools

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Back to work: make your resolutions now

You're far more likely to keep resolutions made in September than in the New Year

Resolutions are a tribute to human optimism. More often than not, they're abandoned within a week or two. Still, it's worth making the effort, because you'll benefit twice over. By looking back, you recognise mistakes you have made and learn from them. By planning ahead, you set priorities and put some order into the coming months. And if you manage to achieve your goals, you gain a delicious sense of pride.

Summer resolutions stand a better chance of being fulfilled than New Year ones. Christmas and New Year can be a ghastly time for many. There's enormous pressure at work. There are the kids' plays and end-of-term concerts, as well as various other celebrations to fit in. You'll probably be feeling particularly anxious about your finances. You may be fighting off colds and flu. And what lies ahead to motivate you? Dark, cold days.

Contrast this with September. The pressure to finish projects at work isn't quite so intense. The weather is better, so your immune system is boosted and endorphins are more freely available.

The only drawback with September resolutions is that you generally make them out of context ? when you're away in a place where you don't have to clean up or get out of bed early. As a result, you're likely to overestimate how much time and energy you'll have. Try to bear this in mind. And here are five tips to increase your chances:

? Ask yourself what you'll gain from each one, and proceed only if the reason is primarily internal (that is, it's something you want, rather than something you're doing simply to please others).

? Break the work you'll need to do into manageable steps, spread over six weeks. It takes that long to establish new habits, so you maximise the chance of maintaining any gains if you work towards them slowly and steadily.

? Ensure each step is quantifiable, so you can clearly see progress. For example, "lose a lot of weight" has less chance of success than "lose 2lb a week for six weeks".

? Offer yourself a reward for reaching your goal. Set aside the funds for that reward ? a new pair of shoes or a night out (or whatever) at the outset.

? Find a buddy so you can motivate each other. Check in regularly and be sure to praise your buddy whenever he or she makes progress.

Linda Blair

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/30/back-to-work-resolutions

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Libya's spectacular revolution has been disgraced by racism

The murder of black men in the aftermath of the rebellion speaks of a society deeply divided for decades by Muammar Gaddafi

"This is a bad time to be a black man in Libya," reported Alex Thomson on Channel 4 News on Sunday. Elsewhere, Kim Sengupta reported for the Independent on the 30 bodies lying decomposing in Tripoli. The majority of them, allegedly mercenaries for Muammar Gaddafi, were black. They had been killed at a makeshift hospital, some on stretchers, some in an ambulance. "Libyan people don't like people with dark skins," a militiaman explained in reference to the arrests of black men.

The basis of this is rumours, disseminated early in the rebellion, of African mercenaries being unleashed on the opposition. Amnesty International's Donatella Rivera was among researchers who examined this allegation and found no evidence for it. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch similarly had not "identified one mercenary" among the scores of men being arrested and falsely labelled by journalists as such.

Lurking behind this is racism. Libya is an African nation ? however, the term "Africans" is used in Libya to reference the country's black minority. The Amnesty International researcher Diana Eltahawy says that the rebels taking control of Libya have tapped into "existing xenophobia". The New York Times refers to "racist overtones", but sometimes the racism is explicit. A rebel slogan painted in Misrata during the fighting salutes "the brigade for purging slaves, black skin". A consequence of this racism has been mass arrests of black men, and gruesome killings ? just some of the various atrocities that human rights organisations blame rebels for. The racialisation of this conflict does not end with hatred of "Africans". Graffiti by rebels frequently depicted Gaddafi as a demonic Jew.

How did it come to this? A spectacular revolution, speaking the language of democracy and showing tremendous courage in the face of brutal repression, has been disgraced. Racism did not begin with the rebellion ? Gaddafi's regime exploited 2 million migrant workers while discriminating against them ? but it has suffused the rebels' hatred of the violently authoritarian regime they have just replaced.

An explanation for this can be found in the weaknesses of the revolt itself. The upsurge beginning on 17 February hinged on an alliance between middle class human rights activists and the working classes in eastern cities such as Benghazi. Rather than wilting under repression, the rebellion spread to new towns and cities. Elements of the regime, seeing the writing on the wall, began to defect. Military leaders, politicians and sections of business and academia sided with the rebels.

But the trouble was that the movement was almost emerging from nowhere. Unlike in Egypt, where a decade of activism and labour insurgency had cultivated networks of activists and trade unionists capable of outfoxing the dictatorship, Libya was not permitted a minimal space for civil society opposition. As a result, there was no institutional structure able to express this movement, no independent trade union movement, and certainly little in the way of an organised left. Into this space stepped those who had the greatest resources ? the former regime notables, businessmen and professionals, as well as exiles. It was they who formed the National Transitional Council (NTC).

The dominance of relatively conservative elites and the absence of countervailing pressures skewed the politics of the rebellion. We hear of "the masses", and "solidarity". But masses can be addressed on many grounds ? some reactionary. There are also many bases for solidarity ? some exclusionary. The scapegoating of black workers makes sense from the perspective of elites. For them, Libya was not a society divided on class lines from which many of them had profited. It was united against a usurper inhabiting an alien compound and surviving through foreign power. Instead, the more success Gaddafi had in stabilising his regime, the more the explanation for this relied on the claim that "Gaddafi is killing us with his Africans ".

A further, unavoidable twist is the alliance with Nato. The February revolt involved hundreds of thousands of people across Libya. By early March the movement was in retreat, overseas special forces were entering Libya, and senior figures in the rebellion called for external intervention. Initially isolated, they gained credibility as Gaddafi gained ground. As a result, the initiative passed from a very large popular base to a relatively small number of armed fighters under the direction of the NTC and Nato. It was the rebel army that subsequently took the lead in persecuting black workers.

Under different conditions, perhaps, unity between the oppressed was possible. But this would probably have required a more radical alliance, one as potentially perilous for those now grooming themselves for office as for Gaddafi. As it is, the success of the rebels contains a tragic defeat. The original emancipatory impulse of February 17 lies, for now, among the corpses of "Africans" in Tripoli.

Richard Seymour

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Source: http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/commentisfree/rss/~3/KNpIG9rvblw/libya-spectacular-revolution-disgraced-racism

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Owen Hargreaves's move is a risk worth taking for Manchester City | Andy Hunter

Manchester City are convinced the England midfielder is fit despite his dismal injury record

Manchester's billboards will not incite a feud this time. Just as there was no "Fergie, Fergie, sign him up" appeal as Owen Hargreaves approached his sad but inevitable end at Old Trafford, so the chant is unlikely to develop into a taunt from Manchester City even if the midfielder's knees do function again. It is a cross-city defection that intrigues more than infuriates and, also unlike the Carlos Tevez affair, it is a move that suits everyone involved.

For Hargreaves, the call from a club targeting both Premier League and Champions League success justifies that desperate fitness advertisement on YouTube and his prevaricating over a good offer to resurrect his career at West Bromwich Albion.

His last competitive appearance lasted all of five minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2010. It ended with England's player of the 2006 World Cup (a minuscule field, admittedly) in tears inside the Old Trafford dressing room with, as became the norm during his four years with United, only a physiotherapist for company. Hamstring torn, calf torn, faint hopes of a contract extension from Sir Alex Ferguson in tatters.

The 30-year-old recently claimed he offered to play for free for United this season. Ferguson had good reason to decline and to release a player refreshingly lacking in ego, but whose determination to impress ? whether as a teenager arriving at Bayern Munich from Canada or as an established international who arrived at United with an �18m price tag and a serious injury ? ultimately cost him the peak years of his career.

Hargreaves made 18 league starts for United in four seasons. He has made only five competitive first-team appearances in three years ? 182 minutes in total ? and his last 90-minute outing came in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in September 2008. Since that day at Chelsea, a game that left his troubled knees so rigid he was unable to drive for three days, Hargreaves's United career amounts to six minutes ? as a last-minute substitute at Sunderland in May 2010 and the ill-fated start against Wolves later that year.

The exasperation in Ferguson's voice increased when asked about United's forgotten midfielder last season. He had utmost sympathy for a player with chronic patellar tendinitis, a condition that left Hargreaves's knees in the poorest state that the surgeon Dr Richard Steadman, a world-renowned specialist who has saved the careers of a number of players including Alan Shearer, claims to have witnessed in 35 years. But it is believed the player's own choice of medical treatment caused disquiet at United. There were also suggestions that the United manager feared Hargreaves's physical battle had taken a mental toll too.

There is room for a midfielder with Hargreaves's attributes in the United squad but not, as Ferguson stated during their farewell conversation, if he obstructs the emergence of younger, fitter rivals. Tom Cleverley's development is the latest vindication of Ferguson's outlook and Ryan Tunnicliffe, now taking the loan route via Peterborough United, is further down the production line.

The United manager would not have allowed City's interest to influence his decision had he been aware of it. Any questions must be directed at those who signed off Hargreaves's medical in 2007, the player having damaged a patellar tendon at Bayern the previous season, and already have been.

City's offer is reward for Hargreaves's refusal to concede defeat following surgery on both knees, for his daily efforts at Carrington and global search for a solution to the pain. Through a friend, the basketball star Steve Nash, he got in touch with the LA Lakers' former athletic performance coordinator, Alex McKechnie, and spent a month at his clinic in Vancouver performing "movement re-education" exercises for three hours a day. Ferguson was so impressed by Hargreaves on his return that he elected to start him against Wolves. He would not wear the United shirt again.

City officials are adamant the 30-year-old is in good condition, as were Albion, and in Roberto Mancini's search for inexpensive cover for the holding midfielder Nigel De Jong, Hargreaves represents a risk worth taking.

The two parties are negotiating the structure of a one-year contract at the Etihad Stadium and he is unlikely to tip City over the edge of Uefa's financial fair play regulations. Unlike at other Premier League clubs, City have the resources to use Hargreaves sparingly.

The question the transfer raises for Hargreaves and City is not why, but why not?

Andy Hunter

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/aug/30/owen-hargreaves-manchester-city

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Robert Callender obituary

Beachcomber artist inspired by the sea and the flotsam brought in by the tide

Robert Callender, who has died of cancer aged 79, was the best-known beachcomber in British art. For him, trudging along the seashore with his eyes fixed to the ground was both a way of art and a way of life: the driftwood he gathered provided the heating and cooking fuel in the bothy he discovered in 1969, built at the bleak Point of Stoer on the Sutherland coastline 100 years before as a shelter for men erecting Stoer Head lighthouse. Callender and his partner, Elizabeth Ogilvie, later his wife, called this home, though only in the summer months: in winter they retreated to a studio in Leith, and after 1990 to a converted cinema in Fife. She, too, was an artist, and in symbiosis with Callender's obsession with beaches and flotsam her own extraordinary work was driven by a study of water.

His career began with a series of shows in the early 1960s of 6ft panoramic landscapes ? a walk-in, human scale. These included a sequence of paintings of the Lake District, some of which were almost literal transcriptions, but in which rocks and clouds amalgamated rhythmically, almost sculpturally: "His view is not an end but a beginning" wrote Robert Waterhouse in a Guardian review of an exhibition of this work in Bradford in 1964.

Although Callender was born in Mottingham, Kent (now deep inside south-east London), he lived in Scotland for 60 years, following a short time (1948-49) at art school in South Shields, County Durham. From 1951 he studied medical illustration at Edinburgh University, but in 1954 moved to the painting class at Edinburgh College of Art, concluding with a postgraduate year spent in Italy, France and Spain on a couple of travelling scholarships from the university and the British School at Rome. In 1960, he began a parallel but successful career as a teacher at the college for the next 33 years, with stints lecturing at the American university in Aix-en-Provence in France.

In 1966, Callender made a brief, unsuccessful excursion into pop art, though this, too, was a portent of some of his later work with found objects at Point of Stoer. His father had been an engineer and boat-builder on the Thames and Callender never forgot the sight and smell of nautical activities on the tidal river. As his career developed, he would rarely be far from the sea.

His writing abut his own work tended to the dispassionate, as though he were commenting on a scientific experiment. Crucially, he mentioned "an ongoing interest in the narrow strip of land between high and low water". In the 70s and early 80s, a typical Callender piece would be a highly focused painting of sand and pebbles on a beach. His fascination with appearances left him open to accusations of banality, but he shrugged off the description of his work as "photorealism" because his intention was an altogether more real ? in the sense of a more rounded, intimate, even spiritual ? response to the environment. Again, the canvases of this period were big, and showed in two key exhibitions: alongside work by his wife at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh in 1977; and solo at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1980.

In June 1983, the small fishing boat Arcadia was wrecked below the cliffs at Stoer Head, killing five people. From above, Callender observed the wreckage floating in a green sea: "Great swaths of orange nets and floats trapped in a tangle of wreckage." From this point on, his work became inalienably linked to man's struggle with the ocean.

The impulse the disaster gave his work was displayed two years later in a remarkable show, Between Tides, at the Talbot Rice Gallery at Edinburgh University. Callender eschewed direct reference to the Arcadia and instead showed what looked like the skeletons of abandoned working boats, severed bows and detached rudders, but were actually astonishingly accurate simulacra made of balsa wood, paint, card and papier-mache. One boat, repainted white, looked ghostlike against the white unplastered walls of the gallery. The exhibition seemed to whisper the lives of those destroyed vessels and their crewmen. It was a triumph of hand-crafted realism transmuted into elegiac poetry, and was interspersed with photographs and acrylics. He regarded the reconstructed debris of the boats not as sculpture but as painting in three dimensions ? less frustrating and more real than painting on canvas.

In an exhibition called Sea Salvage along the same lines in the same place four years later, Callender used wood ash, sawdust and peat to give texture to his sea pieces. He pointed out that he was making paper from trees look like wood again, and his heart may well have resonated with the ecological implications: however sombre his theme or sad the plastic detritus that he reconstructed, Callender had a great sense of optimism about the enduring culture of the Scottish coastline.

Indeed, though he may not have thought much about it himself, Callender was part of a tradition of Scottish marine painting, from William MacTaggart to Ian Hamilton Finlay, John Bellany, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and of course his wife, Liz, who survives him along with two sons, John and Mike, and four grandchildren, Fiona, Laura, Robbie and Sula.

? Robert Callender, artist, born 14 January 1932; died 27 July 2011

Michael McNay

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/aug/29/robert-callender-obituary

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Dear Jeremy work advice: have your say

? I've lost all confidence since being made redundant
? I think I'll be fired. Should this job go on my r�sum�?

At the start of each week, we publish the problems that will feature in this Saturday's Dear Jeremy advice column in the Guardian Work supplement, so readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy's own insights. Here are this week's dilemmas ? what are your thoughts?

Problem one: I've lost all confidence since being made redundant

I was made redundant six months ago and have been unemployed ever since. Losing my job had more of an impact than I thought it would, and I find myself completely bereft of confidence. Two frankly humiliating interview experiences, in which I was inarticulate and timid, have made this worse. I'm at the point where I would now dread, rather than relish, another invitation to interview.

How can I pull myself out of this vicious cycle? I'd like to know of any practical steps I can take to restore my confidence and stop sabotaging my own chances at landing a job.

Problem two: I think I'll be fired. Should this job go on my r�sum�?

I started a job in the US in April but have clashed with my boss repeatedly. This culminated in an extremely negative ? and, in my eyes, somewhat unfair ? three-month review. My next review is at the five-month mark in September, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the path toward termination due to the paper trail the company is laying and the exaggerations that are written about me.

I have two questions: first, is it better to quit instead of being terminated? The thing is, if I'm let go I may still qualify for unemployment benefits (I've been saving the evidence of the praise I have received for some projects, and am filing responses/complaints about the misrepresentations I see in the review).

My second question is, as I look for a new job should I include this one on my r�sum�? On the one hand, I don't want to explain such a long gap (I was unemployed for six months before starting this job,) but on the other hand, what would I tell people who ask why I am already looking? And should I list the job if I am let go, as I expect, in September?

What are your thoughts?

? For Jeremy's and readers' advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/work-blog/2011/aug/30/dear-jeremy-work-advice-have-your-say

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Doctor Who: F-word nein danke | Media Monkey

Doctor Who fans got a shock on Saturday's show ? and not just because it featured Adolf Hitler. Some viewers thought they heard a German guard utter the F-word in the episode, Let's Kill Hitler. Shocking! Corporation bosses insisted they were mistaken, saying it was a German phrase that was dubbed in after filming was finished, reports the Sun. "Halt, was machen sie," which means "Please, no spoilers!" Er, sorry, that should be "Stop, what are you doing?" If only there was some way we could turn back time and watch the episode again, eh? On a device we'll call ... the iPlayer!

Monkey

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2011/aug/30/doctor-who-f-word

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Stylish new places to stay in Britain

Boats on top of buildings, rock'n'roll pubs, a pop-up hotel in Cornwall ? We pick eight new stylish places to stay in Britain

This is an extract from tomorrow's Travel section, a bumper-sized Cool Britannia special

Wicked Campers, Edinburgh

The campervan company that offers crazily decorated vans all over the world has opened a new depot in Edinburgh. Wicked Campers' colourful vehicles come fully equipped with a bed, additional tent, sink, gas stove, coolbox and CD player/iPod connection, so all you have to do is turn up and hit the road. You could head for the wide sandy beaches of East Lothian, or north for a Highland adventure.
? Seven days' hire from Edinburgh starts from �58pp, based on five sharing a multi-seater campervan; 0808 234 8461, wickedcampers.co.uk

Russells of Clapton, London

This has to be the most surprising location for a boutique hotel we have ever heard of. Clapton is a rather deprived corner of the capital ? it only got a Tesco earlier this year ? so a stylish bolthole, run by the ex-manager of electronic indie band Hot Chip no less, and frequented by models and musicians in town for gigs, has come as something of a shocker. Perhaps it shouldn't. Chatsworth Road, where this five-room pad is located, is fast turning into the new Dalston, full of hipsters, organic cafes and home to a weekly farmers' market. It's also 10-15 minutes from Broadway Market and London Fields, five from Hackney Marshes, 30-ish from Liverpool Street. Rooms are white, with Welsh blankets, framed artworks and quirky glass lamps.
? 07976 669906, russellsofclapton.com, rooms from �70-105 a night

The Pop-Up Hotel, Cornwall and various locations

Britain's first "transient hotel" offers a collection of stylish tents which will be "popping up" at festivals, secluded country locations and private beaches across the UK. Choose from a classic bell tent or one of the "suites", which are inspired by luxury safari tents and offer covered front decks, king-size beds and ensuite bathrooms. The walls may be canvas but the service is hotel-spec, with concierge, valet parking, chauffeur service, restaurant and bar. The hotel has just set up camp at Trevanger Farm in St Minver in Cornwall, perfect for a spot of late-summer sun and surf, and will be there until 31 August. In September it will up sticks, leaving no trace behind, and move onto its next location, rumoured to be a spectacular country estate in Dartmoor.
? From �115 a night; book through Canopy and Stars, 01275 395447, canopyandstars.co.uk

The Wheatsheaf Inn, Northleach, Gloucestershire

Don't be fooled by the mellow stone exterior of this traditional Cotswolds coaching inn, this place has some serious rock'n'roll credentials. Musicians from Steve Winwood to members of the Sex Pistols have stayed here, and it also played host to guests at the recent wedding of Kate Moss, including members of the band Massive Attack. Come for the low-key luxury of the bedrooms ? with their Bang & Olufsen televisions, posh toiletries and fine bedlinen ? the real ales in the cosy bar, and the all-day weekend brunch, with its devilled kidneys, Bloody Mary sardines and rock oysters, washed down with Bucks Fizz.
? Doubles from �120 a night; 01451 860244, cotswoldswheatsheaf.com

A Room for London, Southbank Centre

The latest offering from Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project of architect-designed self-catering properties is the most audacious yet: a "boat" which perches on the roof of the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Designed by David Kohn Architects and artist Fiona Banner, the temporary one-bedroom installation will open in January 2012 and will have a nautical theme, with balconies, a "bridge" hosting a library, and spectacular views of London.
? Booking opens on 8 September, with rates from �120 a night; living-architecture.co.uk

Heron Hall, Dorking, Surrey

The last word in decadence, this eight-bedroom manor house comes with a dedicated party room complete with dancing poles, strobe lighting and large cinema screen. When you've finished quaffing champagne in the plus a hot tub,there's a sauna, gym and tennis courts for working off the hangover. It's set in five acres of private parkland, so you won't disturb the neighbours.
? Sleeps 16, with rates from �1,075 for one night, �2,150 for a weekend or �3,995 a week; holidaylettings.co.uk/132262

Ty Cefn Tregib Airstream, Carmarthenshire

Or how about a vintage 1976 American Airstream in a quiet corner of the Brecon Beacons national park? It sleeps two and has a comfy lounge area kitted out in 1970s style, plus DVD, iPod dock, shower, kitchen and king-size double bed. Step outside and the wilds of Wales are at your feet.
? A three-night weekend break costs from �210; 01558 823942, tregib.co.uk

1950s caravan, Isle of Wight

Fans of all things retro will love Mabel, Vintage Vacations' 1950s caravan, which is lovingly restored, and furnished with crocheted throws, Formica chairs and 1950s kitchen units. Mabel's home for the summer is the delightfully old-fashioned Brighstone Holiday Park in the south-west of the island, which dates from the 1930s and oozes period charm, with its simple wooden chalets and sea views. And there's still availability for August and September.
? Sleeps two adults and two children; from �175 for a two-night short break, 07802 758113, vintagevacations.co.uk

Gemma Bowes

Joanne O'Connor

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/aug/05/stylish-new-accommodation-hotels-britain

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Monday, August 29, 2011

Holidays 4 U clients face long wait for compensation

Low-income families face losing out on summer holiday altogether as rescue fund could take eight months to pay out

Thousands of holidaymakers who had their summer getaways ruined by the collapse of tour operator Holidays 4 UK have been told they may have to wait months for compensation.

About 50,000 people who had booked and paid for Holidays 4 UK trips to Turkey have been told that they would have to wait up to eight months for cash from the Civil Aviation Authority's rescue fund. The delay means thousands of low-income families will be unable to rebook another holiday this summer. Flights carrying Holidays 4 UK customers were due to leave seven UK airports, but those who booked with the company, which trades as Holidays 4U and Aegean Flights, were told to stay at home.

Holidays 4 UK, which went into administration on Wednesday, was covered by the CAA's Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) rescue fund, but a CAA spokesman said refunds would take "months rather than weeks".

Laura Gardyne, from Dundee, who was due to fly to Turkey in September, said: "We have to wait to receive our money back and this could take up to eight months. I think it is an absolute disgrace. People should be getting their money back cash in hand or offered another holiday at the same time."

Gloria De Piero, the shadow culture minister, said families should not pay the price for "corporate failure".

"The government must ensure that those already abroad are looked after. They need to be able to complete their holiday and return home on time and everyone who had a holiday booked with Holidays 4U should receive their compensation as soon as possible, so they don't miss out on a holiday this year."

Rupert Neate

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/04/holidays-4-uk-wait-compensation

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China fails to measure pollution

Pollutant levels were not measured and made public because findings would have been 'too sensitive' for the authorities

China has not measured data on the most dangerous types of air pollution because it is afraid of the political consequences, according to US diplomatic cables.

This assessment, which comes to light as the government prepares to upgrade its air quality monitoring system, was among the central findings of cables from the US consulate in Guangzhou that were relased on Wednesday by WikiLeaks.

Diplomats based in the industrial heartland of Guangdong ? known as the workshop of the world and also one of the worst areas for acid rain and other pollution ? looked in detail at monitoring systems and health impacts in 2006.

Based on research by local scientists, the consulate noted in a cable dated 16 August that small-particulate matter known as PM2.5, was five to 10 times higher than suggested by World Health Organisation guidelines.

It said the findings were "alarming", because PM2.5 is not on the government index of air pollutants yet it is deemed to be of highest concern for public health because the particles are so fine they can enter into the lungs, contribute to acute respiratory symptoms, heart disease, childhood illnesses and premature deaths.

The diplomats observed, however, that this form of pollution was not being systematically measured and made public because the findings were likely to be too sensitive for the authorities.

"Those lobbying for its inclusion in an index of pollutants conceded that including a pollutant whose current levels would measure so far above acceptable standards would be politically difficult," the cable said.

Problems about transparency extended to academia, according to another cable dated 19 September 2006, which describes: "Academics and research scientists in Guangdong, who are increasingly concerned about the region's serious air pollution, but feel pressured to tone down their comments lest they face cuts in research funding ... Scientists acknowledge that lack of transparency for existing air pollution data is a major problem both for research and policy making."

Diplomats who attempted to research the possible links between pollution and birth defects were denied meeting requests on the grounds that the subject was "too sensitive".

PM2.5 was not the only problem. Until now, Ozone ? another dangerous pollutant ? has also been omitted from the index, When the US Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation William Wehrum visited the Guangdong Environmental Information Center in 2006, a member of his delegation noted: "The raw data on the LCD screen showed extremely high levels of O3 (Ozone)".

Since the cable was written in November 2006, however, environmentalists have commended the progress that China has made in measuring, disclosing and reducing air pollution, but many of these concern remain today.

The state media reported on Thursday that a new index would soon be introduced. Expectations are high that it will include ozone for the first time. Less certain is whether PM2.5 will finally be added.

Jonathan Watts

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/26/wikileaks-china-dangerous-pollution

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Ennis hits back to lead heptathlon

? Britain's defending champion recovers from slow start
? Challengers may have edge over final three disciplines

It was, Jessica Ennis admitted, "a stressful first day". And the second could be tougher still. Ennis has a 151-point lead over Russia's Tatyana Chernova, who won the bronze at the Beijing Olympics. But Chernova jumps longer, throws the javelin further and is almost two seconds quicker over 800m. If Ennis is going to become the first Briton to defend a title in the history of the world championships, she will need to be at her very best.

Nataliya Dobrynska, the Olympic Champion, is in fourth place behind the American Hyleas Fountain, and she too has a better jump and javelin throw than Ennis. The gold medal could be won and lost over the course of two excruciating laps of the track on Tuesday night.

"Today has proved that it is so tight," Ennis said. "I don't think I am many points up and it is going to be tough tomorrow because those girls have strong second days. I need to make sure I am completely on it. I hit two or three hurdles and have a massive bruise on my knee but I will be all right."

In the morning session she was completely off it. Before the world championships started Ennis had said that the fact she was defending champion only added to the pressure she felt. And in the first two events that showed. She clattered into the second barrier in the 100m hurdles and was unusually mediocre in the high jump. They are Ennis's two strongest events and typically she finds herself leading the competition after they have been completed. This time, however, she found herself in third place. She was 41 points behind Fountain, who won the silver in Beijing. She is so accustomed to leading from the front that this was a real shock.

At that point her fans shared an ominously queasy feeling about her chances. Fountain beat Ennis by 0.01sec in the hurdles, the first time she has lost a heptathlon hurdles competition since the 2006 European Championships. Similarly her 1.86m was her worst high jump performance since that same competition. Chernova and Dobrynska both ran personal bests, which seemed to magnify her mistakes.

But Ennis proved she is made of sterner stuff than those who were worrying about her. In the afternoon disciplines she was brilliant and that bodes well for the rest of the event. She recorded a personal best in the first round of the shot, with a distance of 14.67m. In fact all three of her efforts were a good deal farther than any she had managed outdoors before. That pushed her back up to first. Then she won the 200m in 23.27sec, 0.16sec shy of her personal best but still good enough to make her the fastest woman in the field by a distance.

"I knew it was going to be tough," Ennis said. But not, it seemed, as tough as it turned out to be. "In the hurdles I didn't start well, hit some hurdles, lost balance, just didn't get the time that I wanted." Tempting as it would have been to use the bruise on her knee as an excuse for her poor high jump, she said she had hardly noticed it. Instead she just felt she "didn't have the ping that I normally do" in the intense heat and humidity of the late morning.

After her bad start she was desperate to come back. "It was very frustrating. It's a position I'm not used to being in and I felt really frustrated with myself, so I wanted to make it right and get back to that first position. I was nervous and wanting to make up and get those points back that I had lost, so I was very happy to get that PB in the shot."

Her coach, Toni Minichiello, seemed quite relaxed about her chances. "She's only 34 points off her score in Barcelona," he pointed out after the high jump, recalling her performance at the European Championships last year, where she finished with the gold. "And that was a personal best, so she's got plenty of chances to make it up." Her score at the end of the day, 4,078, was only two points off the tally she had at the Europeans.

Away from the top of the field the Commonwealth champion, Louise Hazel, had a superb day. She recorded personal bests in the high jump and the hurdles, as well as a season's best in the shot. That put her 16th overall. She will not win as many headlines as her team-mate but she should be even happier with her performance.

Andy Bull

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/aug/29/jessica-ennis-heptathlon-world-championships

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My TV hero: Daniel Roche on Seth MacFarlane

I can't get to sleep without watching Family Guy

I really love Family Guy. I first started to watch it when my parents had gone to bed, then I got a TV in my bedroom. I can't get to sleep now without watching Family Guy. It got me into Seth MacFarlane's other work. I started to watch things he's been involved with, such as Hellboy and Dexter's Laboratory. Seth has worked on everything, it seems ? Johnny Bravo, I Am Weasel, Robot Chicken. He's even got a series on YouTube. He does animation, writing, voices ? everything. My favourite character he has created is Stewie, the dangerous baby in Family Guy.

I used to love watching things like Wallace and Gromit and the Cartoon Network. SpongeBob is my all-time hero. I watch a real mix now. I like MTV. I love Josh Gates and his shows about monsters and the unexplained. I watch a lot of movies ? Dark Knight, V for Vendetta, horror movies. I like Sky Movies Premiere.

But I find it quite hard to find programmes for my age group. [Roche is 11 years old.] I like adventure shows and cartoons, but I've also started to watch documentary channels, too. I watched a Stephen Fry rhino documentary the other day. I do channel hop, though, and sometimes watch about three things at once by using the ad breaks to turn over. I do this a lot when watching the music channels. But if a celebrity programme comes on MTV I turn over.

I'm the only one of my school friends who likes to watch documentaries, movies and drama. But now everyone watches Family Guy as it gets repeated all the time on BBC3. They've even started making Family Guy merchandising, so they must know lots of kids watch it. The most popular show with my friends is Top Gear. They yap about it all the time at school, but I'm not that bothered by it. They all liked the recent magic programme by Penn and Teller, too. Family Guy is still my favourite, though.

Daniel Roche plays Ben in Outnumbered on BBC1 on Fridays.

Leo Hickman

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/aug/29/my-tv-hero-seth-macfarlane

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The Sunday Papers with ? Dreda Say Mitchell

Libya, UK riots, the Notting Hill carnival: at last we have a story to put all these issues in their place. Yes, The X Factor is back

The most interesting feature of today's press is not so much what's covered as what's not. The Sunday Mirror reports that the son of a former police boss has been arrested on suspicion of looting while the Sunday Express has a very interesting interview with historian Peter Ackroyd. He gives some historical context to the recent disorder and suggests rioting is as much a part of the urban landscape as foxhunting is of the rural one.

By and large though, the papers seem to be fast losing interest in what the left will no doubt one day call the "August days". With the police arresting suspects on the one hand and columnists having arrested the usual metaphorical suspects on the other, there seems to be a consensus emerging that the riots are a bit passe. Let's hope this isn't a pattern: we need more in-depth analysis now, not less.

Normally in some sections of Fleet Street you'd expect reporting of rioting to lead seamlessly into coverage of the Notting Hill Carnival (see what they do there?) but coverage of the carnival is equally muted. The Observer suggests that some police officers are concerned that measures being taken to prevent trouble will actually lead to it ? the theory being that attempts to shut down sound systems early in the evening might lead to friction and disorder.

The Sunday Telegraph includes a report that the police are worried by some of the things they're seeing on social networks as the carnival gears up. My own guess would be that with 16,000 cops available and every admin assistant in the Met scanning Facebook and Twitter, even the most dim-witted troublemaker would be giving the carnival a miss this year. But then I might be wrong. If some rioters are stupid enough to pose for pictures in front of CCTV cameras then they're stupid enough for anything. But you can be sure the police won't be wanting any "Where were the police?" articles in the days to come.

Libya is prominent in the papers today of course, although there is something of a "Does anyone know what's going on?" and "Where is the Tripoli pimpernel anyway?" flavour to it. Miles Amoore in the Sunday Times (p17) gives a graphic account of the fighters who pushed into Tripoli, among them many Libyan exiles who had returned from Britain. And the argument about the rights and wrongs of Nato's intervention is also alive again now Tripoli has fallen. In the Mail On Sunday, Peter Hitchens damns the whole enterprise and warns Libya may well end up in a worse mess than before. He also angrily rejects the idea that his views are "defending" Gaddafi in a curious echo of the argument about "excusing" rioting a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the hunt for former News Of The World readers is hotting up. The Sunday Mirror has a front-page exclusive on the latest from The X Factor. Did you know that Louis isn't happy with Simon? That Louis is getting Sinitta as a mentor instead of Adele, while Tulisa has got the seal of approval from Cheryl? And let no one say this report doesn't get to grip with the big issues as Tulisa gives her take on the riots: "What happened is disgusting but the cuts are to blame ? kids have nothing positive to do."

Dreda Say Mitchell

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Source: http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/commentisfree/rss/~3/6MILjbuQlLA/national-newspapers-sundaymirror

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