Do you know how lucky you are?

Did you have a bad day yesterday? Maybe you were late for work by a few minutes, or missed your gym class because you were late for work, then overcoooked your dinner? Can I maybe ask you to take a step back and be thankful that you are able to continue to go to your place of work, to be thankful your gym is still standing to be thankful you had enough food and electricity/gas with which to overcook your dinner.

Do you know how fortunate you are to be reading this? Whether it's on a desktop/laptop or more likely a tablet or phone. I know how lucky I am to be able to write this. From the safety of my kitchen, in an apartment with lights, heat, four walls and a lock on the door. How lucky I am to be able to express my opinion publicly without fear of persecution. How lucky I am that I know where all my family and friends are, and I know that they are safe.

The so-called migrant crisis, called so by politicians and the media, is not a migrant crisis, it is a humanitarian crisis, it is a refugee crisis. Do you know why it is not a migrant crisis? Migrants have a choice. I myself chose to migrate to another country. I was not forced to flee, to abandon everything once my house had been caught in cross-fire, once the school down the street was hit by a mortar, once my non Islamic friend was beheaded just because he believed in a different God.

Do you know how lucky you are to be able to move freely throughout the world, where you're barely asked for a visa? As a UK citizen I can enter 173 countries without a visa (or receive one on arrival), if I was an Iraqi that number is 31, if I was Syrian it's not much better at 39. As a UK citizen, I can complete an ESTA and travel to the USA, I don't need to visit their embassy and apply, I don't need to go to a British embassy, I can just do it online. Do you understand how easy we have it?





Now imagine all these every day things that we take for granted, taken away. You can't guarantee your own safety let alone your immediate families, and forget about your friends. The beautiful thriving city you grew up in is being mortared on a daily basis. Have you seen pictures of Damascus before the civil war? It was beautiful, it was busy, it is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world; evidence of large scale settlement from 2000 BC within the area of Damascus, in the wider Barada basin, back to 9000 BC. I know of people who had been prior to the war and would always say what an amazing city it was. Rebels are fighting the government, and you're in the cross fire, so what do you do... 

Syria - before and after 

You don't want to leave your country, the country you love, where you have a home, maybe you hope one day to be able to go back to your house. Maybe you move to your parents city, or the home of your brothers wifes second cousin, but after a few weeks/months the fight moves, the front lines change and you are no longer safe, so you move again. This continues until you realise you have to take your family somewhere you know they will be safe. Somewhere they can't be shelled, your kids can get an education in a school that still has all of its classrooms, all of its teachers.

I've seen these people, the ones that managed to get away. I've seen them in their trucks and their cars with all their family and everything they could carry crammed in. I've seen them in the UN camps outside of Erbil and near Zakho, both in Kurdistan, each camp being that little bit bigger every time I've gone past. My colleagues have seen them living in unfinished buildings and they're the lucky ones, the buildings might not have walls but at least they have a roof. The ones that aren't so lucky live under tarpaulins by the side of the road. Running water? Flushing toilets? Whats that, they'll ask you. These are the people that go where they can, they definitely can't afford to get to the coast and then on a boat to Europe.

So if you were in their situation, you were lucky enough to have a bit of money, what would you do? Would you move to another country (Kurdistan) that already has over a million refugees and enough of it's own problems, or would you strive for the western world hoping for a better life?

So this is why I'm writing, I'm asking you to put yourself in their shoes and stop being part of the problem, stop posting sensationalist propaganda on social media without checking it first, stop saying charity begins at home, you're right it does - but please tell me what was the last charitable thing YOU did. Open your eyes, hearts and minds. Look for the truth and perhaps seek to put yourselves in their place for just a moment. Ask yourself what you would do to protect your family, your children, your lives. We are all of this world, some seek to destroy it be separating everyone in to us and them and selfishly seeking to turn everyone to their small minded ways. Don’t let them, don’t let them turn you in to a sheep hitting like and share without a thought for what it really means.

Count your blessings and then go help someone less fortunate before you hit that next share.











Most Shocking Second a Day Video by Save The Children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBQ-IoHfimQ - Everyone should watch this at least once.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_time_of_continuous_habitation

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/01092014





Big thank you to my bestest for helping me find the words I needed to finish this.

Travelling - What I have learnt, and what bugs me the most

I travel a lot, some things about other travellers and the whole thing of travelling bug me, a lot. So this if you will, is not just observations, it is a bit of a rant, you have been warned!

I consider myself quite lucky as I get to travel quite a bit with my job. Especially as I am just a general, run-of-the-mill technical member of staff, being neither a manager nor a chief scientist. Since changing companies in 2011 I have been to Tunisia, southern Italy, Calgary, Dubai, Morocco, Abu Dhabi and London and in some cases I´ve been to these destinations more than once. In my previous job I was also fortunate to travel with work, with destinations including; Rome, Italy; Kiev, Ukraine; Islamabad, Pakistan; Sana’a, Yemen and both Stavanger and Oslo in Norway. 

I also travel back-and-forth between the UK to spend time with my boyfriend, family and friends. The difference being that when I travel with work I tend to fly economy extra/business class and when I travel home its economy/Ryanair, who as far as I´m concerned have a travel class all to themselves!

I think exposing yourself to different cultures and countries makes you a better, more rounded person. To experience this with work, and work with these cultures also makes you a more informed individual person. However the amount of travel I do makes me somewhat intolerant to other less travelled individuals.

The first time I went to Yemen was with a manager of mine who was very well travelled and he would frequently mutter “too stupid to travel” aimed at various people as he was going round airports/on the plane/anywhere he deemed it appropriate. I thought he was just being cynical, but now I am prone to agree, that some people should not be allowed to travel, or if they do should come with warning signs. So here are my biggest pet hates:

1) Issues at security controls… If you travel a lot and you´ve seen the film Up in the Air with George Clooney when you´re in a rush you will recognise yourself in this quote:

“Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em”.  

Yes, the lack of consistency between countries, airports and even terminals is incredibly frustrating sometimes, Heathrow airport I am looking at you, but there are ways to make this as painless as possible. I know the drill, if I am in a queue at security I have my belt in my hand, my watch in my bag, my jacket over my arm before I even get to the front of it, if I´m in heels they´re off as well and read to go in a container. My liquids bag contains nothing more than 100ml, and if I´m hand luggage only it’s in the front of my case, the only thing that I have to deal with is getting my laptop out. Come on now people, you should know by now, the liquids restriction has been in place since 2001, that’s over 10 years. I still can´t believe people try and get through full bottles of shampoo, water etc. Surely they know by now?

1B) Related to this is the complete lack of consistency, between countries, airports, terminals, days of the week and indeed staff members and the mood you catch them in!

Case in point, Heathrow airport. I had happily gone through that airport half a dozen times with a zip closed clear plastic bag containing my liquids less than 100ml whilst on my way back to Oslo. No questions asked, no complaints. The first time I had to transfer flights at Heathrow, I had issues. Apparently a zip leaks vapours and vapours are dangerous. So what happens when you open it? I don´t mean to be antagonistic, but COME ON!!!

2) People who just stop…. They´re walking along quite happily and then they just stop right in front of you. Why? Who knows? And why is it always in the worst place possible?

Sometimes it may be to do up their coat or pull up the handle of their bag, I understand that this is a necessary thing to do, but can´t you wait 30 seconds, or step to the side so you don´t cause an unnecessary human collision? Please

*This pet hate isn´t limited to travel and points of departure, this also applies to tourists in towns with maps, gossiping women in Westfield stood at the bottom of escalators and anyone else that decides that the most inconvenient place, is the best place to stop for a moment.

3) People that take a good few minutes when taking their place on a plane and thus holding everyone else up…

Find your seat, grab what you need for your journey and get your bag up into the overhead lockers. Step into the row, or the row behind and allow people to pass. Then take your coat off, and put it up. Don’t stand there for what seems like forever faffing with everything!

Linked to this is 3B)

The inability to pack overhead lockers, or trying to fit ALL your hand luggage into it so no one else can fit any.

I think this is a lack of consideration more than anything. Yes its great if you can fit your handbag, small case, duty free and coat in there, but what about the next person and the one after? The only seats that require you to ensure all your hand luggage is out the way are the emergency aisle and row 1. I do often have a handbag and a case but my handbag is always under the seat in front and my coat is on top of my case in the locker.

4) People who insist on watching their PC/tablet/phone on loud rather than through headphones, like a normal considerate person!

When sat whilst waiting for a plane, I don´t want to listen to your Bollywood movie, your cheesy pop, your Angry Birds game, or anything else that I don´t have to, thank you very much, so buy some headphones and think of others! 

5) People who travel abroad who should stay at home.

The British are often very guilty of this. Take Spain for example, two of the things that make Spanish culture great are the fantastic original tapas and the amazing red wines. So why is there a lack of great tapas bars serving great red wine in the tourist hubs and a significant amount of British pubs serving rubbish British lager, English Breakfasts and Sunday Roasts? Why go to Greece where the fresh seafood and lamb is amazing and eat burger and chips everyday? Or North Africa which has fantastic tagines which are spiced, but not overly so, then complain the food isn´t to your taste. If you want British food, British pub culture and are not willing to try the local cuisine here is my advice… STAY AT HOME.

The same comes to respecting another countries culture and rules. Don´t walk around a mall in Dubai in your bikini and not expect to be reprimanded (actually, please don´t do that, ANYWHERE!). Don´t expect to not be asked to cover your hair in temples and mosques. Be respectful. If you´re not willing to do that, then, again, STAY AT HOME!

You should come back from your holiday feeling refreshed and revived. That you have experienced something that has made you a better, more informed person.

So they´re my top 5 pet hates when travelling, and I´m not counting personal hygiene issues of other travellers there, that’s a pet hate ALL the time! These pet hates are mostly ones that make me realise how inconsiderate human beings sometimes are, how selfish we can be, and when you travel with over 150 people in a flying sardine can, you cannot be inconsiderate. When you have your own private jet, well then you can do whatever it is you want, and if you find yourself guilty of any of these, well, I just hope you don´t travel at the same time as me! :)

Links:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m17j0qCm lx1rs7qlto1_400.jpg
http://consumedbywander.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/life-quotes-travel-is-the-only-thing-you-buy-that-makes-you-richer.jpg

Surviving Winter, what I have learnt…

Today is the 2^nd February, the days may be getting longer, but temperatures are still very low, (minus 11 in Oslo today whilst a couple of weekends a friend went to Koppang, 250km north of Oslo, and it was -30!!!) and at least a small smattering of snow most days – even when none is predicted. Winter has most definitely set in.

This will be my third winter in Oslo having arrived on January 29^th 2011. I think I have pretty much got used to it, although the cold still occasionally takes my breath away and it´s that point I wish ski masks were that much more fashionable! So I feel in the position to be able to talk about how to deal with winters that can be long, dark and grey.

I decided to write this as the UK has recently seen its first significant snowfall and it reminded me just how useless the UK is at dealing with snow. Norway unlike the UK does not panic at the first sign of snow. Norwegians instead of hoping for a snow day, hope that there is a good enough snowfall to allow for cross-country skiing.

However I will write about why the Norwegians love snow and winter in another blog, todays blog is a few tips and my own advice on how I have learnt to deal with it.

1) There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes…

This is a Norwegian saying and it is very, very true. I will state however that Norway is nowhere near as humid as the UK and as such unless it gets less than minus 10 it never actually feels (at least to me) that cold!

FOOTWEAR

I am and always be a lover of heels, bright and high, I honestly can´t have enough. One of my perks of travelling to Heathrow and through Manchester Terminal 2 is that they both have Kurt Geiger outlets and I have bought many a pair in the last couple of years from there. They are my treat. My aim in life is to own some Louboutin and Jimmy Choos before I´m too old and my feet are crooked and bunioned! However in Norway in winter, heels are just not practical. I see women wearing high heels and I am in awe of them. Flat is largely the way to go when it comes to winter weather and its best if you have a few options!

First up, the snow boot. Before I moved to Norway I bought a great pair of faux sheep fleece lined leather Timberland boots, they cost me, well my boyfriend (as they were a Christmas present) well over £200. I wore them when I moved to Oslo and they absolutely cut my heels to bits, so badly in fact that when I transferred from Heathrow I went and bought three packets of Compeed! So they took a lot of Vaseline on the heels (brilliant advice from a friend) and a bit of wearing in and they are now my go to, its been snowing and there is now ice everywhere, boots!

Secondly Wellington Boots. Wellies in Norway are COOL. Hunters are the ultimate fashion statement and I have some very fetching Aubergine Hunters a friend brought across to me when she visited (significantly cheaper that way). Wellies are perfect for snow that has yet to be cleared from the roads and pavements that is up to your ankles. They are not great on icy surfaces even though they are rubber soled but combine them with some welly socks, maybe the best invention ever (I own three pairs now!), and they are toasty and keep your feet dry. Also great for when it’s tipping it down the rest of the year and the best thing is that no-one bats an eyelid. They are more likely to question your ability to dress properly when you have sopping wet feet!

Thirdly, the “its not snowed for a while but may still be icy boots”. These are the ones where you have a little more free rein. I personally have three pairs of boots I would put into this category, all of which are leather and have rubber soles. Knee high flats, ankle high faux sheep fleece lined and fleece lined 4” wedge heels – which only get worn when I know the streets are pretty clear. For someone that loves heels, wedges are the perfect compromise, that or a low 1-2” fat heel works well too.

Walk like you have a purpose, watch wear you put your feet, watch out for the white lines on zebra crossings  (usually SUPER slippy) and don´t be afraid of falling, because if you are your body is too tense and you will probably hurt yourself (advice from a Swede!). Yes, I still fall, and so do the Norwegians, but Im not afraid of falling and that makes a big difference. Always wear wool socks, maybe even wear two pairs, and if you´re still struggling buy yourself some Yak Trax or similar. I used some for my first winter, and I sometimes still do, but they are mainly for “old people” as my colleagues told me!

UNDERCLOTHES

Before moving to Norway I don´t think I had worn a vest on a daily basis since I was about 6 years old, and I thought if I were to wear them they would be confined to outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking, but oh no. They are a staple in my everyday winter wardrobe. Merino wool is best if you can afford it but its not that expensive even here so shouldn´t be an issue. I even have some very, ahem, attractive, merino wool shorts for when its REALLY cold with thermal long johns being reserved for the slopes (for now!)

COATS

Canada Goose Down Jackets are everywhere in Norway. They are incredibly expensive (upwards from £350 even in the UK) but they seem to do the job. Me, I have a North Face synthetic down jacket and I love it! Not too bulky, smart and should last a few years. I also have a Rab down jacket, a ski jacket and for when it’s less than -5 a couple of normal winter coats.

ACCESSORIES

Hats, gloves and scarfs are essential. Mittens top trump gloves, and wool outer, fleece lined mittens trump all! Leather is pretty good if lined with sheep skin too. Again mittens are something I thought I´d left in my childhood, but I wouldn´t be without mine, they´re the best thing for cold fingers!

Natural fibres such as wool and fur are always much warmer than synthetic. Not that I would ever wear fur, fur to me will never be fashionable and I still can´t get over seeing people wearing it in Norway, where you just know its real.

2) Taking care of your body… you can never have too much oil (I can´t believe I just wrote that!)

SKIN CARE

Winter HATES my skin. Going from cold to heated and back really screws it up, and I travel quite a bit with my job so lets just add airplane air conditioning to the mix! I´m spot prone, and talk about scaly. I´m surprised I´ve not been used as the latest leather in a designer handbag. That is until I was told to use face oil.

Oil on an already spot prone face… hmmmmm I hear you thinking, are you sure? Yes I´m sure, it works. It´s better than Elizabeth Arden Eight hour cream, which is also awesome but smells like horse medication, and any moisturiser I have ever tried! I have been recommended this by a friend and by my beautician back in the UK. I apply it under my moisturiser at least once a day, leave it to soak in before applying moisturiser and voila scale-less skin!

I also use shower oil for the same reason. Shower oil does tend to be a little expensive, so you can always resort to that old faithful – Johnsons Baby oil for after shower care. A decent thick but absorbable moisturiser is another must, I personally really like the Body Shop Body Butters, they last ages J

If you´re struggling with scaly, flaking skin, trust me, oil is the way forward

HAIR CARE

Again, oil is a godsend. Either a shampoo with oil incorporated into it or a hair oil for post washing, pre styling. I used to be a “wash my hair every day” girl, but since changing my shampoo I can go every other day with no problem

HANDCARE

To avoid the “old lady hands” look, you really need to look after your hands. In my case it means a decent hand cream, which I have in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, in my handbag, and on my desk! Then once or twice a week, when they need it I even put on some thick cream which I don´t rub in and put on white cotton gloves leave them overnight. Very attractive I´m sure and something that makes me glad I don´t live with my boyfriend!

3) Get outside and enjoy the sunshine, and for when there isn´t sunshine, there´s always supplements!

The next blog I write will be about the great outdoors and embracing the Norwegian national past time of skiing, but this is more general notes about making the most of any daylight you get.

I don´t really notice the lack of sunlight compared to how much more daylight we seem to get in the summer in Oslo. To be honest winters similar to the UK, dark when you go to work, dark when you go home. I think the biggest difference is that Norwegians tend to embrace any sun they can when it´s out, this explains why even the smallest café has seats and gas heaters outside, and blankets, lots of blankets!

Also as winters tend to be drier than the UK there is less rain, more snow and generally more days where a walk in the park seems like a good idea. Failing that, take your cod liver oil/Vitamin D and you should get through winter without the need to disappear to sunnier climes every other week!

Norwegians rarely let the weather interfere with their plans, they still go to the gym, the pub, the club, work, the cinema etc. If they didn´t they´d be housebound between December and March! It does help that cars have snow tires, people don´t drive like dicks in the icy conditions, taxi drivers don´t wuss out at the first sight of snow and public transport still carries on. So embrace the cold, treat it with dignity and you never know you may come to love it!

So these were my tips for making sure you stay warm, none flaky and relatively happy. Next blog will be about making the most of the snow J

Thanks for reading.

http://www.yaktrax.co.uk/

http://www.canada-goose.com/

http://www.elizabetharden.co.uk/skincare/eight-hour-cream/

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/body-moisturisers.aspx

http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/products/johnsons-baby-oil

http://miningmaven.blogspot.com/2010/01/there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-weather.html (Picture 1)

http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-1321216-stock-footage-elegant-background-snake-skin.html (Picture 2) 

Risky Business.

Risk. It's a word as an exploration geologist I am far too familiar with. What are the risks in drilling this well? What is the risk of the structure, seal, reservoir and indeed hydrocarbons being in place? Let alone the risk that the timing of all these elements came together to work as a viable petroleum system.

I can think of very few professions where there is no judegment of risk, a doctor faces the risk that the treatment they have chosen won't work; an economist may judge some investments to be better than others, but there is a risk that they may be wrong; an archtiect risks the possibility that although their design works on the small scale, when its actually built it may not work at all.

There are ways of mitigating these risks. Personal experience and data help, modelling helps, using everything available to you to ensure you make the most informed decision you can possibly make lessens any risk. But it does not eliminate risk entirely. There are always wells that don't discover anything, drugs that don't work and markets that crash.

So, please tell me, why has the Italian government deemed it appropriate to sentence 6 Italian scientists and an ex-government employee to six years in prison accused of multiple manslaughter after failing to predict a major earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy?

It has been proved, time and time again that you can not accurately predict the exact location, timing or magnitude of any earthquake. You know that there are earthquake zones related to plate tectonic boundaries, we know that some of these boundaries are more active than others, but that's about it.

The above map shows the position of the plate boundaries as we know them to exist today, We know it is somewhat more complicated than this and that there are small plates attached to the bigger plates and associated faults on each of these boundaries, but in essence you get the picture. It explains why Western Europe, Central Asia and Central North America don't have the large earthquakes that effect the Western US, Central Europe, and the Pacific Rim (also known as the Ring of Fire due to the number of associated volcanoes and earthquakes). A correlation between the plate boundaries and preliminary determined earthquake epicentres can be illustrated by the below diagram.

Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a geology lesson, and earthquake predicition really isn't my field. But as you can see we have data, we have observations, we know when these earthquakes occurred and where, but not one single earthquake was predicted beforehand, and in L'Aquila there was no way of knowing that the small tremors that had already affected the area for years would one day mean that a large, >5 on the Richter scale, earthquake would happen and cause the death of 309 people and cause massive damage to the area.

But the authorities who pursued the seven defendants stressed that the case was never about the power of prediction - it was about what was interpreted to be an inadequate characterisation of the risks; of being misleadingly reassuring about the dangers that faced their city (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20025626)

I don't want to point fingers, but common sense to me says that if you live in an earthquake prone zone, even if they are small earthquakes, you should be properly informed in what to do should one occur. Get outside, go to the safest place in the house (under a table, in the bath, stand in a solid door frame). Isn't this down to the government, the schools, to educate their population to ensure their safety? To ensure that buildings weakened by years of small tremors don't crumble, to make sure that buildings in an earthquake zone are to a standard?

So although they weren't tried for not predicting the earthquake, they were tried and convicted for not allowing for adequate risk, despite saying that although a large earthquake was not likely, it was not impossible. And that's the crux, as a scientist you usually make statements that allow for the unexpected, nature is not predictable.

Life is full of risks, it is impossible to account for every risk. Every time we cross the road we run the risk that there is some idiot not paying attention as they've dropped coffee on themselves or have answered their phone. If we wanted to avoid all risks we may not leave the house, but even then 2.7 million people a year in the UK go to A&E due to an accident in the home.

This trial may set a dangerous precedent, most scientific professionals err on the side of caution with any statement they make, this may stop them from releasing any statement. And that may be the biggest risk of all.

The visibility of Fathers - the advantages of being a Mum in Norway (view from a casual observer)

There are many things I like about living in Norway, and one of these is maybe a bit strange as I am not a parent myself, but I really like that to an observer you see almost as many Dads with their kids as Mums.

Before moving to Oslo I hadn´t lived in a big city for a while, its over 5 years since I moved out of Liverpool, 7 since I lived in Manchester and 10 since I spent 4 months in Central London so maybe things have changed in the UK. But when I walk to work it is really quite noticeable that as many Dads seem to be involved in getting their young children to school/kindergarten as Mums. It is admittedly very rare you see both parents together with their children on a weekday, which seems to be saved for weekends. If it was the odd one or two fathers I wouldn´t notice but from a casual observer, it does seem to be a 50/50 split. It may be because I live in an affluent area of the city and therefore both parents are working, but when I was living in the UK, I very rarely saw Dads on their own with their kid.

From talking to colleagues, I know that many of my male colleagues make time to spend with their kids on their own, no matter whether the kids are 16 months or 16 years. Whether it’s a one-on-one situation, or them whisking all the kids off to spend a week on their own giving Mum a break, I know someone whose husband has just taken their year old daughter away for a couple of weeks. Flexible working hours with core hours of 9-3 also make it possible for parents to balance childcare, with one parent coming into the office for 7am, whilst the other takes the kids to kindergarten, then the parent on early shift leaving at 3pm so they can pick them up.  Additionally during school holidays it is not uncommon to have parents bring their kids into work, and again I know one colleague who will bring one of her two children with her, whilst her husband takes the other to his place of work.

These flexible working hours, and the largely work to live, opposed to live to work ethic means that family really does come first. This is also reflected in the fact that my colleagues and I are very rarely asked to travel on weekends, and working weekends is discouraged unless absolutely necessary.

Norway is frequently rated the best country in the world to be a Mum, and it´s easy to see why. Maternity pay in Norway is 56 weeks (13 months) at 80% full pay or 46 weeks (10.5 months) at 100% pay.  Of this fathers are encouraged to take 12 weeks, and if that’s not taken it´s lost. They, fathers, also have the option to take two weeks unpaid immediately after the birth although most companies will pay this anyway. I think that if I did decide I wanted children, I couldn´t be better placed.

With the time given for a child to bond with its Dad, it´s no wonder that you see children with just their Dads. The fact that rates of divorce in Norway are as high as in the UK, just under 50%, makes this even more encouraging because it means that fathers are not absent. Family does come first and work is work. And isn´t that the way it should be?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/global-motherhood-the-bes_n_1475607.html#s934376&title=1_Norway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave#Europe

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/global-motherhood-the-bes_n_1475607.html#s934376&title=1_Norway

Personal space, am I just too British?

For those of you that I know and love, you will be aware that I am not one to shy away from being affectionate. I am a tactile person, and hugs, kisses (and by kisses I mean chaste ones on lips, cheeks and foreheads) and hand holding/arm linking, are not things that phase me. I don´t care if you sit right next to me, hell you can sit on my knee if you want to, it doesn´t matter to me. I know you, I care about you and I am happy you are in my life, and unless I am already sleeping with you, these tactile displays don´t have any hidden meaning or subtext and are just me being myself!

However, it isn´t the same when I don´t know someone. The British, are very good at keeping a respectful distance around people they don´t know. Handshakes are about as close as it gets regarding contact. Perhaps its because Britain is a small, overpopulated island, I don´t know. I personally have an invisible barrier of around one to four square feet all around me with people I am unfamiliar with. If people breach that barrier I get uncomfortable, but then I think most of us do.

I think I first noticed that not all cultures are the same as Britain when it comes to personal space when I travelled to Tunisia. I was about 13 at the time and it was a bit of a shock. Tourism in Tunisia at the time still wasn´t very big and was mostly dominated by the French, so being 13, with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, its fair to say I stuck out a bit. I understand that the store owners in the markets were doing it to get you to come and look at their wares, I understand that this is how they attract custom, but at 13 it was quite intimidating having your hand grabbed at and people coming very close to you. I´ve also been to Turkey and Pakistan where the lack of awareness of personal space is noticeable, to be honest to some extent I expected it in these countries. I did not expect to encounter it in Norway.

I moved to Norway in the middle of a very cold winter, so didn´t really notice it at first, you actually don´t mind it when people stand/sit too close as any warmth is appreciated! It was only when I started going to classes in the gym that it became apparent. I like to have my space in gym classes, mainly because I´m not exactly coordinated and can be a little bit clumsy so don´t really want to stand on anyones toe, or hit them in the face when I´m doing Zumba. But I would notice how others in the class were not so aware of this. They would come and stand within an arms length, or the danger zone as I like to call it, and as the class progressed would get closer to me without being phased at all by the fact that they were doing so. Being worried about my flailing arm breaking their nose, I tend to move, but the Norwegians don´t really seem to notice just how close they are to you. It isn´t just Zumba, its Body Pump when someone comes and puts their step right next to yours so you´ll be lucky to have enough room to lunge or Shape when your yoga mats are almost touching.

They´re examples of the gym, but in queues people are so close they may as well be standing on your heels, anyone would think you were on a London tube at rush hour. The same can be said in the parks, all this space and someone comes and sits right next to you! Its almost as if they need proximity to others.

I think I find this most surprising because not only is Norway a western country, where people tend to be more aware of personal space, but its also a big country, 324220 km² with a small population of just under 5 million, so about 15 people per km². Compare this to Great Britain, where the population of 62 million is crammed into a 244820 km² area, in other words 255 people per km². Yes, I know populations in Norway are concentrated in towns around the coast, and I know that large areas of the interior are barely populated; but I am still surprised by their seemingly lack of awareness of personal space, I guess I expected them to be more British.

My Norwegian friends and colleagues are the nicest, friendliest group of people I could hope to meet. I have always felt very welcome here. This is just an observation of the difference in culture. A British friend of mine who has been here longer than myself, tried to explain this to me by saying that she thinks its to do with “the lack of interest Norwegians have in what strangers do”. This is not a bad thing, it means that you don´t have nosey neighbours twitching their curtains to see what’s going on in their street, and gossip, particularly malicious gossip, about colleagues and friends is unheard of, and believe me that makes a refreshing positive change to living in the UK. It also means that they have decided that that is where they are going to stand/sit/Zumba/occupy space, and they don´t really care how close they are to anyone else!

So I guess I have to get used to it, stop being so British and recognise that whilst my personal space bubble may have to decrease in size whilst I´m here, I don´t have to listen to anyone badmouthing anyone else. And if that’s the compromise I have to make, its definitely one I can live with.

Photo credits:

Cyanide and Happiness http://www.explosm.net/comics/940/

The law of personal space http://www.foundthemarbles.com/2012/02/personal-space/

Hard Work and Dedication are NOT gender specific

Before you read this, please don´t think I am some ball breaking feminist, I´m not. I like having doors opened up for me by guys, I will never refuse a drink a man has bought me (unless he is really dodgy) and I do still think that whilst women can do anything they put their minds to, women are physically different to men and as such, in day to day life there are some things we struggle with. However the Olympics has again brought some things to light that have bugged me for a while and what better place than to voice those here.

I admit it; I have been completely caught up in Olympic fever. I realised this on Sunday whilst watching the last hour or so of the Women’s Road Race. I don´t think I ever realised how incredibly tactical this discipline was and have only ever paid passing notice to the Tour de France, mainly because my boyfriend loves it. I also didn´t realise that although it is an individual event, it is how you work as a team that will determine how well you actually do. The men´s event was on Saturday and had been incredibly hyped up. Great Britain (trying not to say we, I have done nothing to contribute to the team, except watch and tweet!) has just won the Tour de France with Bradley Wiggins, and Mark Cavendish was expected to be amongst the medals in the Olympics Road Race. Tactically they got it wrong as none of the other countries wanted Cavendish to sprint off for the last km or so, so no one else put in any work in the peloton and Great Britain failed to get in the medals. However the ladies got it right and our first medal of the 2012 Olympics went to Lizzie Armitstead, a silver, she wasn´t even the favourite in the team after Nicole Cooke a gold medal winner in the Beijing Road Race in 2008 and Emma Pooley who had got silver in the time trial that same year, with Lucy Martin making up the team. Can I also add that although the women’s race is shorter than the men’s, it was in torrential rain for much of it. Not to mention the fact that Lizzie lost her sunglasses somewhere in Surrey during the race, which won´t have made it any easier for her. 

So the first Team GB medal of the 2012 Olympics went to a female competitor, as did the second medal, a bronze to Rebecca Adlington in the 400m freestyle swimming, not bad for someone who had only just snuck into the final and had tweeted earlier in the day

“Just sneaked into tonights final in 8th place! Not expecting anything tonight, all I can do is my best :-) thank you for all the support x”, and showed a huge amount of modesty by doing that. The same happened in Beijing where Nicole Cooke got gold, and Rebecca Adlington got gold in the 400m freestyle swimming.

We´re only 3 days into the Olympics, I hope there are many more medals to come from both the male and female members of Team GB. For now though Lizzie and Rebeccas achievements can also be joined by 18 year old Zoe Smiths new British record in the 58kg weight lifting category (Google her, the girl is TINY!!!!) The women’s double sculls (rowing) got a new Olympic record in their heat, and the equestrian eventing team are doing very well and that’s a team of four women and one man.

The Olympics is one of the few times that men and women’s sports are shown equally. I found out that women’s sports as a whole only gets 5% of sports media coverage, which explains why it only gets 0.5% of the sponsorship. If you don´t get sponsorship it can be incredibly expensive to just train for your sport, not to mention buying any equipment and travelling to events.

The lack of media coverage can also be blamed for the fact that the 2011 BBC Sports personality of the year failed to have a single female sportsperson nominated for the award despite the success of ironman world champion Chrissie Wellinton, open water swimmer Keri-Anne Payne, and word champion Rebecca Adlington. The Manchester Evening News even nominated three, very well paid footballers, Dimitar Berbatov, Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira and not one of them is British, now thats a slap in the face for anyone.

Something else that caught my eye today was a petition that is trying to get the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to present the gold medal to both the winner of the men's marathon and of the women's marathon, its currently only the men´s marathon winner that has his presented by the president. Becoming a top performer in any sport, male or female, takes years of dedication, sacrifice and sheer hard work. It has nothing to do with your gender; it is your desire to be the best that you can be. By doing something as simple as getting someone other than the President of the IOC to present the medal to the female marathon winner suggests that women’s sport is not as important. It is, and maybe more so as a recent study showed only 31% of 14-year-old girls said they exercised regularly, compared with 50% of 14-year-old boys. 

These girls need to see that sport is important, there are some very good role models but they have to search them out or get them presented to them during something like the Olympics. You hope that Rebecca Adlington is already a household name after Beijing and I hope that Lizzie Armitstead follows suit. They are just not as accessible as male athletes. You could ask 20 children aged 14 to name a player in the Men’s football team at the Olympics, and you´d get them piping up with at least 3 names, but I can almost guarantee they couldn´t even tell you who the coach of the Women’s football team was. Hope Powell for anyone that’s interested and she´s been a coach of the England team since 1998, please tell me a men’s international football coach that has lasted this long.

Please don´t think that women’s sport is not as high profile because our female athletes and sportswomen are not as successful, because they are. The England’s women´s football team has made the quarter final of the World Cup the last two times and were runners up in the European championships in 2009. The very well paid fully professional England men’s football team have never come runners up in any tournament and have only won the World Cup once in 1966. The women’s cricket team won the World Cup in 2009, made the semis in 2005 and won the European tournament in both 2007 and 2005. More recently the England women’s netball team, a sport that ALL girls play at school won the World Netball Series in 2011, made even more remarkable that the team is non-professional and the players all have jobs. Not to mention the numerous individual achievements across the board. I can´t imagine there are many school age kids that know that England are World Series Champions in Netball, I admit I only know it because I saw it as a photograph in one of the broadsheets. Imagine what a difference it would make if they did, what an inspiration they could be and how it would be a positive ambition for a 14 year old girl.

These women prove that they REALLY want to win, they want the prestige of winning, they don´t get huge salaries on which to become apathetic and abusive (John Terry, I´m looking at you). They have to win, or nearly win, it’s the only way they get any sort of sponsorship and funding.

Just as an aside, one thing I have noticed living in Norway is that their top female skiers and the Women´s handball team are as high profile as the Men´s and do seem to get similar levels of media coverage. This can´t be said for all sports here, but it is encouraging that in the first quarter of 2006 cross country skier Marit Bjørgen was the second most covered person in Norwegian media, surpassed only by the Norwegian Prime Minister. It may explain why there is a higher percentage of girls practicing and continuing with sports and why teenage obesity levels are not even something to worry about here.

They are calling this London 2012 Olympics the Women’s Olympics, because this is the first time that EVERY nation has a female competitor, yes even Saudi Arabia managed to enter two, and women are competing in EVERY sport with the introduction of women’s boxing. Finally, women make up 45% of the competitors, the highest percentage ever.

It really is about time that women’s sport got as much coverage as men’s. I want to hear a young girl say that when she grows up she wants to be the next Victoria Pendleton, Kelly Holmes, Lizzie Armitstead, or Jennifer Ennis rather than just famous like one of the girls out of TOWIE (seriously when did we let normal untalented people become famous?). These sporting figures are the role models that young girls need and the only way that will happen is with increased profile and reward.

So support Team GB just make sure you support the women’s sports as much as the men’s. It may not be as fast, which is often the argument used by why Women´s football is not as popular as Mens, but I can guarantee you its as exciting and skilled, if not more so. These positive role models are the key in promoting strong and healthy over skinny and the benefits of exercise opposed to chasing boys and eating chocolate.

Thanks for reading

Thanks to my friend IP for the title quote.

If you´re interested in learning more go to http://wsff.org.uk/ Women’s sport and fitness foundation.

Don´t forget to follow: @BeckAdlington, @L_ArmiTstead @damekellyholmes ‪@v_pendleton and @wsff_uk

Oh and sign this whilst you´re online http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/IOC_President_should_present_the_gold_medal_to_the_womens_marathon_winner/?cUCkfdb

Photo credits, Lizzie Armitstead and medal PA (The Telegraph), England Women´s Netball team http://www.heruni.com/just-try-england-netball-team-encourage-women-to-try-sport/