At the weekend I saw a new side of the ubiquitous Jonathan Ross. Witty? Rude? Intelligent? Overpaid? These are frequently remarked-on aspects of Mr Ross, although some say that nowadays he shows a little more humility after his recent problems. The qualities I saw, or rather heard on 25 April, you could call humanity, empathy, genuine interest in and knowledge of larger issues than the showbiz stuff that we can all ingest and enjoy on his radio and TV shows.
What prompted this, at 11.50 on a Saturday morning on his BBC Radio 2 show, (yes, I was so impressed I even made a note of the time) was a phone call from a woman with a record request. Jonathan asked the caller what her job was; she replied that she worked in a rehabilitation hospital. He asked what kinds of patients were treated there and it turned out that many of them were stroke survivors.
Rather than wrapping the conversation up with a few banalities, as many radio presenters would have, Ross followed up with intelligent and interested questions about stroke: the work; the patients; the effects of this devastating condition; the importance of speedy diagnosis and treatment. He was clearly well aware of the recent Department of Health advertising campaign and, with his customary verbal creativity, managed to work that campaign’s “FAST” slogan into his closing comments. Full marks Jonathan Ross, for whom I have a new-found respect.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
SINGING IMPROVES CHILD BEHAVIOUR
I’ve been reading a report on Arts and Health (http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_073590 ) about the health benefits of a variety of artistic activities: both for therapy and disease prevention. One of the sections talked about the benefits of singing. Stuff you already know anecdotally, if you ever sing, whether in the shower (alone or with a partner), in a choir, or even on a stage. Singing, especially with other people, makes you feel good; and this report demonstrated it can also do you good. Physical as well as psychological benefits.
Yesterday, another endorsement of this most enjoyable pastime, from a totally different source and angle. The “Thought For The Day” in BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, started by enthusing about Venezuela’s system of youth orchestras – the best-known is the Simon Bolivar – improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan kids by teaching them to play classical music.
There are similar initiatives in the UK. Many of them are about singing rather than instrumental music; that avoids the cost of instruments. (Of course we are not such a rich country as Venezuela, are we?). The payback seems to have been fantastic. Check out the link; (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00jr4qm and go to 1 hr 49 mins)
I liked the comment of a Yorkshire primary school head teacher who reported greatly improved behaviour since class singing was prioritised. Her explanation:
“You can pay a fortune for sports equipment and coaches; one of the by-products is that the children learn to be competitive. Hire a part-time singing teacher and they learn to be cooperative.”
Yesterday, another endorsement of this most enjoyable pastime, from a totally different source and angle. The “Thought For The Day” in BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, started by enthusing about Venezuela’s system of youth orchestras – the best-known is the Simon Bolivar – improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan kids by teaching them to play classical music.
There are similar initiatives in the UK. Many of them are about singing rather than instrumental music; that avoids the cost of instruments. (Of course we are not such a rich country as Venezuela, are we?). The payback seems to have been fantastic. Check out the link; (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00jr4qm and go to 1 hr 49 mins)
I liked the comment of a Yorkshire primary school head teacher who reported greatly improved behaviour since class singing was prioritised. Her explanation:
“You can pay a fortune for sports equipment and coaches; one of the by-products is that the children learn to be competitive. Hire a part-time singing teacher and they learn to be cooperative.”
Monday, 20 April 2009
Toxic assets, a definition
Imagine that you are about to host a barbecue and you have lots of pork fillets to cook. However you suspect that one of them might be off. What do you do?
Throw it away? Or cook it and eat it yourself, to ensure none of your guests gets sick?
No, you throw them all in a sausage machine and make loads of sausages, so as to dilute the risk. But guess what? All your guests get sick!
How about that for a great metaphor for toxic assets? I heard it last Friday on a wonderful BBC Radio 4 programme called "More Or Less", (repeated Sunday nights) which looks at the numbers behind the news stories. In particular it tries to add some perspective and - dare I say it? - accuracy to the statistics we hear thrown around liberally but often misleadingly. The programme's presenter Tim Harford has asked listeners to send in more metaphors to describe any aspect of the current financial situation. So, all you creative folks out there, get e-mailing, via the programme's website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jnlmn.
BTW, the pork fillet metaphor was in turn quoted as being from the Today programme and was coined by the Editor of "Money Week". Apologies to all concerned if I have misquoted it.
Throw it away? Or cook it and eat it yourself, to ensure none of your guests gets sick?
No, you throw them all in a sausage machine and make loads of sausages, so as to dilute the risk. But guess what? All your guests get sick!
How about that for a great metaphor for toxic assets? I heard it last Friday on a wonderful BBC Radio 4 programme called "More Or Less", (repeated Sunday nights) which looks at the numbers behind the news stories. In particular it tries to add some perspective and - dare I say it? - accuracy to the statistics we hear thrown around liberally but often misleadingly. The programme's presenter Tim Harford has asked listeners to send in more metaphors to describe any aspect of the current financial situation. So, all you creative folks out there, get e-mailing, via the programme's website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jnlmn.
BTW, the pork fillet metaphor was in turn quoted as being from the Today programme and was coined by the Editor of "Money Week". Apologies to all concerned if I have misquoted it.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Sisters rather than brothers make life happy?
My title is lifted word for word from a headline in today's "Independent". Only one change; I added a question mark, because I don't believe it, based solely on my own experience.
"A study has found ... " - you know it's a slow news day when that kind of first line makes it onto page 1. In the case of the Indy that's not very often, partly because their front page is in general remarkably text-free. This story only made it onto page 14, so we can thank the G20 summit for something.
The aforementioned study says that sisters spread happiness while brothers breed distress. "People who grow up with at least one sister generally turn out more balanced and happy. In contrast, having only brothers tends to have a negative effect."
Researchers tested the psychological well being of 571 people aged 17 to 25. They apparently found having a sister was associated with higher scores on a range of measures important for good mental health, .... e.g. better social support and more optimism.
Well, my researchers questioned only one person; yours truly. I have four brothers and no sisters. That isn't to say I wouldn't have liked to have a sister. In fact my sainted late mother would have loved to have had a girl, which is probably why she ended up with four boys.
However, against all the evidence of this news story, I consider myself pretty happy. In fact I'd give myself a 9, on a scale of 1 to 10. My question is this: what went wrong in my case? I think we should be told.
"A study has found ... " - you know it's a slow news day when that kind of first line makes it onto page 1. In the case of the Indy that's not very often, partly because their front page is in general remarkably text-free. This story only made it onto page 14, so we can thank the G20 summit for something.
The aforementioned study says that sisters spread happiness while brothers breed distress. "People who grow up with at least one sister generally turn out more balanced and happy. In contrast, having only brothers tends to have a negative effect."
Researchers tested the psychological well being of 571 people aged 17 to 25. They apparently found having a sister was associated with higher scores on a range of measures important for good mental health, .... e.g. better social support and more optimism.
Well, my researchers questioned only one person; yours truly. I have four brothers and no sisters. That isn't to say I wouldn't have liked to have a sister. In fact my sainted late mother would have loved to have had a girl, which is probably why she ended up with four boys.
However, against all the evidence of this news story, I consider myself pretty happy. In fact I'd give myself a 9, on a scale of 1 to 10. My question is this: what went wrong in my case? I think we should be told.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
