Job opportunity: Get paid to lose weight!

Roll up! Roll up! And hear the latest! For all those out there who have been looking for work but have not been successful, I have a prime opportunity for you. The only catch is, you have to be overweight. Still interested?

Well, an NHS advisory group has suggested that the NHS should start paying overweight people to lose weight. I’m not being funny but how dare they even consider using taxpayers money to pay these people, when all they had to do was stop eating one too many pies in the first place. Am I being harsh? I think not!  I’m well aware that there are many people who are overweight from no fault of their own as they may have a genetic or medical condition but for many, it is just a case of eating more than the guided 2000 calories a day.

As a taxpayer, when are these ludicrous ideas going to come to an end? I’m all for helping those who are in dire need but we are now living in a society where you could be fit and healthy with one child and still be living off benefits if you never make a conscious effort to obtain work. There has to be a time when people start to take responsibility for their actions as they should be taking an interest in their well-being, or am I wrong?

What sickens me, is that there are so many nurses who struggle to maintain a roof over their head and can only afford a house-share, when there are many people who have been provided with a nice house, with the rent paid for by us and also can remain on the dole as it is an easy life.

When you think about it, if they would consider paying people to lose weight then maybe they would consider other incentives to help people. When my mum passed away, my hair started to drop out from the stress I was experiencing, does this mean that they would have considered paying for hair implants or maybe even a weave! It may sound silly but I’m sure you can grasp the angle I’m trying to come from.

There was a pilot scheme which saw pregnant women being offered supermarket vouchers as an incentive to stop smoking. In a circumstance like this, I can see why an incentive was offered as the aim was to help protect the baby but why should that be our problem? If the mother can’t take responsibility for their unborn child, I can only imagine what it would be like when the child is born.

As we pay our taxes, I wonder why we are never allowed to make a valid contribution into how our money is being spent. The Government informs us of how the money will be spent as opposed to gaining or fully understanding what is best for the society as a whole. The Government even have a say on the way in which we discipline our children. Long gone are the days when you could give your child a tap on the hand to show your children who has the authority in the household, as nowadays your children will call Childline faster than your neighbours will!

With £4bn being spent on surgery from those who are obese, isn’t it time that we start developing some hard-hitting campaigns that motivate people to start losing weight, instead of giving them the easy and most expensive way out? This same £4bn could be spent on those who actually need it to help cure conditions and diseases that have come about due to no fault of their own.

So as the Government and these specialist groups keep inventing these money-saving ideas, kiss goodbye to ever thinking you will be able to take your family out for a nice meal, as out taxes will be paying for many a KFC bucket to come! (Even though it won’t be eating by us!)

Born today, adult tomorrow!

Now that I have reached a stage in life when maturity is definitely on my side, I have been able to see how the youngsters are starting to develop (or in some cases are unable of developing) mature decision-making skills. Although children and teenagers have a tendancy to feel that they are ‘grown’, when real life situations are thrown upon them, there is a big difference between thinking you are an adult and being an adult, as many young people have yet to learn.

The stage from primary school to secondary school age has definitely changed from my days. The likelihood that the girls will be playing with Barbie dolls instead of their real-life ‘Ken’, has become rather unusual. I’m not tarnishing every young girl (and boy) with the same brush but, the age of promiscuity has dramatically dropped over the past decade.

Sex has been a major topic of discussion for decades as it is an industry which is constantly pushed in our faces, whether it be via the TV, magazines, newspapers or on the Internet. Whether we like it or not, sex is the biggest and longest industry in the world. The days when french kissing was seen as slightly promiscuous on TV, has led way to full-blown nudity, homosexual affection and the connotations of sex even being featured before the 9pm watershed hour.

Young people are no longer cherishing their childhoods, as they are in a race to be perceived as a grown up when in reality, they are not ready to deal with half the things that are thrown at you when you become an adult. Children nowadays want all the latest gadgets but are not willing to earn the pocket money that they deserve to save up and buy it themselves, as they know mummy and daddy dearest will buy them the latest Blackberries, PS3s and laptops. They are also ready to jump into bed with someone they have known for next to little time, as they feel pressured by peers or feel that they are ready to make this adult decision. It’s a sad affair when children as young as 11 and 12 are becoming pregnant, it shows that they are receiving a lack of education in preparation of becoming an adult.

I don’t want to lay all the blame with the parents, as so many of us are fast to do. I’m sure if you think carefully, there are friends you know who have brought up their children with the correct morals and yet their children are still running riot on the streets and still indulging in a touch of promiscuity.

Let’s be realistic, even if we teach our children the ‘proper’ way of enjoying their childhood, they still have their own minds and therefore can still decide to do things behind your back. As a parent, it’s hard to prevent your children from having their own individualism but at the same time, you want the best for them which doesn’t include having sex well before the legal age limit.

Emotionally, the majority of these young people are not ready to deal with the consequences of sex. My friend recently took her 13-year old daughter to the sexual health clinic for a check-up. Her daughter had admitted to losing her virginity to someone who had decided to share his glory with many more girls at around the same time. My friend’s daughter truly showed her age when she was taken to the clinic, as it was only then she realised the severity of what having sex entails.

When the nurse produced a plastic penis to demonstrate how to put on a condom, you never would have thought that was recently faced with the real thing, as she felt very uncomfortable. From someone who had thought they were so grown, she now appeared with the character of a 9-year old when she was faced with an adult situation.

Young teenagers need to be educated more, as having children at an early age is not only detrimental to the child who bore the child (that was a mouthful) but also to the grandparents who have barely seen their 40th birthday and yet have to now raise a newborn. Many young parents do not have that much needed attachment to their child, as the child has been a result of a sexual experience that didn’t have much meaning or because the grandparents of the young parent don’t trust them to be responsible for the baby and therefore allow their child to live their life as normal.

When I was 13, I was thinking about the fun I was going to have at school and the sleep-overs that I weren’t allowed to go to (as my Mother always let me know that my bed was waiting for me at home) and what I would be wearing to the school disco which finished while it was still bright outside.  You know what discos I’m talking about, the ones where you were lucky if you got a can of pop, let alone be able to sneak outside and drink a  can of cider! Oh how times have changed and it can only continue to get worst as the rate of people having children at a young age becomes alarmingly high.

Looking back, I was never taught about sex education in school, as it wasn’t something that we needed to learn about at that time in our lives. Whereas the sex education that is taught in schools today, is not preventing the fact that 19% of young people use the ‘withdrawal’method as their form of contraception*. It is an absoloute tragedy that 1 in 4 young people do not use contraception and 31% knows of a close family member or friend who has already experienced an unplanned pregnancy.

I dread to think what the next generation will turn out like if they have our present ones as role models. Taking time out to get to know someone has become a thing of the past, as many teenagers are known to go on holiday and think it’s okay to have a holiday fling (or five!). The Government have spent an ample amount of funding in trying to promote ‘safe sex’ and in trying to prevent ‘unwanted’ and ‘underage pregnancy’ and yet we are still facing the same issues as young people keep making the same decisions.

Education is the key to keeping our youths free from harm and detrimental to help them establish a respectable life as a upcoming adult. Yes, there are youngsters who have had children at a seriously young age and have been able to cope but realistically, the majority rely on parents and in most circumstances are left holding the baby as the other parent is not ‘ready’ to take on any responsibility.

Where will this predicament of underage promiscuity end? Is it the fact that people in general always try things that they are not supposed to or is the word ‘childhood’ just something that our younger generation will never appreciate or acknowledge?

Let me know your thoughts!

* The research was part of a worldwide survey of 5,223 respondents and was funded by Bayer Healthcare.

Tube chaos once again!

Now there comes a time in the year when our lovely friends over at TFL decide that they need to have a voice on the way in which they are being treated. Go for it I say, until I see how they are planning to have this voice.  Yes, last week we were hit with yet another strike and good lord, how this one had struck us, I can’t even begin to say.

I’m a fair woman, I know people within certain industries have been severly affected by our current recession but I for one can’t understand how TFL can be allowed to strike so frequently when they’re people out there who are desperate to have a secure income each month, and wouldn’t even dream of striking.

From listening to Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3, it seemed that they’re are various reasons why yet another walkout fell upon us but from hearing the views of the affected public, TFL definitely need to step up their game if they’re aiming to win any support from loyal customers.

I for one rarely use public transport but as these strikes hit us, it doesn’t seem to matter because when the train lines suspended for 24 hours, us trustworthy hardworkers had to try all avenues in an attempt to make it into work (on time).  Those who never even bothered with driving to work throw caution to the wind and dip into their pockets for that £8 ‘thief’ congestion charge (which will definitely be money wasted on this day) and hope that our boss’ are running late als, as surely they will understand!

My dear friend set out to drop my little sweetheart to breakfast club, on what should be a journey of no longer than 7 minutes. Well the text I got from her, with profanities that cannot be mentioned in this blog, definitely told me that the tube strike had definitely struck the smile off her face. It took Maria one hour and fifteen minutes to complete her ‘short drive’, which in turn made her late for work. The knock-on effect of the strikes is absolutely ridiculous, especially when we already have to deal with pretty horrendous rush hours on a normal day.

I’m all for freedom of expression but is there no other alternative than to cause direct mayhem to so many innocent commuters who are actually happy (or pretending to happy) in their jobs? Not only does the strike cause havoc in terms of traffic  but it also effects the pockets of many of us who should not be grunting the burden. Many people had to stay at home and incur a loss of earnings, which is a detrimental affect in our present climate.

The Government or TFL should implement a clause which states that you may not go on strike; one Governmental organisation which abides by this rule is the police, who are not able to go on strike at any point. I’m still don’t understand why if so many people are unhappy with their working situation on the London Underground, they don’t move on to a new job with better prospects.  It may seem that these workers are always battling for their cause but in actual fact, there are more than 50 possible strikes that could have been thrust upon us poor Londoners!

So, when the next strike hits us (because we wll know it’s definitely going to happen at some point in the near future), let’s make sure we are prepared with our good tempers (instead of our bad tempered road rage), a smile (even though we are probably going to be an hour and a half late for work) and pray that the situation can be resolved as quickly as possible, so those of us who are content with our jobs may go back to work on time and comfortable (as opposed to have smell the armpits of two times the amount of people that would normally be on the bus!).

Bleeding ears: Why won’t X Factor just go away?

It has only been on for 2 weeks and I am already fed up with it, what else could I be talking about than X Factor?!? Now in its’ 7^th series, with exactly the same format and outcome, is it not time for Simon Cowell to concede that yes, he is God of the music charts, predicting who will and won’t become chart sensations and to simply fade back into the background? His hogging of all the recent entertainment newspaper headlines would have driven even the Pope to distraction I’m sure! I mean who really cares if his latest group of wannabes trashed his luxury Marbella mansion? I say it was karma paying him back for making the poor innocent ears of England listen to these disillusioned ‘singers’ who audition every year for his show.

Obviously some misguided people actually enjoy the show or it would not have lasted as long as it has, but I am beginning to think that even they are beginning to tire of the same format and the same singer winning every year (did no one else think Alexandra Burke bore an uncanny resemblance to both the style and voice of Leona Lewis?) The winner of X Factor 2009, Joe something or other, was a prime example that the British public are becoming bored with this show as he was denied the exclusive Christmas no.1 by a viral campaign to get ‘Rage Against the Machine’ (not very Rudolph friendly I know…) to the top instead. And it worked! Thank the Lord I thought, no longer are the younger generation controlled by what they watch on TV! But this view was banished once again this year as X Factor fever swept the nation.

Cowell’s latest headlines have me believing that even he has realised there are no interesting stories anymore and has grown bored with his own pet project. The headlines started way back in June (ok it was only a couple of months ago, but to me in seems like a millennia after all the drivel I have had to read about) with Cheryl Cole coming down with malaria which according to X Factor ‘sources’ put the show in jeopardy as now both female judges were absent; Kylie Minogue’s less famous sister (whose name I could not care less about) was off having a baby. From working in PR I realised this was just another way to promote the show; leave the audience in suspense begging for more, praying that the show would defy all odds and return. Unfortunately, to my disappointment, the show fell upon our screens once more.

So on and on this reality show seems to go. Although I am not sure how reality based this show actually is. It appears to me that the producers aka Simon Cowell have already decided who they want to win, with select groups or individuals being filmed doing everyday things at home, and Dermot ‘McIrish’ seems to just pick them out of the mass crowd. Are they trying to tell me that these people are followed daily by cameramen in the off chance that they become famous one day and need a short clip? I think not! And why is it that every good (I use this term loosely) singer seems to have some kind of sob story to back them up for the sympathy vote?

Just because some woman’s dog died and for the majority of her audition she doesn’t sing out of tune, does not mean I should give up an hour and half of my life and about £10 per call to see her crowned the winner!

Another reason I do not understand this shows success is because more often than not Simon Cowell gets it wrong! I mean look at Jennifer Hudson, yes she made the final of American Idol, but did she win? No! Big mistake Mr. Cowell, as not only did she go on to star in a hit movie, Dreamgirls, but she won an Oscar for it! Simon had said that Jennifer was no better than a back-up singer but it’s nice to see that God always works in mysterious ways. Why do these people listen to Cowell when it appears to me that he would not even recognise real talent if it slapped him round the face! I mean for goodness sake he let the torture that is Jedward through on the last series! I think X-Factor is starting to lose its credibility, especially with shows like Must Be the Music being aired which has actual professionals judging real talent. The contestants on the show are not just singers but people who have a myriad of musical talents; from classical piano to the steel drums.  Must Be the Music celebrates all the different types of musical talent whilst X Factor seems to only focus on fame hungry monsters!

I think it is time for anyone with half a brain cell and good hearing to stand up against Simon Cowell and say enough is enough! The show has had a successful run, so why not end on a high note? England is tired of hearing hyped up sob story after sob story walk on and, then in most cases, promptly off the stage! Leave the loonies alone; let them believe they are the next Mariah Carey when they are singing away in the shower to their imaginary fans. Yes, Simon Cowell has made a couple of people successful from this show but he has also dashed the dreams of hundreds even thousands, and at the end of the day these ‘stars’ have a couple of hits and are then forgotten! So is it really worth us taking out another mortgage on our houses to pay for the phone bill after various family members have called up and voted for their favourite acts after weeks of being tortured by their mediocre singing? I for one think not!