Charity begins at Christmas...

Are we all still here? Any natural disasters happen today? Did the world end today?…In that case let’s all look forward to Christmas, isn’t that next on everyone’s agenda?

Kids will now be on holiday till the New Year, all presents brought? Wrapped and hidden till Christmas day? All Christmas cards sent? (if not, you’ve missed the last posting dates now), decorated the tree, the house?, food?, drinks?, decided on who is going to who’s house? Not exactly a stress-free period, right?

Spare a thought for those who might have to work during the Christmas and New Year period, and won’t be able to spend the festive season with their loved ones, won’t be able to see the joyful delight on their child’s face as they open their presents, but instead be at work, possibly in a half empty work environment.

Now spare a thought for those less fortunate, those who perhaps have been told just before starting their Christmas holidays that they no longer have a job, those who can’t afford Christmas, can’t buy presents, can’t buy special things to eat, and those who don’t have homes to live in or parents who have to hide their children’s own toys, so that they can wrap them up and give them as presents on Christmas day. There are a lot of people out there who wish literally to have a merry Christmas.

If you know of someone who is alone at Christmas, an elderly neighbour, perhaps, even something as simple as a Christmas card will let them know someone out there is thinking of them. For those less fortunate than us, there are a lot of charity organisations, especially around this time of the year who go that extra mile to ensure that everyone has a Christmas, whether it be somewhere to sleep for the night, someone to talk to or even simply a hot meal. But they can't do it all by themselves, if you can spare the time - volunteer or if you can spare a few pounds, whilst everyone is feeling the pinch, may be that extra pint at the pub or that manicure can be skipped, then why not make a difference to someone else's Christmas, it might not mean much to you, but it will make someone out there know there are people who care, even if it is from the kindness of strangers.

Listed below are a few charity organisations who are doing their bit during this festive season, more can be found on the Internet, perhaps there is a charity you support who would appreciate some help

http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/christmas.html
http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/home
http://www.centrepointchristmas.org.uk/
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/
http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/christmasappeal

I'm just saying...

(All thoughts and opinions expressed here are based purely on our own views, we have not been paid to write about what we write, whether it be on products, services, websites and various other topics.)

The Riddle of Graduate Unemployment

Do you remember when you were told that your school years were the most important in your entire life? That the key to success was to do well at school, go on to university, study hard, get good grades and then you will be able to get a good job? Now once you have a good job, you work really hard and you will be rewarded either through pay or promotion?  

I remember this all too well...do you see a pattern forming?

It has to be said that there is a lot of truth in these words...or at least there was once upon a time. Don’t get me wrong, your school years are the best years of your life. They are also the most important without question. This is where we develop the skills that are critical to our personal development, both socially and academically. The significance of success during this period can never be understated.

However, some things have evolved, the evidence of this is unavoidable.  We see it every time we turn on the news, pick up a newspaper or go online. Graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find work and I do not believe that the fact that this has occurred at the same time as the changes in our economy are becoming ever more apparent is simply a coincidence...there is no such thing.

The number of qualified graduates has increased from 26% in 2000/01 to 30% in 2010/11 (figures sourced from HESA Statistical First Release 169). However, in 2011, 20% of 18-year-olds who left school with A-levels were unemployed compared with 25% of 21-year-olds who left university with a degree, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Graduate unemployment rates were almost on a par with those for people leaving school with just GCSEs, with 26% of 16-year-olds with these qualifications out of work. (Hilary Osborne @ Guardian 22/02/12).

This does not mean that higher education is redundant...far from it. However, it does suggest to me that companies are not always finding the qualities they want from graduates the traditional way. Companies are beginning to find that their businesses are undergoing changes as the economy begins its slow “recovery” process. Therefore, would it not stand to reason that the demands placed upon graduates could also change? Is it not also feasible, that the governments “Work Experience Scheme” is struggling to cope with the increased demands that are being placed upon it...demands it simply was not designed to accommodate?

Whilst evidence suggests that students are beginning to act accordingly, which has resulted in a rise in the number of students pursuing more vocational based degrees in recent years, my hunch is that this has not helped in the manner which one would expect. I think the proof of this may in fact be in the pudding. We are now seeing a trend, starting with the UK’s top 4 accounting firms, where companies are devising degree equivalent programs which have been designed to train school leavers who may be put off from the increasing university fees. The latest of which is Ernst and Young. In fact there is a growing sense that the mantra of the last few years, that everything is about university may not necessarily be right, and that A-level students should really be thinking about what they want to do and whether that means going to university. (Sourced from Hilary Osborne @ Guardian 22/02/12).

Again, I would like to reiterate that I am not suggesting students should not pursue a university education. I myself have a degree in Maths and Management Studies and I have reaped its rewards. However, I feel it is increasingly important that students should explore their options carefully to ensure they are getting the best deal for themselves that will grant them every opportunity to achieve their dreams and ambitions.

I believe that this is one of the biggest riddles we face in modern society and I wish I had the time and resources to research this in depth, sadly this is not the case. All information presented has been sourced from articles and studies which are readily available on the internet. I do not claim to be an expert in economics or government’s social policies. Nor do I claim to have all the answers....

I’m just saying....

What do you do with your used postage stamps – Can you help?

All it takes are your used postage stamps for a charitable cause.

A good friend of mine is hoping to collect many used postage stamps and give them to a charity called Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research (LLR).

LLR funds research into Leukaemia and Lymphoma. This research is then shared with health authorities around the world, and helps shape the standard treatment for all patients across the globe.  LLR pays for some of the research by selling these used postage stamps to collectors, overseas stamps are worth more, and this is where you come in, it doesn’t cost you anything, apart from possibly the cost of stamp(s) to send your used postage stamps and even that will be given to LLR.

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research’s life-saving research is focused on finding causes, improving diagnosis and treatments, and running groundbreaking clinical trials for all blood cancer patients. LLR first started research into blood cancers in 1960. LLR are now leaders in our field and patients are benefiting from our ground-breaking research today and in the future.

Your support means they can continue their life-saving work - http://leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk/ 

All it takes are your used postage stamps...I’m just saying.

p/s If you are interested in helping out to such a worthy cause which doesn’t take up much of your time or require you to dig deep into your pockets, send me a private message and I’ll provide you with the details as to where to send your stamps – Thank You.



Is the Female of the Species is truly more deadly than the male?

Nature has tried to tell us....even Space’s Tommy Scott tried to tell us as recently as 1996. So how could it take so long for us to realise this simple truism? We see and hear evidence of this every day....Black Widow Spiders, Spotted Hyenas...even Lions to some degree. I even recall that as an adolescent boy, I always heard the phrase “...hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...” Yet it was not until recently that the full gravity of what I have been told finally hit home.

Women, I put it to you at this point, how many times have you seen a pregnant woman board a train or a bus and watch in amazement as none of the seated gentlemen move to offer her a seat? I bet you have even asked yourself, where has the chivalry gone? Did they not have a mother... a wife or a girlfriend?

How scary is it then that I too have recently observed, on multiple occasions, a heavily pregnant woman board a busy train and as you can probably imagine not a single seat was offered despite her obvious discomfort. Yet to my amazement, as I scanned the faces of all those who attempted to obscure their vision with a glossy novel or the morning newspaper, that 60% of those seated were indeed WOMEN!!!

Surely a woman would empathise with the plight of a pregnant lady and the discomfort she endures right? Wrong!!!

Now please do not misunderstand me, as a man, I was also disappointed at the men who neglected to offer a seat and was happy that someone eventually did. However, I have to admit that I was amazed that the person in question was a man, not to mention my surprise at the subsequent looks of contentment etched on the faces of some of the women who had kept their seat.

I began to observe the behaviour of women towards other women on the morning train into work, especially those that are pregnant, at which time it became apparent that this was not simply an isolated incident.

I have seen the looks of indignation on the faces of those women having pushed their way onto the carriage to claim the last remaining seat in a scene which bears stark comparison to stampeding cattle in an old cowboy film. I have seen women race a pregnant woman for a seat to only offer it to her once she has felt the scathing looks which have been cast her way but disapproving fellow commuters.

Empathy appears to be a luxury of the past as society have adopted a mantra proclaiming the survival of the fittest which is displayed in all its glory as we commute to work each morning. Sympathy appears to be reserved for those on crutches with a cast encasing an injured limb as opposed to another woman who is carrying a new life in her womb.

Now it is important to note that I am not saying that all women behave in this way, but does it not occur frequently enough to make you wonder that if the propensity for such actions are there, does it not stand to reason then that the female of the species is truly more deadlier than the male?

Now I do not proclaim to have all the scenarios or all the facts to determine right from wrong.....

But I’m just saying...

One good deed ...

Recently whilst travelling on the J line during the evening rush hour on a Friday, a pregnant lady got on, and instead of people doing the usual looking down at the floor because there is something very interesting to stare at on a tube carriage floor or  newspapers raising higher and higher, a young lad offered his seat to her.

Then at the next stop which was an even busier station, another pregnant lady no.2 got on, to be honest, she looked like she was ready to give birth given the size of her bump, this time people pretended that they didn’t see her, so she moved over to the area where you can lean on, I made eye contact with her and asked her if she wanted my seat, people looked at her and then looked at me, she looked like she wanted to hug me, she came over, touched my arm saying ‘thank you very much’ as she sat down, and this was one female offering another her seat.

At the next stop, a family came on, they looked like they were tourists and the daughter appeared to want to sit down just for the fun of it, and so the chap sitting opposite me, offered his seat to her and she sat down with her mother. What did amaze me was why he didn’t offer his seat to the pregnant lady to which my friend who was travelling with me said (in his defence) ‘Perhaps he didn’t see her’.

When the pregnant lady no.2 got off at her stop, she again thanked me.  Not too sure what happened that day as another pregnant lady no.3 had got on at some stage, but I was too busy reading ES magazine to have noticed her, and anyway, I was still standing/leaning in that area where you can, pregnant lady no.3 looked at us like we were mad.  

I don’t think I have ever had such a gracious pregnant lady (no.2) thank me just for offering her my seat.

I know that sometimes there are people who take for granted that you should offer them your seat for no particular reason, but that day I felt good that someone appreciated something as small as offering a seat to them.

On a separate occasion, I found myself rushing to catch the tube as I was late for an appointment, I needed to top up my oyster card, and of course, it would have to be when everyone else uses the ticket machines (never when no one is using it), I patiently queue up, whilst willing the person in front of me (in my head) to hurry up. This was a guy probably in his early 20s with another friend, they walk away from the ticket machine and I noticed the screen says your oyster card could not be updated. Ignoring the message, I then use the machine for my oyster card and the machine makes a funny noise and a crisp £10 note spits back out of the machine, I look at the money, I turn around and see the two guys walking to the ticket barriers, I’m thinking what do I do, run after them and give them the money back or ignore it and just do what I need to do. 

I take the £10 note and run after the guys before they walk through the ticket barrier, I probably startled the guy as I touched his arm and said ‘Excuse me, did you just put money on your card?’, he’s a bit cautious and looks at me as if I am mad, and says ‘Yes’,  I wave the £10 note in his face and say ‘It didn’t work’ and then run back to the ticket machine, while he said ‘oh thank you’  as they walk back to the ticket machine, he says thank you again and I say that’s ok.

In this day and age, how many would have done that? How many would have just taken the £10 note with the thought ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’……I’m just saying.