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Looking at You – daily life in the 21st century
A whole new meaning to ‘watch dog’! Do you socialise a lot? No wonder you need to nap… Organise a wine tasting this autumn A weighty matter Don’t let your child’s birthday party stress you out Does your baby blow bubbles in church? Drink cocoa, think positive – and live long!
A whole new meaning to ‘watch dog’! If you have a dog, beware! The Missing Pets Bureau has reported that cases of dog theft increased by 141 per cent last year.
Pedigree pets are most commonly stolen, and dog-nappers are well aware that some owners will pay massive ransoms to be reunited with their pet. If your dog is stolen, report it to the police immediately. They will at least give you a crime number, which you will need in order to make an insurance claim.
Best of all, take preventative measures to protect your furry friend:
- make sure your dog is micro-chipped or has its ear tattooed - make sure your dog has a collar and tag, with your current details on them - try not to let your dog out of your sight when you go walking, for even a few minutes - don’t leave your dog alone in the garden when you go out - make sure your garden fence is high enough to stop anyone grabbing your dog, and that the gate is secure - NEVER leave your dog tethered outside of shops, libraries, toilets, or unattended in a parked car - beware of any stranger taking an undue interest in your dog. - if you have heard of dog-snatching in your area, occasionally vary your walk routes and times - think carefully before you allow unaccompanied youngsters to walk your dog - keep some clear photographs of your dog, from different angles, and record any unusual or distinguishing features they may have.
Do you socialise a lot? No wonder you need to nap… People who gossip, socialise and learn a lot will need to nap more often than those who don’t. That is the outcome to a recent scientific study reported on in the journal Science.
The study has concluded that our bodies require sleep in order for our brains to process all the interactions of the day. The study, carried out on fruit flies (with whom we apparently share important genes) found that when adult flies were trained to do a complex task, they sleep more. It may be that the brain needs sleep to make the beneficial changes related to social experience and learning.
Organise a wine tasting this autumn Some do’s and don’ts to make it a success 1. Don’t try and have too many wines – stick to four reds and four whites, or eight of one colour. 2. Chill your whites well, and let your reds breathe. 3. Have plenty of plain dry biscuits on hand. This will soak up the alcohol, and help cleanse palates. 4. Get your tasting order right: whites before reds, cheap before expensive, light before heavy, un-oaked before oaked, dry before sweet, and fortified at the very end.
What you will need: 1. Pens and paper for people to make notes 2. Foil or paper to wrap up the bottles. 3. Numbered cards to place in front of the bottles – to identify them. 4. A long table with a white table cloth. 5. Spittoons! A few shallow boxes filled with sawdust work well. Jugs are okay, but make sure they are solid, and not clear. No one wants to see the wine other people spit out! 6. Several jugs of plain still water, and water glasses. 7. Wine glasses. 8. Bottles of wine! Reckon on 16 decent-sized tasting samples per bottle.
Tasting themes: There are lots of ways to have fun with this, including:
Old World against New World wines: say an Australian shiraz to a Rhone syrah
Grape to grape: offer two classic varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon against merlot
Blind tasting: depending on your guests’ experience, have them attempt to guess the grape, region, producer, vintage and/or price.
Price test: present your bottles blind, along with the price list. You’ll be surprised!
Horizontal tasting: not because you’ve drunk too much already – this means tasting of different wines from the same year.
Vertical tasting: this is a tasting of the same wine from different vintages.
Remember – wine appreciation is a personal thing: your opinion is as good as anyone’s!
A weighty matter Two thirds of the UK population are already overweight - or even obese. Some doctors are predicting that the current generation may not live as long as their parents, and that the death toll from obesity could surpass even smoking.
There are no easy ways of ducking the problem: the only way is to adopt a healthy lifestyle - and stick with it. Drinking lots of water can help – it suppresses your appetite (hunger is often a sign of thirst), and stops you feeling tired, which will boost your energy levels. Forget takeaways. Forget eating out. Discover the health-conscious chef in you and cook from scratch – using lots of fruit and vegetables. Also, get moving! There is no pill that replaces regular exercise.
Don’t let your child’s birthday party stress you out What happened to the good old days when a child’s birthday party was simple and fun – if a bit hectic? Now it seems as if many competitive parents are making themselves ill with worry about whether the party they organise for their child’s birthday will be as much fun as those thrown by other parents.
A recent survey of childrens’ birthday trends has discovered that parents spend an average of £129 on a child’s birthday party – and are three times more likely to experience a stomach upset in the run-up to the big day than their child is!
Children in the survey said they would happily give up the lavish party gimmicks and go back to basics with party games. It is the moms and dads who insist on the bouncy castles, Harry Potter accessories, and goody-bags stuffed with DVDs. And often that is just for starters…
Does your baby blow bubbles in church? If your child under two years of age blows bubbles and lick their lips, be encouraged: it may drive you crazy in the pew, but it means they are most likely to find talking easy one day.
Psychologists at Lancaster University have found a strong link between such mouth movements and a child’s language abilities. The study looked at children aged 21 months – the time when children learn new words at a faster rate than at any other stage in their life. Those who were good at imaginative play were also better at talking.
Drink cocoa, think positive – and live long! A cup of cocoa and a cheerful outlook may well lengthen your life, according to a recent study on elderly Dutchmen. In a study of 470 men over 65, those with the highest cocoa consumption were half as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as others. Cocoa may be beneficial because it is a rich source of antioxidants, which mop up free radicals.
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