I’m not as bad as them...am I?

My day got off to a fantastic start. I walked out of my front door and lying there on the floor in the pouring rain was a FIVER! Bonus.

But as I handed my sodden £5 note over to the bus driver for an extortionately priced single ticket, guilt started to enter my mind. I began to think of all of the politicians that have taken advantage of the parliamentary expense system. I mean, am I really as bad as them?

I obeyed the rules - that is clear. Universally speaking, the rules state: ‘finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers!’

But thinking about that proposition in more detail, do I really think it is morally right that the losers have to weep and lose the property they have accidently mislaid? I am famous for leaving bags and coats in the most stupid of places, and thankfully people haven’t implemented the rules as rigorously as I did when I picked up the soaking FIVER.

Or maybe the politicians (and myself), in obeying the rules, did nothing wrong and should have a clear conscience. Let me think this through;

1) The majority of MPs are in parliament for the right reasons – I strongly believe this but often feel naive for it, especially when people are peppering me with conspiracy theories.

I met Lemit Opik a few weeks ago. He stood in front of us with energy and dynamism and told us how he had got into politics to make a difference. It was mesmerising. I believed him and was with him all the way. I still am. Surely these people wouldn’t take advantage of the system or the public on purpose. There must be another explanation.

2) The rule book – Oh yes those dastardly rules. At first I thought this must be the reason. It’s easy to get into the habit of something that isn’t the best way forward.

Take smoking for instance. It’s clearly a bad idea. But once you get into the habit of it, the negative consequences of the action leave your mind.

Maybe recycling is a better example. We all know we need to save the world, but I would be lying if I said all of my paper found its way to the recycle bin.

Maybe expenses are similar? You get into the habit of claiming for all you can, and you don’t even think about the ethical principles that underpin an expenses system. In my short life I have come across many people who slightly fiddle their expenses. Is this really so bad?

3) The magnitude – Well to consider that question let’s look at some examples of slight fiddling in comparison to the official guidelines:

Three principles taken from the members of Parliament Code of Conduct are:

- Claims must only be made for expenditure that it was necessary for a Member to incur to ensure that he or she could properly perform his or her parliamentary duties.

- Members must ensure that claims do not give rise to, or give the appearance of giving rise to, an improper personal financial benefit to themselves or anyone else.

- The requirement of ensuring value for money is central in claiming for accommodation, goods or services – Members should avoid purchases which could be seen as extravagant or luxurious.

Claim examples: a trouser press, cat food, expenses for numerous houses, interior designers, hanging baskets, the cleaning of a moat, swimming pool maintenance, mortgages that don’t exist etc etc.

This is where the argument falls down, even for me – an establishment loving layman. The magnitude is catastrophic. This isn’t the odd claim. Every time one of the above went through it should have been screaming out to the MP “THIS IS A MISTAKE! THIS IS WRONG!”

Going back to the smoking analogy, it should have been like smoking a cigarette that puts you in so much pain it feels like it is killing you there and then!

I am disappointed in my ‘in it for the right reasons’ MPs. I still believe that they are in it for the right reasons, but this whole episode has been shameful and I am struggling to see the way back to a form of normalacy (slightly sceptical of people in power). I wonder how much money has been wasted on unjustified expenses over the past decades. It makes me feel a bit queezy.

Has anyone lost a fiver?

The secret of a good journalist, by a taxi driver

At an apt moment today, the Deputy Editor of the newspaper I am working for passed on to me the three secrets of being a good journalist as shared with her by a London cabbie in the late 70's.

1) There is no excuse for not getting a story (because there is always someone to talk to).

2) There are two sides to every story.

3) Never discard a phone number.

She said this at the very moment I was starting a new note book, which I saw as a sign so wrote them down on the first page. Wisdom.

Five albums that changed my life

Blur: The Great Escape
The first album I ever got was ‘The Great Escape’ by Blur. It came in a Christmas stocking along with Actua Soccer and Formula One for the playstation. The year I imagine was 1995, and Euro 96 was the most important thing in my life.

Everyone remembers their first album with fondness, but the Great Escape was especially powerful for me because it started me off on the whole Brit Pop thing. Within two weeks I had bought Parklife and Morning Glory, and didn’t wait much longer before getting Definitely Maybe. I was hooked.

Some of my friends favoured Oasis over Blur, and seeking individuality I backed Blur in the epic war. But I couldn’t lie to myself forever and eventually switched sides. Blur are brilliant but Oasis are the band that define my music taste.

Favourite song: The Universal.



The Beatles: Abbey Road
I got the Beatles blue album first which I thought was good. But it took me a while to move past that.

That was until one day when I was looking aimlessly for a CD. I must have been 15. I saw Abbey Road and was attracted by the picture. It was one I had seen before.

I couldn’t believe how good it was. It sounded like an album that had just been made, only ten times better. Undoubtedly the medley of songs that dominates the second half of the album is what makes it stand out. People just don’t pull stuff like that off these days.

From there I got really into the Beatles, both music and history. It was just in time to feel genuine sadness when George Harrison died and to spend a few hours reflecting at the John Lennon peace gardens in Central Park. If you don’t have it already, then snap it up now before it’s made illegal!

Favourite song(s): The Medley.



Radiohead: The Bends
I initially ruled out Radiohead. I thought they were a bit weird without ever listening to them. But one sleepy afternoon watching MTV I saw the video for ‘High and Dry’ and my life has never been the same again. It is still my favourite song.

I borrowed the Bends from a friend. Within a day I returned it and bought it for myself. I wasn’t going to live for a day longer without that bad boy sitting on my shelf.

Such was my appreciation for Radiohead, I bought tickets for a gig in Newcastle in 2003 when every other venue was sold out. Distances were irrelevant. John Young (a man that features in many epic music moments) and myself travelled up there and stayed the night. It was worth every penny. Legendary.

Favourite song: High and Dry.



The Stone Roses: The Best of…
I downloaded ‘I am the resurrection’ during my Brit pop craze, but didn’t really take to it.

But whilst living in Canada my Yorkshire friend Todd Buchanan re-introduced me. I bought the ‘The Best of…’ from a Vancouver Virgin megastore and listened to it daily on my way to work in an ice cream parlour. I always got to ‘Fools Gold’ on my (not so) portable CD player. They were easily the best band I had ever heard.

Todd and I then started frequenting clubs in Vancouver that had ‘Best of British’ nights. As a 19-year-old new to boozing and new to the Stone Roses, the combination of them together didn’t always bring out the best in me. Images of ‘I wanna be adored’ followed by high fiving and dodgy dancing come to mind. But to me…at the time…it was the stuff dreams are made of.

Favourite song: Elephant Stone

Frank Turner: Love Ire and Song
I discovered Frank at Reading 2008 accidently and think I have listened to him at least once a week ever since.

The man is a poet. I imagine his songs describe the thoughts of millions of British people my age and younger. But when I listen to him, I feel like he is talking to me.

I saw him a few weeks ago at the last ever gig at the London Astoria. He covered ‘Dancing Queen’ and had the whole crowd singing along. You can’t argue with a man of that calibre.

Favourite song: Love Ire and song.



What are your five albums?

It's not that bad!

I know there is a lot to grumble about in the world, especially in London. I mean unemployment is soaring, the banks are finished, we're in recession and the weather can only be described as 'changeable'.

But I saw a site in sunny London a couple of weeks ago that made me think, "Now that is bloody nice."

And as I share this image with you I want you to consider the finer things in life such as holidays, ice-cream, people giving up their seat on the bus, the crossword, taking your socks off after a long day, Only Fools and Horses, cider in a beer garden and a letter from a friend!

It's a picture from Convent Garden on a Sunday. People are being entertained by some performers mixing musical excellence with subtle banter. It's a lovely combination. I mean look how happy these people look...


Beautiful!

(If no one else can appreciate this, then Stevie Cameron will!)

Experience Pakistan: London edition

When I was in Pakistan we made a load of videos that were meant to show people, 'look we're here and it's safe and we're happy so come join us.' It was called the Experience Pakistan campaign.

At the weekend I went down to London to meet up with my old Swiss roomie Pascal who came to visit us from Switzerland and Pakistan's trainee champion herself, Rabayl. Over breakfast we tried to re-create those unforgetable Experience Pakistan moments:

As you can see we failed, but to anyone who was there during that fateful time it might bring back some nice memories!

FTS

Sheffield University Astonomer teams up with NASA

A Sheffield University astronomer has started work on a NASA mission expected to find new planets and stars similar to the sun and earth.

Professor Michael Thompson, Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, will lead a team looking at the interior of stars in the NASA Kepler mission which was launched on March 7th. It is expected to find about 50 earth-sized planets orbiting stars over the next three and a half years.

The Kepler Spacecraft will use its telescope to measure the variations in brightness of 170,000 stars simultaneously. If a star dims at regular intervals it indicates a potential planet crossing the path of the telescope and so orbiting the star.

Professor Thompson said: “Kepler takes things to a new dimension in terms of the number of stars we can see and information we can gather.”

The mission will also allow scientists to learn more about the stars themselves through using the asteroseismology technique – the sound of stars. Professor Thompson will play a central role in this part of the mission as he has 20 years experience studying the interior of the sun.

Sound waves travel through stars which make them oscillate or flicker. The Kepler spacecraft will record these light fluctuations over weeks, months and years to measure the exact size of the oscillations and the frequency they oscillate at.

According to Professor Thompson, a good analogy for the process is thinking of a Hi-fi speaker in a bell jar. Although you would not be able to hear the speaker, if you could see it vibrating, you would know it was making a sound. By measuring those vibrations you could work out the frequencies of the sound.

In the same way you can work out the sound of stars, despite them sitting in a vacuum.

This process will allow the team to determine the size of the stars, their chemical composition and their rotation rate.

Professor Thompson said that by characterising a star we can calculate how far away a planet can be to support the type of life forms we are familiar with.

During the first nine months in space Kepler will survey more than 5000 stars for oscillations.

Based on those measurements around 1100 stars will be followed for detailed studies throughout the mission. The accuracy at which Kepler will be able to measure oscillations is so high that the science team expects to see stars change as they age.

Professor Thompson said: “The great excitement of the work with the Kepler mission is that we’ll be able to probe the interiors of different masses and different ages, permitting us to study young suns and old suns, as well as stars that are more or less massive than our own star.”

Professor Thompson is part of a consortium of 200 researchers from 50 institutions all over the world working on the Kepler mission. Professors from Birmingham and Central Lancashire
Universities and Queen Mary College, London are also leading teams as part of the Kepler mission.

For more detailed information visit Mike Trudeau's blog for an excellent analysis.

Lacking a finger to point

I’m sure everyone can relate to the saying, ‘life can be a bit of a bitch sometimes’ and this weekend fitted the bill.

I awoke on Friday, with my left index finger three times its normal size and puss trying to burst out the top of it. Lovely. I had been nursing the infection for three days, and was sure I was on the mend. Friday morning confirmed I wasn’t.

I had a friend visiting, who I left on Friday morning for university expecting to see her again in the evening. I even suggested she buy some gourmet food for dinner.

I went to my lectures and booked an appointment with the doctor for the afternoon. I intended for him to prescribe me some antibiotics while being clueless as to what had caused my finger to inflame like a sausage.

But he had other plans. He put me in a taxi to Northern General Hospital, miles away from my house and that is where I stayed for the next 2 nights.

In the mean time my friend got called home because her Nan was taken seriously ill. This soon put things in perspective – my injury was minor.

The doctor told me I had to have a small operation to drain my finger and get rid of the infection.

He had no idea as to when this operation would take place as operations are done on order of priority. My finger wasn’t that much of a priority.

While I waited I was given antibiotics through IV. My vein didn’t like the needle at first, meaning my jeans got covered in blood. They’re ruined. "whoops"

24 hours later, the time to have my operation came if I was prepared to try it under Local anaesthetic. Of course I was. I am scared of being put to sleep.

The operation was traumatic! (I’m a girl). I’m no longer scared of being put to sleep.

I left the hospital on Sunday lunchtime with a hole in my poor finger to replace the swelling. The kind nurse said: “orrr that’s a big one isn’t it”

“Yes thank you, lets never mention it again." (I was feeling a bit queezy at the sight of it).

I hope I can still play the sweet tunes of oasis.

I can't at the moment.

Today has been much better I now have a super slim line bandage that looks very fashionable and I can go to London. Thank you NHS for making me better.