Tuesday, November 02, 2010
feeling forgotton?
No, I have not forgotton, you are being avoided oh little blog. But soon I shall return. <3
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Dove Beauty Campaign case study Assignment Week 9
The Dove real beauty campaign was started in 2004 when declining sales of dove products had them go to Edelman PR for help. With the wealth of competition on the shelves that could rival dove products they decided to approach potential customers with ideologies rather than marketing of a product. These ideologies came in the form of what beauty is, linking to Dove in the way that they sell beauty products. People would see advertisements for these philosophical concepts and could go to the Dove website to cast votes.
They formed and executed the campaign at the right time, as it was when tabloids and glossy magazines were obsessively writing about eating disorders. It was also the start of web 2.0 with MySpace and Facebook where society were increasingly putting photos of each other and themselves on the internet and becoming vain in physical appearance in front of a global community.
The idea was to make women feel beautiful regardless of size, shape or any other feature, literally just the way they are. There have been many praises and few criticisms of the campaign, providing the essence of a good follow through on the original idea. The point of a pr campaign is to get the same message you sent to the receiver through a variety of channels and Edelman-Dove seemed to have accomplished that task. The tabloids continued with their aforementioned obsession but they crafted an angle similar to Dove real beauty and how all their case studies were trying to return to these.
However, as is the nature of humans to think pessimistically, did it become that if everyone was beautiful then nobody was? The campaign had commissioned research on all women to realise what views they had on beauty and found that just over 60% of women and girls asked across seven countries wanted to change their appearance, when the same research was redone two years later they found this had risen to 90%. Was the campaign to blame for the consciousness of what beauty is when it set out to make people aware that beauty isn’t what society was subtly painting it as?
The campaign also hit its target audience, all women orientated magazines and almost all tabloids challenge the conception of ‘real beauty’ in every issue since the campaign. Although, they had always spoken of appearance woes and such in their issues, even if it wasn’t a full page spread.
However they targeted women as a whole, target audiences tend to be niche to an extent but this campaign sought to include half of the global population. This helped its cause as to only keep it national would have made people think that only western culture is pretty, if they limited that it would put limitations on everything they said, so creating a global real beauty culture they mocked limitations and made all think of their philosophies.
The use of a website voting system was also clever as it meant anyone can access it. As from 2004 public places offered internet connectivity so everyone could always get to it, rather than having to spend money and time calling or filling out forms to post.
529 words.
References
http://www.psucomm473.blogspot.com/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html [accessed May 26 2010]
They formed and executed the campaign at the right time, as it was when tabloids and glossy magazines were obsessively writing about eating disorders. It was also the start of web 2.0 with MySpace and Facebook where society were increasingly putting photos of each other and themselves on the internet and becoming vain in physical appearance in front of a global community.
The idea was to make women feel beautiful regardless of size, shape or any other feature, literally just the way they are. There have been many praises and few criticisms of the campaign, providing the essence of a good follow through on the original idea. The point of a pr campaign is to get the same message you sent to the receiver through a variety of channels and Edelman-Dove seemed to have accomplished that task. The tabloids continued with their aforementioned obsession but they crafted an angle similar to Dove real beauty and how all their case studies were trying to return to these.
However, as is the nature of humans to think pessimistically, did it become that if everyone was beautiful then nobody was? The campaign had commissioned research on all women to realise what views they had on beauty and found that just over 60% of women and girls asked across seven countries wanted to change their appearance, when the same research was redone two years later they found this had risen to 90%. Was the campaign to blame for the consciousness of what beauty is when it set out to make people aware that beauty isn’t what society was subtly painting it as?
The campaign also hit its target audience, all women orientated magazines and almost all tabloids challenge the conception of ‘real beauty’ in every issue since the campaign. Although, they had always spoken of appearance woes and such in their issues, even if it wasn’t a full page spread.
However they targeted women as a whole, target audiences tend to be niche to an extent but this campaign sought to include half of the global population. This helped its cause as to only keep it national would have made people think that only western culture is pretty, if they limited that it would put limitations on everything they said, so creating a global real beauty culture they mocked limitations and made all think of their philosophies.
The use of a website voting system was also clever as it meant anyone can access it. As from 2004 public places offered internet connectivity so everyone could always get to it, rather than having to spend money and time calling or filling out forms to post.
529 words.
References
http://www.psucomm473.blogspot.com/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html [accessed May 26 2010]
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
PR depicted in fiction: histories assignment
PR practitioners depicted in fiction since 1995.
“Darling, she does a lot more than planning parties. She chit chats with club owners and trades on gossip about other people’s clients to the columnists so they’ll write good things about her own clients and sends gifts to celebrities to convince them to attend her events so the press will as well- all the while looking very pretty when she goes out every night.” (Weisberger, 2005: 57) This is a fictional journalist in ‘Everybody Worth Knowing’ explaining the career of a pr practitioner. This pr is depicted as an event and celebrity specialist, but one who encourages social networking in a physical sense. The whole agency is in the big name clubs of Manhattan every night, not leaving until after three am and expected back in the office. They are shown as being very knowledgeable about their topic and incredible stamina on such little sleep as they all go to morning meetings every day. But their personalities are left questionable.
Weisberger’s views of the media are shown as early in the book as page 58, with the same above journalist saying “I’ll give you 24 hours to debate the pros and cons of accepting a job where you can party for a living.” The phrase itself has the tone of ‘of course you will accept’ as it seems so good, but this is said by another media professional. The real tone behind it was more sinister, for the reader could assume that this ‘career’ has no seriousness attached to it, that it is just another institution whereby money is given to be squandered by an individual for pleasure with no real hard work attached to it.
The book itself relays again and again how good the main character, Bette, is a fantastic writer, slipping in how she got awards and how her writing was praised by many people and this is why she is offered the job as a PR. Yet she never utilises this talent, she is only ‘seen’ going to more parties and complaining about the amount. It is as though Weisberger wants the reader to dislike marketing social events. She gives Bette mini parties with a book club as well which is written with a lot of humour and compassion, but the bigger more agency related parties were always described with debauchery antics. Everyone who attended these parties were drug addicts, and so were so often acting immorally under the influence, they had no reservations against what most people would blush at the thought of.
The main character also becomes estranged from her friends so that she can socialise with people she doesn’t know, to help better the agency. This denotes that a pr practitioner is quite false as they don’t really have a true friend around them, they are out doing a job at these parties and do not care as long as they get press coverage which means more money to go to more parties. It became a monotonous circle in the book; even the reader became bored of the parties but was captured by the sense of disaster that looms with each turn of the page.
Continuing with the concept of falseness, it is reiterated quite obviously by Kelly, the owner of the pr agency in the book; “Bette, honey, I don’t care if it’s not true, I just care that it’s being covered...” (Weisberger, 2005: 133). It is as though a pr is untrustworthy because their job is to become trustworthy. They just want to be in the media, they do not ‘care’ about the reasons, as long as it isn’t bad. That specific use of the phrase ‘I don’t care’ by the manager leaves the reader with the idea that pr only do half a job. Even though the agency is successful, the reader does not seem to connect nor be impressed as the people within are just so unlikeable, especially when they are out trying to be liked. It is not a good book for a pr.
However, just the tagline to the film ‘Thank you for smoking’ negates Weisberger’s ‘false’ views, stating “don’t hide the truth... just filter it.” Meaning that PR practitioners, or ‘lobbyists’ as the film calls them, do actually deal with truth, but they spin it to make it sound good for whatever campaign or company they are representing.
‘Thank you for smoking’ really illustrates how dangerous a pr career can be. A pr practitioner can sometimes become the face of the company, they are the spokesperson and they are who everyone turns to. Therefore fictional pr tends be made from strong characters when they reach the top, it is the people who can easily bluff and talk their way out of problems, it was seen in both the film and Weisberger used it to when Bette could have a conversation with anyone without really paying attention, she was just talented at being able to reply when she needed to make it look like she was giving full attention.
“Everyone needs to pay the mortgage,” says Nick Naylor (Played by Aaron Eckhart in Thank you for smoking) when challenged as to why he is a pr for a tobacco company, therefore naturally hated by many. He is good at his job and it gets him the money he needs, just like any other job, even if the morals are, like in Weisberger’s novel, questionable.
There is one practitioner who has innocent reasoning in fiction, and does pr campaigns for the good of society and his fellow man. In ‘Hancock’, starring Will Smith, the pr Ray Embrey says to Hancock “People should love you. They really should, okay? And I want to deliver that for you. It's the least that I can do. You're a superhero. Kids should be running up to you, asking for your autograph, people should be cheering you on the streets...” Ray literally is in the job to help society feel better, to boost morale. He is depicted as very war time pr when the government needed to send out messages to make society feel safe and keep people happy enough to survive through the war.
In conclusion, pr practitioners are depicted mostly as people with a talent for words just working another job but do it celebrated in the media. They talk to people and they get to know people, even if it is just making acquaintances rather than real friendships. It also seeps into their personal lives, it is very much a career that covers your life for 24/7 and the practitioner used for analogy tends to be a strong character that can cope with the pressures of the workload, but of course the plot of a fiction would be difficult and complicated to overcome so there is some extremist scenarios you have to overlook for a representation of the character.
1002 words.
References
Hancock, 2008. [Film] Directed by Peter Berg. USA: Columbia Pictures.
Thank-you for smoking, 2005. [Film] Directed by Jason Reitman. USA: 20th Century Fox.
Weisberger, Lauren. Everyone Worth Knowing. 2005. Harper Collins: London.
“Darling, she does a lot more than planning parties. She chit chats with club owners and trades on gossip about other people’s clients to the columnists so they’ll write good things about her own clients and sends gifts to celebrities to convince them to attend her events so the press will as well- all the while looking very pretty when she goes out every night.” (Weisberger, 2005: 57) This is a fictional journalist in ‘Everybody Worth Knowing’ explaining the career of a pr practitioner. This pr is depicted as an event and celebrity specialist, but one who encourages social networking in a physical sense. The whole agency is in the big name clubs of Manhattan every night, not leaving until after three am and expected back in the office. They are shown as being very knowledgeable about their topic and incredible stamina on such little sleep as they all go to morning meetings every day. But their personalities are left questionable.
Weisberger’s views of the media are shown as early in the book as page 58, with the same above journalist saying “I’ll give you 24 hours to debate the pros and cons of accepting a job where you can party for a living.” The phrase itself has the tone of ‘of course you will accept’ as it seems so good, but this is said by another media professional. The real tone behind it was more sinister, for the reader could assume that this ‘career’ has no seriousness attached to it, that it is just another institution whereby money is given to be squandered by an individual for pleasure with no real hard work attached to it.
The book itself relays again and again how good the main character, Bette, is a fantastic writer, slipping in how she got awards and how her writing was praised by many people and this is why she is offered the job as a PR. Yet she never utilises this talent, she is only ‘seen’ going to more parties and complaining about the amount. It is as though Weisberger wants the reader to dislike marketing social events. She gives Bette mini parties with a book club as well which is written with a lot of humour and compassion, but the bigger more agency related parties were always described with debauchery antics. Everyone who attended these parties were drug addicts, and so were so often acting immorally under the influence, they had no reservations against what most people would blush at the thought of.
The main character also becomes estranged from her friends so that she can socialise with people she doesn’t know, to help better the agency. This denotes that a pr practitioner is quite false as they don’t really have a true friend around them, they are out doing a job at these parties and do not care as long as they get press coverage which means more money to go to more parties. It became a monotonous circle in the book; even the reader became bored of the parties but was captured by the sense of disaster that looms with each turn of the page.
Continuing with the concept of falseness, it is reiterated quite obviously by Kelly, the owner of the pr agency in the book; “Bette, honey, I don’t care if it’s not true, I just care that it’s being covered...” (Weisberger, 2005: 133). It is as though a pr is untrustworthy because their job is to become trustworthy. They just want to be in the media, they do not ‘care’ about the reasons, as long as it isn’t bad. That specific use of the phrase ‘I don’t care’ by the manager leaves the reader with the idea that pr only do half a job. Even though the agency is successful, the reader does not seem to connect nor be impressed as the people within are just so unlikeable, especially when they are out trying to be liked. It is not a good book for a pr.
However, just the tagline to the film ‘Thank you for smoking’ negates Weisberger’s ‘false’ views, stating “don’t hide the truth... just filter it.” Meaning that PR practitioners, or ‘lobbyists’ as the film calls them, do actually deal with truth, but they spin it to make it sound good for whatever campaign or company they are representing.
‘Thank you for smoking’ really illustrates how dangerous a pr career can be. A pr practitioner can sometimes become the face of the company, they are the spokesperson and they are who everyone turns to. Therefore fictional pr tends be made from strong characters when they reach the top, it is the people who can easily bluff and talk their way out of problems, it was seen in both the film and Weisberger used it to when Bette could have a conversation with anyone without really paying attention, she was just talented at being able to reply when she needed to make it look like she was giving full attention.
“Everyone needs to pay the mortgage,” says Nick Naylor (Played by Aaron Eckhart in Thank you for smoking) when challenged as to why he is a pr for a tobacco company, therefore naturally hated by many. He is good at his job and it gets him the money he needs, just like any other job, even if the morals are, like in Weisberger’s novel, questionable.
There is one practitioner who has innocent reasoning in fiction, and does pr campaigns for the good of society and his fellow man. In ‘Hancock’, starring Will Smith, the pr Ray Embrey says to Hancock “People should love you. They really should, okay? And I want to deliver that for you. It's the least that I can do. You're a superhero. Kids should be running up to you, asking for your autograph, people should be cheering you on the streets...” Ray literally is in the job to help society feel better, to boost morale. He is depicted as very war time pr when the government needed to send out messages to make society feel safe and keep people happy enough to survive through the war.
In conclusion, pr practitioners are depicted mostly as people with a talent for words just working another job but do it celebrated in the media. They talk to people and they get to know people, even if it is just making acquaintances rather than real friendships. It also seeps into their personal lives, it is very much a career that covers your life for 24/7 and the practitioner used for analogy tends to be a strong character that can cope with the pressures of the workload, but of course the plot of a fiction would be difficult and complicated to overcome so there is some extremist scenarios you have to overlook for a representation of the character.
1002 words.
References
Hancock, 2008. [Film] Directed by Peter Berg. USA: Columbia Pictures.
Thank-you for smoking, 2005. [Film] Directed by Jason Reitman. USA: 20th Century Fox.
Weisberger, Lauren. Everyone Worth Knowing. 2005. Harper Collins: London.
Myc Ruggelsford workshop review
Grassroots pr workshop for pr histories and practices. A review.
We had entered the room with two men already standing talking in there. One was our tutor, Jon, the other, the man who would be talking at us for the next 48 hours. We all drifted in and sat in two rows whilst we were introduced to Myc Riggulsford and explained to that this was a workshop over two days whereby we would be learning about our new module PR histories and practices. A head-bob goodbye from Jon left us with Myc who we all tiredly turned towards.
The first thing he did was smile in a way that made the whole atmosphere change, everyone sat a little straighter, notebooks were out and pens were ready. He let us know it was important for us to spell everything right, including names, which can be complicated, writing his own on the board. Welsh origins, a little different, but you could tell that this man was not going to be an ordinary Mike.
Myc hadn’t started with public relations. Originally he was a journalist; mostly on radio for Plymouth Sound, but after went freelance. He had his first taste of pr in the health service and enjoyed it but when in 1991 regulations were brought in to limit who he could contact he realised it was time to break free.
This was when he created his own agency, the Walnut Bureau. His eyes sparkled with compassion as he described his agency. “Imagine a very old bureau made from walnut wood, very old school, where you would not be sitting typing at a computer but have a quill with paper, how writing should be.” Myc wanted his agency to be simply PR that everyone understood, no complexities that would make people confused, nothing so futuristic that it couldn’t keep up with itself. Although he did have to make an income, even myc knew an agency needed a reputation before it could win good deals, so he made the first UK issues management pr. Crisis has to be managed by an agency already associated with the company, as it needs to be a speedy response and know the people and inner workings to make a respectable campaign. Issues are long term, another agency can come in and work solely on them rather than trying to juggle with all the other sides of pr, as there are many. Issues can be with extremist groups, or that the company may not be as ‘carbon footprint’ friendly as others but cannot cut down any more than they have so need the public convinced they are still good.
We learnt of four categories that all institutions fall into; the ‘public funded’ who need power, this is usually government and related; the ‘non-government organisations’ (NGOs) who are pushed into their causes by ethics, mostly charities; the ‘industry’ segment has a lot of marketing based pr as it is selling things to make profit; finally the ‘academics and professionals’ who are ranking up their reputation and need to relay facts and knowledge to the public, this is from scientists, lawyers, universities, etc. The media joins all four of these groups together. Myc gave us the tip that this square was important, if we were up against an issue with one of these segments then we needed the other three on our side to create an effective campaign.
Moving on to communication and what we pr do, Myc said that the main fear of clients is that pr can’t prove what they have done, excellent pr is hidden, the public shouldn’t realise, but how do the company know they are paying you to do something and not nothing. Trust; but a detailed plan and organisation help a lot. See flow chart below.
However, even with all the details written down, even if you have calculated every move you make, pr will sometimes be easily way sided by journalists due to context and barriers. If everything goes right at the right time then pr will happen, but there are news priorities such as tragic anniversaries like September 11 and annual holidays like Christmas. There is no use trying to overrun that coverage, it will fail. See chart below.
We started the second day with the question “what is PR for?” But before we actually answered it Myc asked us why we wanted to go into PR. Our answers referred to the challenges that it gives whilst also being able to travel for the work, socialising, the creative aspect and of course there is money to be had. He smiled, and agreed that we were in it for the same reasons as most. Then we looked at what it is for. There is an argument that PR is advocacy for clients in the media. Everyone has the ‘right to be represented’ such as a lawyer would a defendant, and that is what a pr does in front of the media and the public, like judge and jury, although many times these roles are switched between the pair so a pr also has to be able to adapt quickly and seamlessly.
As pr is new there are many arguments for what it really is, all true and all not quite exact. There are so many definitions that it is hard to pinpoint, but many still insist it is just another part of marketing for a company. As Myc had said the day before, this is quite accurate for industry pr, but what about NGO and Professionals/Academics pr? These institutions are not being marketed but just convey information and sometimes needs more media coverage to gain access to the public; those who insist pr is marketing have just overlooked the subtlety that pr practitioners work with to get media coverage and probably don’t realise that there is so much to be done.
Myc also explained that when you are working on a campaign for a company you may want to enlist help with others, but there are levels to how you work with people:
You can engage with other companies or individuals, whereby you just make sure you will not upset them, as it would be detrimental to your cause if you did. Just informing someone with information keeps them separate from your work but they feel a part of it all, and consulting and collaborating means you physically take advice from them or let them have some run of the project too. Knowing who fits these categories is as important as the campaign itself.
A few final tips and a heartbreaking goodbye from Myc ended our two day workshop. Full of ideas, knowledge and eagerness we awaited the first sessions of our new module.
We had entered the room with two men already standing talking in there. One was our tutor, Jon, the other, the man who would be talking at us for the next 48 hours. We all drifted in and sat in two rows whilst we were introduced to Myc Riggulsford and explained to that this was a workshop over two days whereby we would be learning about our new module PR histories and practices. A head-bob goodbye from Jon left us with Myc who we all tiredly turned towards.
The first thing he did was smile in a way that made the whole atmosphere change, everyone sat a little straighter, notebooks were out and pens were ready. He let us know it was important for us to spell everything right, including names, which can be complicated, writing his own on the board. Welsh origins, a little different, but you could tell that this man was not going to be an ordinary Mike.
Myc hadn’t started with public relations. Originally he was a journalist; mostly on radio for Plymouth Sound, but after went freelance. He had his first taste of pr in the health service and enjoyed it but when in 1991 regulations were brought in to limit who he could contact he realised it was time to break free.
This was when he created his own agency, the Walnut Bureau. His eyes sparkled with compassion as he described his agency. “Imagine a very old bureau made from walnut wood, very old school, where you would not be sitting typing at a computer but have a quill with paper, how writing should be.” Myc wanted his agency to be simply PR that everyone understood, no complexities that would make people confused, nothing so futuristic that it couldn’t keep up with itself. Although he did have to make an income, even myc knew an agency needed a reputation before it could win good deals, so he made the first UK issues management pr. Crisis has to be managed by an agency already associated with the company, as it needs to be a speedy response and know the people and inner workings to make a respectable campaign. Issues are long term, another agency can come in and work solely on them rather than trying to juggle with all the other sides of pr, as there are many. Issues can be with extremist groups, or that the company may not be as ‘carbon footprint’ friendly as others but cannot cut down any more than they have so need the public convinced they are still good.
We learnt of four categories that all institutions fall into; the ‘public funded’ who need power, this is usually government and related; the ‘non-government organisations’ (NGOs) who are pushed into their causes by ethics, mostly charities; the ‘industry’ segment has a lot of marketing based pr as it is selling things to make profit; finally the ‘academics and professionals’ who are ranking up their reputation and need to relay facts and knowledge to the public, this is from scientists, lawyers, universities, etc. The media joins all four of these groups together. Myc gave us the tip that this square was important, if we were up against an issue with one of these segments then we needed the other three on our side to create an effective campaign.
Moving on to communication and what we pr do, Myc said that the main fear of clients is that pr can’t prove what they have done, excellent pr is hidden, the public shouldn’t realise, but how do the company know they are paying you to do something and not nothing. Trust; but a detailed plan and organisation help a lot. See flow chart below.
However, even with all the details written down, even if you have calculated every move you make, pr will sometimes be easily way sided by journalists due to context and barriers. If everything goes right at the right time then pr will happen, but there are news priorities such as tragic anniversaries like September 11 and annual holidays like Christmas. There is no use trying to overrun that coverage, it will fail. See chart below.
We started the second day with the question “what is PR for?” But before we actually answered it Myc asked us why we wanted to go into PR. Our answers referred to the challenges that it gives whilst also being able to travel for the work, socialising, the creative aspect and of course there is money to be had. He smiled, and agreed that we were in it for the same reasons as most. Then we looked at what it is for. There is an argument that PR is advocacy for clients in the media. Everyone has the ‘right to be represented’ such as a lawyer would a defendant, and that is what a pr does in front of the media and the public, like judge and jury, although many times these roles are switched between the pair so a pr also has to be able to adapt quickly and seamlessly.
As pr is new there are many arguments for what it really is, all true and all not quite exact. There are so many definitions that it is hard to pinpoint, but many still insist it is just another part of marketing for a company. As Myc had said the day before, this is quite accurate for industry pr, but what about NGO and Professionals/Academics pr? These institutions are not being marketed but just convey information and sometimes needs more media coverage to gain access to the public; those who insist pr is marketing have just overlooked the subtlety that pr practitioners work with to get media coverage and probably don’t realise that there is so much to be done.
Myc also explained that when you are working on a campaign for a company you may want to enlist help with others, but there are levels to how you work with people:
You can engage with other companies or individuals, whereby you just make sure you will not upset them, as it would be detrimental to your cause if you did. Just informing someone with information keeps them separate from your work but they feel a part of it all, and consulting and collaborating means you physically take advice from them or let them have some run of the project too. Knowing who fits these categories is as important as the campaign itself.
A few final tips and a heartbreaking goodbye from Myc ended our two day workshop. Full of ideas, knowledge and eagerness we awaited the first sessions of our new module.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Beaches, bikinis, nightclubs and ninjas.
In a society that interacts at all times of day we need to be ready for any surprise, good or bad. Sunshine in July will entice that Bikini out of the drawer, and we all understand the dangers of the walk home after a Club with the girls. Natalie Venning signs up for Tang Soo Do Martial Arts Classes to find out the benefits of being fighting fit.
To have a body to be proud to lie on the beach with this summer and knowledge to disarm any attackers why not try a different style of exercise class? Martial Arts are a well established athletics routine in most countries; Tang Soo Do originated from Korea, and works on fitness and intimidation in its style. “It’s a way to keep fit and meet new people,” a man told me with a friendly smile as he handed me a leaflet.
I had always been interested in taking a martial arts class, but it had seemed so surreal to imagine myself fighting like you see Lucy Liu in movies. Except when I held that leaflet in my hand signing up appeared so easy to do.
As I walked into that first class I was embarrassed that I wouldn’t be fit enough to keep up as I had not been one to exercise before; almost to the point that I wanted to turn away, but curiosity kept me there. The senior class members lined up in a grid as the instructor called attention, so the other rookies and I took our places behind them.
We were led through a half hour warm up, including jogging on the spot and more press-ups than I thought my body capable, and then onto stretches. After, although my breathing had noticeably quickened, instead of regretting joining I was feeling active and ready.
Martial Art philosophy is strict with the view that your knowledge and power should only be used for self defence; therefore we were first taught how to ward off attackers. The senior members partnered with the new; holding onto them as if they were strangling them. I was then instructed on how to escape the six foot, broad shouldered man in an orange belt holding tightly onto my neck. I didn’t think my untrained five foot frame would ever have enough power to accomplish the technique.
Never the less I dropped my weight on a bent knee and pushed my hips and arm up inside his arms, his grip failed and I was free. The surprise of my achievement felt wonderful.
The first class only gave me a small taste of Tang Soo Do and I was much more eager for the second class the following week. Another self defence manoeuvre was shown to us, a cross grab on the wrist. Again I doubted my ability, another man this time with a green belt was holding my wrist with such strength I didn’t think anyone could get out. But following our instructors words I twisted my hips and turned my wrist out of his hand; and then could not believe just how natural it felt to shoot a ‘knife hand’ back at his temple as a counter strike.
I found Tang Soo Do to not be confusing at all, and even when I was unsure exactly what to do the level of respect that the members hold for each other keeps the atmosphere jovial and they are always keen to help, even walk through the different stages in a technique with you so that it can done correctly; but never have I felt pressured or patronised during the many times that the senior members have had to help me.
To have the knowledge to protect myself makes me feel confident to go places at any time of day; not only confidence in security but even in body confidence and now have the daring to more than I used to. And I even feel better, emotionally and physically since starting the classes.
If you want to join a martial arts class check out your local leisure centre and community hall listings to see what is available to you.
For more information on In Sung Kwan Tang Soo Do visit www.iskmartialarts.com
Or join their facebook page ‘ISK Martial Arts.’
To have a body to be proud to lie on the beach with this summer and knowledge to disarm any attackers why not try a different style of exercise class? Martial Arts are a well established athletics routine in most countries; Tang Soo Do originated from Korea, and works on fitness and intimidation in its style. “It’s a way to keep fit and meet new people,” a man told me with a friendly smile as he handed me a leaflet.
I had always been interested in taking a martial arts class, but it had seemed so surreal to imagine myself fighting like you see Lucy Liu in movies. Except when I held that leaflet in my hand signing up appeared so easy to do.
As I walked into that first class I was embarrassed that I wouldn’t be fit enough to keep up as I had not been one to exercise before; almost to the point that I wanted to turn away, but curiosity kept me there. The senior class members lined up in a grid as the instructor called attention, so the other rookies and I took our places behind them.
We were led through a half hour warm up, including jogging on the spot and more press-ups than I thought my body capable, and then onto stretches. After, although my breathing had noticeably quickened, instead of regretting joining I was feeling active and ready.
Martial Art philosophy is strict with the view that your knowledge and power should only be used for self defence; therefore we were first taught how to ward off attackers. The senior members partnered with the new; holding onto them as if they were strangling them. I was then instructed on how to escape the six foot, broad shouldered man in an orange belt holding tightly onto my neck. I didn’t think my untrained five foot frame would ever have enough power to accomplish the technique.
Never the less I dropped my weight on a bent knee and pushed my hips and arm up inside his arms, his grip failed and I was free. The surprise of my achievement felt wonderful.
The first class only gave me a small taste of Tang Soo Do and I was much more eager for the second class the following week. Another self defence manoeuvre was shown to us, a cross grab on the wrist. Again I doubted my ability, another man this time with a green belt was holding my wrist with such strength I didn’t think anyone could get out. But following our instructors words I twisted my hips and turned my wrist out of his hand; and then could not believe just how natural it felt to shoot a ‘knife hand’ back at his temple as a counter strike.
I found Tang Soo Do to not be confusing at all, and even when I was unsure exactly what to do the level of respect that the members hold for each other keeps the atmosphere jovial and they are always keen to help, even walk through the different stages in a technique with you so that it can done correctly; but never have I felt pressured or patronised during the many times that the senior members have had to help me.
To have the knowledge to protect myself makes me feel confident to go places at any time of day; not only confidence in security but even in body confidence and now have the daring to more than I used to. And I even feel better, emotionally and physically since starting the classes.
If you want to join a martial arts class check out your local leisure centre and community hall listings to see what is available to you.
For more information on In Sung Kwan Tang Soo Do visit www.iskmartialarts.com
Or join their facebook page ‘ISK Martial Arts.’
Fear of Sleep, the nightmare in the dark.
Have you ever been afraid to go to sleep? Have you ever wondered if it was only dreams that would radiate through your mind? As we enter the month of May, National Epilepsy Week 18th to 24th comes ever closer and Epilepsy Action is trying to educate people on the possible frequent suffering of different types of epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a well known disability but a branch known as ‘Night-time Epilepsy’ is not as widely recognized. It causes sufferers to have fits when they are asleep; adding to the fear by not knowing you are having one and most people sleep alone. Emma Roberts talks to Natalie Venning about her illness.
My first fit happened in my early teenage years. I was only 13 and for the first few months no-one knew what it was I had. I underwent three separate brain scans before the doctors at the private BUPA hospital in Taunton saw the similarities between my fits and epilepsy. However; the fits only happened in my sleep and during stressful periods like school examinations. They concluded that I was suffering from ‘Night-time Epilepsy.’
Due to my young age the doctors gave me a DVD to explain what epilepsy and night-time epilepsy was. I tried living life normally, although I had to return to Taunton from Glastonbury, an hour long drive, every six months for a check up with the specialists. My family didn’t treat me differently with the exception of my younger sister who didn’t quite understand what I had. I think she was afraid it could have been contagious and would not share a room with me in case I had a fit in her presence.
My parents became more strict with my sleeping patterns too; before they were quite lenient with me and I could go to bed when I wanted but when the fits started they were more adamant that I had a full night’s sleep so I would not grow tired; a precaution caused by the Doctor’s concern that lack of sleep was a main factor in the fits.
The main change to my lifestyle was that the doctors had prescribed me daily medication of Topiramate. It took a while for me to remember that I had to take medication, it was my parents that reminded me each night I needed to take it.
I didn’t fear the actual attacks at first as I was too young to understand the seriousness of what was happening to me each time; I had no recollection of an attack, only the feeling afterwards of being absolutely exhausted and aching. You don’t have the energy to do anything and there is a powerful nausea that sweeps over you. Most times I also bit my tongue which is painful when you eat for quite some time afterwards.
However, when I learnt that during a fit I could swallow my tongue, thus causing suffocation, and that it was fatal I felt, for the first time, fear of this.
The most poignant moment in how I viewed my illness was during the scenes in the film ‘Control’. Ian Curtis from Joy Division was having a fit. I got an almost first hand view of what it must have been like for my family watching me go through my fits. It wasn’t nice. I think it is scarier to watch someone else have a fit than to actually go through it yourself. Both sides are powerless against it; you can only wait it out.
The medication is now to a point where it combats the epilepsy well; the last attack was a year ago. I had been in London for a weekend and stayed up till one am, so the doctors had been right about lack of sleep having its role.
Yet still it had never really disrupted my social life. But when I started university my lifestyle changed. The social scene really opened up for me, I was out at parties nearly every night; but more importantly they went late into the night, and I started staying with friends chatting afterwards to get to know them as we have just met each other. Since the start of my medication I took it just before bed; fortunately I did remember in time the first couple of weeks to take it before I crashed out as I got back in, but there were close encounters when I almost forgot. It meant I had to decide to take it before going out. This change in my routine was difficult to get used to as when you are getting ready to leave your flat; medication really isn’t something you think about, especially when it is almost hardwired into you after five years of taking it before sleeping. My friends also lived in a different flat to me so I went out earlier than the event would begin. Although still the afternoon I was now taking my medication almost seven hours before I was going to bed.
I haven’t officially been told I can drink alcohol with my medication, but nor have I been told I can’t. Being at university I am delving into the life of being a student and am determined to enjoy the chilled out lifestyle on the social side as everyone else does.
Luckily I have fallen in with a good group of friends that understand my Epilepsy, and if I have forgotten, and also consumed some alcohol they will walk me back to my room to take my medication so that we can all enjoy the night out together. They have even changed their lifestyles to remind me like my parents did when I was younger.
Now I know what Night Time epilepsy is and the doctors are happy with my level of medication I no longer have to see the specialist in Taunton every six months. This is a relief now I live in Falmouth, but I do need regular checks ups with my local GP for reviews and to see how my prescription of Topiramate is affecting me.
I don’t see it as an illness or a disability myself, it is barely even there. There are people with general Epilepsy who have fits everyday; I haven’t had one for 12 months so I feel very lucky. Officially though, it is classed as a neuro-disability.
If any of the content of this article has affected you or you think that maybe you or someone you know has had an epileptic fit, during the day or night, then get in touch with your local GP to discuss it further.
Emma’s advice: If you bite your tongue like I do then it will hurt when you eat, so you may find it more comfortable to eat softer foods for a couple days that aren’t too hot. It will be a sensitive area for a time. My recommendation is to drink a lot of water and rest as you would feel very tired afterwards. Be careful if you have been social like I have now, looking back it is similar to how a hangover feels, so treat it like one and you will feel stronger and well gain quicker.
The side effects of Topiramate.
Emma’s experience: The main side effect is loss of appetite and that was the one that hit me most. I lost over two stone when I started the course of medication. There has actually been a choice of medication offered to me, the other had a side effect of gaining weight, which I really didn’t want at the time, so I was glad that Topiramate was the best option for me and has worked.
Epilepsy is a well known disability but a branch known as ‘Night-time Epilepsy’ is not as widely recognized. It causes sufferers to have fits when they are asleep; adding to the fear by not knowing you are having one and most people sleep alone. Emma Roberts talks to Natalie Venning about her illness.
My first fit happened in my early teenage years. I was only 13 and for the first few months no-one knew what it was I had. I underwent three separate brain scans before the doctors at the private BUPA hospital in Taunton saw the similarities between my fits and epilepsy. However; the fits only happened in my sleep and during stressful periods like school examinations. They concluded that I was suffering from ‘Night-time Epilepsy.’
Due to my young age the doctors gave me a DVD to explain what epilepsy and night-time epilepsy was. I tried living life normally, although I had to return to Taunton from Glastonbury, an hour long drive, every six months for a check up with the specialists. My family didn’t treat me differently with the exception of my younger sister who didn’t quite understand what I had. I think she was afraid it could have been contagious and would not share a room with me in case I had a fit in her presence.
My parents became more strict with my sleeping patterns too; before they were quite lenient with me and I could go to bed when I wanted but when the fits started they were more adamant that I had a full night’s sleep so I would not grow tired; a precaution caused by the Doctor’s concern that lack of sleep was a main factor in the fits.
The main change to my lifestyle was that the doctors had prescribed me daily medication of Topiramate. It took a while for me to remember that I had to take medication, it was my parents that reminded me each night I needed to take it.
I didn’t fear the actual attacks at first as I was too young to understand the seriousness of what was happening to me each time; I had no recollection of an attack, only the feeling afterwards of being absolutely exhausted and aching. You don’t have the energy to do anything and there is a powerful nausea that sweeps over you. Most times I also bit my tongue which is painful when you eat for quite some time afterwards.
However, when I learnt that during a fit I could swallow my tongue, thus causing suffocation, and that it was fatal I felt, for the first time, fear of this.
The most poignant moment in how I viewed my illness was during the scenes in the film ‘Control’. Ian Curtis from Joy Division was having a fit. I got an almost first hand view of what it must have been like for my family watching me go through my fits. It wasn’t nice. I think it is scarier to watch someone else have a fit than to actually go through it yourself. Both sides are powerless against it; you can only wait it out.
The medication is now to a point where it combats the epilepsy well; the last attack was a year ago. I had been in London for a weekend and stayed up till one am, so the doctors had been right about lack of sleep having its role.
Yet still it had never really disrupted my social life. But when I started university my lifestyle changed. The social scene really opened up for me, I was out at parties nearly every night; but more importantly they went late into the night, and I started staying with friends chatting afterwards to get to know them as we have just met each other. Since the start of my medication I took it just before bed; fortunately I did remember in time the first couple of weeks to take it before I crashed out as I got back in, but there were close encounters when I almost forgot. It meant I had to decide to take it before going out. This change in my routine was difficult to get used to as when you are getting ready to leave your flat; medication really isn’t something you think about, especially when it is almost hardwired into you after five years of taking it before sleeping. My friends also lived in a different flat to me so I went out earlier than the event would begin. Although still the afternoon I was now taking my medication almost seven hours before I was going to bed.
I haven’t officially been told I can drink alcohol with my medication, but nor have I been told I can’t. Being at university I am delving into the life of being a student and am determined to enjoy the chilled out lifestyle on the social side as everyone else does.
Luckily I have fallen in with a good group of friends that understand my Epilepsy, and if I have forgotten, and also consumed some alcohol they will walk me back to my room to take my medication so that we can all enjoy the night out together. They have even changed their lifestyles to remind me like my parents did when I was younger.
Now I know what Night Time epilepsy is and the doctors are happy with my level of medication I no longer have to see the specialist in Taunton every six months. This is a relief now I live in Falmouth, but I do need regular checks ups with my local GP for reviews and to see how my prescription of Topiramate is affecting me.
I don’t see it as an illness or a disability myself, it is barely even there. There are people with general Epilepsy who have fits everyday; I haven’t had one for 12 months so I feel very lucky. Officially though, it is classed as a neuro-disability.
If any of the content of this article has affected you or you think that maybe you or someone you know has had an epileptic fit, during the day or night, then get in touch with your local GP to discuss it further.
Emma’s advice: If you bite your tongue like I do then it will hurt when you eat, so you may find it more comfortable to eat softer foods for a couple days that aren’t too hot. It will be a sensitive area for a time. My recommendation is to drink a lot of water and rest as you would feel very tired afterwards. Be careful if you have been social like I have now, looking back it is similar to how a hangover feels, so treat it like one and you will feel stronger and well gain quicker.
The side effects of Topiramate.
Emma’s experience: The main side effect is loss of appetite and that was the one that hit me most. I lost over two stone when I started the course of medication. There has actually been a choice of medication offered to me, the other had a side effect of gaining weight, which I really didn’t want at the time, so I was glad that Topiramate was the best option for me and has worked.
Guest Lecture: David Rowe; head of media relations Eden Project.
David Rowe had come to talk to us about a £141 million pound project from Boldover Pit in St Austell. How this project had attracted over 11 million visitors since it opened in 2001, visitors who come in all sizes, ages and backgrounds for more different reasons one could mention. That is a lot to talk about.
Rowe explained that Eden Project was so much more than greenhouses, it had steadily grown into a successful brand, being 39th out of 500, also being an educational charity it easily stays on the right side of many organisations as it is profiting for purpose, a purpose that most agree with.
So you would think it easy to do Rowe’s job? Actually no, it seems as though Rowe may have one of the hardest jobs; yes it is goodwill, but how does goodwill get into the published media?
He used the example of ‘the seed’ sculpture that now lives in the middle of the educational centre. It was created over two years of work, but media still lacked interest despite efforts. It was the last day when the ‘seed’ was being installed into the centre when Rowe managed to get a ‘media scrum’ and the ‘eyewitness’ double page spread in The Guardian.
Rowe smiled as he gave us this information. It took one message to get the sleepy journalists to come running to Eden to report on a sculpture none of them cared about before; Rowe just told them all about the danger of putting the sculpture in. Bad news sells, so mentioning that bad news could come will make people want to be there. An interesting tip if morale on a campaign gets low.
His second and most reiterated point that he used many examples for was friendship. PR is about knowing who is who in the media world, and having good relations with them. A friendship with a high profile journalist in Sun motors managed to gain Rowe a free spread worth £150 thousand from a little intriguing story.
Knowing what to give to who is a very important line of PR.
352 words.
Rowe explained that Eden Project was so much more than greenhouses, it had steadily grown into a successful brand, being 39th out of 500, also being an educational charity it easily stays on the right side of many organisations as it is profiting for purpose, a purpose that most agree with.
So you would think it easy to do Rowe’s job? Actually no, it seems as though Rowe may have one of the hardest jobs; yes it is goodwill, but how does goodwill get into the published media?
He used the example of ‘the seed’ sculpture that now lives in the middle of the educational centre. It was created over two years of work, but media still lacked interest despite efforts. It was the last day when the ‘seed’ was being installed into the centre when Rowe managed to get a ‘media scrum’ and the ‘eyewitness’ double page spread in The Guardian.
Rowe smiled as he gave us this information. It took one message to get the sleepy journalists to come running to Eden to report on a sculpture none of them cared about before; Rowe just told them all about the danger of putting the sculpture in. Bad news sells, so mentioning that bad news could come will make people want to be there. An interesting tip if morale on a campaign gets low.
His second and most reiterated point that he used many examples for was friendship. PR is about knowing who is who in the media world, and having good relations with them. A friendship with a high profile journalist in Sun motors managed to gain Rowe a free spread worth £150 thousand from a little intriguing story.
Knowing what to give to who is a very important line of PR.
352 words.
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