Horses at the ready, it's The Grand National!

Imperial Commander

What A Friend

Weird Al

Quel Esprit

Big Fella Thanks

Seabass

Roberto Goldback

These are the names of some of the horses that will be racing this Saturday in the Grand National. 'The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 3½ furlongs (7,200m) with horses jumping 30 fences over two circuits.'[1]

'There are 16 different jumps, known as fences, on the National Course. All 16 are jumped during the first lap but on the second lap of the circuit the horses only jump 14 of them.

One of the most popular fences is called The Chair - it's the tallest on the course and the ground on the landing side is higher than the side the horses take off from. There's also a ditch horses have to jump over before the fence.'[2]

With over 600 million people watching on TV and 150,000 people attending, this is one of the world's greatest horse racing events. 'Channel 4 will screen all terrestrial racing for ‘at least the next four years’ from 2013 in a deal understood to be worth more than £20million.' [3]

So why not tune in and enjoy this quintessentially British spectacle!

Sources: BBC, Guardian and the Daily Mail

Dave Fishwick, Britain's Newest Banking Supremo

David Fishwick left school at 16. Without any qualifications, he went straight into the building trade. Unsatisfied with amount of money he was earning, he began to buy and sell cars. After a long day on the building site, he would then repair the cars in his garage, and then sell them on at a profit. Before long he was managing  to turn around one car a week. At 21 he had raised enough money to open his own dealership in a rented garage. It was at this point that Fishwick's business really began to take off. Today, at 42 years of age, Fishwick is now the proud owner the UK's biggest van and minibus supplier.

In September 2011 he decided that he would open up his own bank in Burnley that would provide financial services to local businesses (mainly savings and loans). Not only are the interest rates offered more competitive than the High Street banks, but all of the bank's profits after overheads go to local charities. None of the profits go to employee bonuses.

Fishwick had to get through various hoops and jumps to get this far, but after much tribulation, the FSA (Financial Services Authority) finally agreed to pass legislation enabling Fishwick to continue and expand his project to other cities across the UK. 

Fishwick explained, "Fortunately for me, I met a lot of people who shared my dream of finding a better way to run a bank. I began to gather support from politicians like Steve Baker, Michael Meacher, Guy Opperman, and the Business Secretary Vince Cable. I was even mentioned in a debate in the House of Commons."

This is not the first time banks have operated in this way. In fact, this was once how banking worked in Britain. There are also banks in Europe operating in this way, including Spain and Germany.

What are your views on Fishwick's developments?
Are we going in the right direction?

Sources: 
http://maxclifford.com/current-clients-testmonials/companies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-fishwick/bank-of-dave-why-i-opened-it_b_1664967.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/01/bank-of-dave-fighting-fat-cats

The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease

A proverb is a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought.1

One of the fascinating things about proverbs is that they give an insight into how other cultures view and understand the world. 'Widely recognised as the world’s leading paremiologist, or scholar of proverbs, German-born US academic Wolfgang Mieder defines a proverb as: "a concise statement of an apparent truth which has currency among the people”'.2

Alex Rawlings, Britain's most multilingual student, is currently studying Russian and German at Oxford University and speaks an incredible 11 languages, fluently. Click on the image below to hear 10 of his suggested proverbs and sayings to help you around the world.

Big Brits Bellies Out

In a recent article (Nov 2012) published by The Independent newspaper, 'Britain is the fattest nation is Western Europe, with more than a quarter of the population ranked as obese.'1 

'The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents nearly every doctor in the UK, said ballooning waistlines already constituted a "huge crisis".'2 There are a number of illnesses that are increased by obesity, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, arthritis and some forms of cancer. Unfortunately, there are no signs of obesity slowing down, either.

So what can we do to prevent this problem? 

Education has to be at the heart of where the problem lies, but there are other factors that are also to blame, including advertising and low prices of unhealthy food and drinks. 

In yesterday's papers, doctors were calling for fizzy drinks to be heavily taxed and for unhealthy food ads to be banned until we have seen a dramatic decrease in the UK's obesity problem. Click on the image above to read the full article.

Applying taxes to unhealthy food and drink, like they do with cigarettes and alcohol, would no doubt have an immediate impact, but would it be a long term solution? For it to have a long term effect, ideally this regulation would also introduce subsidies for fruit, vegetables and other healthy foods, and more access to information in schools around the country to build awareness of the issue.

What are your views on how to tackle the problem of obesity? 
Do you think the government should be able to tax unhealthy food?

Power to the Queen!

For the first time in its history BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour has drawn up a power list of 100 women in Britain.  The list addressed who are the movers and shakers who shape the way we live today? Which women have the greatest impact on British politics, society, culture and the economy?

And The Queen topped the list. 

What is the secret of her power?

Soft power
"The kind of power she wields is soft – as opposed to hard. Her Majesty’s power is more about influence – a discreet nod of the head, a polite word in the ear of a Prime Minister at their weekly meeting, or a strategic patronage of a cause being overlooked by the Government – is how she can indirectly effect our world without us even knowing."

Her Olympic turn
“Can you imagine any other head of state agreeing to play a part in an Olympic opening ceremony where they meet ‘James Bond’ at home and then allow a stunt double to make it look as if they had parachuted into the stadium? What confidence in democracy and your position you must have to do that. And it didn’t backfire,” muses Eve Pollard (who chaired the panel of judges).

Age = experience = power
"Age and power are linked and I am happy this is reflected in the list [the average age of those in the power list is 53]. Age and experience are so important. These women in this list aren’t just powerful; they are role models too.”  Dame Jenni Murray, co-presenter of Woman’s Hour.

Her Majesty’s ‘glow’
Most people who have met the Queen talk about this incredible aura she has, which draws you in and how she instantly commands respect. 

Permanence is power
Frank Prochaska, who has written several royal history books, cites that a major reason why the Queen will always and should always trump other women on a power list is because of her permanence.  Unlike other European monarchs she will not abdicate.  And unlike others she can not be sacked.

Silence is golden
But how does the Queen keep her power? The secret is in her silence. She keeps it by saying nothing. If you say nothing, according to Prochaska, you rarely offend anyone.  The minute a monarch, or any of the royals say anything remotely political or opinionated, they alienate people and they lose some power.

Read the complete Power List here.

What do you think? Should the Queen have won? And if not, who would you put in her place as the most powerful woman in Britain today?

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/9862997/Is-the-Queen-the-most-powerful-woman-in-Britain.html