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November Issue 0023 2014

VISION

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Lets all Support Movember

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CONTENTS

Welcome to our November edition of Vision, or should I say “Movember” issue.

This month we take a look at the serious condition of school refusers.

Next month sees us kicking off with our new fashion feature, as we head for Christmas.

As always do keep us informed of any events you would like publicised P����i�

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Diamonds are a girl’s best friend right?

Well maybe but some women don’t actually wear or even like this sort of jewellery. So how do you get it right?

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of the month

BUSINESS DIRECTORY GET IN THE PINK

The written and visual contents of this magazine are protected by copyright. Excepting translations , you may not reproduce our articles online or in print without first obtaining written permission.

Please contact the author to obtain his or her written consent. Once you receive permission from the author, contact us to let us know where and when the article will be reprinted.

School Phobia

There seems to be growing evidence of a condition known as School Phobia. It was first recorded in America around 1941, then gained further attention in the 1960’s, and has become more commonly diagnosed in recent years.

Kay Mawson, the mother of sufferer Andrew, describes School Phobia as the ‘fear of school,’ which brings on debilitating symptoms.

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he says that to avoid the fear, children exhibit behaviour often called School Refusal. For her son the causes were a sensation of feeling trapped and out of control in school and therefore feeling insecure and unsafe. He also suffered from separation anxiety resulting from being apart and out of contact with those he cared about, and being fearful that something might happen to them. Kay feels it is important to raise awareness of the condition because it is commonly misunderstood, and often remains untreated. Many parents become distressed at finding themselves struggling with courts, schools and truancy issues.

Last years Netmums and the TV programme This Morning carried out a poll of 1,054 parents. This suggested that one in five British children suffer from School Phobia but only half of parents are aware of it.

Children aged five to six and 10 and 11 were the most frequent suffers. Common

behaviours include faking illness to try to avoid school, or going for registration and then leaving. Many sufferers have temper tantrums and scream and kick if forced to attend. Forty six percent of those referred to in the study also became ill with genuine stress related conditions such as headaches and stomach aches. Many had difficulty sleeping.

at special units for anxious and school phobic children.

There remain differences of opinion on the best way to handle the condition.

Some feel that getting the child into school is crucial even if it involves parental accompaniment and perhaps arranging special acclimatisation sessions. Some parents have found that moving their Whilst in some cases the factors were not child to a more supportive school helped related to specific instances at school, the tremendously, while others believe that parents of other sufferers felt the condition home schooling provides the solution. had been triggered by bullying, underperformance or a general sense of being Kay Mawson advises parents to research all overwhelmed by school expectations. of the available options and discuss them with their child and perhaps an educational The study suggests that many parents psychologist. That way there is a consensus struggled to get help; indeed some on the best way to move forward, though experts claim that parental behaviour arrangements should be reviewed on a has sometimes made cases worse. Some regular basis. parents have been able to get their children medically diagnosed with School Phobia, and pupils in the UK have obtained places

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My sister and I grew up with an older brother and we thought nothing of spending Saturday afternoons sprawled on the living room carpet, constructing items out of his beloved Lego.

Toys For Boys His creations were always more ambitious and sophisticated than ours of course – windmills and tractors and mansions with masses of rooms compared with our rather mundane boxlike structures. Occasionally we would ditch the Lego for a session on his Scalextric racing set. We hadn’t a hope of winning, but we certainly enjoyed trying!

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t never once occurred to me that I was playing with ‘boy toys’ which is maybe why, when I became mother to four daughters, I happily bought them their own sets of Lego along with other ‘boyish’ toys such as remote control cars, science sets and basketball nets (they had their fair share of dolls, prams and jewellery kits too!).

Like it or not, the society we live in stereotypes children according to their gender. Manufacturers influence their choice of toys with labels identifying items such as dolls and tea sets as ‘girl toys’ in their pretty pink packaging, and cars and construction sets as ‘boy toys’ in their predominantly blue wrappers.

There is evidence to suggest that girls and boys do naturally select different types of toys. Experiments conducted on primates concluded that male monkeys were drawn to boy-toys like cars whilst female monkeys

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preferred girl-toys like dolls.

sets, Lego, Meccano and K’nex help develop STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills of which there is currently a shortage in the UK workforce - and why shouldn’t girls develop these just as much as their male counterparts?!

There are various explanations about why boys and girls have different toy preferences. One theory suggests it is due to testosterone levels, whilst another attributes it to the way the brains are ‘differently-wired’, and there’s no doubt that Some may argue – and I’m probably one of nurture and socialisation also play a part. them – that at the end of the day whether male or female, children will be children and Regardless of the reason, the consensus will naturally choose the toys that interest of opinion is that if children are offered a them the most. The important thing is to at wide range of toys and experiences, they least give them that choice! will develop into more rounded individuals with an expanded range of thinking and skills.

Just as playing with girl-toys like dolls and tea sets fosters the development of verbal and social skills that might be useful to the male population, playing with boy-toys like cars can help girls with the acquisition of spatial skills. Other ‘boy-toys’ like science

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Congratulations to

Watsons have been awarded South Lanarkshire’s prestigious “Buy With Confidence” Approval Certificate Many local authorities operate approved trader schemes - Buy with Confidence is South Lanarkshire’s It is the largest national approved trader scheme in the UK and aims to give consumers a reliable way of finding trustworthy local businesses which are subject to rigorous background checks and audits before they can be signed up.

Watsons provide a full heating installation service. As well as looking after your heating systems, Watsons also carry out Bathroom Design and Installations. They are your One Stop Shop for all your plumbing needs including related electrical, tiling and joinery to complete your bathroom dream.

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Buying her Jewellery?

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend right? Well maybe but some women don’t actually wear or even like this sort of jewellery. So how do you get it right?

Rule one - Look at the jewellery she wears every day.

If she always wears a fine gold chain and locket and discrete earrings then she’s probably not going to want a chunky plastic bangle no matter how ‘current’ the style. Likewise if she always wears chunky costume jewellery in bright colours it’s highly unlikely she’ll covet a dainty pearl bracelet.

Rule two - Look at the colour palate she normally wears. The funky pink necklace might be the right style but if she usually wears browns and greens she might not have anything to wear it with so make sure colours tone with her wardrobe.

If you want to buy precious jewellery look at her natural colouring. Silver haired women look great in silver, platinum or white gold, as do dark skinned women. Blondes look beautiful in warmer gold tones.

Rule three - Consider her build. Petite women suit fine chains and tiny stones whereas those who are larger need a statement piece of jewellery which won’t accentuate their size.

Choose carefully and she’ll be overwhelmed at your thoughtfulness. You’ll guarantee her a very happy Christmas indeed.

Article sponsored by Peter Francis Jewellery 6

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VISION GARDENING

Find out hoe to make this lovely crumble on page 10

Cast your mind back to the fabulous sunny months of April, May and June, when the rhubarb plants were producing delicious stems of juicy fruit, perfectly ripe for crumble

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ach of the stems (so technically not a fruit at all) which blushed with the colour of pink champagne or deep raspberry sorbet depending on the variety, could easily be torn from the plant, topped and tailed and then either used immediately or blanched and frozen for later.

Rhubarb freezes very well, and lasts for around a year, in fact I made a crumble in April this year using last years frozen harvest. Chopped into 1cm pieces, it can be placed directly into freezer bags, but to retain its colour should be blanched for around 1 minute in boiling water. Allow to cool and dry before freezing. To revive, boil in a little fresh orange juice, a teaspoon of cinnamon powder and sugar to taste before allowing to cool. It’s a versatile crop and makes great jam, compote and crumble, and tastes delicious when made as above and served with crème fraîche.

eaten as sugar became less expensive. The leaves are toxic and so too are the stems later on in the year, because the toxic acids move down the stems from the leaves and into the crown as the winter temperatures cool.

terracotta rhubarb forcing jar if you’re a pro) over the plant in early spring, and then enjoy the small, tender and sweet stems as they develop and search for the light. Grown commercially in large dark sheds in the Yorkshire rhubarb triangle between Wakefield, Leeds and Morley - this October is the perfect time to plant rhubarb wonderful vegetable (classed as a fruit for if you haven’t got any at the moment and tax reasons) can also be divided up this would like a patch of your own. It’s quite month if you have a large overgrown patch. un-fussy and will grow in sun or part shade as long as the soil is moisture retentive.

Add well-rotted manure to the planting hole and mulch the plant with a ‘doughnut’ shape of manure about 50cm deep in spring. Give the plant a feed with ‘blood, fish and bone’ in March and watch it grow!

It’s an easy perennial plant, which produces giant leaves and is pretty resistant to pests, although hungry mammals might feast on the crowns in early spring when food is scarce.

Rhubarb originates from the colder parts Early rhubarb can be ‘forced’ inside upof China and its popularity is fairly recent turned dust bins, but only do this with in historical terms, becoming more widely established plants. Place a black bin (or

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review books Dark Road Ian Rankin and Mark Thompson As Rankin says in his introduction, Dark Road was written in response to a query about why we see crime fiction dominating television and bestseller lists, but not on the stage. ‘It started,’ he says, ‘almost as a dare’.

Following a widely praised run at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, the script has now been released in book form. Initially, there were some groans from die-hard fans who had hoped for, or expected, the inclusion of Rankin’s most famous creation, John Rebus. But whilst the characters here inhabit the same world, Rebus is not present even as a shadow, and the play works better for it.

Reading a script is different to reading a novel, and it is clear that Rankin found the process different too. Here the dialogue has to carry and develop the characters. The central character, Isobel MacArthur, is as successful on the page as reviews suggest she was on the stage. As she approaches retirement from a distinguished career, Scotland’s first female Chief Constable is drawn to revisit one of her earlier cases: that of Alfred Chalmers, convicted for the murders of four young women twenty five years previously.

Chalmers has always protested his innocence, and the key evidence in the case has been conveniently lost…

The scenes between Isobel and Chalmers are tautly written and full of menace. As a counterpoint, the black humour of Frank Bowman and the tapes of the original interviews, which Isobel obsessively revisits, take us into familiar territory. Unfortunately, the relationship between Isobel and her daughter is less convincingly drawn, and this weakens the ending – perhaps here the gap between page and performance is most evident. Nevertheless, the script will stay with you, and there is certainly evidence that the dare has paid off. Here’s hoping it is not Rankin’s last foray into scriptwriting.

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screen

Supertato – Sue Hendra Sue Hendra will be familiar to parents everywhere as the creator of Barry, Keith and Norman – a fish, a cat and a slug respectively, all with rather odd features. Her latest creation is Supertato – a crime fighting superhero who just happens to be a spud. Strange?

Not if you have already read about the fish with fingers!

As Hendra points out at the start, some vegetables are frozen for a good reason. The supermarket is thrown into chaos when a pea escapes from the freezer, intent on causing mayhem.

Luckily Supertato is there to save the day, facing up bravely to the threat of the masher in order to ensure that the veggies can live safely again.

Be warned, though – some editions of the book come with stickers.

Once they have finished laughing, your children may find them. And you may be summoned downstairs to a decorated kitchen with the words, ‘Mummy, there seems to be an escapee (geddit?) on the loose…’ To be honest, if they can get that absorbed in the book, it has to be a good thing!

The Homesman Release date: 21st November

Tommy Lee Jones wrote and directed this dark western, starring himself and the Academy Award winning Hilary Swank as the leads.

The Homesman revolves around a pioneer woman (Hilary Swank) who has to team up with a claim-jumping old rascal (Tommy Lee Jones) to guide three mad women from Nebraska to Iowa.

Lee Jones seems to have a penchant for the western. Out of the three films he’s directed, two belonged to said genre: the TV-movie The Good Old Boys and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (the former also being co-written by the actor). The Homesman finds him in a triple-act as producer, sole screenwriter and director. It’s based on Glendon Swarthout’s eponymous novel.

To advertise in The VISION call 07957 358 355 or Email sales@thevisionmarketing.com The VISION | issue 23

MOVEMBER

dation

About the Movember Foun The Movember Foundation is an Australian based, not for profit, charitable organisation that implements the Movember event each year across the globe.

The Movember event creates awareness around men’s health issues and raises funds for carefully selected beneficiary partners in each country that are also charitable organisations, with a focus on prostate cancer.

The Movember community has raised £346 million to date and funded over 800 programmes in 21 countries.

This work is saving and improving the lives of men affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems.

Movember’s beneficiary partner in the United Kingdom is The Prostate Cancer Charity, which was set up in 1996.

In its relatively short life, the Charity has played a key

role in raising both public awareness of the disease and political debate about services and support.

The Prostate Cancer Charity is the largest and most comprehensive of the charities in the UK focused specifically on prostate cancer. They aim to provide hope for tomorrow through the research that they fund – and practical support for today through their extensive – and growing information services.

All funds raised by Movember in the UK stay in the UK and go directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

uk.movember.com

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Ingredients For the rhubarb filling:

2 cups of rhubarb, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces 2 tsp corn flour 1/3 cup white sugar 1 tsp ginger

For the Oat Topping:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats, use gluten-free oats if you desire 4 oz melted butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp ginger 2 tsp cinnamon

Rubarb Crumble

Preparation time: 15 mins Cooking time: 20-30 mins

Method

Gently mix all of the ingredients into a bowl for the rhubarbs base, mix together until it is nice and crumbly.

Melt the butter in a large glass bowl, and then add the cinnamon, oats, brown sugar and ginger.

Grease an 8 inch x 8 inch glass baking tray and spread the rhubarb mixture into the bottom and top with the oat mixture.

Bake at 350F for around 20 to 30 minutes, until the oats are a nice golden brown color.

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Puzzles to keep the brain fit and active

Across 2. Follower of Christ 7. Division of a hospital 8. Penetrating radiation 9. Pet term for dog 10. Person in the petroleum industry 11. Large cave 12. Posed 14. Pier 16. Tantalize 18. Fastener 21. Sign of Sagittarius 23. Man who waits on tables 24. Musical note 25. German Mrs 26. Combustible matter 27. Ritual

Down 1. Trumpet flourish 2. Become confused 3. Keyboard instruments 4. Trial 5. Burst violently 6. Unit for measuring gold 13. AďŹƒrmative vote 15. Having tact 17. Knitted jacket 18. Allow 19. Person that gains 20. Store that sells milk products 22. Comfortable

Medium

Hard

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Solution corner

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