A politician has called for the laws on smacking to be relaxed, while the NSPCC maintains it should be banned altogether. Who’s right?
One subject bound to get parents talking is smacking. In England, The Children Act 2004 says parents are allowed to smack their offspring as long as they don’t cause ‘reddening of the skin’. Any hitting that causes bruising, swelling, cuts, grazes or scratches can result in five years in jail. Many campaigners have long called for a total ban. “We believe very strongly there are alternatives to smacking that are much more effective,” says Chris Cloke, head of child protection awareness at NSPCC. But politician David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, wants the laws to be relaxed and believes the government shouldn’t impose on how parents discipline their children. “It’s up to parents to determine the way they want to help their children navigate boundaries and how they define right and wrong,” he says. Read more... Published in Practical Parenting & Pregnancy UK. Copyright Immediate Media.
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Exploring France’s famous and luxurious champagne houses will seduce your senses. Lara Brunt raises a glass in style.
As one slowly descends the stone steps into the ghostly lit tunnel, the temperature noticeably drops. Your eyes adjust and fall upon rows of wooden A-frames holding thousands of dusty bottles of the world’s most celebrated drink. The underground crayères (chalk pit cellars) of Champagne Taittinger in Reims, in the heart of northeastern France’s Champagne region, were originally carved out by the Gallo-Romans in the 4th century, and later used by the Benedictine monks of Saint Nicaise Abbey in the 13th century. They have lost none of their mystique over the centuries. Synonymous with luxury and glamour, and coveted by royalty and rap stars alike, champagne seduces long before the cork is popped. Perhaps it’s the unyielding Gallic embrace of traditional techniques – machines are forbidden, with all grapes harvested by hand at a time dictated by the region’s Champagne Bureau – or the slick and sexy marketing campaigns of the world-famous brands such as Taittinger and Moët & Chandon. Read more... Published in South China Morning Post Style magazine. Copyright South China Morning Post. If you’re tired of the treadmill, check out these quirky keep-fit classes.
Tying to keep the ‘Heathrow injection’ at bay but lost the motivation to hit the gym? There are plenty of ways to keep fit in the capital, but if you’re looking for something a little more leftfield, try one of these wacky workouts instead. FREERUNNING You may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but a few parkour, or freerunning, classes could see you hurdling across London with the best of them. Freerunning is basically urban acrobatics in which people scale walls, jump from building to building and use the city landscape to perform stunts and tricks. Parkour Generations encourages beginners to master the basic principles in one of their outdoor classes before honing skills in an indoor class. Read more... Published in TNT Magazine UK. Copyright TNT Magazine UK. Don’t despair if you’ve got a few hours to spare in these five top airports. 1. Swim in Singapore Singapore’s Changi Airport was voted the best in the world in this year's Wanderlust Travel Awards and it’s easy to see why: with a Balinese-themed rooftop swimming pool, free foot massages, specially designed snooze chairs and nature trails, checking in has never looked so relaxing. 2. Hi-tech in Hong Kong Another contender for the world's top airport, Hong Kong International, has some of the best hi-tech entertainment facilities around. While away a couple of hours in the 360-seater 4D Extreme Cinema, play free Playstation games and have a go on the fantastic flight simulators at the Aviation Discovery Centre. Read more... Published in Wanderlust.co.uk. Copyright Wanderlust. Photo: Changi Airport Group. Writer and director David Michôd’s gritty gangster drama, Animal Kingdom, has already cleaned up at Sundance and the AFI Awards – and he's even caught Hollywood's attention. David Michôd could be forgiven for perpetually pinching himself. He, more than anyone, knows that Hollywood dreams rarely come true. Before making his feature film debut with the critically-acclaimed crime-drama, Animal Kingdom, the 38-year-old Sydneysider was editor of Inside Film magazine. “Given what I know about filmmaking, movies are so incredibly hard to make - and they’re even harder to get right,” says Michôd. But get it right he did. The film, set in Melbourne's criminal underworld, has already bagged the top prize at last year’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and won ten gongs at the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. Read more... Published in AustralianTimes.co.uk. Copyright Australian Times. Photo: 2009 Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Film Victoria, The Premium Movie Partnership, Animal Kingdom Holdings Pty Limited and Porchlight Films Pty Limited. A look at Britain's tallest building and the world's other high achievers.
London's skyline is rapidly transforming as its latest landmark skyscraper, the Shard, takes the title of Britain's tallest building. Towering above London Bridge train station on the south bank of the Thames, the Shard has already outstripped Canary Wharf's One Canada Square, previously the city's tallest building at 235 metres. It will eventually rise to 310 metres, making it the tallest building in the European Union when it is completed in May next year. The pyramid-like, glass structure was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. The Shard promises to be a ''vertical city'', with offices, restaurants, a five-star hotel, a spa and some of the swankiest apartments in the capital (shardlondonbridge.com). The 87-storey tower will also feature a public viewing platform on its 72nd floor, which is expected to attract more than a million visitors a year. Read more... Published in The Age. Copyright Fairfax Media.. With the roar of the crowd, Lara Brunt strides onto one of England's most famous soccer grounds.
The roar from the terraces is ringing in my ears and the harsh fluorescent light is hurting my eyes. ''This is Anfield'', the sign tells me, blunt and intimidating, and the expectant crowd drives it home. ''Li-ver-pool'', they chant, slowly and with feeling, over and over. It sends shivers down my spine and I can understand why Chelsea captain John Terry devoted an entire chapter in his autobiography to the feeling you get from standing on this spot, anxiously awaiting an audience with some of the English Premier League's most fervent fans. Descending the narrow stairs, I touch the sign for luck and emerge onto the lush grass of one of the most hallowed pieces of turf in the history of ''the beautiful game''. Read more... Published in Sydney Morning Herald Traveller. Copyright Fairfax Media. The creation of paralegal committees across Nepal is providing a counter to the country's rigidly patriarchal traditions. I meet the women standing up to domestic abuse, sexual harassment and child marriage. The women sit cross-legged on a worn rug on the dusty ground, heads lowered shyly but listening intently. Premkumari Idrishi sits tall among the rainbow of coloured veils. "Our paralegal committee is number one in this whole district," she says proudly, holding her index finger aloft. "We are illiterate but still we have been able to run this and still we're number one." Idrishi, 43, is president of the women's paralegal committee (PLC) in Purena, a predominantly Muslim village in Banke district, mid-west Nepal. Established in 1997 by NGO Plan Nepal, the committee's 25 volunteers visit homes to mediate cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment and child marriage, and property disputes. If the volunteers cannot reconcile the parties, or they are faced with incidents such as rape, Idrishi says they refer the case to Saathi, a local NGO working to eliminate violence against women. "Saathi approaches the police and takes the necessary action because it has legal facilities and access to formal, state justice mechanisms," she explains. Read more... Published in the Guardian. Copyright the Guardian. Photo: Tom Van Cakenberghe for the Guardian. |
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