Healthy Eating? – Something’s Not Adding Up

(I wrote this letter to Weetabix earlier. If any foodies  – or mathematicians – have anything to offer – please share!)

Dear Weetabix,

I’m interested in healthy eating and levels of added sugar in food. I regularly buy Weetabix products and have been studying your ingredients more closely of late.

Taking the ingredient labels on your various products, can you explain the following to me:

Product name            Ingredients                          Sugar per 100gr

‘Weetabix                             Wholegr Wheat 95%                                       4.4gr’

‘Oatibix                                   Wholegr Oats 97%                                            3.2gr’ 

(so far so good…)                                                                                                                      

‘Weetabix Minis                  Wholegr Wheat 93%                                    17.7gr……??

 

i.e if 93% of what goes into the box is wheat, mathematically not more than 7% can be sugar. The sugar levels in the other two products make sense in this regard. I don’t understand where this extra 10% sugar comes from?! Can you explain it to me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

A short rant about the NCT

 

‘….is committed to providing the highest standards in customer service…’

…from the National Car Testing Service (NCT) website .

Hmmm. Some recent encounters beg to differ. My husband recently brought our car for its NCT. The following timeline illustrates his experience

 10.00 am Car taken in promptly and car test begins

 10.20 am Car test stops. All other tests stop. Reception closes up. All staff go on tea break.

 10.35 am Another customer arrives for her 10.40am appointment. Finds no staff to accept her car or commence her test.

10.45am (heeding the dire warning notices about being late and paying penalties) customer takes out mobile phone and dialls NCT Customer Services line to complain.

10.50am dramatic opening and slamming of doors, scurrying and bustling of bodies, as all staff suddenly return to work.

 10.51 Car testing recommences

11.10 Car passes NCT.

So – the entire staff take a 30 minute tea break. Simultaneously. Your given car test appointment time may encompass some or all of that break. You have possibly taken time off work to sit through the NCT. And the NCT tea break.

A few weeks later, my brother in law took my parent’s car to a (different ) NCT centre. It failed its test, due to the rear bumper being unclipped on one side. He was told it would not require a re test, just a visual re-inspection. Driving the car outside, my brother in law reclipped the bumper, by pushing it on with his thumb. An action that took approx 1.5 seconds. He drove the car back to the inspection bay area, to get it passed. He was refused entry. Because (it was was 3 minutes to 1 o‘clock) ‘ we are closing for lunch’. He was told to come back at 2pm or another day. Not having the luxury of a one hour lunch himself (to wait around for a 1.5 second re-inspection), he left.

So, NCT people; in 2012 – with your 30 minute tea breaks and 1 hour lunches – have you never heard of the concept of staggering?

 I find that just staggering.

The Queen; We will Rock you (just not in Cashel)

‘Although 2011 was an encouraging year [for Irish Tourism] in some respects, there is no room for complacency’

So says Fáilte Ireland Chairman, Redmond O’Donoghue, in his end of year review this week.

The word ‘complacency’ clunked immediately in my brain. I had just returned from visiting the Rock of Cashel – the No.1 heritage site in Ireland, the website says.

The Rock of Cashel - the Queen did actually visit....

From the closed off entrance steps and locked door (with A4 sheet saying use the side gate instead) to the tiny wooden hut to pay in, it was all a little underwhelming. Of course, the Rock itself is the complete opposite of that, so the insalubrious start is soon forgotten. Imposing, magnificent, beyond awe-inspiring, it does not disappoint. But I quickly find myself asking – where is the Queen?!

Elizabeth R visited in May 2011, one of only three sites outside Dublin she travelled to. Nothing about entering picturesque Cashel or the Rock itself, would tell you about this most historic event. Where was the fanfare, the billboards – and where was the visitor book she and Prince Philip signed?

‘Oh, that won’t be ready to display for at least 6 months’ I was told upon enquiring. Six months?! How long does it take to acquire a display case? I’m obviously missing something.

In one corner of St Cormac’s Chapel, a hoarding (covering some ongoing restoration works) displayed some discreet photos of the Queen’s historic visit there. But that was it. Now I know an ancient, protected site isn’t going to be bedecked in paraphernalia any day soon. And maybe the Queen is choosy about when/where her image may be used. But might I even suggest the following -

• Add some video of the Queen’s Rock visit, to the end of the short film that already plays on a loop there for visitors. In fact, use the delightful one used on cashel.ie currently.
• Fly some commemorative flags on the approach roads to the town and the Rock. Or dare I say it – Union Jack Flags?! (a suggestion already mooted as a nationwide tourist drive). Moneygall village displayed end to end Stars n’ Stripes flags before, during and after long-lost son Barack Obama’s visit. How about it, Cashel? Or have we still not moved on….
• And …at very least… Get the visitor book out! It’s already been over six months, surely it can’t take six more. The phrase ‘strike while the iron is hot’ barely applies anymore, but then, as Mr. O’Donoghue says, we wouldn’t like ‘complacency’ to set in.

On the drive down to Cashel, I was telling my children to look out for all the Queen ‘info’ we might see. On the way back to the car park, I found myself half tempted to write ‘Liz was here’ on the back of the public toilet door.

I read on Cashel’s website that a major review strategy for the town is underway, so I won’t lose hope. But in the meantime…..

The Queen – caught between a Rock and a Display Case. If you will.

‘Sorry – we’re just not assertive’

We Irish are too polite for our own good sometimes.

One example – apologising where it is unnecessary .

We say ‘sorry, excuse me, can I just get past there’ when Excuse Me is just fine.

We say ‘I’m sorry, but do you know if that seat is taken’ when others would just plain sit down.

And we are famous for telling the waiter everything is ‘lovely, fine’ before going on to complain bitterly to our dining partner or family at home about the food, service, price etc.

Why can’t we be more assertive?

I was at a meeting a while ago. Cite centre location, evening time, in a hotel. A crowded room full of strangers. When the meeting ended, as everyone was shuffling to get their bags and belongings together, one woman stands up and cries out, to everyone and no-one;

‘I NEED A LIFT! WHO WILL TAKE ME HOME?!’

There was a visible scattering back of the crowd, with some people looking shocked and offended. Others were standing agog at the sheer assertiveness of it all. A lift! It’s not like she asked for the price of a taxi or a lend of a car. I wasn’t driving on this occasion, but didn’t see anyone else approach her before I left.

Now apart from her heavily accented English, it goes without saying that this woman was not Irish. Could you ever imagine an Irish person asking for a lift in this way?

For starters, an Irish person wouldn’t ask at all unless they had a broken leg/more than ten miles to walk/there was a blizzard chucking it down/all of the above.

Then even if we did ask, it would be in our sidling, whispering, apologetic manner, ‘ I’m really sorry to ask, but is there any chance, if you don’t mind…’ etc etc.

Most probably in this woman’s native culture/society, this is just how you ask for something. Why does assertiveness offend us in this way? Why do we take umbrage – just because it’s not ‘our’ way of doing things?

We have a long way to go before we can call ourselves a multicultural society. Councillor Darren Scully and the brigade of disturbing online support he received – ably, sadly demonstrate this.

Kauto the Star – and Paul Nicholl’s love affair

Kauto Star – the wonder horse – bounced back to winning ways at Haydock yesterday, taking his 4th Betfair Chase in devastating fashion. It leaves many wondering will we ever see his like again in our lifetime?

This was his 15^th Grade One win, rising 12 years of age, which deems him a veteran – an unkind and scarcely believable term judging by yesterdays performance. Because it was the manner of the win and not just the result that was the real story yesterday.

Trainer Paul Nicholls had earlier indicated his charge’s preparedness on C4’s Morning Line. Outings like this one were previously a stepping stone to Kempton and the Gold Cup. But this is a horse with nothing left to prove. A horse who if he never ran another inch, would owe no one nothing. So Nicholls trained him with this race and nothing else in mind. As only he can.

A more enthusiastic and exuberant round of steeple-chasing you will rarely see. Jumping off prominently, Ruby Walsh seemingly deciding to put it up to his opponents from the start. He threw in superbly athletic leaps at every fence. The further they went the better he got. Kauto out jumped his main rivals to the extent that he wrong footed Diamond Harry and Gold Cup winner Long Run several times. They just could not live with him. Although visibly tiring approaching the last fence, he still mustered another massive effort, and won going away from young gun opposition, Long Run.

The reception they received was truly worthy of this equine hero. To say nothing of his masterful jockey, who almost seems to blend with this horse, such is their unity of movement and action. But it was Paul Nicholls reaction I found most telling. Not his buck-jumping on the finish line turf, though that was great too. On the walk back in, after shaking Ruby’s hand, he simply could not take his eyes off this horse. He had one hand on the bridle and two eyes on Kauto. He looked over his eyes, his head, his legs and went on staring as he walked. He barely glanced away to accept the many glad hands of congratuation. The man positively adores this creature. And not because he pays the most bills. I think even his trainer, who knows every inch of him and his ways, is in awe of Kauto’s superstar ability. And rightly so.

This performance is also the perfect antidote the ‘horses don’t like racing’ argument. As Paul Nicholls pointed out in that Nick Luck interview, Kauto Star adores his racing, and all the training and routine that this entails. His gut-busting display of attitude and enthusiasm yesterday shows this. He also referred to Marcus Armytage trying to take See More Business out hunting after he retired from racing, and what a failed enterprise it was. (Would love to hear that full story).

Racehorses are made and trained to run and are well able to demonstrate their loss of interest in same. That Kauto Star retains his so gloriously is to the betterment of racing and a joy to all its fans.

The will be more big days out and renewed rivalries for Long Run and Kauto Star. What a prospect. What a Star.

　

Sean Gallagher – the S.A.D. facts

(UPDATE: I wrote this entry on the afternoon of the now infamous Frontline programme. Three hours is a long time in politics…) 

Why is Sean Gallagher leading the race to the Aras? It’s a question that’s certainly perplexing Twitter and many a conversation…

Why are voters seemingly happy to disregard his Fianna Fail past, questions about his business record, his (quite startling) assertion that ‘nothing springs to mind’ when asked about the most important legislation to have come before the Oireachtas in the recent past….

The role of Irish President has very limited powers. The election is more of a popularity or personality contest. Image is therefore very important.

Could it then be down to some or all of these three areas – his Spouse, his Age and his Demeanour? Or SAD for short.

SPOUSE. If ‘appearances-with-partner’ formed part of the race, Sean Gallagher would win hands down. His wife Trish O’Connor is always by his side, always supporting him. They present a public image of a smiling and united couple. They also look stylish and immaculately turned out on every occasion. People subconsciously warm to all of this. Think Barack & Michelle on the campaign trail. More importantly, think Martin supporting Mary McAleese over the last 14 years, as was well commented on during the recent ’Constant President’ documentary.

But how have the other candidates fared in this regard? 5 out of 6 are also married;

Gay Mitchell, Michael D, Mary Davis;  - limited appearances with their spouses.

Dana; sparse – apart from his ‘heroic driver who saved us from being murdered’ role.

Martin McGuinness; – his wife is rarely if ever seen in public, a hangover from NI security situation (similar to Gerry Adams wife).

David Norris doesn’t have a partner currently, as far as I know.

AGE – Gallagher (49) is the only candidate yet to celebrate his 60th birthday. It makes him the youngest candidate by some distance. If youthful vim and vigour tick boxes for voters, than Gallagher steps closest to that mark. Age should not be a factor, but for anyone who does declare Higgins too old, Sean Gallagher represents the most youthful alternative.

DEMEANOUR – his manner throughout the campaign has remained positive. He consistently presents a genial front, and has resisted the urge to snipe, backbite and even backstab, as evidenced in some of the TV debates. Other candidates did themselves no favours in this regard, particularly Mitchell and McGuinness, who though they have dropped it since, have done themselves damage. Had there been TV debates in the McAleese era, one simply couldn’t imagine Mary engaging in anything like this type of negative behaviour. By rising above it and maintaining an air of serenity, Sean Gallagher has come across as, well, more ‘presidential’.

Sean Gallagher has, I feel, studied the Presidential optics carefully, knows what his trump cards are, and is playing them cleverly.

S.A.D. But true.

9/11 – No More Rubbernecking

Have just caught up with the last of the 9/11 programmes I had Skyplussed. Actually switched it off as I found it boring.

Hang on a minute. Boring?? So I expect a terrorist mass-murder documentary to entertain me? Time to check-in with my rational brain…

It being the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, there was an overload of tv and media devoted to the subject. While I’d normally take a passing interest in the odd programmme, this year I found myself going into complete overdrive. I’d watch one programme while recording another and missing a third, such was the volume being aired. I watched The Fireman’s Story, the Irish and 9/11, Survivors of 9/11, the Twins of the Towers, the Children of 9/11, amongst many others.

I read articles about the ‘jumpers’ from the towers, interviews with survivors and found myself revisiting my bookshelves for 9/11 publications I’d purchased over the years. I even took a day trip to see the ‘360 degrees’ 9/11 photography exhibition in Dublin. The more you see the more the voyeur in you is fed.

Sooner or later, you hit misery-search rock bottom – the internet. In no amount of Googling at all, I found ;

A picture of a severed hand amongst the rubble of the towers

An audio of a trapped man still talking to Emergency Services as the towers fell

The Falling Man

Edna Cintron, the waving woman

Enhanced images, trying to identify people falling from the towers

As well as any amount of video of the planes hitting, the buildings falling (unseen angles! new footage! they promised). They are shown so often now it’s as if we have mentally reduced the whole hellish spectacle to some giant Lego pyrtotechnics display.

They are of course, the last moments on earth of many thousands of innocent people, who left about their business as normal that morning. Never to return home to their families, who instead got to see their horrific deaths played out on live TV.

Imagine a loved one dying in a car crash, that happens to be captured on a traffic camera. Imagine it going viral on the internet, with images of it constantly reshown on TV and newspapers, for years and years. Abhorrent isn’t it?

That’s how I felt after my glut of 9/11 gawping this year.

Well no more. Just like the poor souls themselves, it’s time to lay their images to rest.

　Go dtuga Dia suaimhneas síoraí dóibh go léir. Amen.