Health, education, wine, women and song!
Jul 13, 2013 23:43:40 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2013 23:43:40 GMT -5
Good morning to you all! To all those who survived the hottest day of the year, what a night it turned out to be, too! Congratulations to all! 'The Sunday Times' leads this week with some editorial comment that we deserve a 24/7 health service. Today, 'The Sunday Times' highlights a dangerous failing in the National Health Service that few workers in the NHS can be unaware of but which many thousands of people fall victim to each year. Too many British hospitals effectively operate a skeleton service at weekends, shutting down large areas of their activities and leaving dangerous gaps in care.
The facts are not in doubt. Figures obtained by this newspaper show that of 146 acute hospital trusts, 129 had higher death rates at the weekend. In some cases weekend death rates were more than 20% above those in the week. Roger Taylor, research director of Dr Foster Intelligence which processes and monitors NHS data, said: “Being admitted to hospital at weekends is risky. Patients are less likely to get treated promptly and more likely to die.”
The best advice I can offer to my fellow Britons, therefore, is to avoid the quack, wherever possible. Of course, sometimes, a close encounter with the NHS may prove unavoidable, particularly as our parents and grandparents age! 'The Sunday Times' also leads with the admonition that schools must send sandwiches packing. What is true for the National Health Service also applies to school meals. The best reforms do not cost money, indeed they save it in the short and long term and are unequivocally beneficial. That is why, three months ago, this newspaper launched our Better School Meals campaign along with Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, co-founders of the Leon restaurant chain and advisers to the government.
Their report was published a few days ago. After more than 60 school visits, and with the aid of an expert panel, the School Food Plan reinforced many of the points we had made. Our campaign, which encouraged pupils to become food reviewers, also provided a child’s eye view of what works and what does not and how schools can improve their meals. That they need to do so is not in doubt. Take-up of school food across the country is just 43%! I remember when I was at primary school, I always used to be given spam and baked beans for lunch, which I grew to detest. When the headmaster's wife saw me throw some of her cooking away, she told me that if I did it again, she would tell my Mum about me. At secondary school, the food was rather better. Indeed, I gained a gastronomic appreciation of the English pudding, particularly spotted dick. I even grew to like semolina! My education culminated in a legendary Italian lunch for my class and teachers, which I cooked at home. Never has so much Spaghetti Bolognese been thrown up in the history of Western civilisation!
Pertinently, the last word belongs to becoming pie-eyed on piddle! This weekend is tipped to be the hottest of the year. So inflate those paddling pools, wrestle with those deck chairs and call in another barrel of factor 50 sun cream. While you’re at it, why not treat yourself to a refreshing glass of British wine? According to industry experts, rising temperatures mean such wines contain more alcohol than ever before. The future for the British wine industry suddenly seems rosé. But as the product improves, can our vineyards create the right image? The French are blessed with a remarkable number of geographical features that lend themselves to marketing fine wine: rivers, valleys and small towns such as St-Emilion and Nuits-St-Georges. Could you imagine pouring a glass of vintage Basingstoke or laying down a few bottles of Kettering?
As it is Bastille Day, everyone reading 'The Third' is cordially invited for some champagne at the Royal Albert Hall! If you cannot make it in person, why not join us online? And how about an evening of riot and revolution in dance music from the court of Louis XIV to the Ballets Russes. François-Xavier Roth directs 'Les Siècles' in the first period-instrument performance at the BBC Proms of Stravinsky’s 'Le Sacre du Printemps', marking the work’s centenary. And what about a riot at the rite of summer? Suites from Lully’s piquant social comedy 'Le bourgeois gentilhomme', Rameau’s 'Les Indes galantes', Delibes’s 'Coppélia' and Massenet’s Moorish romance 'Le Cid' provide more than two centuries of historical context for the work that scandalised and galvanised Paris at its 1913 premiere. As it happens, I was talking to the French ambassador last night. Franco-British relations have never been better! A century later, le petit c proposes some toast: to the rites of spring, summer, autumn and winter! Three cheers from kleines c and the gang (BBR - Berrys' United Kingdom Cuvée, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, Le Mesnil)!
BBC - Prom 4: Les Siècles – The Rite of Spring
The facts are not in doubt. Figures obtained by this newspaper show that of 146 acute hospital trusts, 129 had higher death rates at the weekend. In some cases weekend death rates were more than 20% above those in the week. Roger Taylor, research director of Dr Foster Intelligence which processes and monitors NHS data, said: “Being admitted to hospital at weekends is risky. Patients are less likely to get treated promptly and more likely to die.”
The best advice I can offer to my fellow Britons, therefore, is to avoid the quack, wherever possible. Of course, sometimes, a close encounter with the NHS may prove unavoidable, particularly as our parents and grandparents age! 'The Sunday Times' also leads with the admonition that schools must send sandwiches packing. What is true for the National Health Service also applies to school meals. The best reforms do not cost money, indeed they save it in the short and long term and are unequivocally beneficial. That is why, three months ago, this newspaper launched our Better School Meals campaign along with Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, co-founders of the Leon restaurant chain and advisers to the government.
Their report was published a few days ago. After more than 60 school visits, and with the aid of an expert panel, the School Food Plan reinforced many of the points we had made. Our campaign, which encouraged pupils to become food reviewers, also provided a child’s eye view of what works and what does not and how schools can improve their meals. That they need to do so is not in doubt. Take-up of school food across the country is just 43%! I remember when I was at primary school, I always used to be given spam and baked beans for lunch, which I grew to detest. When the headmaster's wife saw me throw some of her cooking away, she told me that if I did it again, she would tell my Mum about me. At secondary school, the food was rather better. Indeed, I gained a gastronomic appreciation of the English pudding, particularly spotted dick. I even grew to like semolina! My education culminated in a legendary Italian lunch for my class and teachers, which I cooked at home. Never has so much Spaghetti Bolognese been thrown up in the history of Western civilisation!
Pertinently, the last word belongs to becoming pie-eyed on piddle! This weekend is tipped to be the hottest of the year. So inflate those paddling pools, wrestle with those deck chairs and call in another barrel of factor 50 sun cream. While you’re at it, why not treat yourself to a refreshing glass of British wine? According to industry experts, rising temperatures mean such wines contain more alcohol than ever before. The future for the British wine industry suddenly seems rosé. But as the product improves, can our vineyards create the right image? The French are blessed with a remarkable number of geographical features that lend themselves to marketing fine wine: rivers, valleys and small towns such as St-Emilion and Nuits-St-Georges. Could you imagine pouring a glass of vintage Basingstoke or laying down a few bottles of Kettering?
As it is Bastille Day, everyone reading 'The Third' is cordially invited for some champagne at the Royal Albert Hall! If you cannot make it in person, why not join us online? And how about an evening of riot and revolution in dance music from the court of Louis XIV to the Ballets Russes. François-Xavier Roth directs 'Les Siècles' in the first period-instrument performance at the BBC Proms of Stravinsky’s 'Le Sacre du Printemps', marking the work’s centenary. And what about a riot at the rite of summer? Suites from Lully’s piquant social comedy 'Le bourgeois gentilhomme', Rameau’s 'Les Indes galantes', Delibes’s 'Coppélia' and Massenet’s Moorish romance 'Le Cid' provide more than two centuries of historical context for the work that scandalised and galvanised Paris at its 1913 premiere. As it happens, I was talking to the French ambassador last night. Franco-British relations have never been better! A century later, le petit c proposes some toast: to the rites of spring, summer, autumn and winter! Three cheers from kleines c and the gang (BBR - Berrys' United Kingdom Cuvée, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, Le Mesnil)!
BBC - Prom 4: Les Siècles – The Rite of Spring
