Band Aid 30

Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists.

It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-poverty efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for Christmas that year.

Band Aid 30 is the 2014 incarnation of the charity group Band Aid. The group was announced on 10 November 2014 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.  

As in previous incarnations in 1984 and 2004, the group covered the track "Do They Know It's Christmas?", this time to raise money towards the Ebloa crisis. The track has re-tweaked lyrics to reflect the current Ebloa virus epidemic in Western Africa with all proceeds going towards battling the virus. 

Instead of the line "Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears", the new version has the line "Where a kiss of love can kill you and there's death in every tear".

Bono's famous line "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you" has been changed to "Well tonight we're reaching out and touching you".

Bob Geldof describes the epidemic as a "particularly pernicious illness because it renders humans untouchable and that is sickening".

The song was recorded by some of the biggest-selling British pop acts, including One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Sam Smith, Chris Martin, U2's Bono and  Ellie Goulding. As well as Queen drummer Roger Taylor.  Bands such Bastille, Elbow Clean Bandit and Foals also took part. 

Ed Sheeran flew in from his tour in Germany, while Bastille cancelled two US arena gigs to be involved showing their belief and support to the charity raising money to fight this deadly virus. 

Band Aid 30's Do They Know It's Christmas? has become the fastest selling single of 2014. It's already sold 206,000 copies so far and still rising. 

Unfortunately, despite Bob Geldof's huge organisation of this charitable song, I believe he has cast a huge shadow by chastising Adelè for not physically taking part. Adelè has made it known that she is taking time out of the music industry to focus on raising her son.  According to media sources, she privately donated to the charity Oxfam instead without fuss or attention. Personally, I think it's her decision whether or not she wanted to participate and Bob Geldof should remain professional, respect her choice and make it about the song and charity, rather than who didn't appear.  

If you wish to contribute to fighting against this deadly virus please buy the Band Aid 30 'Do They Know It's Christmas'! 

Would you adopt a child?

According to the news this week, siblings are being seperated when it comes to adoption as there is a shortage of people willing to adopt them together. 

Nearly half of all children in England who need adopting are part of a sibling group. They are forced to wait the longest for a family, while some even have to be split up and adopted separately.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) describe the shortage of adopters willing to adopt siblings as "completely unacceptable".

As part of National Adoption Week, the charity is encouraging more people to adopt brothers and sisters together to prevent families being separated.

Would you be willing to adopt siblings? 

Personally I would adopt siblings, having a younger brother myself I would be heartbroken if we were seperated. I feel that children need their siblings for support especially when they have no parents or family around them. 

The bond they would have with each other would be to special too break and cause such distress for them both if separated. 

Yes I know there is the financial side to raising two kids especially when they aren't your own, but if something happened to you and your partner would you want your children to be separated when adopted by others? Wouldn't you want them to stay together so that you knew they had one another? 

If for some reason I am not able to have children in the future I would definatly want to adopt and if there are siblings that need to be adopted then I would bring them home with me, would you?

Work experience at Boundless Productions

This week I've been in Amersham with Boundless Productions for work experience. 

During my time there I helped look through the potential candidates for their show Escape To The Country, I had to do checks on the candidates so that we know they don't have any criminal convictions so that there aren't any complications when the show airs. 

I was able to go in to the edit suites and watch them condense the footage down to the 45 minute show. I was shown how they edit the footage, sharpen and adjust it to make it look correct for the show.

I spent quite a lot of time talking to the employees and asking what they do and how they got in to the industry, I had a really lovely time and the people were so nice and friendly! 

What I found very amusing was the darlek they have as you walk in to the building, it's placed at the window so it appears to be looking outside. It talks, walks and moves it's head around, it's really cool and a nice little addition to the offices. 

Hopefully i'll be able to go back in the new year when the programme starts again and help out some more with the show! 

Weekend in Bath!

I'm currently on my way back from spending with weekend with my friend Laura in Bath, she left for university in September and I thought it would be nice to spend the weekend with her this weekend! 

I had such a lovely time, the city is beautiful with such lovely views and so easy to walk around and look at everything. 

Sunday we spent most of the day walking around, Laura decided to give me a tour of Bath after our lovely Sunday roast at the pub. We spent four hours just walking around and browsing through shops. For such a small city they have so many top name branches!

What I did find odd was that most of the shops, clubs and pubs all have downstairs areas where you can sit, where they have the toilets etc but most of all that all the clubs are underground! Personally I found it a tad strange but I guess you have to make the most of the space! 

On our little walk about I found a very iconic street from a film, I wonder if any of you can recognise where it's from? 

I was so amazed that I had walked on to a street that I've seen so many times in this film, it was so cool. 

I absolutely loved spending the weekend here, it was so nice to have some time away and to see my best friend. I would love to come back! 

Morning with Good Morning Britain- Live broadcast

Another early start for me today as I went to Knebworth Primary School for a live broadcast for Good Morning Britain! 

Year 3 teacher Mr Williams decided that he wanted the parents to hear what the children were singing in music (the bus song), he got his guitar and put on a little performance for the parents one morning and due to popular demand from the parents it's stuck ever since.  Every Wednesday morning the kids arrive to school and sing to the parents before they go in to classes, it's gets them all awake, happy and ready to start the day! 

I arrived at the primary school to the camera man John and sound man Gareth gearing up ready for the live broadcast, making sure all the equipment was ready and working to patch thorough to the studio. 

As the children started to arrive I had to go round and ask the parents to fill out a consent form, to clarify that they are allowing their children to be live on TV. After all the forms where filled in we then had to talk to the children about what they needed to do and run through what we were doing for our live segment. After a couple of practice runs making sure everything was okay we were ready to go on air at 7.20. 

After some more filming for the news at 6pm on ITV we got ready for our next live broadcast at 8.10 on ITV. We had to organise the children and parents to make sure they were clearly in view of the camera and after some more test runs, we were ready to go live again! 

All the children were really excited about being on TV, they were so happy to sing and dance along with their teacher on guitar. It was a very happy and enjoyable morning filming at the school. 

Not only did I get to help on a live broadcast but I also got to see how it is all connected to the studio in London. It was lovely meeting all the crew, the parents and children and watch them sing along so early in the morning! 

I'm going to be singing the songs all day now! 

Ebola outbreak

Ebola is a viral illness the initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And that is just the start, advancing stages are vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases both internal and external bleeding.
It is able to spread between people by direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly through contact with contaminated places or things. The disease infects humans through close contact with infected animals, including chimpanzees, fruit bats and forest antelope.

As concerns mount over the possibility on an Ebola outbreak in Europe, Britain is undertaking an eight-hour drill today to test its readiness capabilities, in preperation for when the virus hits the UK. 

Actors simulated symptoms, medical staff wore full protective suits and the health secretary chaired a mock emergency meeting. In one test scenario, paramedics had a call about someone who had collapsed at Gateshead shopping centre.

The patient was initially taken to Newcastle then transferred to a specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London when Ebola was suspected. In the other simulated case, a patient visited a walk-in centre in Hillingdon, London, with flu-like symptoms having recently returned from West Africa. After blood tests the patient was taken to the Royal Free. 

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “The public can be assured that we have been planning our response to an Ebola case in the UK for many months now since the outbreak started in West Africa. It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people.

“It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low, and the UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world with well-developed and well-tested systems for managing infectious disease.”

The exercise is happening on the same day that five US airports begin screening passengers travelling from the three worst-hit West African nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

New York’s John F Kennedy airport will start the extra measures today, escorting anyone who began their journey or made a stop in one of those three countries, to a quarantined area of the airport of evaluation.  

I think that that is the right action to be taken place as if this deadly virus hits the US then many thousands of people will be infected and possibly die. I think that extra measures should be taken in the UK as well to ensure we aren't hit as badly by this virus. 

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday defended his decision to do the same at Gatwick airport, Heathrow airport and Eurostar terminals, saying the measures were approved upon “medical advice”.

What is your opinion on screening people at airports for Ebola? 

SOAPS BRINGING ATTENTION TO REAL LIFE SITUATIONS

Eastenders has bought a rape story to the screens tonight with character Linda being raped by her brother-in law Dean, who has had an ongoing sexual attraction to her. It's not the first time he has made advances on a taken women with his kisses and inappropriate suggestions but now he has done the appalling thing of raping her. 

Rape is seemed to be a tough issue to talk about but with the show making it a huge storyline, it should open discussion on the matter. Statistics show that most rapes either are unreported (90%) due to fear or embarrassment or the rapist is not prosecuted. This is a matter that needs to be talked about as these people should not get away with what they do, it is horrific and they deserve to be locked up for it. The psychological damage it does to both males and females lasts with them for the rest of their lives and understandably changes the way they interact with others people. 

I think that TV shows such as soaps are right in doing storylines like this. Yes it is uncomfortable and horrible to watch but it creates awareness of rape and how it can happen to anyone. Also it shows the actions that are needed to be taken if it does occur. 

This isn't the first time soaps have had real life situations that people can relate too, Coronation Street have had Hailey's cancer storyline which touched and helped many people with its amazingly touching storyline. Emmerdale has had two teenage pregnancies, first to show how it can happen and to shock the viewers into thinking about their own children being pregnant so young and the second to reflect today's society with many teen mums. 

Rape, forced sexual contact and sexual assault are all wrong, there is no 'It's okay you'll enjoy it' or 'I'm sorry it'll never happen again'. No means no and it needs to be respected! 

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted please talk to someone, tell someone even if it's not the police, you don't have to suffer alone and it isn't your fault it happened. Don't be ashamed you didn't do anything wrong. 

I'm sorry if I have made any of my readers shocked, sad or unnerved by this post but I feel it's a matter that should be discussed more. 

Teenagers too young to go straight into work?

 What do you think? 

"The British Chambers of Commerce survey of 3,000 firms found nine out of 10 thought school leavers were not ready for employment, and more than half said it was the same with graduates."

Do you agree?  

Do you think that teenagers are too young to go straight into industries such as media, engineering, manufacturing etc as they haven't been taught the basic work ethic skills at school? 

School's do not help teenagers fully understand or know how to work outside in the real world. There aren't many careers advisers or days that you can find out what it would be like to work in the 'real' world as they aren't on offer.  

"The Department for Education said it was looking at more ways to help schools and businesses co-operate.The chambers called for universal work experience in all secondary schools." 

 In order for teenagers to be able to work in the real world and have the mind set to complete tasks like there fellow colleagues, they need to be shown and taught how to during their schooling. Such as work experience days or in-house seminars that will give them some idea of what's to come and not them going in blind to the world outside of school.  

A lot of working class teenagers state that school is 'a waste of time' as they aren't getting what they deam as the 'right' skills to work in manual labour. They feel that they would benefit better by having a more 'hands on' approach rather than sitting in a class room learning about topics that have no benefit to them, such as Shakespeares plays.  ‘Most of my friends think school and education is rubbish and a boring waste of time.  If they don’t have to do it, they won’t.'

A pupil aged 17 believes there should be ‘more info in schools about apprenticeships. There should be more support and information in school.’  

Hopefully the Department for Education will take action on this and help more teenagers in the future. 

My friend is going to be a student paramedic come December and she is going to be learning on the job whilst being paid.  She is going to have real hands on experience with patients and learn what it's like to be a paramedic.  I think that there needs to be more opportunities for young people to be able to do things like this, yes there are apprenticeships but they are difficult to get into, as I am personally finding out and not enough on offer as they are only just starting to become available again. 

The Department of Work and Pensions showed 1.09 million 16-25 year olds are not in work, training or employment, meaning the majority of those 1.09 million people may be claiming benefits. However, if they were taught the right skills and given the opportunities I feel that this would not be the case. A lot of these 16-25 year olds are willing to work, they just aren't given the opportunity or skills to do so. 

What are your opinions on this matter? 

My experience at ITV's Good Morning Britain!

I started my day by waking up at 4.45am, I know what you're thinking, so damn early! I got picked up and driven to the ITV (not bad at all). 

We went through the early morning routine of getting the scripts ready incase they're needed for the guests and running through the timings of today's show.

Down to the studio! I got shown around backstage, the make up area, dressing room and the guests waiting room. Which was all very exciting!! It was also amazing meeting some of the guest on today's show, such as Martin Lewis, Richard Arnold, Dr Hillary and then of course the presenters themselves! Kate Garraway, Charlotte Hawkins, Laura Tobin, Sean Fletcher and John Stapleton. 

I was allowed on set behind the cameras to see the live broadcast of the show. It's amazing how big the set looks on screen when in reality it's quite small and intimate. The presenters were laughing and joking around with each other off camera and sneakily eating breakfast as well. It was great to feel the atmosphere of the show and talk to the camera men as well! I even had a few photos taken on the set of Good Morning Britain. 

The gallery is just amazing!  Having all the screens running with the live show as well as people who are waiting to go on air, such as in Milton Keynes. The script reader along side the actual footage and all the people working together to make the show a success. The hustle and bustle of the very quiet room was just brilliant to see as you actually get a chance to see the people that make the show. 

I was lucky enough to meet the guest on the show and have a good chat with them before and after they went on air. It's quite strange meeting people you see on TV all the time!  it's pretty surreal!!

I also had the opportunity to talk and have a picture taken with Scott Mills, who was a guest on Lorraine's show, to talk about his Strictly appearance and he kindly offered a photo in hope that I would vote for him on Saturday! I have to say that was very strange, meeting someone who you listen to on the radio every day, but he was just as lovely as he seems. 

I was also taken on a tour around the studios to see the different sets, and the backdrops to some of them as well, such as The Graham Norton Show. It's amazing how all these great shows are all shot in the same studios! 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go on the This Morning set.  They were rushing around in preparation for the show and didn't want to intrude or cause a hassle, but my time on GMB and a quick pop in to Lorraine was utterly amazing and I'm so very lucky and grateful to be able to do that! 

Me being me, managed to get lost on the way to Kings Cross and had to make the desperate 'I'm lost' phone call to my friend who thankfully told me the way. I had an amazing time in the studio and on set (despite the 4.45am start and the oh so painful feet!) so thank you Good Morning Britain for having me! @GMB.  I might even be lucky enough to go back another day, fingers crossed! Such a fantastic start to my day and it was only 11 o'clock!