Let it snow, let it sn..ok we've had enough now!

We've had rather peculiar weather over the past couple of months here in the UK. It started with the flash flooding which was particularly bad in the northwest of England. Cockermouth and Workington were probably worst hit as the RAF airlifted people from their homes. Bridges collapsed which resulted in the death of a police officer, Bill Barker, as he fell into the water and was washed away.

But this was only the beginning. Less than a month afterwards, the heaviest snow to affect us for decades, began to fall nationwide. In the Southeast where I reside, for example, we had about 20cm of snow at one stage.

Snow can be wonderful. Certainly for the first day that we had snow, everyone appeared to be in a great mood. Neighbours whom I'd never spoken to or even seen before, were outside their homes attending to their drives and commenting on what a lovely dog Marley was. There were kids sleighing down hillsides and having snowball fights - absolutely everything was covered in white. I must have taken hundreds of photographs that day as it was truly a beautiful sight.

But then day 2 came, day 3, day 4 and so on... I guess the first real problem is that the UK, and in particular England, has absolutey no idea how to deal with snow. The slightest bit of white stuff on the ground and everything shuts down. Trains stop running, airports close, people cannot make it into work, so businesses do not open. Even several days after the snowfall had finished, trains were still facing long delays and cancellations as a result of the ice. The Eurostar on multiple occasions got stuck in the Channel Tunnel overnight, where passengers were left stranded for hours, some without any food or drink being offered to them!

So the snow soon turned into ice. There was a massive salt shortage, so only main roads were gritted and cars were skidding all over the place. However roads were still a lot less slippery than pavements! Pedestrians were found roaming the streets. At first I wondered why they would risk this when cars were barely in control as it was, but then I experienced first hand how treacherous it is to walk on the pavements. All the snow had been heavily compressed into ice. It was actually impossible to walk on pavements without falling over. As I crossed a bridge in the town centre where I live, I clung on to the railing as tight as I could as my legs flailed in every direction. I practically dragged myself across that bridge with the strength of my arms!

Eventually the snow lessened and it began to rain which washed away the remnants of the snow and ice. Finally things could go back to normal around here! But then a mere few days later, it snowed again! This time it did not just snow for one night, but it snowed for several days in succession. Once again, the country shut down. Hundreds of schools had to be closed and exams were majorly disrupted as a result. Roads were once again chaotic and trains stopped running. As a consequence, I did not manage to get into London to see a concert that I had really been looking forward to. Curse you weather!

Needless to say, enthusiasm for the snow waned very quickly. It would not be so bad if the UK had any inclination of how to cope when it does snow, but sadly this country and its infrastructure is not built for dealing with such extreme weather. Because it happens so rarely, the government and local authorities do not feel that it is worthwhile to make adjustments so that we can adapt more easily to such conditions. Let us hope, in that case, that this weather is only going to be a rare occurence from now on! The snow is finally melting again. Hopefully within the next week, all traces will have gone and preferably for good this time. We've had enough of this nonsense weather for one year!

In the meantime...at least there's one fella that is loving the weather...

Marley and Me

Towards the end of last Summer, I got a Labrador puppy named Marley. I realise this is not the most original name, but he did look a lot like the dog from the movie (although more handsome I would say!) and after several days of just referring to him as simply ‘puppy’ and not being able to come up with anything better, Marley was the chosen name.

Actually, he really has not lived up to his name at all. Every day it amazes me at how unbelievably well behaved he is, particularly for his age. Labradors are well known for being intelligent dogs, but even still he seems to be exceptionally bright.


For instance, we had him housetrained within a week. So by the age of 8 weeks, he had already learned to tell us that he needed to go outside into the garden if he needed to do anything. By the age of 9 weeks, he was already a master at learning to sit and wait. So we would make him sit and wait for his dinner, and only on command would he be allowed to approach his bowl of food.

On taking Marley to dog obedience classes, he was certainly the top of his class, picking up all the tricks and commands practically instantly. He absolutely never cries or whines about anything. If there’s someone at the door, if he can hear a dog barking or if there are fireworks, he doesn’t make a sound. He also hasn’t destroyed anything apart from a phone charger (which he did when he was still very young), in the time that we’ve had him. He’s quite capable of being left alone in a room without fear of him doing anything he is not supposed to. He is honestly the perfect dog!

He is also a very amusing little fella to be around. I thought I’d list some of my favourite moments that I’ve had with him so far:

• A few times a week I will sit down on the couch and watch tv. I will normally allow Marley to come up onto the couch as well. He will watch the television intently for the duration of programme/movie. You can almost see his little brain working, trying to figure out what is going on and what makes this screen so interesting to the rest of his pack. As far as I know, anything that a dog cannot smell, he does not consider to be real. So I’m pretty sure he watches this screen not because he believes that what it is showing is real, but that everyone else is watching the screen and so he will do the same to fit in with and please his pack. It is really quite sweet!
  
  
• Marley gets incredibly excited when meeting new people. He always wants to greet them and will sometimes jump up and his tail will wag like crazy. Last week I took Marley to visit some of my family who have children. The kids were all very happy to meet him and were playing with him and running around. But then some of their friends came to visit. None of them had ever had any real contact with a dog before, and so they were all extremely cautious and quite afraid of Marley. I was concerned that Marley would become excited (as usual) and scare the children away, but quite the contrary happened! I’m pretty sure that Marley picked up on their anxieties and fears, so he just lay down very calmly (into what I like to call “rug mode”) and allowed the children to approach him in their own time, so they could stroke him and pat him – he didn’t move and inch.
  
  
• Yesterday he had quite a comical moment. I was cooking, when a piece of chopped onion fell on the floor. As with most dogs, Marley lunged for it (as he would with any scrap of food that makes it to the floor). However on tasting it, his tongue must have burned a bit so he jumped back in shock. He then lay down and started growling at the piece of onion, before pouncing on it. He got burned again! So he moved back and decided to attack the onion from another angle where it might not see him coming! I then spoiled all the fun by picking up the onion and putting it in the bin. As entertaining as it was to watch, I didn't want him to hurt himself!
  

He truly is the best dog! Check back for updates on how Marley is developing and for more stories on his antics soon!

Tom and Kat’s Straight Gay Wedding

While researching for a project I was working on at university, I came across a very interesting article in the Guardian about a heterosexual couple in the United Kingdom, Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle, who are seeking a civil partnership (P. Tatchell, ‘I’m backing straight civil partnerships’ (2009)).

For those of you that are not from the UK or are unfamiliar with civil partnerships, let me explain: The Civil Partnership Act came into force in 2005 which for the very first time created a means for gay and lesbian couples to formally register their relationships and have them legally recognised across the UK. Being in a civil partnership is pretty much identical to marriage in all but name: you receive the same benefits such as inheritance rights and all the procedures for registering and for dissolution are practically synonymous.

For many people this raised the question as to why marriage was not then extended to homosexual couples, rather than creating this entirely new legal institution, which rather than offering equality to gays and lesbians couples, seems to only segregate them further from heterosexual couples. In fact many homosexual couples have decided that they do not wish to enter into a civil partnership as only the gold standard of marriage will satisfy them. However, there are some that believe that creating this new institution was a very positive step, as it allows them to distance themselves from the highly archaic model of marriage, allowing them to mould civil partnerships into something unique to them (M. Vernon, ‘We don’t need gay marriage’ (2009)).

This is where Tom and Kat come in. They wish to enter into a civil partnership as they would like to formalise their relationship but feel alienated from the patriarchal traditions of marriage. Furthermore, they do not wish to enter into a civil marriage when it is denied to gay and lesbian couples. As a result, they have decided to remain unmarried until marriage is made available to gay and lesbian couples, while civil partnerships are made available to heterosexual couples. Only then will true equality exist as there will be a freedom of choice for all as to which institution they wish to enter into.

Unsurprisingly, the couple’s desire to register for a civil partnership was rejected by their local registry office, however they have since been contacted by a leading human rights lawyer, Peter Tatchell, who has offered to represent them on a ‘no win no fee’ basis and take them to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. They will be accompanied by a homosexual couple who will be seeking a marriage. The aim is to show that the English law governing the area of marriage and civil partnerships is incompatible with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to which the UK is a party to.

I am utterly inspired by what these individuals are doing. Tom and Kat have received a huge amount of support from the LGBT community who are thrilled that they are willing to fight for homosexuals' rights to marry, setting aside their own rights in the process. It will be fascinating to find out what happens when the case eventually makes it to the ECtHR and I await the result with much anticipation. In the meantime, I have contacted Tom Freeman and offered my assistance in anything I can do to help them in their quest for equality. Exciting times are ahead and, especially as a law student myself, it would be fantastic to get involved in something so significant for this country and for the rights of an enormous amount of its citizens.

If interested, I would heavily encourage you to visit their Facebook page and show your support.

Girl Gamers

Girl Gamers. What are they? Well apparently they’re so special they need to be distinguished from other gamers, i.e. the male ones. I am one and I cannot see what all the fuss is about.

I guess at one stage females that played games would have been quite a rarity. But seriously, times change, so do games, and girls that play them have increased significantly. There are all kinds of reasons for this. I think games have become a lot more accessible these days for all types of people. The Wii is probably the best example. It’s so simple to use that just about anyone can pick up and play it right away. There are many games that have been created to particularly attract girls (dancing games, singing games, not to mention the Nintendo DS which came in pink), and there are lots of party games for groups of friends such as quiz games (Buzz) and music games (Guitar Hero/Rockband). For a lot of females, this is probably where their experience of gaming starts and ends. But for others, such as myself, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Actually I have my mum to thank for introducing me to the world of gaming. When I was about 3, she bought herself a Sega Mega Drive console. We used to play games together a lot. Sonic was our favourite! As I got older, I started to play games by myself. I got my first computer at the age of 8 and I played a lot of games at arcades as well. I eventually got a Playstation. I also played various PC games (Age of Empires/Sim City/Theme Hospital) throughout my teens. Finally once I moved away from home to start university, I was introduced to MMORPGs. I guess that would be where I consider my “gaming” days to officially begin.

I tried out various MMOs (City of Heroes/Guild Wars/LotR online to name a few), but World of Warcraft is the one that hooked me. I went into the game without any preconceptions of what a gamer should be. Honestly it never even crossed my mind that I would be one of few females playing it. I played it because I liked the game play, the story, the pretty world that had been created, the fact that I could tame an animal and train it to be my own (yes I leveled a nightelf hunter to start with – oh the shame!). In fact, I gave little thought to the other players in the game for quite some time. It wasn’t until some months later when I really began to interact with other people. In fact two of the first people I met in the game were a male/female couple in real life. Shortly after I met another pair, a father and daughter. So from day one, there really wasn't this so-called “divide” between males and females within the game, at least from my perspective.

I would be lying if I said that I never experienced different treatment for being female. Some people felt that they needed to protect me from the onslaught of hormone-driven teenage boys playing the game, some would bombard me with virtual gifts, some even declared their undying love to me! But I never got the feeling that any of it was meant in a bad or malicious way. I made my position clear to those involved and they subsequently backed off. Over the past few years I haven’t had any problems whatsoever. Nowadays I think there are a lot more females playing and I haven’t experienced any surprised reactions when revealing my sex. That said, I don’t particularly feel the need to identify myself as female. If it happens to come up, then fine, but I don’t especially see the relevance. I mean, sex does not have any effect upon game play. I have met some amazingly skilled players who are female, and some utterly dreadful ones! Likewise with males. Sexuality is insignificant.

So why do females get distinguished from other gamers? Maybe it’s just because we are still the minority. I do think there are some female gamers out there that enjoy being viewed separately. They relish special treatment and receiving lots of attention. But they will more than likely be the first to cry when they get too much unwanted attention as well. I do feel that these individuals give the rest of us a bad name. Personally, I enjoy being one of the guys. I like joking around with everyone else, I’m not especially sensitive and am more than capable in dealing with boys and their sometimes crude sense of humour.

I read an article yesterday about girl gamers that join female-only online communities as a way of escaping from the males. I think this just draws even more attention to them than anything and I’d sooner quit playing games than do something like that. Not to mention that not all males playing these games are bad! I’ve made some excellent friends through online gaming, some male, some female. And I have also met some incredibly irritating people, both males and females. Rather than deciding to avoid that entire sex of players, I just ignore those particular individuals that agitate me. Simple!

Perhaps I’m being a little narrow minded here though. Maybe I just haven’t experienced what some females have which would make them want to jump to these extremities when playing games. It could just be that I’ve been incredibly lucky in my encounters thus far. But for me, I would like to see this gap closed between male and female gamers. We are all gamers, and at the end of the day, isn’t that all that matters?

Identity

I have to say I feel a certain amount of jealousy towards people that have a strong sense of identity. What do I mean by identity? Well. Knowing where you come from, what your nationality is, and where you consider your home to be.

For me, I have no easy answer to these questions. I know where I live now. I know where I have lived. But if someone were to ask me where I am from, I wouldn’t know what to say.

I guess I would respond that I live in England. But I do not consider myself to be English, despite having been born in this country. I moved to Ireland when I was almost 10 and lived there until I was nearly 20. Due to this move at a young age, my accent changed considerably. Now it is indistinct to say the least. It is neither English nor Irish. In fact normally people believe me to be North American. It puts me in a bit of an awkward position. No matter where in the world I go, people always ask me where I am from. Even after nearly 10 years of living in Ireland I would be asked this. Now that I once again live in England, I am frequently asked this as well. Perhaps with my “American” accent I would fit right into the States? Sadly these dreams were also shattered when I was informed by an American that I do not in fact sound American. I guess it must just be the untrained European ears that think so! So where do I slot in?

It does certainly make me feel a little lost. I feel like a foreigner wherever I go - even when I am at home. I also get a bit sick and tired of explaining myself every time I am asked where I am from. Sometimes I will just ask the person where they think I am from (and I have gotten some very strange suggestions might I add) and then wherever they say, I applaud them for their acute accent recognition skills! It’s just easier, particularly if you know you are not going to encounter this individual again.

I suppose the easiest way to define where a person is from would be via their nationality, ie the country that their passport represents. Unfortunately this only confuses matters further. I have a German passport as my mother is from there. So officially I am German, yet I have neither lived there, nor do I speak the language fluently. I enjoy visiting the country, but I certainly do not feel any deep connections to it and I don’t particularly envisage myself living there at any future stage.

I suspect the place where I feel most attached would be Ireland. That is where I spent my teens; I made friendships there that will last a lifetime; I feel that the majority of my happiest moments were there and I believe that I am more connected to Irish people and the Irish way of life than anywhere else in the world. I sometimes wish that I could have been born in Ireland, have proper Irish roots and sport a pretty Irish accent, as I truly would be proud to call myself such. I guess I do call myself Irish if asked, but it would be nice not to get such surprised reactions, where I am told that I “really don’t sound like it” and they “never would have guessed”.

I suppose I should just class myself as a citizen of the world. Does it really matter where I come from? I mean, does it actually say anything about my identity? Perhaps my identity is that I am reasonably unique and interesting. Many people have told me that the fact that I wasn’t born in one place and remained there for my entire life, contributed to my intriguing personality. Perhaps while I envy others’ security and certainty in knowing where they are from, they envy me for the opposite reasons? I simply don’t know.

Whatever way I look at it though, I really can't help but feel jealous.

The Wonders of Music

Perhaps not the most astounding revelation, but music is a truly amazing thing. It can transform a mood like nothing else. And there's always the perfect song to fit a particular mood.

Over the holidays, I regret I have been suffering from the "Christmas Blues", if there is such a thing. Luckily, one of my presents this year happened to be an ipod docking system, so I've had the opportunity to listen to a lot of music over the past few days. I've created various playlists on my ipod to fit any particular humour I might be in. So there's a 'Happy' playlist, a 'Chillout' playlist, an 'Angry' playlist...you get the idea. And it's terrific! Music evokes such powerful emotions.

Listening to an 'angry' song, for example, is a great way for me to release frustration. I guess a particular favourite for me would be 'I F**king Hate You' by Godsmack. I just completely let loose while listening to that song and by the end of the track, I will generally feel an awful lot calmer.

Often I need a song to fit the mood that I am in to be able to escape from that state. Listening to a happy song when I'm annoyed or irritated, will often only increase the bad mood. An angry song when I'm angry acts as a release and a happy song when happy makes me exuberant!

So I thought I'd list some of my favourite mood songs and I would love to hear about yours. What have your experiences been with music and its effect upon your moods?

Angry:
'I F**king Hate You' by Godsmack

Happy:
'Walking on Sunshine' by Katrina and the Waves
'Wake up it's a Beautiful Morning' by The Boo Radleys

Calm:
'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding
'Woman' by Neneh Cherry

Sad:
'I Started a Joke' by The Wallflowers
'Karma Police' by Radiohead

Melancholy:
'Kiss from a Rose' by Seal
'Mad World' by Gary Jules
'Overkill' by Colin Hay

Romantic:
'Kiss Me' by Sixpence None The Richer

There are far too many to list and I could go on for ages. But this is just a little tribute; a tribute to the wonders of music and the impact they have upon myself and no doubt many others out there. Thank you music!