Things you may have missed during the Royal wedding

‘I’m not a royalist but…’ is going to be a common opening of many blog posts over the next few days. But not this one… ok, maybe this one too.

I’m not a royalist but I did watch the Royal wedding on Friday. I also remained reasonably captivated throughout the whole spectacle; mainly due to a huge sense of trepidation that something would go horribly wrong before the eyes of 2 billion people worldwide. I held my breath as Kate walked down the aisle in that long long dress, I cowered behind the sofa when the couple were timidly saying their wedding vows, I closed my eyes when … OH MY GOD, THE RING WONT FIT!!! But in the end, all went well and, truth be told, everyone involved in the organisation of the global media event (because really, that is what it was) did very well. I think the day was an excellent showcase of British tradition, grandeur and pageantry.

Despite the ruthless efficiency of the organisation, there were of course moments that demonstrated a more personal and spontaneous side to those involved. Here are my top five personal/spontaneous moments from the Royal wedding that you may have missed:

• When Kate first arrives at the altar (at 1.12 in the video), William leans across to Kate’s father and jokes “This was supposed to be just a small family affair”.

• Most of the police outside Buckingham Palace looked rather serious. There was one chap however, that did his best to entertain the crowds.

• The noise from the crowds as William and Kate kissed on the balcony of Buckingham palace was stupendous. Indeed, it was a little too much for one of the bridesmaids.

• They may have arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, but they left Buckingham Palace in a more modern fashion. Notice the L plate and the number plate on the back of the car reading “JU5T WED”.

• After a hard days work, everyone needs to unwind a little… even the vergers at Westminster Abbey!

Update: For my Chinese friends (who can’t access YouTube), I have now added photos of what the videos showed.

Outrageous! 50 dead in flu plague

For my post today, I was going to write about a recent project to create a Crokinole board. This will now have to wait until next week as I just had to put across my views of an outrageous story I came across today. It is not the story itself that I find most disturbing however (although it is always regretful when even just one person dies of flu), but the way it has been reported by the Daily Express.

For those of you not aware of the British print media, tabloids such as the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and The Sun have a bit of a reputation for bad journalism. Of particular concern to me are the ways in which these papers mislead, twist facts and blatantly lie in order to push their own agendas. There are a number of excellent websites such as Tabloid Watch that try to expose examples of poor and often dangerous reporting.

The article concerned is given particular prominence; being both on the front page of the newspaper and, at the time of writing, the lead story on the website. For starters, the use of the word ‘Plague’ in the headline immediately conjours up images of epidemics of biblical proportions. This is contradictory to the relatively small number of deaths quoted in that very same headline. To put the numbers into some kind of perspective, around 3,000 – 4,000 deaths are attributed to flu every year. Indeed, in extreme years such as 1989-1990, this can rise to over 20,000. These numbers are themselves just a small proportion of the total number of deaths each year. Last year, the Health Protection Agency reported that there were over 300,000 deaths in the UK.

So despite the fact that the current mortality rate is considerably down on previous years, the Express tries to exaggerate the extent of the problem through the use of emotive and hard-hitting language. In isolation, 50 deaths may seem considerable. Whilst any death is obviously one too many for those involved, the simple fact is that current trends can not be described as irregular, let alone as a ‘flu plague’.

The article stresses:

Almost one in three of the victims was perfectly healthy with no underlying symptoms before they fell ill.

However, as can be seen from the graph below (adapted from a report by the Health Protection Agency), the incidence of mortality from H1N1 (swine flu), to which younger and more healthy people are more susceptible, has also declined. At its peak, H1N1 was causing nearly as many deaths in a single week as the number of deaths the Express says have occurred due to all forms of flu since October.

The article continues:

Increasing public alarm at the scale of the epidemic has prompted a growing number of people to demand the seasonal flu jab from their doctor.

An herein, in my opinion, lies the problem with the article. The ‘increasing alarm’ and growing demand for the flu jab is surely perpetuated by this kind of misleading article. What has been reported by the Express, strictly speaking (in terms of numbers), is not untrue. However, the facts given have been presented in such a way as to try to provide readers with a particular conclusion.

update: For further reading on putting numbers in context, see Ben Goldacre’s excellent article on recent reporting of a contraceptive implant.

London 2012 Olympic mascots

A few days ago, the new mascots for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wenlock and Mandeville, were officially unveiled. Below are the two mascots in their animated form, with Wenlock on the left and Mandeville on the right.

Appearance wise, I think both of the mascots resemble the two aliens from the Simpsons, featuring as they do, just one eye each. Other notable features are lights on each or their heads representing the lights on London taxis and Wenlock’s friendship bracelets representing the five Olympic rings. As the story goes, both Wenlock, the mascot for the Olympic Games, and Mandeville, the mascot for the Paralympic Games were created from the last two drops of steel used to create the Olympic stadium. It is around this story (the first part of which can be seen below) that the two mascots will revolve during the countdown to the Olympics.

It seems as if the team behind the mascots will use this story as a vehicle by which people can interact with Wenlock and Mandeville and hopefully in turn, the Olympics themselves. I think it is anticipated that, over time, the two mascots will evolve, allowing people to add their own interpretations to the theme. Already on the official website, there are alternative designs for the two mascots and polls allowing people to decide what sport Wenlock and Mandeville should ‘learn next’.  This approach echoes the themes of change and involvement seen in other aspects of the Olympic brand.

The initial reaction to the two mascots has been mixed to say the least. Just the first few comments on one BBC blog included the following:

“Absolutely bleeping awful.”

“I think the Mascots are very funky, modern and stylish.”

“These mascots are the most hideous things ever. Congratulations London 2012! You have now officially become a global laughing-stock!”

“My eyes!!”

So what do I think of Wenlock and Mandeville? I actually like them! Sure they are a little weird, but at least they are new and exciting. If they, along with their story and associated paraphernalia, can get kids interested in the Olympic Games then they have done their job, no matter what anyone thinks of them. Whilst I have my reservations about the physical embodiment of Wenlock and Mandeville at the Olympic Games themselves (from the picture below, they don’t seem very agile to me). Their role is not on the track, like it was for Berlino the Bear, but on the internet and in the imagination of future sports fans.

What do you think of Wenlock and Mandeville?

Voting in the election

Tonight, I voted in the General Election. My local polling station was at Widcombe Baptist Chapel shown below.  I am currently watching results come in. It is now 12.40am and so far there have only been five declarations.

Election animation

The now infamous Apple Daily have produced a series of animations looking at the general election campaign. This video gives an analysis of the days following the first political debate.

 

Further animations covering the first week of campaigning and ‘bigotgate‘ can be seen on the BBC’s Newsnight website.

Clear skies

As it was such a nice day today, I took a walk around Bath.  As well as an absence of clouds in the sky, there was also an absence of planes. The recent volcano eruption in Iceland has caused restrictions to be put in place over UK airspace. I think that having planes in the sky has been something I have come to take for granted. it’s only after seeing a truly clear sky today that I realise how busy it usually is.