Kit Heath Destination Inspiration

We are often asked at Kit Heath about what inspires us in what we design and create for our collections, and it has to be said as soon as someone mentions spring/summer collections we stare off into a dreamy land of turquoise seas, sandy beaches and shangri la!

Kit Heath Holiday Jewellery

So here we are a taster of what we dream about along with the results. Gorgeous jewellery to be worn with your favourite denim cut off's or maxi dress!

Thank heavens for the good weather and the summer holidays have begun - we thought it would never arrive!

Persistence vs. Publish Pressure (PPP)*

An anonymous commenter on a previous post asks, "How do you balance persistence and pressure to publish?".

The big question I have is - who is pressuring you to publish?

If it is yourself, then the way I view all publications/research is: 1) What is the big idea I want to do, and 2) How do I best tell the world about it?

Sometimes, if it's a big idea with lots of pieces, you publish as you go. This is another reason why it's good to diversify your publication venue. So, when you're just sketching ideas out, workshop. Maybe you have some preliminary results, low-tier conference. Maybe your research is rocking the house, top-tier conference / journal.

Some people say, "Bah, least publishable units, growl." But it's not about that necessarily. It's about telling a story, building on previous work, figuring out where you're going. Instead of waiting three years and squashing everything into one paper, you keep the ball rolling.

Sometimes you Don't Publish. And that's ok too. For example, in the middle of my PhD I spent about 6 months doing exactly nothing. Nada. I realized I was spinning to far out into the wrong direction. It was time to retool and rethink my plans.

Now, if someone else is pressuring you to publish, that's a whole other ball of wax. I think in that case it's a question of what relationship they have to you (dean, chair, advisor, colleague, student), and whether their request for you to publish makes sense. Are they pressuring you because they think your work is amazing and ready for the world to see? Are they pressuring you because they think you publishing now will help your career later? Is it to help their career? It helps to explore motives here.

If you need time to persist on a research thread, drop the self pressure to publish and find your center. If you have someone breathing down your neck to publish tell them to lay off for awhile while you get your groove back. The last thing you want to do is publish junk science just because you're being pressured to publish for the sake of publishing.

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* For the geeks out there. (See also: this shirt.)

this weekend is my mom's 60th b'day and so my family is coming here!  i've got some cooking to do...i am going to attempt one of our favorite thai recipe (my brother lived in thailand for years so we love thai food) and i am going to make my mother-in-law's famous poundcake w/ cameral frosting.  we also plan on visiting the local farmers market to get hot, homemade doughnuts that are to die for...in between all of our eating, we hope to find some treasures will out antiquing. i hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!!  if you need me, i'll be in the kitchen probably freaking out :)

*images courtesy of wedding style guide, pink persimmon, sparkles and pretending tumblr, emersonmade,blissful b blog, turquoise tulips and bliss

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, My Way

I just saw this on BoingBoing.  Simple but true. 

This image was created by Adam Fields. 

The people who design government dietary guidelines are gagged by the fact that politics and business are so tightly intertwined in this country.  Their advice will never directly target the primary source of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-- industrially processed food-- because that would hurt corporate profits in one of the country's biggest economic sectors.  You can only squeeze so much profit out of a carrot, so food engineers design "value-added" ultrapalatable/rewarding foods with a larger profit margin.

We don't even have the political will to regulate food advertisements directed at defenseless children, which are systematically training them from an early age to prefer foods that are fattening and unhealthy.  This is supposedly out of a "free market" spirit, but that justification is hollow because processed food manufacturers benefit from tax loopholes and major government subsidies, including programs supporting grain production and the employment of disadvantaged citizens (see Fast Food Nation).

sometimes it's the small things that get me most excited....like an impromptu date night on a wednesday-just b/c.....hope y'all have a wonderful day!!

Interview on Super Human Radio

Today, I did an audio interview with Carl Lanore of Super Human Radio.  Carl seems like a sharp guy who focuses on physical fitness, nutrition, health and aging.  We talked mostly about food reward and body fatness-- I think it went well.  Carl went from obese to fit, and his fat loss experience lines up well with the food reward concept.  As he was losing fat rapidly, he told friends that he had "divorced from flavor", eating plain chicken, sweet potatoes and oatmeal, yet he grew to enjoy simple food over time.

The interview is here.  It also includes an interview of Dr. Matthew Andry about Dr. Loren Cordain's position on dairy; my interview starts at about 57 minutes.  Just to warn you, the website and podcast are both full of ads.

Reviewer armchair psychology

Did I mention July is the month for reviews this summer? I must have reviewed 25 this month (one for every hot, humid day!)

After I review papers, if I have time I enjoy doing armchair psychology on my fellow reviewers. Some conferences / journals let you see the reviews others have submitted, and some even allow you to change your score based on what you read. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it's interesting.

When there are 3-4 reviewers for a paper, the scores tend to regress to the mean. So on a 1-5 scale, the average score will be 3. There are also often repeats - so if I give it a '4', it's likely some one else will give it a 4 too. Really bad papers tend to have scores that cluster around 2, and really good papers cluster around 4.

So I'm always intrigued when I see the following:

Reviewer 1:  4
Reviewer 2:  5
Reviewer 3:  3
Reviewer 4:  1

As an nascent author, when you get a set of reviews back like the first one you tend to think, "Reviewer 4 is a jerk who Didn't Get It."

As a more seasoned author, you tend to think, "Oh no, what is my Fatal Flaw? (Reviewer 4 is a jerk who Didn't Get It.)"

And as a seasoned reviewer, you tend to think, "Who is Reviewer 4 and what is their beef?"

Occasionally Reviewer 4 has a valid point, and the other three reviewers really did miss something major. But more often than not Reviewer 4 is angry at the authors for taking too many liberties in their paper. Or for not citing Their Brilliant Work. Or it's the "Someone is WRONG on the internet" phenomenon.

In any case, when I'm an editor or paper chair I can ignore the outlier and life goes on. But when I'm a fellow reviewer I feel more vested in the outcome, particularly when I 'm Reviewer 2. I hate to see the possibility of good science getting squished because some reviewer was being thick, especially when it's someone else's science.

So sometimes, if a conference or journal offers a discussion period for reviewers, I occasionally have to confront Reviewer 4 head on, less they somehow manage to convince Reviewers 1 and 3 to change their scores.

Anyway, this is some of what goes on behind the scenes behind your favorite publication venue. As an author, try not to let the outliers get under your skin. If your other reviews are good, be persistent and try again somewhere else. There's an awful lot of randomness in this process.

The (d)evolution of the American Diet

"Uncle Sam says, Garden to Cut Food Costs."
National Archives, Records of the Office of War Information.

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine a time before the one we live in. When it comes to food, it seems hard to remember a time before large chain supermarkets, drive-through fast food, TV dinners and rampant obesity. But a couple of sites have great interactive timelines that remind us that not too long ago we did things differently.

Check 'em out and then leave us a comment. We'd love to hear thoughts on what the future of food could look like especially looking back at what it once was.

NY Times Timeline of a Standard American Diet
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/20110724_SAD_Timeline.html?ref=sunday

The Food Timeline
http://www.foodtimeline.org/


CNN Timeline of Obesity
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/fit.nation/obesity.map/

Washington Post - How we got Here - Obesity Epidemic Timeline
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/05/17/GR2008051700257.html

US News and World Report Food Timeline
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050815/15timeline.htm

Other resources...
Reading Lists and Articles:
Diets and Dieting: A History of Weight Loss in America
Science Reference Section Science, Technology, and Business Division Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/dieting.html

Johnson and Wales Library Reading List
http://library.jwu.edu/research/websites/food_america.htm

Leite's Culinaria Website Article
http://leitesculinaria.com/10348/writings-dining-through-the-decades-american-food-history.html

Delish.com History of Fast Food
http://www.delish.com/food-fun/fast-food-history

Events, Videos and Exhibits:
....also an interesting event is going on at the National Archives on the US governments effect on the American Diet in case you are visiting DC between now and January.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/whats-cooking/index.html

Daily Motion Video Interviews with Ann Vileisis about her new book Kitchen Literacy
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeajnv_history-of-american-food_lifestyle
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgu36c_the-history-of-food-in-america_tech

NYC Museum of Food - How New York Ate 100 Years Ago
http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/

Sailing a course for London 2012

Skandia Team GBR sailor Chris Grube and Laser Coach Chris Gowers both have strong connections to North Wales. They took time out of their hectic schedule to tell Sport Wales about their preparations and hopes for an Olympic sailing legacy.

Sailor Chris Grube, 26, is a member of the Skandia Team GBR Performance Squad. Hailing from Chester, the 470 crewman actually honed his skills at Bala Sailing Club after his dad first took him on the lake at the tender age of ten.

 
“With a year to go until the games I think the perspective is very different from an athlete’s point of view compared to looking in from the outside. We as a team are very much heads down and focussing hard on our own selection events as part of our Olympic trials.

“The Sailing venue was one of the first to be completed which has been great as we've had so much time to get used to using the facilities down here in Weymouth. One of the main things you notice is the amount of interest from not only the media but the British public, you really get the sense that everyone is behind the team which makes it a very special event to compete in.
 

“Nick (Rogers) and I are both really happy with our progress. We are a very new team having joined forces only last December. I have to admit the last six months have flown by, with us having a very intense programme to get us on the pace quickly.

“We have a great coach in Nathan Wilmot, who won the Gold last time round for the Australian team in Beijing, and he's already turned us into one of the fastest teams in the World. We still have a lot to learn but having won the selection for the test event at Skandia Sail for Gold regatta we are very confident we can do it.

“When Nick and I teamed up in December I already knew who would coach us without even asking! Nathan is one of the most successful 470 sailors ever and we knew he'd be a great coach for us. Nick gave him a call and he agreed to come over from Sydney where it was summer to Lymington where it was snowing! His knowledge of the boat is amazing. We wouldn’t have got this far so quickly without Nathan and so in that respect we are really grateful to him.

“I think the main benefit of being the host nation is that it raises participation in Sport. Watching athletes at the top of their game is a great advert for sport and a healthy lifestyle (a hot topic in the media at the moment). Sailing is seen as an expensive sport, and once you get to Olympic level it is, but you can pick up a boat for club use for as little as 300 pounds.

“I've been involved as a coach in supporting grassroot programmes in North Wales, and at my home sailing club at Bala, and I think if we can make it easy and inexpensive for people to go sailing at their local clubs then the sport can really benefit from a growth in people taking part. It’s also important to make it a family activity to see continuity beyond 2012.”

Chris Gowers, 43, is the Laser Coach for Skandia Team GBR’s sailing team. This vastly experienced former Olympic sailor, turned coach, hails originally from Southmead but currently calls Y Felinheli home.

“We always hold a trial regatta the year before an Olympics. Once the test event is finished it’s then suddenly very hard to ignore the fact that the Olympics are on their way. We hope to do well (at the test event) but our priority is to learn as much as we can about how the regatta is going to be run next year.  Over the next six months we’ll select the team and then work hard to build up our knowledge base to make sure we get the best possible results.

“Having the Olympic races here in Weymouth should probably give us somewhat of an advantage. But if you look at the amount of time other countries are spending there then the margin is narrowing because at the Olympic Test Event alone we’re expecting around 57 countries to compete. On the other hand we’ll also have the intense media exposure to deal with, so there are pros and cons.

“Our hope is that people will get enthused by London 2012 and want to give sailing a go and get hooked for life. The Welsh Yachting Association (WYA) use Pwllheli a lot for competitions and have suggested it as an Olympic training venue. So that centre alone should provide better race training for budding elite athletes and hopefully increase participation in general.”

Visit www.welshsailing.org to find out more about sailing opportunities near you.

Olympic Memories by Andrew Morris

It was a time of trophies and travel when gymnast Andrew Morris spent years at the elite level of sport.

Andrew, from Treboeth in Swansea, competed in two Olympic Games – in Los Angeles in 1984 and four years later at Seoul in 1988.

That was on top of numerous Welsh and British titles and a career that took him across the globe.....

“I was born in Swansea and I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve travelled all over the world with my sport but I still remain in Swansea because it’s a fantastic place to live.

“I started gymnastics when I was eleven - which is quite late for a gymnast - at Penlan Comprehensive  School. My PE teacher encouraged me. His name was Leigh Jones and he was a competitive gymnast himself at the time.

“He inspired me. He must have seen something in me. At the time I was doing other sports, like playing football, but I went to gymnastics because I enjoyed the variety that it gave me.

“Gymnastics is an individual sport. Everybody wants to be the best so, even though you are competing in a team, you still have to do an individual performance.

“It’s not like a sport such as rugby where you can have a bad game but still win or have a good game and lose. With gymnastics it’s what you do as an individual. You are friendly with all the other competitors and you want your nation to do well, but you also want to do better than the others. That’s where the competition comes in.

“My first major memorable occasion was winning my first British Championship. The second one was being selected by my country to represent them at the Olympic Games.

“I won 10 Welsh Championship titles in a row, five British titles in a row.

“My first major competition, out of Britain, was the World Championships in Moscow in 1981. I’ve also done Commonwealth Games, European Championships, and, of course, the biggest of them all – the Olympics.

“One of my biggest memories is walking out for the opening ceremonies and seeing all those people in the stadium – it was an amazing sight.

“With the boycotts in 1984, Great Britain qualified a full team and we had six gymnasts competing. In 1988 there was just the two of us, which made the experience quite different.

“I think the Seoul Olympics was probably the most difficult competition for me. It was a major Olympics and all the countries were there. It was big after the boycotts of 1980 and 1984. I got injured in training when I was out there and three days before I was suffering. It was a case of recovering and trying to get ready for the event.

“You always get nervous at the events. All I used to do when I was stood on the podium in a major event was to think ‘well, I’ve done all the training, I’ve done all the work in the gym, done all the routines. If it goes wrong then it’s going to go wrong. Just go with the flow’.

At those Games, Andrew performed well.

He finished 24^th in the overall standings, the top British placed competitor, as his team finished in ninth place in Los Angeles. It proved tougher in Seoul, with qualifying round finishes in all disciplines in a competition dominated by the Soviet Union.

“When I was competing and winning competitions, my personal trainer had a job so he could only be with me in the evenings. I used to train in the mornings for three hours and then another three hours every evening. We did that five or six days a week, which is quite rigorous. It takes alot of work,” said Andrew.

“Food is really important. Whatever you do in gymnastics you’re carrying your body weight around all the time. You are lifting your body weight, so if you are eating the wrong foods and too heavy then it’s more difficult to compete and train. What you have to do is have a balanced diet that gives you a lot of energy without giving you a lot of starch and food that’s going to sit on you.

“If you’re going to do the sport you do it 100%. There’s no point doing it 50% because you’re wasting your time. So you do it 100% at the time and then you look at your career and you decide when you’re going to finish. You concentrate 100% until that time.

The sport, and Swansea, hasn’t lost Andrew’s experience and knowledge. He’s is now a Sports Development Officer for Swansea Council and runs the City of Swansea Gymnastics Centre on Fforestfach Industrial Estate.

He is a fully qualified International Performance Coach in both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics and oversees the technical programme, performance planning and funding for technical disciplines in Wales.

He added:

“My dream is to introduce as many people as possible to the sport that has given me such a good lifestyle and great memories.

“It’s a very technical sport. It’s difficult to come from outside of gymnastics and learn how to provide the skills for the kids without having felt it yourself. Physically feeling the sport and being in fear when you are upside down.

“I’ve had three gymnasts who have gone to the Commonwealth Games and one of those gymnasts actually coached another gymnast to go. You’ve passed on skills to your performers and they are carrying it on. That is something I’m very proud of to be honest.

“I would say to parents, put your children into pre-school gymnastics – what we call tumblies. They can do that from one year-old up to three years-old so they can learn how to handle their body and how to be co-ordinated. It’s a foundation for all other sports.

“We have taken on a recreational gymnastic co-ordinator who is going to schools and leisure centres to introduce children to gymnastics as early as possible and some competition.

“Nationally, gymnastics has never been higher profile. It’s never going to be one of the main sports like football or rugby but it’s definitely increasing in popularity.”

Thanks to Phil Cope and the Follwing the Flame exhibition for access to materials: http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/heritage/flame/index.htm

2011 Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week

Richard Dando

Senior Officer at Sport Wales

Richard talks through the highlights of the recent week of activity in Wales.

The 2011 Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week has come and gone with over 4 million young people across the UK trying to achieve a Personal Best in a variety of Olympic and Paralympic themed activities.  The week uses the excitement of the London 2012 Games to inspire young people to do more sport.

With a chance to win an official Torch Bearer place at next year’s Torch Relay the Sport Development network across Wales has rallied round their local primary and secondary schools to drive registrations.  In total 560 schools across Wales (391 primary, 152 secondary and 15 classed as both) registered to take part in NSSW which is an increase of 190 schools on 2010.  When schools registered they were asked to input how many pupils would be taking part in their NSSW activities and the total figure across Wales is 169,805, up nearly 50,000 on 2010!  This is an amazing achievement by all involved and by exposing this many young people to sport we stand a better chance of getting more of them hooked on sport for life.

Events and activities for NSSW have happened up and down the country and many young people have achieved personal bests.  Sport Wales are currently working with partners to capture some of the good news stories across Wales but here’s a little taster:

·         At Prestatyn High School pupils achieved personal bests in a one mile Olympic run or walk and a series of Olympic challenges, including designing their own Olympic mascots.  The school’s Young Ambassadors were heavily involved in organising the event.

·         At Ysgol Glan Y Mor local primary school children had a chance to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings by taking part in a variety of Olympic sports like hockey, table tennis, badminton, basketball, archery ad cycling.  The day was supported by the PE department, 5x60 Officer and by local clubs and coaches

·         To round off the week a high profile event featuring Olympian Jason Gardener, the Olympic mascot Wenlock and the Olympic Torch took place at Llanishen High School in Cardiff.  Around 300 primary school children took part in a transition event and aimed for personal bests in a variety of activities including boccia, indoor rowing, long jump, football and netball.

Schools who took part in the 2011 Lloyds TSB NSSW will be waiting to find out whether they have won tickets to the Games or official Torch Bearer places so good luck to them.  Schools that took part in NSSW can also use it as evidence towards joining the Get Set Network where they can access even more prizes and opportunities to inspire young people through London 2012.

However, no sooner has the 2011 week finished than planning for 2012 NSSW has begun!  In 2012 NSSW will take place Monday June 25^th to Friday June 29^th and with registration opening for school in September 2011, they have plenty of time to start planning how they will host their own mini Olympic event.

For more on the events highlighted above visit http://www.sportwales.org.uk/.

The Limberlost Challenge

The Limberlost Challenge or TLC for short, is a 14, 28, 42 & 56 km trail race in the Huntsville area. Beautiful area with some great trails that have a bit of everything. Hills, hills, switchbacks, a little mud, rock, and heat.

As long as you kept running the deer flys were not a problem, but you dare not stop to long at aid stations.

I think I speak for the group of us that went, it is a race worth doing, good course, well marked trails and friendly race directors and volunteers.

i'm signing off for the week to go and head down to the beaufort water festival.  it's one of our favorite times of the year...everyone gets on their boat and meets at a sandbar near downtown.  there is something about water, fun drinks, good food, music, and old friends that make the event so memorable each year (and there is always a fun story to tell at the end of the day)!  i hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!

*images courtesy of seen and said, lonny, design sponge, heather bullard

The big questions around the future of sports provision

Sport Wales Chief Executive Dr Huw Jones recently contributed to ITV Wales’ Wales This Week programme which investigated the future of sports facilities across Wales and whether local authorities will outsource leisure.

In our latest blogpost, Huw explains that who is going to run facilities is not the big question....

Local authorities face significant challenges across all the services they provide. Leisure is just one of them – how can they work differently? Is it the most effective and efficient service? These are the questions that local authorities are asking - and that’s absolutely right.

In many ways, who actually runs facilities doesn’t really matter – whether it’s the public, private or the public sector. The most important and biggest challenge is what the level of service should be. In other words, how many facilities do we need? Where should they be? And how should we actually configure them?

It’s a very difficult political challenge for local authorities to address. But it needs addressing and we want to help support them in that decision making.

There are all sorts of different types of leisure facilities – the question is, what is it that is actually going to make a difference? Where is it going to make a difference? Do we need a standalone leisure centre? Or should more of our leisure centres be on school sites in the next ten years?

We need to have cross departmental discussion at a local authority level - how can leisure facilities be configured with education? Should we have more dual use facilities on school sites?

And that’s going to mean the development of a joint vision. Not just education doing what it thinks is best, or planning doing what it thinks or indeed leisure doing what it thinks is best.

Would that be more economical and would that be more efficient? And also should we have libraries in that configuration? Or youth centres or older people centres?  So we actually utilise facilities for more than one purpose so we make it more efficient in terms of its usage.

What type of activities do we want to see people doing? Traditionally, we looked at leisure in terms of football, rugby and so on but we need to make sure we’re actually proactively consulting with young people – what is it that would make you more physically active? And then provide for that need.

Every time we have a difficult situation in terms of public sector funding, people tend to immediately react and say that facilities are going to close. I’ve been through three recessions and I’ve heard the same thing over and over.  But I have confidence that local communities and local councillors value sport and the contribution it makes in terms of health, social wellbeing, community cohesion and so on. Sport has huge power and impacts on people’s lives. I believe that local decision makers realise that.

What we need to be concerned about is: “what is the configuration going to be in the next five or ten years?” so that we can actually ensure that we have the best facilities that satisfy public demand and that are being provided in the most efficient way.

We accept that no one size fits all. Different areas will have different answers and solutions. But the questions need to be asked and the questions need to be answered if we’re to get every child hooked on sport for life and create a nation of champions.

You can view the Wales This Week programme here: http://itv.co/ooAlTT

Kids Design A Bead Competition!

Kit Heath Kids are proud to announce the exciting ‘Design a Bead’ competition exclusively for kids. Children are invited to let their imagination run riot and try their hand at designing a bead, with any pattern or illustration they chose. 

Two lucky winners will be selected and have their designs transformed into real beads, to wear on a silver bracelet along with a selection of other beautiful Kit Heath beads, all included in the prize!

These two winners will be chosen from two different age groups, 4-7years and 8-11 years. Not only will there be 2 first prizes, but 3 lucky runners up from each age group will receive a colourful bracelet filled with beads!

To enter this exciting competition just download the entry form from the Kit Heath website www.kitheathkids.com and get designing!  

This is your chance to have fun, be creative and have your child win an individual piece of jewellery to cherish!

Launch date is 22nd July, closing date 31st August.

Please see our previous competition entries and the winners beads on facebook here!

For full terms and conditions please visit the website

For a full stockist list go to www.kitheathkids.com   

Weight Gain and Weight Loss in a Traditional African Society

The Massas is an ethnic group in Northern Cameroon that subsists mostly on plain sorghum loaves and porridge, along with a small amount of milk, fish and vegetables (1, 2).  They have a peculiar tradition called Guru Walla that is only undertaken by men (2, 1):
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just in case you needed reminding!!  

*images courtesy of pinterest, unknown, sr gambrel, house beautiful

friday night we had good friends over for a pizza cook off....needless to stay we had a blast.  the pizzas were great- we spent 2 hrs prepping them....or maybe talking, laughing, sipping, and forgetting what we were putting on our pizzas.  as you can tell, we thought it was pretty fun.  by the time we finally ate, they both tasted like winners :)  if you need a great recipe for pizza, this is my favorite!!  hope y'all had a blast this weekend too!

Llysgenhadon Ieuainc: Ysbrydoli Drwy Chwaraeon

Gyda blwyddyn i fynd tan yr Olympaidd 2012 yn Llundain, mae un o’r rhoddion y Gemau yn talu I ffwrdd yn barod yma yn Nghymru.  Ffurfiasant y symudiad Llysgenhadon Ieuainc, mewn partneriad gan adidas, Youth Sport Trust, LOCOG a Chwaraeon Cymru, i rhoi mwy o lais i bobl ifanc ac i galluogi gwirfiddolwyr ifanc addas i rhannu negeseuon yr Olympaidd a Paralympaidd efo pobl ifanc eraill i ysbrydoli nhw i gymryd rhan mewn chwaraeon.  

Clywson ni gan dau o’r Llysgenhadon Ieuainc ysbrydoledig yma, o Rhondda Cynon Taff, am eu profiadau hyd at nawr.

Mae Llundain 2012 yn prysur agosáu ac mae’n ymddangos bod mudiad y Llysgenhadon Ieuainc wir yn mynd o nerth i nerth. Fel Llysgenhadon Ieuainc, rydym ni’n gweithredu fel modelau rôl i bobl ifanc eraill yn ein hysgolion a’n cymunedau ni, i’w hysbrydoli nhw i gymryd rhan mewn chwaraeon ac i greu mwy o ymwybyddiaeth o Lundain 2012 a’r Gwerthoedd Olympaidd a Pharalympaidd.      
   
Gyda thua 300 o Lysgenhadon Ieuainc Aur ac adiStar i’w cael ledled Cymru, mae enghreifftiau o straeon llwyddiannus yn dod i’r amlwg ar hyd a lled y wlad, ac enghreifftiau o bwysigrwydd rhoi grym i bobl ifanc i ddod yn amlwg, gan arwain at ymestyn ar draws pob sector o chwaraeon yng Nghymru. Mae’r wythnos ddiwethaf hon yn arbennig wedi dangos angen cynyddol am roi pwyslais ar ddylanwad pobl ifanc mewn chwaraeon, yn enwedig Llysgenhadon Ieuainc.    

Aeth y ddau ohonom i Gynhadledd Rhanddeiliaid Chwaraeon Cymru a chyflwyno gweithdy yn dwyn y teitl, ‘Cael pob plentyn i wirioni ar chwaraeon am oes – Sut mae gwneud hynny!’ Roedd hwn yn gyfle gwych i ni ddylanwadu ar y bobl allweddol sy’n gwneud penderfyniadau ledled Cymru, ac yn her y gwnaethom ei mwynhau’n fawr iawn.

Cawsom gyfle i egluro sut rydym ni’n dau’n brysur yn ein hysgol a’n cymuned, yn debyg iawn i bob Llysgennad Ifanc arall, ac yn cymryd rhan mewn gweithgareddau amrywiol fel gweithgareddau 5x60, hyfforddiant cymunedol a gwaith gwirfoddol arall yn ein hysgolion a’n hardaloedd lleol.     
     

Hefyd, roedd Natalie Davies, Llysgennad Aur arall o Ysgol Gyfun Maesteg, yn bresennol yn y Gynhadledd a rhannodd ei llwyddiannau rhyfeddol hi fel LlI. Ar ddechrau’r flwyddyn, sefydlodd ysgol ddawns yn ei chymuned leol, sydd wedi denu mwy na 60 o blant bob wythnos. Cystadlodd yr ysgol ym Mhencampwriaethau Hip-Hop Prydain yn ddiweddar, gan ddod yn drydydd, sy’n golygu eu bod nhw wedi cymhwyso ar gyfer Pencampwriaethau Hip-Hop y Byd yn Las Vegas. Roedd hi wir yn ysbrydoliaeth i ni ac os nad ydy hynny’n amlinellu effaith pobl ifanc ar gynyddu cyfranogiad mewn chwaraeon ac annog pobl ifanc eraill i gymryd rhan mewn chwaraeon a’u mwynhau, yna dyn a ŵyr beth sydd!  
             
Yn ein barn ni, roedd y gynhadledd yn gyflawniad gwych. Roedd yn gyfle i grŵp mawr o bobl sy’n meddwl mewn ffordd debyg, nid yn unig o’r sector chwaraeon, ond o’r sectorau iechyd ac addysg hefyd, i ymgynnull a rhannu syniadau a gwybodaeth ynghylch gweithredu’r ‘Weledigaeth ar gyfer Chwaraeon yng Nghymru’. Hefyd, roedd y Gynhadledd yn gyfle gwych i Natalie ac i ninnau gyflwyno’r cyfrifoldebau y gall y Llysgenhadon Ieuainc ymgymryd â nhw a sôn am ein llais unigryw sydd â grym i gael effaith ar chwaraeon yng Nghymru. 

Efallai bod rhai’n cwestiynu dibynadwyedd a photensial pobl ifanc i gael effaith ar chwaraeon ond mae’n dod yn fwy a mwy amlwg bod gennym ni allu i ysbrydoli eraill mewn ffordd gadarnhaol. Drwy ddefnyddio Llundain 2012 a’r ‘Weledigaeth ar gyfer Chwaraeon yng Nghymru’ fel catalyddion, mae ein swyddogaeth ni fel Llysgenhadon Ieuainc yn dod yn adnodd hanfodol er mwyn cyrraedd nod uchelgeisiol Cymru o gael ‘Pob Plentyn Wedi Gwirioni ar Chwaraeon am Oes’.

Er bod y mudiad LlI yn dal i ddatblygu a gwneud cynnydd, rydym ni angen pobl i wrando arnom ni o hyd, ac i roi’r grym yn ein dwylo ni. Felly cymerwch risg os gwelwch yn dda a rhowch gyfle i ni ddangos beth gallwn ni ei gyflawni!

Adam Anzani-Jones ac Ollie Smith,
Llysgenhadon Ieuainc Aur, RhCT

Young Ambassadors: Inspiring Through Sport

With a year to go until the London 2012 Olympics nearing, one of the legacies of those Games is already paying massive dividends here in Wales. The Young Ambassador movement, in partnership with adidas, Youth Sport Trust, LOCOG and Sport Wales, was set up  to give young people more of a voice and to empower suitably proactive young volunteers with the opportunity to share the Olympic and Paralympic values with their peers to inspire them to take part in sport.

We hear from two such inspiring Young Ambassadors, based in Rhondda Cynon Taff, about their experiences so far.

London 2012 is fast approaching and it would appear that the Young Ambassador movement is truly in its stride.  As Young Ambassadors we act as role models to other young people in our schools and communities to inspire them to participate in sport and to raise awareness of London 2012 and the Olympic and Paralympic Values.

With around 300 Gold and adiStar Young Ambassadors around Wales examples of success stories are springing up all across the country and the importance of empowering young people is becoming prominent, with the results stretching across every sector of sport in Wales. This past week in particular has displayed the growing need for emphasis to be placed on the influence of young people in sport, especially Young Ambassadors.

We both attended the Sport Wales Stakeholder Conference and delivered a workshop entitled, ‘Getting every child hooked on sport for life – How we do it!’ This was a great opportunity for us to influence key decision makers across Wales and a challenge which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We explained how we both have very active roles in both the school and community setting, similar to every other Young Ambassador, and participate in various activities such as 5x60 activities, community coaching and other voluntary work within our school and local areas.

Natalie Davies, a fellow Gold Ambassador from Maesteg Comprehensive School, also attended the Conference and shared her amazing successes as a YA. At the start of the year she set up a dance school in her local community which has attracted over 60 children every week.   They recently entered and came third in the British Hip-Hop Championships which means they have qualified for the World Hip-Hop Championships in Las Vegas.  She certainly inspired us and if that doesn’t outline the impact of young people in increasing participation in sport and enthusing other young people to take part and enjoy sport then we don’t know what does!

In our opinion the conference was a great accomplishment. It was a chance to allow a large group of like-minded people from not only the sports sector, but also the health and education sectors, to congregate and share ideas and information regarding the implementation of the ‘Vision for Sport in Wales’. Also, the Conference was a brilliant chance for Natalie and ourselves to present what responsibilities Young Ambassadors can undertake and how we have a unique voice which has the power to impact sport in Wales.

Some might question the reliability and potential for young people to impact sport but it is becoming more and more evident that we have the ability to positively inspire others. By using London 2012 and the ‘Vision for Sport in Wales’ as catalysts our roles as Young Ambassadors are becoming a vital tool in achieving Wales’ ambitious aspiration of getting ‘Every Child Hooked on Sport for Life’. 

Although the YA movement is constantly developing and constantly progressing we still need people to listen and empower us. So please, take a risk and give us the opportunities to show you what we can do!

Adam Anzani-Jones and Ollie Smith,
Gold Young Ambassadors, RCT

TGIF!!

my in-laws took taylor to the mountains yesterday and so we just have little walker solo this weekend.  yesterday, while walker was napping i had to chance to actually sit at the computer and read blogs!!  it was fabulous....
i spotted this bathroom on simply seleta....hello perfection!!  (and if you haven't seen it, check out what seleta's husband did for her b'day...so cute!!)

next, i spotted this stacked glass lamp that i am dying to add to my house.....but i better start saving, b/c she's not cheap.  but fabulous, right?!!

then i decided that i wanted to have friends over for dinner friday night....i am dying to get this cookbook....this meal would be perfection, as well as this table setting:

and this is always a fun motto for fridays :)

which i found on the cutest blog....who happens to be an adorable girl i met when i was in costa rica 2 yrs ago!!  randomly, lindsey found me and remembered me from a boat cruise we were on.  she and her husband were on their last night and we were in the middle of our trip but we had a blast together on the 6+ hr boat/ snorkel excursion...could have been the cocktails that they were serving too :)  but i am so happy to see that they are expecting a baby girl....i mean how cute is she?!   you have to watch this adorable video that she posted on how they found out what they are having...and her house is fabulous as well- that would be a framed hermes scarf and those sconces are killer (i need them in my life)!

next, i visited ruby press, and this stopped me in my tracks and made me realize i want to make ice cream.....first, i need an ice cream maker....and i need to have better handwriting and cute storage containers!

after that, my little man woke up.  but the 2+ hrs i had surfing the internet was pure bliss.  i hope y'all have an amazing weekend!!!  see y'all next week! XO