Have a read of the following articles, do they make you cringe? laugh? Or do you think you can make an equally good contribution, why not give it a try. Send me the details Leyton Life Po Box 54442 London E10 6TA. Alternativley feedback.leytonlife@googlemail.com

............................................................................................................................................................................................. St Georges Day Wednesday 23 April 2008 www.stgeorgesholiday.com (Take an unofficial bank holiday visit website for full details) It has become common knowledge that people in England work longer hours, have less holidays, pay more for goods and services. I have now discovered we have fewer bank holidays in comparison to our European members. Portugal & Spain12-14 days, Italy 12 days, Germany 9-12 days, France 11 days, England 8 days Source:IDS Europe and www.startinbusiness.co.uk Most countries have a bank holiday set aside to celebrate their national day. Would it be so awful to have a national day for England? I have listed some countries and their National days; these countries in my opinion have strong links with England, and within this borough. So if they can have a special day, to celebrate their country, maybe we should as well. Ireland St Patrick’s Day 17th March Canada Day 1st July USA: National Independence Day 4th July Pakistan: Republic Day 23rd March India: Republic Day 26th January Anniversary of the Foundation of the People’s Republic of China 1st October Poland Constitution Day 3rd May Swedish Flag Day 6th June Australia ANZAC Day 26th January Jamaica Independence Day 6th August Trinidad & Tobago Independence Day 31 August St George has the status of being the patron saint of England, his emblem being a red cross on a white background is the flag of England. Part of this logo is also used for the British flag. St George’s emblem was imported by Richard the lion heart during the 12th century. For more interesting stories of dragon slaying check the website! What do you think? Do you have an opinion? No opinion? Let Leyton Life know what you think or simply visit the website above for more information. Feedback.leytonlife@googlemail.com Leyton Life (St Georges Day) Po Box 54442 London E10 6TA. Yasmin Allen
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Democracy where is it going? Having had time to reflect on what is happening around the world. It has become very clear that people in the UK are satisfied in living under an illusion of having democratic rights. An illusion I sense you wonder? Well what else could it be? If we don’t conform we get penalised. Current and past events in Burma, China, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, and Palestine/Israel have had individuals killed, if not persecuted for their fight for freedom & democracy. But in England the voting levels are low; people have a lack of knowledge regarding politics. Some don’t even know who the Prime Minister is! Our young generation is too busy fighting and killing one another, rather than standing together and fighting for their rights with regards to politics. Even the political candidates show very little enthusiasm regarding their policies, aims etc… Take the local by election for example even though I read about it in the local guardian very little was done by the candidates and their parties to promote themselves. On top of that only some wards were given a vote????? I have heard more about the USA elections over the last few months than any of the UK local or national elections, over the years. There is more time and effort spent spreading “political gossip” than actual politics. Some of which can be interesting, like who has the highest expenses, which MP’s are having extra marital affairs. How many MP’s employ family members, at the cost of tax payers http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/?p=1203. Is this the best we can do in 2008? Such negative behaviour is not helping politics. Personally I think more should be done by local councils, to make sure people living in the constituency have a say in local matter and not external companies. Especially if a new position is being created people need to know where their funds are going and why. This is imperative especially when vital jobs and services are always being cut. There are so many examples to go through I am sure individuals know of some they can relate with. If you can’t get the guardian or need to look at past issues go to www.localinfo.guardian-series.co.uk. The best source to get info regarding local issues from. The article about the council making £4 million from parking fines, over the last four years is enough to make any local business sick to the stomach. I talk to local businesses when out and about promoting Leyton Life. A lot of them agree the introduction of Parking Vouchers has hit their businesses very hard. People are not willing to pay for a voucher and then pay tax on the goods they purchase. The borough is penalising local businesses and residents by doing this. I failed to meet any shop owner that was consulted regarding the introduction of parking vouchers. Does the council not make enough from business rates? Or is their aim to close small businesses and let bigger companies in so they can charge them more business rates! People agree that time limits for parking are acceptable, parking bays with time limits have been manned for years, without any charge to the users. So why change them to parking voucher schemes? It is un-democratically elected, inconvenient, and not green. People drive around for a space so they don’t have to get a voucher! If a council member is reading this and has an answer feel free to send it on the back of a stamp! I’m sure you can buy one with the £4m the council made. As a local business or resident what do you think? How has it changed your shopping habits? Let me know full details to send your opinions p2. Yasmin Allen

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Don’t settle for less How often do you go into place of business and walk out feeling annoyed, because of the lack of service or in some instances no service. If a shop is not providing a service of a descent standard then I usually go elsewhere. Unless I feel a complaint or sarcastic remark is necessary. The same can be said with financial institutions, there are enough competitors within this field which means as a customer there is no real reason to put up with a poor situation. Unless you are happy to be treated as an insignificant! But the biggest culprits in my experience would be some of the government run places. Places that are funded for the benefit of the community are the breeding ground where staffs that have no desire to do their jobs are employed. Why does this bother me so much because unlike the earlier examples it is not that practical to switch to another company? You are practically stuck with trying to cooperate with people that have no intention of getting a satisfactory result for you. The most common and frustrating problems people I have spoken to face are no telephone call backs, giving the correct information, or even directing you to the correct department or person. In the past I have normally made a few phone calls, but just not bothered to follow up any queries. But over the last few years I have started to be more active when dealing with such places. The most recent complaint regarding a council run publication took about three months to resolve. I started off with one complaint and by the end of it had made two more. The result was a good one as I knew I was within my rights and the staffs were being awkward. I was successful in getting the result I wanted in all three complaints. Even though I had to deal with the council’s complaints procedure twice I did end up coming across a people that were willing to do their jobs, and do it with pride with real consideration for the customer. These are the staffs that answer Waltham Forest Direct calls. They are always willing to assist you, even if they can’t deal with the query themselves they do try to find out to whom you should speak to. Rather than telling you to ring another number, or go on the internet. (Keep up the good work) A certain someone from the Environment Health Dept was very helpful, getting a satisfactory result. Tips when complaining: Note the date time and person you are talking to. A brief outline of what you discussed, when you should have had a response by if not immediately, Email is a piece of cake and a good form of record is kept at no extra cost. Post: I find hard to keep track of as mail gets lost in the system. The message is plain and simple if enough people make complaints regarding such issues then the government run places will have to take action. In my opinion if employees that perform inadequately were held to account more often then they may start to do the jobs they are paid to do. By not complaining you are giving them the green light to sit back and get paid to do very little. Yasmin Allen
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Thank you Now that I have made my point about complaining, and inadequate services, I would like to take this opportunity to make people more aware of saying Thank You. Two very simple words but used very infrequently. Saying “Thank You” expresses gratitude, and basically can make the people around the counter feel much better. Everybody has their own problems on a daily basis but they try to get on with their routines. So be it when driving, walking, shopping or talking, if someone has done something nice for you then why not say “thank you!” To think that someone is “just doing their job” and this gives you no reason to say thank you, is no justification of not saying the two little words. Complaining is not done as often as it should be but thanking people is even less! Yasmin Allen
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Overweight has to go now
When I heard that in Britain the overweight issue with teenagers under the age of 18 years was steadily increasing, I was really surprised, because in Britain we have facilities and programmes that teenagers could follow to become fitter and healthier. What are the reasons why there are overweight teenagers? Maybe it's because they aren't bothered to get up and do exercise or could it be because instead of eating healthy foods like salads, pastas, meat and fruit they choose to take the other option of eating Fast food. Parents:
Some children don't buy their food or cook at home, their parents do, and so shouldn't parents get a wake up call for them to start feeding their children more healthily? Only God knows if some parents can feed themselves healthily, so what chance do their children have?
I am not literally blaming the parents for their children being overweight but there is some fault there. Maybe parents should start by taking their children to the doctors so that the doctor can measure their BMI which is their Body Mass Index. This way the teenagers will get a wake up call and take obesity issues into consideration. Risks and Warnings
Reality check:
I believe that if teenagers know the risks that they are putting their health into maybe they would definitely think twice before eating fast food 24-7. On the other hand there should be more warnings about for example billboards, buses, magazines, newspapers, and on packages of fast food outlets. This issue is becoming a world wide health risk and people are dieting due to this. There has also been a ban on junk food adverts on kids TV because they do not want to influence kids in buying junk food like Crisps, Coca Cola, Burgers and more junk food.
But do the teenagers themselves know about the risks that they are putting themselves through? Well some of them think "ok I'll eat all of this fast food and then tomorrow I'll stop". But it doesn’t work like that. Fast food is addictive; once you eat it you can not stop.

Interview:
I spoke to two teenagers. The first one of these is an overweight teenager; I'll be speaking to her about how she feels, if she's aware of the diseases and more. The other teenager is a former overweight and I'll be getting information on what did she do to lose the weight and how she feels now. The reason I am doing this is because I want other teenagers to be aware of these issues and that they can change.
This is an interview with an overweight teenager who can't look at herself at all and isn't confident.
Do you know of the diseases being overweight causes?
Yes I do my doctor has told and warned me about the diseases. I know that I have a greater risk of getting a heart attack and more diseases.
Has anyone given you support?
Yes they have especially my family and friends.
Has anyone tried to help you in anyway so you become healthier?
My mum has. She's been out running with me for 30 minutes and I am beginning to eat healthier foods like salads and drinking water.
How do you feel knowing that if you don't change and lose weight you may have a grater risk of heart attacks and catching diseases?
Knowing that I could get an illness and maybe die, it scares me and I can't stand it.
What do you honestly think about your self? E.g. appearance, weight etc
I honestly can't look at myself and I'm defiantly not happy with myself.
What other people think about you appearance those it effect you in anyway?
It didn't bother me at first but now it's beginning to effect me inside, when they look at me and laugh.
Would you get help and try to get healthier and fitter?
Yes definitely I will, I want to change.
This interview is by a 16 year old female who has managed to overcome this issue and now looks great.
"I'm 18years old now and approximately a year ago I use to weigh about 70 – 75kg approximately a size 14 – 16. I was not really happy with myself I didn't feel confident going out and seeing girls my age who were skinny. I started to get jealous, So I took drastic measures by starving myself for about 1 week, I lost about 2 – 4kg after I started being sick and vomiting, and I couldn't and the smell of food. So one day I decided that I had to change if I didn't want to get really ill and thought that there must have been a much better and healthier way to lose weight. On my free time I went running for about 30 minutes and lost about 300 calories each time I ran, after my cousin joined the gym, she asked if I wanted to sign up so I did. A year has gone past and I have lost 2stones I'm a size 12 now and weigh 55kg. I am really much happier and fitter. Back then I was not confident but now everything has changed from my confidence to my appearance. It was hard to start off with but now the end result is great, it takes time and you need to have the mentality to lose weight". Below are a few places where information regarding healthy eating and obesity can be found. Unhealthy eating can have an adverse effect at a later stage in life, even if the present appears to be fine.
Some illnesses being overweight could cause;
Heart diseases, strokes, Diabetes, Cancer, Sleep Apnea, Osteoarthritis, Gout, Gallbladder www.channel4.com/health
nationalobesityforum.org.uk www.childrenfirst.nhs.uk
And you can also go to your local GP and they will divert you to a specialist or and give you more advise By Joanne Da Silva Roque (Joanneroque2003@hotmail.com )

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Peers, Sort your House out!



One elected house is enough having two would be suicidal to the whole system.

What is the fascination of changing the way in which the House of Lords is run. I think allowing the changes will contribute to more inconsistencies and corruption within the judiciary system. So what if the Peers are not completely with it and not elected at least they have the distance to make certain decisions. But over the last few years I have noticed that ordinary people's opinions are not taken into account when it really matters. -Going to war regardless of the opposition shown. (not to mention doing this under false pretences)

-Restrictions placed on people wanting to protest for a legitimate cause. We are entitled to legitimate protest.

The thing to remember and consider is people are extremely fickle. You only have to follow a reality show to acknowledge this. One minute you could be a winner and the next the biggest looser ever.


If only the real political game had the same rules I am sure the number of people voting would increse. This would be an excellent way of getting politicians to fulfill their manifesto!

The House of Lords does not have the powers they use to have. Their role has been downgraded in recent years. The most they can do is delay certain legislation and mainly give opinions of how a certain Bill should be applied.

Still want the current system to change?
Have your say on our messageboard

Cash for Honours? - no scandal here...

So far no successful case of prosecution has come
to light regarding the sale of membership (cash for honours) in the House of Lords. (This doesn't mean innocence) All this indicates is what most people know that "independent inquiries" aren't as independent as they claim to be.

Setting double standards is not an option in a democratic society.What are they really hiding?

Personally it is giving these people the green light to take more advantage of their 'so called expenses' and funny handshake stuff Have your say on our messageboard

Is this democracy or an illusion?

We are suppose to be living in a democratic society,where all citizens are to be treated equally. This is to be regardless of gender,colour, religion or age (except where legal age required)

Why MP's can be shielded from the Freedom of Information Act considering they are there to serve the people, and funded by the public.

Important financial details can be kept away from the public. Is this really fair should their financial situation be kept private? Most importantly why do they feel the need for this? Especially when governmental institutions go to great lengths in investigating peoples household incomes etc. Have your say on our messageboard

And now a word from the hood'...
Propane Jane ..."Why don't the police and social services just leave me alone. My family comes first - end of. My son has always had a temper. Everyone on the block knows he tends to fly off the handle at the least provocation. We only recently found out he has been diagnosed with ADHD



Big Willie adds... My girlfriend has just had another baby and I can only get part-time work helping my mates in the market. The other day I had to raid some pampers from a local superstore cos the baby can't wear anything else. What's a responsible dad to do?




Jus-Stoned argues..."I can understand some people have to do what they can to maintain their crack habit."

Nifty Shifter gripes about the lack of job opportunities....Have you seen the type of jobs out there and the pay per hour is ridiculous. I think working for £5 an hour is a mug's game."

Sky Jack is annoyed... "I don't understand some people. They're just jealous. If someone offered you a flat-screen TV at a knock down price - no questions asked, wouldn't you take it?

Goggles complains... "The TV licence people keep hassling us even though we only watch Sky and DVDs."




Rollin' Moanin intones.."I wouldn't have to sell stolen goods if I could get my music career back."