My beef with the 2016 Breast Cancer Awareness 'Game'

As you've probably guessed by the title, this is not your normal catch-up with my activities over the last seven days. Although I have done a few things in the past week, one of them stuck out and has led me to writing this more in-depth blog that I do enjoy writing every now and then (or whenever I have something worth writing).

Last week, a Facebook friend of mine (who will not be named) posted a status exclaiming their delight at something they had 'achieved' recently. Naturally, I gave their status a 'Like' to congratulate them on their achievement, and continued with my day as normal.

A couple of hours later, I went back on Facebook to discover a direct message from that friend, which was along the lines of:

• Ha! You shouldn't have commented on/reacted to my post!
• It's your turn now - randomly post one of these statuses and pass on this message to anyone that comments on or reacts to it (statuses ranging from "diarrhoea again" to "used my boobs to get out of a speeding ticket" and "I think I'm in love with someone" to "I'm getting married")
• This the 2016 Breast Cancer Awareness game
• Don't be a spoil sport
• Don't let the secret out

In case you didn't know, I refused to follow any of the instructions and considered how such a 'game' supposedly raised awareness for breast cancer. I came to the quick conclusion that it did absolutely nothing for breast cancer awareness. Think about it. You've just congratulated a friend on their engagement and then realise you've just been baited into a 'game' that's part of a breast awareness campaign. You've now been through the fact that you already knew breast cancer existed, along with many other diseases and medical conditions of different types, and wonder how posting a random Facebook status will ever help. Welcome to my world.

I then took to Google and typed in "breast cancer awareness game" - and by 'typed in', I mean I just typed the first few letters of 'awareness' and the result already came up because of the number of people who had searched it before me. I found a lot of negativity towards the campaign, as well as a small handful of positive articles about it. I thought, "Good news first", so I clicked on one of the more positive ones. Apparently this started about half a decade ago and the first campaign managed to go viral and got a mention in the news. Whether this caused people to start donating towards Breast Cancer Research, I have no idea. But it seems as though the golden age of this game has been and gone. I found a negative article written by someone who found the game deeply offensive, given they had experienced relatives suffering from breast cancer and questioned the trivial nature of the game. I had to agree.

I've done plenty for charities in the past, and am intent on doing even more in the future. I've volunteered and run 10K and half marathon distances to raise money for them. Now that's what I'd call raising awareness and making a difference at the same time. I also did the ice bucket challenge for ALS/MND. While this was a campaign with similarities to the breast cancer awareness game, there was no hiding of what the ice bucket challenge was for. The only way you find out that the breast cancer awareness game is about breast cancer is if you react and get the message from whoever's post you reacted to.

All of this begs the question as to whether we're doing the right things to raise awareness or build a campaign around something. Unfortunately I've not got all day to write something (and you've not got all day to read my rubbish) so I'm going to have to leave that question hanging. If I were looking to run a campaign through social media, I'd have people doing something that is actually related to what the campaign's about. In the case of the breast cancer awareness 'game', you don't do anything related to breast cancer and it doesn't make you think for one second about it. It's going to take more than a few random, unrelated Facebook posts to gain support in society.

Ollie out.

Twitter: @Chowerz

Instagram: @chowerz

Back from Italy!

Good evening and welcome to your weekly update in the life of the Chinese kid that you don't really care about.

The last week has been eventful and uneventful at the same time. It started off brilliantly on Thursday with a visit to Siena, about an hour's drive south of Florence. We bought the all-inclusive pass, giving us access to 5 parts of the Duomo for just €15 each. The cathedral was much more decorative than Florence's Duomo, and we saw the baptistry, an underground museum, another museum and then finished it off with the viewpoint opposite the Duomo. Surprisingly enough it actually rained whilst we were in the cathedral, making a stark contrast from the five cloudless days that had greeted us upon our arrival in Italy. Nonetheless, we had nothing to complain about given how nice a place Siena is. The picture below is of "Il Campo" in Siena.

Friday was our 'chill' day - we went for a walk, played cards, read books and went swimming. A good way to end our stay in the villa. We ate out at a local place that was comfortably the best meal we'd had all week. We shared a bruschetta platter and two pasta first courses before tucking into rabbit and chicken for the main. Absolutely stunning meal.

My brother and I flew back on Saturday lunchtime to get ready for a game of cricket that was due on Sunday but had already been cancelled midweek. So, essentially, we flew back for nothing (apart from my brother's AS Level results). We left Pisa airport in clear blue skies and 30 degrees Celsius, and landed in Manchester where we were greeted by 35 mph winds that nearly blew us off the stairs down from the plane! I needed no further invitation to put my jumper on. I spent the evening at my friend's house for a BBQ...which had to be moved inside due to a BBQ failure, but the food was good - nice one Archie!

The last few days have been the uneventful bits. A visit to the cricket nets and teaching my brother how to cook a chicken dish have been the highlights. I think that says it all.

I'm off to cricket training in a minute or two. Bit of a rush getting this done but there's nothing else to report.

Ollie out.
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

ITALIA.

After an exhausting day in Florence, we're back at the villa and are lounging about with the Olympics on the TV in the background. Earlier in the day I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to get this up in time but it seems to have worked out fine. So here we go!

I must admit that I'm feeling that tired that I'm prone to missing things out from the past week. Two things stick out from last Thursday. Firstly, I went for a haircut. Uneventful. Then in the evening I went for my second referee-related meeting in four days for an update on the Laws of the Game. If you didn't know, there have been 95 changes, so quite a lot to rethink before the new season starts!

Friday was spent eating all the leftovers we had before leaving for Italy, meaning my brother and I had an interesting lunch of vegetable soup, corn on the cob and something else that didn't really go with the other food. Then it was packing, out for dinner and an early night for a relatively early wake up.

Saturday was our flight to Italy, during which I experienced the most painful 10 minutes of flying I've ever felt, where my brain felt like it was being crushed as we started our descent. Nonetheless the rest of the day was fine and we had a good relax, apart from a wild goose chase trying to find an open restaurant.

On Sunday we went to San Gimignano, a place I'd previously visited on Assasin's Creed, which was beautiful, just like the cloudless weather. It was still a long day, meaning we had a rest on Monday before going to Greve in Chianti yesterday and Florence today. I think Florence may have some of the prettiest buildings I've ever seen. I'd recommend it to anyone.

My brother and I fly back on Saturday so we've got a couple more days in the sun before we return to the scheduled rain.

Ollie :)

Twitter: @Chowerz

Instagram: @chowerz

So. Much. Sport.

It's squeaky bum time. 10 minutes ago I was happily watching the Olympics. Then I realised I hadn't written my blog for the week. So I'm now sat here watching the Olympics with my laptop and am churning this out before I start to fall asleep reading a Lee Child book...

If I rewind to the back end of last week, two main things stand out for me that have happened since then - and I'm not sorry to say that it's pretty sport-based. Firstly, England started a fightback in the third test against Pakistan and come Sunday evening had wrapped up an excellent win. Thankfully I was able to watch them bowl Pakistan out due to my own cricket match being cancelled due to our opponents folding for the season.

The second big talking point of the week is, of course, the Olympics. The opening ceremony was at midnight on Friday for those of us in the UK, and I'm devastated to say I did not see a second of it due to commitments at a public house. I've been watching whatever event's on really, but have tuned into the tennis a few times. What's struck me at a lot of the events is the sparse crowd. I just try and picture whether the no.2 player in the world can rock up to a half-full Centre Court at Wimbledon and the organisers be happy with the outcome of their work. I'm 100% sure there's no way anyone would miss any part of the Olympics, as was seen four years ago in London. Nonetheless I'm enjoying the Games and hopefully Team GB can win more in the next couple of weeks!

I actually did play some sport myself over the last week. A bizarre tennis session last Friday included kids running onto our court to collect their mishit balls and their parents walking behind us mid-point. I did end up hitting one of the kids with one of my shots, but he just shook it off like any kid would (shows the strength of my groundstrokes really). On Saturday we travelled for an hour to play a cricket match that lasted only half the scheduled time due to a poor batting performance from our opponents. And on Monday I played my first ever round of golf, unexpectedly shooting a solid round of 59 shots over par - joking aside, I was pretty pleased. A quick assessment would suggest an absolutely lethal game within 150 yards of the pin, but very lacking from the tee.

Apart from all of that, I've been getting ready to go to Italy - we fly on Saturday morning. Hopefully I'll have some nice pictures come this time next week!

Ollie :)
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

Home and dry!

So here I am, Thursday evening, knowing that this blog is a day late. I think I only realised it at about 23:45 last night when I was reading 'Personal' by Lee Child. I guess I'm saying it's better late than never. It's weird to think I'm on summer holidays and still don't have 15 minutes to write a blog. Pathetic really, isn't it? All I remember of my Wednesday was playing COD4 on Veteran, going to town to pick up a few pre-holiday items, mowing the back garden and cricket training. I think all of those were necessary events, particularly the gaming, so I think I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt this time.

We resume our journey in Prague, back to last Wednesday evening. I had some absolutely FIT pork ribs and we had a few drinks in the Old Town Square. At one point we were surrounded by about 15 kids, and I gambled by asking whether they were Spanish and they were! We had a great 5 minute conversation, including me asking one of them how old he was, to which he replied "30" - he looked no more than 14!

On Thursday we walked forever - to Prague Castle, back to our hotel, back to Old Town, and back to the hotel again. All worth it though, as the weather was great and the views were even better (see below). Another night drinking in the square and there were no complaints.

We got back on Friday evening and I was treated to an Indian takeaway - can't beat that - before resuming my career on the PGA Tour on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2014. I think I've won 5 out of my last 6 events so it's going well, thanks for asking.

The cricket last week was much better than the week before - two wins instead of two losses. Funnily enough we just don't seem to win when I contribute - it may be preferable to just be a specialist captain than pretending to bowl off spin or bat in the middle order. Hopefully the same will happen this weekend!

This week has been a bit of a rest - although it doesn't help that I've picked up a cough and cold - so I haven't done too much. Today I went to the driving range and hit some decent shots, surprisingly enough! Clearly my practice on the Xbox 360 has reaped rewards in real life.

Hopefully I have more to report next week (and on time)!

Ollie :)
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

Much wet. Very Prague.

It's Wednesday and I'm back in business after my disaster of posting a day late last week.

My Friday was great, basking in glorious sunshine at Old Trafford Cricket Ground as England battered Pakistan thanks to centuries from Alastair Cook and Joe Root. Somehow our beer snake that stretched halfway up the stand didn't make it onto Sky Sports, and I emerged with the darkest knees I've ever had.

The weekend was full of cricket from morning to evening on both days, during which I played some of my best individual cricket but came off losing in both matches. On Saturday we were rolled by the best bowler I've ever faced in a match. He took 6 wickets and I had no idea where I was going to score runs off him, but I managed to survive and post 27* in my longest ever innings lasting 124 balls having gone in at 0-3 and batted to the end. On Sunday I made 42 and took 4 wickets but we still managed to lose one of the closest matches I've been a part of.

Since Monday I've been in Prague, where we've been exploring an amazing city, drinking great beer and learning about another perspective of WWII. We've got two days left and are going HEAVY tonight. As you can see below, I'm still LOVING it despite the Manchester-esque weather (photo credit: Harry Vogt).

Hopefully next week I'll be able to report a good end to this holiday and two wins in cricket this weekend!

Ollie :)

Twitter: @Chowerz

Instagram: @chowerz

#ThatMomentWhen...

...you realise, one day late, that you didn't blog on the day you were supposed to! D'oh!

If we look past my inability to blog on the correct day whilst on holiday, then I'll get you started with what happened last Thursday. It was my last day of my first NCS wave and it went rather well, bar a hiccup in the middle of the day. The teams were all out doing their campaigns to raise awareness for whatever they had chosen, with my team's target being the WWI/WWII memorial site at Boggart Hole Clough that we'd done a stunning job on the day before. After that, it was time for a final review session and debrief before it was time to go. Some people left the building as soon as it was announced that they could leave, although most chose to stay behind to say goodbye to as many as they could. Once the place was tidied, the staff team were out for our final Wetherspoons trip before going our separate ways - a good way to end 4 great weeks!

I'm not entirely sure what I did last Friday. I feel like I didn't get as much sleep as I anticipated and spent quite a bit of time in front of the TV, Xbox or piano. Either way, it must've been extremely uneventful.

Talking of uneventful, I played cricket on both days over the weekend and fielded for 87.4 of the most boring overs I've ever seen. On Saturday, we restricted our opponents to 158-8 from 50 overs before knocking it off very comfortably. On Sunday, we bowled them out for 80 from 37.4 overs and chased it down comfortably again. The most interesting thing that happened must've been when an opposing batsman on Sunday pulled his hamstring trying to run a quick single off my bowling. I got the ball from mid-on but heard a body hitting the ground and an exclamation, stopping me from knocking the bails off and appealing for a run out. Unfortunately for the batsman it led to him retiring hurt - thankfully for us, it was the only player who'd resisted against our bowling attack!

This week hasn't been the most eventful either. It's been filled with plenty of ironing and a bit of shopping to get ready for a trip to Prague next Monday! Apart from that, I've been to cricket training and a referee mentor meeting. And that's about it!

Hopefully there'll be some sort of Wi-Fi at our hotel next week so I can blog on Wednesday!

Ollie :)
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

It's almost over!

I'm writing this really late and caught in a bit of a twist. Half of me wants to go to bed ASAP and half of me wants to get this blog done today so that I'll keep up the consistent Wednesday blogs. I guess we'll wait and see how it goes!

The back end of last week was as hectic as NCS has ever been, and ended with us saying goodbye to our Programme Leader after three weeks. Come Saturday it was all about my dad's 50th birthday party - I got a trim before checking myself into the hotel where the party was being held, and where we were staying for the night. Before the party I managed to squeeze in a Costa trip with a couple of mates, which was a nice catch up.

The party itself was very good. Friends and family from all over (the North West) came to celebrate and we managed to set a personal best in alcohol consumption for my brother - a very decent 5 pints for him!

The next day I managed to bust the myth that "everybody plays [cricket] better hungover" as I made a standard captain's contribution of 1 run, 0 wickets and numerous misfields. However, the team did win and so did Andy Murray so it wasn't a bad day at all!

I've now had three out of my last four days of NCS, with the last day coming tomorrow! Today my team were at Boggart Hole Clough tidying the war memorial there, which now looks fab (pictures below)! I'm proud of what they've done and hoping they can finish their programme on a high tomorrow.

Here's to a good end to a great four weeks!

Ollie :)
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

I am KNACKERED.

The last week has been one of the busiest of my life.

If the first week of NCS could be summarised as the "honeymoon period", week 2 (and the start of week 3) have been full on, non-stop and flashed by at 100mph. Week 2 was spent at student accommodation in Manchester, with a 6:50am wake up and my free time limited to about half an hour a day, once all the participants were in bed and we'd had our daily staff laughing session, i.e. funny story sharing time. A solid six and a half hours of sleep each day followed by activities for about 12 hours, with about an hour of total break time in the day. Put simply, it was hard work! I had a laugh with a colleague last night about our 'real' hourly pay...let's just say we were laughing pretty hard!

Despite the long days and short nights, it has been another really good week. If you ignore the day spent locked in an oxygen-starved room, I was really impressed with how my team behaved and interacted during our community visits. Moreover, our presentation showcase was really enjoyable and I made sure my team knew that I was proud of their 'gameshow' performance.

The highlight had to be when, after I suggested that the two teams enter the stage with music playing in the background, we went for our full rehearsal. I knew that one of the teams were using Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" but I had no idea how they would walk down the aisle. I turned to watch and saw the guy in that team with his arms linked with the girls in his team and was almost on the floor laughing. They pulled it off again for the real thing and it was a brilliant start to the show.

My day off was spent getting ready for my dad's 50th at the weekend and taking a day's rest before the continuation of NCS...of which the first day this week, Tuesday, was horrendous for traffic. I spent about 3 hours travelling and felt like I caught up with the last month of pop music! Gotta say, it got me into Adele's new album, which is much better than I expected! The song "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" feels like Adele's voice on a Florence and The Machine track - I've had it on repeat for a few days now!

I've been so busy with working that my free time has basically disintegrated. But I think it's definitely worth it.

Ollie
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

A good week gone, a good week ahead!

As promised, I'm writing another blog one week after my previous one, and it'll be as beefed up as you might expect! If you haven't read that blog, you'll find it somewhere on this site. If you have, you'll know that I spent Wednesday to Sunday in Yorkshire as I started the first week of a new job. Put simply, it was really, really good! Who knew you could have so much fun whilst earning money?! The weather was great and it was just a very good few days with a new bunch of people. The photo below is from Cod Beck Reservoir - as a sucker for panoramas you can imagine what I was like as soon as I got there! I've gotta say the moment of the week for me was when our programme leader (i.e. our boss!) admitted that when he met us on Wednesday he had no idea whether we were staff or were participants that had turned up 2 hours early because we looked so young!

The big news last week, obviously, was that we voted to leave the EU. I woke up to this news on Friday morning and was pretty shocked given the late opinion polls showing a pretty big favouritism towards 'Remain'...which clearly didn't materialise! Those of us at the hostel spent a good 45 mins on our phones checking every bit of news and, in particular, the angry Facebook posts directed towards 'Leave' voters. I can't say I've been overly impressed by the reaction - the 'Remain' voters have been very negative since Friday. Despite the result being the opposite of how I voted, I'm still quite optimistic about our situation and am actually looking forward to see how we develop from here.

I got back from Yorkshire on Sunday and thought I'd try and get on with some tasks and make myself useful. That went down the drain pretty quickly - I was absolutely knackered after 5 early wake-ups in a row! I could barely concentrate for 5 mins so sacked in doing anything productive. Of course, I had to revert to typical me and wake up at 7:30am on Monday as if I had to do anything that day. For the last two days I've just been preparing for this week's work (Wednesday to Sunday again) and watching Wimbledon! Looking forward to another week of NCS!

And to end with a bit of football ranting...I've got to say I was glad that I couldn't watch England last night - out for a Chinese meal for grandad's birthday was a much more enjoyable couple of hours! Let's just say England were embarrassing and we'll leave it at that! Considering the number of resignations over the last week I've decided I'll be running for No.10 and for Head Coach of the England Football Team. All support is welcome :)

Catch y'all later!

Ollie
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

A New Challenge

So exams have finished, signalling the end of my first year at university, my dodgeball career is up and running, the cricket season is in full flow and I've got plenty to look forward to this summer.

I'll never forget that dreadful feeling the day after I finished my A-levels last year. After waiting for so long to just "do nothing", I don't think I've ever had a more boring day in my life. This year, thankfully, there was no repeat as I spent a couple of days with uni mates before everyone left for the summer. I think I spent more time with nearby flatmates in the last week than I did with them since freshers', which was really good. I also sent off my postal vote last week and, despite barely following the EU referendum to the detail it probably warrants, I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

Over the last weekend I was in Manchester going through training for my role as Senior Mentor on NCS with The Challenge this summer - in fact, I'm starting today! To put it simply, I'm leading round a group of 15-17 year-olds and helping their development into more well-rounded people. I can't wait to start and am buzzing for it. Even just meeting loads of cool new people at the training weekend has got me excited, no matter how boring the training was (well, we'll single Saturday afternoon out for that). The energy that these people bring to groups is amazing and I'm hoping I can do the same for my group when it all starts.

I've finally realised, almost one year on, that I just can't blog every day. I'm not sure whether or not it does the view count any good - do people want to read something every day or something more fulfilling every week or so? I'm backing the latter at the moment, and hopefully the blogs will be better as a result :)

To finish, I've got to vent a bit of my frustration from watching England at the Euros. Statistically we've been dominant but it baffles me how Roy Hodgson sticks with a 4-3-3 formation whilst using players that don't suit it. But I won't bore you with football talk.

Here's to a great few days in Yorkshire! I'll be singing Justin Timberlake's new song, "Can't Stop the Feeling", all the way there and back because it's an absolute TUNE.

Ollie
Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

DODGEBALL

I finished my exams last Wednesday and after a few days of drinking, normal business was resumed - i.e. two days of cricket at the weekend, despite the wet weather. However, on Monday "normal business" was put on hold as I travelled down to Leicester with Shieuerz to play a dodgeball tournament. Having got in to Leicester at around 3pm, we were both absolutely knackered having had severely inconsistent sleeps throughout the last week, and as this photo shows we were truly in the mood for some dodgeball:

We met up with the other members of our team at around 5pm, where I was totally outnumbered by pharmaceutical chemists, but also joined by fellow dodgeball debutants. Suited up and ready to go, I suddenly realised we were only playing on badminton-sized courts and the challenge increased ten-fold.

It didn't get any easier after our first match. Playing a team including the men's captain, we were taken down 3 games to nil and could've easily capitulated after that. However, two winnable matches followed and we duly won them 2-1 (courtesy of Shieuerz's unbelievable play when it was 2 v 4) and 3-0, putting us third in our group of five. That left a straight shoot-out against the second-placed team for a place in the semi-finals. We took the first game with a brilliant win, but ultimately couldn't finish the job as their greater experience proved enough to defeat us. We were left with a 5th/6th place play-off which we took 3-2 thanks to some Brendan Rodgers-style 'character' at 2-1 down (after Shieuerz and his dodgeball teammate bottled two games). A 5th placed finish out of 10, solid top half performance.

Of course, the entertainment didn't end there as we headed to the pub to watch the closing stages of Belgium v Italy, before I tanked Shieuerz at pool and we took on 50 chicken wings - unsuccessfully - and headed to bed an hour or so later.

Unfortunately Shieuerz didn't manage to record me holding off a team for a good minute by myself, dodging three balls at a time before succumbing to the pressure. I guess this photo tells you all you need to know about how I fell in love with the game:

Ollie :)

Twitter: @Chowerz

Instagram: chowerz

A Tale of Video Games, YouTube and Opportunities

A few years ago, when my "illustrious" gaming career had just begun and before I ended up dominating the Search and Destroy scene for approximately zero seconds, I decided to go on YouTube to try and learn a few things about Call of Duty: Black Ops that might help me get better at the game. Eventually, I clicked on a video from a channel named 'TheSyndicateProject' (real name: Tom Cassell) that was demonstrating how to improve at the Zombies mode on Black Ops. It was a mode I'd struggled on for quite a while until the video taught me a method that I would go on to use every time I went on Zombies - and it worked a treat. With every new map that was brought into the game, I would head back over to TheSyndicateProject to discover everything I needed about the new map so I could succeed again.

Just over a year later I pretty much stopped playing video games. I took a break from COD after a sustained period of "success" on Modern Warfare 3, and have only occasionally picked up the Xbox controller since then. However, I didn't stop watching COD videos on YouTube. Well, truth be told, I wasn't really watching videos because COD was the featured content - I'd found a few channels that I subscribed to whom I liked the personalities behind the videos. These people were funny and entertaining, so I kept watching. When I look at it now, it became, and still is, my "television". I can count on one hand the number of TV shows I actually keep track of and watch regularly - there really aren't many at all - but I followed these YouTubers online like any normal person would tune in each week for the next episode of a drama series.

Towards the back end of 2015 I was on YouTube again and a vlog of Tom's was in my recommended videos, so I watched it. I quickly found out that he'd been in the USA and Russia and now had an apartment in Los Angeles to add to his home in the UK, as well as a company based in LA. To this day I've been hooked to his vlogging channel, SyndicateCentral, and haven't missed a vlog for ages. If I miss one day, I'll just double up and watch two on the next day. What I find most amazing is how I first came across Tom five years ago when I wanted video game tips, yet for some reason I am absolutely hooked to his vlogs to find out what he's been up to every single day. I honestly can't put a finger on why I watch them - his life is worlds away from mine (and he swears way too much for my liking!) - but at the end of the day I see someone inspired by others, inspirational to others and who is appreciative and grateful for where they are now. Most importantly, he does what he enjoys and takes every opportunity that comes his way, and that is what I take away most from his videos. Despite the differences between us, I'd like to think we promote the same message: take the chances you get to enjoy life as much as possible. I'd say it's working for me - and it's definitely working for Tom.

I doubt he needs any more exposure than he's already got but his vlogging channel is here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/SyndicateCentral

Ollie :)

Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

An update...

So I've updated my blog page layout to look a bit more aesthetic...the background picture is from a holiday last summer to Spain, where we found some beautiful coastal views that took little effort and time to get to.

I had my first exam last Friday and have got another week or so before I hit the barrage of 4 in 9 days. I've planned my revision and it looks like I'll be having one day off (to play cricket) in the next fortnight or so. Fun, I know!

Last Friday I used the oven for the first time in months. Shoved some chicken thighs, potatoes, carrots and peppers in for 35 mins with the minimal seasoning and it came out like a dream.

...and unfortunately that's the best I can offer you for a blog right now! :/ Just realised it's been exactly a month since my last post on 23rd April. Oops.

Ollie

Twitter: @Chowerz
Instagram: @chowerz

Cheers, Oscar.

Dear Oscar,

I'm writing to thank you very much for inviting me to celebrate your birthday last night. Since you haven't replied to my Facebook message I thought I'd go down the more public route and try and wake you up from your hangover. Maybe having 6 Jaegers at 9pm is not the best way to start the night?

I can say I certainly had a top night. Having somewhere decent to go out in Fallowfield makes nights out so much easier. None of that bus journey into town and darting around Manchester in the cold. Just a simple 2 minute walk there and back coupled with a cheeky trip into Kebab King and the night is done.

Hope you've moved from passing out on the floor.

Lots of love,

Ollie x

Why blog?

After blogging yesterday and having a chat to Shieuerz about recording our lives in such a way, I've decided to try and blog on consecutive days for what must be the first time in months.

When I started this blog my intention was to just make an account of what had happened on a day-to-day basis, whilst occasionally having a deep thought and getting that down in a more thoughtful blog. When you lack the audience and lack the interesting factor then it's hard. I'm at university and, contrary to popular belief, there is work to do in first year! Factor in everything that I do outside of studying (golf, tennis, football, refereeing) as well as socialising and you have a pretty hectic schedule with little time for a blog.

Blogging/vlogging has become more and more popular recently. Shieuerz and I were discussing why people do blogs/vlogs, especially without a large audience. We concluded that we just do it for ourselves, using it as somewhere to just keep a record of things. If people read it, great, if not, then no worries. I know my life isn't that interesting to many people, which I'm fine with. I like it and that's just about all that matters.

I wish I could blog something interesting every day, but my life is not interesting enough and I just don't have the time! I'll be picking up on this again in the near future.

Ollie :)

Is referee abuse acceptable?

This morning I read that Roy Hodgson, manager of the England football team, has said that Jamie Vardy's reaction to being sent off by referee Jon Moss was "understandable". The BBC article is here (and note that I'm not interested in his opinion on whether or not Vardy dived):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36095979

A brief summary: The Football Association (FA), who employ Hodgson, has charged Vardy with improper conduct for his actions following his dismissal. I have no idea what Vardy said but let's just assume he said some 'choice words' to Jon Moss and was gesticulating aggressively towards him (which I have seen for myself on Match of the Day). Again, I'm not interested in what happened during the game, I'm interested in Hodgson and what he's said.

So Hodgson has publicly disagreed with his employers, but what is more concerning is that he appears to be condoning conduct towards referees that may be abusive, insulting or offensive in nature. If Vardy gets away with the conduct he showed on Sunday, what implications does it have for football in general? I have no doubt that this will worsen the attitude towards referees that is already bad enough. There are enough things that have fed through from the top of the game to the grassroots level that have had a negative impact, and the attitude towards referees is certainly one of them. When I was at a referee's meeting yesterday, we were told that no one in the Premier League has been sent off for offensive, insulting or abusive language in the past 6 years. I have absolutely no doubt that Premier League footballers have said worse things to referees that I have heard at grassroots level and not even been spoken to about it.

It's certainly made me think about how I want to approach this sort of attitude in the future. I'm not sure why Hodgson would even respond to such a question in the first place - surely if you have a different opinion than The FA then you'd just shut up and keep it private? Absolutely bizarre to me.

Ollie
I'm on Instagram too now, @chowerz

Ludovico Einaudi - Minimum Complexity, Maximum Effect

I went to see Ludovico Einaudi on Monday evening at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. I started listening to him and playing his music just over two years ago and was looking forward to the concert, even if I was a little tired having just finished two pieces of written work the night before.

I was obviously expecting that the concert would be musically exceptional, and it was. Everything he does with his music has even given me ideas about what I could change to my own playing. I knew some of the pieces he was playing and it was interesting to compare how I imagine playing it to how he performed it.

I was most surprised by the visual aspects of the concert, which I definitely wasn't expecting. It was very simple but had a massive effect without doing much. He basically just had a projector with a few moving objects/animals/people in the background. The lighting was stunningly effective and, again, the visual images in my mind were vastly different to those projected on-screen.

When you listen to Einaudi on CD (or wherever) you imagine a guy at a piano with maybe a handful of other musicians around him. That's what was there, but I never imagined what that would come to live. It started out as a very well-constructed and beautifully performed set but two and a half hours later resembled a rock concert with flashing lights and climatic pieces.

I can safely say I have never had an experience at a live music event like this. Quite frankly, he is a God.

Thanks,

Ollie :)

Funneh Stuff

A couple of brilliant moments have occurred in the last two days. Here we go...

Ever had one of those dreams where you dream of something and it translates to a real-life action? I've been in my dad's car and asleep before waking up having kicked the glovebox because I dreamt I was making a tackle in football. Well, yesterday (Thursday) morning at around 0400 local time I was fast asleep until in my dream I needed to kick out for one reason or another. Next thing I knew my left calf had cramped up and I was lying there half-conscious and screaming "AARRRRGGHHHHH!!!!!" I can still feel it in my calf now (Friday evening). Make of it what you will.

Today, I was waiting for the bus after my labs and a bus came that wasn't for me. But another guy came through the crowd as it was for him. So he walked through and accidentally stood on my foot. He said, "Sorry". I said, "Don't worry, it's only a yellow card". It went straight over the guy's head. My friend I was with laughed. No one else did. I thought it was funny. Oh well.

Oli :)

My Holiday Blog

The joke on me is that I'm a granddad. My 'blistering' pace across the tennis court, creaking body and elderly habits do me no favours in this area. Of course I can take the joke, but I've felt like a granddad these past 12 days: coughing horrendously when breathing 'fresh' air; barely able to do any strenuous movement without ending up almost collapsed on the floor; sapped of energy almost throughout the day. If I was being selfish, I'd describe the last week or so as the worst Christmas I've ever had. But, obviously, that's not true at all.

Instead of moaning about the last two weeks of 2015, I think I'll recap on the other 50 weeks that weren't too bad.

The word 'academic' sticks out when I think back on the year. A lot, if not all, of the year was about getting into uni, then going to uni. At the moment I'm still very much focused on the 6 exams I've got later this month, and I feel like it's the first time in a while I've had a chance to 'zone out', almost, and give myself time to reflect. I don't know if I say this in every blog but, as desperate as I am to do the best I can at uni, it won't be the end of the world if I don't get exactly what I want from it. Something else is also a big part of uni and, no, drinking isn't what I'm thinking. Many people see uni as a chance to be more independent etc. and I feel as though I've learnt enough things about myself in three months to fill a thousand pages. I'm in a very good place and there are many new people (and a song!) I've met that I am extremely thankful for.

I learnt things over summer too. I learnt how important it is to live life on my own terms - not letting other people's interests determine what I do - so I learnt plenty about myself and what I really wanted. I think my summer hinged on one moment, which I'll put down as my personal moment of 2015: seeing my friend looking completely crestfallen after prom and deciding that we had to help him. Two things came of that: 1. a great friendship; 2. a terrible feeling of almost-hatred fighting against a desire to forgive and forget. I'm very happy with the first one. The second, I'm still not sure which way I'll fall but I hope I'll never have to go through it again.

To family and friends, thanks for what you've done for me in 2015 and best wishes for 2016!

Thanks,

Oli :)
Twitter: @Chowerz