Movember is over – thank you!

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is over. I spent 30 days cultivating a moustache to promote the cause of men’s health. I was motivated by the case of my father who was diagnosed with potentially terminal prostate cancer earlier this year.

Along the way I’ve been compared to a Mexican bandit, a Texan prison escapee, an Arizonan murderer, Yosemite Sam, Hulk Hogan, a Belgian(!) and “the type of guy who goes into the Oklahoma branch of McDonalds and shoots everyone!”

My apologies to any Mexicans, Americans or Belgians offended…

The end of Movember

Thanks to many of you I raised £766 to fight prostate cancer. Among the sponsors, to my astonishment, two people I have never met (via Facebook and Twitter).

To all of you, thank you!

Some of you have asked about my father. He had a course of radiotherapy over the summer, and then a fresh PSA test a few weeks ago. The level was extremely low. With the caveat that PSA tests are notoriously unreliable, the result suggests his prostate cancer was virtually undetectable. We are heartened by this, of course, but we continue to pray for his health.

In the meantime, if you want to donate, you still can.

 

I won’t be shaving much in November. Here’s why…

The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
yet is their strength labor and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
(Psalm 90v10, KJV)

Three score years and ten… Or in contemporary street slang, seventy years. According to the words of an ancient prayer, those are “the days of our years.”

I recently passed a symbolic milestone: my 35^th birthday. Psalm 90 suggests I’m halfway through the days of my years. The proverbial bus could kill me tomorrow of course; and perhaps “reason of strength” will prolong my years. But I can’t deny the milestone causes a little reflection.

British life expectancy is 79.4, almost four score years. But most of the world’s population will not live to 70. The global average life expectancy is just 67.2. In Swaziland, it’s just 39.6. If I was born there, I might now be in the twilight of my years.

Movember - Day 25

My father was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer earlier this year. Without asking his consultant, he was told rather bluntly he had about four years to live. He is 65, 30 years but a day older than me. He was preparing to enjoy his twilight years: scaling back his work, sailing, playing music and enjoying more time with his family, including a young grandson.

But my father’s fate feels imminent. It looms on the near horizon for him, my mother and the rest of those close to him. He doesn’t want to leave us, and we don’t want to lose him. Life is short. We must all face our own mortality; but it is a tough blow, at any age, to learn your remaining years are numbered on the fingers of just one hand.

David and Dad on the water

Perhaps the prognosis is wrong. The celebrated case is that of the freed Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi: still alive two years after a medical prognosis of three months. But he will die with terminal cancer and my father will too. Despite our prayers, it will almost certainly kill him.

Cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer in men. One in nine men will be diagnosed with this cancer at some point in their lives. In 2008, 37,051 new cases were diagnosed and 10,168 men died from it. Incidentally, lung cancer affects fewer men, but kills many more.

Most victims survive prostate cancer. Indeed it poses no significant threat to most of the men it affects. Others are treated successfully, but a quarter cannot be cured.

Prostate cancer is much more likely to strike older men, especially after the age of 45. Those whose brother or father are affected are twice as likely as others to develop the cancer themselves. Other risk factors include obesity, low levels of vitamin D, high alcohol intake, and elevated blood levels of testosterone.

Because of the familial risk factor, in a few years time, I must decide whether to be tested for potential prostate cancer.

Currently, the primary early test is the prostate specific antigen blood test. But the PSA test is controversial. The NHS insists doctors discuss the pros and cons with any patient prior to testing. The PSA test is unreliable and risky. It sometimes fails to reveal cancer, it sometimes suggests the presence of cancer when there is none and it sometimes reveals harmless cancers, which may lead to unnecessary and perhaps even counterproductive treatment.

Due to the risks, there is no prostate cancer screening programme in the UK. But there are obvious risks too, in not testing. Early treatment is normally more successful, and that is only possible when a cancer is known.

A new urine test for the engrailed-2 (EN2) protein may offer fresh hope. Possibly as easy as a pregnancy test, scientists at the University of Surrey believe it is twice as effective as the PSA test. Pending wider trials, and cautious voices, the EN2 method could be available in a year’s time.

However, a biopsy is the only test which can fully confirm a prostate cancer diagnosis.

I want to promote the fight against prostate cancer and help raise funds to fight it. I will cultivate a moustache throughout the month of November to be a living embodiment of the ‘Movember’ cause.

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.
(Movember UK)

I will shave my upper lip for the last time on the evening of 31^st October; and then not again until 1^st December. As an introvert, I am a little nervous about walking the streets of Geneva with a baby mo. But it will be a worthy endeavour… I promise!

Please visit my Movember page and give a little spare change.

Sharp!

Your donation will go to a good cause. One of the beneficiaries is the Prostate Cancer Charity. Its Movember programmes include the following:

• Specialist Cancer Nurses on a dedicated Helpline
• 14 research projects
• A Prostate Cancer Master Class for health professionals
• Funds for Men’s Health Materials
• A Community of Champions for the high-risk African Caribbean community

Survivorship and Support ‘Couples’ project

Prostate cancer remains relatively low in public consciousness. I feel it needs the attention, and the issue certainly needs resources.

Just click here to donate!

 

Complex and uncompetitive, the energy market needs a shakeup

So domestic energy prices are in the news again. They’re too high, it seems, and the government is promising to work “harder and faster” to cut bills.

The main problem is the global price of oil and gas, which is set by supply and demand. Both oil and gas are nearing peak production, but demand for energy continues to rise. So prices will too. See Peak Oil and Peak Gas.

But, in the UK, another major problem is the behaviour of energy retailers, especially the Big Six: British Gas, Eon, npower, EdF, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern Energy. A 2008 investigation by OFGEM found no evidence of price collusion, but raised several concerns about temporary tariffs and price information.

The complexity of domestic tariffs is mindboggling. Don’t even bother trying to compare them without the latest version of Excel and a chartered accountant watching over your shoulder. This, I believe, is an example of market failure, and a key explanation for uncompetitive prices. A partial, if imperfect, solution to this is uSwitch, which has enabled many customers to identify better deals more easily.

In some cases, mis-selling is an issue. I was misled into accepting a contract from one of the Big Six in July. When I realised it wasn’t what was promised, I queried it. My tariff was explained but the original promise remained unfulfilled, so I switched to another provider and made a formal complaint. It’s not easy to do this; I had to assert my case vehemently to reach the complaints department. The good news is I received £100 compensation, and a promise that appropriate action would be taken, after the original sales call was reviewed.

The pressure for companies to compete effectively in a failed marketplace is enormous. Mis-selling is to be expected, but must be condemned.

Last week, OFGEM announced measures to simplify the market. While ‘innovative’ tariffs will still be available, simple no-frills tariff options will be compulsory, and easily comparable. A standing charge will be set by OFGEM, and companies will compete on a simple unit price. The complexity of today’s market could give way to price leadership in future, but I believe it is an essential intervention.

The average dual fuel bill now stands at £1,345pa (£112 per month). For most of us, that is a big dent in our budget. Many consumers are already in fuel poverty with lesser bills. We all deserve to understand the price of our fuel; at the moment that is all but impossible.

 

Threatening marriages for a fast buck

Last year I joined a campaign against an advert for a website facilitating marital infidelity. Now marital infidelity is not illegal; at least insofar as it is not criminal. But it is a breach of contract with the person to whom one has promised to “forsake all others”.

As part of the campaign, 420 people complained to the ASA, ranking the advert among the most controversial of 2010 (measured by volume  of complaints).

The ASA complaints were rejected, but after just a few days we persuaded the website to withdraw its advertising. It may have determined that the publicity generated through our campaign generated all the attention it needed.

For more background, see my two blog posts on the campaign, Uncomplicated Adult Fun and Extraordinary Influence. As a sidebar, the former drew a lot of traffic when I posted the title on Facebook. I wonder what you expected to find!

Now, on the same platform (White Label Dating), a new website, with the same raison d’être, is advertising on British streets.

The best solution to the challenge of marriage? (web address cropped)

So it’s back to campaigning again. White Label Dating is owned and managed by Global Personals, and that’s where our campaign is focused. If you want to get involved, please follow the campaign steps suggested here by Jon Kuhrt.

I note that Global Personals was recently shortlisted for a Blackberry Growth Strategy award. I’m sure their growth rate has been impressive, but for me a company’s value is about more than just its bottom line.

Through its dating websites, Global Personals has given birth to many positive relationships, and that is to be commended.

But a quick web search raises a big question mark over how reputable the company really is. There seem to be many unsatisfied customers of its dating sites; they raise important questions about the integrity of the business. In my view, websites which prey on vulnerable marriages should have no place in the revenue stream of any reputable business.

‘An ethical approach to business’ is one of the criteria for the Blackberry Growth Strategy award. The National Business Awards will need to consider this as they select their winner.

 

Anders Behring Breivik – probably not a ‘fundamentalist Christian’

As news broke of the terrible tragedies in Oslo and Utøya, many of us will have suspected an Islamist link. In the UK, the Sun was the most prominent culprit, but there were others. Islamist terrorism has become all too familiar after 9/11, Madrid, London, Bali and countless others in the Islamic world.

But these dreadful attacks were caused not by an Islamist, but by a self-professed Christian named Anders Behring Breivik. He described them as “gruesome but necessary” and pledged to explain why. Norwegian police say that while he has admitted the killings, he has not accepted criminal responsibility for them.

Yesterday many churches around the world prayed for the survivors of the terrible tragedy in Norway. Congregations abhorred the actions of the perpetrator, who – to western eyes – looks stereotypically angelic compared with our prejudiced ideas of what a contemporary terrorist should look like.

Stereotypically angelic?

In the not-too-distant past, such a person was white, a bit rough and sounded like me, but with a slightly more sinister Northern Irish lilt. He was ‘Republican’ or ‘Loyalist’, but never (except in ignorant circles) ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’. I grew up surrounded by tribal conflict, but it was not ‘Christian terrorism’.

Shortly after the attacks, the police suggested Brievik was a ‘Christian fundamentalist’. They also pointed out his far-right ideology and his freemasonry.

Whether or not Brievik is a freemason is simply a point of fact. So too would be his membership of a particular church. Both questions should deliver a straightforward answer.

But is he – as he claims – a Christian?

Christians, the world over, will hate the idea that the man who bombed Oslo, killing 8, and later shot dead 68 people on Utøya claims to be drawn from their community. I must disclose I am a Christian; it makes me feel deeply embarrassed, but not ashamed.

I am not ashamed, because it is not Christian behaviour. It runs counter to the teachings of Christ, and it is not typical of Christian people.

However, none of us can discern the salvation of another. We may judge the behaviour, but not the person. And since “all have sinned” [Romans 3v23], Brievik is, in a narrow sense, just like the rest of us. God will judge us all in good time.

Let Brievik describe himself as he chooses. But he is not a ‘fundamentalist Christian’. The characteristics of such a person are debatable (see the comments thread for more!), but surely include the following:

• Respects and obeys the Ten Commandments, including “Thou shalt not kill [murder].”
• Follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, who instructed us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… [and] love your neighbour as yourself” [Matthew 22v37&39]
• Follows the example of Jesus, who, after His arrest, instructed Peter to put away his sword.
• Exhibits the fruit of the Spirit, ie “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” [Galatians 5v22-23]

We all fall short from time to time, but in his behaviour on Friday, Anders Behring Breivik showed no evidence of fundamentalist Christianity.

But was his behaviour motivated by his warped understanding of Christianity? If so, then of course this should be reflected in the media. But it must be carefully expressed.

I used the term ‘Islamism’ to refer to the cause for some of the terrorist atrocities of recent years. These attacks were born of a very particular understanding of militant Islam. It is a critical part of the story. But to describe those attacks as Islamic would be both offensive and wrong. To describe the perpetrators as ‘fundamentalist Muslims’ would be equally offensive to many and probably wrong too.

We live in a fallen world where some people do evil things. They will blame others for their deeds, or point to a religious or political cause. Sometimes that cause has merit, sometimes not. Our efforts to understand such a cause should neither be advanced nor set back by the actions of one individual, especially one like Anders Behring Breivik. But we should seek separately to understand him and his story to prevent a repeat of the terrible events of last Friday.

UPDATE (26 July 2011): Essential to our understanding of Breivik is his own perspective on Christianity. I stumbled across this post by Timothy Dalrymple in which this is explored. It is worth a read. Indeed he quotes from Brievik’s own manifesto, in a section entitled “Distinguishing between cultural Christendom and religious Christendom”

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian.

As Dalrymple asserts, “no, actually it doesn’t.” But Brievik’s comments help us better understand what kind of a war he sought to wage. A tribal war. A clash of civilisations, not a promulgation of any religious idea. Not fundamentally Christian at all.

 

Genève – a month on…

Today marks one month in Switzerland. Vanessa and I are just about settled in Geneva and living here until December.

Thus far, the decision to come feels inspired (though the job offer helped). I’m on a six month contract with the European Broadcasting Union, working as a news editor on the Eurovision News Exchange.

“Eurovision!” I hear you cry, “the song contest?”

Yes indeed. There is a Eurovision Song Contest, and it too is produced by the EBU. It is the flagship event for an organisation which primarily shares news and sport content between its 65 European member broadcasters and other partners. My role is in news and if the powers-that-be have any wit they’ll keep me well away from the music and dance!

Me and one of my satellites

Work is going well so far. I’m a week into my substantive work, after three weeks of training, shadowing and leading the news desk with support. It’s a challenging job, relentless at times, and I’ve much still to learn. It’s a great opportunity, both for career development and the chance to sojourn in another city, in another country…

We are blessed with the location of our apartment. It’s an Ikea studio (with no other obvious influences) in an area called Pâquis, with lots of bars, restaurants and shops very close by. The main train station is just ten minutes walk. In that respect it’s like living in King’s Cross. My relocation agent described the area as ‘hot’, which is a euphemism for the thriving local sex industry. The King’s Cross metaphor is apt, but Soho may be even better.

With a fair wind, I can get to work in 25 minutes. And we’re just three minutes walk from Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman as it’s known locally) and the popular Bain des Pâquis, where on Sunday last week (when it was scorching) we joined hundreds of others to swim in the lake. There’s a nearby park too, so there’s little excuse for me not to keep up with my exercise!

Lake Geneva's annual Bol d'Or regatta

Everyone seems to know that Geneva is the most expensive city in Europe. ‘Everyone’ warned us before we arrived. But it still came as a shock. The conversion rate is about £1.00=CHF 1.35. So you might expect a £10 Sloppy Giuseppe in London to cost CHF 13.50 in Geneva. Not so. I need to at least double what I would spend (in £s) in London to estimate the price (in CHF) in Geneva. So that pizza? About CHF 20, or £15. It’s the same with supermarket food, beer, coffee; and as I’ve discovered, kettles and toasters too. There are exceptions:

• Travel within Geneva is cheap; CHF 70 per month covers local buses, trams, trains and commuter boats.
• But Guinness is eye wateringly expensive, with a single can retailing at CHF 4.40 (£3.20). That’s thrice the London price.

Of course, it’s not London. That’s the point. There are many differences, but life is comfortable here, as in any other western European city. There are many less hospitable places in our world!

I am lucky Vanessa is here to share it with me. For me to come, her consent was essential, but I’d rather not be here without her. Her support has been invaluable, and her company especially. But in so many practical ways she has made life easier for me. Her share of the cooking, cleaning and shopping has gone up exponentially. I hereby promise to redress the balance!

Vanessa and the Jet d'Eau

So how has Vanessa found her time in Geneva? Her debut contribution to the World of Wad speaks for itself:

Well, here I am making my debut appearance on David’s blog!  David’s job with EBU has brought us to Geneva for six months.  I am, what I like to refer to as a “semi-tourist”.  I work as a Therapeutic Counsellor back in the UK (at Feel Free) and have had to finish a lot of my work in order to come here.  I am currently seeing two clients using a webcam and Skype which is a new experience and one which brings its own challenges.  Our internet connection was dodgy for the first few weeks, which has interrupted my work, and I am learning to try to attend to my client’s feelings without the familiarity and intimacy of face to face contact.  I have also set myself a challenge whilst I am here.  I have enough client experience now to apply for accreditation with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. That will involve putting together a 9,000 word application including case study.  It will be like being back at university!

The weather here has been phenomenal and has been about 2 degrees hotter than the UK from what I can tell from BBC Weather.  The temperature reached a heady 35 degrees on one day and reminded me of my time in Cambodia!  As such I have been making the most of the sunbathing opportunities whilst David is at work.  The lake is a feature point of life in Geneva and there are plenty of scenic spots to enjoy the view, a good book and a cup of coffee.  I am trying to avoid the Starbucks so I can practice my French! The main language here is French but English is widely spoken so I could get away with speaking my mother tongue if I wanted to.  But there is something about all the free time I’ve got which is making me want to learn French!  I really enjoyed French at school and got an ‘A’ in my GCSE so I have the basics, but to be able to speak conversational French by the time I leave would be amazing.  Perhaps I am hoping for too much but I can only try!

It would be unlike me not to mention the shopping opportunities here!  Louis Vuitton, John Paul Gaultier and Christian Louboutin have all experienced me gawking in their windows, dribbling slightly.  I was relieved to find H&M and a reasonably priced store called Chicoree.   And guess what?  Does anyone remember C&A?  The UK shop that clothed a thousand teenagers, and went bust in the ‘90s?  It is still alive and thriving in Geneva!

I would love to make some friends here as there is the potential for me to become lonely with David being at work all day.  We are currently church hopping looking for somewhere to settle and perhaps that will be a place to find friends.  We have experienced the relative formality of a Church of England church and also a black majority church with a three hour service whose music was so incredible it sent shivers down my spine!

We have been out several times in the evening and are pleased to find that we have a huge choice of bars and restaurants.  We even went clubbing the other day, but left after we realised that they didn’t have any of our favourite drinks on the menu, and I got chatted up by what appeared to be a 15 year old boy using the line “moi et toi?”  Probably the equivalent to “Do you come here often?” in the UK!

I’m relieved I got back from the bar before she said “Oui!”

Before arriving in Geneva, I spent most tube journeys listening to an MP3, muttering to myself, and brushing up on my (very weak) French. My GCSE performance produced an ‘E’ to compete with Vanessa’s ‘A’-grade! My work is conducted primarily in English, though French broadcasters prefer to deal with us in their mother tongue. That’s perfectly reasonable; British broadcasters prefer to deal with us in English, and I can do no other. I managed a recent telephone conversation with a French colleague in which we both spoke only in our home language, but somehow managed to complete the transaction successfully… These challenges can only help.

Cheesy...

Switzerland is an unusual country. It is one of the oldest nations in Europe and its neutrality is renowned. Perhaps it’s born of a lack of clear identity. French is just one of four main languages, the others being German, Italian and Romansh.

The political system is odd. The country is governed by a seven-member Federal Council. They choose a new President from among their number every year. I doubt many of you will have heard of the current incumbent. The politicians have limited power and most major decisions are taken in local or national referenda. Very egalitarian; very Swiss. But, as my Swiss colleagues acknowledge, it’s hardly the most efficient way to run a country.

So is Swiss-efficiency a myth? Quite possibly. I came here last October to interview for this job. I found myself negotiating roadworks in the city centre. Those same roadworks are still there, unprogressed. Despite that, the transport system seems to run well (as it does normally in London). Certain things are absurdly bureaucratic, and our broadband connection took four weeks to establish.

It’s not all bad. Clocks work, and when they don’t they wrap hazard tape over them. Chocolate, cheese and knives are readily available. Apparently it is possible to open a bank account here too.

It’s unfair to judge the whole of Switzerland from just a month in Geneva. We’re itching to explore more widely. So that’s next. We’ll do that and report back.

 

La Figa

By the Munching Mariner (published East End Life, 12 June 2011)

“That meat is perfection” – My Thirst Mate favoured my own dish to hers, but we were both very happy with our food at La Figa.

I’d finished work late, so it was 9pm before we arrived at the restaurant. It was a Tuesday evening and the place was buzzing. My Thirst Mate immediately identified a dessert she wanted later, so we opened with a basket of garlic pizza to share and checked out the rest of the menu.

The garlic pizza was a generous portion and included tomato and herbs; very appetising. There was a large range of other pizzas and pastas available, but we both settled on a meat dish.

My Thirst Mate ordered Pollo La Figa, a portion of chicken wrapped up in a parcel of breadcrumbs along with spinach and mozzarella. It was unusual, and evidently exclusive to the restaurant. The elements work well together and even better alongside the sautéed potatoes and salad served with both our meals.

My own choice was Filletto di Manzo al Pepe Verde; cooked medium. We always share a bite of each other’s dishes, but despite my Thirst Mate’s spoken enthusiasm for my food, I kept most of it to myself. This dish was very thick cut fillet steak soaked in green pepper sauce. It was one of the pricier items from the specials menu but worth a rare treat.

I washed it down with a glass of Montepulciano as recommended by our waitress.

It was getting late by the time we ordered our desserts, but these were worth staying for. My Thirst Mate had Tiramisu, and for me, Crème Brûlée. The Tiramisu was light, fluffy and not too rich. My Crème Brûlée, not an easy one to get right, was also well composed.

The service was proficient and friendly, seemingly mostly Italian. The restaurant itself was bright and spacious, majoring on red and yellow pastels.

Our bill came to £73.65 including two glasses of wine and two soft drinks, but excluding service. This is more than we’d normally spend, but it’s hard to fault the food or the overall experience.

La Figa is at The Mosaic Building, off Narrow Street, E14 8DN. Telephone 020 7790 0077.

 

Bengal Classic

by the Munching Mariner (published 22 May 2011)

My Thirst Mate and I had heard rumours of good food at Bengal Classic so we felt duty-bound to verify this for our loyal readers.

It was a Friday evening. We arrived without a booking, while it was still quiet. We noted the attractive decor around us. A large tiger (surely of the Bengal variety) stared down from the ceiling. I enjoyed the Indian string music played softly in the background throughout the evening.

After taking our order of poppadoms and drinks our waiter left us with the extensive menu. We are big fans of Indian/Bengali food, so it didn’t take long to find something suitable.

To start, my Thirst Mate ordered aloo chat (potato-based) and I ordered chatpotti (chickpeas and hard-boiled egg). They were both served in a tasty tomato-based sauce and whet the appetite for the rest of the meal.

My Thirst Mate’s choice of main course was lamb korahi, a medium-spiced dish with capsicum, served in an iron wok. The meat was nicely cooked and the sauce was thick and satisfying.

My order was described as a Bangladeshi speciality, particularly popular in the relatively wealthy city of Sylhet. Murgh (chicken) Jaflongi could be popular anywhere. The sauce contained shatkora, a local citrus fruit bringing an element of sourness to the feast.

To accompany the dishes, we had pilau rice, an excellent special rice and peshwari naan. It should be no surprise the peshwari was sweet, but we noticed all our dishes carried an edge of sweetness. So my Jaflongi was both sweet and sour (but very tasty) and even the rice was a little sweet.

The meal certainly measured up to our high expectations.

What marred the experience a little was that a few young people were in and out like yo-yos chatting to mates dining in the restaurant. Perhaps being sat next to the door made this all the more noticeable.

The experience was otherwise a good one and a restaurant we would recommend. The service was welcoming and attentive and the venue was certainly popular.

Our bill came to £34.25 excluding service.

Bengal Classic is at 11 Pennyfields, just 2 minutes away from Westferry DLR, E14 8HP. Telephone 020 7517 9955.