Do more. Do it faster. Meet The iPhone 3GS. With new features like a remarkable video camera, Voice Control and more, it’s the best iPhone yet. With 32GB, there’s also room for your favourite music and movies.

Thats right people, Vodafone have finaly released the iPhone to their customers. There are currently 5 models available;

• The Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB White
• The Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB Black
• The Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB White
• The Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB Black
• The Apple iPhone 3G.

With prices starting from £30 per month and loads of contracts to choose from weather you are ready for an upgrade or just thinking about a change there is sure to be something to suit your individual needs

Chech out all the latest deals now

Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone 3G, Apple iPhone 3GS, Compare Mobile Phones, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Home Electricals and Computers, iPhone, Mobile Phone, Vodafone

Dream auction 2 launched today, which means that for the next 12 days you can bid online for a fantastic array of items, with proceeds going to the Childs Voice Appeal.

From Christmas baubles to Xboxes; holidays to horse training; opportunities to meet our celebrity endorsers Ant and Dec, Peter Andre, Deborah Meadon and Jodie Kidd, and the ultimate invitation to Vanity Fair’s Oscar party, there is bound to be something for everyone.

There are a few ways that you can help to spread the word:

• Check out the site, www.dreamauction2.co.uk and get bidding today! Tell your friends and family too.
• Update your Facebook status with “I’m bidding now at dreamauction2.co.uk”

·  Ask friends and family to post web banners on their websites – please contact Fundraising Manager Debbie Herald for these.

Happy bidding!

Tags: Ant and Dec, Deborah Meadon, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Jodie Kidd, NSPCC, Peter Andre

Celebrity Chef, Tony Tobin is urging runners who are signed up for the Virgin London Marathon 2010 to add extra meaning to their 26.2 miles by raising money for the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal.

Individuals who have been allocated a place in the main draw for the race have now been notified, and Tony Tobin, who will run the 2010 London Marathon for the NSPCC is appealing for those people to join the charity’s team and fundraise for the NSPCC.

It is hoped that the event will raise near to £1m for the Child’s Voice Appeal, which aims to raise £50 million to maintain and grow the NSPCC’s helplines, text and online counselling services.

Celebrity Chef, Tony Tobin, said: “I am delighted to be part of teamGO for 2010’s London Marathon and fully support the NSPCC’s plans to extend both their vital ChildLine service and their Helpline for adults who are concerned about a child.

“Deciding to set a personal challenge and fundraise is no easy task, however I believe that taking that step and knowing you are doing it to support others certainly drives you forward and makes you determined to achieve your goals. The incentive of being part of teamGO is knowing that the vital funds you raise will benefit vulnerable children and young people and I hope more people will join our team.”

Runners who join the NSPCC London Marathon teamGO will receive a pack which includes:

• Sponsorship forms
• Training advice
• NSPCC running vest
• A chance to meet other team members at a training day
• Regular newsletters
• Dedicated cheering teams around the course to help support their efforts
• Celebrations at our post-race reception and a well-earned massage

Sarah Foster, NSPCC fundraiser, said: “Taking part in the London Marathon is a great event with an incredible atmosphere. Sadly, a third of children who call ChildLine can’t get through to talk to someone. By raising money at this event you will be helping answer many more children’s cries for help so that no voice goes unheard. Please help us by pulling on your trainers, donning your fundraising cap and helping to bring in the pounds for the NSPCC.”

Any runners who are signed up to take part in next year’s London Marathon on 25 April 2010 and would like to find out more about running for the NSPCC, should call Sarah Foster on 020 7825 2621 or email gorunning@nspcc.org.uk

For more info on NSPCC visit http://www.charities-direct.co.uk/charities/nspcc.htm

Tags: Charities, child protection, Child Safety, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), London Marathon, NSPCC, Tony Tobin

Nearly 90 per cent of people in the UK back proposals to stop under 18s from using sunbeds according to a new survey by Cancer Research UK, today.

The results also show that 90 per cent of people want all sunbed salons to be staffed at all times. And 91 per cent want salons to provide health information to all users making sure they are aware of the health risks of using sunbeds.

The survey* – carried out by YouGov – questioned more than 2000 people from across the UK.

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK’s head of policy, said: “These results show the overwhelming support from the public for laws to be introduced to ensure that sunbeds are properly regulated and that people are aware of the dangers of using sunbeds.

“Cancer Research UK is calling for England, Northern Ireland and Wales to follow in the footsteps of Scotland and stop under 18s from using sunbeds, close salons that aren’t supervised by trained staff and ensure information about the risks of using sunbeds is given to all customers.

“The rates of malignant melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – are rapidly rising in the UK and experts believe that, along with binge tanning on foreign holidays, using sunbeds is one of the main reasons. Legislation would be a fantastic step in the right direction to help prevent people developing the disease.

“This survey follows the COMARE report which categorically states that there are no health benefits from using sunbeds. And with the huge public support revealed in these latest results the government should act now.”

For media enquiries please contact the press office on 020 7061 8300 or, out-of-hours, the duty press officer on 07050 264 059.
Notes to Editors:
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2053 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd – 6th July 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
To what extent you support or oppose restricting the use of sunbeds in salons to over-18s only?
Strongly support: 64%
Support: 23%
Oppose: 3%
Strongly oppose: 1%
Don’t know: 8%
To what extent you support or oppose measures to ensure that all sunbed salons are staffed so that customers are shown how to use the equipment and sunbed use is supervised?
Strongly support: 65%
Support: 25%
Oppose: 1%
Strongly oppose: 1%
Don’t know: 8%
To what extent you support or oppose ensuring that sunbed salons provide accurate health information about the risks of sunbed use?
Strongly support: 68%
Support: 23%
Oppose: 1%
Strongly oppose: 1%
Don’t know: 7%
To what extent you support or oppose government-funded public awareness campaigns to highlight the link between UV exposure and skin cancer and to make people aware of the risks of sunbed use? p>
Strongly support: 40%
Support: 36%
Oppose: 8%
Strongly oppose: 5%
Don’t know: 10%
Legislation
In Scotland sunbed legislation has been passed by the Scottish Parliament and will be implemented at the end of the year which Cancer Research UK welcomes.
For more information about SunSmart visit: www.sunsmart.org.uk
SKIN CANCER FACTS
The most common kind of skin cancer is non-melanoma skin cancer. More than 80,000 cases are registered each year in the UK but it is estimated that the actual number is at least 100,000.
Around 10000 cases of malignant melanoma are diagnosed each year in the UK. Incidence rates of this form of skin cancer have quadrupled since the 1970s.
Around 2000 people a year in the UK die from malignant melanoma.

Tags: Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK, Charities, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Health, Sun Beds, Sun Protection, YouGov

A new NSPCC report today (Mon 27 July) shows ChildLine counselled a record 58,311 boys last year, more than double the number five years ago.

The report – What Boys Talk About to ChildLine – found bullying was the top problem, with 12,568 boys calling about it in 2007/08. The report also reveals that 6,403 boys rang about physical abuse and 4,780 about sexual abuse with 1,803 saying they had been raped.
Other key findings show:

Those calling ChildLine about feeling lonely, sad and isolated has increased five-fold from 334 five years ago to 1,817.
Over 6000 rang about serious emotional stress within the family.
The number calling about sexuality has increased more than three fold from five years ago to 3,510.
There were 5,362 calls concerning the facts of life (1) – also three times the figure five years ago.
Those boys who called ChildLine about sexual or physical abuse most commonly named a parent as the perpetrator (2) .

ChildLine gets more calls from girls but the trend is beginning to change with one in three now coming from boys compared with just 20 per cent five years ago. This improvement is to be welcomed but more needs to be done.

One 14- year -old boy who called said: “My dad hits me with a belt as punishment. This happens once or twice a month and leaves marks for days.”

And a 17- year- old told ChildLine: “I was sexually abused by a relative when I was a child. I have very vivid memories of being raped. I still feel angry that it ever happened.”

Another boy aged 15 explained to counsellors: “Boys at school strangle, punch and kick me, I feel lonely and angry with the teachers who seem to do nothing and I feel suicidal. I’ve never told anyone before.”

Head of ChildLine Sue Minto said: “Desperate boys call ChildLine because they feel they have no one to turn to. It’s heartbreaking to hear their stories of rape and violent beatings, often by their parents. They sometimes suffer in silence for months before they tell anyone. By the time they call us they can be suicidal

“There’s still the stigma that boys don’t cry but it may be there’s no longer so much pressure to be macho. Our counsellors are trained to help boys express their emotions – we want to encourage more of them to speak out about their abuse.”

ChildLine counsellor Alex Gray said: “Sometimes, you have to work hard to get boys to talk about what’s really troubling them. But once they do they’re surprised that someone’s there listening to them.”

Sue Minto added: “Not all the boys tell us whether they have spoken out about their problems before. But for nearly half of those who did it was the first time they were speaking out. We strongly urge boys who are struggling with their problems to call us on 0800 1111.

“Since ChildLine joined with the NSPCC in 2006 the helpline has been expanded and answers more calls from children and young people than ever before. Even so ChildLine is still unable to answer one in three calls but boys and girls need us more than ever and we urgently need public support to help save young lives and to be there for more children.”

In response, the NSPCC is urgently calling on the public to donate to its Child’s Voice Appeal. The charity needs to raise an extra £50 million over the next three years, in addition to £30 million already pledged by the UK Government so ChildLine can try to answer every call for help.

Tags: Charities, Child Abuse, child protection, Child Safety, ChildLine, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!)

New NSPCC research published today reveals young witnesses often have to wait more than a year to give evidence in Crown Court cases in England and Wales. Most of the children interviewed for the study (87 per cent) gave evidence in sex abuse or violence cases.

In response to the findings, the NSPCC is calling for the UK Government for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to enforce its policy of fast-tracking criminal cases involving young witnesses and monitor delays.(1)

The research shows that Crown Court trials in England and Wales involving child witnesses take on average two months longer than other cases.(2) And more than one in three children surveyed said their hearings had been rescheduled at least once.

The report Measuring Up?, co-funded by the NSPCC and Nuffield Foundation, is the largest, most in-depth study yet conducted of young witnesses’ experiences in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Researchers interviewed 182 children, aged five to nineteen, parents and witness support professionals.

NSPCC lawyer Barbara Esam said: “Court appearances are naturally stressful for anyone, let alone a young child who might be giving evidence about abuse they’ve suffered. These excessive delays only add to that pressure and interfere with justice. Speeding up young witness cases has been government policy since 1988 and is frequently re-stated but has still not been achieved.

“Our research shows that on average there is a 13 month gap between a child reporting an offence and the start of a Crown Court trial. (3) One parent of a ten-year-old said their child was bedwetting in the run-up to each of three rescheduled dates. The first trial should have been March but did not take place until December.

“This is a crucial issue and was at the centre of a recent Appeal Court case where the judges re-iterated that these trials should be fast -tracked.(4) The child is usually the only witness for the prosecution case against a defendant, particularly child sexual abuse cases. If the courts do not act quickly to reduce court delays, this risks undermining evidence from children which will in turn undermine the criminal justice system.

“Policies for the judiciary, courts and prosecutors say cases involving children should get priority listing but this research shows such trials actually take longer to get to court. If the situation can’t be improved then at the very least there should be videoed cross-examination to avoid courtroom ordeals like that suffered by the child raped by Baby Peter’s step-father.”(5)

One in five young witnesses reported feeling intimidated in the run-up to the trial.(6) And almost half (45 per cent) of those interviewed who attended court had seen the defendant when entering, leaving or waiting in the court building.

One parent of a 17-year-old witness said: “We had to walk past the defendant and his family to go into court, they were hissing and laughing at us.”

Young witness Carol, 15, said: “We were not kept apart [from the defendants]. On the first day, we were in the same main area as all the defendants. We complained but we also saw them on the second day.”

To eliminate these problems the NSPCC is calling on the UK Government for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make sure remote link facilities are available for young witnesses to give evidence away from the court room. The children’s charity pioneered the first such facility in Exeter in 2002.

Barbara Esam added: “Giving evidence away from the courtroom helps children feel more secure and relaxed, and enables them to give their best evidence. All children should have this option open to them, particularly if they are at risk of intimidation.”

Measuring Up? Evaluating implementation of Government commitments to young witnesses in criminal proceedings by Joyce Plotnikoff and Richard Woolfson is available to download from www.nspcc.org.uk/measuringup

Tags: Charities, child protection, Child Safety, Children, Court, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), NSPCC

NSPCC supporter Sian Salter will stand on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth this Friday (31 July) to promote the Child’s Voice Appeal for the NSPCC Helpline and ChildLine service.

Sian – a nutritional therapist and mother of two from London – will take her stand on the Fourth Plinth from 1–2pm on Friday. She will be dressed in the Child’s Voice Appeal image of butterfly ‘ears’, as part of Antony Gormley’s One & Other exhibition.

Sian says: “The second anniversary of Baby Peter’s death is on Monday. I was shocked at his brutal torture and death at the hands of callous carers like everyone else. But tragically, he is not the only one. In my own life I have come across cases of child abuse that have saddened me deeply. People should phone the NSPCC when they have concerns about a child.

“I want to use this opportunity to do something to help stop child cruelty. This is why I am supporting the NSPCC Child’s Voice Appeal.”

Every hour, on average, ChildLine counsels 80 calls from children. To mark this, Sian is asking NSPCC Facebook fans to post her 80 short messages of support on the wall below.

Sian says: “Going onto the plinth is a daunting prospect. But it is nothing compared to the courage a child needs to pick up the phone to ChildLine.

“I will carry a banner onto the Plinth telling everyone: The hardest thing for an abused child is to speak out. Help give them a voice. I’ll spend my hour sticking 80 butterflies onto the banner for each child who ChildLine listens to in that time.

“All the brave children who phone ChildLine have no-one else to talk to. If 80 people post their messages of support here, it would be like each child has a friend cheering them on. That would mean such a lot.”

The NSPCC launched its three year Child’s Voice Appeal last year to raise £50 million to maintain and grow its helplines, text and online counselling services. This is needed in addition to £27 million that the Government has pledged. Visit www.childsvoiceappeal.org.uk for more information or to make a donation.

Sian is the third person to go onto the Plinth in aid of the NSPCC Helplines. The NSPCC may distribute messages of support left for her here through other channels.

One & Other is commissioned by the Mayor of London in partnership with Sky Arts. Watch all the action live from the plinth every Friday at 7pm on Sky Arts 1/HD and online at www.oneandother.co.uk.

Adults concerned about a child can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000. Any child with a worry or a problem can call ChildLine on 0800 1111.

Tags: Charities, Child Abuse, child protection, Child Safety, ChildLine, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!)

For most looking at the history of Ann Summers, there is one main question.

Who is Ann Summers? Not the proprietor, as most people believe, but it was named after the secretary – Annie Summers – of the company founder, Caborn Waterfield.

Anne Summers is a very successful chain of high-street sex shops and online retailer of adult themed products. Sales amounted to over £117 million in results announced in 2008.

But the modern-day Ann Summers owes it philosophy and success to current Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Gold, who first became involved in 1979.

Ms Gold is the daughter of David Gold, another key player in the Ann Summers business, and it was he who acquired the original four Anne Summers shops in 1972. In 1979, Ms Gold was trying out a management career at Royal Dalton, but knowing that it was not for here, she asked her father to join his company and gain some hands-on experience.

Ms Gold is said to have been a little uncomfortable with the ‘maleness’ of the company when she first arrived, but was astute to see that there was a very viable business if she could develop it her own way. All she needed was the right approach.

And that presented itself when Ms Gold visited a Tupperware style party in 1981. She had the idea that such a party, which attracted an all-female audience and held in a person’s home, could easily sell and promote adult themed products. It was a matter of just swapping the Tupperware, for adult products; the audience was fundamentally the same.

So started the Ann Summers Party Plan which has proved to be very successful as not only a sales distribution outlet, but also as a way of promoting Ann Summers products. They also proved Ms Gold’s credentials when it came to developing the Company. She became CEO in 1987 and has built Ann Summers into an international and hugely successful brand.

It boasts around 140 high-street stores in the U.K., Ireland and Spain, and in 1999 acquired and incorporated the up-market lingerie Knickerbox brand (including five stores) into the Anne Summers portfolio. The Ann Summers Party Plan is still going strong, with the Company making use of some 7,500 party organisers. The Ann Summers website has also proved a great success, offering the brand another lucrative sales outlet.

With its extensive store network, party plan network and online outlet, Anne Summers will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for some years to come.

Tags: Ann Summers, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Lingerie, Sexy Lingerie, Underwear

Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks are celebrating the birth of not just one, but two baby western lowland gorillas. On 8th April at Howletts, near Canterbury, 13 year old Boma gave birth to a male, named Nkoumou bringing the number of gorillas at the park to 51. He is Boma’s first born but has two half siblings, both 3 years old – Kisane and Masindi. Father to all three is Djanghou, born at Howletts in December1993 with Nkoumou’s mother, Boma arriving from St Martin La Plaine Zoo in France to join the group. Djanghou’s group, totalling ten, can be seen at the old gorilla house at Howletts near the Pavilion.

Commented Lorna Wanless, Head of the Gorilla section at Howletts:

“We are delighted to welcome another Western Lowland Gorilla to Howletts. We are fortunate to be able to care for and work with so many of this endangered species and pleased to see that mum and baby are showing real signs of bonding.”

Just last weekend, sister park, Port Lympne, near Hythe, saw the arrival of another baby gorilla, born to 22 year old, Mumba who already has two male offspring – Djumbah, aged 13 and Ja Ja, aged 10.

Father of all three is 27 year old Djala, who was rescued from the Congo and has sired 26 babies to date. Commented Head of Gorilla Section at Port Lympne, Phil Ridges:

“We knew that Mumba was pregnant but the gestation period did seem to go on a little longer than anticipated. Everyone was pleased to see that Mumba had a successful labour and both mother and baby are doing very well.”

With no more than 100,000 Western lowland gorillas left in the world, they will be extinct by 2020 if the number continues to decline at its present rate. This is mainly due to deforestation, the Ebola virus and the bush meat trade as they continue to be widely eaten in Central Africa. Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks play an important role in the successful breeding of captive gorillas with the two parks housing 77 Western lowland gorillas between them, the largest collection in human care. The Aspinall Foundation continues to expand its colony at the Kent parks as well as returning captive-bred gorillas to Africa via its rescue and rehabilitation programme in the Congo and Gabon.

A special offer allows visitors wanting to see both baby gorillas to make a second visit to the park of their choice by retaining and using their original entry ticket giving a £4 discount on any subsequent visit. ENDS

Press Information:

Tricia Corkhill, Media Relations Manager

Tel: 01303 234134 / 07989 858973

E-mail: triciac@totallywild.net  website: www.totallywild.net  

May 2009

Notes to Editors:

Photographs of Nkoumou and Boma should be credited to Dave Rolfe
Nkoumou is the name of a vine in Gabon.
Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks were set up by John Aspinall with the aim of protecting and breeding rare and endangered species and returning them to safe areas in their native homeland. World leaders in conservation, the parks have so far retuned to the wild, Przewalski’s horses, black rhino, Sumatran rhino, Cape buffalo, ocelots, pythons and gorillas.
Objectives are to halt the extinction of rare and endangered species and to provide the most natural environment possible for the animals; to continue to be world leaders in animal husbandry and breeding and be a partner and catalyst to conservation efforts at home and overseas. The Foundation aims to increase public understanding of animals and their welfare and the issues involved in their conservation. The ultimate objective is to re-introduce the animals back to their wild habitat where possible.
Gorillas live in the band of forest that spans the equator from Nigeria to Uganda. Most of the Western gorillas live in the lowland forests of Gabon, Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic. Wild gorillas live in troops of a single adult male and several females with their young moving around a range of no more than 15 square miles.
Gorillas spend about 30% of their day eating, 40% resting and sleeping and 30% travelling. Led by the more mature silver-back who keeps the peace and protects the group, gorillas travel around a large range foraging for food in the wild. To enrich the lives of the gorillas at the parks, keepers drop food through the roof of the enclosures dropping into deep straw encouraging them to exercise. They eat fruit, nuts, seeds, raisins, vegetables.
The gorilla is the largest of the great apes with a male weighing up to 215 kilos and measuring up to six feet. Females weigh about 90 kilos. Unlike the chimpanzee whose facial skin turns black only at maturity, the gorilla is black from birth. They walk on all fours with knuckles to the ground, semi-erect as their arms are longer than their legs.
Females first breed at around 10 years old with males ready to breed at 15. Gestation is from 8 to 9 months. They give birth to a 4 to 5 pound baby every 5 years who would be dependent on the mother for three years, although attached to her for around 4 months, riding on her back and clinging to her fur.

Tags: Aspinall foundation, Charities, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Pets

Anna Payne is a campaigns manager in the fundraising department of the British Red Cross. She also volunteers as a member of the emergency response unit. Here is her personal experience of the British Red Cross response in Zimbabwe during December 2008.

As the Christmas party season stepped up a gear, I found myself cancelling my plans and packing my bags for Zimbabwe with a very different Christmas and New Year ahead of me. As I was on call that month for the emergency response unit (ERU) I’d been keeping a close eye on the escalating cholera crisis in Zimbabwe so I was both excited and nervous when we got the go ahead for the unit to deploy.

I was there for a month with three colleagues from the British Red Cross mass sanitation unit supporting our colleagues at the Zimbabwe Red Cross with their cholera response programme. The unit’s remit is essentially to prevent the spread of disease through practical techniques, such as latrine building, and promoting hygiene messages – with the capacity to help up to 20,000 people.

Over 30,000 cases had been reported prior to our arrival in Harare and deaths were on the increase. Due to the economic conditions in the country, sewage systems were falling to bits and the health service was struggling to cope. In fact the main thing I remember from my stay was people’s daily struggle to survive and provide for their families in a country where supermarket shelves were empty, water and electricity were in short supply. Soon after we arrived the printing of a $10 trillion Zim dollar note was announced. By the time we left this wouldn’t have bought a loaf of bread.

Units from Norway, Japan, France, Austria, Finland and Spain all arrived with us to support our Zimbabwe colleagues so once we got the Ministry of Health go-ahead the units divided up to make sure the Red Cross was covering all the affected areas in the country. My team headed south to the Midlands Province with the Norwegian team and set up a base in Gweru, a small city four hours from Harare. From there we made contact with our local Red Cross and Ministry of Health and began visiting the areas where outbreaks were most severe.

We travelled long distances to find remote hospitals or communities where the basic infrastructure had broken down and they could no longer treat cholera patients adequately. In these places we found just a few dedicated staff or community leaders working tirelessly – with no running water, limited medicines, frequently no electricity and often going without food themselves. We set about replacing the basic cholera treatment facilities they had – often little more than blankets laid out in a field with drips strung up to trees – with tents, beds and medicines. We also organised hygiene education – making sure people knew about hand washing and food preparation – and built latrines and washing points to support community health.

Since the fundraising target for the appeal remains far short of what is needed to help this desperate situation, it was more important than ever that we helped people in simple and effective ways. Christmas and New Year passed in a whirl of activity as we made sure we reached as many people as possible. By the time the next team came to relieve us in mid-January we had given out hundreds of tools, soap, disinfectant and other equipment and trained hundreds of people in good hygiene to avoid spreading disease.

Thanks to the amazing people we met I felt very sad to leave this beautiful, troubled country but hopeful that we were helping our Zimbabwe Red Cross colleagues towards better times.

Tags: British Red, Charities, Gifts, Gifts For Others (And Yourself!), Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Red Cross