Last year, at 73, I was so fat I couldn't walk round my kitchen island. But now I've lost three stone and cycle five hours a day - here's how. By TV chef ROSEMARY SHRAGER
As you read this, I am somewhere between Land's End and the White Cliffs of Dover, pedalling my heart out on the second day of an 18-day, 450-mile charity bike challenge.
I can hardly believe this myself. After a lifetime of despising exercise and struggling with my weight, I've reached a place where I'm reaping the physical and emotional benefits of prioritising my body and health.
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The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
The real reason fewer men may be choosing to become vets
If you take your dog, cat or fish to see a vet in the UK, the person who treats them is likely to be a woman. According to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 61 per cent of current UK vets are female. University admissions are even more skewed. Among vets who had recently qualified, nearly 80 per cent were female. This wasn't always the case. In the 1930s, when James Herriot – author of books including All Creatures Great and Small and for many the iconic British vet – was practising, almost all vets were male. The women's liberation movement of the 60s and 70s saw an influx of female vet students. You might expect a levelling of the playing field to lead to a profession now equally split between genders, but that isn't so. I teach veterinary clinical communication skills to veterinary students. My research relates to developing communication strategies that are effective across a wide range of cultures and social groups. However, vets are not very culturally diverse: as well as the majority being female, nearly all are heterosexual and white. This can limit their experience and understanding of different perspectives. As part of a wider piece of research into student experience of communication, I have reviewed the history of veterinary demographics, with some surprising results. Historically, vets worked mainly on farms with large animals, for which clients perceived physical strength to be crucial. Increasing pet ownership means most vets now work with small animals. This change in focus has altered society's perception of veterinary work from 'practical' to 'caring', and it has been suggested that this has discouraged boys from considering the profession. Veterinary salaries have also stagnated for some time, which may make the job less attractive to men. There is very little research to support any of these theories, but the most relevant and largest study available comes from the US in 2010. When applications to vet schools across the country from the 1960s to early 2000s were reviewed, one factor predicted student choice: the more female students there were, the less likely males were to apply. This is an understudied sociological phenomenon called 'male flight' or 'gender flight'. It seems that, in some professions at least, men lose interest once the number of women rises above 60 per cent. Another study of UK workplaces found the same thing when modelling various reasons for gender disparities. Men not choosing professions such as pharmacy and accountancy due to the increased female presence was the best explanation. These findings are concerning when connected with a UK study from 2018 called Drawing the Future. Thirteen thousand UK school children aged between seven and 11 were asked to draw pictures of their dream job. Researchers found that – perhaps unsurprisingly – dream jobs were strongly gendered, and that this happens from a young age. 'Vet' was third overall, a very popular job choice. But when you split that by gender, it was the second most popular job for girls, but only ninth for boys. This very much matches the gender balance of vet school applicants, so we can hypothesise that attitudes to being a vet are set early in life. Need for diversity Most diversity initiatives aim to reduce barriers for underrepresented groups. The veterinary profession isn't nearly as diverse as it could be – only around 4 per cent of vets come from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, compared to 18 per cent of people in the UK population overall. Various reasons for this have been suggested, including a lack of representation and financial barriers. But we actually don't know why this is; applications to veterinary medicine by non-white students are lower than for other degrees. But in the case of gender, boys can become vets. They simply don't want to. There's value in diversity in general within the veterinary profession. Vets don't just work in clinics with pets: they also play a key public health role, preventing disease in animal populations and ensuring the health and welfare of farm animals. There are many animal charities that rely on vets to help support the human-animal bond, such as rescuing and rehoming animals, working with pets belonging to homeless people, or caring for the pets of people fleeing domestic violence. This means working with people from all over the UK, from all backgrounds. Many studies of stress in the veterinary profession identify difficulties with communication as a key problem. Indeed, communication is highlighted as a key skill for veterinary students by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and many studies of veterinary education. But there lies a challenge common to homogeneous professions. Learning to communicate effectively with others is more difficult when there is less diversity. This issue of gender flight has broader social implications. When men leave a profession due to increased numbers of women, wages tend to stagnate, which is a serious issue for students who frequently leave their five-year vet degrees with substantial debt. One place to start might be looking at how young children view vets – and what might make it a profession to choose as a result of personal ability and preference, rather than social pressure.
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
X Factor's Aiden Grimshaw looks completely unrecognisable 15 years after starring on the singing show alongside One Direction
X Factor 's Aiden Grimshaw looked completely unrecognisable 15 years after starring on the ITV singing competition. The star, who is now 33, appeared on the show back in 2010 which was the same year One Direction took part - but now looks worlds away from his fresh-faced days on TV. Aiden has continued a career in music and regularly posts singing videos, covers, and updates on Instagram to his 19,000 followers. The Blackpool-born musician has released music under the alias Butterjack and his most recent cover was of French musician Kavinsky's track Nightcall. When on The X Factor, he competed as a solo artist on the same season as 1D, which was eventually won by Matt Cardle. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. He made it all the way to the live shows and was the the eighth contestant eliminated, earning a record deal with RCA Records after he was voted out in week six. In his audition, he impressed judges with a rendition of Kanye West 's Gold Digger, with no backing track. Aiden looks completely unrecognisable from his X Factor days and is now sporting a bushy moustache. He also swapped his quiff for a floppy, long hairstyle and has upgraded his wardrobe to include more retro fashion. After being eliminated from The X Factor, two years later in 2012 Aiden released his debut single Is This Love which debuted at number 35 on then UK Singles Chart. He continued to find success with his first album Misty Eye, which was also released in 2012 and reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart. Following a few more projects, he took a break from music before returning in 2015 and then taking on the name Butterjack in 2018. Aiden's departure from The X Factor was a shock one, after he competed against Katie Waissel in the bottom two and the judges vote went do deadlock before going to the public vote. Aiden has continued a career in music and regularly posts singing videos, covers and updates on Instagram to his 19,000 followers The seventh series was won by Matt Cardle, with Rebecca Ferguson runner-up and One Direction third. It comes after Sir Elton John claimed earlier this year that gaining fame from shows like X Factor is ' the worst thing that can happen to you in the music industry'. Instead, the legendary musician suggested new artists 'go and play in a pub' to 'take risks' and get a 'backbone'. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he stressed how important playing live is for musicians. The star admitted then when he played in Musicology, they would sometimes perform to tiny audiences, and no matter how small the crowd, it always helped him improve. He recalled: 'That experience stood me in great stead for when I became Elton John because I had backbone. 'And backbone is so important, because the worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live.' Elton said: 'You get put on stage, you go, and you can't do it. That's the worst thing. American Idol - just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.' However, despite his distaste for musical talent shows, Elton appeared on The X Factor back in 2013 to perform a duet with judge Gary Barlow.
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Runner was 'getting life back' before fatal Stretham crash
An associate of the tech billionaire Mike Lynch had been "enjoying getting his life back" when he was fatally struck by a car while out on a run, an inquest Chamberlain died in hospital three days after a collision involving a Vauxhall car on the A1123 at Stretham in Cambridgeshire on 17 August 52-year-old had previously faced fraud charges in the US alongside Mr Lynch, who died after his superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily on 19 August last a statement read by lawyer Sally Hobson, Mr Chamberlain's widow Karen said he had taken up running after the fraud charge, and it had "helped him mentally stay calm and focus on what was ahead". Mr Chamberlain and Mr Lynch were found not guilty of the charge in June last year following a trial at a federal court in San Francisco. Mrs Chamberlain said her husband would "meticulously spend hours planning his routes" and competed in ultra-distance was "safety conscious", she said, and he would wear one earbud but leave the other ear told the inquest at New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, that he had been home from the US for two months and was "making up for lost time, enjoying getting his life back". 'A matter of seconds' The inquest heard the collision happened as Mr Chamberlain was crossing a road between two parts of a bridleway and he was struck by the car as it crested a humpback a statement summarised by area coroner Caroline Jones, the driver involved said that as she "approached the bridge she proceeded down the incline" and a man "suddenly emerged into the road".She said she saw Mr Chamberlain "looking to his left away from her and only looked to his right just before the collision".She said she had "braked hard and steered to the nearside", but "he was too close" and the front offside of the vehicle collided with said she had been driving within the 60mph speed limit, had been on her way to a shop in Newmarket, Suffolk and had "no time pressure", the coroner said.A witness statement said Mr Chamberlain was thrown "approximately 15 feet" in the air and "the entire incident must have been a matter of seconds".The coroner said the female driver of the car should not be named at the hearing. Police forensic collision investigator PC Ian Masters said it was "not an ideal crossing point by any stretch of the imagination".Asked by the coroner if it was his view that it was not an avoidable collision, Mr Masters replied: "Yes, that's correct".The coroner concluded that Mr Chamberlain died as the result of a road traffic shared the concerns of the family that the humpback bridge was an "irredeemable barrier" to visibility for pedestrians and other road said she would write to Cambridgeshire County Council as the highways authority for further information before deciding whether a report to help prevent future deaths was Chamberlain's daughter Ella said in a statement to the inquest that her father was the "perfect role model in every way".His son Teddy said in a statement: "He was the glue of our family, always ready with an answer."The mental and physical strength he showed was beyond anything I could imagine."He added that he was the "greatest dad I could ever have asked for and I'm so proud to be his son". Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
