A personal blog transitioning into an exploration of the intersection of design, technology and ethics
Oh seriously, sometimes, when you travel the food is amazing. Sometimes, it looks like it might be a danger to your health…
No, I ordered a veggie pizza, not some sort of mentalist giant cheese flan.
Argh! It’s vomiting salad at me!
Father’s health was seriously affected by malnourishment. Maybe he was just scared of the food here?
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Europeans are considered to be the best educated, most sophisticated people on the planet. They also like diving into bogs, throwing tomatoes at one another, and chasing cheese.
I sometimes think that the British are an unusual breed when it comes to sport, but when you look around Europe you start to realise that quite possibly we don’t have the monopoly we thought we did.
If you’re thinking of a trip to Europe where you can get involved with some local sports, consider these.
Here’s a selection of videos showing some of the things Europeans do for fun:
Take cheese, a round one. Go to a steep hill. Find a group of like minded maniacs. And then chase the cheese down the hill only to be greeted by a group of similarly crazy catchers waiting to ‘rescue’ you at the bottom. That’s England’s annual cheese rolling contest. Many people will be hurt and this is proof that the insurance companies and inept Health & Safety consultants haven’t yet managed to stop people risking their own lives for no sound reason whatsoever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOyQBSMeIhM
The Scandinavians are about the most equitable people you can imagine, yet it’s the men that have to do the carrying in this sport. Wife Carrying is a sport that involves running a 253.5m course, with your wife on your back. I personally find the Estonian wife-lift the easiest, but there are a number of styles.
If you’ve been to Finland, you’ll know that they’re not the most svelte of peoples. If you want to take part and have a typically skinny French wife you stand a good chance…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIB9UcA5iQU
The Spanish grow an awful lot of tomatoes. This needs celebrating. What better way than to throw them at each other? Every year, in Buñol, Valencia, the Spanish enjoy nothing more than to throw tomatoes at La Tomatina And why not? Beats throwing donkeys off churches. My family happens to live in the Valencia region, and I fully intend to attend though it’s worth noting – I’ve been to a few Spanish festivals and I know that alcohol and chaos feature strongly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPQCH1b_LgE
You might think of snorkelling as something to do at a Caribbean beach. Not the Welsh. They like nothing better than to get into fancy dress, head to a bog and get swimming in the annual Bog Snorkelling competition. There are prizes for speed, but many people enter the contest to raise money for charity and, consequently, the efforts that get the most attention are likely to raise the most money – hence the fancy dress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAh7e9d45_Y
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The UK Health & Safety Executive is run by largely sensible, clear minded folk that want to help us to keep doing what we do, but ideally without losing fingers, testicles or lives.
So why do they get so much flack? Why do we keep hearing tales of children not being allowed to play in snow, in case they slip and get hurt? What about risk assessments that prevent village fetes from selling cups of soup in case visitors get scalded?
Mostly it’s bullshit. Stories made up or inflated, often with important facts removed by right wingers or libertarians who want to discredit the whole idea that people do, sometimes, need third parties to come along help protect others.
Food is supposed to be hot. If you burn yourself by drinking a soup that’s just out of the pot then that’s you’re look out. Health & Safety accept that common knowledge exists.
So how do the more ridiculous, and genuine, cases arise? Because any damn fool can set themselves up as a Health & Safety consultant. There are no qualifications required, no accreditation enforced. There are, of course, bodies that provide qualifications in the subject, but they’re not compulsory.
So if you want to use a H&S consultant, find a real one – with experience or genuine skills and knowledge of the area concerned. When I’m racing I quite appreciate it when I’m advised that my harness is incorrectly tied into place, because I don’t want to die in an accident. It won’t be an H&S consultant, but somebody who understand both the risks and the technology.
If you’re someone like a teacher who’s looking after kids and you’re scared that if the children in your charge could get hurt, don’t use H&S as an excuse for stopping them from getting outside and doing stuff. Parents present their fears without using Health & Safety as an excuse, so teachers should present them a bit more intelligently too.
If, as a teacher, you start getting scared that if your kids get hurt, you’ll end up in court, then that is a valid reason to express doubts about your involvement with these children. I can understand – some parents are morons (there is no license required to become one) and they believe their children are the unflawed product of their loins. Of course, children are actually manipulative, scheming little brats that haven’t yet learned how to behave in real company. Exposing them to risks, other people, and a bit of actual life helps them to develop. So for God’s sakes, let them play conkers once in a while, even if there’s an occassional bruised forehead.
But if you try to avoid conflict by blaming a large and relatively misunderstood public body then you’re doing us all a disservice and deserve to be severely hurt in a workplace paper-cut accident. If H&S can’t work properly, we’ll all be at more risk from exploding fuel tanks and sharp, pointy hood ornaments.
Health & Safety Executive (UK)
Conkers Story – sensible experts, and a bonkers school by well meaning but non-thinking headteachers
Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking the yellow fever jab is trivial. It isn’t, it makes you feel f*cking awful! I thought maybe it was the effect of the wisdom tooth, but as the pain from that’s now subsiding I don’t think I can lay the blame on that.
Now – given that it’s essentially a mild version of the real disease it makes you realise just how bad a thing it must be to catch. So I suppose taking it is A Good Thing.