Author Archives: James Yardley

Olympics Day 1 – Team GB Round Up

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It was a fairly disappointing opening day as Britain failed to win any medals but it is still very early days. Over a million people turned out to support Mark Cavendish and the rest of the British team in the men’s road race but they struggled and failed to win a medal. The British team did very well in the early rounds of the rowing and there was a promising start in the boxing, gymnastics, football and table tennis. There were no medals for team GB in the swimming but the best prospects are still to come.

 

 

There was no medal for Mark Cavendish in the men’s road race.

Andy and Jamie Murray lost in the first round although Elena Baltacha is through in the singles.

The men’s archery team lost in the first round

British middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo beats Junior Castillo Martinez of the Dominican Republic 13-6 and is into the last 16

Mary King is ranked third in individual eventing after the dressage

Sophie Troiano was beaten 12-9 by Great Britain team-mate Natalia Sheppard in the round of 64

Great Britain women seal their place in the quarter-finals of London 2012 as they beat Cameroon 3-0

In the gymnastics Great Britain’s men are second after the first of three men’s qualifying sessions with 272.420 marks, behind the United States on 275.342 Louis Smith will challenge for pommel horse gold after scoring 15.800 in a superb qualifying routine

Ashley McKenzie is out of the Men’s 60kg judo

All the rowers qualified in their opening heats with a particularly strong performance from Helen Glover and Helen Stanning who qualified in an Olympic record time.

In the swimming there were no medals. Britain’s 4x100m freestyle women’s team finished 5th as did Hanah Miley who will be disappointed not to do better after winning her heat.

Britain did well in the table tennis as both Paul Drinkhall and Joanna Parker qualified for the second round.

Live Olympic Updates – Men’s Road Race

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Mark Cavendish – the major British hope for the race

The British team (max of 5 men in a squad)

David Millar, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Mark Cavendish and Ian Stannard the other members

And there off.

Wiggins is of course just back from his famous victory in the Tour de France but his job today will be to help Mark Cavendish who is the major British hope.

They’ve just gone over Putney bridge. Cavendish will be a big favourite if he can be there at the end, he has the best sprint finish of any of them. But can he stay there, the other countries will do there best to be clear of him before then

There 145 riders in the race in total

10km gone and no major attempt to break away from the field yet or peloton as it’s called in cycling

Bernhard Eisel the Polish rider off his bike. A member of the Sky team.

Coming up to Richmond gate in Richmond park now. This is amazing for me to watch as it’s very close to my childhood home. We’re watching the first attack now and the field is starting to string out. A couple of riders have broken clear.

Oh no a dog in the road! No fallers luckily

Another aggressive attack coming, there really starting to string out now!

A sizeable group has broken clear led by the Australian Stuart O’Grady

Huge crowds all the way. Brilliant to see. There coming past Hampton Court Palace

No British riders in the break away. It’s a mix of many different countries but still very early in the race.

The British riders lead the peloton with Bradley Wiggins no 15 in the front. The commentators seem very nervous the gap to the leaders is now 3 minutes

Wow almost a 4 minute gap to the leaders already with 214km to go. We should remember though this is a very long race. Longer than any stage of the tour de France and there are 9 laps of Boxhill to negotiate which will be very tiring.

4.20 now the advantage

The breakaway bunch includes France’s Sylvain Chavanel, Italian time trial specialist Marco Pinotti, Spain’s Nicolas Castroviejo (the man who replaced Samuel Sanchez), Belgium’s Jurgen Roelandts, Norway’s Alexander Kristoff and Russia’s Denis Menchov and Australia’s Stuart O’Grady.

The lead keeps growing almost six minutes now

With around 195km left to go of the men’s road race, the gap to the front 12 is still around four-and-a-half minutes. These riders have another 70km or so to go until they get on to the Box Hill circuit.

The British riders seem to be making a move.

The peloton is too far away now with just 10 km to go the medals will come from the leading group. There will be no medals for Mark Cavendish or team GB.

Gold – Alexandr Vinokurov – Kazakhstan
Silver – Rigoberto Uran Uran – Columbia
Bronze – Alexander Kristoff – Norway

Olympic Torch Relay Pictures

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We were lucky enough to have the Olympic torch come past us today in Ealing. Here are some of the pictures below

Crowds Mass in Expectation

Runner carrying the Union Jack

The Editor of Frost!

The coca-cola truck (which was handing out free coke!)

Front view of the Olympic torch bearer (I got shouted at for running out and taking this picture!)

The Olympic torch bearer waving

Exhausted security runners catching a breather

The changeover

A spectator reaches to try and grab the torch from the Olympic torch bearer

A New Breed of Sport: It’s Time for the Rise of the Mind Sport; A Personal Journey into E-Sports

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I have always enjoyed almost any sport but there is one series of sports which has always been woefully underrepresented. I’m talking about mind sports, sports which involve a battle of human intelligence. For every mind sport there have always been hundreds of other physical sports. Don’t get me wrong I love many ‘physical’ sports and they also showcase moments of exceptional human intelligence and creativity. But they aren’t the same as a pure battle of wits, one mind versus another. I believe this is a travesty since the brain is humans must incredible attribute.

The mind sports which do exist tend to be terrible spectator sports. Chess, the obvious candidate, is too slow and not great to watch. Others have similar problems. The revolution in mind sports began with the popularity of TV poker. It has great drama, and bluffs of course. TV poker has been very successful but it can be a bit repetitive. Its other major problem is that no matter how skilled a player is he can still lose through bad luck. This detracts from the idea of a great battle of minds. The initial boom in poker viewing figures has subsided

However there was one mind sport I stumbled upon which has had a bigger impact on me than any other sport. I’m talking about the e-sport Starcraft: Brood War. Starcraft is a real-time computer strategy game usually though not exclusively played between two players. The game is extremely dynamic because each player plays as one of three almost perfectly balanced but very different races. Every player plays one of either the human like Terrans, the insectoid alien and all-consuming Zerg or the psionic alien Protoss. A player will always play as the same race in all his matches as it would be too difficult to master another race.

Despite being produced by American company Blizzard entertainment the game has gained most popularity in South Korea and it is here where the game first became a sport. The game is extremely difficult to play. Most professional players will average over 300 actions per minute (clicking the mouse and pressing the keyboard). And that doesn’t include watching the screen, mini-map and planning strategies.

In my opinion it is by far the greatest mind sport to ever exist. It is the best sport I have ever played or watched. Nothing can match it for drama or tension. It has all the elements which make a great sport. Unlike other mind sports it’s very easy for an audience to follow a match. It has dramatic moments which can completely turn a game. Because of its difficulty it is extremely intense, the game takes phenomenal concentration and skill and a single moment of error can lose a game. No other sport pushes the human brain to such an extent and as in all great sports the very best players can do things no one else can.

I first stumbled upon e-sports in 2008 after playing a few games of Starcraft with a friend. I used to play a lot of poker and that is how I discovered e-sports. A lot of former pro starcraft players like ‘Elki’ Bertrand_Grospellier moved over to poker. Here is the first game I ever watched with English commentary (a rarity back then)

Since then I have been completely hooked. The game never tires thanks to the stream of new maps which come out every season. Despite many hundreds of games I am still terrible at playing the game (max rank D+ on ICCup) but I don’t really care since that just makes winning a game that much more satisfying. The best part of watching Starcraft is when a player invents something truly innovative which know one has seen or done before. I love both playing and watching the game.

I believe e-sports will be huge in the future. To some extent they already are. The recent IPL tournament in April had 3 million unique viewers over 3 days. The sport is now starting to spread much more widely outside South Korea thanks to the release of Starcraft II. At the moment the world is not quite ready to except it. The cultural attitude towards video games is still negative, although this is changing. The majority of the population still do not even play video games let alone watch them.

Probably the greatest challenge that any e-sport faces is that they are subject to changing technology in a way that other sports aren’t. Starcraft: Brood War is an example of this. The game is now over 10 years old and people new to the sport question the graphics of the game. Moreover the next instalment of the game, Starcraft II, has now been released and many viewers and progamers have now switched over to the newer version. That said e-sports are only going to get bigger and I can’t wait. Mind sports are finally here to stay.

http://www.gomtv.net

London Gets Ready For First Ever Men’s Fashion Week(end).

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London is set to host the UK’s first ever Men’s Fashion Week(end). Also known as Men’s Collections, these three days will celebrate the rise in the profile, creativity and commercial success of men’s fashion in the UK. And nowhere is this more apparent than online.

The UK’s leading fashion site ShopStyle.co.uk is used to dealing with over one million users searching for the latest designer womenswear pieces or high street must-haves but the UK online fashion leader has seen a 300% year-on-year increase in sales generated for its top 5 menswear retailers, revealing that it’s not just women who are keen to be seen in the latest looks.

Leading the charge for ShopStyle are men’s brands like Topman and Mr Porter but the fashion shopping hub has also seen a number of new retailers such as Pretty Green entering the online race, as well as unisex brands such as Ted Baker, Next and My-Wardrobe.

The company believes the uplift is driven by the increase in mobile devices and shopping apps which enable men to shop on the go or pick-up an item they may have seen on the street or in a shop window, quickly and easily via their mobile phone. ShopStyle has seen 3x increase in mobile driven searches in the same May to May period and believes that men drive a substantial percentage of these searches.

Shannon Edwards, VP for ShopStyle Europe believes that new technologies are driving men online to shop for fashion. She says: “There’s been a real focus in the UK on improving men’s fashion and that has tempted many style-aware blokes to come out of the woodwork. But for these guys the prospect of spending Saturday afternoon in the changing room leaves them cold. For them, mobile allows them to shop for the big looks without having to spend hours at their computer or in the store.”

The London Mayoral Election – Can You Really Bring Yourself to Vote for Ken? 10 Reasons To Make You Think Before You Do

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It’s now less than a week to go to the London mayoral election and it’s is a two-horse race between the Conservative incumbent, Boris Johnson and the former mayor and Labour candidate, Ken Livingstone.

In the polls, Ken is behind, somewhere between 2 and 10 points behind according to the latest figures. This is surprising when the same polls suggest the Conservatives are 15 points behind in London and set to get hammered in the local elections. This is down to two factors, Boris’s charisma and Ken’s cronyism.

Ken has brushed off Labour supporters voting against him (up to one in five is expected to vote for Boris). ‘They are only voting for Boris because he makes them laugh’, says Ken. This is only partly true. Yes, Boris’s charisma and flair are a factor, but so is Ken. Many voters simply can’t bring themselves to vote for Ken because they don’t trust him and you can’t blame them.

Whatever side of the political spectrum you come from, it’s vital that we hold our politicians to account. In my eyes, Ken has been slippery and divisive at best. A self-confessed political nerd, he is everything which is wrong in modern politics today. He will do or say anything to win. It says a lot that many senior figures in the Labour party not only won’t offer their support for him, but are actively risking their own standing in the party to campaign against him.

“In my opinion he is a driven, power-crazed egomaniac who will do anything to regain the power he once had,” says Lord Sugar.

He is “quite a tricky sort of customer” who has “espoused some disastrous causes,” says another Labour peer, Robert Winston.

Here’s a top 10 of Ken gaffes, cronyism, hypocrisy and champagne socialism:

  • Ken was heavily criticised in February 2005 for remarks made to an Evening Standard reporter. He compared him to a Nazi concentration camp guard, after the Jewish reporter had tried to interview him. Ken refused to apologise or retract the statement after the reporter let it be known he was Jewish.
  • In December 2007, the Evening Standard published news of an investigation into grants worth £2.5 million paid to organisations in which Ken Livingstone’s adviser Lee Jasper was involved. It is confirmed that some of these grants were paid directly by the mayor’s office. An independent report into the affair by auditor Michael Haworth-Maden in July 2009 found no evidence of “misappropriation of funds” but noted “significant” gaps in financial paperwork.
  • Livingstone was criticised following a 21 March 2006 press conference at which he is alleged to have said of David and Simon Reuben — two Indian-born Jewish businessmen involved in a property development project — that “if they’re not happy they can always go back to Iran and see if they can do better under the Ayatollahs.”
  • Following Livingstone’s defeat in the 2008 Mayoral Elections, the Daily Mail reported that “eight ‘cronies’ of Ken were to receive £1.6 million in pay-offs following his defeat in the London mayoral elections.”
  • Livingstone has been criticised for his links to Islamic extremism. He was heavily condemned for inviting Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi to a conference. Al-Qaradawi has been accused of supporting “female genital mutilation, wife-beating, and the execution of homosexuals.”
  • In a meeting, Ken is alleged to have said that he did not expect the Jewish community to vote Labour as votes for the left are inversely proportional to wealth levels. He supposedly suggested that as the Jewish community is rich they simply wouldn’t vote for him.
  • Ken has been accused of hypocrisy over his tax affairs. He was very critical of wealthy Londoners who used companies to lower the rate of tax they were paying. It subsequently transpired he was doing exactly the same himself through the company Silveta Ltd.
  • Ken used private healthcare despite claiming to be a strong proponent of the NHS.
  • Ken cried over a campaign film of ‘ordinary Londoners’, arguing why they wanted Ken as mayor. It subsequently transpired the film was scripted and made using paid actors. Both of which Ken knew about.
  • Ken’s trip to Cuba and aborted journey to Venezuela in 2006 cost Londoners £30,000 according to assembly figures. Just one of many wasteful incidents.

The Labour party fearfully nominated Ken as their candidate and it may cost them. They still have bad memories from 2001 when they didn’t give Ken the nomination and he won a stunning victory against them as an independent.

They feared Ken running as an independent again, splitting their vote, and handing Boris an easy victory. Nevertheless, the decision to choose Ken may yet haunt them. One can’t help thinking that any other half-decent candidate would have had a very good chance of beating Boris. Figures like Ken have no place in modern politics. If we vote for them, we get what we deserve.

 

Forward PR Press Day AW12

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Forward PR AW12 press day was full of wonderful designers. The collections by Jasper Garvida, Jaida Hay, SD Yohans, Euphorik, Corrie Nielsen, Magenta 8 and Emma Yeo were all brilliant. AO FMpro make-up gave me a make-over. I didn’t want to take the make-up off ever!

Corrie Nielsen was my favourite show at London Fashion Week. Her clothes are amazing.

Emma collaborated with Corrie Nielsen for her AW12 London Fashion Week show. She makes the most beautiful hat.

Sleek and timeless menswear designer Euphorik.

Jaida Hay was a particular favourite. I had a chat with her and hope to do an interview with her soon. She worked at Emilia Wickstead Atelier prior to launching her own line. I love the draping, wraps and sports luxe edge to her collection. Some incredibly beautiful pieces. It is minimalist luxury but also is made with sustainable fabrics and made solely in the United Kingdom.

Jasper Garvida: Another fav.

Inspiration from the 1950s here, a popular theme. A lot of designers are doing collections that are very grown up. Magenta 8 are a luxury design house. Lots of tailoring.

SD Yohans’ shoes celebrate a lady’s elegance and strength. I love the collection. I really want all of these shoes.

Cameron’s Fatal Blunder Over Web Monitoring

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It has been a calamitous few weeks for the PM with his and his parties poll numbers falling through the floor. The only saving grace is that the other parties and their leaders are disliked just as much.

The debacle over jerry cans and the budget has been bad enough but it is the issue of civil liberties that has permanently damaged the PM.

One can only wonder as to why Tory strategists weren’t running around in panic when the crazy idea of ‘web and email monitoring was raised’. What where they thinking? How was the PM’s finger so off the political pulse? Cameron compounded the error by publicly coming out and defending the policy, a fatal misjudgement.

Has he been blind to Ron Paul movement in the US? Did he not see the response to SOPA? It was the NO2ID movement which did so much damage to the Labour party. And it was the brave actions of David Davis (who would  now be home secretary had he not sacrificed his career)  and the subsequent Conservative plan to abolish ID cards which brought so many over to the conservatives at the last election.

They should have learnt. YOU DO NOT PISS OFF THE INTERNET IF YOU WANT TO WIN ELECTIONS. No one understands this better than Obama and his strategists. This is why he ditched his support for SOPA. Already the government is facing a backlash from ‘Anonymous’ who have been launching attacks on the Home Office website, although it would be a mistake to think that theses extremists are the problem.

One can only conclude that Tory HQ thought this policy would further damage the Lib Dems. It has certainly achieved this. But this in itself doesn’t make a huge amount of sense as Cameron has tried so hard previously to placate his coalition partners.

But if they thought this was an issue which was only important to Lib Dems they have severely miscalculated. This is a policy which many conservatives feel is fundamentally un-conservative. A further unnecessary intrusion of the state in our lives. Cameron should know that these neo con policies have very little support on this side of the Atlantic.

As a result the Conservative party has only succeeded in splitting itself. Prominent members such as Mog, Raab, Davis and Goldsmith have come out in furious opposition.

Once again the Tories have been tarnished as the nasty party. The painstaking re branding has been ruined. This decision may well be the one which costs Cameron the next election.