Tag Archives: olympic

RED MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF RED’S HOT WOMEN AWARDS 2012

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RED MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF

RED’S HOT WOMEN AWARDS 2012

in association with euphoria Calvin Klein

 

LIVIA FIRTH CHAMPIONS ETHICAL FASHION & LIVING

 

STARS OF LONDON 2012 NICOLA ADAMS, ZOE SMITH AND CLARE BALDING AWARDED FOR THEIR OLYMPIC CONTRIBUTIONS

 

DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR KATHRYN PARSONS LEADS THE WAY FOR WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY WITH TWO AWARDS

 

 

Red magazine is delighted to announce the winners of its annual Red’s Hot Women Awards 2012, in association with euphoria Calvin Klein. The awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate British women in the workplace.

 

This year’s awards see an impressive range of inspiring working women being recognised. Livia Firth, Creative Director of eco-age.com and co-founder of The Green Carpet Challenge, is presented the ‘Eco’ award for using her profile to give ethical fashion a celebrity platform.

 

The prestigious ‘Fashion’ award goes to Caren Downie, ASOS Buying Director, for her remarkable vision for the ASOS brand. Fashionistas Erin O’Connor, Debra Bourne and Caryn Franklin are recognised in the ‘Pioneer’ category for their campaigning work with All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.

 

Flying the flag for London 2012 are Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams, Boxer, who is awarded ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ and Zoe Smith, Weightlifter, who is acknowledged in the ‘Woman to Watch’ category for sport. Clare Balding wins the ‘Media’ category for captivating the nation with her BBC Olympics coverage.

 

Kathryn Parsons, co-founder of Decoded, is the first winner to receive two awards in the ‘Digital’ and ‘Start-Up’ categories for her visionary digital business aimed at demystifying the world of computer coding.

 

In addition, Martha Payne, a 10-year-old blogger, is awarded ‘Woman to Watch: Blogger’ for Never Seconds, the blog she set up to report on her school dinners, and which has so far raised over £120,000 to provide school meals in Africa.

 

The awards ceremony also recognises impressive female talent in the restaurant scene, with Monica Galetti, Chef at La Gavroche, winning the Rose Gray Food Pioneer Award and Florence Knight, Head Chef at Polpetto, being awarded ‘Woman to Watch: Food’

 

The ‘Community / Charity’ award this year goes to Doreen Lawrence for the inspiring legacy she has created in memory of her son Stephen Lawrence. Christie Watson comes top in the ‘Creative’ category for her award-winning second novel Tiny Sunbirds Far Away and Helen McGinn, author of the Knackered Mothers’ Wine Club blog, is awarded best ‘Blogger’. Further accolades for truly impressive women include geneticist Dr Pia Ostergaard, the ‘Power Part-Timer’ who has made ground breaking discoveries to identify life saving gene mutations – and done it while working flexible hours. Shabana Mahmood, Higher Education Shadow Minister, is also recognised in the ‘Woman to Watch: Politics’ category for being one of the first Muslim Asian women in Parliament.

 

The categories were judged by some of the most inspirational professional women in Britain including; Red magazine Editor-in-Chief Sam Baker, Public Relations Director for Coty Prestige UK Kirsty Dale, Vice-Chair for West Ham Utd FC Karren Brady, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, CEO / Chairman of Shine Group Elisabeth Murdoch, Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, bestselling author India Knight, founder of Timewise Jobs Karen Mattison MBE and Chief Merchant for Harrods Marigay McKee.

 

The winners were announced at a champagne reception hosted by Lauren Laverne at One Marylebone.

 

Sam Baker, Red Magazine Editor-in-Chief, said:‘‘We are thrilled to be celebrating the achievements of some this country’s most inspiring working women. This year’s Red’s Hot Women Awards, in association with euphoria Calvin Klein, have recognised some truly amazing women and I congratulate everyone on their success.’

 

 

Why have they won?

 

Blogger

Helen McGinn, 39, Knackered Mothers’ Wine Club – What started on a whim has now become a popular blog and a book deal – proof that a love of a glass or two of wine is never a bad thing.

 

Community / Charity

Doreen Lawrence, 60, Founder, Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – For challenging the British legal system and inspiring a nation with her vision of a community-based legacy for her son.

 

Creative

Christie Watson, 35, Author & Resuscitation Nurse – For winning one of the most coveted and respected awards for new writers, whilst also holding down a day job in nursing.

 

Digital / Start-Up

Kathryn Parsons, 31, Co-Founder, Decoded – For championing the agenda of women in technology, specifically encouraging women to be code-literate, in a way that is manageable and practical.

 

Eco

Livia Firth, 42, Creative Director of eco-age.com – For using her profile to give ethical fashion a platform and proving it’s a good business to go green.

 

Fashion

Caren Downie, 51, Buying Director ASOS – At a time when the retail sector is struggling, Caren’s vision has resulted in triple-figure sales growth.

 

Media

Clare Balding, 41, TV presenter and Olympic anchor – For her widely praised TV anchoring of the BBC’s London 2012 coverage and making her mark as a female sports broadcaster in a field that remains stubbornly male-dominated.

 

Media (Posthumous)

Marie Colvin, 56, award-winning journalist – Killed in Syria whilst reporting from the frontline, the judges created a special award this year to honour Marie’s groundbreaking journalism.

 

Pioneers

Debra Bourne, Erin O’Connor & Caryn Franklin, 48, 34 and 53, Founders of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk – For using their collective experience in the fashion world to campaign for a more diverse representation of women.

 

Power Part-Timer

Dr Pia Ostergaard, 42, Geneticist – After taking a career change, Pia has made groundbreaking discoveries to identify gene mutations, which will help save lives. And she’s done it whilst working part-time hours.

 

Rose Gray Food Pioneer

Monica Galetti, 36, Senior Sous Chef at Le Gavoche – For her unflinching resolve to make it to the top and to be treated as an equal in a male-dominated industry.

 

Sportswomen of the Year

Nicola Adam, 29, Boxer – For winning her way into the history books as the first ever female gold-winning Olympic boxer. Next stop Rio.

 

Woman to Watch: Food

Florence Knight, 26, Head Chef of Polpetto – For climbing the ranks in a male-dominated industry to run the kitchen of one of London’s leading restaurants, at only 26.

 

Women to Watch: Sport

Zoe Smith, 18, Weightlifter – For setting a new British record in the women’s 58kg at London 2012 and overcoming Twitter critics with her brave blog posts.

 

Woman to Watch: Politics

Shabana Mahmood, 31, Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood – As one of the first Muslim Asian women in Parliament, Shabana is an inspiring force for more diversity amongst our MPs.

 

Woman to Watch: Blogger

Martha Payne, 10, Blogger – For inspiring hundreds of children in Britain to create their own blogs, scrutinising everything from fashion to their school sports days, and for raising over £120,000 for charity

Passing the Torch: Bletchley Park Today

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In July next year the Olympic torch will be passed through Bletchley Park, with a special audience of young schoolchildren and I couldn’t be happier. Only in 2008, volunteers and companies such as IBM were working to save the park from running into the ground, so long had its work and significance been overlooked. A campaign spread rapidly with academics writing to national papers in outcry over Bletchley’s neglect. After admirable work, the site was eventually saved in October this year with a lump sum from the Heritage Lottery Fund, enabling the park to be fully restored and brought up to the ‘highest modern standards’. It is time the public took advantage of seeing them.

Bletchley is a place we all know of: famed as the main decryption centre for enemy cyphers during World War Two. It was a place enshrouded in secrecy and that secrecy has been fictionalised and re-imagined several times since its information became public. Films such as Enigma glamourise the park’s history and are surely responsible for a certain amount of popular interest; but the real story of the Park I fear still remains largely secret.

On a recent visit to Bletchley, I couldn’t help but notice I was one of the few people under sixty, or just above the age of five. It seemed to have become a place of nostalgia rather than learning, and through no fault of its own. With its preserved huts- the places where Bletchley workers lived and worked- interactive equipment and real life accounts that are far more interesting that those in the fiction, Bletchley offers one of the few places in the country where history can be experienced rather than learned dryly in a classroom.

Now this may come from a lack of personal mathematic genius, but I believe that perhaps an off-putting feature of the site is that its filled with codes, numbers and theories we assume we’ll never understand, and a day of failing at maths doesn’t sound very fun. It is true, everywhere around the site are the legendary code-breaking machines, accompanied by signs explaining the history of their invention and how they worked. Indeed, some still are working and look rather fascinating whirring around- who would have thought a computing device ever used belts? So people saunter over transfixed by the complex machines, glance at their history, marvel at their construction, look at the buttons and the explanation some very kind person has tried to simplify for us; then sheepishly move on to the next part.

But, contrastingly, these machines epitomise the magic of the place (yes, magic). A spell binding quality comes from the stories of the real people who did understand these clever machines and for the first time. Channel Four recently recognised this with its docu-drama ‘Britain’s Greatest Codebreaker’ about the life of Alan Turing, the radical mathematician who was responsible for the foundation of computer technology and the intelligence instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma code. Yes, to try and summarise his work is a mouthful, he did a lot. Turing is a figure who seems to embody much of Bletchley; an eccentric personality whose genius was allowed to breathe at the park. Yet, only a few years later he would commit suicide after facing chemical castration for the ‘gross indecency’ of his homosexuality. The history of Bletchley Park, for me, comes alive at this point. Whilst I already had some understanding of the great things achieved here, I couldn’t believe that the man whom our country owed such huge debt to was prejudiced against so disgustingly. History became personal as I measured Turing’s treatment against our modern principles.

For a long time Turing’s work received no thanks or recognition, but both his work and his personal life are commemorated at Bletchley and the Channel Four documentary is made in similar spirit. What is more, ‘Britain’s Greatest Codebreaker’ has the potential to reach a younger audience through Channel Four, particularly whilst still playing on 40D next to shows such as Misfits. This will hopefully encourage a new audience to visit the place where such an interesting character lived and worked for a crucial period of his life. The program’s patchwork of interviews, dramatisation and archive footage could easily be seen as a bit of a mishmash, but in fact recreates a fittingly eclectic portrait of the tragic genius.

In this vein, it should be also noted that Bletchley too has a somewhat eclectic mix of things to see, aside from it’s straightforward wartime history. I had no idea, for instance, that our National Museum of Computing is currently housed there (and I had no idea I would find that remotely interesting). But compared to the likes of the National Science Museum, this little exhibit is housed in a rather ramshackle hut that is almost comically quaint. Not only did it feature a fully operating Colossus machine, but also a tiny room with Wallace and Gromit figures- hardly the modern idea of technology. An old postcard shop selling arrays of stamps, a retro toy museum and a room dedicated entirely to Winston Churchill memorabilia also left me wondering why there wasn’t at least a younger generation of thick framed glasses, skinny jeans wearing vintage seekers. It is a national treasure, packed full of secrets to explore.

 

Jessie J unveiled as Glaceau vitaminwater's Olympic ambassador – as she launches 'Flavour Creator'

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Glacéau vitaminwater is proud to be worldwide partner and best mate for the London 2012 Olympic Games

September 2011, Glacéau vitaminwater® is proud to announce its partnership of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The original, great tasting enhanced hydration from New York, is announcing its status as worldwide partner and best mate of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Glacéau vitaminwater is also announcing that British pop sensation and style icon Jessie J, has been brought onboard as a brand ambassador. Glacéau vitaminwater will be inviting and inspiring people to get involved in a series of exciting projects and events, in which Jessie J will be bringing to life the colour, personality and fun of Glacéau vitaminwater.

The first of these projects will be Flavour Creator, an exciting and inspiring competiton that will be inviting the public to co-create, with Glacéau vitaminwater, the flavour of the Olympic Games. Jessie J will be encouraging Britain to co-create this new limited edition flavour of the Olympic Games via a unique Facebook application www.facebook.com/vitaminwater <http://www.facebook.com/vitaminwater>

Scheduled to hit the shelves in time for London 2012 this will be the official Glacéau vitaminwater flavour and the first time Flavour Creator will be activated in the UK – to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Jessie J said, “The London 2012 games is a once in a lifetime event and I am so excited to have the chance to be part of it. It is a chance to show Britain at its best with music and sport and creativity combined. Good times.”

To help Glacéau vitaminwater pick its London 2012 Flavour go to:
www.facebook/vitaminwater <http://www.facebook/vitaminwater>


 

Interview: Iwan Thomas MBE

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As an athlete, Iwan Thomas MBE has been there, done it, and got the medals to prove it, including a gold from the 1997 World Championships. When it comes to track and field, he knows his onions, which is why he’s landed a plum job as commentator for Channel 4’s coverage of the World Athletics Championships from Daegu in South Korea. Here, we take the opportunity to pick his brain regarding Britain’s best medal hopefuls, as well as Usain Bolt, Oscar Pistorius and much more.

The World Championships are almost upon us. Are you excited?
I am, actually. It’ll be a bit strange going to a World Championships and not being a competitor, being on the other side of the fence, but I’m really looking forward to the experience. I’m a bit worried about the food – you see people on Twitter [Iwan tweets as @Iwanrunner], showing pictures of people eating live octopus and things like that. It’ll be interesting. Maybe I’ll lose some weight over the two weeks. But I’m really looking forward to it.

Who do you see as Great Britain’s outstanding medal prospects this time around?
You’ve obviously got Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu – they’re both reigning World Champions and will be trying to defend their titles. Then you’ve got other athletes who have had a massive breakthrough in the last couple of years, like Dai Greene, and also Jenny Meadows in the 800m, she’s running really well this year. I’d never say anyone was a banker, because athletics is a pretty strange sport, but you’d be looking at those guys to get medals. You’ve also got people like Chris Tomlinson and Greg Rutherford, both in the long jump. At the recent Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace, they came second and third, and Chris has got a British record this year, so he’s in tremendous form. I think in major championships it’s all about the underdogs coming through and doing well, so you never know. As a whole, the British team is in a pretty good place.

You’ve got athletes like Christine Ohuruogu, who’s always been a big event runner, but she’s not had a good year this year, has she?
No. She’s had a few injuries. I’d be very surprised if she became World Champion again. Don’t forget she’s a world champion and Olympic champion, though, so you can never count her out. She’s a performer. But if you look at current form, she’s had these injuries, and she’s struggling this year. It’d be fantastic to see her run well, and it would also be really good for the women’s 4×400 relay squad as well- they’re all doing well at the moment. You’ve got Christine, the likes of Jenny Meadows who can come down to 4×400, and you’ve got Perri Shakes-Drayton, who’s another emerging talent this year in the 400m hurdles. She’s someone to look out for, she’s an outside chance for a medal as well.

Talking of athletes who have really broken through in the last couple of years, Mo Farah must be up there as well.
Oh yeah, 100%. I don’t want to put the kiss of death on him, but Mo is in the best form of his life. He’s beautiful to watch, he’s not scared of the big athletes, he’s beaten everybody. It’ll be interesting to see whether he tries to do the double [run both 5000m and 10,000m] but without a doubt, Mo is someone I can’t wait to watch. Without putting the medal round his neck and putting pressure on him, I’d be very surprised if he didn’t become world champion.

What sort of shape do you think British athletics is in as a whole at the moment?
I think it’s pretty good. Three or four years ago it was going through a bit of a transitional phase – a lot of good athletes had retired, a lot of guaranteed medallists – the likes of Jonathan Edwards, Steve Backley, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis and so on. Everybody retired, and it left a bit of a hole. But over the last two or three years, we’ve got the new stars coming through. It’s exciting times, it really is.

Away from team GB, who are you looking forward to watching?
Obviously any athlete in the 100m final. That’s the blue riband event, I can’t wait to watch that. It’s going to be interesting to see Usain Bolt, because although he’s not been beaten this year, he’s not running as convincingly as he has in the past. He’s going to be under a little bit of pressure. I think he’s going to win the 200m, but the 100m is by no means a foregone conclusion. If his countryman, Asafa Powell, can get himself together -he’s had a few injuries – who knows? I don’t think Usain Bolt will be in a position to celebrate ten metres before the line this time, he’ll be pushed all the way.

What else are you looking forward to?
I always enjoy my old event, the 400m. It’s close to my heart. To be honest, I’m just a massive athletics fan, so all the events. I’m looking forward to watching Goldie Sayers in the javelin as well – she’s had a good year this year. I’m so excited about the whole thing. I think a lot of events will be really close. As a neutral, that has to make for a really exciting spectacle.

You mentioned the 400m. One of the stories of the championships is going to be Oscar Pistorius, isn’t it? What do you think about his presence there? [Pistorius is a double amputee who runs on special carbon fibre artificial limbs]
I think it’s great for the sport, and great for Paralympic sport. I know there’s a lot of controversy behind it. I’m probably a little bit biased, because I’m friends with Oscar and I’ve trained with him, but he’s worked very hard to get where he has done, and I think you’ve got to take your hat off to him. Long may it continue. The bottom line is he’s been cleared to run by the governing body, so let him run. It’ll put a few people’s noses out of joint, because he’s going to beat a lot of able-bodied athletes, but I think it’s fantastic for him and the sport.

How far do you think he can go in the competition?
A good lane draw is vital. If he’s drawn in lane 1 and it’s raining, it’s not good for him – he doesn’t like running in rain. But if he gets a good lane, then I think he could definitely make the semi-finals, and when you make the semis of a world championships, anything can happen on the day. He’ll have to run near his best to get through the heats, but I think he’ll do that.

Channel 4 is covering the event for the first time this year. What can we expect from their coverage?
I hope we do the sport justice. You’ll have a lot of people who are used to having watched it on the BBC for years, but I think we’ll do it slightly different. I think we could make it very modern, and appeal to the masses. There will be different audiences watching it – you’ve got your die-hard athletics fans who know everything, and also hopefully newcomers to the sport who won’t understand all the technicalities behind the events,. So it’s our job to try and portray that without being patronising. I think, hopefully, we’ll do a good job, and people will come away and enjoy the coverage.

Are you looking forward to working with Michael Johnson?
Definitely. I can’t wait to work with Michael. I had a long career against him, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him as an athlete. I also respect him as a pundit as well. I think he’s very good at his job, he tells it how it is, and I’m looking forward to sitting next to him on a sofa and hopefully forming a nice little double act together.

How have you taken to life in front of the camera? Are you enjoying it?
Yeah, I am actually. I think my career was cut short with bad injuries, and I never got back to running fast after the injuries, and don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be ten years younger and still competing, but if I can’t do that, the next best thing is trying to help others enjoy the sport that I love so much. I really enjoy TV work.

You’re still the British 400m record holder. Do you want to keep that, or would you like to see it broken, because that would mean the next great 400m runner was coming through?
If I’m honest, a bit of both. As a lover of the sport, I’m really surprised it’s still standing. You’d think with technology, and better understanding of nutrition and training, it would go. As a lover of the sport, I‘d definitely like to see my British record go. But it also indicates to me how good our generation was. In 1998 Roger Black came forth in our British trials, running 44.6. Someone running 44.6 would be number one in the world this year.

Was that one of the secrets of your success, that you, Roger, Jamie Baulch and so on were all pushing each other on?
Absolutely, 100 per cent. Domestic rivalry is crucial. If I hadn’t had to run 44.3 to be Britain’s best, perhaps I would have only run 44.8. I still would have trained as hard, but subconsciously I think you need to be pushed on. We’ve always had great 400m runners. Half of me is very proud to have the British record, but if I’m honest, I’d like to see it go.

Lastly, you alluded to this at the beginning, but how will you feel being out there trackside when the 400m final is going on?
I miss it every day. Whenever I’m out there and there’s a 400m race about to start, I get the jitters and want to start doing my stretches. I think to myself, “You know what? I could still do that.” But I can’t, I don’t train and I’m old. I miss the sport every day. You can guarantee, when the 400m is on, I’ll be on the edge of my seat, jumping around like a loon, because I’ll wish that I was still out there.

Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 starts Saturday 27 August. Iwan Thomas is part of Channel 4’s team of experts who will be bringing you extensive coverage from Deagu, with expert opinions, in depth interviews and live commentary of the entire Championships.

For the latest Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 News – http://athletics.channel4.com/index.html

By Benjie Goodhart

Thanks to Channel 4’s coverage of the IAAF World Championships 2011.

Londoner's Life 18 – by Phil Ryan

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Londoners Life 18 – by Phil Ryan

Well it’s obvious what this column has to be about. And that’s the fact that the cycle lanes to the Olympics don’t actually go all the way to Stratford! No they just stop a few miles short. It’s a scandal. On another matter London is on fire I notice and full of charming young guys in scarves and masks nicking everything they can get their scummy little hands on when they’re not torching shops and people’s homes. Meanwhile the London Metropolitan Police who don’t actually have anyone in charge at the top currently have adopted a clever brand new approach called just watching it all – in case they upset the local kids. The same charming local kids or ‘feral gangs’ as they are better known who are currently re-enacting Grand Theft Auto on the streets of various London boroughs. Presumably later to play said game on their new stolen consoles only to find it’s not quite the same. I have a plan however. Nuns. Huge armies of them. It’s very difficult to be rude or violent towards a nun. I haven’t tried but I feel it innately. We should train up Nun riot squads.

On a completely unrelated matter it is Tourist surge time as the capital fills up with evermore eager visitors. They’ll certainly have some interesting typical tourist images to take home this visit. Burning Red buses, friendly bobbies in Riot Gear screaming, Scenes of fantastic free shopping opportunities (if you’re fast enough and handy with a torn up pole) and of course happy young London children hurling petrol bombs and bricks. But London is no stranger to the odd riot although we should be clear what’s happening now is just a bunch of criminals nicking things. I have heard the various pundits and usual suspects trotting out their theories on social deprivation. But it’s certainly a strange way to attack Government policy by hoisting a 50 plasma television out of a burning Dixons! And almost inevitably I see the usual London politicos and right on mouthpieces out blaming everything but the yoof. No it’s deprivation and police brutality that makes you nearly murder strangers, terrorize the elderly and steal phones, laptops and training shoes apparently. Who’d have guessed?

It is disturbing however to finally realise just how many gangs there are now and how organised they are. They have Facebook pages, tweets and text alerts. Very London. Very fashionable. Very depressing. But we’ll get over it. 60 years ago they bombed the place and that got sorted out. And my favourite political expression now “Lessons must be learned” will dominate every powerful mouth in London for the next few months. Of course the other expression intimating that London tax payers will have to “unfortunately pick up the tab” will be said but very very quietly.

So I’ve been out and about doing my best to avoid the main thoroughfares as I always do in the tourist season but I did stop in St Christopher’s Place for tea and a crepe a few nights back which cost slightly more than having my buttocks dusted with Platinum and of course the obligatory ‘Gypsy’ band turned up to serenade us. But they were actually really good and I tossed a quid into their tambourine. But it was a real London scene I felt. A crowded sea of tables, a huge mix of people from everywhere and a fat Romanian bloke yelling ‘That’s Amore’ at the top of his lungs whilst leering at two young buxom drunken Australian girls dressed for a hen party in pink cowboy hats. Hm! Is this the land that produced Shakespeare? But aside from that it’s very much eat outside time in town right now. Try getting a seat by the River on any of the terraces along the Thames or Canals however. Booking in advance helps I’m told. February usually which is a bit of a blow. But there is some great food out there and add the sunshine and it is a pleasure to be in London right now if you know where to go. I would make lots of recommendations but then everyone else would go there and my little havens would be ruined. However in the Frost spirit I’ll give you one – just one mind – Check out the Mango Mousse (it’s a dessert) in a place called Siam Central in Charlottes Street off Tottenham Court Road. Thai food – fresh as you can imagine – tiny restaurant – food to savour! Oh yes and avoid Wednesdays that’s when I go. So what will happen next after the ‘riots’? Lessons will be learned ahem. A few dumb crooks will go to young offender institutions. Ebay will be flooded with cheap electrical goods and phones. But in truth absolutely nothing radical or clever will happen. So does anybody round here believe it will change the city and the way it operates. No. It’s a London thing.