Don't worry, you haven't accidentally left wombling hobo!
You've just stepped into the little blog nook where no wombling, making do or mending are to be found.
This is the oddball page, a space for a few of my other passions.
This is the oddball page, a space for a few of my other passions.
Let's start with....
english language teaching/learning
There are so many great links out there for teachers and learners of English as a Foreign Language, and everyone will have their own favourites. Here, I thought I'd present a few lesser-known blogs that I've been introduced to through knowing their authors, as well as resources you might not be familiar with.
There are so many great links out there for teachers and learners of English as a Foreign Language, and everyone will have their own favourites. Here, I thought I'd present a few lesser-known blogs that I've been introduced to through knowing their authors, as well as resources you might not be familiar with.
First up, of course, has to be my very talented partner Matt's under (re)construction blog. This is a great example of how a teacher can really add value to their students' learning experiences with just a bit of blog space and dedication. Interesting for teachers and learners alike, you can find supplementary exercises for various levels, teaching ideas and experimental use of new technologies.
Then there's my new colleague Dave's wonderful tefl geek blog, which takes a humourous and thought-provoking look at pretty much all things tefl-teachery. I'm only just getting to know it, but I love it.
Another couple of blogs that I'd like to plug come from two ex-students of mine:
Carmen is a proficiency-level student who regularly blogs in English, often sharing exciting learning resources that she has discovered, along with fun ideas. mira que luna is a great example for all students who are thinking of blogging as a way of pushing their learning forward.
And do you know about these webtools? They seem pretty funky to me... prezi moodle jing wordle
Teaching English abroad, we are sometimes approached by students considering a study break in Britain and wanting advice on schools. For adults who have the means, I don't hesitate to recommend the excellent courses at Kingsway in my hometown of Worcester.
A better run, better equipped, more professional, caring and comfortable learning environment is hard to imagine. They're small, family-owned, British Council accredited, and even offer one-to-one online learning. What are you waiting for?!
Another issue I care deeply about. The number of people with chronic digestive tract diseases in western societies is ever-increasing, yet still no root cause nor cure has been identified. What's more, with the symptoms being so varied, hard to understand and embarrassing to talk about, there's very little awareness of what it means to have IBD (that's 'inflammatory bowel disease' as opposed to 'irritable bowel syndrome': confusion number one cleared up- this is NOT IBS) . As a sufferer myself, this makes me especially sad.
Here's a bit of awareness raising for those of you who are interested:
In 2011, Channel 4's Food Hospital featured a patient with Crohn's disease. Their website seems to be quite a good reference point, and you might also like to watch season 1, episode 3.
It's unfortunate that a facebook group which particularly helped me over the years has disappeared (so no link for that) but we are crohn's seems to be a similarly supportive online community, with useful forums and articles. As is the National Association for Crohn's and Colitis (UK), who are performing valuable research. Additionally, there's also Healing Well, which has some informative videos on many aspects of gastroentestinal diseases (amongst others).
Taking a broader look at chronic diseases, but you don't look sick is another great site. Why not read Christine Miserandino's excellent spoon theory to get a better understanding of what these conditions can really be like to live with? It's a fantastic analogy.
Other internet highlights are: illustrator Tom Humberstone's fabulous comic strip on the theme, comedian Gareth Berliner's incredibly moving talk from his 'gutless' tour (he made a very informative documentary several years ago for the community channel, but unfortunately I can no longer locate it - if you know how to find it, please let me know!), and journalist Loren Berlin's own IBD reflections.
For my part, I'd like to quash a few myths:
1 Spicy food is not bad for me. IBDs are thought by many scientists to be autoimmune diseases: this means that what actually causes the inflammation is our own bodies' defenses, not food stuff per se. The fact is that (for whatever reason) different crohny bodies seem to find issue with different foods and, from what I understand, there is no reason to believe that spicy, bitter or strong flavoured foods should be any more likely to trigger flare-ups than any others. They may cause irritability in IBS sufferers - and unlucky folk there are who suffer from both - but, as we've already clarified, that's a different condition entirely. My biggest trigger foods are considered by most to be really rather innocuous - how often do you see the warning: 'may contain corn or pork'? Yet if I don't steer clear of them (along with caffeine, sorbitol, fizz, citrus fruits..) I know I'm treading on very, very thin ice. As it happens, a couple of ingredients found in curries are incredibly anti-inflammatory and healing: the more turmeric and coconut I can get in me the better. Bring on that korma!
2 Eating lots of fruit and veg may NOT do me the world of good.
Indeed, when guts are inflamed, the last thing they want to have to cope with is lots of insoluable fibre, pips, seeds and tough skins. The last thing they want to have to do is process lots. Those terrible processed foods that everyone will tell me can't possibly be good, actually give intestines a break. And sometimes (only sometimes, mind) that's the first priority. True, they're nutrient low, but if the lining of your guts is unable to do it's job well (bear in mind: its job is absorption of nutrients..) you'll in any case be thinking more seriously about how to get easily-absorbable goodies into you. By supplementing (nutrient shakes, tablets) or eating things rich in soluable fibre (yes, ok, bananas, papayas, avocados, squashes are great) maybe.
3 The main issue with IBD is not necessarily the need to rush to the toilet a lot. I do hear stories of people who need to 'go' 40+ times a day, and I guess they might quibble with me on this, I don't know.. but the many other potential symptoms are hardly nothing in comparison. If you're suffering an intestinal flare-up, toilet trips are only one part of what's going on with your body. Healthy people (including me when in remission) don't really conceive of their intestines outside the bathroom door. Where are they? What do they feel like from the inside? Not much clue. But imagine being constantly, accutely aware of them: the very shape of them, all knotty and hard, can seer through you all day. Dull rolling aches, doubled up stabbing.. the pain involved is often day in, day out. Then there's fatigue - which just saps you - and, for some of us, arthritis that makes you feel old and weak well before your time, both of which can come even when your guts themselves are happy.
And what about other potential 'extra-intestinal manifestations'? Mouth and skin sores and ulcers, eye inflammation, lung issues, kidney and liver diseases, for example. I have thankfully only once really had a taste of a couple of these, but am keen to avoid a recurrence! Others live with fistulas, abscesses, strictures, toxic megacolon, surgeries, colostomy bags or even being permanently nil by mouth. There's increased risk of colon cancer, the possibility of complications with conception and pregnancy, adverse drug reactions (don't get me started on Prednisone), worry of what sustained drug use might bring (most IBDers are on maintenance drugs that always need taking, regardless of health, to reduce the risk of future flare-ups), greater susceptibility to bugs and infections for those on immunosuppressants, bloating (we may look thin (DON'T be jealous) but can all-of-a-sudden look 6 months pregnant - that is not a comfortable state to be in!) anaemia and nutrient deficiencies (either through lack of absorption or through regular blood loss)... the list goes on.
It's not just about diarrhea, folks. In fact, sometimes it isn't about diarrhea at all.
4 I don't "just need to get out and do stuff". Not always, anyway. Sometimes, I really JUST need to SLEEP. Sometimes I need to rest A LOT. Yes, that's right: 'NEED'. We're not talking laziness or self-indulgence now (although, that's not to say I'm never guilty of those things..!) but the plain fact is that sick bodies need to heal. Period. But I don't look sick? Then maybe you want to take a look at my edoscopy slides.. (If you clicked that link, I'm guessing the answer is no, right?!) Also, stress has been identified as one of the biggest contributing factors to IBD flare ups. It has to be something pretty damn good to make an adrenaline rush worth it for me.
Do you know the thing I understand least in all of this? It's why, despite increasing prevalence of these diseases (amongst others) many cultures seem intent on exposing our guts to ever more artificial substances each year, and in ever increasing volumes. Do you know how hard it's getting to avoid food containing newly-created, wholly unnatural, clearly unnecessary ingredients? Ones whose long-term or combined effects cannot possibly yet be fathomed? Genetically modified crops, hydrogenated fats, homogenised milks, monosodium glutamate, modified starches, high-fructose corn syrups, sorbitol, aspartamine, E numbers gallore.. These things weren't in our diets in such high doses even 5 years ago, let alone 20. NKP fertilisers that only put 6 or 7 minerals back into the soil and ignore the rest of the 20+ trace elements that our bodies took for granted before 'organic' became a lifestyle choice (and that very likely play vital roles deep within our less-well understood bodily systems). Irradiation of supermarket fruit and veg (and, to be really 'out there', microwaving and freezing) which change foodstuffs on a cellular level and remove 'good' bacteria & gut flora as well as 'bad'... These technologies have come out of labs. They are not what we spent hundreds of thousands of years evolving to cope with.
That's not to say all the above are categorically linked to our western societies' current health issues (although there is scientific evidence in a fair few cases), and of course any benefits of their use should also be bourne in mind, but I certainly question the wisdom of incorporating all of them so readily (and often wholly unconsciously) into our diets on an everyday basis. People aren't born with Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis, they develop them (at ever younger ages, it seems). They are chronic diseases, which means once they come, you have them for life. And although it's true that nobody knows for sure why this happens, isn't it logical - since they are, after all, digestive diseases, found where the body meets, breaks down and tries to make use of food - that we should be more wary of what we put inside us?
Be careful with your body.
It means more to you than you might realise.
For my part, I'd like to quash a few myths:
1 Spicy food is not bad for me. IBDs are thought by many scientists to be autoimmune diseases: this means that what actually causes the inflammation is our own bodies' defenses, not food stuff per se. The fact is that (for whatever reason) different crohny bodies seem to find issue with different foods and, from what I understand, there is no reason to believe that spicy, bitter or strong flavoured foods should be any more likely to trigger flare-ups than any others. They may cause irritability in IBS sufferers - and unlucky folk there are who suffer from both - but, as we've already clarified, that's a different condition entirely. My biggest trigger foods are considered by most to be really rather innocuous - how often do you see the warning: 'may contain corn or pork'? Yet if I don't steer clear of them (along with caffeine, sorbitol, fizz, citrus fruits..) I know I'm treading on very, very thin ice. As it happens, a couple of ingredients found in curries are incredibly anti-inflammatory and healing: the more turmeric and coconut I can get in me the better. Bring on that korma!
2 Eating lots of fruit and veg may NOT do me the world of good.
Indeed, when guts are inflamed, the last thing they want to have to cope with is lots of insoluable fibre, pips, seeds and tough skins. The last thing they want to have to do is process lots. Those terrible processed foods that everyone will tell me can't possibly be good, actually give intestines a break. And sometimes (only sometimes, mind) that's the first priority. True, they're nutrient low, but if the lining of your guts is unable to do it's job well (bear in mind: its job is absorption of nutrients..) you'll in any case be thinking more seriously about how to get easily-absorbable goodies into you. By supplementing (nutrient shakes, tablets) or eating things rich in soluable fibre (yes, ok, bananas, papayas, avocados, squashes are great) maybe.
3 The main issue with IBD is not necessarily the need to rush to the toilet a lot. I do hear stories of people who need to 'go' 40+ times a day, and I guess they might quibble with me on this, I don't know.. but the many other potential symptoms are hardly nothing in comparison. If you're suffering an intestinal flare-up, toilet trips are only one part of what's going on with your body. Healthy people (including me when in remission) don't really conceive of their intestines outside the bathroom door. Where are they? What do they feel like from the inside? Not much clue. But imagine being constantly, accutely aware of them: the very shape of them, all knotty and hard, can seer through you all day. Dull rolling aches, doubled up stabbing.. the pain involved is often day in, day out. Then there's fatigue - which just saps you - and, for some of us, arthritis that makes you feel old and weak well before your time, both of which can come even when your guts themselves are happy.And what about other potential 'extra-intestinal manifestations'? Mouth and skin sores and ulcers, eye inflammation, lung issues, kidney and liver diseases, for example. I have thankfully only once really had a taste of a couple of these, but am keen to avoid a recurrence! Others live with fistulas, abscesses, strictures, toxic megacolon, surgeries, colostomy bags or even being permanently nil by mouth. There's increased risk of colon cancer, the possibility of complications with conception and pregnancy, adverse drug reactions (don't get me started on Prednisone), worry of what sustained drug use might bring (most IBDers are on maintenance drugs that always need taking, regardless of health, to reduce the risk of future flare-ups), greater susceptibility to bugs and infections for those on immunosuppressants, bloating (we may look thin (DON'T be jealous) but can all-of-a-sudden look 6 months pregnant - that is not a comfortable state to be in!) anaemia and nutrient deficiencies (either through lack of absorption or through regular blood loss)... the list goes on.
It's not just about diarrhea, folks. In fact, sometimes it isn't about diarrhea at all.
4 I don't "just need to get out and do stuff". Not always, anyway. Sometimes, I really JUST need to SLEEP. Sometimes I need to rest A LOT. Yes, that's right: 'NEED'. We're not talking laziness or self-indulgence now (although, that's not to say I'm never guilty of those things..!) but the plain fact is that sick bodies need to heal. Period. But I don't look sick? Then maybe you want to take a look at my edoscopy slides.. (If you clicked that link, I'm guessing the answer is no, right?!) Also, stress has been identified as one of the biggest contributing factors to IBD flare ups. It has to be something pretty damn good to make an adrenaline rush worth it for me.
Do you know the thing I understand least in all of this? It's why, despite increasing prevalence of these diseases (amongst others) many cultures seem intent on exposing our guts to ever more artificial substances each year, and in ever increasing volumes. Do you know how hard it's getting to avoid food containing newly-created, wholly unnatural, clearly unnecessary ingredients? Ones whose long-term or combined effects cannot possibly yet be fathomed? Genetically modified crops, hydrogenated fats, homogenised milks, monosodium glutamate, modified starches, high-fructose corn syrups, sorbitol, aspartamine, E numbers gallore.. These things weren't in our diets in such high doses even 5 years ago, let alone 20. NKP fertilisers that only put 6 or 7 minerals back into the soil and ignore the rest of the 20+ trace elements that our bodies took for granted before 'organic' became a lifestyle choice (and that very likely play vital roles deep within our less-well understood bodily systems). Irradiation of supermarket fruit and veg (and, to be really 'out there', microwaving and freezing) which change foodstuffs on a cellular level and remove 'good' bacteria & gut flora as well as 'bad'... These technologies have come out of labs. They are not what we spent hundreds of thousands of years evolving to cope with.That's not to say all the above are categorically linked to our western societies' current health issues (although there is scientific evidence in a fair few cases), and of course any benefits of their use should also be bourne in mind, but I certainly question the wisdom of incorporating all of them so readily (and often wholly unconsciously) into our diets on an everyday basis. People aren't born with Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis, they develop them (at ever younger ages, it seems). They are chronic diseases, which means once they come, you have them for life. And although it's true that nobody knows for sure why this happens, isn't it logical - since they are, after all, digestive diseases, found where the body meets, breaks down and tries to make use of food - that we should be more wary of what we put inside us?
Be careful with your body.
It means more to you than you might realise.
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