MCAT, Meow common side effects…

These side effects are only in accordance to my findings from this blog and through speaking with people at house parties, club events and any other places MCAT kittens can be found … not limiting myself there!!

• HIGHLY ADDICTIVE

• Chest Pains -  usually afterwards, so far the longest amount of time for pain to be expereinced is 3 days however that individual is getting back to me, they do have a cold and so could possible not be related to MCAT.
• Circulatory Problems – I have spoken and read about peoples hands, feet and legs turning blue.
• Being high for hours and hours turning into days and not being able to sleep.
• Sleep Paralysis -  the norm is for a person to experinec this once or twice in a life time however three people have reported to myself with this issue and seem to have it regularly. I’m not sure what that means. Basically Sleep Paralysis is where you wake but your body is still asleep or paralysed, I have had it once and it didn’t bother me I just went back to sleep and was okay however I have researched this a little bit and found that it can be horrific, people can experience very vivvis hullucinations, like being  part of a real nightmare! Sleep paralysis has been linked to alien abductions etc he he but clearly there is something in this drug , a chemical that has the ability to induce this type of experience, I could be very wrong but that is where my suspicions lye!!
• Sore throats -  could be very corrosive or simply bacteria could be spreading into throats as people share keys, straw, notes etc!! Streptococcal A is a common form of infection easily transferred and causes spre throats, this bacteria could kill, i.e. Gabi Price a young girl recently in the news, it was thought she died as a result of taking the drug however it wasn’t, Streptococcal A played a major part in her death, this was not necessarily MCAT however we must consider the possibilities http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4796771.Worthing_drug_scare_teen_died_of_natural_causes/  Information on Streptococcal A http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/streptococcal-infections/Pages/Introduction.aspx. This is only my opinion and not to be taken as a professional piece of advice I am merely offering my thoughts and making my own links.
  
• Hullucinations -  Take the boy who thought he had centipedes crawling all over him and ripped his scotum off!!! http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2747979/Lad-ripped-his-scrotum-off.html

Okay I’ll be back soon, got to rush off …dinners ready!! Stomach first guys!!

More about MCAT, MKHAT

My last post about MCAT has developed quite an interest with people, I’m really pleased with feedback about this legal high , thankyou for your time peeps!!

So on my few outings into the crazy music scene I have been socialising with kittens of the ‘MCAT CIRCLE’, clearly this drug has caught on very quickly along with its addictiveness. Takers have said they know it’s bad for them but they just can’t say no as it is so amazing, clubbers are so excited about this drug which I believe is climbing up in price due to its popularity and demand.

I have seen people on it behave in all sorts of ways, some can’t stop throwing shapes, some can’t stop talking, some people’s faces are doing gymnastics and some are simply in a mess. The really messy ones seem to be in a some kind of trance and they come across as though they are not having a good time but when you ask they respond with the opposite?! And they will continue to feed their state of mind. I find this drug fascinating as well as very concerning as I often hear…’I know my limits’ this makes me laugh as no one really knows much about it, what I have on this blog is my knowledge which is still sparse.

Many people are choosing to snort this drug, think that’s what happens with all white powders! Anyway I have been asking what it is like to snort as I heard snorting may be particularly bad for you, however that is here say and I have no facts as of yet to back this claim up. So people have said it really burns for quite some time and have experienced shooting pains into their brain, that’s the round about description of the effects of snorting. In my earlier post about MCAT a response spoke about a hole appearing, the amount involved was high but people who snort cocaine have talked about sniffing high quantities in one ’session’ yet holes forming so quickly seem to be hard to do, actress Daniella Westbrook is a prime example of abusing a drug alot and destroying her nose however that was after a long time of abusing a drug. So I can only conclude that MCAT is highly corrosive hence the burning sensation and the hole incident, also the sore throats suggest some kind of corrosion although dehydration could also be a cause along with smoking.

I have just read an article to find out that class room staff are having to receive emergency training in order to be able to deal with pupils on this drug, this is how mad the MCAT situation has got. People as young as 12 are taking this drug, it’s cheap and easy to get hold of even so a  school girl in Yorkshire has started having having sexual relations with men so she can fund her habit, what does this say? This is the kind of behaviour you could expect from a herroin addict or someone on meph though chances of being found attractive are slim!! Crystal Meph and MCAT I think are very similar so I wonder how the drug will be affecting peoples looks? One way to find out have a see at the before and after MCAT pics.

Pre Semester 2, PR level 2

Sorted out my placement for next year, well I start in May so I’m so excited, can’t wait to get back into work, have money and be of valuable use to people!!! Yay!

I’m nervous about my results from last term, I know I spent time working but with what effect? We shall see and perhaps I will have to reconsider my learning methods. There was a time when I would take endless notes over and over again but would actually be taking very little in so last term I lost this lame tactic and took up on simply reading and believe I took more in.

I was attempting to be more organised however when it came to handing in I printed on the day, I usually goto a print shop in Headingly however thought it would be easier and cheaper to use the Uni printer. The printing malarkey turned out to be a huge drama and it cost a fortune, should have stuck with what I knew to be best also the University PC’s couldn’t open an important part of material that complimented my brand book!! So what could I do? Nothing I had to email it after I had handed my work in, I had spoken about this within my rationale so it was clear the work had been done prior to the hand in time but whether or not it has been used in another thing and a loss of marks. So if I had been organised and sorted this all out the day before it could have been simpler, lots of things had been missed out which makes me look careless…really that’s not it just a lack of planning and organisation!! A key couple of elements required in PR!!1 Come on Swooz!!!

In a previous post I spoke of having to do a blog for my placement, I used the theme and sent it ton Richard Bailey in hope of it being published and…it did, I cannot explain how good that felt, finally something in Behind The Spin please see link http://www.behindthespin.com/features/anti-social-networking . My theme and content was interesting however some ‘waffle’ did have to be taken out but I learnt from this and saw that I don’t need to go into such great depth on things, keeping things simple is a great way of thinking and a good way to keep people focused.

I have also been offered the chance to do copy for a graphic design website, I’ve been doing that today and will update you as soon as something gets used!!! Whoop whoop!!

Anyway that’s about it for now, snore snore!!! xx

Anti Social Networking

‘No Man is An Island’…In other words as a race we do not thrive on alienation and this is what ‘new media’ has at the core of its capabilities.

The Blackberry is a wonder to hectic lifestyles, this powerful technology provides individuals with the convenience of being able to have constant access to emails, the Internet and have the use of a ‘hellophone’ anywhere in the world as long as they have the all required…reception.

Slowly but surely people seem to be getting sucked into a world of their own, creating their very own bubble where real people as in humans in the flesh are no longer required. Have you ever noticed groups of people in restaurants, bars and other social venues with their heads down tapping away? Or walking down the street and miraculously missing lamp posts, people and bins…quite literally an art! Have you been lucky enough to experience that not so rude but more ‘acceptable’ interruption mid conversation so one can ‘ping’ or reply to a facebook thread?

The above leads onto the ‘boombuzz’ of social media it’s everywhere and there’s no escaping it. PR practitioners and journalists are amongst many who now make use of the Internet and web based technologies allowing broadcast media monologues to be transformed into social media dialogues. New social media does have its advantages:

• Information can be delivered at a fast rate.
• Widespread coverage.
• Allows for breaking news to be delivered sooner than standard media outlets.
• Improve brand recognition and brand awareness.
• Search Engine Optimisation can call for an increase in website traffic.
• Sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are free.

A common advantage found across the internet has been:

• Community, Sharing and Connecting.

Designer Kevin McCloud has been experiencing and sharing what community really means in a channel 4 documentary called Slumming it: Kevin McCloud. Shockingly the city is built upon rubbish with streams of toxins and sewage but its normal there and part of the everyday living, they live in what could be seen as ‘living hell’ even houses blend in with the rubbish. Dharavi does have something that the Western world is losing and it’s: Community, sharing and connecting. All that can be gathered from this documentary is that people seem happy! There is family life, everyone shares, people come together and people of all ages will sit with each other and communicate. One can only imagine that word spreads quickly across such a close knit community of people. By the way an important note ‘85% of residents have jobs and crime rate is low’ Damian Thompson. (2010).

For organisations social media is a great tool especially if budgets are tight, it can be free and generate much business not just on a local scale but on global one… ‘Glocal scale’?! The buzz about new media is immense and travelling at a torpedo rate.

So now we must question whether society has gone too far? Does it ever end? Nope not social media, it’s endless and consuming in more ways than one. For the not so new to Public Relations and Journalism it has been noted that work loads have increased without a pay rise and longer hours, it’s as though social media has purposely crept in hoping not to be busted on its high maintenance.

According to statistics found on the National Union of Journalists site 25% of journalists found that with new media their working shift patterns had changed, 37% of respondents said journalists covering all media now worked longer hours and 32% said their hours were longer than agreed in their contract. A whopping 75% of respondents to the survey carried out felt that the integration of social media had increased the workload for some if not all of staff. In some cases it is believed that people have voluntarily taken up on the extra work however in most other cases it is thought that it has just happened.

It’s hard not to think journalists are being exploited for their good will and eagerness to further themselves especially in times of economic downturn. Social media is the perfect way for companies to get as much as they can out of employees no matter what it is doing to people’s health, that’s where it is leading by the way… to STRESS.  Social media is time consuming and needs to be deployed as a job for one person:

Social Media Dynamite required

Requirements:

• Commitment
• Dedication
• Resilience to boredom
• The ability to write
• The ability to fight temptation when being led astray by irrelevant materials online

This is a full time position and may need something called creativity. Oh and excellent tea making skills.

Anyway the fact is that the social media go hand in hand with Blackberries and other replications. There are certain pressures that come with social tools and one of the key ones is that people can’t live without them or people feel they need to have their social tool with them at all times and for business people this could mean no peace, literally.

It’s now possible to use your hellophones on aeroplanes if you’re in business class, must be a matter of life or death then if one can’t even have a journey free of calls, emails and texts! Once again social media is making allowances; it’s a government of its own. People are even at it on holiday, shocking and anti social. It seems there is no separation between work and home life, technologies such as the Blackberry have become people’s lives, and they rely heavily upon them and the supporting programmes and networks.

Stuart Gold, a marketing director who receives up to 1,000 e-mails a day on his BlackBerry, said: “I cannot believe this happened again. I’m on the road 300 days a year.

“My entire life is in my BlackBerry – my family life, my professional life, my emotional life, everything. They’re not allowed to do this to me.” DailyMail Online. (2008).

This was in response to the Blackberry blackout of 2008 that upset many people, Blackberry’s are like the heroin of social media and it’s sad that people have become so absorbed and taken over by something that has possibly, dare it be said?… been forced into their lives.

Amazingly people are at it for no real reason other than fuelling their bizarre addiction to technologies such as the ‘crackberry’. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are wonders in that the statistics they can provide look impressive but so what? You’ve got 800 friends or 900 followers, yes your name may have been known for a split moment before being put the back of the mind forever but who are you really? What do these people mean? It’s fair to say in most cases friends and followers are merely numbers and that’s as far as they go.

So are we losing the art communication?  It’s all very well communicating with our trendy Blackberrys and being connected to the world 24/7 but when does it stop? And are we creating our own little bubbles as in people are glued to their iphones, Blackberrys etc. People are out socially and they all have their heads down as they are tapping away or ‘pinging’, now that’s not social at all, social media is almost a cause to anti social behaviour. The knock on effects of social/new media could be the instigator of an acceptable ignorance within society.

References

pic http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sVUYC6gXAgI/SsLVmNbqzwI/AAAAAAAAAPA/AuM8bpGNAMk/s320/img-set.jpg

http://www.shiftcomm.com/social_media_benefits.html

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4796024_advantages-blackberry-phone.html

http://compassioninpolitics.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-social-media/

Daily Mail Online. (2008). Blackberry blackout hits millions. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-513849/BlackBerry-blackout-hits-millions-users-email-service-breaks-AGAIN.html .       Last Accessed January 2009

Damian Thompson. (2010). Slummin it: Kevin McCloud review. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6990314/Kevin-McCloud-Slumming-It-Channel-4-review.html. Last accessed 2010.

Year 2 Semester 2 Work Experience Jan 13th

I feel as though progress in being made  with my personal development.

As a rule I work slowly, reason being that when I was younger my keeness drove me to be careless, nothing serious but silly little mistakes that could have been prevented.

In PR the environment can be fast paced and you need to be able to keep up with it, the day just disappears before you. For the first time I set myself deadlines through out the day, I found this more than useful and will continue with this type of plan.

Today my tasks were:

Buxton Town Guide 2010 – see email  – need  ideas on how the first three pages can be best utilised and some ideas for measuring the guides effectiveness – i.e competition etc and driving footfall to the centre

-          Research and create a list of large estate agent companies or popular search engines – i.e www.rightmove.co.uk and Property Finder – not small independent agents only large UK-wide companies

-          See Alice re shopping centre media – we want an up to date list of deadlines for editorial, so we know exactly when press releases need to be issued in order to achieve coverage in the main papers for all our Shopping Centre locations

-          Carry on with the forward features you were doing before Christmas – have a chat with Alice if you want reminder of how to go about it

-          Blog – can you put something together to be the first blog we place on the Website

The task I havent touched base with is the blog, this will be tackled tomorrow.

I found my work with the features list time consuming because I find telephone work a challenge, the telephone makes me nervous and sweat!!!

Why? ?

When someone answers the call I’m not sure what to expect even after lots of goes I still find recievers short, I know it’s not because they’re monsters..well some are but as a rule editors and journalists etc. don’t have much time so it’s not like they have the spare time for a friendly!! neither do I but some kind of  happy tone would make things so much easier!! I found calling the advertisers a bit of a trick, sometimes there are no questions and a…yes you can have the features list right now..perfect! However be aware the trick can be rather testing when you have an ‘ace griller’ on the end wanting to know about your clients, oooh stutter, stutter, sweat, sweat, balls what am I saying?!!! I don’t know!!! Help and goodbye!!!

I’m beginning to familiarise myself properly with the different recievers, how they are, how they need you to be and how to communicate with different types in general.

Randomly…My time slots were really rather useful, setting myself targets to work within and a little more pressure actually encourages me.

I also found out that things don’t have to be mega sophisticated to be valuable or successful, simplicity is sometimes all it takes for example when a competition is in need, something straight forward and obvious can actually be the right way, just because something seems too obvious don’t let it fool you!!! As it did me but I have learnt from this which is the whole point!!!

I found that my researching skills are improving and it is becoming easier in the sense that I am being more relevant. It is easy to create work for yourself by not being relevant and it it time wasting.

So thats my day… brill

Twilight

Robert Pattinson…end of.

Uni, Christmas holidays and Semester 2 looming up

Hi, clearly lost any interest in keeping a diary of uni!!! I tried but found myself to talk nothing but ‘bore’!!

Anyway Last semester has flown past me along with the first year. Semester one of year two was far more interesting than the first year, it has brought more challenges and with that drive to strive!!

I gained some work experience with a record label, I was really excited about this as I thought music is where I want be, perhaps it still is however this one encounter has put me off. I believe I was put off as it was newly established and therefore needed much attention, something I didn’t absorb before getting involved. I was very eager to get started and was definatley over promising, I didn’t mean to it was just my enthusiasm took me over!! Anyway it wasn’t too much of a ‘boo boo’ as I soon realised and let my boss know that I couldn’t offer that much.

At the beginning of term I had all these plans and ideas of how I was going to be, I tried very hard to stick to this but found that actually I was putting myself under alot of pressure, I looked ill, had spots and wasn;t eating properly.

I was utilising both of my days off by using them for work experience, two days a month would be in Derby and the rest would be devoted to retweak record label. In the evenings I was doing my bar job and then be up everday for the latest of 8.30. On my weekends I was working and then after work I would join Soon night.com to go and do some photography and then on Sunday I would try and do some reading or get some research and course work done. In the back of my head I was desperate for moer hours in the day and more days in the week. Also I have been trying to get this blog going, it’s been really tough.

So the paragraph above was all too much for me by the end of the term I was really down and stressed out because I was taking too much on…but only out of enthusiasm!!! I chilled out over Christmas, I couldn’t go on the internet as Mum doesn’t have it!!! I was stuck out in the sticks with nothing, I was itching okay..for  a while and then I relaxed, ate, drank, unwrapped and packed!!! I feel refreshed this term and I will be doing things diferent;ly this term.

I am now only going to work one night a week, this will be on the weekend, I have given up retweak and shall work once a week for Paskett PR and I am going to relax more, less pressure not to little though, I don’ t want to experience an adverse reaction!!!

So I learnt alot about myself, I have the drive and motivation I just need to manage myself better, I also have a diary…whoop whoop!!

My blog as I have said before has been a real challenge for me, my blog post about mcat has been a real triumph for me, last time I checked it had been averaging 909 viewings per week, what a rush that is giving me. My one successful post has allowed me to chill for a bit and let it do some work for me!!! I’ve had lots of response and plan to keep it going, I’m really enjoying it, though I would love to have another popular post. My mcat blog is about a new drug out on the clubbing scene, it’s now and no one knows anything about it really so that’s why it’s good. From responses I’m beginning to find common side effects which maybe useful somewhere. I hope my post will make someone think, even if it is one person, it could be a life that I am helping to save. I don’t tell people what to do but being able to supply facts and raise awareness is a great place to be.

PR STUDENT YEAR 2 PR STUDENT YEAR 2 PR STUDENT YEAR 2 PR STUDENT YEAR 2

‘Brown Tells Extremists to Halt Demo’ (Metro Newspaper)

‘At the risk of sounding controversial’ a statement that causes resentment as I’m having to justify myself….on another foot with different values and beliefs, would this still be the case..the need to justify that is?? I suspect not as it seems there have been ‘double standards’ for far too long, WELL DONE BROWN FOR FINALLY ATTEMPTING TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING RIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY AND AS A MULTICULTURAL COUNTRY, there are many people to consider.

‘Muslim protesters told British soldiers to ‘burn in hell and branded them baby killers and rapists at a homecoming parade’  (Metro Newspaper January 5th 2010 page 9). This is outrageous, totally unacceptable…how have times allowed for this type of action to happen?? Shaking my head isn’t making things better neither is the anger that is eating me up inside. . . who cares about that though, I’m a mere number in society. Also according to the Metro there was an agreed no arrest policy, how in any way shape or form is that justifiable?? A protest of 500 extremists….it’s screaming out for arrests, this country is a shambles, fairness no longer exists…not really, perhaps between ourselves but not as a society.

I believe many of us are considerate and cultured. Many people tread on egg shells trying not to upset people especially when it comes to religions, this country has been a fairly good home to alot of us and it’s a poor show that this country allows people make a mockery of it. This country is making a mockery of itself…helllloooo???

Non extremists don’t parade, non extremists are, still for some crazy reason considerate, it’s almost ‘NOT PC’ to be inconsiderate. ..backwards!

So these extremists are calling our soldiers ‘baby killers and rapists’ so why are extremists sending out young girls and females in general??? They are simply using their people (their people when it suits them) to kill anyone, these leaders aren’t leading by example at all, the instagators seem to still be alive…what’s the crack with that??? The leaders are totally contradictory to their supposed causes.

This country has supported people whether we like to admit it or not. The government have had successes it’s just as a society we’re never pleased so finding faults and complaining will never actually end, it’s impossible to please everyone. Anyway…….

” It’s not the soldiers fault, they do a job” and ” Why do it in that Wooten Bassett, why not somewhere else?” Says Mr.Ahmed a Muslim taxi driver from Leeds.

The poor families of these brutal thoughtless and narrowminded people. I’m so hurt that we are beginning to live in the fires of hell.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Brown Tells Extremist Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists Brown Tells Extremists

Okay I’m back and have found a rather interesting bit of reading….. Anjem Choudarys letter and (Islam4 UK) great pieces found after voicing my opinion. I’m having a great time right now debating to myself.

An excellent lecture with guest Karl Milner (NHS)

Karl Milner director of communications and public relations for the NHS for Yorkshire/Humberside presented in an awesome style, he knew what he was talking about though he was unable to give me a direct answer to a question…he did a brilliant job of going around it and sounded more than confident with his act!

Anyway the idea was to learn as much as possible, firstly clearly knowing your presentation inside out is the key, sounds like an obvious point but how many people can say they know everything inside out when they have done a group presentation?????!!! Not me, I’m sure there are questions I wouldn’t be able to answer, I’m certain.

Karl Milners’ presentation ‘emotion dictates the story’, the title says it all…in a nutshell!! People give and receive emotion.

Reputation is everything, it’s so easy to make a mistake where the effects are damaging, for example a sign said ‘office closed, when office closed no information will be available’  this was damaging and signs have been removed.

The route of every story is … are you keeping your promise? i.e. the NHS has 3:

• Universal service obligation
• High quality healthcare
• Share the cost so it’s free when you need it

There are always 3 audiences

• Investors
• Staff
• Customers

When will they be listening? When should you say something? It’s what they hear not what you say perhaps how you say it.

When tactics are considered, we must consider .. are we undermining promises?

The Sarah Palin mess up is a prime example, she seemed like a great tactic, really useful but really she was a big mistake as she undermined the overall strategy.

The NHS has come far  a long way with social marketing, the most important thing is insight and that you have a good systematic model with this you can improve.

The NHS is consumer focused, NHS think about how they can change behaviours i.e. drinkers, quite often people end up in A&E as  result of drinking too much. NHS find out why people do things, all the data symbolises a big problem…the NHS has alot!!

The NHS want to know why something is happening, they want understanding, insight which in turn will lead to solving a problem.

Now a 56 year old man from Doncaster lives in an area where lung cancer is a problem perhaps due to heavy industrial area, many men of his age smoke in his area.

NHS know who you are, what to look for and how to treat you.

NHS wanted to know why men in Doncaster and surrounding areas wouldn’t go to the doctor’s.

The above leads onto demographics…

Lets take Prince Charles for example, male, born 1948, British, 2nd marriage, affluent, well known family.

Then we take someone like Ozzy Osbourne…similar stats but the NHS would take him in under a different service, his life style is different to Prince Charles.

People have symptoms i.e. diabetes but won’t say anything and suffer the consequences.

Understanding the Doncaster man….if you can’t change them then change yourself. So people don’t go to the doctors as they immediately assume if you’ve got lung cancer then your as good as dead or they don’t want to bother the doctors, this was the same for a Yorkshire farmer. It seems that men in the Yorkshire area consider their families to be the most important thing, family men.

So from information collected it is possible to see that GP’s need to change their attitudes, make the surgeory more welcoming, also target the family as its this that affects them. Money isn’t an incentive here, the family will be.

Talking of the money incentive, this can sometimes fail for example, in America they needed more blood supply so they offered money but the kind of people it attracted actually backfired on them as druggies and such like were coming forward, it was a perverse incentive. Another great example is a school in Israel, parents were late picking up their kids so the school started charging, instead of decreasing this issue the number of kids rose as it was cheaper perhaps than getting a child minder!!

NHS Messages, treatments!!

The coughing at bus stops campaign ended up gaining negative publicity, it grabbed the headlines in Doncaster and the news on Look North…apparently this was the intention…that way attention would be grabbed!!! I asked how he could be so sure that…’publicity stunt’ would work, he didn’t really answer my question to be honest and didn’t like it being called a publicity stunt but that’s what is sounded like to me, if the plan was to intentionally annoy people, cause up roar about spending money on this type of thing. It sounded like one campaign that went wrong, every cloud has a silver lining though, the NHS did grab attention, I don’t personally believe this was the plan, you would have to be a genius to come up with that, Karl reverted to the good model spoken about earlier, this didn’t answer my question though, how did his model link in with the coughing malarkey?!!!hmmmmmm

The conclusion was that these Yorkshire men don’t listen, so another way round this was to target the women, the daughters seeing as family meant so much fathers were more likely to listen to their family.  So the NHS went to the bars and focused on influencing them with an expected knock on effect.

The outcome of the campaign was that there was a 60% increase in treatment in the early stages of the cancer. Result!!!

As PR people we should be proud of our profession, that campaign went onto save and pro long lives.

So if people won’t change their attitudes we must find other mechanisms to have an affect.

Overall though the presentation flew by, I enjoyed very mcuh, it was easily one of my favourites.

Insensitive to male concerns??!! Baldness

It’s said that one of the worse things that can happen to a man is for them to lose their hair. Baldness can really demoralise a man. Male insecurity is very much alive and needs attention.

I appreciate manners and like to think  I have good manners as I have been brought up to do so. Elbows off the table, no licking of the knife, eating with your mouth closed, p’s and q’s etc. the list is endless. If these type of manners aren’t followed they’re not always noticed or people do not say anything however when it comes to wearing hats some clubs, bars and restaurants can be particularly snotty.

Are we sensitive to male issues? I mean it’s only recently that it has been seen as acceptable for men to speak out about being a victim of some form of abuse, its only recently that men have been believed and backed up through society.

My boyfriend has lost some of his hair, I know this makes him feel terrible, he is very self conscious and it really gets him down. Friends of his will make jokes not realising the damage they are causing or the bad thoughts they are re-enforcing. He has purchased some really nice flat hats, they add to his outfits, he looks smart in appearance and feels better about himself. I think its really insensitive of bars, clubs and restaurants to force one to take their hat off, I can understand if it is a baseball cap as they tend to follow some form of sporty wear and there tends to be a stereotype that goes along with the baseball cap, and they don’t look smart.

There are times when we have been out with a group of people and had to really consider bars and their rules, this puts a bit of dampner on the night temporarily, to save any embarrassment of having to take his hat off we have to make sure we only go to bars that accept people with hats. How insensitive.

Men have a real issue with this and it would be nice if society would be more considerate, think out of the box, just because you can see hair around the hat we can’t just presume the whole head is like this, it’s tough and we’re not helping people.

So many men won’t speak out about their hair issues because of pressures in society, it’s sad that things are like this, it really upsets me it would be nice to see more support.