Quickie: Lack of Litter Bins?

Why is it that no matter where I am in London, whether I am at Bank or Monument, Canary Wharf or Canada Water, Tower Hill or Fenchurch Street, I always seem to be walking for miles and miles with an empty take-away coffee cup before I can finally find a bin to throw it away?

This has happened to me several times now. First time I really noticed it was when I was walking around Canary Wharf and its surround areas and I noticed the lack of bins near the river. I've already told you about this so I need not repeat myself.

The second time happened on Monday when I was making my way back to London via getting a coffee at the station cafe near my home. I made the coffee last and still had it when I got off the train at West Ham. I thought there were bins on the platform but I must have imagined it; there were none in sight. I actually still had the empty coffee mug with me when I got off at New Cross Gate, clutching it all the way on the Jubliee and Overground before I finally saw a bit just at the ticket barriers.

I wonder how many other commuters have the same problem?

The third time happened today. In my quest to get 10,000 steps in a day, I have taken to walking and wandering all over London. I'm starting to think what I should really do is that to jogging on the spot - seeing as I have an aversion to the gym! - not only because I hate working out in public, but because even after I have wandered up and down Oxford Street several times, and from station to station all over London, I was still 500 steps short by the time I got home.

But this is beyond the point.

This time I was carrying an empty coffee mug on the Central Line, then the Jubliee, then the Overground until it happily found its way into the very same bin the second cup made it into at New Cross Gate station.

I am certain there are other cases in which I have been left holding litter because I am too polite to just leave it somewhere. I think I was left holding a coffee mug when I left Westfield, Stratford a week or so ago. I drink a lot of coffee and more often than not I'm left holding the paper mug, looking for somewhere to dispose it. There have been times when I didn't get to throw them away until I reached the green bin near my flat!

My conclusion is that people aren't joking when they say there aren't enough litter bins - and people wonder why London is so dirty!

New Place #1: Canary Wharf

I know it seems strange given I am a Goldsmiths student that I have never been to Canary Wharf. It is, after all, only one stop away from my interchange at Canada Water. So often on the tube have I looked out the carriage window to see all those well-dressed people, an array of black, strutting through the station to one of the many class buildings I knew were out there.

Obviously, I had seen Canary Wharf on TV from one time or another.

So I decided to set after the rush hour and took my normal route home from New Cross Gate to Canada Water and from there to Canary Wharf. Now, I have been to Canary Wharf station before if only to stand there until a train came to pick me up because I had got onto a North Greenwich terminating train instead of a Stratford train, and didn't want change platforms as you would at NG. Therefore I was aware of just how large the station is and now long the escalators are.

Another thing about Canary Wharf station is that is linked to the Canada Square shopping centre, which is a bit of a... meh shopping centre. I suppose the reason I feel that way is because I am used to large and shiny shopping centres. Lakeside, Bluewater, Westfield Stratford... you get my idea. The feeling I got while walking through Canada Square was being trapped in a never ending line of small, expensive shops. They were all expensive, of course, as this is where the rich come out the play, to do shopping just metres away from their their place of work.

I was wearing dark clothes and the way people looked at me, they clearly thought I was 'one of them' -- a complete mistake. Still, I always feel it is best to blend in rather than stick out like a sore thumb. Together with my received pronunciation, courtesy of my grammar school educated mother, they were easily misled when I bought a coffee and tried to negotiate my way out of the maze.

After going to the very end of a long stretch, turning a corner and finding an escalator, I followed a woman with The White Company bags to the exit, around another corner. That led me to the front of Canada Square, where just ahead was Cadet Square. I walked straight ahead, wondering where it led. There were signs but I didn't really look at them at first.

Walking along, I found the site of the buildings beneath the grey sky morbid. Inside them were rows and rows of bored looking people at desks. I'm sure they all had good jobs but how tiring it must be for them to spend all day staring at a computer screen. Furthermore, I only saw about four or five people coming in and out of the buildings, so it seems most of them are chained to their desks. To think that will probably the future of most of us students. Either that or becoming a teacher.

I ended up at Westferry Circus, a secluded and quiet part of the Wharf. It strange because it really was very, very quiet. Like ghostly quiet. Even fewer people around there than there were in the Square and not a homeless person in sight near either of them. Yet sitting on a bench in Westferry Circus, just opposite the Thames, it reminded me of Duloc in Shrek.

So I sat there and finished my Latte. Once I had done that I stood up and looked around. To my surprise, there was not a dustbin in sight. It confused me because the place was impeccably neat and clean. The rich and powerful wouldn't have it any other way, being the centre of London's power. I suppose like me these people just walk around with their litter until they get back to their offices. It shows the class of people who do go for walks down there. I bet they don't spit either, one thing I love them before because it is something I cannot stand about some of the people from where I come from. I mean, seriously, who the hell spits? Animals. I went to a comprehensive school but if you spat from a height in the corridor, you got expelled on the spot. I knew a boy that happened to.

But still, no bins.

I circled the area near the hotels but still nothing. I walked back towards Cadet Square where, finally, I found several.

I returned to Canary Wharf that Friday evening, trying to find the DLR station to take me to Limehouse. I can't say there is anything much to spark my interest other than as a looking-glass into the future of my friends and many of my friends. If we don't end up as teachers, we're probably going to be some sort of private sector office monkey.

These people seem to have good jobs, but it makes me want to enjoy my short-lived freedom while it is still mine.

Review: Pixlr-o-matic for Google Chrome

This is a picture of me. Given that I don't have Photoshop on my netbook (My Dell laptop tragically died recently) I have been looking for a way to jam up my pictures, as I happen to take a lot of my friends, myself and most important of all, my cats.

I have discovered Pixlr-o-matic. Now, I am only just getting the hang of it but with a little adjustments and a play around, you can make your pictures look borderline professional. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they came out. This is strictly for beginners and quick-edit users only. I imagine that a professional or intermediate photo editor would spontaneously combust at how simple and limited this little program is.

Let's do a little walk through. First of all, download Pixlr-o-matic from the Google Chrome shop. Once you have done that, click on it in a new tab on your apps section (The button is at the bottom of your Chrome browser).

Now click on select an image from your computer.

The first selection on the photo editor (The Red Tab: Effects) is adding colour and gradients to the image. These all have different people names. For example the one I have used above is called 'Anne', which I chose because it darked my hair and added more contrast to the image. I recommend that if you want to use other colours, e.g. 'Melissa' but want to have more contrast, I recommend you adding it yourself using Window Live Photo Gallery (which you can find by right click on any image and then selecting Windows Live Photo Gallery, and then clicking Edit, Organize and Share in the top left-hand corner).

For the purposes of this edit, I have chosen 'Greg'.

Next up is the Blue Tab (Overlays):

Here you can choose textures and lighting effects. I simply adore adding these to my photos, banners and what not when I am using Photoshop so this is right up my street. I don't usually add them to pictures of myself but for the purposes of this review I will this time. I am choosing 'Local'.

Finally, we have the Green Tab (Borders):

This is where you can, you guessed it, add borders. There are many different ones you can chose but I prefer to use photo based ones. However there are many different ones including effects to make your photograph look like an old pre-1900s picture; effects like rustic, grunge and spot to give your pictures jagged edges and newspaper looks; and effects such as flowery and wispy to give your pictures pretty little curvy and flowery backgrounds. You can only get banners in black or white effects but there is a wide selection. I prefer black borders personally so I'm going to be boring and pick 'Black'.

And there you have it. Save:

Pixlr-o-matic gives you the choice of saving it to your computer or uploading it to imm.io. The latter is a good idea if you want to post your images to Twitter as it presents you with a shortlink like this one (http://imm.io/e95B) but otherwise I recommend just saving it to your computer if you are talking about Facebook snaps.

You can go back and re-edit the same image any time by clicking the back (<<) button or you can completely start again by pressing the 'other' button.

You also have a selection of more Effects, Overlays and Borders than the ones presented on your strip. For example if you click the little camera icon at the bottom of the page, you are taken to a selection page where you can pick a variety of different examples. The best selection is definitely the Overlays and the Borders. It would take me too long to explain why - go and have a look for yourself. The different types of each Layer to add to the photograph are added into nice little categories (e.g. Under Overlays you have things like Leaks, Chem burn, Light paint etc.)

Also if you want to have a little fun with it, you can also press the Mix-up icon next to the Camera icon, which  shuffles up all three types of layer for your photo to give you different effects. You do get some nice combinations so maybe have a play around with that if you want.

Overall I would definitely say this is a nice little thing to have on your Google Chrome if you want to quickly edit images, even if you are planning a very quick Tweet on Twitter.

STATS
Type: Lifestyle, Photography, Editing App
For the: Google Chrome
Rating: ***** 5 Stars!

Built Like the TARDIS: The British Standard Clothes Size

I love everything about Christmas from the food to the presents. This year was a nice one for me and my mother got me more than I ever expected to get. As well as the gloriously large box of Guylian chocolates to really help me chub up for the New Year and a beautiful Celtic cross, my mother also bought me some new sleepwear and underwear from La Senza. The dressing gown with little read robins was heavenly and the pink slipper boots are great...

Even the bikini briefs were a perfect fit. But the bras... ouch!

First of all, I want to state that I have a very positive body image. Like all women I have my moments, especially after Christmas when you do tend to start piling on a few pounds and your bras a bit more snug than usual. That said while I am not skinny I have a very nice little shape going on and, fortunately, when I do put on a couple of pounds it always seems to go up equally on my hips and my bust. It is my waist that gets a little chuckier, but again I still have a waist.

Here is my profile:

HEIGHT || 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)

WEIGHT || 140 lbs (67 kg)

BMI || 23. 3

BUST || 38.5 in (97.8 cm)

WAIST || 29 in (73.7 cm)

HIPS || 39.4 in (100.1 cm)

From this you can tell I am of average height and a healthy weight. Now according to the BS 3666:1982 – the British Standard Designation for Women’s Wear – I am a Size 16.

This is of course ridiculous.

Clothes wise, I have never bought anything larger than a Size 14 (US 12/EU 42). This is for many reasons. First, I tend to buy a lot of my clothes online and Size 14 is the one I KNOW will always fit me, which is handy is the shop in question does not do a free returns deal. Secondly, I like my clothes to be baggy. Thirdly, if I do buy clothes from shops I rarely have time to try them on in fitting rooms. And finally, probably the strangest reason of all, I feel that sometimes the bagginess makes me feel comfortable and, dare I say it, very secure.

My actual size, the clothes size that I prefer when I want my clothes to fit me properly, is Size 12 (US 10/EU 40) although I can fit quite comfortably into a Size 10 (US 8/EU 38). Most of the time I admit that I cannot see the difference between a 10, a 12 and a 14 especially if we are talking about a jumper, a blouse or a stretchy tee-shirt because the material gives way for slight weight differences. It’s only logical given there isn’t a woman alive who does not change her proportions, even those with high metabolism. I could probably squeeze myself into a Size 8 if I wanted (and I have done it, as I said earlier, just to prove to myself I could).

Yet here is the real reason I prefer Size 14: it’s because my relatively small frame must support D/DD breasts and I prefer to try and minimise their size rather than expose them. This has always been my feeling ever since I was fifteen-years-old and some forty-year-old pervert nearly fell over his shopping bags in Lakeside because he was staring at my chest. Even before then I preferred to hide them. When I was just eleven-years-old I already had 34B breasts and all the girls made fun of me. I hated it, and it has rather warped my view of clothing.

I figured a long time ago that I’d rather wear larger sizes and minimise the size of my bust than wear smaller sizes and flaunt them.

I am certain that by the British Standard Dress sizes, I am supposed to be a Size 14 to 16. The fact that I take a Size 10 through 14 really just shows the influence of Vanity Sizing. Just because I am labelled with a Size 16 doesn’t make me any fatter than if I were to be labelled with a Size 12; the only difference is the stroking of one’s ego.

I have seen a lot of articles about Vanity Sizing but the one I keep coming back to is the one on Retro Chick. In it the blogger describes how she went into TK Maxx and tries on Size 12 dresses, all of which fit, but according to the British Sizing Standard she was anywhere between a Size 14 and 18 despite having never brought an item of clothing larger than a Size 16. The article goes on to talk about issues such as the NHS/BHF and their unrealistic look on the measurement of women’s waists, and I would highly recommend you all read it. I have linked it at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, this article got me thinking about clothes sizes like I never have before. I started to wonder whether simply buying a Size 14 because I know it’s definitely going to fit my measurements was necessary. I started to wonder whether I did indeed fit comfortably into tops and trousers of smaller sizes, like a Size 10.

Mini Experiment

Yesterday I went to Lakeside Shopping Centre to enjoy the sales. Going early in the morning to avoid any afternoon crowds I treated myself to a Mocha Flake at Costa before heading off to some of my favourite clothes shops. The shops I visited include in this order Dorothy Perkins, Topshop, Primark, Miss Selfridges and M&S. I tried on tops and jumpers in each shop to see what were the smallest size I felt most comfortable in.

Here were the results:

Dorothy Perkins || Size 10

Topshop || Size 10

Primark || Size 10

Miss Selfridges || Size 10

M&S || Size 8

Conclusion: Having once believed myself to be a Size 12/14, it turns out I can fit quite happily into a Size 10.

This needs to be investigated further.

I fully intend to visit these shops again in a few weeks to try a more reliable way of testing clothes sizes; comparing them via dress size. So I will write up my findings when I get them for this experiment. All I will say for now is that women should stop worrying about their clothes sizes because they truly can vary between different shops.

The other night I looked up as many of the Sizing Guides for each individual shop I visited that I could. I also looked up the sizing guides for my favourite online shop, The Fashion Union.

Here is what I found:

So I AM a Size 14! Or a Size 12. So, I say throw out your tape measures, throw out your pre-conceived ideas that you are one size or another and just put on the size that suits you best.

Links

The British Standard 3666: 1982, Size Designation for Women’s Wear

How Vanity Sizing is Killing You, from Retro Chick

Dorothy Perkins Size Guide

Topshop Size Guide

Miss Selfridge Size Guide

Fashion Union Size Guide

M&S Size Guide

New Years Resolutions

1.) Walk 10,000 steps a day.
2.) Visit 100 new places.
3.) Improve my French.
4.) To eat more healthily.
5.) Do at least 500 words on my dissertation a week.
6.) Visit my grandfather in Scotland.
7.) Get a job!
8.) Learn to make and decorate cupcakes.
9.) Read 100 of the BBC 1000 Books to Read Before You Die.
10.) Finish my own novel.
11.) Buy a new HP laptop.
12.) Colour my hair at least once.