Which, in Oxfordshire at least, seems to be accompanied by torrential rain and flash floods!

So naturally I'm revisiting my Seasonal Safety page to check my advice on keeping warm, dry and safe when you're out and about is still up to date.

Conveniently enough, I also got sent through information about the Shunburn website today, a site where you can sign up to get burn alert texts which remind you to cover up and slap on the suntan cream when there's a risk of sunburn in your area.

I'm pretty pale myself, so at this time of year I always make sure I have sun-tan cream to hand. My top tip? Buy the kids' stuff. It's a bit cheaper, comes in smaller packets and has a higher protection factor.

Also, pack an umbrella alongside your sunglasses! Looks like we're in for more rain...

The last lot of consultation about youth services in Oxfordshire flagged up a need for more places to go to and stuff to do at the weekend. So extra funds and hours were made available to allow centres in some areas to see if opening at weekends is a good idea, or just one of those obvious ideas that flop once they come out of the consultation stage.

It might seem like clubs at the weekend would be obviously what young people want, but there are issues. It's harder to get staff, there's a lot of competition for young people's time from other parties, events and gigs, and of course it's the perfect time to do something with your family.

To find out if opening at the weekends was a good idea, they had to run for a bit, and then we would ask young people what they thought. This is where I come in, with a video camera, to shoot young people talking about how useful they've found weekend opening. This bit of the video was my favourite; two young men decided to interview "Barry the Biscuit" about what he thought of weekend opening!

Much work goes on at this time of year with checking the information pages in the Guide Section of Spired, looking at which websites have closed, where there are new ones, getting the links sorted out -- adding in new information where we've been asked, and where guidelines have changed, updating the information.

...and so I return to one of the most popular pages on my website, Alcohol and Safer Drinking. Always high in the page stats, always showing up in the search patterns, and there's usually someone remote-linking this picture of the recovery position:



Why it's quite so popular I'm not sure. There are lots of other excellent websites about Alcohol out there - www.drinkaware.co.uk, www.truthaboutbooze.com , www.downyourdrink.org.uk and so on, and what I'm saying isn't that different, except that...

...except that I'm very upfront (as a result of talking to young people about what they want to know) about the danger of death (from suicide, accidents, violence, or direct poisoning) from drinking too much, and perhaps stats like these:

• Thirteen children a day are admitted to hospital as a result of drinking alcohol
• there has been a 57 per cent increase in alcohol-related deaths amongst young people aged 15–34 between 1991 and 2006.
  Source: Youth Alcohol Action Plan

Make people want to find out how young people can die from just drinking, why it happens, and how.

So, I'll need to update the page to include the new government guidelines for sensible drinking for young people, as summarised here on drinkaware. (there's a link through to the fuller guidelines from the summary) With the caveat, of course, that for some people, even this small amount might prove harmful.

Because I won't be getting rid of the scary bits. As well as knowing how to stay healthy, it's important to know what behaviours come with a risk of injury, illness and death. And, for that, if nothing else, I expect the popularity of this page to remain undiminished.

Groups for teenage parents, young mums groups, groups for teen mums and teen dads in Oxford and Oxfordshire came up a couple of times this week. Do they exist? The answer is yes, of course they do. Some of them are purely social, others help support you into work or education, some even offer parenting courses. So, how do you find your local one?

Well, you'll have been given information about them at some point, but it was probably in a pile of other stuff, so let's ignore that. Here's how to look for a young parent's group in Oxfordshire from scratch:

1. Ask your midwife. In Oxfordshire, you'll have been assigned a specialist midwife who can help you with the particular issues that arise when you're having a baby early. They'll be available to talk to you about problems (like not being able to find a young parents group) until your baby is 6 months old.

2. Ask your local Children's Centre. There are Children's Centres throughout Oxfordshire, they offer support to all parents. Find your Children's Centre in Oxfordshire.

3. Ask a young person's information service, like, well -- me! (or your local Connexions office) or a parent's information service, like the the Oxfordshire Family Information Service -- and you can search for childcare and toddler groups on the Oxfordshire Family Information Service website, too.

There it is - three steps. It may seem like just one more job to do, but remember - the more support you have, the better off you and baby will be. So get in with a group!

I just bought my first sun block of the year -- better put it on before lunch-break! I have that typically pallid English complexion, and get trouble as soon as there's any sun. Raw patches, brown patches, freckles -- anything except a tan!

It's not quite time to sun safety advice yet (unless you're pale like me). But it is the season when we shed winter layers, only to find that another layer has mysteriously appeared while we were hiding from the winter murk in the depths of sofas and under duvets.

Time, then, to get fit for summer. Here to help is the government's Change 4 Life which looks at how small changes can help you cut fat and become healthier. The basic advice -- eat less, more healthily, and don't sit around all the time -- hasn't changed, but it's all presented through brightly coloured plasticine animations.

This one's my favourite, despite the anachronistic dinosaur!

The trouble for me is that with an office job like mine, you really kind of have to sit around all day. In fact, in one of the jobs I've had, I got told off for going for a walk! Maybe we need a Change 4 Life 4 Office workers!

Big news this year is going to be talking about all the good stuff done by young people. Their volunteering and campaigning, their work in the local and wider community, their enthusiasm and passion, and their ability to question, learn and do other good things. This hopefully going some way towards countering the popular press perception of young people as thugs and hoodies with a view more balanced and sensible.

Princes Trust ran a competition last year called Truth about Youth looking to celebrate just that, the good stuff young people do. The overall winner was this crazy piece called Habit to Feed, which should appeal to anyone who likes reading, books and libraries (I certainly liked it!), but the runner up's probably more of a blueprint about good things to do in communities to increase positive feelings between younger and older generations.

It describes a project for mums and daughters, and a complementary one for dads and sons. I'm not altogether sure about the rigid gender divide (I know mums who like to play football, and Dads who wouldn't be averse to a pamper day) but it's a really good start, and shooting the video while it was happening gave everyone the chance to reflect on their own preconceptions and prejudices, examine and challenge them:

If you ever wanted to know what the deal is with cervical cancer, how it relates to the common virus HPV, and how young women in the UK can now protect themselves against both, this page on the HPV Vaccine from The Surgery on the BBC answers pretty much every question you might have on the topic. Thank you, the BBC! More like this, please.

In other news, getting support and information by text message: a few of the main helplines for young people do this now, and some of the helplines can send you key info by text, e.g. clinic addresses, phone numbers.

• Call NHS Direct on 08 45 46 47 for information about general health, sexual health and any health issues at all, really. They can send locations of clinics and other local services to you by text.
• Text FRANK on 82111 about anything to do with drugs and alcohol.
• Text Connexions Direct on 07766 4 13 2 19 about any worries about growing up, making choices and becoming independent, e.g. careers, relationships, housing, etc.

There are plenty of others, but those three services should cover most worries. Happy texting!

From the decidedly sexy:



To the stiffly informative:



It's hard (I expect) to hit a good balance between informative and fun. But it's reassuring to see lots of people trying. Why am I doing this? It's because we've been putting together the data about availability of Free Emergency Contraception in Oxfordshire -- you can find it all here:

http://www.spired.com/ehc

...after I broke it during that cold spell. I'd like to say it's a great opportunity to rewrite the Seasonal Safety page with more of a focus on snow and ice, but unfortunately I was being careful because the conditions were slippery, paying attention and not rushing, and wearing sensible shoes -- and I still fell over, and spectacularly broke my wrist. Perhaps it's been a valuable lesson that no matter what, accidents can and will happen!



Back on the subject of accidents happening, no matter how careful you are, we come to Oxfordshire PCT's campaign about EHC. EHC stands for Emergency Hormonal Contraception -- a more refined version of what used to be called the morning after pill. Effective up to 72 hours after sex in preventing conception, it's commonly used by women after their primary contraception fails, or following an unanticipated sexual encounter. So far, so good, except that it's expensive, £24 -- add in the cost of the condoms that failed in the first place, and you've taken quite a bite out of your weekly budget. So it's offered for free to under 18s*, and you can get that service from many pharmacies in Oxfordshire, but not all of them.

This is where the contraception and emergency contraception page on spired.com comes in. It has the current list of pharamacies offering emergency contraception for free to young women under 18 in Oxfordshire on it, alongside other information. Now, the PCT's EHC campaign has been directing people to Spired.com to access this information, but I didn't know this, so I wasn't able to back this up with a short url (or tell them about http://www.spired.com/ehc )make a nice landing page, and do all of the usual things you can do to support an offline campaign with your website.

Although, come to think of it, I wouldn't have been able to do any of that, as I was at home nursing a broken wrist, staring out angrily at the snow, because, after all -- accidents will happen.

*You can actually get it free if you're over 18, too, but you'll have to get along to your doctor's or C&SH (family planning) clinics (Oxfordshire's C&SH Clinics) ideally within 24 hours. Only under 18s can get it free from pharmacies. Is this fair? well, it's what the rules are at the moment.

... and, appropriately enough, it's been a heavy week of enabling young people's participation in the democratic process for me, as I've been preparing pages, manifestos and more for the Oxfordshire Youth Parliament elections.

The Youth Parliament (it's a UK-wide body, that takes you to the national site) isn't just a talking shop. It sets the agenda for issues around youth, links its campaigns to action and takes forward the concerns of the younger generation to local and national government. Visit the site (or read the manifestos) and you see some key concerns crop up again and again; public transport fares, university fees, and, again and again, the lack of respect and recognition given to young people.

I've actually found putting up the manifestos pretty exciting, reading through all of those concerns and key issues, and discovering how each of them has thought hard about what they were standing for. Last night, I got to meet some of them face to face, to video them for their campaigns and in person it's even clearer that they're passionate about bringing about change, righting inequalities, improving their local environment and making the system work better for all young people.

For some of them, it was their first experience with talking to camera and giving speeches, and even those who'd done plays and talks found it hard to come up with the right words to say everything they wanted to get across. Of course -- it's part of my job -- I shared tips for clearing the mind, calming and catching words and reassured them that all politicians forget their lines and stumble sometimes, and that what really matters is that they mean what they say, and get their message through.

Stumbled words don't matter. Even Barack Obama stumbles sometimes.

Elections take place in February, in schools and youth centres throughout the county. Whoever gets in on February 13th, I think they'll have a good go at changing Oxfordshire, for young people, for the better, for the future.

I'm really busy at the moment, moving house, and one of the most annoying things is that I can't get along to do my volunteer work as much as I'd like. I work in an Oxfam shop, sorting and pricing and processing donations. It might seem like a bit of an odd thing to enjoy doing, but I really like how focussed and simple the work is. Unlike my regular job, which is full of competing priorities and complicated planning, this is something simple, solid, and obviously useful. At the end of the day, we add up what we've made for Oxfam, and hang out for a bit, feeling happy and useful. I've met lots of my friends working there.

So while "do more volunteer work" might seem like a bit of a cliche for a new year's resolution, I'm adding it to the list anyway. With volunteering you've got "be more active", "get fit" and "meet more people" covered, and how.

There's a big move at the moment to get more young people into volunteering, which means that there's plenty of people who can help you find the perfect opportunity.

This pic's from The V Team's launch, they're a group in Oxford which can help you get into volunteering. Want them to help you find out where to get a satisfying volunteering experience? Contact the V Team on vteam@ocvys.org or call Emma or Claire at the office on 01865 403304.

Masses more photos from the launch here.

New year, new messages about the latest ways of promoting condom use coming into my inbox. Two totally different things coming to the top of the pile.

The first is a robust, tough folder which steps through the basic messages of Sexual Health Education in a very plain and simple way. There's lost of diagrams and explanations, and stuff about sexual abuse, violence and exploitation is covered in a matter-of-fact way. It's designed to be delivered to young people who are most at need and vulnerable, who might perhaps be homeless, or going through bad times. I can't link to it on the web, because it isn't delivered that way. It's designed for a worker to go through slowly and carefully, with one, or maybe two young people.

The second is an interactive video drama that can be delivered to your mobile phone. It's called THMBNLS, and you can get involved in the plot if you want, it's all there on the website. It's part of the "Want respect? Use a condom." campaign (who I really should friend on Myspace) and follows the adventures of a bunch of young people who... oh, I'll just cut'n'paste the press release:

In each of the 22 episodes of Thmbnls, whether it’s good-time girl Jakki pulling at a party or best mates Billy and Gripper blagging their way into a gig, viewers have the chance to interact with the characters to give their own outlook via text, email or phonecall, leading to a cliff-hanger at the end of each episode.

It's funny, the range of stuff we end up working with. From glossy, shiny, well-financed, bang-up-to-date and designed-to-appeal stuff like that, to the careful pieces painstakingly put together over a yaers by workers struggling to support young people whose lives may depend on them understanding these messages about sexual safety and safer relationships.

That said, different things appeal to/reach different people, because people's needs vary. If you're not getting what you need from your sexual education materials, keep looking and keep asking -- because somewhere there will be the information that you need.

The local Integrated Youth Support Services* runs a lot of services, but we don't run a dedicated helpline. We did try, about -- oh, six years ago, I think, now, but helpline demand is light and irregular -- basically, with the exception of a few crunch times (results, e.g.) crisis calls don't come in often enough that we can justify having staff working on them all the time. So (with the exception of the aforementioned crunch times) we rely on the National Services like Connexions Direct who -- because they're dealing with the whole country -- can have people whose job is answering your queries, all the time.

We do, however, get a peek at what sort of things you've been asking. This helps us check out where we need to strengthen local information, or look at ways of making sure you know where to take enquiries, locally.

Mostly you came looking for information about courses, learning, apprenticeships and jobs -- all the central work of connexions. But there was also a significant minority that were looking for help with the things that get in the way of getting on with the serious business of learning and working -- things like health worries, housing problems, and trouble at school.

Lots of people don't think of connexions first when problems like this turn up, but they are absolutely part of what connexions is there to help you with. So the next time you're in a panic, remember -- in opening hours, your local connexions office can put you in touch with people who can help, and, in the evenings, Connexions Direct is there to help you figure out what to do

*Yes, we got renamed again. Hurrah.

Have you been bullied? Have you bullied someone else? Chances are, the answer to one, or (more often than you might think!) both of these questions is "yes". So what can we do about it?

The Department for Children, Schools and Families defines bullying as actions which are:

a) deliberately hurtful
b) repeated over a period of time
c) difficult for victims to defend themselves against

... and as children and grown-ups (sorry to say, lots of adults get bullied too) all over the world know, it's a very difficult problem to sort out.

November 17-28th is the time of year when people get together to raise awareness and look at ways of tackling bullying. There's lots of stuff going on. For example, you can enter a poster design competition, there's an anti-bullying roadshow visiting schools in an information bus. There's also going to be a questionnaire, but unlike previous ones which have looked at establishing how bad a problem bullying is, this one is focussing on practical solutions and things that have helped.

Here's a sneak preview of the questions:

1. If you have been bullied:
   a) What helps?
   b) What doesn’t help?
2. If you were in charge, what would you do to stop bullying?
3. If you’ve bullied people - what would have helped you to stop?
4. Anything else you want to say?

All young people in Oxfordshire will be offered the chance to have their say during anti-bullying fortnight, when the questionnaire will be running on Oxfordshire County Council Websites, but if you want to get started by leaving comments below, go ahead. I'll make sure they get to the Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator!

Edited to Add -- I've got links to the actual survey now .

Remember, if bullying is stressing you out, you can always find a listening ear through helplines or online advisers. Get all the info in the Guide.

Chances are you've seen headlines everywhere talking about putting SRE into the curriculum from age 5. Not sure what I'm talking about? Try these on for size: Sex Ed Lessons For Primary Kids, sex lessons for fives are a waste of time, and even Sex Education for five year olds from the usually reliable BBC.

What you might be quite so aware of is how the decision to put SRE into the syllabus came about. Wind back to 2005, and you hit the UK Youth Parliament "Are you getting it?" campaign which surveyed over 20,000 young people aged 11-18, asking them if they thought they were receiving good sex and relationships education. For three quarters of them, the answer came back a resounding "no".

Young people wanted better sex education, put in context, and taught earlier, and that's exactly what the new goverment proposals are aiming to put in place. From the Government report which supported the proposal comes this quote:

"It is impossible for us to ignore the findings from the UK Youth Parliament's report on SRE, which showed that a very significant number of young people felt their SRE had not given them the knowledge and skills they need. It is important, therefore, that young people's views are given proper consideration alongside those of parents, governors and school staff."

So there you have it -- the real story behind the headlines is one of young people, faced with a problem, demanding change, and the government listening to its young constituents and putting those changes in place. Shame that more of the news agencies aren't leading with that, really! I'll leave you with this quote from Andy Hamflett, Chief Executive of the UK Youth Parliament:

"The government’s decision to listen to young people and ensure good quality sex and relationships education is a huge step forward and one that is supported by young people throughout the country. Young people have been the driving force behind this decision today and must continue to be fully involved in every aspect of designing the new curriculum."

Indeed. This year's UKYP campaigns are looking at Public Transport Costs and University Tuition Fees. You can sign up to the campaigns via those links, or contact your local YMP directly, if you prefer. Find out who yours is here.

I probably ought to be talking about the Credit Crunch and suchlike at the moment, but actually I've been catching up with some of the summer's hot issues. Top of the pops (and this come as no surprise to you if you've been watching the news or reading any papers) is violent crime between young people -- especially when it's made worse by guns and knives.

With the Rhys Jones murder trial currently in progress, the damage done by weapons -- to the victims, accidental or otherwise, and the perpetrators is to the front of everyone's mind.

Channel 4's Disarming Britain season ran over the summer. Did it succeed? Or does media coverage just make knife crime seem more normal, when actually it's extremely rare?

I remember vividly a talk various youth workers and school nurses got from a school liaison police officer at a training session earlier this year. He tipped out his full haul of confiscated knives from the year onto the table. There were two of them, and both looked like they'd been swiped from a parent's cutlery drawer. It's very, very rare, he said. But that is part of the problem -- because when knife attacks do happen, no-one's expecting it, because it's so rare.

That said, he was working in a rural area (although he said his colleagues in Oxford didn't see many knives either) and it's perfectly possibly to kill someone without using any weapons at all: something people usually do by accident (all it takes is the other person falling heavily onto their head) and deeply regret later.

This campaigning video did the rounds earlier this year, and hails from an area where crime with weapons is a bigger issue:

I remember the launch of FRANK in 2003, and how much we all hated the materials. "Naff," we said, "Inexplicable. Nobody can tell what they're about." Two million calls later we're eating our words and glad to be -- FRANK's been a great success, not least because it's kept its name, website and materials completely consistent, available and reliable -- which is far more important IMO than any design issues.

If you don't know -- and you might not, if it's never come up -- FRANK offers confidential, non-judgmental drugs advice to provide people of all ages with information and support about illegal substances. You call -- the number's 0800 77 66 00 -- or visit the FRANK website, get advice, info, referrals or just a listening ear. Whatever you want, you can talk to FRANK.

It might surprise you to find out that drug use among all age ranges, including young people, has fallen in recent years. People are making sure they're better informed, and know the risks. Many are working to cut down or cut out their use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Trends from the past five years of calls to the helpline reflect some of these changes:

• callers to the helpline are getting younger - in the first two years, the majority of calls came from 26 to 35 year olds whereas most calls now come from 16 to 25 year olds
• people are now 18 per cent more likely to call for information, rather than referral or advice
• while cannabis accounts for the most queries, questions about cocaine have seen the highest increase - up from 14 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2008

The key message of FRANK has always been that it's not illegal to talk about drugs, and they've been giving honest and reliable info to all who need it since the project began. With a team of up to 75 fully trained drugs workers manning the line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there's no excuse to plead ignorance over the health effects of drugs.
Of course they can't talk about individual cases -- that's all confidential -- but they can share some more general information about the people who decide that they need to talk to FRANK:

• women and girls often call on behalf of someone else – last year 75 per cent of people calling about someone else were female
• men are becoming more likely to call for themselves – in 2005, 56 per cent of callers contacting the helpline on their own behalf were male whereas in 2008 it was 59 per cent
• the majority of calls to the helpline take place in the early evening between 5.30 and 7pm

Enough said. Except for this: FRANK's crazy video gallery.

I've spent the last week or so sorting out some guides for young mums and young Dads to go on the website. It's a good new section, I think, though I'm holding off on giving it too much publicity until it's had a proper shake-down to correct any errors.

This all started early this year, when we got complaints from a young mum that finding info for young parents on the county website was -- well, I think her words were "a nightmare". Since then we've certainly improved things on the main website, but there's a limited amount of space for general info there. Hence the guides.

It's always an eye-opener, researching these things. Finding out what's out there. A couple of years ago I went looking for resources for young parents on the web and there was nothing, nada -- it was pretty much all aimed at very adult adults, and if teenagers were mentioned at all, in was in the content of managing their bad behaviour. How things have changed! Check out some of the great support available now:

For young mums
For Dads living apart from kids
For all young parents

I'm so pleased that all these great websites have come along, there's nothing like a good set of links to make someone feel more in control of any situation.

Speaking of being in control, a new binge-drinking leaflet from the Home Office just dropped into my inbox. Unusually for alcohol info, they've avoided hard-hitting imagery and gone for wallet-punching facts instead. Check this out:

"You can get a £50 fixed penalty for:

• drinking in a pub, bar or restaurant if you’re under 18, unless you are 16 or 17 and having a meal
• being drunk in the street
• drinking in a public place that’s been designated a ‘no alcohol’ area.

You can get an £80 fixed penalty for:

• drunken behaviour in a public place
• harassing or distressing somebody while you’re drunk
• buying or trying to buy alcohol, if you’re under 18
• buying alcohol for other people who are under 18
• vomiting or urinating in the street.

If you are convicted of drink driving, you face:

• a minimum 1 year driving ban
• a fine of up to £5,000
• up to six months in prison
• endorsement of your driving licence for 11 years.

Bar staff who serve you if you’re under 18 or drunk might also get an £80 on the spot fine."

Sobering stuff, hmm? Read the rest here.

Last but not least (and skipping over the news about free Chlamydia screening) I've been passed a guide which will be offered to people who find themselves bereaved by suicide and other sudden and traumatic deaths.

I've got some stuff on spired about bereavement but it's rather short and adapted from materials produced by a group that works mostly with younger children. I had suspicions that teenagers and young people have different issues and needs, and I was pleased to see that this guide talks in length about young people and grieving -- good stuff, and helpful.

It's a big read (forty-something pages), but if you want it, it's here.

Taken any good photos of Oxfordshire wildlife recently? Science Oxford want to hear from you. To celebrate hosting the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in November and December 2008 they're running a wildlife photography competition with cash prizes, and a special category for under 16s. So dust off the digital camera and get snapping! Oh, and sorry -- no pets.

Oxfordshire Wildlife Exposed comeptition

One of my weekly tasks is gettting the opportunities lists up on Spired. When I started doing this, I was all, well -- what does opportunities mean in this context? Do people know?

My boss was all yes, of course they do, everyone calls them opportunities, so, OK. They're pretty varied, anyway. It's hard to find a term that includes everything.

There's lots of jobs (this week alone, ranging from forensic accountancy to nursery care) but also voluntary positions (including working overseas, in your own community, or getting experience in media organisations). There are apprenticeships, courses and training programmes suitable for people who know what they want to be (hairdresser, construction, engineering) or need to find out (music, caring, administration). Summing it all up in a few words is tricky. But let's give it a go:

Apprenticeships, jobs or placements, for young people in Oxfordshire, usually (but not always) paid, which tend to contain a strong element of training.

Meh, still too long.

Ideal starter jobs for newcomers to the world of work!

You can tell I'm househunting at the moment, hmmm? Seriously, though, when it comes to getting a job, those lists have it covered.