Monday 29 August 2011
Quote of the Week
Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to read, but more importantly, what's your plan to read?
Monday 22 August 2011
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Simple Healthy Breakfast
This is one of my favourite breakfasts to do and it’s really good for you.
I
ngredients
Frozen blueberries (found in the freezer section of the supermarket)
Half a mango
Kiwi
Low fat yogurt
Cinnamon (optional)
This can be done with other fruit and is really simple, cut up the mango and kiwis into small pieces and add to blueberries straight from the freezer into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of low fat yogurt and cinnamon to taste. Gently shake to mix and pour it all into a bowl. Yummy and healthy!
I
ngredients
Frozen blueberries (found in the freezer section of the supermarket)
Half a mango
Kiwi
Low fat yogurt
Cinnamon (optional)
This can be done with other fruit and is really simple, cut up the mango and kiwis into small pieces and add to blueberries straight from the freezer into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of low fat yogurt and cinnamon to taste. Gently shake to mix and pour it all into a bowl. Yummy and healthy!
Monday 15 August 2011
‘The StairSteady was once a tool for rebellion’
Hello, this is Fionn C. Wills, I've been working for StairSteady as a temp for the past two weeks and I think I can shed some light on an unexplored aspect of the StairSteady's history. Believe it or not, the StairSteady was once a tool for rebellion. This seems strange for a mobility aid but to a small group of boys in Eckington Comprehensive School it was an instrument used for mischief. Let me show you. If you go to Eckington Comp and sign in at the reception you will notice a small waiting area to your right in situ with many of the projects and accolades that award the school its status as a specialist engineering college. There are books, glass cases, certificates, the whole nine yards of academic achievement. Of all these displays the StairSteady demonstration stand takes pride of place, complete with rail, grab-handle and stairs. Ready to use and seduce any passing Ofsted inspector.
So here is your dare, your small act of defiance. The game is to enter the reception waiting area as if you are in fact waiting for something, then use the StairSteady to ascend and descend the steps as many times as possible, before being told to get out. Extra points are awarded for pretending to be the Headmaster, or 'Ted' as he was affectionately known. Simple, yet effective. It certainly passed the time on a few lunch breaks years ago but the significance of that time to me is that it highlights the oddity of now being part of the StairSteady office, dealing with the day-to-day things that make the business tick.
In the interest of honesty, and maybe also not to offend the Managing Director of StairSteady, Ruth Amos, who also invented the product, that 'game' was played twice, three times at the most before everybody’s bravery was cut short by an evening detention. Karma was restored and rightly so because it’s now obvious having seen the benefits the StairSteady brings to so many that while me and some daft friends were annoying humanity Ruth and the StairSteady company were doing a much better job at helping it. Admittedly, it feels better to be on the winning team.
To anybody who has ever started a new job there is nothing more equally nerve-racking and exciting than familiarizing yourself with exactly what your job entails and before I declare myself part of the winning team I need to earn my keep and impress while doing it. This is daunting to someone who has never answered a phone with anything more sophisticated to say than ‘Hello?’. When your job is temporary it is like the training, working and retirement has been distilled into an essence. You get a short, sharp taste of everything. My training is brief, succinct but thorough, as soon as work begins and becomes routine it ends and as for ‘retirement’ a picture of myself is commissioned (twice) by Abigail and Nathaniel Dye. Which, as I said when presented with them, are far more heart-warming than any gold watch.'The full bag of mashings’ as my dad would say.At first, this feels as though you need to learn everything with the kind of speed Muhammad Ali described when he said 'last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark'. And despite that initial overwhelming feeling, it is soon relaxing, my heart doesn't pound at the sound of the telephone and I remember the documents lay out off by heart.9-5 quickly becomes a cathartic exercise and keeps my mind away from looming exam results and a hopeful move to University. Also, who doesn't enjoy work that offers a chance to be creative?
Overall, it’s been a learning experience and without getting too emotional, I’ve learnt a lot about what can be done to help people on every level. The phone manner is sorted but more importantly I’ve learnt that StairSteady isn’t something to be messed with; it’s a genuine commodity.So in the future if you're offered a job at StairSteady go for it, it comes with my recommendation.I hope that with this post I have shown the versatile roles of a StairSteady from unlikely entertainment to employment and maybe one day who knows I might need one... not yet though, eh?
Finally, I’d like to take the chance to thank Ruth and Rachael of StairSteady for the opportunity and kind guidance throughout.
So here is your dare, your small act of defiance. The game is to enter the reception waiting area as if you are in fact waiting for something, then use the StairSteady to ascend and descend the steps as many times as possible, before being told to get out. Extra points are awarded for pretending to be the Headmaster, or 'Ted' as he was affectionately known. Simple, yet effective. It certainly passed the time on a few lunch breaks years ago but the significance of that time to me is that it highlights the oddity of now being part of the StairSteady office, dealing with the day-to-day things that make the business tick.
In the interest of honesty, and maybe also not to offend the Managing Director of StairSteady, Ruth Amos, who also invented the product, that 'game' was played twice, three times at the most before everybody’s bravery was cut short by an evening detention. Karma was restored and rightly so because it’s now obvious having seen the benefits the StairSteady brings to so many that while me and some daft friends were annoying humanity Ruth and the StairSteady company were doing a much better job at helping it. Admittedly, it feels better to be on the winning team.
To anybody who has ever started a new job there is nothing more equally nerve-racking and exciting than familiarizing yourself with exactly what your job entails and before I declare myself part of the winning team I need to earn my keep and impress while doing it. This is daunting to someone who has never answered a phone with anything more sophisticated to say than ‘Hello?’. When your job is temporary it is like the training, working and retirement has been distilled into an essence. You get a short, sharp taste of everything. My training is brief, succinct but thorough, as soon as work begins and becomes routine it ends and as for ‘retirement’ a picture of myself is commissioned (twice) by Abigail and Nathaniel Dye. Which, as I said when presented with them, are far more heart-warming than any gold watch.'The full bag of mashings’ as my dad would say.At first, this feels as though you need to learn everything with the kind of speed Muhammad Ali described when he said 'last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark'. And despite that initial overwhelming feeling, it is soon relaxing, my heart doesn't pound at the sound of the telephone and I remember the documents lay out off by heart.9-5 quickly becomes a cathartic exercise and keeps my mind away from looming exam results and a hopeful move to University. Also, who doesn't enjoy work that offers a chance to be creative?
Overall, it’s been a learning experience and without getting too emotional, I’ve learnt a lot about what can be done to help people on every level. The phone manner is sorted but more importantly I’ve learnt that StairSteady isn’t something to be messed with; it’s a genuine commodity.So in the future if you're offered a job at StairSteady go for it, it comes with my recommendation.I hope that with this post I have shown the versatile roles of a StairSteady from unlikely entertainment to employment and maybe one day who knows I might need one... not yet though, eh?
Finally, I’d like to take the chance to thank Ruth and Rachael of StairSteady for the opportunity and kind guidance throughout.
Quote of the Week
Be like a sponge when it comes to each new experience. If you want to be able to express it well, you must first be able to absorb it well.
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Rosemary Chicken with Oven Roasted Ratatouille
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 aubergine , cut into chunky pieces
2 courgettes , sliced into half-moons
3 mixed peppers , deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary , plus 4 small sprigs
2 large garlic cloves , crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
250g cherry or baby plum tomatoes , halved
Method
1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a large roasting tin, toss together the aubergine, courgettes and peppers with half the chopped rosemary, half the garlic, 2 tbsp oil and some seasoning. Spread out the vegetables in an even layer, and then roast in the oven for 20 mins.
2. Meanwhile, mix remaining rosemary, garlic and oil together. Slash each of the chicken breasts 4-5 times with a sharp knife, brush over the flavoured oil, season and chill for 15 mins.
3. After veg have cooked for 20 mins, stir in the tomatoes. Make spaces in the roasting tin and nestle the chicken breasts amongst the vegetables. Place a rosemary sprig on top of each chicken breast. Return the tin to the oven for 18-20 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are lightly caramelised. Serve with some new potatoes, if you like.
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 aubergine , cut into chunky pieces
2 courgettes , sliced into half-moons
3 mixed peppers , deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary , plus 4 small sprigs
2 large garlic cloves , crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
250g cherry or baby plum tomatoes , halved
Method
1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a large roasting tin, toss together the aubergine, courgettes and peppers with half the chopped rosemary, half the garlic, 2 tbsp oil and some seasoning. Spread out the vegetables in an even layer, and then roast in the oven for 20 mins.
2. Meanwhile, mix remaining rosemary, garlic and oil together. Slash each of the chicken breasts 4-5 times with a sharp knife, brush over the flavoured oil, season and chill for 15 mins.
3. After veg have cooked for 20 mins, stir in the tomatoes. Make spaces in the roasting tin and nestle the chicken breasts amongst the vegetables. Place a rosemary sprig on top of each chicken breast. Return the tin to the oven for 18-20 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are lightly caramelised. Serve with some new potatoes, if you like.
Monday 8 August 2011
Quote of the Week
It's easy to carry the past as a burden instead of a school. It's easy to let it overwhelm you instead of educate you.
Wednesday 3 August 2011
Iced Orange Cake
Prep time: 25 minCook time: 40 min
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the cake
· 100 g butter
· 2 eggs
· 1 orange, finely grated zest only
· 100 g caster sugar
· 100 g icing sugar, sifted
· 125 g plain flour
· 1 tsp baking powder
For the topping
· 100 g icing sugar
· 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Butter and flour the sides of a 20cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. 2. For the cake: melt the butter gently in a saucepan and set aside. 3. Using a hand-held electric beater, whisk together the eggs, grated orange zest and caster and icing sugar for a few minutes until light and slightly fluffy. Stir in the melted butter and sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold it all together gently. 4. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes or until golden and set in the centre and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 5. Place the tin on a wire rack and allow to stand for about ten minutes before removing the cake carefully from the tin. Allow to cool on the wire rack. 6. For the topping: sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in just enough orange juice until it is soft but not runny. 7. When the cake is cool, place it on a serving plate or cake stand and spread the icing over the top. Serve in slices.
Monday 1 August 2011
Quote of the Week
Don't let the learning from your own experiences take too long. If you have been doing it wrong for the last ten years, I would suggest that's long enough!
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