Toronto-based company AHLOT is hiring ‘cannabis connoisseurs’ to test out samples of weed from licensed producers across Canada.
Yes, you can really get a job smoking pot.
With the country set to legalise marijuana and even Coca Cola expressing interest in using CBD (a non-psychoactive part of the plant) in their drinks, the cannabis industry is looking increasingly healthy.
If you apply for the ‘expert-level connoisseur’ job with AHLOT, you’ll be part of the company’s Cannabis Curation Committee.
The group will try out different strains of the drug so that AHLOT can create a sample pack of weed as part of their Cannabis Collections series.
Pro-smokers can apply for one of five positions available, and the job pays $50 (around £37) an hour.
Successful applicants will also get a bonus of $200 (£151) in expenses every month for working just 16 hours.
Part-time though it is, this position is perfect for serious potheads with some social media savvy, as the cannabis connoisseurs will also be expected to host videos and company events, and pen posts for the company’s social media channels.
Officially, cannabis should become legal in Canada on 17 October and this is also the deadline date for applications for the AHLOT position.
The company is certainly preparing for big business ahead of the new legislation, and we expect to see many more brands jumping on the weed bandwagon before long.
However, it’s still unclear whether Canadians will be able to blaze in public places or private residence, and no decision has been made on the people currently imprisoned for cannabis-related offences.
In the UK, cannabis was legalised in July of this year for medicinal purposes, following several landmark campaigns around the therapeutic value of the drug.
Clinical and anecdotal evidence, coupled with guidance from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, suggests that marijuana could be helpful for people suffering from epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other serious conditions.
Toronto-based stoners now have less than a month to snap up one of AHLOT’s weed-testing jobs.
The Office of National Statistics has released a whole load of data about what we’re naming our kids.
In 2017 the most popular name was Oliver for a boy and Olivia for a girl. Oliver had been top of the baby name charts since 2013. Royal classics Harry and George, still second and third in the charts, haven’t moved since 2016.
There hasn’t been much movement for girls either. Olivia is still number one, Amelia number two and Island has moved up to number three.
Leo replaced Thomas in the top 10 for boys.
Hunter and Ralph took places away from Aaron and Jasper in the top 100 in 2017.
In the girls names catagory, Poppy replaced Jessica in the top 10 for girls, while Aurora, Orla, Edith, Bonnie, Lyla and Hallie replaced Lexi, Zoe, Maddison, Sarah, Felicity and Lydia in the top 100.
Thomas, Daniel, Ruby, Grace, Jessica and Chloe have tanked in popularity, being given to at least 50% fewer babies in 2017 than they were 10 years previously.
Despite being the most popular boys name world over, Oliver was beaten by Muhammad in London, the West Midlands, and Yorkshire and The Humber, with Harry the most popular name in the North East.
For boys the most unusual names were Gordon, Attila, Disel, Hunter-Jay and Pip.
The least popular baby names for girls in 2017 were Susan, Jane and Joanne, so if you’re looking for a really unusual baby name, skip River or Celestine and copy one of your mum’s mates.
Top 10 boys' names
Oliver
Harry
George
Noah
Jack
Jacob
Leo
Oscar
Charlie
Mohammed
Top 10 girls' names
Olivia
Amelia
Isla
Ava
Emily
Isabella
Mia
Poppy
Ella
Lily
You can chart the popularity of your name with the ONS’s fun tool.
Whatever you can think of, there’s probably a fetish for it.
So while most think of other people’s sweat as a particularly distressing part of our hellish commutes and of our own as a nuisance resting on our top lip, there are people getting off on the sweet musty stench of sweat.
There’s no specific, agreed upon term for sweat fetishes. The closest options are olfactophilia or osmophilia, which are fetishes for odours emanating from the body, maschalagnia, a fetish for armpits, or salophilia, which is finding pleasure and arousal in salty things.
But the lack of an official term doesn’t mean sweat fetishes aren’t popular.
Pornhub tells Metro.co.uk that over 5,000 videos on their site feature the tags ‘sweat’ or ‘sweaty’, and these are viewed an average of 300,000 times a month.
On Instagram, the #sweat tag has more than 11 million posts – a mix of workout videos and fitspiration with sexualised selfies and adverts for sweat-drenched socks.
Over on Twitter people jump on the #sweatfetish tag to find buyers for sports bras and old trainers.
The most viewed sweaty video on the site of all time is called Dirty Yoga Teacher on Gorgeous Fitness Model. It’s been viewed more than 20 million times.
Searches for sweat-themed videos tend to peak in the summer months as the temperature rises, and the time sweat videos were most popular on Pornhub was back in June 2016, with June 2018 not following too far behind
Men are proportionally 44% more likely to search for sweaty porn than women, and of the age groups, it’s 18 to 24 year olds who are most keen on sweat at 20% more likely to search than any other age group.
Pornhub visitors over the age of 65 are the least likely to search sweat-related terms.
One 44-year-old man, who asked to go by the name Pindick, found out he was into sweat after buying worn underwear and stockings. He was asked if he’d be interested in buying sweaty gym gear, and found it a ‘huge turn on’.
Now he buys sweaty gym clothes, socks, sports bras, and underwear from his mistress, named Kandy.
‘Because I’m her owned loser I get them extra sweaty,’ he tells us.
‘It’s the aroma. It’s kind of hard to explain but the scent just does it for me. Particularly sweaty panties, there’s no better smell.
‘The sweaty items I wear and sniff and I also use them when masturbating. Inhaling the scent gives me a huge orgasm.’
There’s little research into sweat fetishes, so the exact psychology of why people get off on sweat isn’t clear.
It could be related to the pheromones present in human sweat, which are naturally designed to attract mates. We know that scents can be arousing on a basic, physical level and can evoke emotion – it’s why certain perfumes are sexy or why you love the smell of your partner’s chest when they’ve just woken up.
What’s interesting about a fetish for sweat, though, is that those who are into it aren’t just fans of the fresh stuff – and stale sweat has an entirely different scent.
When men sweat they produce the pheromone androstenol, which is attractive to women. But when sweat is exposed to oxygen androstenone is produced, which is perceived as highly unpleasant by females. Perhaps that’s why men are more likely to have sweat fetishes than women.
On a psychological level, sweat fetishes are often to do with being dominated, and finding pleasure in being given what’s essentially a waste product.
Many of those with sweat fetishes will also be submissives who enjoy the degradation of being made to smell or lick another person’s dirty clothing.
Then, of course, there’s good old taboo factor. Sweat is one of those things that we socially accept is gross, unacceptable, or dirty – that’s why you’re encouraged to wipe down your gym equipment after use and why we’re all so paranoid about BO.
Simply getting involved in something that’s considered ‘wrong’ can be a massive turn-on.
‘There is no research on how and why people develop sweat fetishes but my own writing on the topic shows that they exist, although the prevalence is likely to be extremely low,’ Nottingham Trent University professor Mark Griffiths, who’s written about sweat fetishes on his blog, tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Many (but not all) fetishes tend to develop in early adolescence and many fetishes develop as a result of associative pairing (classical conditioning as psychologists term it) where sexual arousal is paired with something that doesn’t appear – on the face of it – sexual.
‘Sweat can be a consequence of sexual activity and it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that sweat fetishes could result as a consequence of normal sexual activity.
‘However, this doesn’t appear to be the case in my own informal research. Finding someone sexually attractive but who also has body odour may also be a stimulus in paring sexual arousal with sweat and body odour.
‘But the blunt truth is that we simply son’t know why people develop such fetishes.’
Kandy, 22, is a fetish seller and Pindick’s mistress. She’s making quite a bit of money simply by selling her sweaty clothing and dominating her customers online.
‘I started selling my used underwear and one day a customer requested I worked out in them,’ Kandy tells us. ‘This opened up a whole new door of fetish for me.
‘I won’t discuss prices but I bring in more money a month selling fetish items than I do working full time.’
For Kandy, the benefits of selling sweaty stuff aren’t just monetary.
‘I find the idea of my items turning someone else on a turn-on,’ she says.
The level of sweatiness in which she sells her items in depends on the seller. Some men prefer just a light sprinkle of bodily fluids, while regulars like items completely soaked in the stuff.
‘Some guys like only a little sweat so a short run is fine,’ explains Kandy. ‘But some like them completely soaked so I do lots and lots of cardio to make sure they’re super sweaty.’
Keeping regulars happy and providing genuinely sweaty clothing can be lucrative.
But as with any sex and fetish work, it’s work. While many of us wonder if we could sell our pants as a quick get-rich scheme with zero effort, the reality is a little different.
Those appealing to people with sweat fetishes have to go through intensive workouts to meet demand, making sure that each item has the exact scent a buyer needs.
Then there’s the need to navigate customers’ desires. Some will be happy with just buying items and going about their day, others will request more involvement from the seller, asking for domination, sexual images, or freebies.
There’s a mix of respectful regulars, newbies, and time-wasters, as well as having to deal with harassment and unwanted contact.
‘As with all communities it’s 50/50,’ Kandy says of her experience selling sweaty items. ‘A lot of guys are wonderful and my regulars are friends for life and are respectful polite and never cross the line.
‘But you will always get bombarded with time wasters, men wanting freebies and arrogant rude men which sucks, but it’s easy to block them.
‘We age verify everyone to make sure we are not selling to minors and that can bring out a nasty side in some people (usually the ones with something to hide).’
Just like other fetish communities, from human puppies to people who get off on wedgies, the majority are just like anyone else – people with jobs and lives that just happen to be into something that many feel is out of the ordinary.
The community is diverse, made up of people of different ages and sexual identities who simply want to be left to engage in something they enjoy.
‘I want people to know that no matter what your fetish is there’s a safe place for it,’ say Kandy.
‘Sweat fetishes are to be embraced,’ adds Pindick. ‘Like most fetishes, you won’t know unless you try.’
What has a head of exactly nine millimetres and should be enjoyed at 5.30pm on a Saturday with your partner?
A pint, obviously.
British beer lovers have revealed what their ideal drinking experience entails in a new study commissioned by St. Austell Brewery’s Proper Job IPA, to mark Cask Ale Week.
According to those surveyed, the perfect pint should always be served in a proper pint glass and be accompanied by a bag of crisps (although the flavour of said crisps was not decided).
It is best savoured in a country pub while you’re having a good catch up with your other half – no mobile phones allowed – and should take precisely 28 minutes to finish.
The study of 2,000 Brits found that nearly half (43%) want to be on friendly terms with the bar staff in their local watering hole while 16% said they wanted to drink somewhere everyone knew their name.
Over 60% felt strongly that their pint should have a great taste, while 65% said that they needed something to munch on to make the pint truly perfect.
Classic pub snacks such as crisps and peanuts were among the top choices, as were more substantial meals including burgers and curries.
However, we don’t always get our perfect pint.
Nearly a third (32%) of respondents said that the temperature of their pint is nearly always wrong.
Dirty glasses, loud music, high prices and pubs with poor selections of beer were among the other culprits for ruining beer lovers’ drinking experiences.
A Proper Job spokesperson said: ‘With our research we wanted to shine a light on what makes a perfect, proper pint.
‘At Proper Job we believe that everything should be proper, and for Cask Ale Week we wanted to find out what British beer aficionados say makes a proper pint.
‘Our research reveals that there are many important factors ranging from who you’re drinking it with, where you’re drinking it and at what time of the day.
‘Taste is key for the majority of beer lovers, and what you eat with your beer is also really important.
‘We hope this study will help Brits enjoy a proper pint during Cask Ale Week.’
Although 45% of those surveyed described he pint as part of the British national character, 22% say that it’s become more difficult to get a decent pint in the last decade.
With the explosion in craft breweries and the prevalence of more adventurous choices on the market, it should be easier rather than harder to find a beer that suits you.
From sours to saisons, there are plenty of exciting imported and home-brewed offerings, and pubs aren’t going to stop serving classic favourites like Carling and Guinness any time soon.
Roger Prot, editor of the Good Beer Guide, said: ‘In Britain, beer is so much more than just a drink.
‘It’s about the overall experience – good taste, ideally suited food pairings, served in proper pubs by landlords who are obsessed with beer quality and doing things the right way when it comes to the conditioning.
‘There are many things to consider when it comes to the essential ingredients of a perfect pint.
‘It’s reassuring to see that Brits are more passionate than ever about the doing things properly when it comes to enjoying beer.’
As anyone who grew up on shandy and salt-and-vinegar crisps will know, pub culture is as much a part of British identity as being able to queue like it’s a national sport.
Pubs are places to relax, play the quiz machine, pet the resident dog, talk utter rubbish with friends or sit quietly with your book.
Whether you’re a notoriously fast drinker or a painfully slow sipper, when you come across that perfect pint, remember to savour it.
After all, we now know that 28 minutes is the optimum pint-drinking time.
A baby donkey celebrated his first birthday with a handmade coat and a carrot cake.
Bond spent his first few months living in his owner’s house, where he quickly learned to raid the kitchen cupboards with his best friend, a Wolfhound named Cilia Bark.
He was taken in by Alison Wiseman after being rejected by his mum, and was bottle fed for the first few months of his life.
Donkey Bond, who loves, pizza, coffee and Maltesers, celebrated turning one alongside his 14 dog siblings.
He received a birthday card from a family friend, who refers to him as her ‘grandson’, and feasted on veg and carrot cake.
Alison, 54, said: ‘Someone who designs wedding dresses got in touch and wanted to make a coat for Donkey Bond.
‘He makes dog jackets and gave Donkey Bond an embroidered jacket with his name on it as a gift.
‘He got some donkey presents – carrots.’
Donkey Bond wore his new tartan coat to celebrate his first year, and ate cocktail sausages for breakfast, before tucking into the cake and carrots with the family’s dogs.
Alison says Donkey Bond loves people, is ‘unbelievably well socialised’ and is a fan of cold pizza and chicken – which Alison says is because of his ‘human tastes’.
Donkey Bond was moved outside for the summer months, and will probably spend this winter in a barn rather than in the family home – where he spent last winter – because he got in trouble for chewing all of Alison’s cooking books and kept raiding the cupboards.
Alison said: ‘Our Irish Wolfhound lets him in, and he opens the kitchen cupboard.
‘He pulls out a sack of dog food and him and the dog have a huge picnic. We have had to keep him outside.
‘I did think about putting child locks on the cupboards but then I thought “you’ve got to get a grip, he’s a donkey, he should be outside”.’
She added: ‘He’s really naughty.
‘My husband races pigeons and he keeps these wicker baskets.
‘Donkey Bond just amuses himself by pulling them down and chewing on the leather straps.’
Visitors come to the family home, Balnuith Farm in Tealing, Angus, which Alison shares with her husband, John, to admire the rare breed animals they keep, including alpacas.
But Donkey Bond likes to be the star of the show.
Alison said: ‘Donkeys are quite naughty but he targets different things.
‘He sees things differently from other donkeys, which are driven by the thought ‘where’s the food?’.
‘He targets anything that catches his eye.
‘Obviously he’s been brought up in a house, he’s a pet.
‘He thinks I’m his mum, and Cilla Bark is his best friend.’
You wake up, put on a full face of makeup and then position yourself back on the bed, surrounded by balloons and throw pillows that say things like ‘dream’, for that ‘perfect morning’ snap.
After photographing your breakfast (hopefully it’s actually pancakes and not a plate of tortilla wraps), it’s time to catch your flight to an exotic location, followed at all times by your personal photographer/Insta husband so they can document all the best moments for your carefully curated feed.
On the flight, you’re in business class.
It’s all well and good, and you’ve got a glass of complimentary champers, but there’s something missing.
For that perfect picture, you need to go the extra mile.
That’s what influencing is all about, right?
You figure out what your business class booth needs, and it’s genius. What environment wouldn’t be brightened up by a string of fairy lights for extra sparkle?
All joking aside, Instafamous traveller Harimao Lee has confused, outraged and inspired people online after sharing a picture of herself sipping bubbly in business class with a string of fairy lights draped over her blanketed body.
The caption on her photo reads: ‘It was the long dark night during the flight from HK to Rome. Stargazing is one thing to do in the cabin.’
It’s unclear how many stars Harimao could actually see with all the light pollution visible outside of her window, but she certainly looks well-illuminated by the fairy lights in the shot.
Predictably, some Instagram users were distinctly unimpressed by her use of alternative lighting.
One comment on the photograph reads: ‘This is ridiculous! This sort of staged nonsense is a joke. Nobody travels like this!!’
Another called her a: ‘Pretentious tw*tty idiot!’.
One user referred to the photo as ‘tone deaf’ in light of the plight of the Syrian people, remarking: ‘Meanwhile in Syria…oh wait, you have not heard?’
Although many people clearly felt that the ‘staged’ aesthetic of the photo was a little much, others praised Harimao for her extra ‘gramming.
‘Go on…. with your FINE self. Haters will always hate sweetness. You just keep being FABULOUS!!!’
This isn’t the first time that Harimao has used fairy lights to give her Instagram posts an extra something, and she’s also used balloons to add colour to her travel snaps.
She currently has 130,000 followers for her dreamy travel shots, that show her posing in a host of beautiful locations around the world.
We’ve reached out to Harimao for her response to the backlash, and will update this story if we hear back.
A four-year-old girl has created a ‘hug button’ to help her feel close to her mum when she’s at school.
Violet Orrick and her mum Leanne Orrick, 38, draw love hearts on each other’s hands which they press to send each other imagined hugs when they’re apart.
Violet, who her mum describes as an ‘old soul’, started reception two weeks ago and was quite nervous after suffering separation anxiety when she attended nursery last year.
But the little girl, who believes a heart shape is M for ‘mummy’ on top of a V for ‘Violet’, came up with idea of drawing the symbol on her hand and started calling it her ‘hug button’.
Violet presses the button whenever she feels lonely at school to send her mum and dad, Richard, 37, love throughout the day.
The button has become such a regular thing that Leanne and her business partner Dee Barker, 48, have decided to create a temporary tattoo version for other families.
Mum-of-one Leanne said: ‘Violet started by drawing hearts on my hand as there is always a biro on the table.
‘She would just grab the biro and was drawing hearts everywhere – with it being a V for Violet with an M over the top for mum or mummy.
‘Every single day she comes home with some new picture she’s drawn.
‘I don’t know why it was hearts she started drawing it was just one of the first things she learned how to draw.
‘She drew one on my hand and told me to draw one on hers so we matched.
‘Then she started pressing it and saying “can you feel this mummy?” I had to pretend I felt warm like a warm hug.
‘I would press mine back and ask her if she could feel one back and tell her “this is the best one”, it just sort of went from there.
‘Violet draws hearts on everyone – my husband too. If there’s a pen and a person and she likes that person then they’ll get a hug button.’
Leanne says the hug button has helped her daughter find a little way of ‘taking control’ of her anxiety.
She continued: ‘So if she was feeling a little bit lost at school or missed me Violet knew that she had that on her and she could press it.
‘It comforted me to know that it comforted her and I could look at it on my hand – the little biro ones at first and think “aww she’s got one of these on too”.
‘It’s just a little bit of fantasy but I would ask her if she got all the hugs mummy sent her today and she’d thank me and tell me they were really warm – it makes me smile.’
Violet has a little cuddly toy called Angel which she used to take to nursery with her every day before she started drawing hearts.
Choosing to adopt the philosophy of attachment parenting, Leanne never tells Violet that her emotions should be dismissed or grown out of. Instead the mum wants to encourage her daughter to be open about her feelings.
And Leanne believes other parents shouldn’t shy away from their emotions either, aiming to raise awareness of separation anxiety in both kids and their mums and dads.
Leanne said: ‘Violet was all for nursery at first. She was very excited that she would get to spend the whole mornings playing with new friends.
‘But she didn’t understand that she had to go every day and after the first few days it hit her.
‘She got upset and would cry in the morning – she wanted to be with her mummy.
‘Violet has this little cuddly toy called Angel. This filthy cat like a beanie baby – that was her comfort thing.
‘Angel would go with her every day and that’s how she overcame it the first time, but then she started drawing the hearts and gradually Angel started getting left at home.’
Violet started reception two weeks ago, and as she’s had her hug button she’s doing fine.
‘To other parents going through separation anxiety with kids I’d say to keep listening to your child,’ says Leanne.
‘Don’t tell them that anything that they’re feeling is daft or that they’ll grow out of it.
‘Just keep reinforcing the fact that what they’re feeling is okay and that you’ll always be there – it’s okay to miss somebody.’
Leanne has created a temporary tattoo of the hug button for other parents, which she is selling on Etsy.
Adorable golden retriever puppies are what every military parade needs.
On Thursday, more than 9,500 Chilean troupes marched for the Great Military Parade as part of the 208th Independence Day anniversary, and the Canine Unit completely stole the show.
Police trainers marched with a battalion of fluffy pups snuggled against their chests, supported by neon green pouches.
Their little heads poked out, excited, sleepy and downright bemused.
These perfect pups will grow up to be adult police dogs but right now, they’re just starting their training. They already know how to be overwhelmingly cute, so they just need to get the police stuff down to pat.
The puppy parade was followed by a troop of grown up good boys, golden retrievers and Labradors who were all wearing little booties.
Each dog was led by a uniformed officer, but let’s face it – all eyes were on the pups.
The Canine Unit is part of the country’s national police force, called the Carabineros de Chile.
The military parade, held at O’Higgins Park in Chile’s capital of Santiago, has been a tradition for more than half a century and attracts millions of viewers around the country.
The Canine Unit first got involved in the celebration in 2008, where they completed their excellent debut march.
They’ve been stealing hearts at the military parade ever since.
Matalan has launched a ‘Superstars’ range of matching nightwear for the entire family.
The pyjamas are white with multicoloured stars on them, and come in sizes for adults, kids, babies and there’s even a onesie for a dog.
Just imagine the amazing family photos.
Before you shake your head and wonder why you’d ever want to dress up like your mum and dad – it’s for a good cause, with all of the proceeds going to the Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
This is Matalan’s 5th charity campaign in partnership with Alder Hey’s Children’s Charity, with the Superstars campaign aiming to focus on all of the ‘superstars’ at the hospital, honouring all of the ‘amazing people and the amazing work that happens at Alder Hey every single day’.
Current and former patients have been captured modelling the range, including five-year-old patient and charity fundraiser Poppy-Mae Jones, Theo Fry, one, who was born with two holes in his heart, Daniel Bell, age seven, whose life was saved by Alder Hey after it was discovered he had a brain tumour and Grace Lee, age 13, with an incurable form of congenital heart disease.
Scarlett Moffatt has also been pictured wearing the pyjamas.
The campaign features a charity single, which is a cover of S Club 7’s ‘Reach for the Stars’ led by Grace Lee with the Alder Hey & Matalan choir and Lauren Clarke, a Matalan employee.
It can be downloaded from all major online music stores, including iTunes, for 99p.
The money raised from the campaign will go towards funding special projects at Alder Hey, such as specialists and ward based chefs, as well as research.
Jason Hargreaves, Matalan CEO said: ‘The campaign title Superstars says it all; it’s our most fitting campaign name to date. Everyone I have ever met at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is worthy of that title and I am truly excited to be launching this year’s campaign, along with a charity single.
‘The work carried out at Alder Hey and the incredible research projects stretch far and wide, helping children right across the globe – I couldn’t be prouder to support such an amazing charity.’
Clare White, Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children’s Charity added: ‘Matalan’s continued support is invaluable for the work we do and we are so grateful to everyone who has contributed by buying scarves, hats and PJs over the last five years.
‘The proceeds from this year’s campaign will improve the lives of even more children and families and help make Alder Hey a truly world-class, patient friendly hospital and campus for the 270,000 patients and families we care for every year.’
The weather is already getting colder, which means now’s the time to start spending money on new snuggly coats.
If you’re pregnant, there’s one coat in particular that’s perfect for you.
Zip Us In’s 3 in 1 black longline padded puffa jacket has been designed so that it is super comfortable for pregnant women – and actually grows with the bump.
The jacket can be used during pregnancy, when babywearing and also after, as it has a removable panel which can be adjusted for fit around your growing belly during pregnancy.
It also has an opening at the top of the coat for new mums, which enables you to fasten the jacket around your baby in a carrier, wrap or sling.
And when you’re no longer requiring a babywearing coat, all you have to do is remove the panel for continued wear.
It’s a great idea, isn’t it?
Considering how many transformations the coat has, it’s really not all that expensive, at £85.
The coat is fully lined and features lower zip pockets, a faux fur trimmed hood and three toggles, and it’s available in black.
It comes in a shorter style too, which is cheaper, costing £65.
Sure, pregnancy coats aren’t new – there’s heaps of items that fall under maternitywear.
But, not all coats are created for every stage of pregnancy and becoming a new mother – and for the price, we think it’s a pretty cool creation.
The new kicks from fashion designer and baffling Trump supporter Kanye West are here and easier to snag than ever before.
The Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Triple White launches today, and unlike previous releases, there are supposed to be upwards of one million pairs available for sneakerheads to purchase.
In the past, the trainers have sold out almost instantly, meaning that if you weren’t incredibly quick off the mark, you weren’t going to get a pair.
Fans had no choice but to turn to resellers, who jacked the prices up to dizzying heights. You can currently buy Yeezys on the auction marketplace eBay for upwards of £8,000.
Once Kanye West partnered with Adidas in 2013, he promised that everyone who wanted a pair of Yeezys would be able to buy them, and it looks like West is finally making good on this assurance.
The Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2, dubbed the second most Instagrammed trainer ever and originally released in 2017, has been launched in ‘Triple White’ and is now available on the Adidas website.
The hype around this release has been bigger than ever, with full back and front page advertisements in a number of newspapers, including the New York Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and Metro.
The adverts show stills from the campaign and the phrase ‘we love’ in multiple languages, perhaps relating to the wider availability of the sneaker.
West says that he wants ‘as many people as possible’ to have the shoes.
Adidas is so sure that they are finally going to meet demand for this cult item of footwear, that they even allowed some customers to buy pairs a day in advance.
These fortunate early birds had to sit in a ‘virtual waiting room’ for a few minutes to check whether the right size was available, and then they were able to make their purchase.
The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 is currently retailing at £179.95, which is incredibly reasonable when you look at some of the resale prices online.
West claims that the company is on track to ‘hit a billion dollars’ this year and will be hiring another 160 people.
Today is World Alzheimer’s Day and I’m feeling pretty good right now, despite being diagnosed with dementia two years ago.
I’ve always been active, something that was so integral when I worked in the force. I was stationed with the Criminal Investigation Department, Special Branch, and was even seconded to work for Interpol in London for five years.
I joined the police force in 1978 at a time when there were very few women in that profession. I feel like I, and the other women who joined then, really had something to prove, and I worked hard to ensure I did.
That’s why when my health changed, it was difficult to adjust.
I had three strokes in my 50s, which led to memory problems and extreme fatigue. I tried to return to work part-time, but I kept having memory blanks about essential things like logging into my emails.
There was a morning when I had to sit on my bed for 15 minutes as I just couldn’t remember how to get dressed. For someone who has always worked in a position of authority and responsibility, it was an alien feeling.
Worse still was when I was diagnosed with young-onset vascular dementia in 2016. When I heard my diagnosis I went home and cried for almost three months.
It felt like a death sentence.
Thinking back, this is testament to the way we used to — and in many ways still do — talk about dementia. People assume that when you are diagnosed with dementia you automatically become a person sitting silent in a corner, unable to communicate. This just isn’t the case.
People are always shocked when I tell them I have dementia, especially when they see me out and about being active and giving talks at events.
One person develops dementia every three minutes in the UK. Across the world, one person develops dementia every three seconds. It’s a world health priority but there is still so much ignorance about the condition.
I watched a great programme recently where young children went to a day-care centre and met people with dementia. The thing that really stood out was that they saw people with dementia as people with their own personalities and interests.
I always tell people, ‘I’m still me.’
Challenging the way we think about dementia is something that I’m really passionate about. I feel that the only way that we can change the negative stereotypes of dementia that still exist out there is for people affected with the condition to speak out.
I’ve learned so much since those early days of locking myself away post-diagnosis. I won’t disguise that there have been difficult times – I live with Heather, my carer, now, as I was forgetting to eat proper meals when I was living alone.
Unfortunately, too many are facing dementia alone without adequate support. Where I currently live, there are actually no support groups due to funding cuts – I have even been waiting over a year for an appointment with my neurologist.
But there is help out there – I’ve found the Alzheimer’s Society’s Helpline and the online forum Talking Point really valuable.
I’m now trying to help others. Recently I gave a talk to a group of Chinese people in my community, who didn’t know much about dementia. It went down really well, and I know there’s a great appetite out there for more information like this.
With more understanding we will break down stigma about the condition and be able to include people with dementia better in their communities, so they can continue to live their lives as independently as possible.
Yes, my vascular dementia diagnosis came as a shock to me, but if there is one thing I could say to people out there, it’s that I’m still here, and I’m still useful – not useless.
Too many are facing dementia alone without adequate support. If you are concerned and would like to find out more, contact Alzheimer’s Society on 0300 222 11 22 or visit alzheimers.org.uk/getsupport.
A missing period can occur for a litany of reasons, but whatever the cause it’s always at least a little nerve wracking.
The best known causes of a missed period is stress, illness or travel. But diet can also be a big part of your menstrual regularity which is why it’s possible for the keto diet to stop your period.
The ketogenic diet (often called keto for short) is an extremely low carb diet which relies on fats to keep you full. If you’re on the keto diet you’ll eat a lot of meat, low carb vegetables such as avocados and as little sugar as humanly possible.
It’s well known for being extremely effective for weight loss and is sometimes recommended for people who need to loose weight before surgery. However, it can be a reason that women’s periods stop when they are dieting.
Any major weight loss can cause amenorrhea (absent mensuration) and ketogenic diets often produce rapid results in terms of weight loss. But there might be more to it than just weight loss. Some experts believe that it could be a result of lacking nutrients.
According to dietitian Crystal C. Karges, it’s possible for ketogenic diets to interrupt your menstrual cycle. She explains: ‘Nutrient deficiencies could contribute to an abnormal menstrual cycle, and following a diet that cuts out a major macro-nutrient could create gaps in a woman’s nutrition,” said registered dietitian Crystal C. Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC. “As women, we need both adequate calories and nutrients to function normally and to maintain a regular menstrual cycle.’
‘The most common causes of irregular periods or amenorrhea (absence of a period for three months or more) are stress, too little carbohydrates, calorie restriction, and exercise.’ says nutritionist Vanessa Roster.
The NHS maintains that carbohydrates are an important part of nutrition and should not be cut out entirely, however they suggest that if you’re worried about your weight you should avoid carbohydrates which are processed, white or high in sugar. Brown bread, potatoes and wholewheat pasta are not to be feared. White bread, cakes and white rice however can be avoided.
If you’re missing a period, you might want to take a pregnancy test and book an appointment with your GP.
If you were going to spend £2.2 millioin quid on somewhere to live, where would you spend it?
That much cash would get you a decent sized house in London (but, depressingly, nothing massively exciting), a small stately home in Scotland, OR you could buy your own private island.
It’s technically two islands, joined together with a nice little bride.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bath looking out over the sea?
And look – so much light! Plus, there’s be really no need to worry about making noise and bothering the neighbors, because they’re separated by actual ocean.
The house is set on a granite rock and has views of the shoreline, the majestic Thimble Islands and open views to the shores of Long Island. It’s located in Connecticut.
The estate agents say: ‘Only 19 miles from the Hamptons across Long Island Sound, this property should not be overlooked by boaters or waterfront enthusiasts.’
Over 8 million babies worldwide have been born as a result of IVF since its first success 40 years ago.
It still remains one of the more successful fertility treatments to this day (depending on your circumstances) and there is an estimated two million treatment cycles performed per year.
Due to the fact it’s both mentally and physically strenuous – and can often be very costly – it’s important to know as much as possible before you begin.
We’ve compiled a rundown of costs and success rates involved in IVF, so you can go to your doctor informed.
How to get IVF on the NHS
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – also known as NICE have guidelines on who is eligible for IVF.
Essentially, if you’re a woman aged under 43 and have been trying for a baby (either by having regular unprotected sex for two years or 12 artificial insemination attempts) you meet their criteria.
However, on a local level, there are Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) who also have a say. Their specific criteria may differ to NICE, and could mean you’re more or less likely to receive treatment on the NHS.
What is IVF?
IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilisation, and refers to the process whereby an egg is fertilised using sperm outside the body.
You can do this using sperm and egg from a male and female partner, or with a donor sperm or donor egg.
Once an embryo has been created, it’s implanted back into the woman’s uterus to hopefully grow.
There are usually several steps to a course of treatment, including hormone therapy, egg collection, fertilisation, incubation, and transfer into the uterus.
CCGs may also look at things such as whether you already have children, whether you smoke, and how ‘healthily’ you eat. Some CCGs also discount women over 35 altogether, so it’s important to speak to your GP about the situation in your area.
According to NICE, women under 40 can be offered up to three IVF cycles, whereas those between 40 and 42 can be offered only one as long as they’ve never had IVF treatment before, show no evidence of low ovarian reserve, and have been informed of the additional implications of IVF and pregnancy at this age.
Since the provision of IVF varies so much between CCGs, it’s worth finding your local one and finding out what you’re entitled to.
How much is private IVF?
It’s estimated that private IVF can cost between £3,000 and £5,000 per cycle.
R esearch by Opinium found that the average price for a single cycle of IVF is £3,348. The highest UK price was £4,195 and the lowest £2,650.
However, some places may also charge you for initial consultations and tests, as well as aftercare and drugs, which takes this cost up.
Those who travel abroad for treatment can reduce costs by up to 75%, but there are dangers associated with this, including a higher risk of multiple births (which can be dangerous for the mother) and differing standards.
In general, you should ensure if you’re going abroad that the clinic is registered with an appropriate body, and check online reviews.
IVF success rates
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the chances differ based on your age.
Chances of IVF success based on age
Under 35: 29%
35-37: 23%
38-39: 15%
40-42: 9%
43-44: 3%
Over 44: 2%.
These figures are for women using their own eggs and their partner’s sperm and use the per embryo transferred measure.
Clinics tend to report different results of their own, but it’s important to take these statistics with a pinch of salt unless they’ve been independently verified by a public body (such as HFEA here in the UK).
Many hopeful parents who visit other countries for treatment are swayed by individual success rates. Although not all of these will be false, some clinics have claimed that 9 out of 10 couples who come to them for treatment will have a successful pregnancy. These figures are not verified, and are vastly different to the averages which can be found elsewhere.
Your individual circumstances will also affect the success rate of any course of IVF, and your healthcare professional should give you a more specific outlook for you personally.
Worried about starting fertility treatment?
Contact HFEA on 020 7291 8200 for more information on the options available to you. (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)
Alternatively, you can speak to Infertility Network UK on 0121 323 5025 (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10am to 4pm)
Step aside McDonald’s, because a new fast food restaurant is coming to down.
Jollibee, Asia’s biggest home grown fast food chain is opening its first ever UK branch in a former Wagamama outlet in Earl’s Court.
The restaurant, which will open on 20 October, will be only the second Jollibee branch in Europe – with one having launched in Milan earlier this year.
The chain first started as an ice cream parlour in Manila in 2975 – but now serves up fried chicken with spaghetti, which is its signature meal.
The UK menu is going to feature a mix of US and Asian inspired dishes – including the chicken and spaghetti, which comes covered in a red sauce, loaded with slices of hotdog sausage and ground beef.
There’ll also be fried chicken with a beef patty, mushroom with gravy and rice, and corned beef, garlic rice and fried egg.
If you’re fancying something warm as the weather gets colder, sides include a creamy macaroni soup.
The opening is seen as so culturally significant for the Filipino community that it is expected to be attended by the Philippines ambassador.
Jollibee Foods Corporation chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong told the Standard the restaurant aims to become one of the five top restaurants in the world.
‘Opening our first store in the United Kingdom brings us one step closer to realising this vision,’ he said.
A mother spent $13,000 (£7,200) AUD on her son’s first birthday party last month – but there’s a heartbreaking reason why.
Baby Lachlan is 31-year-old Jackie Lam’s rainbow baby.
Jackie, from Melbourne, Australia, struggled to conceive for months, and suffered a miscarriage two years ago.
Lachlan was the baby born after the tragic loss of that child.
Jackie has always been someone who loved parties and events, and wanted Lachlan’s day to be special – even though she says it was ‘bittersweet’.
Jackie told Femail: ‘We come from a Vietnamese heritage and in our culture, the first birthday is always the most significant, rather than the sixteenth or the eighteenth.
‘In the back of our minds, we knew we wanted to have a big celebration when he turned one, but we didn’t start planning it until two months before the party.’
Jackie invited 140 people to celebrate the birthday, with the party taking place at a gorgeous waterside venue, with food and drink, as well as alcohol, for everyone attending.
She said a large chunk of the budget went on catering.
Jackie added: ‘They were probably the biggest ticket items. Apart from that, we created some of the decorations ourselves, and my sister baked the cake.’
The menu for the day included slider burgers, mini pizzas, fish and chips and salads.
There were also lots of fancy desserts, such as mini eclairs, tarts, mango mousse cakes and macaroons – and the signature chocolate logs.
Jackie continued: ‘We themed it around Where The Wild Things Are, and called it Wild One. I love inspiring imagination, especially in children.
‘Seeing their faces – I get so much pleasure from celebrating things with the people I love.’
Though she went all out for Lachlan’s first birthday, Jackie, who has started a business in events, A Peachy Affair Events, won’t be doing it again – saying that something like a McDonald’s party might work better next time.
She also doesn’t want people to judge her based on the one occasion – something that her videographer, Aldin Ortinez, made her feel better about by saying: ‘While I do understand the inherent insanity of paying five figures for a kid’s birthday party, there’s also a grain of truth in the saying “love knows no boundaries”.
‘I am in the wedding industry, I would know. If you stop regarding it as simply a birthday party, and put it firmly in the category of memorable once-in-a-lifetime experiences, then the answer has to be a resounding yes.
‘Every child deserves a day to celebrate the love they bring into their parents’ lives.’
If you’ve moved to a new city (or country, or continent), it can be particularly tricky to find people that you want to hang out with and who also want to hang with you.
Human beings are social animals, and it’s through meaningful connections to others that we get the most out of life.
A famous Harvard study that’s been conducted over 80 years shows that it’s our relationships that have the biggest impact on our overall health and happiness.
Loneliness is best avoided, but how do you go about making friends in a new place?
Use your existing contacts
Chances are, you’ll already know people who can help you make friends.
Existing contacts who live in your new city – even if you only know them vaguely – can be a great asset.
Invite them out for a coffee or a cocktail. Hopefully they’ll have their own networks of people that they can introduce you to.
They might even have people in mind that they think you’d make a great friend pairing with.
Be bold
When you’re new, you might need to go about making friends in a more heavy-handed way that you’d normally be comfortable with.
Make the first move. Invite people. Ask for numbers.
If you’re shy or this sounds horrifically cringe, use social media to your advantage.
It’s often easier to approach people from behind a screen than it is IRL, so use this power for good rather than for the purposes of trolling.
Join a class
You’re busy and tired and you have a full-time job, but if you have even the tiniest modicum of energy left to devote to a hobby, do so.
Whether you’re into life drawing, Dungeons and Dragons, making masks out of papier-mâché, or doing yoga while suspended in the air, there’s a class for it.
Join that class, and get chatting to people there. You already have one ready-made interest in common.
You should also join a class if there’s something you’ve always wanted to try or learn – like speaking Hungarian, making dim sum or tasting wine and sounding impressively clued up about it.
Learn a new skill and make a friend at the same time.
Say ‘yes’
If someone invites you to an event or a meet-up or for a coffee in the early stages of your move, accept the invitation.
Yes, you might not click with them and it could feel like a wasted hour of your life, but if you don’t go, you’ll never know whether it could’ve been the start of a beautiful friendship.
Take a chance and get out of the house instead of spending the evening in your pyjamas in front of Netflix.
Of course, it’s important to know when to slow down and take a night off for a takeaway and Queer Eye, but if you’re saying ‘no’ to suggested activities and meetings, you’re closing off avenues of connection for yourself.
Download an app (and actually use it)
There are plenty of tech tools you can use to kick off your friendship search.
Meetup, Citysocialiser, Bumble (it’s not just for dating), Peanut and Meet My Dog are just some of the apps you can download to help furnish yourself with some like-minded friends.
Sanchita Saha is the founder and CEO of Citysocialiser, an app that’s active in 15 cities worldwide, with the largest memberships in London and New York.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I founded Citysocializer after seeing how isolated my friends felt as they struggled with making new friends when they first moved to London in their mid/late 20s.
‘Cities in general are not easiest places to meet new people as there is a lack of community.
‘It can be really hard going from being surrounded with people like you, to feeling like you’re totally alone.
‘You have to make an explicit effort to go out and find new “communities” you can be part of whether that’s taking up a class, joining a group like Citysocializer or seeking out your own “tribe” at work.’
Consider your colleagues
Why was it so much easier to make friends at uni? It’s because you were all thrown together in halls, shared houses, lectures and the student union.
It was assumed that friendships would be made.
After university, your workplace will replace the lecture hall.
Sure, it’s not quite as inevitable that you’ll end up making friends at work as it is at uni, but it’s not out of the question either.
If there’s someone you get on with at work, why not ask them to grab lunch?
Once you start making out-of-work plans you’ll have a bona fide friendship blossoming.
For Carly, a lonely job held her back from making friends for a good two years when she moved from Portsmouth to Cardiff.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was super lonely in my job. I was a carer for the elderly so I worked on my own in between calls and I lived on my own in a new city.
‘It was extremely hard and I would cry sometimes and ask myself if this was the right decision.
‘I had one friend but he had his own life, girlfriend, job etc. so I would take it really personally when he couldn’t see me.
‘I eventually left that job and worked in a call centre where I made friends instantly and then went on to have my own business.
‘I make sure I’m not locked in the house on my own, I go to networking events, I make myself social and plus I live with my boyfriend now too so that makes it easier to go home at night.’
If you work remotely and don’t go into an office every day, you might not have the same opportunities to meet people, but it’s not impossible to make work friends.
Supportive communities of freelancers exist online and plenty of people choose co-working spaces so they can get on with their tasks in the company of others.
Put the work in
Going for a cappucino with someone once probably isn’t going to immediately create an undying bond of friendship.
You need to put the effort in for the relationship to strengthen and grow.
Set up another ‘friend date’ instead of expecting that one coffee to make a friendship happen.
Just like with dating, you need to keep the momentum going.
If you feel like the two of you have clicked, ask them when they’re next free, maybe for lunch or a glass of wine this time.
Diversify
Your friends don’t have to be exactly like you.
They don’t need to be your age, gender or from a similar background to be a positive and valuable presence in your life.
Don’t rule people out because they don’t exactly fit your image of what the perfect friend would be like.
Don’t give up
Making friends in a new city might feel like an uphill struggle and take more time than you expect, but if you’re putting yourself out there in a friendly and genuine way, you’ll find your people.
Reach out to others instead of always expecting them to come to you.
You might not end up making mates for life in the first couple of months, but that’s okay.
Keep trying and don’t write people off or isolate yourself as a response to disappointment or rejection.
It’s never going to be easy starting from friendship ground zero in a brand new location – cut yourself some slack.
Kate Leaver, author of The Friendship Cure, moved from Sydney to London and knew she’d need to be proactive about making new friends.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘One of the most effective ways for me was to use Twitter to find people, get to know them a little and when it felt right, ask them for coffee or wine.
‘This was perfect for me as an introvert and a far less risky or daunting option than approaching someone in person.
‘That said, I also made a point of being diligent and courageous when I met new people face to face.
‘I was liberal with my coffee invitations and found that most people are delighted and open to hanging out with a new person, which allayed some of that fear of rejection you carry when you feel like you need new friends.’
Kate approached the challenge of making new friends as a ‘befriending campaign’, where she would chase meaningful connections and didn’t allow herself to fall back into patterns of ‘safety behaviour’.
She said: ‘My advice, since writing a book on the subject of friendship, is to operate with strategic kindness and a fastidious sort of openness to meeting new people.
‘Ordinarily, we might not follow up with someone we meet at a work meeting, an interview, a house party or some other miscellaneous event.
‘But when you’re scouting for new people to recruit into your life and protecting yourself from loneliness, you have to find a way to push past any awkwardness and be quite forward about reaching out to people.
‘If you get that feeling of chemistry with someone and you’d like to see them again, ask.’
Making good friends really isn’t that different from romantic dating, so fingers crossed they feel that chemistry too.
Nick Banks, the former drummer of the band Pulp, has opened one of the first taxi pubs – which comes complete with a bar on the front passenger’s seat.
The 53-year-old has created a pub on wheels, kitted out with three working pumps which serve larger, bitter and cider.
The father-of-two has named the taxi ‘The Drinks Cab-innit’ which is also equipped with a disco ball, curtains and a bottle bar.
But obviously, he never drinks when getting behind the wheel.
Nick often drives around the streets of his home city Sheffield in his brightly coloured taxi which he calls ‘The Pink Torpedo’.
The idea to convert a taxi – which can fit up to five people in – came after Nick entered the ‘Bangers & Cash’ event, the UK’s first art banger car rally.
He assembled a three-man team for a charity drive from Sheffield to Monte Carlo this month to raise money for Roundabout, Sheffield’s youth homeless charity.
But Nick and his two ‘adventurers’ had to find a mode of transport and scoured the obvious internet sites until finding one vehicle which stood out – an old ‘Boohoo’ pink taxi.
The friends got in touch with the Sheffield taxi community and eventually bought the taxi with 12 months MOT for £650.
He said: ‘We kept on the trial of the pink taxi and after dogged determination managed to buy it. We bought the taxi for £650, which is the maximum you are allowed to spend.
‘One of our adventurers is in the drinks industry. Once we had this taxi we had to do something with it.
‘He said we could turn it into a pub. He had the know how to take it forward.
‘You have the potential for three pumps.’
The Drinks Cab-innit was unveiled to the public at The Brothers Arms, in Sheffield, on Saturday, September 8 as the World’s first and only Taxi-pub.
The trio had Kaltenburg lager and Thatchers Gold cider on tap served in the cab – and only charge by donations.
Sadly, you can’t actually use the taxi for real, taxi reasons. It doesn’t take passengers and is going to be scrapped after the rally.
And, the pumps only work when hooked up to beer lines at a real pub – so there’s that, too.
But when the trio set off later today (Friday) they will instead have a bottle bar while driving from the South Yorkshire city to Monaco.
Nick says homelessness is on the rise and everyone is ‘three pay packets’ away from living on the streets.
‘I think it’s getting worse these days,’ added Nick. ‘The transition from school to the working environment can be difficult and families can break up as well.
‘There were periods where I was very close to being homeless. We are all two or three pay packets away.
‘We are doing for the charity not just for the laugh.’