26-27 January
Dates for your diary in 2013

Are you interested in raising money for your favourite charity? Perhaps you’re keen to show off your prize pooch, or want to learn more about training your animal. Whatever interests you, here’s our pick of the best UK pet events taking place over the next few months. 

26-27 January
Burgess Premier Small Animal Show
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
With 3,000 animals appearing in two days, this is a one-stop shop for anyone wanting to know more about keeping and breeding small animals including cavies, chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, mice, rabbits and rats. The show, hosted by the Yorkshire Event Centre, was originally known as the Bradford Championship Show and started in 1921, making it the oldest of its kind. For more information, visit the website.

10 February
Scottish Show Dog of the Year
Glasgow
Founded in 1881, the Scottish Kennel Club aims to promote the wellbeing of dogs in Scotland. It hosts numerous dog shows every year, all of which are a great opportunity to talk to experienced owners and breeders. For further details, visit the website, email info@scottishkennelclub.org or call 0131 665 3920.

23 February
Thames Hospicecare Woofs and Wellies
Windsor, Berkshire
The charity Thames Hospicecare is staging another 9km walk for pooches and their owners through Windsor Great Park. With an entry fee of £10, every registered dog will receive a dog tag and its very own doggy bag. The money raised will help people in the local area to pay for hospice care. To find out more, visit the website, emailmichelle.bowdidge@thameshospicecare.org.uk or call 01753 848 963.

7-10 March
Crufts
Birmingham
Crufts is, quite simply, the world’s largest dog show. Held at Birmingham’s NEC, dogs of all types are put through their paces over four days of displays and competitions. There are also hundreds of stalls selling items for canines and their owners, making it quite the shopping experience as well. Crufts has been going since 1891 and has moved with times. This year, the the winners of ITV contest That Dog Can Dance!, Lucy Heath and her dog Indie, open Crufts’ very own four-legged talent show. For more details, visit the website or call 0844 444 9944 to book tickets.

21 April
Run with Team Battersea at the London Marathon
London
Take part in this fundraising event for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and you’ll receive a running vest, fundraising pack, training plans, plus an afternoon tour of Battersea with your fellow competitors followed by a meal with the team. The ballot for this year’s race has already been drawn and positions were being filled from October 2012. Application forms for those who were successful are available on the website. For more information, contact Tim Ridgewell, Battersea’s Events & Community Officer, by emailing events@battersea.org.uk or calling 020 7627 9339.

11-12 May
London Pet Show
London
Taking place at Earl’s Court Two, this huge educational and trade exhibition, featuring displays, demos, talks and stands is now in its third year. There are four zones to discover – Dogs, Cats, Small Furries and Animals Featuring Aquatics and Exotics. The latter includes reptiles, birds, ponies and even micro pigs. As well as traditional activities such as cat grooming, there are more unorthodox attractions including duck herding and show-jumping bunnies! For more details, visit the website, email julie@londonpetshow.co.uk or call 020 8995 5006.

27 May
South Wales Dog Charity Fun Day
Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
This relaxed and good-humoured dog show at Fonmon Castle Show Ground guarantees a rosette and prize for winners and losers in the various classes. Events range from ‘most handsome dog/prettiest bitch’ to ‘dog with the waggiest tail’! Registration takes place on the day, but can be made by post by 20 May (also the deadline for an ‘enter three classes and get the fourth free’ offer). All profits go to dog rescue organisations and charities. Visit the website for further information.

8 June
Battersea Nightrider Cycle Challenge
London
Here’s another innovative fundrasing venture put on by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. The challenge here is to complete a 100km moonlit cycle by and through various landmarks including Tower Bridge, London Zoo, Piccadilly Circus, the British Museum and the London Eye. Not only will you be raising money for Battersea, but you’ll also get a unique perspective of the nation’s capital. To find out more, visit the website.

8-9 June
APDT Dog Training Events
Worcester
At Top Barn Farm, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers offers six intriguing disciplines: Gundog, Search and Rescue, Agility, Treibball, Working Trials and Rally. Most of the categories are open to all dogs, though some breeds are better suited than others to certain disciplines. Among the more unusual pursuits are Treibball, essentially sheepdog trials with balls. Working Trials has been described as the canine equivalent of equine Three Day Eventing and Rally is a kind of pentathlon of exercises including: Sit Down Sit, Straight figure 8, Send over Jump, Recall over Jump, and Left Turn. For further information, visit the website.

20-21 July
Stoneleigh Park Pet Show
Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire
Billed as the first exhibition of its type to be staged both indoors and outdoors, this pet jamboree covers all your favourite domestic companions including dogs, cats, small animals, birds, fish and horses. 20,000 people are expected to visit the 21,000 square-metres site to experience educational presentations, workshops, displays and to visit trade stands. The purpose of the event is to promote good pet ownership and for owners to swap best practice tips. Visit the website for more information.

Rolf’s Animal Christmas

Christmas Eve, 6pm, Channel 5
This Yuletide special from everyone’s favourite cartoonist-turned-pet-lover features a host of heart-warming and memorable stories from the popular series Rolf’s Animal Clinic. The programme reveals [...]]]>

Animal-lovers can look forward to many great programmes on the box this festive season. Here are 10 of the best.

Rolf’s Animal Christmas

Christmas Eve, 6pm, Channel 5
This Yuletide special from everyone’s favourite cartoonist-turned-pet-lover features a host of heart-warming and memorable stories from the popular series Rolf’s Animal Clinic. The programme reveals how pets get on once they return home to their owners after treatment at the University of Liverpool’s School of Veterinary Science. You might want to keep the tissues close by, as there could be some tearful reunions…

World’s Biggest Pets
Christmas Eve, 7pm, Channel 5
Meet a 7ft-tall wolfhound and a rabbit as heavy as a five-year-old child in this festive feast of larger-than-life animals. There are also appearances from snakes, lizards and spiders – and big ones at that. As you watch, give your own pet a cuddle and be thankful that shelling out for a standard-size cat flap is a small price to pay for companionship!

The Snowman and the Snowdog
Christmas Eve, 8pm, Channel 4
Channel 4 has screened the animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ classic children’s story The Snowman since 1982, the year of the channel’s launch. To celebrate 30 years on air, the station commissioned this charming sequel. With two mismatched socks for ears, the Snowman’s cute Beagle-style companion received Briggs’ own blessing and is set to introduce his style of storytelling to a whole new generation.

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs
Christmas Day, 6pm, ITV1
In this hugely popular series, dog-lover Paul has shown that he’s never slow to muck in to help the canine residents at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Here, he prepares Christmas dinner for some of the rescue centre’s adorable pooches. Now that we’re accustomed to Paul’s doggy side, we’d love to see his alter ego Lily Savage present an episode so that we can enjoy his catty side too!

That Dog Can Dance!
Boxing Day, 8pm, ITV1
With Britain’s Got Talent attracting so many performing dogs, it was only a matter of time before Simon Cowell’s production company put together an entirely canine talent show. The judging panel features Bill Bailey, Sharon Osbourne and BGT winners Ashleigh Butler and Pudsey, who will also be performing. Other precocious pooches on stage include a Fred-and-Ginger-esque pair of Jack Russells. Will they do the Fang-dango, or perhaps the King Charles-ton, we wonder…

Bolt
Thurs 27 Dec, 2pm, BBC1
This family-friendly animated tale is all about fearless pooch Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), who has spent so long playing a hero dog on a TV series that he thinks he really does have super powers. When he is accidentally separated from kind-hearted girl Penny (Miley ‘Hannah Montana’ Cyrus) in the real world, the starry-eyed mutt must come to terms with the fact that he is just an average dog after all (albeit a very cute one!).

Super Famous Animals
Sun 30 Dec, 7pm, ITV1
Here’s a tribute to the animal superstars that have made their names on the big screen, on TV and online. Ashleigh and Pudsey from Britain’s Got Talent rack up another Christmas telly appearance here, but they have to share the billing with Hollywood types including Uggie, the Jack Russell from hit film The Artist (who has even ‘written’ his own autobi-dog-raphy) and internet sensation Nora, the piano-playing cat. Also look out for Twiggy, the water-skiing squirrel!

David Attenborough’s Galapagos
New Year’s Day, 7pm, Sky1 & Sky 3D
Following the success of Kingdom of Plants, this is the second 3D work from Sky to feature Sir David. In this first of three episodes, the veteran naturalist visits the Galapagos Islands to show us the first-ever footage of the pink iguana and, sadly, the last-ever footage of Lonesome George, the giant tortoise who passed away this year after more than 100 years on Pinta Island. As far as we know, there are no controversial polar-bear scenes in Sir David’s latest outing…

Africa
Wed 2 Jan, 9pm, BBC1
It’s that man again: yes, we’re treated to a double-whammy of David Attenborough for Christmas. This programme is a little dry, but only because this first of six episodes about African wildlife focuses on the Kalahari desert. Despite the apparently inhospitable conditions, various entertaining animal fixtures play out here, including meerkats-versus-bird and giraffe-versus-giraffe. There’s some grisly stuff involving the eating habits of giant crickets too – but at least we’re treated to a little cuteness in the form of lovable baby ostriches. Awww!

Wild Britain With Ray Mears
Fri 4 Jan, 8pm, ITV1 (not STV)
Woodsman and forest survivalist Ray Mears once said: ‘Knowledge is the key to survival, and the best thing about that is it doesn’t weigh anything.’ And there’s plenty for him (and us) to learn in this third series of Wild Britain. Episode one takes him to the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, where he comes face-to-face with the world’s second-biggest fish and watches an otter hunting along the coast.

Link: http://blog.petplan.co.uk/12/2012/tit-bits/10-great-animal-shows-on-tv-this-christmas/

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We closed our ears to the thought. Reports that he won’t be reprising his role as Matthew Crawley [...]]]> Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens hinted in September that the third series of the show might be his last so that he could pursue a career in Hollywood.

We closed our ears to the thought. Reports that he won’t be reprising his role as Matthew Crawley in the fourth series have been greeted with shrieks of “What?! I can’t imagine Downton without him!” from fans.

The Sunday Express quotes a source as saying: “Dan Stevens isn’t returning to the series. He will probably do the first episode of the fourth series, but that will be it.”

ITV has yet to confirm or deny whether the star will be departing.

It’s understandable that the loss of Matthew Crawley, the handsome, dashing and charming lawyer, is going to shake up fans.

His love affair with, and eventual marriage to, Lady Mary was a gripping on-again/off-again storyline.

For the rest of this article please go to: http://tv.uk.msn.com/drama/downton-abbey-dan-stevens-wont-return-for-series-four

Saturday 5th May, 2012

When I read that the award-winning comedian and frenetic brainbox Russell Kane had secured a book deal for a tale about a misanthropic, anhedonistic comedy critic, my first reaction was “Really? And he doesn’t even know me that well…” I realised a few pages into the book, however, [...]]]> The Independent

Saturday 5th May, 2012

When I read that the award-winning comedian and frenetic brainbox Russell Kane had secured a book deal for a tale about a misanthropic, anhedonistic comedy critic, my first reaction was “Really? And he doesn’t even know me that well…” I realised a few pages into the book, however, that any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, was purely coincidental. Kane’s anti-hero, Benjamin White, has a synesthesia-like ability to recognise the form of jokes; the capacity to make a joke that kills, and the ability to earn both respect and a living by reviewing comedy.

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 by Julian Hall

With numerous obstacles facing the academic pathways sector in recent years, such as government curbs on student immigration and the need for pathway colleges to readjust to “Highly Trusted Sponsor” status in the UK, observers might have considered that private [...]]]>

Curtin Sydney College - a Navitas-owned centre

How is the on-campus pathways market evolving?

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 by Julian Hall

With numerous obstacles facing the academic pathways sector in recent years, such as government curbs on student immigration and the need for pathway colleges to readjust to “Highly Trusted Sponsor” status in the UK, observers might have considered that private operations working in tandem with HE had had their fill of government restrictions.

On the contrary, academic pathways are flourishing; true to their literal meaning, pathways have found a way through these obstacles and the story is generally one of growth and expanding opportunity.
On-campus provision of pathway programmes – enabling international students to get to know a campus while honing their language and study skills prior to a degree course – is one of the fast-developing areas of the wider international education sector. Underlying consolidation and expansion, of course, is the fact that the number of students wishing to study abroad is set to continue rising through the next decade and beyond.

“There are 157.5 million students in tertiary education today, that’s larger than the entire population of Nigeria or Russia; in 1970 there were just 28 million,” says Tim O’Brien, director of INTO Knowledge at INTO University Partnerships. The company provides pathways, English language and higher education programmes in partnership with universities in the UK, US and China under a joint venture model.

“In the last decade alone,” adds O’Brien, “the number of students studying outside their home country has gone from 2.5 million to 3.7 million and by 2025, it is projected to reach 8 million. The global demand for higher education only seems to be going one way.”

In the last seven years, in line with factors including the growth of household income in some Asian countries and capacity issues regarding tertiary education in countries such as India and China, all the major pathway players have reported growth, albeit with some wobbles.

For full piece go to: http://thepienews.com/analysis/how-is-the-on-campus-pathways-market-evolving/

Once upon a time, a full house and a few laughs were the best a stand up could hope for. These days, with book deals, DVD spin-offs and arena tours, the big names are cashing in big-time…

Open publication - Free publishing [...]]]> ES magazine, 11th November 2011

Once upon a time, a full house and a few laughs were the best a stand up could hope for. These days, with book deals, DVD spin-offs and arena tours, the big names are cashing in big-time…