User talk:Jack1686

OK! Interview: Peter André & Katie Price
The former UK glamour model and her pop star hubby stopped by OK!’s Beverly Hills office, and opened up about their life in the US, the Beckhams, and Jade Goody.

Do you live a normal life here in the US?

Peter: In England, it is constant. Here you get some days when they are there, and some days when they are not. You can be normal.

Katie: You think it’s pretty normal to go and have a 13-mile run along Malibu beach and have twelve paparazzi following you around?

The Beckhams attempt to “conquer America,” was short-lived because it looks like they’re now going back to Europe. What are your thoughts?

KP: Well, we never said that we were trying to break America. I don’t know if they said that they were trying to. It’s sad they’re going to be leaving. I’m sure that she loves it here, and her boys love it here. Just — good luck to them!

PA: I think that they are so successful anyway –who cares. It doesn’t matter, and I think –you know, good luck to them! We love them.

What are your thoughts on Victoria Beckham’s style?

KP: Sometimes, I do think that she tries too hard. I would actually like to see her in a tracksuit, and ugg boots going to the shop buying newspaper – smiling.

What are your thoughts and feelings on fellow UK reality star Jade Goody's battle with cancer?

KP: Oh, it is awful. But I think that it is so brave and I am just gutted for her. We talk about her day and night. I would love to be by her side just the whole way, you know.

PA: It’s really put everything into perspective for us. We are living the American dream but what does it all mean when you think back to someone who can’t see their children after a certain period of time. She will never see them again.

Have the both of you reached out to her?

KP: I’m supporting her.

PA: We’ve sent her some messages, and we have sent her some flowers.

KP: I do say that they need to do a Jade charity, and I would love to be a part of that. I said that next year, I would run the marathon to raise money for that.

PA: Well, I was actually thinking of writing her name across my forehead when I do the London marathon. Buy cheap ugg boots.

MCC members guide on how to dress
The exclusive social club has sent members a two-page illustrated guide of its strict dress code.

Bare midriffs, torn jeans and thongs are banned from the Member's Reserve.

Men will be refused entry to the Long Room or Member's Dining Room if they have no tie or wear a zippered jacket and women will be turned away in leggings, denim jackets or three-quarter pants.

In case members don't know what tracksuit pants and ugg boots look like, the MCC had models pose in the unacceptable clothes.

The latest MCC membership letter warns members they will not be admitted unless they can pass the fashion police.

"To avoid any embarrassment at the turnstiles, please ensure that your attire, and that of your guests, is appropriate."

MCC chief Stephen Gough said the guide was necessary to inform members, who will this year pay up to $726 in fees.

"It's come about because we have so many occasions when members might bring guests that are unaware of the requirements," he said.

"Sometimes members themselves don't know what is expected of them.

"So we've done this because it can be embarrassing for people to get knocked back and a major inconvenience."

But MCC members said the dress guide was a step too far.

Country member Brendan Carrick said the MCC was pointing out the obvious.

"If you're a member, you know what you're expected to wear," he said.

"You don't need a two-page guide to remind you to wear a collar or to remind your guest that they have to wear a tie."

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Location: Iraq, Sulaimaniya
It's been 29 days and 3 hours since I landed in Sulaimaniya. It's official. This is the longest time I have ever been away from the UK. A time during which I learnt to be an editor, a journalist, a communicator, in both Arabic and English (the Arabic part is debatable), mud puddles survivor, a taxi fare haggler and a Barclays bank plc hater. Home sweet home(s).

My favourite part of the day, and sometimes not, is getting in the taxi to go down town Sulaimaniya. It is my only chance to have a direct genuine conversation with people. 'I am Iraqi speak no Arabi,' mocked one of the drivers. 'I am Iraqi speak no Kurdi,' I replied. We both laughed.

I learnt that it is considered inappropriate to strike a conversation with people you do not know and that smiling would be an invitation to flirt. But the adorable way Kurds try to communicate in Arabic is irresistible, especially if they are old men who like to reminisce about Iraq's good days and Baghdad. Could they be talking about the early 70s? The only time Iraq has ever seen some kind of prosperity and not many had to suffer, although peace never prevailed. Not the Monarchy or the British occupation surely. Neither could it be Saddam's reign. Perhaps they are just ordinary people who just enjoyed being them and living their lives despite the hardships they were subjected to. What I heard and read in newspapers on Kurds and Arabs have almost been non-existent in Sulaimaniya during the past 4 weeks. True, there are more Kurds than Arabs here, but not one so far seemed to consider themselves anything but Iraqi, and sometimes the word Kurdish preceded the word Iraqi. Were they being nice to me because I am a customer? Or perhaps when they realize I had no hand in the gassing of Kurds, and instead talked to them in a civil manner, they react accordingly. Perhaps I am making progress already. Perhaps through me, they believe we are one. Perhaps they will regain their patriotism to Iraq as a whole. Perhaps it's the politician's game that makes things look ugly. Or perhaps I am being unrealistic and naive. Who knows!

Sulaimaniya is a modern, up and coming city that has a limited choice of entertainment but a vast history and a beautiful nature. The mountains surrounding it are breathtaking, while trekking the way up to the tips of them is surreal. What attracts me to it mainly is the endless long road it was built around. Salem Street is prefect for people like me who easily get lost. Modern cafes dotted along the street have become my home for the past 4 weeks. I eat, write, make phone calls, shop, edit the magazine and work till dawn while drinking tons of lemon and pomegranate juices. My day is made when Kathem Alsaher, my favourite Iraqi singer, comes on one of the plasma screen TVs in the cafe. Only then I feel I am in Iraq.

I often drift into thoughts about my life in the UK when I see the pen I received as a gift for graduating from university, now the pen I use during interviews. A key ring that became the one for my first home in Iraq. A notebook; my travels' official diary. My lucky charm necklaces that I alternate everyday. My business card holder that will be effective from tomorrow. My watch, of course, to keep track of time, and yet another one sitting on my desk amongst lots and lots of cards scattered on my messy desk; a reminder that I am loved.

It is quite common to be sitting with a client discussing the latest issues in Iraq, or be having dinner with a friend in the evening, when a power cut occurs. Everyone pauses their activities for a few minutes till power resumes, and they carry on going about their business as normal. Like someone has paused a movie for a few minutes, or seconds sometimes. This happens several times a day.

I noticed that I yawn much more often and my hair needs more regular washing. My chocolate ugg boots have now become yellowy cream. It never stopped raining since I arrived and the days get much colder at night. Mud puddles became my worst enemy as the city is going under wide construction and development and workmen are everywhere. The only problem is that in Iraq, workmen take eternity to finish a job.

I moved into a block of apartments in a secluded village just outside of Sulaimaniya. Thankfully, Sulaimaniya isn't a large city so I am able to reach Salem Street in just under half an hour, if a taxi passes by that is. Leaving me stranded on top of the hill for the dust to settle right behind my contact lenses. Taxi drivers often think I am crying.

I will be in Baghdad soon to interview people regarding the magazine cover story as well as a few other stories. I will once again, after many years, visit places in Baghdad I had not been to for almost two decades. Once Zainab the quiet struggling school girl carrying her books to school while adjusting her glasses, now Zainab the editor, the writer, with her dictaphone, pen and notebook, and of course a laptop bag that doesn't fit my laptop in it properly which often makes me look clumsy.

So here I am, grumbling about mud, dust, rain and uggs. Having just been scared the devil out of as all lights in my apartment went out whilst in the shower. To crawl my way out and hope someone would call me so my mobile would light the way. Nothing like a power cut during a shower in a secluded home in the mountains of Iraq.

I apologize for the long absence as settling in has not been easy. With no internet at home, I am truly lost.

I am here. I live here. I work here. I am pursuing my dreams here. This is where I want to be and these are only the beginnings of what I want to do.

Footwear and Foot Problems
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 43.1 million Americans (one in six people) have foot problems. Women are nine times more at risk than men because females are more likely to wear tight or poorly-fitted shoes.

During an average day of walking, the feet bear the equivalent weight of several tons. When combined with poorly-fitting shoes, those forces can lead to a number of painful conditions. Two common foot problems associated with shoe fit are bunions and hammertoes.

A bunion is an enlargement of the joint at the base of the big toe (the metatarsophalangeal joint). It occurs when the big toe is misaligned, with the tip angling inward toward the other toes. This pushes the base of the joint outward. The skin over the protruding joint can become red, swollen and painful. The joint can become stiff and swollen, causing pain while wearing shoes or walking.

Hammertoe is a condition in which one or more of the toes is bent upward at the middle joint, causing the affected toe(s) to look like a hammer. A callus can also develop on top of the toe. It most commonly affects the second toe. Initially, the joint is still moveable and can be straightened. But if the condition isn’t treated, the joint can become stiff and rigid.

The Need for Support

Philadelphia Podiatrist Edward Chairman, D.P.M., says adult feet need support to bear the weight of standing and walking. Shoes without support increase the risk for foot problems, like bunions and hammertoes.

One popular line of footwear is UGG®. Chairman says some women are wearing ugg boots because they are soft, comfortable and wide enough to relieve pressure on the toes. So, even patients with bunions and hammertoes find them to be more comfortable than some shoes and boots. However, over time, women tend to develop more pain and discomfort. Chairman says that’s because boots like the UGGs have no support. The extra pressure on the feet eventually causes alignment problems in the toes to worsen. Although bunions and hammertoes are typically more common in middle-aged and older women, Chairman is seeing the early signs of the problems in teenagers who “live” in their uggs.

Chairman recommends that women who want to use footwear that doesn’t have adequate support get custom-made orthotics, or shoe inserts. The orthotics are designed to minimize force on the feet and improve foot function. For UGGs and similar boots, he recommends sports orthotics, which are a little bulkier and longer than orthotics designed for dress shoes. cheap ugg boots.

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She’s going to be extremely busy over the next few days
On Tuesday we secured our place in the World Cup Final by beating the West Indies by 146 runs. It will be the first time we have been in a World Cup Final since 1993 and is a massive achievement for all the girls.

For me this meant an unrelenting list of interview requests which is phenomenal and showed that all the hundreds of people I have contacted over the past four years have been taking notice and are cottoning on to how good these players are.

First up were rights holders Sky Sports followed by Sky Sports News and then Sky News. We also fitted in BBC, various national newspapers as well as the Loughborough Echo, the Leicestershire Mercury and other regional press. I’m always keen to continue to provide for the regional press as they cover us year in, year out, so it’s great to reward them when things are going well.

By 9.30pm the interviews were just about finished and England had just woken up. Cue 52 more interview requests for the players. This was brilliant even if it did mean a 2am finish for me - a 20-hour day no less! We have managed to fulfil every single one of those requests so hopefully the players and the game are now getting the profile they deserve.

Over the past few days I have had so many messages of good luck to pass onto the squad which has been just brilliant. It’s great to see that people back home are taking an interest and really getting behind us before Sunday. Lots of my friends (who know I’m here, but don’t really follow the cricket) have heard the scores and are emailing, texting and Facebooking me to let me know and wish us well, which is awesome. Even my Dad, who’s in Siberia, has been keeping up to date with how it’s all going and has been sending pep talks via text! All greatly received!

On Wednesday night after training we had a team meeting and Clare Connor and I gave a brief media session to the players in preparation for what could be the biggest week of their lives.

This was made slightly amusing by the fact that Caroline Atkins and I had swapped clothes for the evening as people keep getting us mixed up! I think I’ve got the better end of the deal there - an opening international bat vs a media manager?! While I dressed Shaggy, as she’s affectionately known, in a lovely joules skirt with a white vest top, cardi and white flip-flops, she dressed me in her baggy jeans, a salmon pink polo shirt (salmon is not my colour!) and my running trainers! Needless to say she got the best straw in the clothing stakes!

When the players all saw me there was a deathly silence as they were all too polite to say anything, until one of them started laughing and then they all did with huge sighs of relief that it wasn’t real. This is no slight whatsoever on Shaggy’s clothes as everyone kept telling me - they just look a lot better on her! Caroline, on the other hand, got a lot of compliments and even managed to get served at the bar first that evening!

The win over the West Indies and the fact that India had beaten Australia meant that our game against the hosts on Thursday had no relevance on our place in the final. However, we wanted to win. After winning the toss and batting we were all out for 161 and they knocked off the runs in 34 overs. This was so disappointing but, as Lottie keeps saying, we’re in a World Cup Final so we have regrouped and are now looking ahead to the most important game on Sunday.

Despite the loss, the good luck messages still roll in and everyone is still very much behind us which means so much to everyone here.

Today was a rare day off and after my 1am finish this morning I managed a lie-in until 8am. After a quick visit to the gym I started my first round of interviews with Isa Guha and the BBC. That was swiftly followed by Katherine Brunt with various journalists and then I returned to my computer to reply to the emails that had come in overnight.

Whilst here I am still trying to keep up to speed with things back home like our PR and media plans for this year’s Friends Provident Trophy, the ICC World Twenty20, and anything else that needs doing.

Anya and I then headed out to George Street to find some ugg boots. Mine were for myself and my boyfriend’s sister while Annie’s were for her sister and her brother’s girlfriend.

We eventually found a shop that sold original uggs after traipsing round hundreds of shops, much to Annie’s annoyance! We rewarded ourselves with pizza for lunch and then a quick stop back to the hotel to catch up on a few more emails and phone calls. This afternoon we headed down to the Aquarium at Darling Harbour following a recommendation after bumping into my colleague Gill Harris in Circular Quay earlier!

It was then a quick dinner before returning to the hotel to do an hour’s worth of interviews with Lottie. Another late night with training tomorrow and then the pre-final press conference and photo shoot at the SCG with Lottie again.

She’s going to be extremely busy over the next few days!

Heroes lift our spirits higher than Paul O'Connell in lineout
HOORAY FOR panic and pleasure and sweet palpitations! Oh, but it did the heart good to feel the heart flutter and skip a beat and almost stop, before the triumphant roar of those brave enough to look made it race again and nearly burst with joy.

At long last – a chance to celebrate.

Good news, for once. Great news. News to put a smile on your face, and make you sing and cheer and do silly dances.

The sort of headline news that has nothing to do with budgets and pay cuts, unemployment figures and politicians’ expenses.

The blessed relief of sporting distraction.

It didn’t matter if you never set eyes upon an oval ball or knotted an old school tie. Whether you are into rugby, soccer, Gaelic, bog-snorkelling or tiddlywinks – it didn’t matter.

This was a nation responding, admittedly belatedly and in a different fashion, to their Finance Minister’s call to “patriotic duty”. Thanks to the outdoor exploits of a rugby team and the indoor exploits of a boxer, Ireland grabbed the chance to get out there and party.

On an exhilarating Saturday that stretched giddily into the early hours of Sunday, we broke through the pervading gloom of the last few months and fell happily into the glorious Green beyond. First, a rugby Grand Slam title after a wait of 61 years, and then, the heroic capture of a boxing world title by a courageous Dub with a great line in patter.

Gift. Absolutely gift.

We’re not the better of it yet, thank God.

Bernard Dunne, who was crowned the WBA World super-bantamweight champion in Dublin after a gutsy display of stamina and self-belief saw him knock out the highly rated title-holder, will be honoured by his native city next week.

Yesterday belonged to the rugby players.

Coach Declan Kidney’s team, led by captain Brian O’Driscoll, arrived home at lunchtime and were met by a huge, adoring crowd at Dublin airport. It was a foretaste of what was to come.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who has wisely kept out of the limelight during the celebrations, leaving the players to bask in the glory, called into the Mansion House from Government Buildings, where discussions on the economic crisis are ongoing.

The Taoiseach, who loves his sport, stood back and applauded with the rest of the guests as the players entered The Round Room. He met the players and looked on proudly as his youngest daughter Meadhbh had her photo taken with O’Driscoll and Ronan O’Gara.

Social Welfare Minister Mary Hanafin, had she been in a line out, would have been penalised for barging as she elbowed her way through the throng to sit beside O’Driscoll and the trophy.

If O’Driscoll thought it was tough on the pitch, he didn’t reckon on the determination of Irish female politicians. He was sandwiched by Senator Ger Feeney and Cllr Deirdre Heeney, clinging to the trophy for dear life as the rhyming public servants smiled for the camera.

Outside, the crowd waved their green flags and waited for a glimpse of their heroes. Finally, the players emerged from the Mansion House to deafening roars of approval, walking a green carpet and a guard of honour of flagbearers and drummers.

Coach Declan Kidney, meanwhile, had a few words with Brian Cowen back inside. Was the Taoiseach asking him the secret of his success? Our IRFU man said that Kidney told his men at half-time that they had been doing everything right, and if they kept that up, the scores would come. “Keep doing what you are doing,” he told them.

Not, perhaps, the sort of advice to be giving to Brian Cowen.

Jerry Flannery’s mother, Jane, was waiting for the son to appear. “I was at the match — there were the Horans and myself and the Hayes. We stayed seated at the end and I swear to God, all the Welsh in front of us stood up. We couldn’t see a thing. Then we heard the roar. We thought it was the Welsh roaring, at first, then we realised Ireland had won. There were hugs and kisses and jigs all round.” Jerry is one of the many walking wounded on the team. “He has a big, big swollen eye. He needed five stitches,” Jane told us, as her son mounted the steps to the platform.

She looked on in delight, a proud Irish mother. “And his hair not even combed.”

Brian O’Driscoll’s girlfriend, actress Amy Huberman, held his nine-month-old niece Aoife in her arms. “I had her on my knee during the game and she hadn’t a clue what was happy. Thank God, she was a great distraction. When it was finally over, and I realised we won, I couldn’t stop crying for an hour.” Tommy Bowe sang a verse of The Black Velvet Band. At the first sighting of Brian O’Driscoll, the crowd burst into a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole.” There were high-pitched squeals from the sizable contingent of teenage girls in ugg boots whenever Ronan O’Gara said or did anything. Then the ticker-tape exploded out of machines at the base of the platform with great gusts of tinselly green. The wind caught the paper and it rained down on the crowd.

Sure, it was only a game. Just 80 minutes of diversion. But it was great, and it gladdened the heart and the next few weeks at least will be a little easier and the memories will remain forever. By jingo, isn’t patriotism great?