Around the sun leaving a bright trail behind. For more than
Yüklə 2,03 Mb.
|
- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Unfortunately
- Usually
John Cheetham's magnificent obsession with reptiles began when he was a schoolboy in his hometown of Oldham, Lancashire. A glimpse from the top of a bus of alligators basking in the sun at Manchester's famous Belle Vue Zoo set his imagination racing. He took every opportunity of visiting the zoo, and the more he saw of tv\e creatures that seemed to have stepped out of the remote past, the more his fascination grew, Until it embraced all reptiles. When he was 11, he bought a baby alligator from a local pet shop. It was the first step to becoming the only private collector of giant reptiles in Britain. It was also to lead to John’s appearing with his own alligators and pythons in films and on television. And that same pet alligator is still with John, Although he's grown a little during the 27 years they've been together. Big Boy, a magnificent specimen of Alligator Mississippiansis, found in the southern states of North America, is now 10 if. long and weighs 19 stone. Big Boy and John have appeared with Roger Moore in Live and Let Die and Moonraker. Big Boy has also featured in Clash of the Titans and on TV advertisements. James Bond fans have seen quite a bit of John without realising it. It was his legs that did the spectacular dash to safety over the backs of alligators in Live and Let Die. Among John's other pet reptiles to star in films are Aristotle, a 14-ft-long reticulated python aged six, and Pythagoras, a 14-ft Indian python who, at eighteen, is the grand old man among the snakes. Aristotle and Pythagoras both featured in the underwater wrestling scene in Moonraker with John in a friendly tussle, Although the eventual result on film looks deadly serious. John's collection also includes a giant tortoise, snapping turtles, the S largest legless lizards or slowworms found in the world, and Nile crocodiles. Most of the giant reptiles in John's collection are housed at Beaver Water World, Tatsfield, which is owned by Jeff Wheeler, his friend and partner. Collecting giant reptiles might seem a strange hobby for John, a teacher at Dorton House School for the Blind at Seal, near Sevenoaks. But John often introduces pupils to his pet snakes, letting them touch and hold them. John lets blind children and anyone else handle the pythons without any fear that they will attack. They are benign creatures. "All they want is a quiet life," he said.
52 BEYOND DRUGS Below is the true story of Sue Usiskin, who suffers from epilepsy, brain condition which causes a person suddenly to lose consciousnes1 and sometimes to have violent fits. Sue Usiskin was in a crowded Chinese restaurant with her family when she had an epileptic fit. Her husband Andrew helped her into a safe and comfortable position on the floor, held her hand while the fit lasted and, while she lay there recovering, he and the children started their meal. Then they settled her in a chair and carried on eating. "At first, Everyone in the restaurant was absolutely horrified," laughs Sue. 'tThen, as we were leaving, a woman rushed over to congratulate Andrew on how naturally he had handled ft all. She had realised that it must happen a lot." Unfortunately for Sue, it does happen a lot. She is one of the 20% of sufferers from epilepsy whose fits cannot be completely controlled by drugs. She suffers at least three a month. She is an inspiring example of someone who has not let epilepsy control her life. She has shared that inspiration in a new book, Living With Epilepsy, co-written with Dr. David Chadwick, consultant neurologist at Walton Hospital, Liverpool. The indignity of, as she puts it, “collapsing on the ground in a noisy jerking heap" has long since ceased to worry her, Although naturally it is never pleasant, but she has vivid memories of how, as a teenager, friends ran screaming from her when she had a fit in the playground at school. That she didn't lose all her self-confidence at that time is all due, she believes, to her parents. "They never tried to limit my activities because of what people might think if I had a fit and how it might affect me. On the contrary, I was encouraged to make an extra effort to overcome my difficulties and not allow them to become an excuse for doing less," she says. "I tell people I am likely to see regularly that I suffer from epilepsy, and explain what they should do if I have a fit. I say, if I suddenly get up and lie on the ground, make sure I am away from anything I could hurt myself against, then stay with me and hold my hand. Ijial makes them much more confident and comfortable." She is adamant that children should be helped to understand what is going on and how to help right from the time they can crawl. "From a very early age, mine were used to seeing Andrew kneeling down with me, showing concern and protection. He always included them - he would encourage them to stroke my face. They soon knew what to do and they could do it right, if tearfully." Her son, Oliver, is now 15 and Anna 12. "They are at the self-conscious stage and my fits must be an embarrassment to them. They have both gone through phases of being tense and anxious. But we have supported their feelings, whatever they are, and the fact that they are not frightened to voice them must be good." She has always been very practical in her approach to coping. When the children were babies, she would never change them on the bed from where they might fall if she had a fit, or bath them if she were alone in the house with them. She uses casserole-style saucepans rather than long-handled ones which are easier to knock over. She chooses not to swim or ride or take escalators because she personally isn't comfortable about the risks. But she has never avoided going out for fear of what might happen. Her own and her children's courage in that respect have been enormous. Once, when Oliver was two, she was dragged out of a taxi by the driver, who thought she was drunk, and was left to have a fit in the street in the pouring rain. On another occasion, she crumpled to the floor just inside a building society and the staff refused to come out and help because they thought she was a 'front' for a hold-up. The children, when young, often had to try to dissuade onlookers in the street or shops from calling an ambulance, and Sue herself has often had to suffer having spoons thrust between her teeth to stop her biting her tongue (incorrect: only something soft, like the bunched edge of a towel, is suitable). She is not bitter about such experiences, except where her children suffered, and looks back on many with humour. "This is my life and I've known no other for so long. I just get on and live it." But she is very keen to combat all the ignorance and prejudice. I Once someone said to her that she must be very grateful to Andrew for marrying her and that shocked her. Conversely, she feels that doctors often over-estimate the quality of life that someone in her position can achieve. She regularly gives talks to medical students and GP trainees to give them a truer picture of epilepsy. "I'm still terrified every time I have a fit," she says. "It is quite something to lose all control for three or four minutes. Believe me, it is a long time and I sometimes go unconscious after. It doesn't get easier. After a fit, it's like having a really heavy hang-over for 1 the next two or three days. But there are positives, too. When you know what the rougher side of life can deal you, trivial things don't worry you at all. I never get upset if the washing machine breaks down.”
53 DOUBLE GLAZING From The Observer.If you are considering double glazing, you must already have insulated your roof and walls. In an 'ordinary' home you lose 25 per cent of heat through the roof and 35 per cent through the walls, so they must be your priorities, unless your house is made of windows. New buildings now have to meet new standards of insulation and are often fitted with double glazing when built. Usually this factory-made double glazing does not just add to the comfort, but is very well designed and actually looks quite good. Still, it's a difficult decision to double glaze an existing home, since you re going to have to spend a lot of money on what will save you about 10 per cent of the heating bill in an ordinary small house. Of course, there are other benefits besides the financial one. The room will be much more comfortable. You won't get a chilly feeling when sitting near the window and draughts will be fewer. So, on the whole, if you have money, double glazing is not a foolish investment, though even good double glazing won’t be as effective as a brick wall! Double glazing is not just 'Double Glazing'. There are several ways of achieving it. You can install 'replacement windows' with two sheets of single glass. Or you can have 'secondary windows', either fixed to the existing window or sealed to ft. Secondary windows are cheaper, can often be installed by the owner, but are not likely to be so efficient as replacement windows. If you want to do the job yourself, the simplest form of double glazing is the applied frame method, which means fixing a second pane of glass directly onto the original frame using beading or special frame sections. The most important thing is that any opening in the second leaf should be completely blocked with a long-lasting material. Points to check are : that condensation will not occur between the two panes; that you will be able to open 'openable' windows, (or that you're prepared to give up that luxury); that you will be able to clean the window and that you have some other way of letting fresh air in. If you think that by double glazing you automatically insulate against sound too - think again. To have a noise insulating effect, the two leaves will need a gap of 110 mm or 200 mm; so double glazing with noise insulation needs to be specially made. it is more difficult to make it look nice and to fit it into the existing window openings. Moreover, with this gap it won't work as well for heat insulation. So, if you don't live directly under Concorde's flight path, it will hardly be worth insulating for sound.
54 PARACHUTING Over the past 25 years or so, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity of parachuting as a sport. Parachuting can be learnt at a parachute club. The training is extremely strict. The instructor makes sure that the beginner has learnt and understood Everything before the first jump is made. Like all parachutists, the beginner must wear two parachutes - a main one on the back and a slightly smaller reserve one on the front. Trainee parachutists do not open their parachutes themselves. By law, thev have to make their first six descents using a parachute opened automatically by a 15-foot nylon static line fixed to the aeroplane. It takes about 2.7 seconds for the jumper's weight to pull on the line, and Thus open the parachute. Trainees are taught how to 'spreadeagle’- to lie stomach down and stretch their arms and legs out to slow down their fall. In this way, they descend at about 120 miles per hour before the parachute opens, whereas an experienced sky-diver, descending headfirst, can travel at over 200 mph. Novices jump from a height of about 2,500 feet, while experienced freefallers may jump from well over 7,000 feet, waiting Until they are within 2,000 feet off the ground before pulling the ripcord to open their parachutes.
55 JOIN GREENPEACE TODAY! The natural world is under violent assault from man. The seas and rivers are being poisoned by radioactive wastes, by chemical discharges and by the dumping of dangerous toxins and raw sewage. The air we breathe is polluted by smoke and fumes from factories and motor vehicles; even the rain is poisoned. Itts little wonder forests and lakes are being destroyed and everywhere wildlife is disappearing Yet the destruction continues. Governments and industries throughout the world are intensifying their efforts to extract the earth's mineral riches and to plunder its living resources. The great rain-forests and the frozen continents are seriously threatened in the same way Despite the warnings of the scientific community and the deep concern of millions of ordinary people, governments and industries don't even consider changing their policies. The threat is there in spite of the fact that we can create environmentally-clean industries harness the power of the sun, wind and waves for our energy needs and 'manage the finite resources of the earth in a way that will safeguard our future and protect all the rich variety of life-forms which share this planet with us. But there is still hope. The forces of destruction are being challenged across the globe - and at the spearhead of this challenge is Greenpeace. Wherever the environment is in danger, Greenpeace has made a stand. Its scientific presentations and peaceful direct actions at sea and on land have shocked governments and industries into an awareness that Greenpeace will not allow the natural world to be destroyed. Those actions have also won the admiration and support of millions. Now you can strengthen the thin green line; you can make your voice heard in defence of the living world by joining Greenpeace today.
Yüklə 2,03 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|