Edition number 84; dateline 15 July 2014
Legionnaire’s disease warning on birthing pools
Public Health England (PHE) has issued advice against the use of home birthing pools that incorporate heating and circulation systems after a case of legionnaire’s disease was identified in a baby born in such a pool. The temporary patient safety alert refers specifically to birthing pools with built-in heaters and recirculation pumps and companies supplying these pools have recalled them pending an investigation into the advice regarding controlling risks from exposure to legionella. This PHE advice notes that home birthing pools filled from domestic hot water systems at the time of labour do not pose the same risk as pools filled in advance of labour with water reheated and recirculated. This is the first reported case of legionnaires’ disease linked to a birthing pool in England, although there have been two cases reported internationally some years ago. A briefing note confirming the original advice has been issued by PHE via the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to local authorities and to all PHE centres across the country.
Tate celebrates Twombly bequest
The Tate has received a bequest from the Cy Twombly, the celebrated American artist who died in 2011. According to Nicholas Serota, the Tate’s director, the gift of three large paintings and five sculptures, is probably the result of Twombly visiting a Tate retrospective of this work in 2008 in which three of his Bacchus paintings were hung together for the first time. Having seen them, Twombly then returned to his studio to paint more Bacchus canvases specifically intended for the Tate. These works are already on display at Tate Modern and Serota estimated the Twombly gift to be of a similar magnitude to that of the Rothko Seagram murals.
Nairne stands down
After 12 years in post Sandy Nairne is to stand down from his post as director of the National Portrait Gallery next year. Announcing his decision, Nairne spoke of his pride at what the gallery had achieved, in particular the two million visitors that visit the NPG each year. Attributing the NPG’s success to the dedication of the gallery’s staff and supporters, Nairne said, “The gallery is in very good shape and will go from strength to strength.
Glastonbury archive uncovered
Martin Roth, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, says that the museum considered it an honour to receive the archive of the Glastonbury festival, which will form part of the V&A’s permanent exhibition. Spare a thought, however, for Kate Baily, the V&A’s theatre and performance curator, who will now have the task of cataloguing the contents of the huge number of boxes and crates that Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily have used to hold anything and everything that they think might be of interest. The vast majority of the material has not been inspected since it was placed in this makeshift archive and Baily visited this year’s Glastonbury to find some material of her own, not least the stories of the people who travel to a muddy field year after year to be part of one of the UK’s most enduring and spectacular cultural events.
Defending the cultural principle
In France performers, actors and technicians are threatening to strike in defence of the exception culturelle, a principle according to which anything of cultural value to French society should be granted state protection. Several high-profile annual events have already been cancelled and protestors are making it clear that they will not spare the big summer festivals.
ACE chair emphasises impact of local authority finances
Peter Bazalgette, chairman of Arts Council England, has suggested that the crisis in the arts is not the result of a traditional emphasis on London’s artistic importance but instead attributable to the continuing budgetary constraints being applied to local government. With local authorities the biggest source of arts funding in the country, their financial strictures have a direct impact on the arts, he explained. “The job we have is to persuade councils that the arts are essential even though they are not a statutory requirement. These authorities actually spend more [than ACE], around £740 million, while we have around £700 million to invest.”
Bazalgette confirmed that the Arts Council has made several emergency support grants to arts organisations since he took up his post in 2012 but that the rate of these grants had remained steady.
New song by Dylan uncovered
A previously unknown poem by Dylan Thomas has been discovered in manuscript form among the papers of a family friend. The poem, written on the back of headed notepaper in Dylan’s handwriting, was composed “as a little song in Henneky’s Long Bar, High Holborn” in 1951 and was found by Fred Jarvis, former general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, while researching material for his own autobiography. The manuscript was in piles of papers left by his late wife, Anne, whose parents ran a printing business and knew Thomas well. Although not a highlight of Thomas’s work, the poem will now be included in a new collected work scheduled for publication this autumn.
Cutting sugar consumption
New advice to the Department of Health will recommend that the guidelines for daily sugar consumption should be cut by half. The advice comes from the government’s scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN) and follows a six-year review of research into the effects of carbohydrates on health. The SACN report recommends that guidelines set an upper limit on what is known as “free sugar” of 25g for healthy women and 35g for healthy men; 25g approximately equates to six teaspoons of sugar a day and 35g to around seven teaspoons.
Diary date: Saltex 2014
A reminder that Saltex 2014 will be taking place at Windsor Racecourse, Berkshire on 2-4 September. Although the exhibition remains true to its grounds maintenance roots, Saltex has evolved in recent years to offer a comprehensive picture of the outdoor leisure market. It remains one of the Leisure Review’s favourite events, not least because it offers the opportunity of arriving at the venue by boat. Take the train to Windsor and head for the river.
Good news from a big hole
In February the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky was in disarray following the appearance of a large sinkhole that engulfed eight of the museum’s prized exhibits and threatened the future of the collection. However, with the cars now retrieved from the hole, and the ground below their tyres apparently stable, the museum is able to report that visitor numbers are up 60% since the incident and sinkhole-related memorabilia is flying out of the museum shop. Plans are now afoot to retain part of the hole that put the National Corvette Museum on the map.
Funding decides fate of arts organisations
Arts Council England announced its grants for 2015-18 at the start of July, prompting arts organisations across the country to lick their wounds or count their blessings according to their settlement. Accepted practice dictates that those organisations suffering from cuts to funding take the headlines, thus the English National Opera’s grant dropping from £17 million to £12 million led the news, along with the 58 organisations who lost all their funding. However, ACE was able to point to unchanged funding for three quarters of organisations already receiving support and to a rise in the proportion of national portfolio funding going to organisations outside London, albeit only a slight rise from 51% to 53%. This national portfolio of organisations receiving regular funding has been reduced from 696 to 670.
Investment key component of school sport provision
An Ofsted report on state school provision of sport has urged the government and sports organisations to address the disparity between the number of elite sports performers coming from state and private schools. Prompted by the London 2012 medal rush among British competitors and the high proportion of English competitors who had been educated in independent (ie non-state) schools, the report found a variety of elements associated with sporting success. “Investment in excellent sports facilities and effective coaching staff is a key component,” the report states, noting that “the expectations placed on students and staff to participate in competitive sport is also crucial in delivering success.” However, an important factor in private schools’ success was found to be the use of sports scholarships, which bring significant numbers of pupils from state schools into private schools. In the state schools Ofsted found a mixed picture, with some matching the best of the independent sector but a significant number showing a weak engagement with and promotion of sport. In state schools that achieved success “competitive sport flourished largely because the headteacher
and governors value it. Simply put, these schools were successful because headteachers and governors put in place the people, time and facilities to develop and maintain the school’s sporting traditions.”
• The full report, titled Going the Extra Mile, can be found via the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources
News in brief: new posts
The
Sport and Recreation Alliance has announced the appointment of
Emma Boggis as its new chief executive. She joins from the Cabinet Office, where she has most recently been head of the Olympic and Paralympic legacy unit, and her previous roles include a stint as private secretary to David Cameron.
Michael Hurcum has joined Impulse Leisure as the group’s new marketing manager.
Oldham Community Leisure has appointed two new health and physical activity development officers.
Julie Hilditch will manage the Kids Active Zone in Oldham, a new junior exercise referral scheme that launched in April 2014 in partnership with Oldham clinical commissioning group and Oldham health visitor and school nursing team.
Paddy Wolstenholme will have sole responsibility for OCL’s in-house GP referral scheme.
Miroad Rubber, which supplies EPDM wetpour in addition to recycled rubber tiles and pavers for sports, play and leisure landscaping, has appointed
Gary Kidley as its new UK and European sales manager.
