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From previous issues of The Leisure Review

May 2010: volume four issue four

So much to do and so much time to have done it
The Leisure Review editorial
Ever the historian, the editor likens the current mood to that of the phoney war: most of us know that something is going to happen, just not how bad it is going to be. Meanwhile, some others are just waiting for the drugs to kick in and the screaming to start.

Finding the best route to high-quality coaching
Tales from a Tub
When it comes to coach development Kay Adkins is convinced we are sacrificing quality in favour of quantity. Here the Tubmaster explains why the mass production process currently in place fails to support sports coaches and therefore sells them, and the performers they work with, short.

The hunt for 260 elephants and a Picasso
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Continuing the theme of a new political outlook, Gail Brown wonders at the impact of elephants, Cluedo and some rather old fashioned burglary on the political process.

May 2010: volume four issue four

Culture: it's a numbers game
The Leisure Review editorial
Everyone has figures to prove their point but are any of them worth the accountant's invoices upon which they are usually written. The editor makes a plea for cultural capital.

Ashes, ratings and votes
The Gail Brown column
In the first of a regular offering, Gail Brown wonders whether the lessons of political campaigning have been learned by politicians.

April 2010: volume four issue three

The view from the middle order
The Leisure Review editorial
It seems that grass-roots sport is under threat from governing bodies' inability to sell their sports to the highest bidder. The editor begs to differ.

In with a bullet: the real leading lights of sport
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins wonders what a proper list of the top 100 most influential people in sport would look like.

March 2010: volume four issue two

Who will take up the challenge?
The Leisure Review editorial
The latest TLR summit raised plenty of questions, not least the nature and nurture of leadership for the sport, leisure and culture sector. What, wonders the editor, is to be done?

Chasing change: a positive message for sport, leisure and culture
Tales from a Tub
Big Change is coming but Kay Adkins is confident that the sport, leisure and culture sector is admirably equipped to thrive in apparent adversity. After all, what is the worst that can happen?

February 2010: volume four issue one

December 2009: volume three issue eleven

The revolution will not be televised
The Leisure Review editorial
How much would you sell your sport for? All the talk of broadcast rights and how the future of sports development depends on wringing the last drops from Sky has upset the editor.

Strange love: how I learned to stop worrying and love technology
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins loves her new phone and all the wonders of the technological world but wants to remind us all that not everyone is turned on to the latest apps.

Mobile communications: a modest proposal
This month managing editor Mick Owen sets his sights on mobile manners.

November 2009: volume three issue ten

A high time on the High Line
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor explains how a chance encounter became a quest and why it ended up in the pages of The Leisure Review.

Wanted: an attitude inversion
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins wonders whether leisure professionals are in a prime position to narrow the growing generational gap.

Heston Blumenthal: a modest proposal
Mick Owen suggests that British coaching needs some alchemy and that superchef Heston Blumenthal is just the man to deliver the medallions.

October 2009: volume three issue nine

This is what we do
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor comes over all Proposition Joe to explain the ethos of The Leisure Review and offer thanks along the way.

New shoes
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins explores the concepts of self-motivation and motivating others. Finding the correct triggers for each individual is the key but beware: it could involve earrings as well.

September 2009: volume three issue eight

For the sheer joy of it
The Leisure Review editorial
After a summer in which too much sport was barely enough the editor wonders just how much neediness you can fit on a tandem and what it takes to get a little press coverage for something magnificent.

Turning left for the right idea
Tales from a Tub
Inspired by holiday mileage, Kay Adkins longs for some room to innovate and speculate within the world of sports development.

A modest proposal: drugs in sport
Taking the Swift theme one step further, The Leisure Review offers a soapbox for the sport, leisure and culture sector. This month: how to sort out drugs in sport.

August 2009: volume three issue seven

How to run a ballroom: a beginner's guide
The Leisure Review editorial
With rumours of large holes in the government's cultural budget the editor wonders whether the promise of a radical approach to public spending will get off the counter.

Tales from a tub: head of the class
Kay Adkins takes on one of the great unmentionables of British society and considers the impact of class on sport and participation.

The NSA one year on
The view from the National Skills Academy
Florence Orban looks at the achievements of the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure in its first year and the successes of working in partnership to develop the skills of the leisure sector.

July 2009: volume three issue six

Food for thought from a three-course car journey
The Leisure Review editorial
The inaugural TLR summit provided a fascinating insight to the leisure sector and much to think about besides.

Tales from a tub: opening up to your inner artist
No matter how sporty you may be, it is never too late to develop an appreciation of art. Kay Adkins explains how new horizons have have had a postive impact upon her work.

Employee motivation – central to positive performance
The view from the National Skills Academy
Following her exploration of leadership in the last issue, Florence Orban looks at motivation and why it is central to success.

June 2009: volume three issue five

Creating culture with Le Corbusier
The Leisure Review editorial
Left to his own devices, the editor finds a late-night connection between leisure and a misunderstood vision for an architectural future. Why, he wonders, didn't Hazel Blears spot it?

Tales from a tub: coaching kudos or coaching for fun?
Our tub correspondent wonders if the race for accreditation of coaches is endangering some of the essential aspects of getting involved with sport.

Managing a team – the key to success
The view from the National Skills Academy
Managing a team well requires many skills, not least that of leadership. Florence Orban explores what is often thought to be one of the most challenging aspects of management.

May 2009: volume three issue four

The shoulder season: slope them or stand on them
The Leisure Review editorial
Getting round a table can pay dividends but is the sport, leisure and culture sector in danger of missing out.

Tales from a tub
Our tub correspondent is relaxing but still wondering about the best way to get people active. To her own surprise Kay Adkins finds that a TV screen may offer at least one solution.

Why professionalism pays
The view from the National Skills Academy
NSA chief executive Florence Orban wonders why training is so often under fire when it delivers so much for everyone concerned.

April 2009: volume three issue three

Flawed but an opportunity nonetheless
The Leisure Review editorial
The government's free swimming initiative has been held up to scrutiny by the sector and found wanting by many but is there more in it for leisure than bather density?

Tales from a tub
Despite a leak, Kay Adkins looks at the demands on those working in the sport and active leisure industry and urges caution.

Out of the darkness
The view from the National Skills Academy
NSA chief executive Florence Orban looks at why the health and fitness has some reason for quiet confidence in troubled economic times.

March 2009: volume three issue two

Announcing your engagement
The Leisure Review editorial
A theme and an example creeps up on the editor and catches him unawares.

Tales from a tub
Kay Adkins considers mentoring and, warming to the task, wonders on the effect that sound coaching principles might have had on Homeric heroes.

Job-ready on completion
The view from the National Skills Academy
Apprenticeships are providing employers with a valuable opportunity. Florence Orban explains how and why.

February 2009: volume three issue one

A new landscape to expore
The Leisure Review editorial
Schadenfreude, hubris and integrity. What could it all mean for sport, leisure and culture?

Tale from a tub
Kay Adkins is back in the saddle and it is affecting her work. The good news is that the impact is wholly positive. The bad news is that she thinks we should all try it.

Thinking again
The view from the National Skills Academy
Florence Orban explains why a long-term view of business and staff development is likely to pay dividends.

December 2008: volume two issue eleven

Building a better mousetrap twice a month
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor has what he hopes will be exciting news for the sport and leisure fraternity.

Tale from a tub
Kay Adkins looks at coaching from the other side of the tutoring role for the first time in a number of years as she goes after a new set of badges.

The NSA: ready to go
News from the National Skills Academy
With the National Skills Academy officially launched, Florence Orban explains how the academy will work on behalf of the sport and active leisure sector.

November 2008: volume two issue ten

To swim or not to swim
Roger Millward, chief executive of the Swimming Teachers’ Association, explains why investing £140 million in free swimming is still missing the target.

Bullshit tennis: playing the game to win
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor wonders if it is not time for culture to take different approach to the issue of evidence.

Tale from a tub
Kay Adkins considers matters of motivation, with special reference to performers and the audience in both sport and the arts.

October 2008: volume two issue nine

Drawing them in at the end of the pier
The Leisure Review editorial
Why a new water sports initiative, Karren Brady and fitness equipment demonstrates the case for a cross-sectoral approach to leisure management.

Tale from a tub
Our correspondent considers the plight of sporting animals, their relationship with their sporting owners and why everyone laughed when she nearly fell off a cliff tied to a terrier.

September 2008: volume two issue eight

Tale from a tub
A visit to Crystal Palace sets our correspondent thinking about the contribution of our parks to the greater cultural picture.

From Beijing to London: it's the politics, stupid
Having enjoyed the Olympic show, Nick Reeves offers some inconvenient truths for the Olympic movement and some advice for the organisers of London 2012.

From Beijing to London: the home front
With the medals counted and the flag handed over, The Leisure Review took a straw poll of the impact of the Olympic Games on the home front. Here we offer a selection of views from various perspectives on the leisure continuum.

August 2008: volume two issue seven

Flying the flag in pursuit of the possible
The Leisure Review editorial
How London 2012 can present an Olympic Games fit for the next century.

Tale from the Tub
Our correspondent feels the guilt of missing a well dressing and wonders about the nature of community festivals and fetes.

July 2008: volume two issue six

Is that it?
The Leisure Review editorial
The main thrust of the London 2012 legacy plan is unveiled in all its glory.

View from the Hot Tub
Recognising the role that sport plays in the lives of so many people, wherever they may be.

June 2008: volume two issue five

Culture, general taxation and the two-way radio
The Leisure Review editorial
An under-the-duvet perspective of how the world works.

View from the Hot Tub
If you're going to be a sports coach you need to have played the sport. Right? Wrong, according to our pleasantly pruned coaching expert..

May 2008: volume two issue four

Getting away and getting together
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor's back from St Pancras and he's feeling unusually positive.

View from the Hot Tub
She's back with thoughts on just how much the leisure sector might be doing for all things green.

April 2008: volume two issue three

Show me the F in 'funding'
The Leisure Review editorial
What have we learned from our sizeable investment in floorboards and Lycra? The editor's in Manchester

March 2008: volume two issue two

The positive delights of OPW
The Leisure Review editorial
The editor takes great delight in a small coffee and a large pile of newspapers.

View from the hot tub
Kay Adkins reports from a new tub and wonders if wielding the big stick really is a sensible answer to getting people active.

Where will government take sport next?
Given that the interests of grass-roots sport is supposed to be at the heart of what our sporting politicians are seeking to achieve, we offer an impassioned piece from a volunteer involved in the grass roots of their sport.

February 2008: volume two issue one

Rose or Dave: what's on your business card?
The Leisure Review editorial
By way of thanking everyone who has contributed their time and effort to the continuing success of The Leisure Review, the editor considers the impact of thinking outside the letterhead.

View from the hot tub
Kay Adkins makes some startling confessions about her private life and asks some interesting questions about partnership working in the leisure, culture and sport sector.

December 2007: volume one issue four

Cause for a heated debate
The Leisure Review editorial
Sports agencies seem to be under review wherever one looks in the British Isles. Is it time to take the debate seriously instead of just shouting and hoping for the best? Yes it is.

View from the hot tub
Kay Adkins takes a festive approach to fitness and wonders what the UK leisure sector can learn from the Scottish experience.

November 2007: volume one issue three

Keeping an eye on cultural investment
The Leisure Review editorial
As you ponder your leisure budget, have a guess how many CCTV cameras there are in the UK. Then guess how much they cost. Then guess how many work. Then look at your budget again. Jonathan Ives wonders if it's different rules for some.

View from the hot tub
Kay Adkins takes a festive approach to fitness and wonders what the UK leisure sector can learn from the Scottish experience.

A golden era for leisure postponed
With the Eastern Region Sports Development Association currently on ice and a clear demand for training which has yet to be met, Ian Jackson wonders what is happening at ISPAL

October 2007: volume one issue two

Let's hear it for national service
The Leisure Review editorial
It's conference season and the editor's thoughts turn to memories of long afternoons watching Jim Callaghan and Edward Heath argue with Richie Benaud about the way forward for society. The solution, they should have realised, lies with the leisure profession.

View from the hot tub
Kay Adkins argues that investing in quality and fighting for value is the key to making the most of your training budget and your potential.

August/September 2007: volume one issue one

Waiting for the Queen
The Leisure Review editorial
Changing culture and policy will be as important as sport in the pursuit of increased physical activity. Jonathan Ives explains why France, Amsterdam and Urinal, Idaho may be part of the solution.