Hayley Cook

Reminscing, Moaning and Procrastinating....I will write my blog more often!

2010-09-02T17:37:00.003+01:00

I seem to write in this blog very sparingly, mostly when I stumble across it again or when I'm very bored. Today, I stumbled across it after looking back at my time at Uni and running for VP Comms Officer at the University of Lincoln Students Union - a very good few weeks at Uni. But, I've decided that I'm going to try and write more often, and try and make it...fairly...interesting.

Things are still going very well for me, and I'm currently very busy with my job at LSP. A re-structure at work has meant that I am now the only Communications Officer so am dealing with all internal and external communications. It's going well although I am finding that in a month which seemed to be fairly quiet for everyone else, I feel run off my feet.

I'm currently searching for Lincolnshire organisations and individuals who want to support our local and talented elite athletes who are hoping to make it to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, so if anyone knows of any, pass them my details! Things with Lincolnshire 2012 are going well although are secondary at the moment to the LSP Annual Report, the launch of the new newsletter, nominations for the Lincolnshire Sports Awards 2010 and applications for the Lincolnshire Elite Athlete Programme (LEAP) 2011. Like I said, fairly busy at the moment!

I've also started a health kick this month (two days in and it's going well) - bananas for breakfast, salad for lunch, and salad for dinner...sounds great doesn't it. I'm actually writing this at the minute when I'm supposed to be going for a run - talk about procrastinating. I am determined to get fitter though, especially considering I work at a Sports Partnership!

Start of a New Era

2010-01-04T18:46:00.002Z

My last blog was ages ago (May 2009), just before I finished University - I wasn't sure what I was going to do next, or where I was going to go.

A lot of my friends went home in the Summer, and I did too, for about 3 weeks. And a week of that was on holiday in Rhodes. I had decided I really didn't want to stay at home in Boston, and luckily had a job interview for a video production company in Lincoln called Blueprint: Film the day before going on holiday in July. Luckily I got the job, and started working for the company as their Marketing Officer for two days per week at the end of July.

The job was good; I was promoting something I thoroughly enjoyed, the people were lovely and the ambition of such a small company was apparent. However, the lack of organisation of such a small company with very little structure was reflected in the job; I had to take in my own laptop every week and was only working two days per week in what should have been a full time job.

In early October, I saw an advertisment for an Internal Communications Officer and an External Communciations Officer at the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership. The job involved sport and journalism (which seemed pretty perfect for me), was nearly the double the pay at Blueprint, and was a much bigger organisation. I applied for the post thinking I'd have no chance of getting an interview, and when I had an interview for both posts, I truly thought I'd messed the first one up. The second one however, went pretty well and at the beginning of November, I was offered a job as a Communications Officer (a mixture of Internal and External) at LSP.

Even though it was fairly hard to leave Blueprint after such a short period of time, the opportunity was too great to miss and in November I began working for LSP. Since then, the job has been fantastic. I have been placed in charge of Communication for Lincolnshire 2012 in the run-up to the London Olympic Games, and am currently in the process of organising the Lincolnshire Elite Athlete Programme (LEAP) Presentation Evening which celebrates the elite sporting performers throughout Lincolnshire.

As well as all of this, I am now living in Lincoln with my boyfriend Ben, and will be moving into a new flat in a few weeks. We've just had Christmas and New Years in Wakefield and Boston respectively, and life in general is extremely good.

Considering I had no idea what I wanted to do a few months ago, I'm very happy at the moment. Who knows what the next few months will bring?

Dissertation. Done. Coursework. Done. Uni life..... Not quite.

2009-05-09T00:30:00.003+01:00

I have six days until my final exam of my degree; a three year course that seems to have passed in a heartbeat, yet a journey that has been incredible.

When I first started at the University of Lincoln in September 2006, I was fairly sure of what I wanted to achieve from my time here; a good degree and a job in journalism, an amazing time at university with some compulsory drinking here and there, and I hoped to make some decent friends. Although how any of them would compare to my lifelong friends at home, I really wasn't sure.

After a few months, I nearly left. I had a friend from home in his third year who absolutely loved his time in Lincoln and always raved about how good it was, but I just didn't get it. I liked the people I lived with, and had made some friends off my course, but I wasn't really enjoying life in Lincoln.

I even applied for a job at the local newspaper. I felt I was spending (well, borrowing) approximately £6000 a year to attend a few lectures and seminars a week. Thankfully I didn't get the job back home in Boston, and stuck it out at university. And I'm so pleased I did.

The past three years at Lincoln have been incredible. I truly believe that you get out of life what you put into it, so I'm so pleased I made the most of my course and took up the offer of getting more involved than just going to a few lectures and seminars. Working for The Linc (www.thelinc.co.uk) has been fantastic, and seeing it go from strength to strength in the two years that I worked on the newspaper has been wonderful. Daniel should be proud of his progress in the past year, and I hope Dave is proud that The Linc has flourished so much.

Undoubtedly, the advice from my course and tutors encouraged me to set up my own magazine, Lincolnshire Golfer (www.lincolnshiregolfer.co.uk) which endured a six-month life span in my second year. Despite deciding to put the magazine on hold due to coursework, and dissertation etc, I am still very passionate about Lincolnshire Golfer and will no doubt, pick it up again when I finish university.

Being involved in the Student Elections this year is most definitely a highlight of my final year at university. Looking back through my posts from the two weeks of elections reminds me of how great it was to campaign, speak to students, and try and get them to vote. I'm still very proud to have run in the elections and I truly wish Emma, and the rest of the team, the best of luck next year.

But what has really made my time so special at the University of Lincoln is the people. I've lived with Lauren now for three years, and I'm still not sick of her surprisingly. I met Helen and Sam in the first year, and as a four, we are a very close group. Living with them this year has been fantastic, and I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do when everyone goes back home to Grimsby, Devon and Gibraltar!

Everyone else knows exactly who they are, and I'm not going to list everyone off. But my time at university wouldn't be the same without any of them; whether its living with them here, sharing a tent in the Peak District and a cottage in Norfolk, or just randomly walking me home when I'm drunk and having a great night out in the Engine Shed (most Wednesday's and Saturday's). And Scream. And Sakura.

It seems strange that this part of my life is over, and hard to believe that I have to start a new stage of my life that involves a real 9 - 5 job and a house with bills and council tax! In a way, I'm really looking forward to working though, and actually earning some money. Being a student is so taxing on your wallet!

They think its all over.....

2009-03-07T23:25:00.003Z

So, I lost. But it's all good!!

Emma Devine is officially the Media and Communications Officer, and I truly am happy for her. Emma has been working so hard throughout the year in preperation for this role in the SU, and I'm happy to have been able to contest her.

The last two weeks have been stressful, tiring, nerveracking - but absolutely fantastic!

My campaign team have worked so hard in promoting the elections from helping me poster the uni to getting drunk on our 118 themed night out during Campaign Week, and I couldn't have done it without them! So thank you......Lauren, Helen, Sam, Katie, Luke, Richard, Nick, Matt, Tom F, Jamie, Gareth, Kelly, Phillippa, Pippa, Emma, Lizzie, Jason, Mike, Ben, Dave, Dean (and everyone else!)

I've made so many good friends the past few weeks as well. Everyone campaigning has made such an effort to chat to each other and help each other out as much as possible. I really think I've made some good mates and I truly wish the new team the best of luck for next year! So thank you......Emma and David for putting up such a good fight, Tom H for flyering and spreading the word with me, Chris C for giving me support and advice for about the past month! Steve and Chris F for always chatting away, and everyone else: Stacie, James, Daniel H, Tony, Daniel H, Nic, Kayleigh, Ben L, Steve, Ben A, Dan D, Steve, Emily. And of course everyone else at the SU: Dan W, Chris R, Maria, Vicky, Marianne, Amanda (and anyone else I've missed!)

Last night was such a great night for election results, followed by an awesome night in Scream with my friends: it couldn't have been a better end to the campaign (except winning obviously lol). But, thank you to everyone for your support, it really has meant a lot. Thank you to everyone who voted...337 first votes and 380 in total is something I'm very proud of!

Now I guess I'm actually gonna have to get a job in the real world! Although this might still keep me in Lincoln as I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to leave just yet....!

Riseholme, TPH & only 17 hours to go!!

2009-03-05T20:44:00.001Z

So today, I followed the roaming ballot box to Riseholme and Thomas Parker with a few other candidates - and it was nice to sit with everyone and chat to a few students. I think I realised more importantly however, how much I really do want this job.

And, after a minor meltdown due to tiredness from the past few weeks, the stress of dissertation and everything else, I realised that I really am nervous about tomorrow's results.

Every candidate has put in so much effort in their campaigns this year, and it's sad to think that only five of us will actually get full-time positions. So good luck to everyone, and I hope we have a fantastic night tomorrow night, whatever the results.

Until then, there's still 17 hours left to get voting for all of you who still haven't, or know someone who hasn't, go online. Every vote means so much.

Cook 4 Comms.

Vote NOW at www.lincolnsu.com/elections

2009-03-03T18:13:00.002Z

Well, voting has officially started and if you haven't already voted, please do so at www.lincolsu.com/elections. Everyone has been so great so far in my campaign, but now I really need people to vote, so please tell your friends if they haven't voted either.

Myself and Tom (who's running for President: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=56983785377&ref=ts) saw some of you guys this afternoon as we walked around the Student Village, Hayes Wharf and Brayford Quays, but for those of you who we missed, feel free to ask us any questions you have about anything!

I want to re-iterate that in my manifesto I pledged to get the SU more involved with the students and ensure everyone knows who we are, so what better way than to come and see you personally and tell you about elections?

I hope you can see that I'm actually practising what I preach!

Thank you to everyone who has voted so far - it is greatly appreciated. But please encourage your friends to vote, as every vote counts.

Cook 4 Comms!

Scream!

2009-03-03T18:07:00.002Z

I had such a fantastic night at Fat Poppadaddys last night with my trusted campaign team (Lauren and Helen!) and just wanted to thank everyone for their positive comments.

From people who said they had voted, to those who said they loved our 118 t-shirts (which I've lived in permanently for the past ten days so far.....), I was encouraged so much by the amount of response I had from everyone. So thank you so much!

What I also really enjoyed about last night - and I hope it was appreciated by everyone in Scream - was that I didn't bombard everyone with stickers. You may have all seen my 'Cook 4 Comms' stickers around, and I do think stickers are a good idea to get peoples attention.

But last night, in my t-shirt, all I wanted to do was have a good night out with my friends and have a good old dance. So apologies for the mental dancing to Phat Lip, but I truly had a good night, and hope you guys did too!

Thank you again - vote now at www.lincolnsu.com/elections, Cook 4 Comms!

A quiet drink?

2009-03-01T14:48:00.000Z

So after a few days off from campaigning and some serious work taking place in my house, Lauren and I sported our 118 t-shirts for a quiet drink and a few games of pool in The Shed last night.

A quiet drink that led to the Engine Shed and MacDonalds!

And despite there only being two of us in our t-shirts, we were still rallying support for the campaign and managed to sticker almost everyone in the Engine Shed so can't have been too bad an effort!

Cook 4 Comms.

FEVER PITCH!

2009-02-26T17:02:00.003Z

For those of you lucky enough to see me in the Engine Shed last night, you will have seen my entire campaign army dressed in 118 gear with photographs of my face on their back! For those of you who didn't, the photo above explains all the carnage that ensued.

From stickering people to shouting Cook 4 Comms in the middle of the Engine Shed, I think we did a good job at promoting the campaign and getting my face out there.

So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends for being so great last night and putting in so much effort throughout the entire campaign. I couldn't have done it without you all!

Hustings at Hull

2009-02-24T19:02:00.003Z

After a successful evening last night in the Tower Bars, todays hustings at our Hull campus was extremely useful in gaining an insight into how it is isolated from the rest of the University of Lincoln.

Communication is such a big factor in developing the relationship between the Brayford Campus and Hull, and this is something that was definitely highlighted by todays trip.

Returning from Hull, I continued campaigning round campus and will hopefully get chance to visit Halls of Residence tonight before continuing tomorrow.

Until then, vote Cook 4 Comms!

Campaign Week BEGINS!

2009-02-23T15:38:00.002Z

You may have seen me walking around campus today, or at least seen my photo sprawled across the university, and it's been a hectic day so far with Lincoln's campaign week starting at 9am this morning.

After collecting posters and unravelling banners at either end of the Main Building, my wonderful campaign team (who I forced out of bed at 7.30am this morning!) helped me plaster myself around the university.

Our first hustings took place at Riseholme at Midday which gave all candidates a chance to explain the key points of their manifesto and why they're running for the position. Hustings are also tonight at 5pm in The Tower Bar.

Tonight will see more campaigning and then hopefully a bit of sleep before another gruelling day tomorrow. This week is going to be so tiring! But all good fun, so will hopefully see you guys around too.

And remember, vote 'Cook 4 Comms'!

VOTE 'Cook 4 Comms'!

2009-02-22T23:44:00.004Z

Hey everyone,

I'm currently running for Media and Communications Officer in the Lincoln Student Union elections and wanted to take this time to briefly outline my manifesto and hopefully gain your support in my campaign. If you support my ideas for our SU, tell your friends and vote, 'Cook 4 Comms'!

What do I want to achieve?

Freshers Week is an important part of any student's life and I want to make sure new students at our university get the right experience. After speaking to students it's clear that people were unsure who our officers were and where to find them, so I want to make sure our officers are easily accessible throughout the week, and the rest of the year.

I want to get students informed and involved in Lincoln's Student Union. I think it's necessary to involve all students, at all campuses (Riseholme, Holbeach and Hull as well as Lincoln's Brayford campus) and if elected, will include all sites in Lincoln's SU.

Our student website needs a drastic revamp so I intend to keep it regularly updated with SU and Athletic Union results and news. I also want to make the website a multi-media platform for the students with podcasts/videocasts of our officers, to let everyone know what our SU are doing.

Finally, I want to launch SUTV; a student television channel to communicate with the student body.

I want to make Lincoln an up-to-date Union that students feel proud to be part of.

I've had extensive experience in communications having been Sports Editor of student newspaper The Linc, contributed to Bullet magazine and studied a degree in journalism.

So what now?

Look for the people dressed in ridiculous 118 118 costumes thoughout campaign week, log on to www.lincolnsu.com/elections and vote, 'Cook 4 Comms'!

Journalism in America....I'm surprised the news even exists!

2008-08-26T22:16:00.002+01:00

It's a general rule that most English people think Americans are stupid.

I'm not the type of person to discriminate against anyone, and I can only recall my experiences of the minority of American people I have met in the country; they're friendly, polite, talkative, and love the English accent! They also eat a lot.

But, saying they're stupid is a different matter. Surely we all know stupid people in England?

Regardless.....at the minute, I'm sat at a friend's house in Dallas, Texas; the deep south of the United States; home to George Bush and a highly Republican state (don't prejudice on that alone!).

As a journalism student I'm carefully studying the newspapers and watching the news over here with a degree of interest that others probably wouldn't care about. I like to see what NBC5 are using as their lead story in the 11.00pm news, and I'm reading the newspapers to see how they are written.

On Sunday I was watching the news on NBC5; the news channel for the Dallas and Fort Worth area of Texas. I had been to the University of North Texas (UNT) that day to help my friend move into her room; it didn't seem that big a deal. Every September, people move into their University rooms in England....I did it two years ago, nerve racking yes. Newsworthy; not a chance.

That night, one of the stories on an American news channel was about students moving into their rooms at UNT. Come on! I know BBC Look North and ITV Calender like human interest stories, but this seemed crazy. This isn't news!

Unbelievably however, the next story was even worse. NBC5 had decided to produce a TV news package on someone throwing an "Olympic Party" at their house which involved eating food from all over the world and watching the Olympics. It was just ridiculous.

I think it would have been better if the anchor had just said there was no news. Because, unfortunately for the United States, that probably would have been better.

As I said, I'm not one to prejudice. But I'm not impressed with what I've seen of American journalism.

Legalised Brothels in England?

2008-08-03T22:52:00.002+01:00

It almost seems ironic that my next blog should be about legalising brothels in England, especially after my blog on Max Mosley.

But, after watching "A W.I. Lady's Guide to Brothels" on Channel 4, I'm amazed at how I now feel about these 'knocking shops.'

Granted, the purpose of the programme is to gain support and raise awareness about brothels, but I think Jean and Shirley from the Hampshire Women's Institute have done a fantastic job at portraying both the positive and negative aspects of working as a prostitute.

In a documentary that followed these WI ladies around the world; visiting various brothels in Holland, the USA and New Zealand, its clear to see that their main aim is to keep working girls safe.

To keep these girls off the streets, the WI are proposing to legalise brothels in our country to try and give them better working conditions as working girls.

Whilst prostitution is legal in the UK, brothels are not. These girls do not have working contracts, and many are vulnerable to physical abuse and danger.

Whilst I understand the ladies hav to start somewhere, I do think the 'Mobile Brothel' in a white camper-van, which was eventually driven to 10 Downing Street, may have been a bit far-fetched!

Safety for working girls is one thing. Shoving them all in a caravan is another.

I do think that de-criminalising brothels in the UK however would be a bold move for our government, and one that could quite possibly increase the safety of something that happens in our country; whether we like it or not.

Even if prostitution is not something we are personally involved with, it has been estimated that nearly 80,000 people in the UK are*.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed. I guess we'll have to wait until June 2009 to find out how the Hampshire WI get on.

* http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/watupman/undergrad/aac/scale.htm

Max Mosley's Orgy

2008-07-24T12:49:00.002+01:00

Max Mosley has today won legal action against the News of the World who published a story about Mosley taking part in a "Nazi-themed" orgy.

We all know about Mosley's orgy; whipping, German-speaking actors and the secret video that leaked this scandal, and we probably all found it highly entertaining. But, now Radio 1's Newsbeat is asking whether this will change the way newspapers will write about celebrities in the future.

Absolutely not.

Tabloid newspapers make money from leaking scandals, especially from celebrities and public figures like Mosley. A £60,000 fine for the News of the World will not change the way in which "journalists" write about these celebrities.

Despite the story being entertaining for your Average Joe, the reality of someones sex life being sprawled across the newspapers is not something I have particularly wanted to read about for the last month or so.

Yes it is interesting that this 68 year old celebrity has been found frolicking with prostitutes in a London flat, but not to the extent that this could now ruin his life.

Before the ruling today, there was pressure on Mosley to quit as a world motor sport boss. I'm not condoning Mosley's sex session, but I do think anything Mosley decides to do in his personal life, that does not affect his work, should not be used to pressurise him into quitting.

Despite training as a Barrister, Mosley entered into motor sport and was a successful driver in the 1960s. He then secured an authoritative role as Head of the FIA in 1993. He's also pushed for Formula One to become more environmentally friendly and has claimed that these new revelations about his secret S&M interests, have ruined his life.

I understand that people have addictions. But maybe the way to get over this is to not do things like this in the first place?!

As a well-known Formula One boss and son of Fascist politician Oswold Mosley, Max Mosley is in the celebrity spotlight. If he's having sadomasochistic sex sessions with five prostitutes, chances are, a Tabloid newspaper will find out sooner or later.

I know that "celebrities" are people, like you and I. And they are entitled to a normal life. But you think they would think about the consequences of their actions wouldn't you?

I'm pleased the News of the World has been fined for printing that the orgy was "Nazi-themed" which has been proven untrue. This is something that relates Mosley to his father, and one of his wedding guests, Adolf Hitler and should not be printed if not true.

But, I just wish Mosley's kinky orgy wasn't paraded across the papers in the first place.

Women in Football - is it accepted?

2008-07-11T00:23:00.001+01:00

So.....as my first blog, I thought I'd start with something interesting.

On Monday 7th July I was invited to attend a Women in Football event in London by the Assistant Editor of Football Focus, and took part in a networking event at White Hart Lane and met numerous women from around the country, working in football.

Whilst I was slightly disappointed that Gus Poyet wasn't there as promised, Rebecca Lowe from Setanta TV's Access All Areas didn't disappoint. Her talk about being called a "slut" by 2000 football fans at Oxford and constant bum pinching from footballers and fans whilst on camera really brought home what women in football have to endure.

Will things really have changed by the time I get a job in football? I very much doubt it. When I spoke to John Inverdale earlier this year in Lincoln, he assured me that the perception of women in sport has definitely changed and that there is room for female commentators and sports journalists. I'm not so sure.

Women seem to be respected for commentating on women's sports; women's football and rugby even, but for some reason, I can't see men changing there perception of women with regards to typically "male" sport. And particularly, older, traditional men. Despite my passion for it, I know even my brother takes the mick when I speak to him about football...it's just one of those things.

So how can it be stopped? The Women in Football networking event I went to was perfect, and it shows the real commitment of so many women making a successful living out of working in football. From female football agents to BBC sports reporters and commentators, and from England football players to CEOs of Premiership football clubs, this event opened my eyes to the world of football and the women inside it.

Why shouldn't women be involved in football? Half of the footballers are diving around and making a fuss like women anyway!