Gambling our lives away
The other evening, I was sat in front of my TV watching an hour-long pre-watershed programme on Channel 4. As I relaxed with my cup of tea, the first batch of adverts slapped me around the face – I suddenly became aware of how heavily biased these five-minute segments are towards gambling.
In total, 16 adverts were shown during the 60 minutes. All of them carried the obligatory ‘health and wealth’ warning. Nonetheless, I was shocked at the sheer volume of gambling propaganda being peddled on the airwaves.
Since the weekend, I have consciously watched C4 on several occasions – live and on its virtual player. And I was shocked to discover gambling appears to be the channel’s single biggest form of advertising (followed by ads promising miracle solutions for erectile dysfunction).
For while it is an ‘independent’ broadcaster, C4 is owned by the state.
For me, someone who once held a very short-lived senior management position with one of Britain’s biggest gambling companies, the fact gambling has such a huge presence on our TV screens is a huge worry.
When I worked for Britain’s third-largest gambling company – and held a post that was ranked within the 40 most senior positions within it – I was privy to a lot of sensitive, inside information about what 'drives' the gambling industry. And my short flirtation with it will hopefully demonstrate that what I discovered wasn’t to my liking.
In truth, gambling companies want to suck every penny they can out of their customers, knowing that many are earning the minimum wage or are on state benefits. Regardless of the gloss, they seek to wrap this seedy, tawdry industry in, they continue to be leaches.
Do they care if they leave someone bankrupt? The answer is ‘yes’ on occasion – and ‘no’ more often than not.
They are most certainly concerned if they get caught out. When this happens, and someone has had their life ruined, the company concerned will make all sorts of compassionate noises, as well as refunding everything the unfortunate soul has spent with them. But there are many who don’t complain and have no recourse to compensation; it’s these people the gambling companies continue to prey upon, and the regulators do little to protect.
I can clearly recall sitting on meetings with the chief executive and the managing director of the company’s various divisions and remember hearing them talk about how they could raise what is known as “the spend per head”.
In the case of all gambling companies, footfall in their high street shops had taken a big hit before Covid struck. In the midst of the pandemic, their profits must have been totally wiped out.
Thankfully (I say that a bit ‘tongue in cheek’), they have their Internet offering to put before our eyes – via the likes of CF, ITV, Sky and a host of other cash-hungry broadcasters – so it’s little wonder the airwaves are now packed with these dangerous and misleading ads.
That it has reached saturation coverage – and many leading football clubs have taken the gambling industry’s 30 pieces of silver and are proactively promoting their wares – should be a cause for concern for all of us.
That it is not tells us a lot about the society we live in today.
Tony Yorke is deputy editor of Sorted.
The big films… all sorted!
So, we are in the latter part of summer when (in theory) we can still pack up a picnic and head for the beach and enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Or at least that’s the reality for some!
For others, it’s time to head for a confined, dark place and enjoy a series of flickering images on a big screen! Yes, for film fans, this time of year represents the arrival of the blockbuster – and not even COVID is going to spoil things.
While we wait for the biggest movie of the year – the new Bond – to arrive in September there’s plenty to keep us entertained. And here’s just a sample of what is out there…
JUNGLE CRUISE
This is great fun. We join Emily Blunt, her brother played by Jack Whitehall) and Dwayne Johnson (playing himself and doing a good job at it) on an adventure to find the ‘tree of life’. There’s action and stunts aplenty and the film brings to mind Indiana Jones, The Mummy and Romancing the Stone – all intertwined. A massive hit in the making, this is definitely one to watch.
THE SUICIDE SQUAD
Not to be confused with a film of the same name, which came out a few years ago, this time around a team of supervillain’s, including Margot Robbie returning as Hayle Quinn, take on…wait for it…a giant talking, walking, malevolent, marauding, starfish. I kid you not!
The film is full of spectacular action, impossible stunts and very little in the way of plot or character development. If that sounds like your sort of thing, do try and see it on the biggest screen you can.
FAST AND FURIOUS 9
You know what I just said about The Suicide Squad, well ditto. For the latest film in the incredibly successful franchise is the most over the top yet.
Actually, I thought this was great fun despite the sheer impossible nature of some of the situations. For example in order to “nudge a satellite” why not just launch a car into space and drive it to the right spot. Yes – you read that right.
OLD
The latest from director M. Knight Shyamalan, famous for delivering twists in his tales. This one is about an idyllic beach at an exotic holiday location. The only problem is that once you get there you can’t get off it (due to an invisible barrier) and then you start ageing – rapidly.
A QUIET PLACE PART 2
This picture stars Emily Blunt again in a fantastic romp that continues the story of a family battling to survive in a world besieged by vicious, man-eating aliens who see with their ears! Young Millicent Simmonds, who is deaf in real life, steals the show as she comes to the rescue. A definite one to watch.
BLACK WIDOW
This is great fun on a big scale as the film follows the story of how the Avengers' black widow, became, er, a black widow! In truth, there are tremendous action scenes and a good story, making it a hit among fans of the Marvel comic book heroes. And make sure you tune in to Ray Winston’s cockney Russian accent!
Now if that’s not enough to knock your socks off, I don’t know what is. Enjoy!
Andy Godfrey is a film critic for Sorted and a member of the Mark Kermode Appreciation Society.
Stirred, shaken and renewed
End this bloody madness
My wife and I had a good old chuckle over the weekend when we read an article in The Daily Telegraph about Britain’s favourite swear words.
Surprise, surprise, it seems the days of us all dropping the occasional “bloody” and “damn” are long gone. Instead, the F-word and S-word are rife – and there are no signs that things are about to get better anytime soon.
After our laughs had subsided, and we heard some of our neighbours arguing and throwing verbal missiles at each other, my wife and I had a more serious conversation, asking ourselves a very simple question: does what we say really matter?
Both of us, independent of one another, came up with the same answer: yes, it does! And here’s why…
Language and behaviour are intertwined; one influences the other. The kinder and gentler the words we use, the more we behave considerately and sensitively. But when a more aggressive vocabulary is introduced, that’s when noticeable changes occur among individuals, groups and society in general.
You may, quite reasonably, ask how swearing can influence behaviour?
I am no expert, just a layman. But I do know that when I am with people whose language is ripe (at my local rugby club, for example), often the behaviour of the speakers are too. I can think of a recent visit to a pub on my doorstep; for a while it was quiet and people behaved in a considerate and orderly manner; but after eight o'clock in the evening there shouting and swearing became the norm, quickly followed by boisterous, or worse, behaviour. In the end, at least three people were asked to leave. And if they refused, the landlord threatened to call the police.
Call me old-fashioned, or whatever you like, but I believe language defines us – and it spurs us on in positive and negative ways.
I don’t like swearing albeit, on occasion, the odd swear word does slip out of my own mouth, particularly if I have stubbed my toe on the skirting board or whacked my fingernail with the hammer!
That aside, I pray we have reached the bottom and will start to work our way up the blasphemy ladder, to the point when young children don’t know every swear word known to mankind by the time they are ready to go to primary school.
I don’t know if this is a realistic expectation, but I certainly live in hope.
Tony Yorke is Deputy Editor of Sorted.
Sterling: my mum's gold
Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City and England football star, has taken a few knocks in recent times – but nothing like the vitriol he has been subjected to since the Three Lions lost in the final of the Euros.
Undeterred, the flying winger refuses to be beaten down by his detractors even though a lot of recent online abuse has targeted his mother and the new home Raheem recently bought her.
“If people want to write about my mum’s bathroom… all I have to tell you is that 15 years ago, we were cleaning toilets in Stonebridge [in the London Borough of Brent] and getting breakfast out of the vending machine," he says.
“If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s my mum. She came to this country with nothing and put herself through school [while] cleaning bathrooms and changing bed sheets.”
To read the full feature on Raheem Sterling, and his bid to speak out for what is right, get the latest issue of Sorted, which is available from WH Smith and McColls newsagents – or subscribe online by clicking here.
Alice is in wonderland...
Veteran rocker, Alice Cooper, has an unquenchable thirst for golf – and God – and these two driving forces in his life have kept him on the straight and narrow for many years.
“I look back now and I know how deep I got on alcohol, and drugs, and all that excess,” he admits in an exclusive interview with Sorted.
“I know how far gone I was, and in my mind there was no coming back; yet from the depths of misery and dejection I was saved by two of the brightest, most uplifting things that could have fallen onto my lap – God and golf.”
Cooper's dual focus in life cured of his alcoholism demons and paved the way for a rewarding career and a happy life.
To read the full feature, buy Sorted from a WH Smith or McColls newsagent - or subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
Top 'British meals' revealed
From simple, tasty looking street food to a perfectly presented restaurant dish, sharing pictures of food on Instagram has almost become a ritual for many of us!
By calculating the total hashtag count for each dish, food worshippers at Netherlands-based Thuisbezorgd have looked into which staple British foods are most popular on the Instagram social media channel.
It won’t be a surprise to many to learn Fish and Chips is the most popular British dish on Instagram – by a huge margin!
Found in anything from an old school chippy to modern, high-end restaurants, this long-standing favourite has received a whopping 1,773,503 hashtags to date – more than eight times more than Shepherd's Pie, which comes in at a not too shabby third place.
The classic Traditional Sunday Roast finds itself in second place, while Steak and Ale Pie (a firm favourite with the Sorted crew) sneaks into the top ten with almost 14,000 mentions!
Here’s the top-10 list of ‘Instagrammable’ British foods…
- Fish and Chips
- Traditional Sunday Roast
- Shepherd's Pie
- Beef Wellington
- Potpie
- Pork Pie
- Bangers and Mash
- BLT Sandwich
- Pie and Mash
- Steak and Ale Pie
Away from Britain, Pizza is the most ‘Instagrammable’ food throughout the world with an impressive 86.3 million hashtags. Sushi comes in as a distant second, with almost half the amount.
What’s the old saying about there “being no accounting for taste?”
To access the full study, please click here.
Who will be top dogs?
It's the end of another summer and that means it's the start of another Premier League football season – one unlike any other.
With Jack Grealish moving from Aston Villa to Manchester City, we have already had the first-ever £100 million transfer – and there is every chance that figure may be eclipsed if Harry Kane leaves White Hart Lane. But we also have fans back inside our stadia for the first time in almost 18 months, and already their presence is having an impact.
There is a long way to go before one team rises to the top of the pile, so we have enlisted the help of seasoned campaigners Barry Fry (Director of Football at Peterborough United) and former manager and star striker, Leroy Rosenior, and asked them for their views on the new campaign.
Fry, who is noted for being a straight talker, is delighted to see Brentford in the top-flight and is keen to see hitman, Ivan Toney, strut his stuff on the biggest stages. He said: “Not only is he a great striker, he is also a brilliant defender, heading away corners and free-kicks when he was with us and doing the same when I saw him playing for the Bees,” Fry said.
“Brentford have a great model and despite selling star players like Said Benrahma to West Ham and Olly Watkins to Aston Villa, they showed their recruitment to be top class last season.”
Rosenior, meanwhile, think Rafa Benitez's appointment as boss of Everton could be an inspired choice and lead to success at the Everton club.
"Everton fans may find it difficult to swallow having Rafa Benitez as manager after his Liverpool years," he said. "But the big question is whether he is a decent manager? In my view, he is, and he can guide the Toffees near to the top eight."
To read more about what our pundits think, as well our view on who could be the next 'wonderkid' and which boss is likely to be axed first, get the September/October edition of Sorted, which is on sale now from newsagents like WH Smith and McColls. Alternatively, sign up for an annual subscription to ensure you don't miss out on our great columnists and features.
Best UK sunspots identified
With a late summer heatwave predicted for next week, a new study has identified where you can enjoy the sunshine over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Gloucestershire is likely to be the warmest place to base yourself – with an average temperature of 21.5 degrees. On the downside, the county is pretty wet with 63.5 millimetres of rainfall being deposited already.
So, if you fancy taking in the delights of places like Taunton, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham, make sure you have your sun cream and wellies to hand!
The county has come top of research conducted by uSwitch, which looked into weather data from the Met Office spanning the last 50 years. This information has given researchers average temperatures and rainfalls for the whole of the UK – and identified the best places for sun-worshipping.
The beautiful country of Sussex is a close second as far as the sun is concerned, with an average temperature of almost 21 degrees – and less rainfall than Gloucestershire (54.7mm). So, Eastbourne and Brighton might be places you want to think about?
Yorkshire, meanwhile, is the third sunshine capital to think about if you fancy a week away, or a long weekend. But it is the wettest of all the top destinations, with 89mm of rain being deposited on the county’s lush grasslands.
Haworth – home of the Bronte sisters – is always a great place to visit, as is the seaside town of Whitby, where you can enjoy the famous fish and chips of Trencher’s to an immersive tour based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
And if you fancy a trip to Scotland, then Loch Lomond is the go-to place as far as heat is concerned. A respectable average temperature of 19.17 degrees will be pleasing for all, but this is tempered by an average rainfall of 89.28 mm. So make sure the umbrella is close to hand.
To read the uSwitch report, please click here.
Dog boffin in ‘treats plea’
