GOOD

One of the good things about surfing is that once you have invested in a surfboard and wet-suit, expenses are minimal. The bare necessities are a surfboard, some decent wax to avoid slipping and, in most of the world, a wet-suit. Prices of surfboards and wet-suits vary greatly but, as is true of most things, you usually get what you pay for. If you plan to take up surfing as a permanent hobby, it is definitely worth paying a little extra for high quality products. Wax can be purchased cheaply from surfing shops, usually for less than £10. Many suppliers will throw in wax for free if you are buying a surf-board or other  relatively expensive item


-You shouldn't need to buy many more things in order to get started, but you might want to consider:

• Board wax: Board wax is important because, without it, balancing on your board whilst standing up will be next to impossible. The good news is that it is relatively cheap. One tube should cost you less than £10 and will last for a good length of time.
• Board leash: Surfboards should come with a leash attached to them. The purpose of leashes is to ensure that you do not lose your board if you wipe-out and are forced to let go of your board. Before leashes were used, it was not uncommon for a surfer to lose his/her board and be forced to swim back to shore without it. Loose boards were also hazardous for other surfers in the area. If your original leash becomes detached and you lose it, you can buy a replacement from surfing suppliers (N.B. You should be aware that leashes are designed as safety nets, and you should surf as though you are not wearing one. You should never let go of your board and rely on your leash unless absolutely necessary because of the danger this can pose to other surfers and swimmers).
• Surfboard repair kit: These usually cost around £15 and include instructions and tools designed to help you fix minor 'dings' on your board yourself.
• Suncream: This is an essential! It is very easy to burn whilst surfing, so plenty of suncream should be applied at the first sign of the Sun.
• Ear-plugs: If you find that your ears often become filled with sea water after wipe-outs, a cheap and easy answer is to buy some ear-plugs. There is no need to go to a surf shop for these. They can be bought at chemists or supermarkets for as little as a couple of pounds.
• Surfboard bags: If you have to travel to the beach to surf, it might be worth investing in a surf bag to protect your board when you are out of the water. Prices vary according to the length of your board, but a bag will probably set you back somewhere in the region of £30.

- E-MAIL FROM SAM ASHWORTH , ABERSOCH BOARDRIDER

PRESENTATION

Abersoch is a small town in north Wales , on the end of the Lyn peninsular. a lot of people call it mini Manchester or little Liverpool because almost all the holiday makers are from there

I have spent every summer down there with my family since I was born and I have some great memories of being mischievous and annoying welsh farmers with my friends on the caravan site, and were all still really close which is nice

We Used to camp on the edge of a cliff overlooking my favourite beach, PORTH CERIAD

It is my favourite beach because its hidden down a cove , it doesn’t get too busy like all the other beaches in abersoch, there are often dolphins and Wales and seals spotted in the sea in the evenings which is always exciting  its quite sheltered so its always hot in the summer and the waves are always massive

Which is why it is such a popular beach for the surfers

Waterspouts is big in abersoch , and it hosts Europe’s largest wakeboarding festival

Waksetock is the first and only festival that I have been to,  I enjoyed it so much that have been every year since 2008 mainly because it always has a good line up and the wakeboarding shows are amazing, and it’s a bonus that my caravan is nearby because and my mates have somewhere to shower and chill in the day instead of being on a muddy , smelly campsite

Threes also the glass butter beach which is a sports festival which is new to abersoch this year , similar t

One of my favourite things about abersoch is its shops

It has an OSD which sells one of my favourite brands of clothing , insight , which is quite pricey but I usually save up through the year so I can buy I few things down there in the summer

They also have a jack wills , board rider , crew clothing and coastal culture

.another thing about abersoch I love is the atmosphere there, everyone always

seems happy and the town is always buzzing , there always seems to be something going on , for example this summer there was wakestock, glass butter beach,

the mackerel race which was to raise money for charity

Surf competitions

Abersoch 10k

Dinghy week where people make their own boats and race on abersoch’s main beach

Aberosch regatta week, which was celebrating 125 years of abersoch’s famous boat race which takes place every summer

And the big sandcastle competition , which my caravan site have won three years in a row.

There are also events all through the year like the new years sea dip , which is when everyone dresses up in funny costumes and runs into the freezing sea on new years day, Also there is a great jazz concert that takes place every …….

Borsch is quite a wealthy place and  is known for its big houses and nice cars, you often see a few famous faces, a couple of years ago there was a reality programme for MTV made called ‘living on the edge’ which was based and filmed in abersoch. Also bear grills lives and owns the small island about a mile out to sea from abersoch and is often seen in aberosch.

It is also quite a beautiful place , it has some gorgeous beaches, walks and sights , if you ever get a chance you should see for yourself. And yeh that’s is why I think abersoch is good , Thank you for listening

Why children become so attached to toys and comfort blankets

· Psychologists link beloved object to intuitive belief 
· Study shows most will not swap for identical item

• Steven Morris
• The Guardian, Friday 9 March 2007
• Article history

Children become emotionally attached to cuddly toys, blankets and even smelly old scraps of material because they intuitively believe they possess a unique essence or life force, psychologists said yesterday. In a study that will surprise few parents, it was found that children preferred their cherished comfort blankets or favourite raggedy bear over duplicates apparently identical in every way.

The results suggested that even very young children invest in such objects intangible qualities that cannot be replicated.

The study compared the reaction of the children to that of art enthusiasts who prefer an original to a copy that is identical in every way.

Previous studies have shown that up to 70% of young children develop strong attachments to objects such as toys or blankets. The phenomenon tends to be confined to the western world, where children usually sleep apart from their parents at an early age.

Bruce Hood, of the University of Bristol, and Paul Bloom of Yale University in the US, decided to try to find out why.

Parents were asked to bring children aged three to six into a laboratory with their "attachment object" or if they had no such object, a toy or doll that they liked.

To count as an attachment object, the child had to regularly sleep with it and have had it for at least a third of his or her life.

The children were shown what they were told was a "copying machine" - in reality a conjuror's cabinet made up of two boxes. The doors of the two boxes were open and a green block put into one of them. Then the doors shut, an experimenter twiddled some knobs and the first box buzzed.

A few moments later a buzz came from the second box. The doors of both boxes opened to reveal a green block in both of them - the experimenter had slipped an identical block into the second box.

Then the experimenter asked the children if they would let the objects they had brought in be copied. They could choose if they wanted the new one or the old one back. All of those with "non-attachment" objects allowed them to be copied and almost two-thirds decided to keep the "new" object - in fact, it was their own object.

Of the 22 children who did have attachment objects, four stubbornly refused to allow them to be copied at all. Of the 18 who did let their precious items be copied, only five opted to have the "duplicate".

At the end, all children were shown how the illusion worked so they knew they had their original item back.

Prof Hood said the experiment showed that children believe that in addition to the physical properties of their objects, there was some other quality to them that cannot be copied.

He said: "If there was a machine which copied a favourite object in every way down to atomic level, we would still prefer the original. It has an essence to it. This experiment suggests this is an intuitive process.

"We anthropomorphise objects, look at them almost as if they have feelings. The children know these objects are not alive but they believe in them as if they are."

While the tendency to sleep with a comfort blanket is thought to be largely a western trait, Prof Hood said believing objects had an essence was not. Some eastern beliefs centre on all things having a life force and some cultures find it difficult to live in other people's homes because they feel there is something intangible left of the previous people in them.

OBJECT

Liv Chapman

does anyone have/had a comfort blanket or teddy?

 ·  ·  · 21 minutes ago

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    Emily Fairbank i had a duck

    16 minutes ago · 
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    Sadie Thompson I do actually have a blanket... but its cath kidston.. does that make it less sad ha x

    13 minutes ago · 
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    Matthew Chatfield i have chris

    11 minutes ago ·  ·  1 person
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    Chloë Wilkinson I had a teddy bear

OBJECT

6 STEPS TO LETTING GO OF YOUR'E BLANKIE- NONE OF THEM WORKED

1. 1
   Ask your friends if they still have their favorite blanky. Regardless of what they say, admit that you still have yours. Hopefully, through peer-pressure, you will feel you should let go of your blanky
2. 2
   Make yourself hate your blanky. Put something like garlic, wasabi, soy sauce etc on your blanket so you can't stand the smell of it
3. 3
   Throw it in a charity bin knowing that some other person needs a blanky more than you. You're too old for it. Let some less-fortunate younger kid have it. You may want to wash it first after doing Step 2, though
4. 4
   If all this fails, try and get onto Dr. Phil. He is very helpful when it comes to letting go of your blanky
5. 5
   If all this fails, seek professional advice.
6. 6
   Of course, if you couldn't bear to lose your blankey, just love it forever.

OBJECT

BLANKIE

Blankies RULE! 

i have had had a blankie all my life and i can NOT sleep without it! all my friends and family hate it, probably because it not longer looks like a blanket , or smells like a blanket, its most common name is 'rag'.

It looks like this because i had a habit of tieing ribbon to it and knotting it together.

My Mum has tried to yeild me off it in the past , and has tried everything to persuade me....

NOTHING WORKS 

OBJECT

BLANKIE 


A comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for small children. Among toddlers, comfort objects may take the form of a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a favorite toy, and may be referred to by the terms blankey and lovey. Cuddly toys are sometimes carried in emergency vehicles and police patrol cars, to be given to children involved in an accident or traumatic event, to provide them comfort.

Stuffed toys are sometimes equipped in emergency vehicles and police patrol cars, to be given to victims involved in an accident or traumatic shock, to provide them comfort. Paramedics are trained to treat physical shock with a wide array of blankets designed to preserve heat, blood, and wounds for life threatening traumas.

Often charities will provide comfort objects such as blankets and quilts to victims of trauma.

Psychologists are experimenting with the use of heavy thick fleece blankets to replace restraints such as straight jackets. They have noted through experiments with autistic children that weighted blankets have a desirable soothing effect to help calm agitated patients.

ACTIVITY/Watersports

TOM CURREN, A PRO SURFER ADMIRED IN ABERSOCH

ACTIVITY/Watersports

West Coast Surf Shop is s hop situated in Abersoch.
The shop stocks a large range of watersports kit - surfboards and bodyboards, wetsuits for all shapes and seasons, wetsuit accessories, Patagonia clothing and GoPro cameras.
They also have a large range of surfboards from O'Shea, FireWire, Rip Curl, Maurice Cole, DHD, JP, Circle One, Bic Surfboards, Hifly, Santa Cruz, Webber, 7S, Channel Islands, Resin 8 Surfboards.
They stock one of the largest selections of Rip Curl wetsuits in the UK and are a designated Rip Curl wetsuits test centre and Rip Curl Search Lab.
They also have a large range of hire equipment and hire surfboards are £10 per day or £35 per week and hire wetsuits are £8 per day and £25 per week.




The website provides a daily surf report on the beaches in and around Abersoch including Hells mouth, porth ceriad.....

ACTIVITY/Watersports

Abersoch and the Llyn Peninsula is a "mecca" for watersports enthusiasts with locations, shops and conditions to satisfy them all! Flat water in Abersoch Bay is often ideal for wakeboarding and waterskiing, sailing, powerboating and windsurfing. The "Main Beach" area is easterly facing and is protected from the prevailing winds. Surfers and bodyboarders are catered for at Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth), Porth Ceiriad and Porth Oer, beaches that are exposed to regular Atlantic swells. National and International Regattas are often hosted in Abersoch and Pwllheli at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club and Pwllheli Sailing Club, with events for all size of craft from small dinghies to One Ton Cup class yachts. A large marina is situated in Pwllheli and moorings are available in the bay at Abersoch. Water quality in the bay is generally very good and water quality at Porth Neigwl is one of the best in Wales according to the Environment Agency. An inshore Atlantic 75 Lifeboat is stationed at Abersoch.

PLACE/object

Surfing Matt Fox has been surfing for over eight years, and is now a surfing instructor with West Coast Surf, Abersoch. Here is an interview i found on him ... How did you get started?  I moved to the Abersoch area from Liverpool when I was young. I began to surf about eight years ago because my friends had taken it up. It had become easier to get hold of wetsuits and surfboards in the area, as there weren't many shops selling surfing equipment before then. Where did you go from there? I went to university, but found that surfing suited me much better. I got the beach lifeguard qualification and I was offered a job as a surfing instructor about three years ago, and then in the West Coast Surf shop. What clothing and equipment do you need? Surfing is one of the cheapest water sports. You just need a wetsuit, a surfboard, a leash and wax. You can get these second hand. There are lots of different types of surfboards, so you should get some expert advice on which one suits you before buying a board. What's your most memorable experience? I went surfing at Easkey on the west coast of Ireland last year. The Atlantic waves there were fantastic, and the weather was warm, for a change. Have you got a favourite place? Hell's Mouth is the main beach for surfing round here. It gets a good diversity of surf breaks. Any other points? To take up surfing, you just need to be able to swim, obviously. The more you go surfing the fitter you'll become! You need to be qualified as a beach lifeguard, by the Royal Life Saving Society and the British Surfing Association level 1 qualification before you can be insured to be a surfing instructor. Surfing is very dependent on the weather though, You've really got to check what the weather and the surf's like before going out, and be prepared to drop everything and go surfing if the weather's ok. When the waves are good, the shops can sometimes be closed because everyone's in the water. Where can I have a go? Hell's Mouth. It takes up the most swells as it faces southwest, where the swell comes up the Irish sea between Ireland and Cornwall.

PLACE/object

linking from abersoch's fashion , music and watersports theres 'Wakestock'.

Wakestock is Europe's largest wakeboarding music festival and has been happening every July since 2000.

I have been 5 years in a row and loved every single one! 

photographs from Wakestock 2009/10/11

me and the girls..

on the beach in the day for some sunbathing and vollyball..

the long que..

attractions..

ed sheran's performance..

the mud!...

our tent on the last day..

PLACE/object

INSIGHT/LOGO DESIGN

PLACE/object

FURTHER INTO INSIGHT

I cam across an untitled album on the insight website, I'm not too sure what it is all about but it seems to be a campaign of some sort involving artists, photographers and surfers. Some of the photography really inspired me, the concept of all genders and sorts of people portraying the same message's through their image changes the meaning of the message for me ,  visual communication at its best!
The names of artists (sources) ..
knittaplease
madsaki
simone decker
cottonmouth texas
steve gorrow
george gorrow
fraser anderson
rad dan
mike piscitelli

the online enhibiton included photographs of people holding up signs, some from Jamaica\

some of surfers\

Women\

and skaters\