News

On Saturday I attended a wedding. It was the first wedding in our family after a series of funerals and everyone was looking forward to it. And it was nice- a bit of Spanish fiesta mixed with Hungarian folklore and meals.

However, after midnight, everyone wanted to get home. The police would not be interested in the fact that you are more likely to be run over by a car when walking drunk, than cause an accident whilst drink driving. Common practice is that one passenger from each car keeps away from alcohol to be able to drive the others home. But drowsy drivers can be just as dangerous as drunk drivers.Actually, it does not matter whether your reactions are slowed down by alcohol or fatigue.

However, people will always choose to drive tired due to the legal reasons. There is zero alcohol tolerance in Slovakia and if you exceed 1.0 (which is likely after a wedding where the home-distilled spirit is a must), you can end up in prison.

Perils of Flying

Getting home from the wedding was one thing, but some of the guests will soon have to get back to Spain, and judging by recent news there are further dangers lurking in the air. The same Saturday as the wedding, 307 people on board a flight from Seoul to San Francisco went through a terrifying experienced.

In front of a packed Centre Court crowd and searing temperatures, Andy Murray did the unthinkable and won Wimbledon yesterday, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. It ended a 36-year wait for a British winner and amazingly is the first time a British man has won the prestigious tournament for 77 years.

Coming into the match Murray not only had the world number 1 facing him, but also the nation's expectations on his shoulders. As well as the 15,000 spectators packed into Centre Court, a further 4,000 were sat on ‘Murray Mount' (surely this can replace ‘Henman Hill' now?!) and a huge 17.3 million British people watching at home- making it the most watched TV moment of 2013.

As the players came out to warm up, on court temperatures reached a staggering 50^oC (122F)- one of the hottest Wimbledon finals on record. Whilst the players may be used to playing in these sort of temperatures in the US and Australian Opens, the British crowd were certainly not. St John Ambulance revealed that they treated 79 fans inside Wimbledon for heat related ailments during the final, including dehydration, sunburn and heat exhaustion.

Gruelling Rallies

Watch the highlights of the match:

London Pride was an amazing and colorful experience. Pride's theme of this year was dedicated to ‘Love (and Marriage)' to celebrate the positive steps towards equal marriage in the UK, as well as in various countries around the world. More than fifty events have been taking place throughout June and July as part of the Pride in London festival.

My role as volunteer involved insuring the parade ran smoothly, to enchant the audience and give information out to those who asked. Volunteers were given a t-shirt & a badge, and we were divided into groups of 5 or 6 people with a senior steward leading each one.

The parade started at 1.00pm and went along Oxford Street to Oxford Circus, moved down Regent Street and along Pall Mall, then to Trafalgar Square and finally ended in Whitehall at around 4.00pm. Over 150 groups had registered to take part in the parade, and many organizations joined the event as well.

After the parade, people than moved to Trafalgar Square where there was a big stage and different artists were performing. Soho soon became full of people having food and drinks. The after party took place in many venues around London and it was a great time to meet new people and celebrate Pride together.

The British government is considering charging non-EU students £200 a year for access to the NHS as part of radical new plans to cut costs for the health service.

The charge would be added to visa costs for any students staying in the UK for more than 6 months, and is just one of a number of proposals being put forward. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC that the fee is in line with what other countries charge international students for healthcare, explaining:

"We have been clear that we are a national health service not an international health service and I am determined to wipe out abuse in the system."

The Department of Health claims that currently it costs the NHS £30m a year to treat foreigners in England. However, whilst this may sound like a lot, to put it in context, that is the equivalent of just two hours of NHS's annual spending.

Growing Opposition

Though the possibility of this scheme was only revealed this morning, a number of vocal opponents to any such changes have already emerged.

One thing has not changed since I have returned to France: using public transportation.

Tourists have been invading France every summer and I understand why, as the French Riviera is an amazing place- it's like heaven on earth. From its nice weather and its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and the Italian border, to its delicious ice creams and beautiful landscapes. People are able to understand why I cherish this place so much. Let's get back to business as I am losing track of what I wanted to say...

So I have been using public transportation here, as it's impossible to drive when there are so many tourists and hence traffic. The public transportation somewhat reminds me of London and its underground, DLR and other ways of transporting yourself to every single inch of the big city. I find public transportation pretty interesting as it is a place where companies use space to promote their products.

Differences in Advertising

Let me give you more details. Back when I lived in London I remember myself staring at all the ads and watching all the commercials, as this is an area I'm personally interested in. I have been studying advertising for years now and so I know something about French ads and those you can find in magazines.