My USA trip is looming and I am in organization mode! I have a 14 hr trip to LA with a 3 hr stop over followed by a 6 hr flight to NYC. What I would love to hear is what things you guys take on board with you whether it be personal/toiletry items or items for entertainment, comfort or other purposes. Thanks. :) Spoochie 17-05-2011, 10:24 PM I have just experienced my first long haul flight. Ear plugs to be worn under the headphones. It's kind of like having noise cancelling headphones. Baby wipes/wet ones and roll on deodorant. I usually shower 2 - 3 times a day and just felt gross when I landed. On our stopover in Dubai I raided the duty free perfume testers! I didn't take anything for entertainment as the in-flight entertainment on Emirates was amazing. Lip balm! If you wear contact lenses consider taking some eye drops as your eyes may dry out quite a bit. Have fun! indi_c 18-05-2011, 07:05 AM Books Magazines Ipod Snacks If you fly any of the major airlines, you will get the TV's so that should keep you occupied for awhile. savvychic 18-05-2011, 08:05 AM It gets so dry on a plane: A refreshing facial spray Face, lip,hand moisturiser And I make sure I have clothes that will be comfy in the climate I land. And defintely wear comfy clothes! Layers are good because I never know if it will be warm or cold on the plane (it changes everytime!), and it helps you suit both the climate you are leaving and the climate you are going to. Also think about footwear - your feet can get quite swollen / uncomfortable in certain shoes, so depending on what shoes I am wearing, I will take comfy socks to wear and take my shoes off. Lipbalm in a tube or stick so I'm not using my finger Hand cream Hand sanitiser A pasmina A smallish book A magazine or two Chewing gum A bottle of water but think that's prohibited on flights to the US An eye mask and ear plugs I will have my iPhone with a relaxing playlist of instrumental music and ocean sounds - I find this works better to block out the noise of the engines. Lavender oil A sudoku book and pencil I don't generally worry too much about entertainment if I'm flying with a major airline as their on-flight entertainment is usually awesome. Pinky Bee 18-05-2011, 10:01 AM If you're flying united you'll need industrial earplugs as their 747s rattle and hum so loud it's difficult to sleep. Also USD as all US carriers don't give you anything when traveling domestic despite being full service airlines apparently. I always take: Earplugs Neck pillow Eye mask Iphone loaded with movies and tv series Change of socks and underwear, nothing worse than sweaty socks and jocks after 14hrs of sitting in a warm cabin Sassafras 18-05-2011, 12:07 PM Oh gosh, what don't I take onboard long haul flights! I hate flying and get really antsy, so I try and keep as occupied and comfortable as possible - Lipbalm - Face moisturiser - Concealer and cream blush (for when I land) - Eye drops, contact lens solution and case - Spectacles - Magazine and a book (so I can swap when I get bored) - iPod - Socks - Chewing gum or mints - A small vial of perfume - Eye mask - Neck pillow - Large shawl - doubles as a stylish scarf and extra blanket as it gets so cold on board - Pantyliners so I feel nice and clean - Face wipes - Pen for completing immigration forms - Snacks like a container of Pringles, Skittles, snakes etc - Macbook / iPad - Hair clip so I can throw my hair up in a high bun on board, and when I get off the plane, I take out the bun and my hair is nice and volumised so I don't look too horrendous. I always wear leggings and a comfortable shirt and cardigan with ballet flats. Slip on/slip off shoes are essential if you're travelling to USA, as you'll need to take them on and off during security checks, and don't wear a belt if you can help it, because they're a pain to put on and take off. OfficeGirl 18-05-2011, 12:29 PM My list is pretty much the same as Sassafras'. I also keep sunglasses handy for when the morning sun comes streaming in thru someone else's window. AgentM99 18-05-2011, 12:35 PM Thanks everybdoy! Sassafras, I am a bit like you but my motto for this trip is travelling light so I am trying to get it down to "essentials". Might need some luck with that! :) beverly 18-05-2011, 01:37 PM Less about necessarily onboard essentials, but in addition to what other's have said, I always bring a full extra set of clothes and must have items you need in case your bag gets lost/delayed when you land. For this reason, I will usually bring either a full set of clothes that have elements I can also sleep in, and/or an extra singlet/item that is just for sleeping, as well as an extra set of underwear and any toiletry essentials (in travel size obviously). In terms of other tips for long haul flights, go to seat guru and scope out your flight detail so you can see if your seats have any extras like powerpoints, or plugs for USB/consoles. I almost always travel with a laptop, but particularly in the case of long haul flights, I always check whether I'll have a powerpoint to see if I can charge up any devices I have. Mod-ern Girl 18-05-2011, 03:55 PM I take pretty much what everyone else has said. However if I wanted to travel light my absolute essentials would be: I call these things shoe socks, but they are almost a jiffy kinda thing I picked up in target. they feel like a sock on, but have a VERY thin rubbery sole. If you get these you don't have to keep putting your shoes on to go to the toilet. You don't want to walk into the toilet in socks (think turbulence + tired men = you don't want to know :sick: ). I personally like the sound of the plane engines so I'm never worried about the noise! I transfer into small bottles facial moisturiser and cleanser, small soap, mini toothpaste, deodorant just in case plane is delayed/luggage lost. For the same reason I pack underwear and a singlet/t-shirt. I also pack things that I don't use but that I want to keep safe eg. jewellery, laptop/netbook, iPod My ears become really painful during landing so I don't risk ear plugs. PetitePrincesse 18-05-2011, 04:41 PM i am a fairly light traveller - there's nothing worse than being in transit and lugging your non-wheelie carry on bag around. my rule is if i got stranded, what would i need as an essential? other than what other people have said... mirror stilnox little bag of nuts and dried fruit. i never eat it, but it's nice to the have the option. otel products and the beauty counters are your best friends for long haul trips. i usually take the l'occitaine hotel shampoo and conditioner (they are teency weency bottles, but go a long way), hotel soaps, sample foundation sachets and the teeny hotel colgate tubes. i decant all my beauty products into little clear bottles. i always have a clear plastic make up bag for all my lotions etc - manicare does a great one that comes with clear bottles for around $15. makes life so much easier at security, especially when everyone around you is scrabbling in their bags getting everything out or has their things in nasty plastic freezer bags. i wear my glasses, and lots of layers, leggings and thongs. rimmellover 18-05-2011, 06:17 PM *iPhone + usb charger (many airlines have sockets for you to plug the USB in to) *Pashmina *Travel pillow *Eye drops *Lip balm *Pen *Chewing gum (it can help your ears pop on ascent/descent) *Water bottle (either buy one once past security, or take an empty one and fill up) *Passport etc (obviously) Some people will take a change of clothes (trackies etc) so they can wear nice clothes for the airport at each end. I'm not so much a fan of this, as I have no issues walking through an airport in my trackies, and afteer a 14 hour flight the toilets can be kind of gross to get changed in. I do, however, take a change of clothes in my carry on, just in case my luggage goes missing, so I have a day or so to organise replacements. I also take my makeup and anything I would be devastated to lose/have broken. Make sure you take the chargers for your electric equipment on board with you too. I also have standard handbag contents (tissues, panadol, etc). I don't know if it is your first long haul flight or not, but you will soon get to know what you need, as everyone has different needs (some people HAVE to have socks with them, whereas I can't stand them). My best tip is to have your passport etc in your handbag, then have a carry-on within a carry-on. I had my backpack (so I wouldn't have to deal with two rolly bags), and in the bottom I had the change of clothes etc that I wanted to have with me but wouldn't actually need. On top of that stuff, I had a Woolworths-type bag with the stuff I wanted at my seat. Once I boarded, it was easy to pull the top bag out of my backpack and have at my feet, store my backpack in the overhead lockers, and still not overcrowd my handbag to the point of being non-functional Madam Mina 18-05-2011, 07:45 PM My list is pretty similar to others I think. I have a large soft leather Witchery bag that I use that can either be a big handbag or an overnight bag I think this one of my favourite things I own. List: Pashmina Camera Small laptop iPod Hand sanitiser Moistuiser Cleansing water Wet ones Eye drops Mini toothbrush Mini floss Tiny bottle of mouth wash Concealor Lip balm Valerian (herbal sleeping pills) Deodorant Perfume Book Magazine Change of clothes Pen Panty liners Neurofen Important travel documents Reading glasses Sunglasses Local currency for when I arrive Anything of value that I don't want to lose or really need when I get there like jewelery and medication All chargers and power cords Phone Noise canceling headphones (these are the best things ever) Hand Sanitiser Remember for international flights you will be subject to the liquids and gels regulations (and domestic flights in the US). So anything you want to take on that is a liquid or a gel must be less than 100mls and they all must fit in to a clear plastic sandwich bag. Some airports (I'm looking at you Hong Kong and Bangkok) will even take liquids bought in the airport off you so be careful what you buy duty free. AgentM99 18-05-2011, 07:56 PM I have had a few long hauls flights before but I want to streamline both carry on and checked luggage so rather than chucking stuff in on the day I am trying to be more organised this time. :) geezer 18-05-2011, 08:13 PM Wow some people take a lot...I always get organised at the very last minute and never use half the stuff I take on board. My best tip is to have one larger on board bag with a change of clothes, toiletries, documents etc that you put in the overhead and then a little bag with the things you'll use during the flight which you can put under the seat. That way you don't have to get up to open the overhead and go searching through it. You can stuff the small bag in the bigger carry bag when you get off. ETA, Just realised Rimmellover said pretty much the exact same thing before me. General Pashmina or similar that can be used as a scarf and blacket thick socks good headphones iPod Thick book (Agatha Christie collections are good- like the 3 in 1 editions) mag or two Gum and mints museli bars or nuts to snack on (and throw away before customs at the other end) water bottle (that i can fill once I've gotten through security) Change of underwear Pack of cards (If I'm travelling with someone) Eye mask and ear plugs for sleep Tissues (and vicks inhaler if I've had a stuffy nose recently as it's inevitable it'll get worse on the plane!) I get seriously dehydrated on planes (even on domestic short-haul flights) so am a bit overly prepared hydration wise!. But i do think it's important to feel clean and hydrated, thus the face wipes and wet ones and the moisturisers. Course, much of what I've listed others have listed as well! I also pack face powder and mascara for freshening up at the other end :) sunshowers 18-05-2011, 09:55 PM Forgot to add! I carry my passport, tickets, foreign cash and cards in a travel wallet and my iPod is my iphone- so i have that with me too! I don't take much as I always have my computer and camera, which take up room. So aside from that I usually only have wallet, passport, water, book, ipod, lipbalm, toothbrush/paste. These days most long haul flight shave a decent amount of stuff to watch and I spend most of my time doing that, but a book is good for the stopovers. I don't usually bother with spare clothes, unless I have something specific I need to be dressed for. What I hate most is having too much hand luggage to lug around during stopovers or in transit. puripuri 22-05-2011, 11:36 AM Depending on the airline I'm flying I take different things. For example if I'm flying Brunei airline, I don't need to take socks, eye mask and toothbrush with me because they provide. For most of the other airlines, I carry with me; In the future I would like to take these following things with me; NECK PILLOW!!!!!!! Eye drops change of clothes, something really loose and comfy Eevee 24-05-2011, 02:42 AM I should consider myself to be a seasoned long-haul traveller by now (I'm due to fly to Paris next month for the third time within this last calendar year, not gloating I promise :p), but I'm very minimalistic when it comes to carry-on luggage. I baulk at the thought of carrying any additional weight so I only bring the bare essentials with me onboard any long-haul flight. Before flying, check what amenities your airline provides (in-flight entertainment, USB port for your iPod or laptop etc.) as this'd help you decide what to bring. Whenever I travel solo, I try to pack as minimal as possible. I normally use my Neverfull (MM) as my flying handbag, and a very slim Incase sling bag (http://www.goincase.com/products/detail\\... for my Macbook. I was just gping to post about dry shampoo. I bought a travel size Batiste one but then wondered whether you can take aerosols on board? mzbabydoll 24-05-2011, 02:19 PM From past experience of over-packing my carry on luggage, I like to keep it light! - A good book is a must for me - Passport/itinerary, all the necessary paperwork and a pen - Tissues - Lollies - Jurlique rosewater mist - Camera and iPhone - Sunglasses That's all I can think of and usually on the way home I'll chuck in any shopping items that can't fit into my suitcase :) Eevee 24-05-2011, 03:18 PM [QUOTE=Eevee;6708667] 70g Cedel dry shampoo I was just gping to post about dry shampoo. I bought a travel size Batiste one but then wondered whether you can take aerosols on board? Yep you're allowed to bring aerosols in your carry-on on long haul flights as long as it is 100g (net weight) or less. That's why the 70g Cedel one works well for me :) rimmellover 24-05-2011, 05:41 PM ^ If you're carrying them on-board, make sure you have the lids on them - if they are lidless when you go through security they will make you throw them out (I think it something to do with explosion risk or some jazz) AgentM99 24-05-2011, 05:55 PM Thanks rimmellover. I now remember that happened to me once. A brand new KMS lidless spray - chucked out by the check in chick. I always carry a basic change of clothes/underwear - ever since they lost my suitcase (permanently) en route to a holiday in Hawaii. Nothing worse then arriving somewhere sans luggage, all sweaty and gross and having to wander around a mall exhausted looking for a change of clothes to buy. USB 2.0 10-07-2011, 07:49 AM I always carry a basic change of clothes/underwear - ever since they lost my suitcase (permanently) en route to a holiday in Hawaii. Nothing worse then arriving somewhere sans luggage, all sweaty and gross and having to wander around a mall exhausted looking for a change of clothes to buy. I always do this whenever I fly too. I have a bag delay rate of about 2 a year (so it's probably about 1 in 75 flights), so I expect airlines to occasionally lose my bag, especially when I have a connecting flight. The inconvenience of having to drop what I planned to be doing and shop for basics is not something I can entertain. I have one or two days' worth of change of clothes, two days' (at least) worth of toiletries, hair brush, and other essentials in my cabin bag regardless of how short the flight is. This is partially because I sometimes go hand luggage only for short trips, but even when I check my bag in, I always have those basic kits. TheRealMe 11-07-2011, 01:33 PM I have one or two days' worth of change of clothes, two days' (at least) worth of toiletries, hair brush, and other essentials in my cabin bag regardless of how short the flight is. Since my luggage got lost a few years ago (and it took a week to get it back), I take a change of clothes and my toiletries with me in my hand luggage. Even if my luggage is not lost, this also makes it easier for a quick change at my next destination without having to unpack everything. missE** 11-07-2011, 01:39 PM Are the aerosols allowed in checked in luggage? Yes aerosols are allowed as long as the lid is on. jbie 15-07-2011, 09:51 PM - lots of inflatable pillows, like 3 or 4! makes a big difference in getting comfy for sleep, to support every part of your body - pashminas, maybe 2, to use as blankets - socks for warmth - comfy clothes - refillable bottle of water - snacks - books and mags, laptop for movies - lip balm, moisturiser - eye mask 336 15-07-2011, 09:57 PM Hand sanitiser Ipad 2 books magazines ipod wanttobeafairy 15-07-2011, 10:15 PM I always do this whenever I fly too. I have a bag delay rate of about 2 a year (so it's probably about 1 in 75 flights), so I expect airlines to occasionally lose my bag, especially when I have a connecting flight. The inconvenience of having to drop what I planned to be doing and shop for basics is not something I can entertain. I have one or two days' worth of change of clothes, two days' (at least) worth of toiletries, hair brush, and other essentials in my cabin bag regardless of how short the flight is. This is partially because I sometimes go hand luggage only for short trips, but even when I check my bag in, I always have those basic kits. You fly a lot!:-o150 flights a year?? Anyway, ITA about having a few basic toiletries (just deo, and travel size body lotion, moisturiser and toothpaste/toothbrush, if the airline isn't providing it. And one change of clothes, and if possible shoes. This time, after a longer flight than I'm used to, I'm determined to take a nasal spray with me too, my nose got so dry and I felt awful. I also found it impossible to sleep this time, do inflatable pillows help? USB 2.0 16-07-2011, 05:13 AM You fly a lot!:-o150 flights a year?? Yes, approximately that. I also found it impossible to sleep this time, do inflatable pillows help? Sorry, I don't know! Unless I have a flat bed to sleep in, I don't recline at all on short haul flights, and not recline beyond about 1/4 of the full recline on a long haul to sleep because I really don't like intruding into the space of someone behind me especially if they are tall, yet I sleep OK, so I'm one of those people who can literally sleep anywhere! Staying awake on a flight is more of a problem for me. I did buy an inflatable pillow one time but couldn't be bothered carrying it or blowing it up, so I haven't actually used one. If you want an extra pillow, do ask the cabin crew though. They are usually able to give you another one. Also, if your head rest has 'bendy wings', I recommend using them too, so that your head doesn't flop around when you sleep. lolligirl 16-07-2011, 07:16 AM I make sure I am wearing warm comfy clothes as I always get cold on planes, and pack the following: - travel socks that I pop on once I am seated - book - scarf in case I get super cold - a set of clothes and underwear in my bag in case I want to get changed on the plane or as soon as I get off, and also for the worst case scenario of if my check in bag went missing! - makeup wipes - small bag of makeup - fruit salad What will I take next time - hardly anything!!!! I downgraded seriously on the flight home and managed just as well. :) Miss-G- 19-07-2011, 09:45 AM I always always always take a hairbrush on a long haul flight - you get serious seat hair and it's so nice to step off the plane looking neat. corrie_v 19-07-2011, 09:57 AM Hairbrush change of underwear deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, lipbalm, face wipes, hand sanitiser cardigan or other to keep you warm socks crossword puzzle book or similar with pens chewing gum sunglasses tissues ear plugs: without fail I will be seated near a screaming child I think inflatable pillow use is debatable... I find them quite uncomfortable actually as they prop my neck forward and make it sore. I mostly fly with Emirates though, so when in Business they give you half of the stuff I've listed anyway - much easier AgentM99 19-07-2011, 11:45 AM I think somebody mentioned this already but I think those bendy / winged head rests that planes like VAustralia have make the need for inflatable pillows redundant. I've never found travel pillows particularly comfortable anyway. vanillaink 19-07-2011, 01:56 PM I always put so much thought it what book/s I'm going to take on board but the I end up having the attention span of a fish when I'm on the plane. No idea why.. I'm a really keen reader generally; the atmosphere of a plane means as soon as I open the book I want to fall asleep or do something else! So now I'm fine with just a few good magazines (that one that sounds like eMCee and a trashy one that has a good crossword!) and the in-flight entertainment. I figure you pay so much for flights that you might as well enjoy all the movies you can! AgentM99 19-07-2011, 05:09 PM I always put so much thought it what book/s I'm going to take on board but the I end up having the attention span of a fish when I'm on the plane. No idea why.. I'm a really keen reader generally; the atmosphere of a plane means as soon as I open the book I want to fall asleep or do something else! So now I'm fine with just a few good magazines (that one that sounds like eMCee and a trashy one that has a good crossword!) and the in-flight entertainment. I figure you pay so much for flights that you might as well enjoy all the movies you can! This made me laugh - a bit ditto! :) rwm_girl 25-07-2011, 01:37 PM Thanks for starting this thread! Having never been overseas before, I spent a big chunk of my Saturday night going through it and making a list of things i might like to take on board :) KittyKitty 25-07-2011, 02:01 PM Ditto, rwm_girl! This thread has been really useful in helping me to get together the things I will need for 6 weeks worth of flights :-) What sort of bags do you ladies take all your necessary on-board items in? I'm really not sure which one to take, and my list is growing ever longer... chimneys_afire 27-12-2011, 04:16 PM Just wondering, for those of you that carry laptops, phones, ipods, or other electronics in your hand luggage, do you also take their respective chargers and any adapters that you need? I'll be taking my mini laptop, camera, phone and ipod, and was planning on taking all my chargers as well, but some of them are kind of bulky. Should I only take what I need, and for example leave my camera charger in my checked baggage? What do you girls do? *CaT* 27-12-2011, 04:27 PM i normally take all chargers with me in carry on, just in case my suitcase is lost / delayed / etc. it's much harder to easily replace chargers than clothes / toiletries USB 2.0 27-12-2011, 05:51 PM Just wondering, for those of you that carry laptops, phones, ipods, or other electronics in your hand luggage, do you also take their respective chargers and any adapters that you need? I'll be taking my mini laptop, camera, phone and ipod, and was planning on taking all my chargers as well, but some of them are kind of bulky. Should I only take what I need, and for example leave my camera charger in my checked baggage? What do you girls do? As someone who is home less than being away, I have learnt to minimise things I carry around with me. I bought a spare battery for my camera so that for a two-week trip, I don't need to carry my camera battery charger. Depending on the length of your trip, it may be an option for you. I also have compacted everything as much as possible, including just having a USB phone charger for my phones. That way, you only need one USB mains unit or a laptop to charge it. My Apple charger is small so I don't need to worry about it too much, and I have one world adapter that is probably one of the smallest I can get, and also a single adapter for the country I am visiting for my MacBook Air because it's tiny anyway. All of these come in my cabin bag because I cannot risk having my checked baggage delayed even for a day with it, or I cannot work. I also carry a USB cable x 2 (one is for the phone), Ethernet cable, USB-to-Ethernet adapter for Mac, SD card reader, USB light, and a Bluetooth mouse. All of these fit into a cable bag measuring 5x5x20 cm. They also live in my cabin bag as I have ones for home use anyway, so that I don't have to worry about leaving it behind at home. The rest (batteries, chargers, medical (panadol/nurofen)) are in the checked baggage. PetitePrincesse 28-12-2011, 11:52 AM As someone who is home less than being away, I have learnt to minimise things I carry around with me. I bought a spare battery for my camera so that for a two-week trip, I don't need to carry my camera battery charger. Depending on the length of your trip, it may be an option for you. I also have compacted everything as much as possible, including just having a USB phone charger for my phones. That way, you only need one USB mains unit or a laptop to charge it. My Apple charger is small so I don't need to worry about it too much, and I have one world adapter that is probably one of the smallest I can get, and also a single adapter for the country I am visiting for my MacBook Air because it's tiny anyway. All of these come in my cabin bag because I cannot risk having my checked baggage delayed even for a day with it, or I cannot work. I also carry a USB cable x 2 (one is for the phone), Ethernet cable, USB-to-Ethernet adapter for Mac, SD card reader, USB light, and a Bluetooth mouse. All of these fit into a cable bag measuring 5x5x20 cm. They also live in my cabin bag as I have ones for home use anyway, so that I don't have to worry about leaving it behind at home. i do the same thing - keep spares of everything i need in my carry on luggage. for chargers, i also just use usb chargers, other than the computer which is tiny. you can change the settings on your computer to pump more juice into the charging item as well so it doesn't take as long as a usb charger usually takes. quick_dry 28-12-2011, 01:29 PM on USB chargers - I bought extra iPad chargers, they cost the same as the iPhone charger but give double the power. Travel plug converters: check that they are a design where they have a 3 rd (Earth) plug, some power points won't work unless they can sense a prong in all points of the socket. *CaT* 28-12-2011, 01:59 PM for travel adaptors, i find a universal one that has at least one usb point the best. that means i don't need to bring the adaptors for my ipod/iphone/camera chargers, just the cord. and the iphone & ipod can use the same cord as well i've had ones where it was a pull out all the different ends depending on which country it was. i'd advise against these because i ended up losing the european adaptor in the hotel i stayed in. pulled it out of the wall, but the european adaptor part stayed in the socket... the ebay one above, where it's all in the one piece and slides out as you use it is much more efficient. although the one i bought at HK airport had 2 usb ports and they were on the main part, not a separate attachment like in the ebay version quick_dry 29-12-2011, 09:10 AM if you forget your charger and the room you're in has a flat screen TV, look for a USB port somewhere on it - it won't be as quick as a decent charger, but it usually works in a pinch. Basil25 23-02-2012, 03:15 AM i also travel a lot and found the less the better. for the plane carry on i take. a change of clothes chargers-I have Apple everything so that's easy except for the camera charger, which is tiny anyway. ebook reader tissues, face creams and water spray like Avene misting spray. good quality handcream handgel, and wipes. panadol/aspirin the less the better. invest in good quality hand luggage! korogi 24-03-2012, 09:59 PM I always put so much thought it what book/s I'm going to take on board but the I end up having the attention span of a fish when I'm on the plane. No idea why.. I'm a really keen reader generally; the atmosphere of a plane means as soon as I open the book I want to fall asleep or do something else! I'm exactly the same! It took me a couple of international flights to accept the fact that I'm never going to read a lot on a plane. I barely even watch the movies. I'm seldom comfortable (even in Business Class) because I get sciatic nerve pain down the back of my right leg. Consequently, I always have the urge to wriggle around/stretch or walk around the plane. And drink lots and lots of water! I never bring lollies on the plane, or drink alcohol during a flight, because they make me feel bloated and dehydrated. Besides, it's too many empty calories for sitting down for 14 hours.


Floor installation should be the final step after any other decoration work. Be sure the sub floor is completely dry, clean, flat, and sound before starting. Vacuum or sweep the floor thoroughly to get it free from dirt or any other substance. See ill. No.1. If the sub floor is concrete, it should be older than 30 days (this is for a "new" build or newly poured cement slab). The preferred room temperature is  21? (70 ?) with a relative humidity of 35%~60%. The cork floor planks need to be acclimatized for 24 to 48 hours within the job site. Check for flatness. Any bumps or hollows exceeding more than 4mm within 1 square meter area (the length of one flooring plank) below or above the standard level should be sanded down or filled with filler. See ill. No.2. Cork floating floors are intended for indoor use (as with any other flooring system such as laminate flooring). Installing floating floors in humid areas such as bathrooms or laundry rooms is not recommended. Cork tiles (glue down flooring) should be used in such instances. Installation: Step 1. Step 1. Lay the planks lengthwise with the direction of sunlight. Check for color harmony and consistency in the flooring. This can be done when allowing your materials to acclimatize beforehand. Manage abrupt patterns by relocating planks. This allows for a more natural transition between color variances in the cork. See ill. No.3. Step 2 . Installing over a concrete sub-floor usually requires some form of moisture barrier. This can be in the form of polyurethane sheeting. Most hardware stores will be able to direct you to the right product for the job. This is especially true when working in a basement or any other room that is below-grade. Step 3. Measure your room and divide by the width of a flooring plank. This will determine the number of the planks needed to cover the floor. If your measurements leave you with space of more than 2.5inches on you long wall (63mm) you should start with a partial board (cut the board to size) in the first row to ensure the stability of the floor. Step 4 . Leave a 3/8inch (10mm) expansion gap between the flooring and each wall, or other obstacles such as a door frame or cabinetry, using spacers (scrap wood or waste product works well). Working left to right in the room: "brick" or stagger your planks to reduce the visual appearance of the seams. The tiles along the edge should be the same width along all the walls. This is where your "pre-placement" of your planks is going to pay-off. Place the first plank in the left - hand corner of the room (leaving your spacing to the wall) with both tongue sides facing the wall . Complete the first row by angling the planks together one at a time. Try to install the tiles so that they form a single line when you click them together. See Figures A & B. See Ill. No.4. Step 5. Start of second row: Insert the tongue ridge of the next plank to the groove of the first plank at a 20-30 degree angle to the floor -- this is where you will place the cut plank from row 1 to ensure the staggered seams. Press downwards with your hands allowing the plank to "click" into place and lay flat on the floor (Figures A & B). Fig. B Fig. A Should you need to "straighten" a row or "tighten" the seams you can use a scrap of the planking as a "tapping block". By using the tapping block (which you have so cleverly created with a piece of scrap tongue and groove flooring) and your rubber mallet you will save the edges on the flooring from any damaging blows. See ill. No.5,6. . Step 6 . Once you have reached the end of the row, you may have to use have to use the crowbar and mallet to tap the last piece into place (space against the wall will be tight). See ill. No.7 See ill. No.8. Step 8 . Proceed the same way for subsequent rows. See ill. No.9. Step 9 . The last row: Hopefully the gap between your flooring and your wall will be uniform along its length.  You can ensure the gap is uniform by measuring at both ends of the room. Measuring: Overlap (matching seam to seam) one plank over your flooring (see Ill.10 ).  Place a second plank (make sure it is snug against the wall) on top of the overlapping plank.  You should be working with the depth of three planks -- one on top of another.   Mark your measurements onto the overlapping plank (the one sandwiched in the middle).  You will cut the width of your last row to the measurements you have just made. Make sure you maintain the tongue and groove of your flooring and that you cut the CORRECT SIDE!!! Remember: Measure twice, Cut once! Maintenance: For daily maintenance, you can use a damp mop to clean the cork floors. Too much moisture can cause warping which is not covered under warranty. Quickly wipe spills from the floor to protect cork from excess liquid. Use door mat to prevent sand and dirt or other abrasives. 4. It's wise to use felt pads under the legs of furniture to avoid scratching and permanent denting. When moving heavy objects try to lift instead of pull. If this is not possible, then using pieces of heavy cardboard under the furniture, while moving it, will help keep your floor from being scratched. SEALING: Our cork products have been surface-sealed with three layers of water based polyurethane. To facilitate installation, the seams are not sealed from the factory. After installation we recommend you re-coat the entire floor. This will seal the seams to protect the joints against dirt accumulation and water spillage. Apply 2 coats of floor grade water based polyurethane for light residential use or 3 coats for heavy residential or commercial use. Follow sealant manufacturer's application instructions.


Hi Everyone - I recently moved and doing that I got a miniskip and threw away everything crappy - and that included my two catstands. I have been looking in pet stores for some and the ones I have seen are very bad quality and there are so few to choose from. Does anyone know a place with a good variety of good quality catstands? I am willing to drive where-ever. I'm not after anything fancy - just sturdy and nice, with good quality materials You could try Kieron at Sammy's Cat Poles http://www.scratchin...sts.com.au/  He may be able to custom make you something in your choice of colour and take it to the end of year show at Hampton Park and you can collect it from him there. Thanks, I do to find one I can buy and take home. I need one now - Bailey is using my bed as a scratching post! The funky ones...so cute, so expensive, but so beautiful and just a little tempting! I'll check petbarn out. We bought Tink's cat post at Robbo's Pet Barn in Dandenong.. they had a good selection there at reasonable prices. That was three years ago now, the post is used constantly and is still like new, so that might be somewhere to try. I'd go with Satcmo's recommentation for Sammy's. They are great build quality at a good price and my cats love them. Contact them, you may be able to get something quickly. Alternatively, Mega Pet Warehouse on Maroondah Hwy Ringwood have some right up the back of the shop. They do have some great ones (well did last time I was in there) but they are pretty expensive. So depends how quickly you need something and how much you want to spend. The show at Hampton park is on Sunday week, so not far away. If you want good quality and a good price you are best contacting Sammy's....maybe give them a ring (check website for a phone number. Most stuff in the shops is rather overpriced and the quality is not always the best. Sammy's stuff is excellent. I have lots of it and it lasts well. I picked it up from her in Mulgrave which saved 30 dollars or so in postage. If you can pick it up, it really is great value. The quality seems fine and it didnt take me long to put together. They come flatpacked too! So you don't need a large special sized vehicle. The only downside was that she only does pick up 11am to 4pm Mon-Friday. But I sent a friend down to pick it up for me.


International Arapawa Goat Association International Arapawa Goat Association IAGA Profile: David Hughes ~ Tutukinoa Arapawas Some of David's bucks I don't remember the year but it was in the early 1990s. Patsy and I had gone to a Rare Breeds Conservation Society auction at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch with a friend who assured us it would be an interesting day looking at the animals and having a picnic lunch and a few wines. We were not yet rare breeders and had no intention of buying anything. But then we saw this magnificent goat! He had spectacular horns and was extremely friendly. When we went over to his enclosure he put his front feet up on the rails so that he could be patted, scratched and talked to. We kept returning to see him. What was he, we wondered, and what would he cost? This was a rare breeds auction so perhaps he was worth thousands? We made enquiries and found out that he was an Arapawa goat and that he probably would sell for a couple of hundred dollars or so. We figured we could manage that and nervously I got ready to bid. It was all over very quickly and we had paid a mere $28 for a truly beautiful animal who was to change our lives considerably! We decided to call our goat Pegasus. Then Michael Willis asked us if we would take two females under the caregiver scheme that was operating at the time. We got a mother and daughter and named them Gog and Magog. When Gog produced twin boys we took them to the next Rare Breeds auction and sold them because we couldn't use them for breeding. A reporter for a farming paper was there and took a photo of me with one of the kids to accompany an article she was writing. When the article appeared the caption underneath the photo described me as a "farmer and breeder" much to the chagrin of my father-in-law who had owned a large sheep station and didn't think such a description fitted someone with ten acres at Lyttelton! Young Belltopper One morning I found Magog dead in her shelter. She wasn't even lying over and looked as if she had settled down for the night and had a heart attack or brain haemorrhage and died instantly in that position. We were very disappointed but Gog helped raise our spirits by delivering twin girls that we named Magog II and Belltopper. They were to be the last kids Gog produced because she died before she could kid again. This was a huge blow to our confidence and I'm sure that if anything had happened to Magog II and Belltopper we would have given up. Fortunately both thrived and produced many kids before they were too old. We couldn't put Pegasus over his daughters so we got a male goat we named Chewtobacco and a doe we named Little Glory from a breeder in Timaru. Chewtobacco got to mate with the girls and Pegasus spent his time head butting lumps of concrete for fun. One day he snapped off half of one horn, which rather spoilt his looks. Our herd grew only slowly. We began corresponding with Betty and Walt Rowe at the Arapawa Wildlife Sanctuary who were responsible for helping save the breed from extermination. We were hoping to get some goats from the island but this proved difficult because there were restrictions on stock movements at the time as hydatids had been found on the island. In the end we worked out a system with the government ministry whereby a permit would be issued to pick up suckling kids when they became available and we would then bottle raise them when we got them home. In 1998 I made my first trip to the island going out on the mail run and bringing back a buck kid and doe kid. Betty called the buck Precious and we named the doe Kaipipi. Bottle feeding the kids was great fun and it also established a bond with the goats that will never be broken. David feeding some of his female Arapawa goats A second trip to the island resulted in three more doe kids coming to Lyttelton and we also got two bucks locally. We thought that with these additions we would make real progress with our breeding. However, despite our best efforts, we were spectacularly unsuccessful at breeding females. In the 2001-2003 seasons we had 38 kids but fewer than a quarter were female. We knew that this was not just a matter of luck because the pattern was the same each year -- plenty of males and very few females. We lacked an explanation until we were shown a textbook on goats that identified the problem as an iodine deficiency and suggested the remedy was to feed seaweed meal, which we did. In November 2003 I again went to Arapawa Island and brought back more goats for our property. The next year produced more female kids than in the previous four years combined, and the number of females equalled the number of males, thanks to the seaweed meal. In the past several people had asked for goats but we didn't have enough to let any females go. Now we were in a position to start establishing other herds with people keen to get involved and hopefully these beautiful animals, of which there are only about 300 world wide, can have a secure future. We currently have over 75 Arapawa goats but also have Arapawa pigs and Arapawa sheep plus other breeds of sheep, goats and pigs as well as ponies, donkeys, rabbits and poultry.


There is still a need for this kind of festival -- Exclusive interview with Jackie Crozier, LadyRock founder Have you been wondering exactly why LadyRock and GoGo were cancelled this year? Do you want find out the reasons behind such drastic decisions made?  We do too! We recently caught up with Jackie Crozier, LadyRock's very own festival director to talk about what issues they faced, the history of Pride and ultimately, why they had to cancel. 2012 has seen the quick rise and the even quicker demise of the lesbian festivals.  3 became 1 in quick succession, after GoGo in the south and LadyRock in the north succumbed, L Fest was the only one left standing, right in the heart of England.  After hearing about the saddening news that LadyRock was forced to cancel due to the economic climate, then hearing about GoGo falling at the same hurdle, it made me think... what makes lesbian festivals such a fickle mistress to tame whilst gay pride events stand the test of time? One of the main reasons that come to mind is the history behind Pride.  After the Stonewall riot in 1969, we've celebrated our community and what makes us special with such ferocity and love, it's relatively easier to set up an event with this at its core. Festivals always hang in the balance due to schedule clashes.  It's safe to say we've got a lot going on here in the UK with that little sporting event happening in the summer.  Olympics is it?  I actually can't wait to see the drama unfold on the smurf turf, yet I was ready to make my way down to a lady fest or two as well.  Read on to find out why we've been stripped from our selection mere weeks before the events were set to take place this year. LadyRock was in its first year, yet had to cancel... what issues did you face? In general, as featured throughout mass national media this year, 2012 has been an unfortunate time for festivals. In terms of issues specific to us, there really were not that many (at least that were apparent). We were thrilled with our line-up and had fantastic feedback for it. As a new brand we felt strong as an organisation, our team worked hard and we were receiving good press, both locally and nationally. Ultimately festivals are cancelled because of ticket sales and, in relation to ours, I would perhaps say that we had not made ourselves public early enough. Whilst we had made an impact in the festival, LGBT and north west press sectors, you have to remember that we only announced the event and its full line-up around twelve weeks or so ago. In hindsight, we should have had more time so that people could get hold of their tickets and tell their friends about the event. Unfortunately we were stuck as to which months we could hold the festival in. What was the ultimate issue that forced you guys to cancel the festival? Aside from planning -- and I hate to sound like a stereotypical Brit -- but the weather we have had for the past two or three months has been horrendous, particularly in Manchester. The image most have of festivals is heat, Ray Bans and cans of Strongbow, whilst all we've seen since February has been rain, hooded jackets and hot chocolates. Had we been in sun bathing weather for two months, who knows what could have happened... In general, as I said before, many UK festivals have been cancelled this year. National events such as the Queen's Jubilee and The Olympics have meant many individuals re-think their 'big weekends' and celebrations around patriotism (which I fully support). I know the word is batted about so much but, in addition to this, the recession is constantly worrying people into where they spend their pennies. This has obviously affected us in the same way it has done other festivals. Do you think the cancellation of LadyRock and GoGo was related or two separate issues? I think related in the general ideas I just mentioned, as we are both smaller festivals, but not in respect of us being 'women's events'. Whilst we are most definitely a 'niche' event, there is an obvious need for our kind of festival on the market. This is visible from media types that relate to women and moreover, lesbian issues, as well as a clear market audience. Whilst it has been a tough year both for us and our friends at GO.GO, 2012 wasn't unsuccessful because of lack of want, but for all the aforementioned reasons. Why do you think Prides have stood the test of time and grown over the past few years? Pride events are pivotal to our society, both nationally and further afield, but in major UK cities their message and meaning has most definitely progressed over the years. Manchester Pride began as a small event well over twenty years ago. It was a 'bring and buy' sale to raise money for HIV/AIDS organisations. In addition to that, Pride Marches took place to try and make a statement: regardless of homophobia and hate, which surrounded the gay community, it would not back down. It was a message of strength and, for other gay people, it was about hope. Fast forward to 2012, and you can see and understand the journey even if you were not there to witness it first-hand. There is still money being raised for HIV and AIDS groups, but it goes towards helping people live and sustain a comfortable life. Other funds are raised looking for a cure, which we would hope is not so distant. In addition to this, Pride money is going towards LGBT community groups -- sports teams, arts groups, help centres and radio stations -- which we just could never have imagined all of those years ago. Similarly, our Pride Marches are a cause for celebration. They still voice an aggressive strength and a deep-invested passion for equality, a fight against hatred and the feeling of alienation, but there is such a positivity around them. In Manchester, hundreds of thousands of straight men and women come to watch the parade and support our community. Major brands, celebrities and institutions take part to show their support for us -- it is astounding, really. Pride events will always be relevant, whether we are pushing further towards equal rights or celebrating the long journey we have come. As well as that, the LGBT community is notorious for loving a good party... And, for that reason, the entertainment elements of Prides (fringe events, singing, comedy etc) make for a fantastic show. So yes, the events have grown in size and capacity, but the passion and need for them has always been just as integral. I am so proud of our community and all of those who support it -- we are doing a fantastic job and setting a wonderful example for the world. We really do show that 'It Gets Better', as they say... Are you heading off to any this year? As a huge supporter of Pride events around the world, I would love the chance to see LGBT communities celebrating in as many places as possible. Things are understandably extremely busy for me at the moment but, if I am able to, then you will definitely see me pop up at a few Pride events in 2012... You and the team had a lot of stuff organised, such as merchandise etc... What's going to happen to that stuff now? As true ladies and rockers, we have always been particularly prepared as a team. When organising a festival -- which I've now become quite used to -- there is no other way to be. In terms of merchandise, we purchased by order, and so have not been left with too many excess items. For what has been sold -- hold onto it -- because I have no doubt you may be needing it in the not so distant future... Will LadyRock return with a vengeance in 2013? 'Onwards and upwards' is our motto. The LadyRock brand is far from gone, and it will just come down to time control and more planning to ensure the event comes together as it should next time around. We are still extremely visible via social media; our Twitter account will remain very much active, keeping followers up-to-speed with all things music, Manchester, female, LGBT and festival related. In and amongst that, there will certainly be teasers in terms of where the brand is headed and when you will next hear from us... So watch this space, and make sure to follow us for the ride, as it's set to be a good one...


baby gender selection and prediction, girl or boy, how to have baby girl or baby boy, plan your baby, how to choose your baby gender, how to have a girl, how to have a boy... How to Choose Baby Gender You Desire? So you've decided to have a baby. Good for you! And for any number of reasons you may have decided that you would like to have a baby of a certain gender. And maybe you've decided that you want a baby girl. Certainly there are any number of good reasons why you might want to have a girl. That's completely up to you. It's your own business. But you'd probably be happy to know there are many ways how to have a baby girl. There are a few factors in life that help to determine the gender of children that we don't have any control over. Factors such as age, hobbies, and professions can influence the gender of children. For example, younger people tend to have more boys than girls. Meanwhile men who fly a lot or deep sea dive tend to have more girls than boys. There's actually a scientific reason for this. Male sperm and female sperm have different characteristics -- male sperm are faster but more fragile while female sperm are slower but tougher. These characteristics are what lead the sperm to be influenced by the above factors (age, flying, etc.). However, knowing these facts can help you to know what you should do in order to conceive a child of the gender of your choice. In fact, knowing these facts should determine when you have sexual intercourse and the positions you use to have sexual intercourse. That's how to have a baby girl. For how to have a baby girl you want to make sure you are having intercourse at the right time in your cycle. Normally women ovulate fourteen days before their next period. So you need to plan when you have intercourse according to when you are going to ovulate. Of course that's easier said then done because it's not always easy to predict when ovulation will occur. Another way how to have a baby girl is to use position during intercourse that will help the odds of having a girl. There are positions that will help you have either a girl or a boy. Knowing how sperm act should help you determine which positions you use. It's not that tough to learn how to have a baby girl. First you need to know the different characteristics between male and female sperm. Then you need to plan when you and how you have sexual intercourse accordingly. If you do that then you can dramatically increase the chances of having a baby girl.


(Based on a chapter in a forthcoming PhD thesis on equal pay. Written 28 November 1999. A companion piece is included in the book Rebel Women , which you can read about on our Booknotes page.) Introduction This article is a case study of the actions undertaken by the major union in the Australian metal industry (the Amalgamated Engineering Union -- AEU) to campaign for equal pay for women. It deals with the years 1969 to 1972, a period bounded by two important decisions by the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission granting forms of equal pay to women workers. A substantial literature now exists dealing with the content and the effects of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission's 1969 and 1972 equal pay decisions. Before looking at the specifics of each decision it is worth spelling out their common features. Most importantly, both were hedged about with qualifications. Both decisions retained the concept of the "family wage". Wage-setting continued to be underpinned by the notion of the male breadwinner and dependant female. In order to lessen the impact on employers, the increases that were granted were to come into effect in instalments over a number of years. Both claims were initiatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), both were opposed by the employers and the Liberal-Country Party government, and both failed to address the fact that there was no minimum wage set for women. The effect of this last factor meant the lowest-paid male in 1973 got $60.80, while employers could still pay women as little as $34.50. The effect of the 1969 decision was to grant "equal pay for equal work", i.e. that where women did "equal work" alongside men they should receive equal pay, but that otherwise equality did not apply. The ninth principle outlined in the Commission's decision spelt this out very clearly -- equal pay was not applicable "where the work in question is essentially or usually performed by females but is work upon which male employees may also be employed". The restrictive character of the 1969 principles was illustrated by its application to female classifications in the Meat Industry Interim Award in December 1969. Commissioner Gough granted equal pay to about 120 women out of 2,000 employed under the award. By the time of the 1972 equal pay case, figures could be produced to show that only 18% of women workers had benefited as a result of the 1969 decision. When the unions approached the Commission again in 1972 it agreed to widen equal pay to "equal pay for work of equal value", but the effects were still limited. Whereas before 1972 male and female jobs were compared to see if they were basically identical, after 1972 work was compared to see if it was very similar in content or tasks, rather than any attempt being made to evaluate the work more generally. A further negative outcome of both decisions was the attempt by employers to reclassify (or re-name) women's jobs in order to avoid the consequences of the rulings. This was particularly widespread after the 1972 decision, with one survey finding that over 60 per cent of employers had reclassified women's jobs onto a different (and lower) scale to men in similar work. Despite the restrictions inherent in the decisions, women's wages relative to men's did increase after 1969. However, just as it would be mistaken to attribute the equal pay decisions to the enlightenment of the Commissioners (rather than to the pressure of the trade unions), it would also be wrong to give them the credit for the actual wage increases that were achieved. The granting of increases was by no means automatic. Unions were required to ask to have the test case rulings applied to the awards that determined the wages of their particular members. Different unions achieved diffferent results. Through industrial pressure the AEU was able to get a ruling to phase in equal pay for women metal workers over a two year period. As a result of further industrial action at the workplace level, 90 per cent of women members of the union had equal pay by the start of 1972. "Equal pay on the instalment plan" In November 1969 the AEU officials sought to have the "equal pay for equal work" ruling of that year applied to their women members. The union lodged an application with the Commission for equal pay under the Metal Trades Award "to remove discrimination between males and females on 'substantially similar' work" by eliminating reference to the female rate. In a hearing before Commissioner Winter at the end of 1969, metal industry employers would not agree that any of the classifications where women were employed came within the nine points of the 1969 equal pay decision. Instead they demanded a lengthy and costly inspection and work value inquiry. In March 1970 they argued that women must be doing exactly the same work as males in the classification, and where the workforce was predominantly female, there was no case to answer. Despite this being a virtual restatement of the Commission's original decision, Winter found in favour of equal pay at the process worker classification, to be phased in by January 1972. The report "Union break through on equal pay" indicates that the AEU lodged its claim for over 300 classifications, although women were employed under only a small number of them at that time. In April 1970 the union's journal was able to report a success which reflected "the degree of activity which has been marshalled by the metal trades unions and shop stewards in support of this principle", i.e. not just by the women members. When the employers lodged an appeal against the decision in March, the union's response was that "we should each resolve that if necessary industrial action would be taken to ensure all females under the Federal Metal Trades Award receive equal pay with males". The employers' appeal was dismissed. The union then campaigned shop by shop for immediate implementation of Winter's decision, and was able to spread it to other classifications covering women workers. Emphasised throughout was the role of industrial action in securing this successful outcome: "Following the Arbitration Commission's decision granting equal pay on the instalment plan for female process workers, a considerable amount of activity was developed in those plants where we have female members ... On several jobs, women stopped work on the day of the appeal and a large number of workshops sent representatives to the Court in order to express their opposition to the employers' appeal". After rejection of the appeal, some employers tried to absorb the equal pay increase into existing over-award payments. This too was successfully resisted. In addition, "large numbers of female workers in unorganised shops became interested, and as a result our female membership has increased by 300 over the last two months, and a number of new shops organised. We now also have an increased number of female shop stewards ... a feature of the activity was the readiness of the women concerned to take industrial action to support their demand". An interesting comparison can be drawn between the gaining of equal pay in the metal industry and the experience of those unions that did not pursue the issue industrially. Some unions, such as that of the bank officers, attempted to gain equal pay through solely legalistic rather than industrial means. This was a failure. If the letter of the 1969 decision had been applied (as it was to the bank workers when their union went to the Commission in November 1969), women in the metal industry would also have received nothing. Yet about 90 per cent had equal pay by the start of 1972 as a result of the campaign. In those areas where there were still inequalities, industrial action continued. John Halfpenny, Victorian State Secretary of the AEU at the time, explained that "The over-award payments assumed great importance because at a certain time they actually constituted about 30 per cent of a metalworker's wages ... When equal pay was established in the award ... the employers' attention then turned to the over-award payments, to make sure they remained unequal ... [That was] basically outside the Commission's jurisdiction to arbitrate on". When asked how the union had dealt with this, he replied, "Collective bargaining they call it nowadays". For example, at Email, the electrical appliance manufacturer, a series of stopwork meetings by members, most of them women, won increased over-award payments of $3.50 a week for women and $1 for men. The extra money for women was part of a union-wide campaign for equal over-award payments. Similar action at the same workplace and at K.G. Luke won further differential increases which leveled up over-award payments between the sexes. By contrast, the union which covered workers in the insurance industry was even more timid than the bank officers' union. Having been refused negotiations about equal pay by the insurance employers in 1969, and disheartened by the Commission's rejection of the bank officers' application of that year, their leaders failed to take any further action over the issue until July 1972. As a result, women insurance workers did not get even a semblance of equal pay until late 1975. Why look at the metalworkers? The AEU's relative success is interesting in the light of a number of features of the union. Most important is the significance of the union in Australian industrial relations more generally. Tom Sheridan in his history of the AEU, Mindful Militants, gives a number of reasons for the AEU's standing as a pacesetter in wages and conditions, particularly by the late 1960s/early 1970s: the distribution of metalworkers throughout the economy (by 1970 metal trades unionists were 17 per cent of all unionists), and the traditional role of the fitter's rate as representative of all craftsmen's wages. So metalworkers are important, even though this period also starts to see the decline of their industrial centrality with the growth of white collar militancy. In the early 1970s, whatever happened in the metal industry was a standard to which other unions aspired. What this meant in relation to equal pay was all too clear to the metal industry employers. One reason given by them in their appeal against the granting of equal pay was that "because the Metal Trades Award is involved the decision is likely to have an influence on proceedings in relation to other awards". The second significant feature is that in class terms, the AEU was very combative. By the 1970s the union was virtually synonymous with successful industrial militancy. Sheridan talks of "the overall success of AEU members' non-stop offensive in these years [1960s/70s]". In addition the AEU (and its successor from 1972, the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union -- AMWU) had a much stronger workshop orientation than most Australian unions, with a tradition of independent rank and file action. This tradition of fighting at the rank and file level also influenced the way the union approached the question of equal pay. The final factor of note in the metalworkers' union's campaign for equal pay is the composition of the union's membership. In March 1969 the AEU's female membership was approximately 2,000 out of 84,000 (2.4 per cent). In December 1974 the AMWU had 186,121 members of whom 16,000 (8.5 per cent) were women. It is again possible to draw a useful comparison with the insurance industry (approximately 50 per cent female in this period). If equal pay is regarded as an issue in which the "gender interests" of women workers are counterposed to their male counterparts, we should expect a stronger response from unions with large female memberships, and a correspondingly weak one from unions such as the metalworkers'. Yet the differentiating factors were not the number of women in the industry, but the industrial strength and militancy of the union (and also their politics, in a more general sense). Women in a union like the AEU were able to make greater advances than those in relatively less well-organised areas of the workforce, even though they were numerically marginal to the union as a whole. The campaign itself -- the ugly, the bad and the good Nonetheless, there was a contradiction between the positive result on equal pay and sexism inside the trade union. One place this could be seen was in the pages of the union's monthly journal. As late as 1975 the AMWU was still emphasising the importance of the "family living wage" as the basis for wage campaigning. The union also contained some backward (or at best contradictory) attitudes to women's right to paid employment. For example, the same issue of the journal (July 1968) contains two such reports. The first, regarding National Instruments in Melbourne, involves the discovery that women process workers had been doing tradesmen's work for four years. The initial response of the organiser was to demand that the company take the women off this work. The second case is more overt. The organiser's complaint after the retrenchment of five night shift workers at CAC in Melbourne (including three men with families) was that "while retrenching these employees the Company was retaining the services of married women, whose husbands were working in other establishments". Such attitudes were reflected both in writing and visually in the Monthly Journal , with articles such as "Choosing a career for your son?" (about job opportunities in the metal industry), and numerous sexist cartoons and advertisements (see appendix). The June 1972 front cover shows a photograph of a huge mass meeting in which not a single woman can be seen. In other words, the AEU did not embark on the campaign for equal pay as fully-formed opponents of sexism. John Halfpenny went so far as to say that, "In the very early days of the equal pay campaign, the majority of women didn't support it and the majority of blokes didn't support it. The majority of women didn't support it because they thought they'd lose their jobs, and the blokes didn't support it because they didn't think the women were worth as much as they were." Sylvia Bramston, who became a shop steward as a result of equal pay campaigning at National Instruments, confirmed the opposition to the equal pay fight that existed amongst women as well as men. Her account of attempts to get equal conditions for workers of both sexes at National Instruments gives some indication of the resistance that activists could come up against (as well as evidence that it could be overcome: We needed a woman shop steward where we worked ... When the men were negotiating with the company, the women's angles were never brought up. One of the big arguments, which nearly led to a total national industry strike was ... [getting] concessions [fares] on the aircraft because we worked in the aircraft industry ... The men got it for their dependents, but the women didn't. I couldn't take my husband because he was not dependent on me. The men could take their wives, and our argument was that most of our fellows were married to professional women -- school teachers, doctors, accountants, they were all working, they were not dependent on them. Therefore, our argument was, OK you can prove your dependency and you can get the perks. Of course, needless to say the boys switched sides. Before that they'd been very much against us getting it, but they then switched sides and supported us and we ended up getting the same thing as the fellows. However, it would be wrong to ascribe all opposition to the equal pay campaign simply to the acceptance of sexist ideas on the part of male or female metalworkers. Sometimes other problems intersected. Explaining why some sections of the workforce played more of a role than others, Halfpenny points out the negative role of other divisions in the workforce: "Some sections of what are now the metalworkers weren't that involved, like the boilermakers -- there weren't any women boilermakers ... There were women sheetmetal workers, there were women engineering workers but without any real exceptions they were all process workers ... It was difficult to get too many workplaces where the tradesmen would stand up for the women process workers to get equal pay -- because they wouldn't even stand up for the male process workers." Militancy and politics Yet the union still campaigned vigorously for equal pay. The following section attempts to identify the countervailing factors to sexism inside the union. The first of these is what might be called the "background militancy" of the union, reflecting a basic level of class consciousness directed in the first instance against the employers in the industry. As mentioned earlier, by the time of the equal pay decisions the AEU was virtually synonymous with successful industrial militancy and rank and file activity against employers. One sign of this was the willingness of well-organised workplaces to take significant industrial action over what would appear by the industrial relations standards of the late 1990s to be quite minor issues: We worked a lot of overtime because we had to keep aircraft flying, and you'd work until ten o'clock at night. You used to get a lot of vandals into the car park, so they built a car park with wire mesh around it with barbed wire on the top and a gate and a security guard, and they used to lock the gate in the morning, open it at lunchtime, lock them again, open them at night ... Well, the big argument was over the morning. We were supposed to start work at eight o'clock. At five past eight they locked the gates and that was it. And if you wanted the gate to be opened you had to go in, get the security guard, park your car, come back and clock on. Now it could take him twenty minutes to come out, which meant instead of being five minutes late for work, you ended up being half an hour late for clocking on, and of course you'd get docked. And they did it with just a notice on the wall, they didn't talk to anybody about it ... Well, one person got caught and of course all hell broke loose. When the shop steward went up to talk to the management, he was rude to him, so ... it was 'Right, everybody is out' and we just dropped our tools and walked out, and we were all standing out on the pavement. And I think we were out for about a week over that. While the Monthly Journal (and former officials like John Halfpenny) might attribute successful militancy to the "splendid leadership" provided by union officials, it was much more often the case, as the journal's own pages attest, that strike action occurred spontaneously. One of the best indicators of this phenomenon in the metal industry was the letters sent by union organisers to the higher echelons on the trade union movement, asking for endorsement of disputes that had already taken place and been won at the workplace. Reflecting a common class position across the gender divide, this tradition of militancy was shared by women workers, and was not confined to issues such as equal pay. In the same period in which overt sexism was common in the Monthly Journal , there were also reports which in some senses contradicted that sexism. For example, a strike at Iplex Plastics in Elizabeth, South Australia was described as "one of those disputes which deserves a particular mention". The mainly female workforce held a stopwork meeting about various complaints. Management used non-union labour to operate the machines during the stopwork, leading to a strike by all three shifts. Approximately 250 of the workers were AEU members but there were also "30 or 40 hard core non-unionists". A mass meeting then decided that "all the claims were less important than the fact that non-unionists still operated inside the plant". A further mass meeting was then held on 6 August 1970. Many of the workers involved had no previous experience of industrial action, and particular women shop stewards played a key role in organising rosters for pickets and so on, leading to a successful outcome. Sometimes the women's lack of industrial experience could make them more volatile: It was quite remarkable really ... Johhny Halfpenny was in then as State secretary and we warned him and said, look, handling women in the workforce is a totally different thing to handling the fellows. And he said, ah she'll be right, she'll be right. And the first time they all went out on strike they rang him up and said, right, you better get out here and do something, we're all out on the footpath. It was one of the big factories up in Lilydale ... Reynolds Chains ... the women all went out there and poor old Johnny nearly went grey over that because they said, look, if we're going to strike, we're not striking for nothing. We came out because we want it, and if we don't get it we're not going back, and that's all there is to it! No argument. They gave him a very hard time. Nonetheless, it was in action around equal pay that sexist ideas were most undermined. The AEU had a history of strike action over this issue before the 1969 decision. At the National Instrument Company (mentioned earlier as an example of the union's contradictory attitude to women working), women had been used to do tradesmen's work in the "Gyro Section". The women were all union members, and "no complaint could be lodged about the way the work was done". The AEU organiser saw that this was undoubtedly tradesmen's work. It was in this section that Sylvia Bramston had managed to get a job when she returned to paid work when her youngest child was eight. Imagine her surprise when The first thing the fellow said was, look, you know, don't take it personally, but we're all going on strike because you lot are coming in. The technicalities of it was that the company was trying to break the work down from skilled tradesmen's work into small sections, and bring in process workers -- women at that -- which were paid ... a pittance really, to do just sections of the work, and of course the tradesmen, who had to do a four years' apprenticeship, were objecting strenuously to it. So we joined the union and went out on strike with them, which meant that ... if they sacked us, then the boys were going to give us their support. So anyway, we kept our jobs. Although the organiser's initial response of trying to get these women put onto other, unskilled work had all the makings of a serious split in the workforce, the dispute was resolved along lines that reinforced class solidarity and common interests amongst the workers at the expense of their employer. There was "an immediate demand ... that if the female workers were to remain in the section they would have to be paid the full tradesman's rate". A number of meetings were held on the job. The District Committee endorsed "the decision of our members to cease work immediately" if the dispute was not resolved. Management then agreed that the full tradesman's rate of $53.20 would be paid to all women workers in the section. In itself, this could still have been used to set women against men, by "pricing women out of the job". To counter this, the union also indicated that if women were moved from the section, "we require the same consideration to be given to them as to tradesmen working in the section", i.e. that they were to be paid at the tradesman's rate even if working elsewhere in the plant. A general meeting of employees in the area unanimously accepted the offer, meaning a $14 a week wage rise for the women. Like the numerous local disputes about equal pay featured in the industrial reports of the Monthly Journal , the National Instruments case reveals one piece of very concrete evidence of the undermining of sexist attitudes: male workers could be convinced to stop work, and therefore lose money, to gain benefits for their female co-workers from which they themselves did not directly gain. This kind of common activity came into conflict with at least the worst of the sexist attitudes found in the union. From the outset, there had been "some [work]places [where] there was good support ... some places [where] the blokes wouldn't go back to work till the women got equal pay". As decisions on industrial action forced workers to confront their prejudices, a more egalitarian spirit began to prevail. Just as sexist attitudes had been reflected in the Monthly Journal , so too were the changes. After 1972, no more of the sexist cartoons appeared, and women started to figure, as a matter of course, in photographs of mass meetings and picket lines from 1974. Between February 1969 and December 1972 the journal published thirteen editorials or major articles on the fight for equal pay. This was more significant coverage than for any issue besides across-the-board wage increases through the metal industry award. Other changes in ideas about women's role were reflected in the way the union organised. In September 1969 the Victorian branch of the union held the first working women's State conference. Twelve members took time off work to attend, and their wages were made up by job collections. The two major issues at the conference were the forthcoming equal pay claim, including "intensive activity outside of the Arbitration Commission in support of any application" with demands also being made on individual employers, and demands for childcare. On the negative side, most of the speakers at the conference were men. In January 1970, Sylvia Bramston, who had been a leading force in winning equal trades rate for some women members at National Instruments, became the first woman to work full-time for the AEU on organising and campaign questions, as she was sent around Victoria to recruit and organise the equal pay campaign for three months. As the union stepped up its industrial action around equal pay, more women were drawn into membership, and into shop steward positions. As indicated earlier, it was not only male workers who needed to be convinced of the virtues of fighting for equal pay. Sylvia Bramston explained the transformation of the views of many women workers, and the degree to which class conflict played a role in chnaging consciousness: It was a case of building the women's confidence ... you've been doing this job for x number of years, you're good at it. Do you think somebody, just because he wears a pair of pants, can come in and do it better than you, with no experience? You've got to build your confidence, you're worth something. Don't think you're going to get a huge amount of money, because the job's not changing. But if they're going to bring a fellow in to put him on your job ... and pay him $10 extra just because he's a fellow, why shouldn't you have the $10 extra? ... If they belonged to the union ... and they decided to sack everybody, then they had the union behind them to fight their battle. So, in lots of cases you'd find a couple who were enthusiastic enough, and you'd get them all equipped up to go and recruit the others, and eventually they'd get themselves organised. Sooner or later, management would do something stupid, which would get everybody's backs up, and of course they'd all sign up, and away you would go -- because they always did. Such was the union's concern about involving women members in this period that it even led them to under-estimate what successes they did have. For example, the 1971 Conference's having only seven women delegates out of 300 was described as indicative of the problems of women's representation when in fact it was close to the percentage of women in the union. But as the Monthly Journal recognised when reporting on a one-day school for women shop stewards and active members in April 1973, women still remained seriously under-represented in the union hierarchy. Nonetheless, those changes that did occur seemed to be welcomed. By the time of the appointment of a second woman organiser in Victoria in 1975, the journal could claim that the appointment, while popular with women members, "also met with wide support amongst members of the union generally". There is a second important factor in explaining the AEU's relative success in the fight for equal pay. It is the ideas about the role of trade unionism that were not just held by the union's leaders, but put into practice by its members. The articles and leaflets that the union produced supporting the claim for equal pay included arguments about how male workers would benefit as well as the women. In other words, a conscious attempt was made to look at the issue in class terms. In addition, efforts were made to connect the issue of equal pay with the view that unionism was about broader social issues beyond the workplace. The level of politicisation of the union was allied with its industrial militancy. The AEU in this period supported a series of such campaigns with stopwork action. These ranged from a student-organised march against poverty in 1969, to job meetings, collections and workplace resolutions in support of Aboriginal land rights claims in 1970, or a stoppage at Dunlop's Port Melbourne tyre and rubber factory because it was a "notorious polluter". One of the things that we were good at in the AEU and the metalworkers was converting minorities into majorities, like with issues like equal pay, like the Vietnam War, like the whole idea of anti-nuclear testing, support [for] the anti-apartheid movement ... they were leadership-driven. In the workplace there would be dissent, or opposition. We often used to have arguments ... [e.g.] 'Peace is union business' ... [On those sort of issues] we would always make a decision...and go to the membership to get endorsement for it...we'd go in there and argue for a decision to stop [work to stop the war] ... in some places we didn't have to do that because the shop steward was there ... some we won, some we lost ... we got a good response, and I think that was a bit of a turning point [1971]. The AEU's campaign against the Vietnam War was its most sustained political involvement of this kind. By mid-1970 thousands of factory meetings had been held. The following year about 30 meetings of AEU members in Victoria voted by large margins to strike for the next major anti-war demonstration. Unions such as the AEU which took an interest in broader social and political questions (and were prepared to take industrial action over them) were an essential component of the success of the movements which developed outside the workplace about these issues. The equal pay campaign itself is an example of this, but similar conclusions can be drawn about the unions' role in the anti-Vietnam War campaign in Australia, and the boycott of the 1971 Springbok rugby union tour. The actions of the AEU around equal pay cannot finally be understood without reference to the broader political and industrial context. The activities of the union both helped to create this climate, and were in turn affected by it. Conclusion Class conflict, rather than either "gender solidarity" between male workers and employers, or a conflict of interest between male and female workers, was the key factor in the fight for equal pay for women working in this industry. The gender-centred approach which pervades the literature on this area is inadequate to explain either the existence or the nature of the metalworkers' union's campaign for equal pay. Claims such as that made by Thornton and Dixson that union officials colluded with employers in reclassifying women workers to keep them on lower pay scales, or Bennett's suggestion of a common desire by men of both classes to keep equal pay increases small, simply do not fit the metalworkers' case. Ryan and Rowse's idea of an alliance of employers and most trade unionists (I assume they mean male trade unionists) to preserve prevailing male images of women's rights and duties is contradicted by the changes that the equal campaign wrought on the way metalworkers saw these things. Power and O'Donnell's notion of equal pay as a way to keep women out of men's jobs was a possible outcome. However, as the National Instruments dispute shows, it was not the only outcome. Where a common class antagonism to the employer prevailed, gains could be won from which workers of both sexes benefited. The equal pay campaign in the metal industry did create the contradictions between sexist ideas and class identity which Ryan and Conlon point out. But there is no reason those conflicts had to be resolved in favour of sexism. Equal pay was an issue that was fought out along class lines. At the most basic level, it was the trade unions that prosecuted the struggle for it, and it was employers that continually resisted it at national, industry and workplace level. The degree to which unions were successful in gaining equal pay for their women members depended on their general level of militancy, and the political views that informed it. Drawing a comparison between the metalworkers' and the clerks' unions, John Halfpenny drew the following balance sheet: The metalworkers, the old AEU, were very committed to and very active in the equal pay struggle. The clerks union ... was under the influence of the National Civic Council, Bob Santamaria and what have you, and they basically had...a very conservative ... view of the world that women shouldn't be working anyway, they should be home looking after the kids, so don't give them too much money, it'll only encourage them to stay at work ... They were not active ... I mean, they weren't active about much at all, but certainly given that most of their members were women, and this was all about equality for women, then they were remarkably silent.


Calling all Carinas: Toyota's on the search to find UK's oldest Toyota has launched a nationwide search to find the oldest British-built Carina still in daily use. The first Toyota Carina rolled off the production line at the Japanese firm's Burnaston factory, Derbyshire, in December 1992 and was the first Toyota to be built in the UK. Some 17,000 Carinas were built there until production halted in 1997 to make way for its replacement, the Toyota Avensis. Two decades on, Toyota GB is launching a competition to find the oldest Carina still on Britain's roads. The firm is using Twitter, Facebook and good old emailing to track down the oldest examples. Owners are being asked to email their name, address and as many details about their Carina to toyota.contact@tgb.toyota.co.uk. Owners of the oldest examples will be invited to tell their car's story and have it photographed, and will have the chance to win the use of a new Toyota Auris for a week. Meanwhile Toyota enthusiasts are being asked to spot the oldest Carinas either by posting pictures on Toyota GB's Facebook page, or by tweeting using the hashtag #firstGBToyota. Unsure of whether your Carina is a British one? The 17-character code on the vehicle's identification plate -- found under the bonnet, just below the windscreen wipers -- will help. If the code begins with an S, your's is a Burnaston-built vehicle, while J signifies imported Carinas. Related Articles Need car buying advice? Our Comment Policy We encourage lively discussion at AOL. Please be aware when you leave a comment your user name, screen name and photo may be displayed with your comment, visible to everyone on the Internet. If you think a comment is inappropriate, you may click to report it to our monitors for review. Add a Comment 2 Comments Had one of these for donkey's years and did over 100K miles with it. It had already done 110K miles when I bought it. I fitted a new water pump, rear dampers, a new radiator and new front discs in all that time. Mine was an imported 2.0 petrol GLX, and it served me well. A good tow car as well.


Building a brand in order to sustain its life cycle A Kellogg's case study Page 5: Conclusion If a business wants to make a product's total sales grow, it must carefully consider how best to extend its life cycle. By creating the powerbrand 'All-Bran' and providing the right sort of well researched promotional support, Kellogg has been able to inject renewed vigour into a family of related products. Through appropriate promotional activities and more relevant messages, Kellogg has re-awakened consumers' interest in products that can play an important part in developing a healthy diet in a health-conscious world. Regular campaigns of promotional activity are helpful in enabling all organisations to sustain their own life cycle and those of their brands and products. It is early days in evaluating the success of the marketing activity supporting All-Bran but the signs are good. Kellogg's | Building a brand in order to sustain its life cycle Review this case study 5 Learn more from Kellogg's This case study examines how Kellogg's devised a plan to communicate the importance of breakfast to selected target audiences through a multi-platform campaign. This was in support of its 'Help give a child a breakfast' campaign launched in October 2011.


Men's lacrosse looks to make playoff push Hawks need just one win in final two games to clinch playoff berth WATERLOO, Ont. (October 17, 2012) - With the season coming to a close the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's lacrosse team finds themselves in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since the rebirth of the program. With only two games remaining, the team finds themselves sitting in fourth place in the standings. As the top five teams from each division make the playoffs, the team is in a great position. However, the team is in a very tight battle with Toronto, McMaster, and Laurentian for the final two positions. Brock, Guelph and Western have all clinched playoff berths with their dominate performances. Laurier must win one of their remaining two games to find themselves in a position for the ever elusive post-season berth. This will be no easy task for the Hawks as many starting players have suffered significant injuries. Starting attackman George Jimas has missed most of the season following his appendectomy and is not likely to return until next season. Starting Long Pole Andrew Jenkins will miss Wednesday night's game versus Western as he is suffering from a separated shoulder. His return is questionable for the season's final game versus McMaster on Sunday. Other injuries include drawman Sean Fennell and Eric Beauregard who both suffer from lower body injuries. With these injuries the Hawks must certainly battle through adversity to achieve their goal of a post-season appearance. The coaching staff however, are still very optimistic that this is possible. With the team's first potential playoff berth a mere two games away, the Hawks could certainly benefit from the support of the entire student body. Come out and watch the Hawks fly past the Marauders this Sunday at the University Stadium. Admission is free. Game time starts at 7pm.