You are the collector in the gallery of your life. You collect. You might not mean to but you do. One out of three people collects tangible（有形的）things such as cats, photos and noisy toys.

    There are among some 40 collections that are being shown at “The Museum Of”—the first of several new museums which, over the next two years, will exhibit the objects accumulated by unknown collectors. In doing so, they will promote a popular culture of museums, not what museums normally represent.

    Some of the collections are fairly common—records, model houses. Others are strangely beautiful—branches that have fallen from tree, for example. But they all reveal （显露）a lot of things: ask someone what they collect and their answers will tell you who they are.

    Other on the way include “The museum of Collectors” and “The Museum of Me.”These new ones, it is hoped, will build on the success of “The Museum Of.” The thinkers behind the project want to explore why people collect, and what it means to do so. They hope that visitors who may not have considered themselves collectors will begin to see they, too, collect.

Some collectors say they started or stopped making collections at important point: the beginning or end of adolescence—“it's a growing-up thing; you stop when you grow up,”says one. Other painful times are mentioned, such as the end of a relationship. For time and life can seem so uncontrollable that a steady serial（顺序排列的）arrangement is comforting.

    When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want — an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

    A MENTORING (导师制）program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth. Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

    Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said： "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook." "We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习）with world-famous firms such as Honda."

    "At a time of funding cutbacks, schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring because of that- It is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures." Kieran Hepbum, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum(论坛).

    The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. Before we left 1 didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing" he said, "We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon."

    The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It  dealt with issues(问题）such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment. kieran said： It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August."

    The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginsviratiom.com.

    Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there's a food festival to match -no matter how specialized.

    Meatopia

    This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover's paradise. In addition to a range of meat products, from burgers to steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery shows, and attend informal meat-based workshops.

    Vegfest

    If you prefer a festival that will help you meet your five a day, then Vegfest fest is for you. This vegan-friendly event takes place several times a year. Here you can enjoy a wide selection of freshly prepared vegetables, learn cooking tips and hear talks on nutrition to help you make the most of your plant-based search.

    The Marmalade Festival

    Held in Cumbria, this festival has been running for 13 years. It includes a competition to find the best homemade marmalade. There are thousands of entries from over 30 different countries across the globe.

    The Ginger (姜) and spice Festival

    The Ginger and spice Festival, held in Market Drayton, celebrates its town's historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of spices from mild to hot.

    The National Honey show

    It started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind. This three-day event attracts over 2000 participants to their traditional competition and offers lectures and workshops on beekeeping and, of course, that syrupy golden honey.

    While people's tastes are different from each other, the UK has something to offer most people. From large-scale festivities, to the smaller gatherings, one thing is certain: people are passionate about their food. And while some of the products on offer might be strange to someone, when food is given that much attention, it's unlikely to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth.

    There are many programs for high school students today that help isolated teenagers cope with loneliness. However, loneliness is not only an issue for teens but also an important and rarely acknowledged one in the elderly.

    In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the issues caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.

    In Britain, there are around 9 million people who say they are lonely frequently. In Germany, a study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum found that 20 percent of people over the age of 85 felt lonely, and 14 percent of those between age 45 and 65 felt socially isolated. In the United States, more than 25 percent of the population lives alone, more than 50 percent are unmarried.

    Isolation is generally associated with cardiovascular disease, depression, obesity, and anxiety. Additionally, the stress from loneliness can cause your cells to change on a molecular(分子)level that reduces its abilities to defend your body against diseases. In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its impact on health!

    In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help establish government policies on the issue and fund charities to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness. There are charities that link lonely seniors to high school students in order to give them a line of communication whenever they feel lonely!

    The possibilities for the new Minister of Loneliness are endless. For example, she can provide education services to household businesses so that they can identify lonely customers if they see one. Loneliness fits into the category of being a social issue that must be monitored by the entire community in order to help those in need. Hence, government involvement in medical services and care for seniors and others is essential for happy seniors.

When it comes to sitting properly, we all know the correct way even if we don't do it to the letter. No crossed legs, bottoms touching the back of the chair and feet on the ground. But even if you're doing it right, sitting for long periods is shockingly bad for you. It has been described as the new smoking, linked to heart disease and even cancer. There is no doubt we should all try to do less of it. But perhaps we could also do it better.

A classic survey, published in 1953, described 100 different sitting postures adopted by 480 cultures around the world. Among the most common were sitting cross-legged, kneeling and the deep squat (深蹲), with feet flat on the ground and bottoms resting on or just above it. Even in Western cultures, these are preferred sitting positions among young children. But Westerners tend to prefer chair use from an early age, insisting children sit on seats in school.

One big problem with this desire for chairs is that they make sitting so, well, sedentary (久坐不动的). Consider the Hadza, a group of hunter-gatherer people in Tanzania. They spend around 9 hours a day sitting. However, they squat and sit on the ground in various positions, and this involves high levels of muscle activity. The supportive nature of chairs, with their high backs and armrests, removes this effort perhaps the reason that people love them.

So what's the best way to sit? Josette Bettany-SaItikov at Teesside University, UK has found that kneeling can help keep the spine in a better position as does squatting. We might also take inspiration from traditional cultures like the Hadza. "Use a variety of postures and preferably not just still postures but some which allow movement," says Bettany-Saltikov.

Bettany-Saltikov believes that we should be rethinking what it means to do a desk job. "We still need to design workplaces that enable people to be productive while being lightly active, like with under-table cycling or walking desks," she says. For now, if your job is sedentary, don't forget to stand up regularly and move around.