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NeverSeconds

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rmchater (talk | contribs) at 19:37, 19 June 2012 (Headteacher is female - "her office" according to Never Seconds blog). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

NeverSeconds
Type of site
Restaurant review of school meals
Available inEnglish
OwnerMartha Payne, father David Payne
Created by"Veg" an alias of Martha Payne
EditorDavid Payne
Revenue£34,500 via Just Giving to charity Mary's Meals[1]
URLneverseconds.blogspot.co.uk
CommercialNo
Launched30 April 2012; 12 years ago (2012-04-30)
Current statusOperational

NeverSeconds is a blog created and run by 9-year-old Scottish schoolgirl Martha Payne, which logs her thoughts and experiences of eating school meals at Lochgilphead Primary School.

Description

Launched on 30 April 2012 as a school writing project with assistance from her father David, the blog is written under the pseudonym "VEG" (Veritas Ex Gustu - truth from tasting), with the subtitle "One primary school pupil's daily dose of school dinners." Much like a restaurant review, it features daily entries on: the £2 school meal that Payne has chosen that day; her thoughts on the food and its quality; a count of the numbers of hairs; a healthy rating; a picture; and marks out of 10 based on a "Food-o-Meter".[2][3]

Her first full entry on 8 May 2012 featured a picture of a slice of pizza and a single potato croquette, alongside some sweetcorn and a cupcake for desert.[4] Her written comment was: “The good thing about this blog is Dad understands why I am hungry when I get home. Today he made a Banana Loaf, shame I don't like bananas, see I am not perfect!”[3]

The blog hit local and then national headlines, after gaining support from chef and school meals campaigner Jamie Oliver, who tweeted in support: "Shocking but inspirational blog. Keep going, big love from Jamie x."[5] The blog had gained 3 million hits by 15 June 2012.[6] Payne also began featuring pictures of school dinners sent to her by children in Germany, Japan, Spain, Taiwan and the United States.[7] The resultant traffic generated media interest,[8] with Payne featuring as a guest on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours.[9] After NeverSeconds went viral, her father met with the school council, which announced that all students would be allowed unlimited servings of fruit, vegetables and bread.[10]

With the consequential revenue, Payne decided to donate the money to the charity Mary's Meals. Starting with £50 given by a magazine for the publishing rights to her images for a feature, Payne set an original target in her 19th blog post of £7,000 on Just Giving.[11] By mid-June 2012 the total had hit over £78,000, which the charity intends to use to build a new kitchen at the 1,963 pupil Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi.[12][13]

Controversy

On 14 June, Payne was removed from her Maths class, taken to the headteachers' office, and told that she could no longer take photographs of her food inside the dining hall. The decision had come down from Argyll and Bute Council, who had become cautious of negative press reaction and the affect it was having on school meals staff. Of particular concern was an article in the Daily Record newspaper, which had published a photograph of Payne alongside chef Nick Nairn under the headline "Time to fire the dinner ladies".[14][15] In response, Payne wrote an entry entitled "Goodbye", explaining the council's decision, followed by a commentary from her father.[16][11] Human rights group Big Brother Watch called the act "an authoritarian infringement on her civil liberties."[17]

On 15 June, following a storm of protest on the internet, the council issued a press release defending the decision.[18][19] However, after the intervention of local Scottish National Party MSP Mike Russell, who is presently Scotland's education secretary, SNP council leader Roddy McCuish told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme:[6][20][15][13]

There's no place for censorship in Argyll and Bute Council and there never has been and there never will be. I've just instructed senior officials to immediately withdraw the ban on pictures from the school dining hall. It's a good thing to do, to change your mind, and I've certainly done that.

The ban was later cited as a "classic example of local government failing to grasp the power of social media", while BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones jokingly called the ban "a brilliant scheme to put their region in the west of Scotland on the map."[21] As a result of the controversy, Payne's Just Giving total had risen to over £40,000 by the afternoon of 15 June,[1] and £65,000 by 16 June.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Never Seconds". Just Giving. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Eating batteries". NeverSeconds. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Girl's school dinner blog becomes internet hit". Daily Telegraph. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  4. ^ "Tuesday 8th May". NeverSeconds. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Argyll girl's school lunch blog NeverSeconds is web hit". CBBC Newsround. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  6. ^ a b "NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne school dinner photo ban lifted". BBC Scotland. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  7. ^ Emily Allen (25 May 2012). "Back for seconds". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  8. ^ Alexandra Sifferlin (May 25, 2012). "9-year-old food blogger takes on school lunch". Time magazine. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  9. ^ You and Yours (14 May 2012). "School dinner portion sizes". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  10. ^ "9-year-old food critic shakes up school lunches". ABC News. May 25, 2012. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  11. ^ a b Maryn McKenna (June 14, 2012). "9-Year-Old Who Changed School Lunches Silenced By Politicians". Wired.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Martha". Mary's Meals. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Council ban school dinners blogger Martha Payne from taking pictures, then do a U-turn after outcry". Daily Record. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  14. ^ David Taylor (May 24 2012). "Chef Nick Nairn organises think-tank on school meals after seeing Scots schoolgirl's blog". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 June 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b "Council overturns photography ban on schoolgirl's Never Seconds blog". Scotsman.com. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  16. ^ "Goodbye". NeverSeconds. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  17. ^ Asher McShane (15 June 2012). "Dinner winner!". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  18. ^ "[Twit Longer]". peterwalker99 (@peterwalker99). 15 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Statement on school meals from Argyll and Bute Council". Argyll and Bute Council. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  20. ^ Andrew Hough and Simon Johnson (15 June 2012). "Victory for Martha Payne as Argyll and Bute council backs down on school dinner blog ban". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 Jun 2012.
  21. ^ Rory Cellan-Jones (15 June 2012). "The banning of the blog". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  22. ^ "NeverSeconds school dinner blog donations soar". BBC News. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
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