Youth Unlimited Issue 10 by barnabas shelbourne

H T U YUONLIMITED

ISSUE 010

By young people, for young people

CREDIT CRUNCH FASHION

FASHION SLAVE CONFESSIONS TOP 10 MOVIES NEW MUSIC BRITISH HOLIDAYS FACEBOOK GROUPS UNI FINANCE MYP CREDIT CRUNCH MENTAL HEALTH COMPULSIVE LYING

Contents

CONTENTS Just for you... 4 6 12 18 20 29 35 39 40 42

British Holidays Forget the Costa del Sol - go to Cornwall for brilliant beaches! Youth Opportunities Fund Gives you funding for things to do MYP Interview Tessa and Darius give us the 411 about the UK Youth Parliament The Rant You’re staring at my specialness Compulsive Lying Are you telling the truth? A Day In The Life... ...of Charlotte Fudge Death from Knife Crime More of us are carrying knives Confessions What did you have to confess? Mental Health Challenge your preconceptions Greetings from Around the World

FINANCE...

10 36

Credit Crunch Uni Finance

TOP TIPS... 9 27 28 30 31

Nooooddaaal Shoes Websites Cake PC Security

Good morning, evening or afternoon, and welcome to the 10th issue of Youth Unlimited! Happy birthday us!

We started out a few years ago with the intention of making a magazine just for Kingston’s young people, and to help make sure it would be interesting, relevant and (hopefully) kinda fun, we thought we’d get young people to write and design it, too. And ten issues later, here we are!

Fashion Slave Fashion Show

ENTERTAINMENT

14 17 32 44

The Top 10 Movies Face the Music Facebook Groups Frank Turner

Kakuro Riddle Me This The Grid

PUZZLES...

Edit

Welcome

Keeping with the birthday theme, we’ve got an awesome recipe for cake on page 30, and keeping with the yummy theme we interviewed a woman who runs her own biscuit company – check it out on page 29. Because we thought we ought to be a bit serious occasionally, too, we’ve stuff on knife crime, the credit crunch and our new Member of Youth Parliament, Tessa Tyler Todd. Maybe most importantly, the damn exams are over and it is summertime! So take a look at holiday ideas on page 4. Lastly, this is the last issue for us two editors. We’ve had a great time, we’re gonna miss it and we hope you like what we’ve done over the past few issues. Love to all! :) Vicki Exworthy and Amy Solman, Youth Unlimited’s ex-editors

The Team... Editor Sub editor -

FASHION... 22 24

Lette r from Hello...

Vicki Exworthy Amy Solman

Journalists - Philip Ball Ramanan Gukathasan Nan Pancoast Mayank Sharma Charlotte Spinney Alex Stone Designers Kevin Arulrajah Sarah Cooper Arrunan Gukathasan Aylon Wijaiyarajah Photography and Artwork Sebastian Santa-Maria Phoebe Cheong Guest Writers Emmanuel Candengu Chelsea Jane Randall Rajitha Ratnam

Email: youthunlimited@rbk.kingston.gov.uk Phone: 020 8547 6791 Text: 07795813052

British Holidays

In The Summ erTime

ummer is fast approaching and given the current economic meltdown, the chances are your family holiday might be taken a little closer to home this year but do not dismay! Whilst our little island is no Barbados, we are blessed with some brilliant beaches and killer countryside, as you’ll see in Youth Unlimited’s countdown of some of Britain’s best holiday destinations.

LONDON

CORNWALL

WALES

SCOTLAND

Before you even consider going ANYWHERE else why don’t you first take a look at our own gem, London!

A personal favourite of mine is Cornwall, the jewel on the west coast of England.

Possessing beaches with comparable beauty to those in Cornwall, it is surprising that Wales is often overlooked as a holiday destination.

Scotland is one of Britain’s brilliant untapped resources, and is fabulous at releasing the adventurer in all of us.

Most of us travel into London from time to time but few truly appreciate the host of attractions, museums, galleries, restaurants, theatres and youth venues on offer. For those who assume that London is merely a playground for those with cash on the hip, let me tell you there are tons of free things to do, especially if you’re a young person! There’s the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, Museum of Childhood, Kenwood House, Hogarth’s House and the RAF Museum to name but a few. For more information log on at www.visitlondon.com

British Holidays

The southernmost county of England, it possesses some of our most stunning beaches and, during the summer, the wildest nightlife. Cornwall is particularly famous for its diversity, from cottages and castles to cocktails and bouncy castles! Activities include long signposted walks along its east and west coasts, rock climbing and of course, surfing. Whether a beginner or an expert, Cornwall is a surfer’s paradise with renting facilities, classes and surf themed shops and bars littering its coastline. To find out more check out www.visitcornwall.com

With miles of white Atlantic beaches, Wales offers adventure activities such as coasteering, rock climbing and surfing. However, if adventure sports aren’t your thing then take a look at the variety of ancient tombs and castles, some of which originate from the Stone Age. Cardiff is the home of the Millennium Stadium, a haven for world class rugby, as well as the place for Doctor Who fans, as much of the new series is filmed in and around Cardiff. Get more info at www.visitwales.com

Possessing some breathtaking architecture as well as a beautiful landscape, from the wild northern islands to the bustling capital there is something for everyone. Get a taste for traditional Celtic music at the Celtic Connections festival or, for the tree-huger in you, check out the Arran Outdoor Festival. Lovers of art and literature should look no further than Edinburgh; it’s simply buzzing with culture and excitement. Log onto www.visitscotland.com Amy Solman

When t he wea th e r i s f i n e

The Youth Opportunities Fund

Youth Opportunities Fund

Bored? Under 18?

Want to be involved in a fun project that benefits young people like you? Struggling to find the cash you need to do what you want to do?

How about a wad of cash to change that?

Not any more! Because the Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) are handing it out left right and centre!

How it Works

Youth Opportunites Fund

To apply for funding you just have to be a young person living or attending school in Kingston and have a project that runs outside school hours and directly benefits young people. Once you have filled in an application form with a structured idea on how you would spend the money, it will be sent to the panel for consideration.

This year the government has given Kingston Youth Services a staggering £162,200 which young people like you can decide how to spend. So, if you are part of a youth group, work with young people, or would like to launch a project in your area, buy new equipment, refurbish premises or organise a residential, then why not apply to the YOF panel for funding?

undreds of young people have already benefited from the Youth Opportunities Fund. Here’s just a small selection: Albany Park – Watersports This year, Albany Park watersports centre has been able to provide activities for disabled children after successfully applying for the funds. Devon Way – The Project A group of young people with not a lot to do decided to create a couple DVDs together with their own soundtracks. But without any equipment, they were stuck. YOF paid for 2 Mac computers, a tutor and video equipment! Malden Manor – Kickz A project was facing its end as it would be too dark to play football in the winter. This is where YOF stepped in and paid for flood lights. Now young people can get together and play football any time, day or night!

“It stops me smoking for 2 hours!”

“It has been good being able to play football in the winter” Youth Unlimited Of course, we couldn’t fail to mention our very own team of writers and designers at Youth Unlimited. YOF provided topof-the-range Digital SLR cameras and photographic equipment to sharpen up our articles. Now the young people can get creative with some serious photography! It has also paid for everyone to go away to Avon Tyrell for an action packed weekend of review and planning, teambuilding and confidence boosting activities during the Easter break.

“We’re proud of being able to create a great magazine”.

“I’ve gained a sense of belonging and feelings of acceptance”

The Panel

Your funding application with be reviewed by a panel of young people who will decide whether or not your idea is viable and how much money to give you. Don’t be scared, they’re not as intimidating as you might think!

What will I get out of applying? • Fun! • Positive change in your community.

• To decide on what you want. • To spend the government’s

money! (That’s what taxes are for!) • To learn some great new skills. • And maybe even make new friends!

“But I’m not involved in any youth groups and I don’t know how to apply!”

Well, as you can see, Kingston is full of great opportunities and groups of young people getting together and coming up with great ideas. To find out more about clubs to get involved with visit www.younglivin.org.uk.

Once you have a group and an idea, find a supporting adult, put together an application (application forms to be found at www.younglivin.org.uk) and spend, spend, spend! If you would like to be involved in the panel of young people who assess the applications and assign the monies, contact Kerry McCabe, Youth Involvement Worker on 0208 547 6796 or email: Kerry.mccabe@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

Charlotte Spinney

nooooddaaal 面条 Check out how many times I say noodles! HA!

don’t know about you but I LUUURRVE the noodles because they’re CHEAP, EASY, QUICK and ever so TASTY! I never really think about the before of buying, cooking and, yes, the eating of the noodles - well who does?

All you concentrate on is how good it smells and how much better it’ll taste in your mouth! BUT it dawned on me that I know next to nothing about the staple diet (aside from rice) in Oriental countries. So I decided I should un-cover more information (aside from what flavour the noodles are) on one of my favourite foods.

*Marco ina nt to Ch w Polo e rldly voyage his wo are during ODLES ided NO the 13th c e and d in GREAT . SUPER y Centur

The unleavened dough that is cooked in boiling water we refer to as ‘NOODLE’ derives from the German word nudel - (and to think it was Chinese) BUT the first written account of the great noodle or should I say ‘nudel’ was from the East Han Dynasty (YESSSS CHINA!) between AD 25 and 220. Now you see noodles tend to come in a variety of base types. I knew about the fat looking ones that filled you up real quick and the grey wheaty ones that are usually in Japanese food, oh, and of course the INSTANT RAMEN ☺ (Pot Noodles are NOT included - they aren’t REAL noodles!) BUT aside from that I know sod all about the types of noodles.

Noodles

Right, you get:

Millet noodles (a seeded species of crop/grain) - apparently they’re the oldest known prehistoric noodles, from 2000 BC (which are CHINESE). Wheat noodles. Now these are a more well known variety. The ITALIANS ‘borrowed’ this* to create the lovely PASTA.

During the course of writing this article, I discovered, get this; NOODLES CAN BE MADE FROM RICE!

In South East Asia, they use Mung beans to make these triumphant noodles.

In Western countries, noodles are made from potato or canna (a starchy plant which is a staple food source in Peru and Ecuador) starch. I already mentioned Buckwheat but Acorn? How do you make noodles out of acorns? Apparently they do this in Korea! Wow, and to think I eat noodles all week and have never known that you could make noodles out of ACORNS!

Nan Pancoast

Now next time you pick up a packet of noodles ready to devour (that aren’t Pot Noodles) check what they’re made of!

Artwork by Sebastian Santa-Maria

Credit Crunch

t i U d e O Y r C d e n h a T h c n u r C

We all know we’re in a credit crunch, but do we all actually know how it began, and what it means for us?

he credit crunch started from loans on houses (mortgages) being taken out by low paid US citizens. The mortgages were at very low interest rates (sub-prime loans) and were then included in investment packages, to hide the fact that they were risky. Banks in the USA and UK bought a lot of these investment packages seeing them as an opportunity to make a large profit, unaware of the catastrophe that lay ahead. When interest rates went up only very slightly, a lot of the sub-prime borrowers weren’t able to pay back the loans they took out, and subsequently the investment packages became virtually worthless. However, before the banks realised this, they started offering low interest rates. This allowed people to ‘max out’ on their credit cards, personal

loans and other credit arrangements. With so much credit, people began to spend money like there was no tomorrow, causing house prices to soar and creating lots of new jobs. However, when the banks eventually did realise they’d made a mistake, it was too late…the damage had been done, with about £1.5 trillion lost. Due to this vast amount of money lost, they then became nervous of giving standard loans, let alone risky ones. They also stopped lending to each other because they wouldn't reveal how much of the worthless investments they had each bought. As a result, they raised interest rates on new and existing loans and mortgages in order to recover their losses. With less credit available, people had less money to spend, meaning house prices fell sharply, and shops and companies found it harder to sell as much as before. Some businesses were badly affected by the situation, as they could no longer get the

B hilip by P

all

loans to help them through the bad times so they went bust. Examples include MFI, Woolworths and Zavvi. Businesses that didn’t bite the dust were forced to raise prices on existing products, as by now the pound had dropped immensely in value against other currencies, as it was more expensive to import goods from overseas. This altogether means the average consumer can’t afford as much as they could before Not only have the prices of essential products i.e. food, clothing and petrol gone up, but so has the amount of money the average consumer needs to pay on their mortgages and personal loans.

Most young people depend on their parents to provide for most of their needs. At this time though, our parents may be finding it difficult to even afford the basics. Recently the Bank of England has reduced its base rate from 5.5% to just 2% since March 2008, supposedly to get the banks to lend to each other, lend to businesses and lend to the public. This didn’t have the desired effect though, and banks are still charging about 5% for mortgages, being very selective about who they lend to. They are also requiring larger deposits on houses, as a 100% or 90% mortgage is considered too risky as a further fall in prices would lead to a ‘negative equity’ situation, with consumers

Credit Crunch owing more money on their house than the house is worth, leading them to serious debt if they are unable to keep up with their repayments. On a different note, you may be wondering if anyone has benefited from the credit crunch. After all, in any situation where there are losers, there must surely be winners too? It therefore comes as no surprise that many have indeed profited from the credit crunch. Aldi and Lidl, two “discount” supermarkets, have reported a growth of 19% and 14% respectively. Unsurprisingly, pawnbrokers have had a busy year, as well as auctioneers and property developers. Most young people depend on their parents to provide for most of their needs such as clothes, food and perhaps private education. At this time though, our parents may be finding it difficult to even afford the basics, meaning they may need us to cut down on non-essentials, like that new iPhone you're just dying to own. If you want it that badly, you can do one of two things: save money or get a part-time job (even though they are quite hard to get right now)! As long as you make sure you spend less than you get, you should be steadily on your way to getting whatever your dreams dictate! More seriously though, helping your parents out

particularly applies to university students, whose parents may be unable to fund their fees. Recent proposals to un-cap university tuition fees may also be an incentive to start saving, as this could take effect from as early as 2011. This crisis could last for at least another 2 years but this depends on the true state of the global economy and global finance. So the only certain thing is that the rest of 2009 will be a year in which bankruptcy will be commonplace amongst businesses, and most people will have to tighten their belts.

MEET YOUR YOUTH PARLIAMENT INTERVIEW

neither of us got killed!

Any last words? Tessa: I'm here to be the voice of you guys and if you have any problems don't hestitate to get in touch. So far this has been a rewarding experience and I just hope that you all feel like you're being represented well. Originally I thought this was such an overwhelming task but thanks to a brilliant support net work and great results it’s been well worth it so far! Thank you all for voting for me.

What is Youth Parliament? Tessa: Youth Parliament is parliament for young people to get young people’s views heard. Darius: United Kingdom Youth Parliament (UKYP) represents young people ages 11 – 18 in the UK and Ireland and aims to give them a voice and platform for suggestions. What is your role? Tessa: I am Kingston’s elected Member of Youth Parliament and chair of Kingston Youth Council, bringing young peoples views to parliament to get changes. Darius: To assist Tessa in leading Kingston Youth Council and representing young people of Kingston at UKYP. Name: Darius Baird Age: 16 Position: Deputy Member of Youth Parliament. Favourite Colour: Red hot. Pets?: 2 budgies, snakes, snails & fish. Must have item: Money. Favourite place: My bedroom. Why?: Where all my memories are, and my room is a private space for me only. Dog or Cat?: Neither. Ambition: Prime Minister. (Bring on the fight, Tessa!) If you were a biscuit, which one would you be?: Jaffa Cake. Why?: Dark on the outside, mouth-watering on the inside.

How do you hope to make a difference? Darius: We hope to get the Youth Café up and running and also to reduce youth crime and bring community cohesion, bring different people together. Tessa: Yeah, I feel the same, I want a safer community during the day and night, to make the youth café a success (The Basement, under John Bunyan Church is currently being developed as a late night youth venue), to improve youth provisions, to create safe places to hang out off the streets and to get rid of negative youth stereotypes. What issues have you already made a change to? Tessa: It's been a busy couple

of months so far! I'm involved strongly in the UKYP's travel campaign which I believe is something every young person living in London should get involved with! I was appointed media rep for the London region of UK Youth Parliament, meaning I now represent you on a wider level, putting your views across to the media. In Kingston we've been busy planning campaigns and working together with councillors to put your views across better. We are holding regular school council forums which enable us to have a better idea of what you want and we recently held a youth crime forum and are putting the findings of this to the police to make Kingston feel like a safer place. So far the year has been productive and I hope that it

continues to be. Remember if you have any issues don't hesitate to contact me. Darius: I organised an event called 'Your Voice Your Choice' for schools councils and the police. The aim of the event was to put together an action plan for improving the current relationship with the police. I also currently represent ALL young people on the Interfaith forums which look at faith issues in schools, and whether young people are enjoying RE lessons in schools and various police panels which look at criminal issues in Kingston. What is the most scandalous thing you’ve come across in Youth Parliament? Tessa: Sadly there’ve been no bribes yet! No, seriously, the most scandalous thing to happen was Murder Mystery on Kingston Youth Council’s last residential, and even then

Darius: Now entering my third year as DMYP (Deputy Member of Youth Parliament) I feel I have gained many skills such as public speaking to leading debates and forums. I hope to bring a certain Caribbean flair to Kingston and its young people. I strongly feel that schools should have school councils so students feel they are a part of the development of their education. Thanks to everyone who voted for me and I look forward to working alongside Tessa this year. These two crazy cats seem to actually enjoy working their behinds off just so we can get somewhere nice to chill out when the weather turns for the worst. Why? Well, I guess they must just care. It might not always feel like it but there is a place to get your voice heard, Tessa and Darius actually want to listen to you moan, so why don’t you give it a go? Or, even better, why don’t you join them? Vicki Exworthy

Think that Youth Parliament is for you? Get more info rmation and get involved at www.younglivin.org.uk/kyc

Name: Tessa Tyler Todd. Age: 16. Position: Member of Youth Parliament. Favourite Colour: Blue. Pets?: 2 cats, Phoenix and Smokey. Must have item: My phone. Favourite place: Appledoor, Devon. Why?: Lots of great childhood memories and really peaceful & relaxing. Dog or Cat?: Cat – as I have two! Ambition: I’d like to get into politics to help people on a wider scale, so maybe Prime Minister one day! (Bring it on, Darius!) If you were a biscuit, which one would you be?: Party Ring. Why?: They’re colourful and I have a colourful personality!

VIES O M 0 1 THE TOP e f all tim

r... r orde ilip ball rticula a and ph m r in no pa a h s k n a y a by m

> The Dark Knight

The mysterious Joker has appeared, and it’s up to Batman, Lieutenant Gordon and Harvey Dent to save Gotham City from the psychopathic mind of this sinister new villain.

Forrest Gump

The dim but lovable Forrest Gump finds himself accidentally present at some of the most historic events in American history, but the love of his live, Jenny, still eludes him.

The Shawshank Redemption

Two imprisoned men form a strong friendship over their time inside, and find a new purpose in life...

Star Wars IV: A New Hope

H T U YUONLIMITED

By young people, for young people

! S U N JOI

O SAY, WANT T U O O Y T A O SAY IT T SAY WH U WANT T O Y R E V E TO WHO

: YOU WILL you love! Whether

Do what ic phy, graph it’s photogra ism al rn u ing or jo design, writ et g to s ill p your sk • Develo ve what you lo at r te et b ing h lis b u p a • Work in t environmen ew people n t ee M • w people • Intervie ate issues ig st ve • In stories • Break n fu e • Hav QAs A n ai G • uld like y, if you wo Alternativel blish, u articles to p to send us address l ai to the em send them nt to us, te to us , ra below! Wri it on to as d we’ll p s inform us an the world!

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Young Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training and learns to use the force, whilst Darth Vader tries to rid the galaxy of the “rebels”.

Amilie

Amelie, a young Parisian girl, finds a new aim in life by helping others, and by so doing finds love herself.

Toy Story

When the newest addition to a boy’s toy collection arrives, the

old favourite Woody feels threatened and decides to take action.

The Matrix

Computer hacker Thomas Anderson is approached by a group of mysterious rebels and soon discovers that life isn’t what it seems.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The ancient and mystical ring which had been lost for centuries is now found by Frodo the hobbit. Frodo has to

destroy the ring to free himself from the ring’s evil influence.

Back to the Future

Devon Way Centre, Devon Way, Chessington KT9 2RJ

of the wacky Doc Brown and his time machine.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Read the full reviews and see why we liked these movies online at www.younglivin.org.uk/youthunlimited

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN... GRAPHIC DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY WRITING ART JOURNALISM DISTRIBUTING MODELLING

Wednesday evenings, 6.30 to 9.00pm

It’s 1985, and Marty McFly discovers his own life is in danger, and the only way to save it is to go back to 1955 with the help The Terminator’s back, but this time his aim is to save John Connor from an advanced cyborg killer.

YOUR MAGAZINE

Kingston

Children &Young People'sTrust Making a DifferenceTogether

Contact Nikki King (Youth Worker) Email: nikki.king@rbk.kingston.gov.uk Phone or text: 07795 813 052 Phone: 020 8547 6791

Download the latest issue at www.younglivin.org.uk

New MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SUMMER!

FREE COURSES AVAILABLE IN: Water Sports Football Swimming Bikeability Basketball Flash Anima#on Tex#les and Fashion Accessories Careers Workshops

Drama Stage Musical Fantasy Wri#ng Carnival Arts Arts and Music Workshops Music Making Film Making ...and more!

FREE COURSES AND ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 11-19 24TH JULY TO 21ST AUGUST 2009

Book online now at www.summerunilondon.org or call 020 8547 5815 Kingston JA

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IN YO

Making a DifferenceTogether

Children &Young People'sTrust

G PEOPLE

e h t e c

0 or 20 f c i Mus

here’s currently an abundance of new acts that are set to release debut albums this year, but there are also many older bands to look out for. Firstly, Watford punks Gallows released their second album in May 2009, having assured fans that it would be heavier and louder than 2006’s visceral, violent Orchestra Of Wolves. A track entitled Gold Dust was released as a free download, and while it did not appear on the new album, it is a brutal minute-long punk gem. The band previewed other new tracks live and these are similarly energetic. All signs point to a fantastic follow-up.

c i s Mu

The Ghost of a Thousand

If you’re a fan of Gallows, you’ll probably enjoy The Ghost of a Thousand. They released their first album in 2007, and the follow up, hotly anticipated by hardcore-punk fans, is due to be released as we go to press. According to the band, some of the tracks you can look forward to include Neptune, described as “a super fast evil hardcore tune”, and Running on Empty, which is a “little rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece”. Judging by the first album, this is certainly worth waiting for.

ck s Che nline: low d /gal thousan to u m o o c a . f m e o e c t s h a t o p ay hegh .mys ursd ww e.com/t om/th w / c .c :/ http .myspa yspace w m . w w w w :// http ttp://w h

Rajitha Ratnam

New Music

Thursday

New Jersey post-hardcore band Thursday released their fifth album, Common Existence, in February. Resuscitation of a Dead Man, an inventive yet frenzied track, is the first single from the album. Another track that will appear on the album, As He Climbed the Dark Mountain was previously released in 2008 on a split with Japanese band Envy. This song is just as frantic and leans more toward the brutal explosions of noise found on previous album A City by the Light Divided, rather than the relatively calmer post-rock of Thursday/Envy. Gallows

I just think sometimes that the world has got to realise that everyone is different in their own special way. How would they feel if someone called them names and stared at them? Sometimes I enjoy being different because you get to understand how other disabled people feel, but sometimes I hate being different because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like it when people call me names and stare at me. I wonder sometimes why the world thinks it is so good to stare at people who are different and who are special from them. Just because they are jealous that we are special and they are not that much special because everyone is special in their own way. We are a bit more special from them and we are a bit more gorgeous and beautiful than they are.

Artwork by Sebastian Santa-Maria

STARING AT MY SPECIALNESS

By Chelsea Jane Randall, St. Philips Special School

THE RANT 18

get annoyed sometimes when people stare and talk to everyone about me or whoever and then they call me names and keep on staring.

LIAR L D

id you know my sister’s going out with Cristiano Ronaldo...?”

Everyone lies from time to time, be it to get your parents off your back, or simply for your own convenience. In fact, lying is part of our natural behaviour, as it is an important way to make ourselves fit in with others; after all, you wouldn’t want the world to know that you still watched Balamory! However, lying often about

IAR...

trivial matters, such as what you had for breakfast, is an altogether different matter. The later practice is called compulsive lying, and can be a serious problem for some people. Compulsive lying is actually fairly common. In fact, some compulsive liars end up becoming successful businessmen or politicians! However, compulsive liars can also have serious personality disorders.

Doctors are unable to say why compulsive liars feel they need to avoid the truth but there are many theories that attempt to explain it. One popular theory is that compulsive lying is the result of insecurity. This means compulsive lying is a way to detach yourself from your actual life. This is understandable, after all, if your real life is hell, you can create a made-up version which is a lot more attractive

to those around you, and will get you accepted into social groups. Not only does it help you forget the troubles in your real life, it also gives you confidence through friendship. In this way, compulsive lying seems to make perfect sense. Another theory around compulsive lying is to do with abuse. One of the most common reasons to tell a lie is to take shelter from punishment. However, if someone is always afraid of being punished, as in the case of victims of abuse, they will lie a lot more, and the lying may become a habit, thus they become a compulsive liar.

facts, and will often change topic when confronted with these inconsistencies in their story. Compulsive liars may tell different stories concerning the same event to different people. This means that your account of a compulsive liar’s story may be different to another persons. Compulsive liars have distinct body language when speaking to you. This includes not being able to look you in the eye, taking up a defensive stance, such as crossing their

them is to encourage them to work with a Counsellor or therapist, however, depending on your position, this may not be a practical thing to do, and could offend the person who you suspect is a compulsive liar. Even if you are in a position to help someone seek counselling, it will only help them if they themselves admit that they are a compulsive liar and want to seek help for themselves, not just to please you. Compulsive lying is a topic that many know about, but few truly understand. Hopefully you now understand more about compulsive lying, and will be more sympathetic towards someone else’s seemingly inexplicable behaviour.

“Did you know my sister’s going out with Cristiano Ronaldo...?”

However, there are more scientific ways of regarding compulsive lying. Compulsive lying is often, but not always, a symptom of an underlying mental health issues. In these cases, the person who is lying may not feel that what they are doing is wrong, which leads them into lying constantly.

So, when do we classify someone as a compulsive liar? After all, how do we know if someone is living a lie, when everything they say seems to be the truth? Fortunately, there are many traits associated with compulsive lying: Compulsive liars often tell stories which have conflicting

arms and facing away from you, and sweating when they speak to you. If you know someone who is a compulsive liar, there are steps you can take to help them, depending on the severity of the lying. If someone occasionally tells a blatant lie, it isn’t classified as compulsive lying. Instead, it may be their way of having a laugh, or making themselves feel better. In fact, confronting them about it may permanently damage your relationship. If someone does appear to be a serious compulsive liar, then the only real way to help

If you want to find out more about compulsive lying, please visit the following websites: http://addiction.lovetoknow.c om/wiki/Compulsive_Lying http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ ate/mentalhealth/204227.ht ml http://www.truthaboutdecep tion.com/confront_a_liar/publ ic/compulsive_lying.html By Phillip Ball

FASHION SLAVE

ashion is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and an established part of cultures across the globe. Our need for personal expression through fashion has risen steadily throughout the decades, although over recent years the amount we are spending on clothes has dropped due to the new influx of ‘ultracheap’ garments from budget chains like Primark and Matalan.

However, as we save who’s really picking up the bill? Dawn breaks, and in the crowded room she calls home, an exploited worker awakes to another day of soul- destroying labour. By the end of her working week she has been forced to give up 68% of her earnings for barely adequate food and accommodation and has been transformed into a captive. After taking personal ID cards from the workers, the owner

gives them expired cards in return, meaning that if found by the police they would be immediately arrested. The worker is now at the mercy of the system. She is locked into the factory compound for all but 1 hour a day, during which she may eat. The guards use physical abuse to control her, limiting her ability to communicate with others, walk too fast or even take too long in the bathroom. On Monday morning, she has risen to face a 90 hour week. Monday morning, when she should be on the way to school, just like you would be.

This hell is all-too-real for people across the world in developing countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Guatemala and India, even in countries that many of us might consider beautiful holiday destinations like Jamaica, Mexico and Turkey.

In 2007 sweatshop labourers in Mauritius were paid just 22p per hour sewing for Topshop, whilst Kate Moss was paid £3 million to endorse those sweatshop products. So Miss Moss earned from one campaign what 150,000 sweat shop workers earn in a week. But does this mean that we, as a nation, couldn’t care less about the disgusting hypocrisy that leaves some starving and others swimming in their millions? No! The reality is sad but true, while we do care for those who suffer, we are just too busy and too concerned with surviving our own lives to do anything. The reason corrupt corporations are so readily embraced is that they offer not just discount clothing but food, furniture and other necessities and even though we’re not on the breadline, it can be tough making ends meet. Without Primark would a single mum be able to afford new trainers for her son’s sports day or buy her daughter a new coat for Christmas? Without Matalan would you be able to buy that dress for the school prom? Some of us are lucky enough to be able to afford expensive products made under a fair working system but for others it is not so easy and discount shops offer a cheaper alternative making life easier. However, we can still recognise the way in which these establishments work and we can limit our spending, decreasing their demand and encouraging them to rethink their policies. As well as this we can make a stand against the faceless corporations that support sweatshop labour and poor

worker rights by getting fashionably ethical!

known ethically sound brands that can be found online or in the high street are American Apparel, People Tree, Urban Outfitters, Ciel, Patagonia and HUG. However, it’s not all black and white, many brands sell a mixture of ethically sound and unsound products so for a quick idea of where your garment came from just check the label.

Fashion Slave

So what does it mean to be fashionably ethical? How can we shop with an ethical mind? Well, to shop ethically, especially in the fashion industry, does not exclusively refer to clothes and accessories that are made by workers who are treated with the rights they deserve, it also takes into consideration other As well as avoiding well known factors supporters that went of unfair “...She has risen to trade there into the production are other face a 90 hour of the week...when she things we garments should be on the can do. such as: in way to school, just Shopping the use of charity like you.” organic shops will materials save you that have a low environmental money, recycle clothes and impact; use of alternative help fund charities. The trick is fabrics that are sustainable; to keep looking, charity shops use of vintage or re-used in wealthy areas can often have materials reducing land stacks of old designer items pollution and CO2 emissions; just waiting to be discovered. community co-operatives that The simple truth is that we use local crafts, putting money can‘t change the world by back into rural communities, ignoring the problem. We preventing social disintegration need to take responsibility for and benefits to workers our own actions, embrace our specifically aimed at women right to fair-trade products and children. and encourage others to do In order to become an ethical the same. The more people fashionista it is first important who make a stand and to be aware of the unethical choose not to buy unethical high street brands we buy products, whether that be from and support each day. clothes, shoes or even Obviously we can’t tell you unethical toasters, the more what those are (they’d have pressure will be put on us for slander!) but we companies to treat their suggest you find out. Search workers and the world we live the web, ask them about their in with the respect and dignity policies (if they don’t know they deserve. So let’s save the they should). Many popular world and look good doing it. high street brands support the For more information on unfair trade that takes place in being fashionably ethical visit developing countries and the www.ethicalconsumer.org or destruction of local land www.ethicalfashionforum.com. through pollution. Some well Amy Solman

We at Youth Unlimited decided to break the ‘charity-shop-clothes-aren’tcool’ trend by buying clothes we liked from our local charity shops and holding our own fashion show! Here are some of our images from the fashion shoot…

S E O SIH

Artwork by Sebastian Santa-Maria

think a stroke of pure insanity has hit me. I’m yet again writing an article relating to feet! Although this time around, I’m looking at the prettier things that cover those dreaded tootsies to make sure they don’t turn extremely puke worthy (and painful!). Let’s start with the scientific facts. The foot contains 26 bones and isn’t fully developed until we’re around 18+ so if we wear

found in areas subject to friction. Heel pain Ingrown toe nails or onychocryptosis - where the nail grows or cuts into one or both sides of the nail bed Irritant skin Swollen feet Basically, if you want to follow a good foot health plan and not have disgusting feet, you first need to look at your shoes and the

inappropriate footwear in the younger years, it’ll result in a lot of pain later on. Here are a few ewwwwy foot conditions that are related to bad footwear: Bunions or scientifically known as hallux valgus-these you know, those weird bony swelling at the base of the big toe. Corns - a localised thickening of the skin due to pressure Calluses - are thickened, dead tissue involving the outer layer of the skin (epidermis) Bursitis - painful inflammation of the bursa (a padlike sac)

article I wrote last issue. Remember: cushioned, roomy supportive shoes can help provide you with the proper foot health you need.

Shoes

shoes and with well trained staff. None of those cheapy market ones that will break themselves and probably you! Get your feet measured every time you buy a shoe as the width and size of your foot may have changed. Makes and models of shoes vary so don’t assume you’re the same size in every store. Always try on both shoes and walk around the shop to get a ‘feel’ for them. Take a pair of socks or insoles with you so that you will know that the shoe will fit with those items on. Buy a shoe with adjustable fastenings (laces/ buckle/ straps). Buy shoes that are suitable for your feet and not just suitable for your image!

Many people think that shoes need to be broken into. How very WRONG is that assumption! If it doesn’t feel comfortable then they will never be and obviously don’t fit! Although this doesn’t apply to walking boots and leather shoes. Always purchase shoes from a shop with a large selection of

Another thing to take on board when you’re looking for shoes; take a closer inspection of the heel, heel counter, sole, upper, lining and fastenings.

So now you know how to choose the right shoes to keep your feet all nice! However, this article is not to say you can’t wear party shoes once in a while (just don’t wear them non-stop for too long!). Nan Pancoast

Websites

Charlotte Fudge the experience. How long has Biccies been going?

Melzoo.com

Melzoo.com is much the same as any other search engine, until you enter a search term and the screen splits into two. The results are listed on the left with a preview pane on the right, showing a snapshot of the listing as you move your mouse over each link. This is a super fast way to look through websites for the information you are looking for.

This is my one of the favourite websites. It allows you to store up to 50 gigabytes. You don’t need to pay anything it’s free and safe. This is really helpful in aiding you to back up your important work, music and photos.

portableapps.com This website is a suite of free programmes which, instead of installing to your computer's hard drive, you install to a portable drive maybe a USB stick or any other portable storage device. You can use those applications anywhere; you don’t need to waste your time in installing the applications. On this website you can access games, photo editing and other useful applications. Have fun!

keepvid.com Keepvid is a website that enables you to download any video from a website. It can be used to embed videos in PowerPoint presentations, electronic whiteboard lessons and much more.

be-at.tv

Be-at TV is a social networking platform. It encourages the community to make connections with like-minded people in much the same way as you would with Facebook. Be-at TV can bring you all the thrill of a musical event with no aching feet or thumping ears the next day. The events are filmed by Be-at TV on four cameras, which are then streamed with the audio for people all over the world to enjoy.

Mayank Sharma

CHARLOTTE FUDGE

Are you bored with preloaded fonts which come with your PC? I have got the solution for you. This website will give you hundreds of fonts to choose from. Now customise your PC in your own way which will work on XP, Vista and Mac.

adrive.com

DAY IN THE LIFE...

dafont.com

irst of all, we’re not joking, her name truly is Charlotte Fudge. How good is that? And if it weren’t enough, Miss. Fudge runs her own bespoke biscuit company: Biccies. We figured this was definitely a life we wanted to know more about – come on, it’s got biscuits – so we talked to Charlotte to find out a little bit more. Why did you decide to start a biscuit company? At university, I did part of my dissertation on the Gifting Trend, and discovered that over the past ten years, people have been giving expensive gifts for any kind of occasion, even just to say thanks or get well soon.

We started in September 2007, just myself and my mother, full-time. Since then we’ve grown a bit, when there’s a big order in there can be up to five of us working. We cook at home so the house always smells lovely. ☺ Do you enjoy your job?

Definitely! The best part is being able to be creative every day, and the feedback we get from customers. Any advice for people who are thinking of setting up their own company? Passion is the main thing. If you’ve got a real passion for something and have the confidence to follow it through, you’ve got a good chance. The worst mistake you can make is not to learn from your mistakes, which, luckily, is what I did.

Once I left uni I was Finalist in the 2008 looking for a job and under 25s Natwest had a lot of spare Businesswoman of time, and I started the Year. cooking more, especially for friends and family. It all just kind of came together. I needed work, I If you want to find out more liked cooking, I knew I was – and you really should – good at it, and I had a sort of… check out www.biccies.com. gap year, I suppose, mentality. Even if you don’t want to I figured if it didn’t work I buy a biscuit, just look at the could always start again, but pictures… Very pretty… that it would be worth it for

Vicki Exworthy

10th Issue Celebration!

YOUTH UNLIMITED 10!

To celebrate reaching the tenth issue of Youth Unlimited Magazine, we baked ourselves a cake!

he best thing about this recipe is that it’s so very simple, and the second best thing is that it can be modified to suit different tastes or occasions. It works equally well as a traditional, Victoria Sponge-style cake or as fairy cakes, and you can add other things like chocolate powder to the mix if you want to change the taste.

Ingredients:

200g sugar 200g butter 200g self-raising flour

Method:

4 eggs 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp milk

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (or equivalent). 2. Put all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl and rub the butter into the sugar and flour using your fingers. When done, the mix should resemble breadcrumbs. 3. Add the eggs and milk and mix some more. 4. If you are using an ordinary cake tin, line it with greaseproof paper and grease the inside of the paper with butter. If you are making fairy cakes, this isn’t necessary. 5. Cook for roughly 12-15 minutes (this depends on how hot your oven gets and how your mixture turned out). The cake should be a light golden-brown when finished. To test, gently pierce it with a knife. If the cake is finished, the knife should come out dry with no mixture on it.

PC S ECU RITY T Protect Your PC

o d ay P C Security must be your first priority. Your personal computer is a common target for hackers and other nasty users because they want to access your data such as your personal files or your important documents.

Viruses sometimes use your PC resources such as your hard drive and Internet connection to attack other PCs. These nasty and annoying viruses can cost you hours, or even days, while you stop your work to fix your PC.

To prevent possible hackers and viruses, follow my “5 Steps in Maintaining PC Safety” below and you will never experience these kinds of security threats.

1. Anti-virus Software – Programs such as Norton Antivirus or McAfee will remove all viruses from your PC. I would recommend you all to buy anti-virus programs or you could use free anti-virus packages like AVG. If you already have anti-virus programs installed, make sure you update yours regularly. Most virus software packages offer an auto-update feature which will conveniently grab the updates for you.

2. Firewall Programs - You will probably find that these programs are already installed on your PC, for example, “Windows Firewall”. This is the most common and easy to use program which can help you prevent hackers and malicious software from gaining access to your computer through your Internet and network connections. These programs can also help guard your PC while you chat with your buddy on MSN or Yahoo Messenger.

3. Email Attachment Precautions – Most unwanted items, such as viruses and junk mail can be sent through your e-mail. Try not to run attachments (especially .EXE files) that you receive in your e-mail, even if they come from your friends, relatives or colleagues. Most hackers will send you email by making them look like love letters, jokes or pornography.

4. Data Backups – It is important that you back up your data regularly on to an external hard disk or any removable media such as a USB drive. This ensures important files, such as work or photos, will not be harmed when your PC problems arise.

Vicki Exworthy

5. Download and Installation – Be careful when downloading anything online or accepting any files from your friends. Don’t try to download any files from unknown sites, as these sites send “spyware” and “adware” which can harm your PC.

Quite possibly the best

Although I think these steps look simple, remember that maintaining PC security is a regular process and you should check your safety is up to scratch every week. Get the better of these computer hackers by maintaining the best PC protection.

Mayank Sharma

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has invited you to join the group... The Kingston Knitters: 9 members

nyone who uses Facebook will know how annoying it can be when a request pops up inviting you to join a group that you’ve probably never heard of, probably don’t want to join and, if you do, will probably never look at again. But, just occasionally, something arrives that catches your eye. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of obscure Facebook groups.

If you live in Kingston and you want to knit little hats to send to the Innocent Smoothies Company (which is actually a very good and noble idea), this is the place for you. The group’s wall includes a quick conversation on the best places to buy different types of wool and yarn, along with pictures of recent knitting successes.

I Can’t Wait To Burn My Anthology: 2,359 members

Remember the AQA English Literature anthology you probably had to read for your English GCSE? So do the members of this group, but not very fondly. One of the topics on the discussion board is entitled ‘drawing in / on the pages’, where we learn that one student completed ‘a drawing of Vince Vaughan as if he’d been beaten up by a moose’, and everyone agrees that drawing round the outline of the vase of flowers under Sonnet 130 is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

Petition against Zac Efron starring in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4’: 237 members As anyone who has ever had to sit through a High School Musical film will probably attest, this group is fairly selfexplanatory.

The Happy List – Because Sometimes We Need Reminding: 1,055 members A very long list (running to 618 items) about things to consider ‘when you’re down and can’t quite remember why you would ever think about being happy again’. Includes: 60. Hot chocolate after the snow 136. Duvet days 186. ‘Just thought I’d say hey, thinking of you’ 366. Bonfires till sunrise

I am so ready for when the Zombie Apocalypse hits: 636 members

Are you prepared for killer zombies? The members of this group are. One of the discussion topics is one what skill you have that would make you useful in a Zombie Apocalypse. Answers include: ‘a lot of skill with firearms’, ‘flying! :D’ and ‘thinking of a rational solution’. (As for the latter, this person has just joined a group predicting a Zombie Apocalypse. Are they sure that they’re completely ‘rational’?)

SETTINGS

See some more obscure Facebook groups we found online at:

The ‘Insert’ Key is the most annoying key on the keyboard: 62 members For people who have spent ages typing something and then discover that the computer has somehow eaten it all.

And a worrying number of groups on the following themes: • •

I lost my phone and need your numbers Edward Cullen from the Twilight films

www.younglivin.org.uk/youthunlimited

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Victoria Exworthy has written this article. 3 hours ago.

Death from Knife Crime

The number of young people dying from knife crime is increasing; young people claim that they carry knives for protection. As a young person, I feel like I have to look after myself because a wrong look can get you killed.

won’t carry a knife, however, because I feel like I don’t have to protect myself from anyone. I’ve never carried a knife in my life, even when I was living in a country where it was seen as ‘necessary’ to carry a knife or a gun.

I don’t think the government is being hard enough on young people. That’s why they carry knives, because there does not seem to be a strong deterrent to make young people realise the dangers of carrying weapons. I think parents should talk to their kids and teach them about doing things whose consequences can affect their future and their family.

I’ve had a lot of mates who have died because knife crime.

Artwork by Sebastian Santa-Maria

I just don’t understand why a person would carry a knife when they know what the consequences are if they use it. I just think that lots of young people aren’t scared anymore about what would happen if they kill or hurt someone. That’s why I think the government should be hard on knife and gun crime, and that’s also why I support stop and search, because for me every stop and search the police undertakes makes London that litte bit safer.

Emmanuel Candengu

Uni Finance

here are a variety of reasons why going to university is a good idea: it’s fun, you meet new people, gain better career prospects, become more independent and get used to living away from home, if you move.

Unfortunately, you occasionally have to do some work, too, if you want to get a degree at the end of it, and this is where tuition fees come in, which are around £3,000 at most universities. If you live away from home, you’ll need accommodation, at around £2,500 a year. Everything else – food, clothes, books, travel, socialising, sport – comes in at about £4,500 a year.

Y T ? I t S s R o E c V t I i N s U e o d h c u wm

So, for students starting in the next few years, the average cost for one year at university is around £10,000, and therefore a student on a three-year course will spend around £30,000 during their time at university, which is more than a little scary. There is, however, some good news: • Until the time comes when you have to pay them back, your tuition fees are not an issue. They are taken from your loan and paid directly to your university at the start of an academic year. Most medical students (including dentists) have this paid by the NHS. • Students with a household income of up to £38,330 can get a non- repayable maintenance grant from the government to help with living costs. • Every student can borrow at least 75% of the maximum living-cost loan, but these

depend on where you study: £3,495 if you live at home, £4,150 if you live away from home and £6,315 if you study in London. • Individual universities and colleges give out bursaries to some students, and according to the Department for Education and Schools the average bursary is around £1,000. • You do not have to start paying back your student loan until you have left university

A student on a three-year course will spend around £30,000 during their time at university, which is more than a little scary.

and are earning at least £15,000 a year, at which point you will pay it back at a rate of 9% of your income. So, for every pound over £15,000 you earn, nine pence goes into your student loan. For example: if you earn £16,000 a year, you’ll pay back £90 a year. • Your student loan will almost certainly be the cheapest long-term loan you will ever get because the interest rate should never rise above the rate of inflation (the rate at which prices go up). Let’s say you owe £100, your loan interest rate is 3% and

Uni Finance

inflation is 4%. After one year, your loan will have risen to £103, but £100’s worth of last year money is now worth £104. By comparison, the average interest rate for a standard bank loan is about 8% (though this varies massively and can easily go up to 15% and more). • A part-time job at university (which many students have) will earn you, on average, £6.10 an hour. For someone working 13 hours a week – a full Saturday and an afternoon (roughly) – this is equal to about £79 a week, £318 a month and £4,100 a year. • Over a lifetime, a university graduate should earn, on average, £100,000 more than someone who leaves school with 2 A-Levels. Please bear in mind that this is only a very rough guide and all the above figures are liable to change often. If you are going to university, please ask your sixth form or college, who should be able to give you far more accurate and detailed information, for advice. Information taken from: • The NUS (National Union of Students) • The BBC • The Guardian newspaper • Student Loans Company • Moneysavingexpert.com Vicki Exworthy

ave you ever had one of those moments in life where you truly make a fool of yourself? You know, you start to turn red and try to hide yourself, wishing the ground would swallow you up whole?

Here at Youth Unlimited we set up a little confession box where members of the public could leave their deepest, darkest and most embarrassing secrets... the ones you wouldn’t dream of telling anyone else. Those brave enough to confess deserve a huge thank-you for unashamedly baring all! Here’s just a few of our favourite ones:

D I S E R M

L A I ENT

on o Av o... t d ken up t wee we got g n i hat uild amb ere’s w e t H on a ng, ent planni w ntly ine rece magaz w e s r side ed c imit rest. Be l n Fo th U You he New e h t T ell in Tyrr

TEA

“I fed the cat the

dog's food.”

Confessions “I secretly fancy Steve

Coogan!”

by Nan Pancoast

“I once decided to see how far I could cycle down a quiet road with my eyes shut. Predictably enough, I crashed very painfully; into a lamp post. Moral of the tale: keep eyes open whilst on a bike!”

Confessions

“I was walking home once from work experience last summer, and had just got off the bus. Everything seemed fine, then I walked under a tree and a pigeon

decided to leave its 'business' on the top of my head.

I had to run home, whilst trying to hide my head from anyone who might see the pile of bird poo in my hair!”

TOP SECRET!

“I once tried to send a text saying 'hope you did'. Thanks to predictive text, it came out as 'hope you die'. I think he saw the funny side!” “I am in love with

Hugh Laurie!”

“I kissed a girl, it was mediocre. I couldn't taste her cherry chapstick but hell, she needed it.”

“In an embarrassing moment at school, I managed to sing the entire Pokémon

theme tune AND Jessie and James' song. I guess some things are just too good to forget! ‘Meeowth that’s right!’

“I spilled red wine on some guy's shoulder at a gig (and he was wearing a crisp white shirt) but he didn't notice.”

L A C I P Y T O E STER ? T A H OR W LTH A E H L A ENT Mental Health

e all (well most of us) read or watch the news everyday; it always seems to be full of bad, depressing news; either another bomb’s gone off somewhere, another terrorist suspect has been detained, or someone’s been killed; sometimes a young person or someone with mental health problems is involved; occasionally even both.

It’s in these cases that the media tends to make a big deal out of the crime. Which is why the public have come to see a big source of violent crime as being related to mental illness, and so we are all immediately thrown into a world of ignorance and prejudice. Even if you don’t happen to think that all mentally ill people are uncontrollable maniacs, you may still have your prejudices. The general view of a person with a mental illness is someone who has to be left alone in a white room with padded walls restrained by a straitjacket. Before you disagree with me on that, a number of people I spoke to regarding the matter gave me

similar responses whilst adding that they were also afraid of ‘them’. It is quite worrying to know that there is a stigma about mental health and a cautious response amongst the public to those suffer from mental ill health, as the above stereotypes are not the case. Last summer I did a week’s work experience at a mental health rehabilitation centre in Epsom, called Horton Haven. I got the placement through my school, and so hadn’t really looked into it properly, but it sounded interesting, so I went for it not quite knowing what to expect. My first reactions after getting the placement were, ‘Do I really want to put myself at a risk?’ ‘What if something happens to me?’ I couldn’t help but think these thoughts as people kept on telling me to ‘be careful when I went there’, or that I was ‘putting my life at risk’ by going (it sounds a bit exaggerated I know, but it’s what I was told!), because of what they’d seen in the news. As a result, I couldn’t help but stereotype. I have to admit, I was scared. The journey there

on my first day let my mind reluctantly fill itself with thoughts of possible events that could happen there; I could be attacked or harmed…to be honest anything could happen! During my week I spent the days with the patients and got to know and care for them. I was surprised at how different things were to what I expected. No white, padded walls, no straitjackets, none of the stereotypes I’d imagined there to be.

The accommodation was like any other normal apartment block. The patients seemed normal enough too, all dressed in normal clothes, moving around in a normal manner. None of them tried to attack me; they were all calm on the whole.

Whilst on my work experience, I encountered many different sorts of situations, which made me realise I my previous stereotypes were grossly

mistaken. Contrary to what I was thinking on that journey on my first day, after spending one week surrounded with people of this nature, I learnt that they were unfortunate to be in their position. I was told by the nurses that what happened to them could’ve happened to anyone; the patients were all normal people, and it was wrong to be treating them as lesser beings due to what the media says.

than others.

Mental health can take a lot of different forms ranging from depression to deliberate self harm, from schizophrenia to eating disorders. Roughly 1 in 4 people suffer from mental health issues at some point in their lives, ranging from the mild to the severe.

If you do think you are suffering from mental health issues, talk to someone about it. There is no greater way of dealing with something than talking to someone else about it. Similarly, if you know someone who is suffering from it, talk to them about it. There is no shame in asking for help, talk about it. In order to get help, talk to your GP who’ll be able to guide you to more specialised advice, or ring the ‘NHS Direct‘ line on 0845 46 47. SANELINE is a helpline dedicated to mental health and it can be rung on 0845 767 8000. Other sites that can be checked out are www.mind.org.uk and www.timeforchange.org.uk.

Many famous people are known to have suffered from mental health problems, such as Albert Einstein, Spike Milligan, Winston Churchill, David Beckham and Jim Carey, yet they have all been highly influential figures on modern day life as we know it. This goes to show that even if you do suffer, there’s no reason to stop yourself from going on to do great things.

TO OPLE ARE KNOWN MANY FAMOUS PE H EA OM MENTAL H LT HAVE SUFFERED FR , ALBERT EINSTEIN AS CH SU S, M LE PROB ILL, WINSTON CHURCH SPIKE MILLIGAN, D JIM CAREY... DAVID BECKHAM AN

In complex cases, where the sufferer becomes a threat to themselves or others, they can be placed in establishments such as Horton Haven or hospitalised and need constant professional care to protect whoever necessary. This can happen in any sort of mental health case, be it bulimia or dementia. On the other hand, others can deal with their illness with or without the aid of medication, and live their normal everyday life without any hassle. It all comes down to how well they cope with it and so some cases can be more serious

Don’t suffer in silence, talk about it… Ramanan Gukathasan

M O R F S UND THE W G O O N R R I L A D In Ben T i n E I E In Iceland Greetings

n England we, in a formal situation, greet acquaintances with a handshake. This simple gesture applies to many other countries but each country has their own way of greeting each other.

It’s odd to think that what may be a gesture of friendship in one country can be seen too forward in others. Here are a few examples of greetings from around the world that we particularly liked:

In France

ssing other by ki reet each n g w y o e kn th , is In France eks. This public n the che e o R r e n a th ic o in each e Dom bise. In th e kind of as faire la w the sam tries llo fo to m e pean coun se ro y u e E th ell as other uth in Europe w as g in greet her So tly the furt re kisses received. - apparen mo e th , o g u you go yo

In Hawaii

In Hawaii they hug and kiss o cheek – I n th think this form of gre e should be eting introduce d everywh ere.

In The Phili ppines

The Filipino tradition in G uam is pushing thei r knuckles ag ainst the other person ’s forehead - br inging out the inne r man!

In Botswan a

In Botswan a th did you wak e greeting is the phra se: “how e?” accomp anied with similar to a a gesture handshake but has no lightly grazi grip, ng that 70’s gan hands - looks like som just ething gsters did.

In Ni ue

The yo ung m en in Benin would often snap th e whilst ir fingers gr other - eeting each be breakin fore g out in d a nc e routine to a ?

In Thailand

greeting ten?” is the “Have you ea ailand Th in n er conc ry there! and biggest ng hu ll never be I’m sure you’

In Singapore

In Niu e greet they each other b “love y saying b you” e with the lo show me ve!

In Bangladesh In Bangladesh they make a relaxed salute with their right hand as a form of greeting like in the army, but more elegant.

In Om an

The m e with a n in Oman greet kiss o have n shook the nose each other o hand s - aw nce they w so c ute.

In Z amb ia

In Z a m gree bia the t y othe each r sque by e thum zing a b - hel you ps r does elease g as n’t it it pu ? l l i ng O r i s it ?

sia slide gapore/Malay Greeters in Sin on their ng di gether en their palms to love you too. hearts -well, I

In Tuvalu

The simple but sweet meaning of the greeting in Iceland means ‘happy’.

Relatives in Tuvalu press their cheeks to each other and sniff - imagine if someone had bad B.O.!

In Greec e

You rece ive a back slapping Greece a in sa helps you form of greeting burp I sup pose.

Now the question is: how will you greet someone you know on the street? For more greetings, visit: www.brucevanpatter.com/world_greetings.html

Nan Pancoast

Greetings

Interview

oodness! Frank Turner is a busy man. As far as we can tell, he spends the vast majority of his time running around the country gigging, sometimes in big venues and sometimes in little record stores (like our very own Banquet Records), sleeping on trains or on someone’s floor when necessary – which is pretty often. When not touring Britain, he’s off touring the rest of the world with an impressive list of shows in countries that include America, France, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Latvia. With his first band, Kneejerk, Frank released an EP and three albums; His second band, Million Dead, saw two albums and nine singles; and as a solo artist he has released three albums, two EPs, five singles and filmed seven music videos. In between times, he regularly posts lengthy updates to the blog on his website. Presumably he finds time to eat and breathe occasionally, but it’s hard to figure out when. It’s pretty impressive, therefore, that he’s decided to come down to Kingston to play two gigs at Banquet Records, which is where we caught up with him to find out how and why he manages all this.

Frank Turner

FRANK TURNER An Inter view with

“There’s a surprising number of people out there who think this is a layabout job - they get rudely surprised.” YU: You seem to spend your entire life gigging, but you still came to Banquet for a couple of instores. Do you think places like this are really important? FT: I do, I have a personal history with this place as well, I know Jon [the manager], and Banquet’s been a part of the UK underground rock scene for years. When I was with Million Dead we were always playing here. And in general, yeah, I think that independent record stores are pretty cool – you always get a really good atmosphere, you always leave thinking ‘That was really fun, I enjoyed it.’ It doesn’t take much to persuade me to come back. YU: Is this your first time to play a second date? FT: It is, yeah, and the first time I’ve had a little stage round the back of the counter, so I’m clearly going

up in the world! YU: What are the best and worst things about travelling so much? FT: I’m lucky to have discovered something I’m very good at and enjoy – not just the music but the travelling and the hassle and sleeping in strange places. Just being on tour is the best part, meeting new people and new bands and things like that. As for the worst, well, every job has downsides, there’s a lot of social dislocation, I miss all the people I love. Still, no office! YU: What do you think about The Astoria closing down? FT: Really sad to see it go, for my generation especially it’s a piece of music history, and for it to be taken away for a half-arsed train station, for some badly organised political project that just went wrong…

“I think that independent record stores are pretty cool.” It’s pretty bad. But on the other hand, music should be ephemeral – people getting worried about venues are kinda missing the point; it’s about what’s happening on stage, not the stage it’s being played on. And if you never visited it or you never saw a band there, it doesn’t really matter, just go out there and make something better.

clues together? A while ago one of them was me! It was really cool! I wanted to track down who it was but didn’t know how, but then a fan at a gig came up and told me about it. I like crosswords, so I reckon this is pretty cool! But maybe some people wouldn’t…

YU: You mentioned you were in The Independent’s cryptic crossword recently. What was going on there?

FT: You have to work hard. Really hard. There’s a surprising number of people out there who think this is a layabout job and go in for that reason – they’ll get rudely surprised. But I love working hard; I’d get bored just sitting around. It’s the best job in the

FT: You know how sometimes cryptic crosswords have ghost themes – like an idea that links some of the

YU: Do you have any advice for young musicians today?

world. And if you’ve got an idea for a song or a band or something, don’t just sit there, go out there and get it done and good luck to you!

Want to know more? Frank Turner is a singersongwriter in his late 20s, born in Bahrain and currently living somewhere around Kingston. The current album is called Love Ire & Song, the big single at the moment is Reasons Not To Be An Idiot, and you can listen to most of his work on YouTube or his myspace. Go look! Vicki Exworthy

PUZZLES

by Alex Stone

Kakuro

How to Play

Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords which use numbers instead of words. The aim is to fill all the blank squares with the numbers 1-9 so that the numbers you enter add up to the corresponding clues. Clue Sqaures The clue squares are the black squares with numbers in them. They can have an “across” clue or a “down” clue or both. Duplicate numbers You cannot enter duplicate numbers in any run. For example, if there are 3 blank squares and the clue equals 12, you can use any combination of numbers 1-9 to make 12, but you cannot use 6+3+3 because you can’t use the number 3 twice in the same solution.

Riddle Me This...

1. I can be found where anything cannot; dead men eat me all the time, but if living men eat me they will die. What am I? 2. Some hide and some cheat, but try as they might we shall always meet. Guess my name, for you will know it when we meet. Who am I? 3. What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never eats, has a bed but never sleeps? 4. The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?

The Grid

In the grid to the left, around each shaded number are 8 white squares. However, each white square should have a number from 1 to 7. Once filled in, these 8 numbers will sum to the shaded number. In addition, once completed correctly, no row or column can contain a duplicate number within a white square. For example, the top row may be 5 6 4 2 3 1 7, etc. (Courtesy of www.brainbashers.com)

For the puzzle solutions, visit the Youth Unlimited pages on www.younglivin.org.uk

Messing around at YOUTH UNLIMITED

INFO

SEXUAL HEALTH

The Point Wolverton Centre, Kingston Hospital, Galsworthy Road Tues 4-6 pm . . . . . . .020 8974 9331

Sexwise Helpline . . . . 0800 28 29 30

National AIDS Helpline . . . . . . . . . . . 0800 567 123 Ku19 @ Hawks Road Hawks Pharmacy Regent House, Hawks Road, Kingston, KT1 3DG Wed 3.30-5pm. . . . . . 020 8546 1115 Ku19 @ YMCA YMCA, 49 Victoria Road, Surbiton Thurs 3.30-6.30pm . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8549 6323

KU19@Siddeley House 50 Canbury Road, Kingston KT2 6LX Mon 3.30-6.30pm . . . 020 8974 9252

TRAVEL

Train Information . . . ..08457 484950

London Travel Information . . . . . . . . 020 7222 1234 National Express Coach Enquires . . . 0990 808080

WELFARE & BENEFITS ADVICE

Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau Neville House, 55 Eden Street, Kingston, KT1 1BW Walk-in Monday, Tuesday & Friday 11.30 - 1.30 . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .0870 126 4019 Richmond Citizens Advice Bureau Linfield House, 26 Kew Road, Richmond TW9 2NA 08457 0505152 / 020 894 2501

DRUGS & ALCOHOL

Kingston Information Dealers

(Drug and Alcohol Support). . . . . .0786 753 6967 Email: id@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

Frank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0800 776600

Release â&#x20AC;&#x201C; drugs & legal advice helpline. . . . . . . . . . . .020 7729 9904

COUNSELLING & SUPPORT

Off the Record 2 Church Street, Twickenham Tues, weds, thurs 4-8pm Fri, 2.30-6.30pm Sat, 10am-2pm (Deborah Kerpner) . . 020 8744 1644 ASKK 4 Help Txt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .07797806523

KINGSTON SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAMS

Alexandra Team. . . . .020 8721 2516 Berrylands Team . . . .020 87212002

Beverley Team. . . . . .020 8721 2750 Canbury Team. . . .....020 8721 5882

Chessington North Team. . . . . . .. . 020 8721 2001

Chessington South Team. . . . . . . ..020 8721 2001

Coombe Hill Team. . ..020 8721 2804 Coombe Vale Team. ..020 8721 2515

Grove Team. . . . . . . ..020 8721 2588

Norbiton Team. . . . . ..020 8721 2000

Old Malden Team. . . .020 8721 2517

St James Team. . . . . .020 8721 2595

St Marks Team. . . . . .020 8721 2044

Surbiton Hill Team. . .020 8721 2518 Tolworth Team. . . . .. .020 8721 2045 Tudor Team. . . . . .. . . 020 87212580

Connexions

For Connexions please visit www.younglivin.org.uk

Youth Service

Youth Office . . . . . . . .0208 547 5815

GENERAL HEALTH

NHS Direct . . . . . . . . .0845 4647 Kingston

Children &Young People'sTrust Making a DifferenceTogether

For info on the youth centres in Kingston please visit: