22 minute read
Issue 3 MIND’S EYE Kent
This old HOUSE Tilly Robinson & Leona Eissens
Rust in Peace Ciara Barley
Beyond the PALE Hermione Espenilla
Grace Amazon Blanka Kuznirowska We’re only Human Anna Vart
Iron Luke Bowley & Isabel Calder HARVEST
Welcome to Mind’s Eye Kent, a magazine for school pupils in East Kent who wish to write about places and people in their world, past and present.
In this second edition, some writers pay tribute, through the ghostly remnants of war, to the role of Kent in defending our freedom from foreign tyranny, and others lament the way we destroy ourselves, and the beautiful world around us, by pursuing wealth, empowerment and perfection.
Sad though the following pages may be, there is much joy too: the youth of Kent states its love of beauty and justice, and does so with precocious and poetic eloquence.
Anthony Lyons Editor ajwl@kings-school.co.uk
www.m i n ds eyem agaz i n e. c om
D es ig n :www. c o bwe b c re a t i ve. o rg
Contents
4 | The Iron Harvest Luke Bowley & Isabel Calder
6 | Amazon Grace Blanka Kuznirowska
10 | Beyond the Pale Hermione Espenilla
16 | Rust in Peace Ciara Barley
22 | Losing the Plot James Malaty & Eleanor James
18 | Last Defence Freya Howell
20 | We’re Only Human Anna Vart
24 | This Old House Tilly Robinson & Leona Eissens
Iron The Harvest
After 100 years of official remembrance, the First World War may be fading from memory, but LUKE BOWLEY and ISABEL CALDER discover battlefields that still throw up poignant reminders of ‘the war to end all wars’.
Their stories are now told by what they have left behind, reminding us perhaps of a freezing and terrified young man who held a pocket watch with numb fingers. I n this landscape of pain and death, over time many scars have been unveiled. Local people live with knowledge of the ‘iron harvest’, tonnes of shells, bombs and bullets uncovered every year by farmers and construction workers. But it is the smaller items that are most haunting. Pocket watches are not unusual. After 100 years in the earth the metal glimmers in the mud, a trickle of chain still attached. Mint-green verdigris fogs up the cracked glass like a shield from further trauma. Their fragile hands are stopped in time. It is hard not to wonder about the secrets they hold. Were they parting gifts from wives and girlfriends, mothers and fathers? Were they passed down through the generations? Did their owners make it home? Looking at the empty farming fields today, it’s hard to understand the blood, sweat and tears they’ve witnessed. Birds scatter from the trees when mud squelches under tractor tyres. Otherwise there is stillness and quiet in these foggy acres. Yet the earth guards a story. Shells smeared with blood-red rust slowly rot away; many are still deadly a century on. Smothered in clay, battered and heavily punctured steel helmets decay. The leather from soldiers’ boots survives remarkably well, although the boots are often torn apart. Dull, grey marbles of shrapnel hide among the dirt. After rain they shine. Bursting from shells in the sky and scattering wildly in all directions, this deadly hail would claim the lives of scores of men in an average, uneventful day on the Western Front. Even fragile medicine bottles can be found, their tinted dark glass cracked from head to toe. The bent remains of rifles are pulled to the surface by ploughing. Often, their damp and rotten wood is still intact. They look like fallen branches. On the battlefields of Northern France and Flanders, agriculture is still a dominant way of life. Ploughing and the building of new roads, homes and supermarkets will bring them once more into the daylight. In these places brave men risked all. Some were rewarded with their lives, while others weren’t so lucky. The sad truth is that not one man who fought here is still alive today. And so their stories are now told by what they have left behind, reminding us perhaps of a freezing and terrified young man who held a pocket watch with numb fingers while he served his country and thought of home.
With Climate Change top of the agenda, BLANKA KUZNIROWSKA knows one thing: by felling the forest we doom ourselves.
890 square miles of forest are burned every year. That’s eleven football pitches a day. But forests such as the Amazon Rainforest are home to all kinds of species of exotic and rare animals and plants – in fact, the plants from rainforests, not just the Amazon, are used for all types of medication that can help fight diseases such as cancer. But when the demand for palm oil and roads expands, so does the scale of deforestation. At its present rate we will soon no longer have such extraordinary biodiversity. Brazilian model and businesswoman, Gisele Bundchen, says, ‘Deforestation leads to ecosystem losses that damage our livelihoods.’
The human race can no longer disregard what’s happening to our forests. Soon, my children, your children or maybe even your grandchildren will grow up in a world where they can see the mighty Orangutan only in pictures. These animals are suffering greatly because fewer trees means fewer habitats, and food sources are becoming scarce, which leads to numerous species becoming endangered since they have not adapted to conditions outside the forest.
Despite everything, opportunities surface through the burdening negatives. Deforestation has allowed most people of Brazil, Colombia and Peru to be offered jobs that provide them with a minimum wage.
Amazon Grace
The Amazon forest consumes as much as 2 billion tons of CO2, making it a vital ecosystem that assists us in our battle against global warming. Major industries such as the Formal Timber Sector employ more than 13.2 million people, benefiting not only the workers but also the economy when the material gained from deforestation is sold or used for further agriculture. But do these opportunities outweigh the damage done to the forest? When major industries realize the destruction they’re causing some find sustainable ways to cut down trees – for example, selective logging: only older or inferior trees are cut down, which is much less harmful to the environment. Animals transport, such as elephants, is used to reduce damage when the logs are brought out. And some companies require new trees to be planted to replace those cut down, ensuring there will be trees for future generations and for animal species to return to the forest. But such ecological measures are never enough. These breathtaking ancient forests that were here before our great great grandparents are being wiped out in front of our eyes and all most of us do is idly stare. When the trees are cut down the CO2 they have absorbed during photosynthesis is released into the atmosphere. The Amazon forest consumes as much as 2 billion tons of CO2, making it a vital ecosystem that assists us in our battle against global warming. Think of all the CO2 that is lingering in the air because of us. We may not see it, but it’s there, slowly destroying the Earth. Tropical deforestation now emits more CO2 than the EU. We cannot afford to ignore the Earth’s cry for help. The forests are our lungs, and without them we won’t be able to breathe. Author Anthony Hincks once declared, ‘Burn the forests if you will, but you will only scorch your own lungs.’ By tearing down our forests we are only suffocating ourselves, and it’s time to fight as a community for our Earth, our home, our future.
Pale Beyond the
While photo-shopped celebrities on social media blind youth to its own beauty, HERMIONE ESPENILLA unveils an Asian craze for whiteness.
hese days social media fuel almost everything we do, and it’s not usually to do with need. Social media generate strong desires. Instagram models or ‘influencers’ provoke many girls to want glowing bronzed skin, perfect eyebrows and colossal lips, and in certain parts of the world they spend a fortune on one feature in particular just to gain a feeling of acceptance. They are driven to believe they need this feature for a good job, a higher income and even the chances of marriage. What feature, you might ask. I’m talking about white skin. And it is many countries in Asia that nurture such colourism, which is like racism but different because it occurs among people of the same race. Welcome to Asia, where people will risk their health to be whiter. T
Many countries in Asia nurture colourism, which is like racism but different because it occurs among people of the same race. Asia’s obsession with whiter skin dates back to the ancient dynastic times in China, India and Japan when a fair complexion indicated nobility, while a dark complexion meant a member of the lower class working in sweltering heat. This association of skin tone with class has been embedded in Asian culture for centuries. Today, Asia identifies fairer skin with beauty, success and superiority whilst a darker skin signifies poverty and inferiority. A whiter complexion is sought because it’s viewed as a doorway to opportunities. Having dark skin is seen as an unfortunate curse to be endured.
Asian children are imbued with these beauty standards. Children are warned by their parents not to stay in the sun for long. From a young age, Asian children are imbued with these beauty standards. Children are warned by their parents not to stay in the sun for long. This is not because the UV rays are damaging but because their children’s complexion will get darker. Such a basic instruction can shape children’s views negatively and there are many stories of darker individuals being ridiculed for their colour by their peers. In 2017, a healthcare and beauty advert contained a 15-minute short film in which a merchant is charmed by a woman’s voice. The woman is revealed as dark-skinned and the merchant is repulsed until the woman removes the dark makeup exposing her true white skin. Despite the controversy the advert received for the use of ‘blackface’, the intent remains to suggest dark skin is undesirable. In Western culture, men and women cook themselves for hours on tanning beds, but in Asian culture women (and recently men too) smear harsh chemicals on their faces for the glory of getting whiter. 40% of men and women in China, The Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea admit to using skinwhitening products regularly, and 60% of the skin care market in India consists of whitening products. Such products do work after long periods of time but produce an unnatural appearance. In 2017, a research group called Frontiers in Public Health revealed that more than half of these products contain steroids that are damaging to the skin. They also found that these products contained active and potentially hazardous agents, for instance mercury, hydrogen peroxide and other bleaching chemicals. There are many accounts of people experiencing harmful side-effects after these whitening products caused permanent damage to their skin.
A FAIR COMPLEXION INDICATED NOBILITY, WHILE A DARK COMPLEXION MEANT A MEMBER OF THE LOWER CLASS WORKING IN SWELTERING HEAT. “ I’ve always thought bleaching chemicals are better suited to toilets than human faces. Haven’t you?
Peace Rust in
PLOT Losing the
A ghostly bunker above The White Cliffs of Dover inspired JAMES MALATY and ELEANOR JAMES to show how the toils of war are always with us.
over is best known for its picturesque White Cliffs. Sandwiched between blue skies and clear waters, the cliffs are, for many, a defining image of England. There can be no doubt that Dover is less well known for a blemish that protrudes, half-hidden, from the green rolling hills above the sea: the Hougham Battery Plotting Room. Built in 1941, the Plotting Room was one of numerous military installations used in the Second World War to defend the scenic – but strategically vital – coastline. Now, however, the structure is dilapidated and buried by immense mounds of earth. Aged yellow plaster peels from the walls lining the inky corridors. Once a stoic, unbreachable protector of the nation, it is now a hollow, neglected chamber. D
Built in 1941, the Plotting Room was one of numerous military installations used in the Second World War. Behind a rusted entrance door, a narrow tunnel runs to a claustrophobic room with heavy iron blast doors. Beyond, another room overflows with heaps of dust, earth and debris. It resides silent, eerie and isolated, a secret hidden from the oblivious.
But what may be the most intriguing aspect is what is unknown. Experts are still unsure what this part of the building was originally used for since it doesn’t appear on any existing plans of the site. Who really knows its true purpose? What does that mysterious past entail? “ Image source: 28 days later THE OUTSIDE WALL BEARS THE WORD ‘DANGER’ IN FADED BLACK LETTERS; NO WONDER THAT THE BUILDING IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND AVOIDED BY LOCALS.
Image source: Xplorer
Officially, such fortresses were used to control the gunfire of eight-inch guns, which had a firing range of twenty-eight kilometers and were used to fend off naval attack from the Channel. However, the only available information comes from similar layouts, and for some this ambiguity has led to speculation that this was no ordinary clifftop bunker and, more recently, rumours of supernatural sightings. The room was buried during construction of the M20 and entry is impossible for those unwilling to crawl through an aged ventilation shaft.
The outside wall bears the word ‘DANGER’ in faded black letters; no wonder that the building is often overlooked and avoided by locals. Its secrets may lie forever undiscovered. After all, Dover is best known for its sun-soaked cliffs, and the sunlight never reaches the inside of the sinister Hougham Battery Plotting Room.
Image source: Derlictplaces
Defence Last
Image source: Derlictplaces
FREYA HOWELL salutes the last bastion of Kent’s Napoleonic defences but laments its slow surrender to time.
lazing neon letters stand out against the bleached and crumbling walls, so you would never have guessed this very spot was once the front line against the French. B
The gaping space between the towering partitions now accommodates a sea of dust and unruly vegetation that seems intent on overwhelming the monumental structure. Light still floods in, but not like before. Now the land is slowly taking back its own. The creepers worm their way through the gun ports, their historical violence now neutralised by the green of spring.
Dover’s Detached Bastion was one of Kent’s most recognisable structures in the early 1800s. The Napoleonic Wars were in full swing at the time that this impressive fortress was built to stand as the defence the South East urgently needed to thwart Napoleon’s aspirations to march on London.
Once a site of immense significance, the Bastion now stands in solitude, nature reclaiming the land. The whole site is still intact, but now surrounded by a lively green forest. Rather than gunfire and falling bombs, its ultimate enemy is now the passage of time.
Before medical knowledge and human understanding those living with disorders were associated with disease and witchcraft. he disabled suck up resources and contribute little to society. With limited medical personnel, medication and money, why should these parasites be alive? They’re better off dead.’ Such stigma and prejudice are everywhere. They always have been, and if we don’t change the way our world works they always will be. Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a circumstance, quality or person and prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or personal experience. Similar but different, they are equally unacceptable and come hand in hand. I’m here to tell you about stigma, particularly stigma against people with disabilities, people like my mum. First, I would like to give you some background about when these misconceived opinions of those who appear different began. Let’s start from the beginning, the very beginning of human existence. Ever since this ‘T race has walked the Earth those with disabilities have been viewed as a nuisance, a pain and easy to ‘dispose’ of or remove from society because they are different. Before medical knowledge and human understanding those living with disorders were associated with disease and witchcraft and often died long before they reached maturity. If the lack of effective medicine didn’t kill them, then they were murdered by their own communities. Times change and, in a way, so did our attitude. Laws were passed to protect those living with disabilities. I was intrigued to find when the first such laws were created. The 1845 Lunacy Act was dominant for the early years of the Victorian era, but it made no clear distinction between learning disability and mental illness, stating that ‘a lunatic shall mean an insane person or any person being idiot or lunatic or of unsound mind.’ I know! I’m equally confused about what this means.
In 1847 The Charity for the Asylum of Idiots was established in London, the term ‘idiots’ meaning anyone with a learning or mental disorder, or autism. That would be unacceptable today, but it would have been the norm back in the 1840s. The last law of interest was passed in 1934, when the Brock Report recommended sterilization of the mentally or physically disabled. This prompted my further research.
A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Mental disorders are usually defined by a combination of how a person behaves, feels, perceives, or thinks. A mental disability can be anything from depression or anxiety to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A physical disability, on the other hand, is the limitation of a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. An example of a physical disability is insomnia or Retinitis pigmentosa. What’s Retinitis pigmentosa? The shortened version is RP and it’s a term for a group of eye diseases. RP causes the thin layer of
On multiple occasions when she was in obvious distress and needed help, members of the public just walked past. tissue in the back of the eye, which is called the retina, to deteriorate. This type of eye disease is genetic – passed down from either one or both parents. My mum was diagnosed with RP at 17 and I talked to her about her experiences. While queuing in W H Smith she overheard two people talking. One said, ‘People like that should not be let out of the house.’ Another time a schoolboy at a crossing thought it was funny to keep getting in her way and refusing to let her pass. In the end he went off, laughing with his ‘mates’. And on multiple occasions when she was in obvious distress and needed help, members of the public just walked past and tried their hardest to avoid her. Bear in mind this has all taken place in the last 30 years. Such stigma needs to stop. Those living with a disability should not labeled ‘insane’ or ‘delusional’ just because they suffer with something you don’t. In the same way you shouldn’t label people as ‘freaks’ because they look different from what society deems perfection. We are perfection-obsessed. Mocking someone because they live with a deformity is unacceptable and, if you have ever done so you must stop. ‘Just ask if I need help. I can always say no.’ This is the advice my mum gave me to share with you. If you see a person with a disability in distress, without being patronizing ask if they need help. Physical disability does not mean mental disability. This is what my mum said, and your mum is never wrong. For future reference listen to her.
TILLY ROBINSON and LEONA EISSENS wonder whether the magnificent makeover of a Kentish faux chateau was really for the best.
In a corner of the Kentish countryside, with over 160 years of history to its name, stands the Lillesden School for Girls. Previously known as The Lillesden Estate, it was built during the 1850s by banker Edward Lloyd, co-founder of NatWest bank. Shortly after the First World War, this Grade II Frenchstyle chateau was converted into an all-girls private school. Its sudden closure in 1999 came as a great shock to its high-achieving pupils, who described the school as ‘too perfect to last’. With its terraced lawns, ornate windows and beautiful interior, Lillesden truly was a dreamland for its students.
After the prestigious institution closed its doors, nature started to reclaim the Gothic building. The fading redbrick walls occupied by climbing wild roses, whilst ivy obscures the arched entrances to discourage the curious. Despite this, the mysterious atmosphere still appeals to photographers and daring explorers, and has even graced an episode of Doctor Who.
This Old House
Regrettably, there has also been human damage inside and out. Lead pilfered from the roof, leading to water ingress and causing two stone pillars to crumble away. The peeling cream walls sport graphic graffiti and the neglected furniture is battered and broken.
A recent proposal to convert the school into apartments created new hopes the striking architecture will not disappear into the briars. But perhaps it was the neglect and disdain that makes Lillesden so enthralling.
If, as one scrawl says, ‘the best view of heaven is from hell’, then this abandoned relic needs to remain just that.
