Masayume by King's High Warwick

how do you know you’re not dreaming? the truth behind our dreams warwick preparatory art the virgin suicides dream destination history of dreams dream authors the red thread feminism utopia 正夢

MASAYUME a dream that later comes true...

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masayume

About Our Team This magazine has been created by a group of students from King’s High School Warwick, aspiring to open people’s eyes and minds to the wide expanse of topics which dreams can relate to. It can be the causation and inspiration of many crucial aspects in life. A range of students from Year 11-12 have collaborated together to write articles that cover a variety of genres from psychological to historical. Our team also created artwork using a range of mediums and contexts to fit with each article that was written. Not forgetting the artists from our sister school, Warwick Preparatory School, who created many unique pieces regarding their aspirations (page 26-27). Finally, we collated and edited each piece to incorporate the art and writing into the final articles. About Our Title Masayume 正夢 (pronounced mæs-ai- ju:mei) is a Japanese expression for ‘a dream that later comes true’. Our team chose this phrase as we believe it links both the aspirational and psychological definitions of dreams. Our Charity We decided that for this magazine, we would support a charity. Currently, all our profits from the magazine will be donated towards the Warwick based charity Molly Ollly’s Wishes, who support children with terminal or life threatening illnesses. We felt as if Molly Olly’s Wishes fits very

well with the theme of our magazine as they fulfil many children’s dreams by granting their wishes. There is an information page describing the charity’s activities on page 38-39. Our Team Leaders: Daisy Jones and Alex Borras Writing Team: Ruth Hetherington Beth Hammond Imogen Welbourn Sam Simkin Jess Astley Amanda Astley Lucy Hyde Charlotte Bend Jasmine Chima Elukchana Vivekananthan Elukchiha Vivekananthan Art Team: Esmé Fergusson Sacha Taylor Alexandria Mulhern Elizabeth Willey Hannah Cameron Libby Feller Design Team: Katharine Goodbourn Libby Feller Leah Townsend Jennifer Jones Nina Mulder-Qureshi Elukchana Vivekananthan Elukchiha Vivekananthan We would also like to thank our teachers, Miss Carney and Dr Burley, for organising training sessions for editing and encouraging us to take part in the Shine Media Awards.

Cover Photography: Esmé Fergusson

CONTENTS 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-18 19-25 26-27 28-29 30 31 32-33 34 35 36-37 38-39

Feminism Dream Destination A Brief History Of Dreams There When I Was Six How Do You Know You’re Not Dreaming? Utopia Warwick Preparatory Art Competition Dream Authors Dreams Suffice Can We Decipher The Truth Behind Our Dreams? The Virgin Suicides She Is Here Dreaming The Red Thread Of Fate Molly Olly’s Wishes 3

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Feminism, Equality and Suffragettes:

When Emmeline Gouden married Dr Richard Pankhurst aged 21 she was already familiar with reform movements. Despite being twenty years his junior, Emmeline brought her intelligence and social conscience to a union that forty years later would give some women the right to vote. From their home in Nelson St, Manchester, a city already known for radical activism, the Pankhursts began a feminist movement and wave that would eventually crash on the shores of the establishment and patriarchal society. They were joined by their children Sylvia, Christabel and Adela as they pushed through war and controversy to become a dominant force in the female fight for equality. But it was Emmeline with her famous quote, ‘Trust in God, she will provide’ that gave feminism a voice and authority for her cause. A hundred years later, it is inevitable that we should ask ourselves what she and the pioneers of feminism might think of their cause since. It could be argued that they would have seen the greatest century of female emancipation, culminating in the most powerful political position here in the UK belonging to a woman, not once but twice, surely a goal they could barely have dreamt of? But this apparent success in politics is only fragmentary, and even though Emmeline herself is one of six notable females immortalised by a statue in the estates of the Houses of Parliament, eminent female statues remain vastly outnumbered by monuments of over ninety men. The humankind catastrophe of two World Wars saw women replacing men in factories, farms and even in the military forces. But what should have been the second wave of female equality at the end of WWII floundered as demobilised soldiers returned home once again wrenching jobs and potential from women. It would not be until the 1960s and a surge in civil rights, that women and girls voices became louder and a second wave of feminism flowed along with birth control and sexual revolution.

are we still waiting for the next wave? Ruth Hetherington I imagine the earliest suffragettes would have recognised the plight of submissive housewives, (that radical feminists began to liberate) and praised the mainstream feminist movements as they forced through equal pay and sex discrimination acts. Eventually, some girls and women were reluctant to adopt the label ‘feminist’, claiming it had become an infamous ‘F’ word, connected toradical politics and militant acts. But then, arguably, what had changed? Emmeline and Christabel were certainly radical and militant in their day. But would they have characterised the act of a door being opened for them as a symbol of male oppression? Libby Feller

So, as the second wave diverged into equal rights and radical sexual politics, feminism became increasingly complex. Yet there was no doubt, women had finally won for themselves, with leadership roles in politics, business and education, provided these women were mostly middle-class, educated and white. As a third wave of feminism flourished in the last decade of the twentieth century, I suspect the earliest pioneers may have been surprised and even alarmed at a strong, empowered female, loud, proud and bold with her identity. Beginning to emphasise the ‘individual’ I find the notion of a distinct feminist movement harder to define. But there can be no doubt a girl and woman’s social and economic potential has grown far beyond anything Emmeline and her suffragettes would have ever dreamed of.

So what of a fourth wave? Surely, isn’t it time for a millennial global feminist to reach out, to advance women’s rights world-wide, for women and girls oppressed by religion, ethnicity and economic status? It’s clear that for many women and girls around the world equality of any kind is still a very distant dream. All the more reason why those of us that have the privilege of education and first world lives should stir the waters again and begin the next wave of feminism so it can crash upon their shores.

Elukchiha vivekanathan

DREAM DESTINATION

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Esmé Fergusson

Silence. The sky is as clear as sapphire; the sun is a rosy apricot colour. An explosion of wondrous colours melts into each other as though embracing and kissing. The sun alone peppers the lake with light kisses, setting its body alight but with a touch of warmth. A match made in heaven. “Whish, whish”. Its beauty glitters as it ripples into a rhythm of its own music. Pillows of white, fluffy clouds dance about the still painting like excited children about a sweet shop. Fragments of clouds scatter the sky as if painted by an artistic hand - delicate inflections of the brush spreading white over blue. Magical, simply magical!  My mind can not believe it; my mind will not believe it. Is this heaven? Silence. A troop of soldiers (fifty feet in depth) guard the paradise. Strong, sturdy and solid. The arborescent scent captivates me in its enchanting prison. A plethora of green: mint green; lime green; and emerald green. I can taste the crisp freshness on the tip of my tongue. I savour it slowly, enjoying it in every inch of the body. I feel it tingling through my body, revitalizing me from the inside. The giant trees sway with each other to nature’s music. Everything was in awe of its beauty, even the clouds shushed in admiration. A lone boat floats smoothly against the surface of the lake. The boat is of a cream colour, which blends in with the richness of its surrounding. Its ridges appear chiselled into shape by a master craftsman. They are of such sharpness, it looks as if it was sculpted and pared to perfection. The crystal-clear reflection glistens in the sun’s radiation. Slowly yet skilfully, the boat inches towards its destiny in this heavenly paradise. Silence...

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A Brief History of D Throughout the Ancient World, dreams dictated people’s lives - their superstitions, customs and ways of life were all modelled around the knowledge collected from dreams. A dream is widely believed to be a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of the sleep cycle. Although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history, the content and purpose of dreams are still not totally understood. ‘The Dreaming’ (the idea that all animals and humans have a distinct spiritual essence) is a common term in the animist belief and, in the aboriginal Australian community, is used to describe a ‘timeless time’ of formative creation. However, the earliest record of dreams is found in Egypt, around 2000 B.C, when they had first documented their dreams on papyrus. The Ancient Egyptians put a high value on the contents of these dreams and the ability that one has to dream. Those that had vivid dreams were considered special and were seen as blessed, therefore ancient Egyptians believed dreams were similar to oracles, in that they brought messages from the Gods. They also believed that dreams could be induced, and they even created ‘Dream beds’ in which people could receive advice, comfort or healing merely from sleeping. This belief was also held upon moving further into the African continent. For example, in some African tribes, dream life was held almost as important as waking life. Even today it is believed that dream battles take place, and warriors wake up with sore arm muscles assuming that they have been wielding their clubs during the night. Unlike the Ancient Egyptians, the Zulu people regard dreams as messages from ancestors rather than gods. The Sumerians, a middleeastern

Esmé Fergusson Esmé Fergusson

f Dreams

Jasmine Chima

civilization near modern day Southern-Iraq, left evidence of dreams dating back to 3100 B.C These records show that the Gods and Kings paid special attention to these dreams, as Mesopotamians believed that the soul moves out of the body of the sleeping person and visits the places they see in the dream. Their belief in a ‘God of Dreams’ was also connected to the notion of the spirit leaving your body, as they thought that this God could guide you through your dreams and reveal previously unknown things to you. The Greeks had specific temples, where everything preached was based upon dreams, and where people who wanted to be healed went and asked for help, hoping to receive a curative message. However, in the 5th Century B.C, the ideas had about dreams began to change: dreams were seen wholly as a creation of the dreamer’s mind. This was introduced by the philosopher Heraclitus. Later Plato added to this argument by suggesting that dreams signalled a person’s mental state; Aristotle thought similarly believing that dreams are related to memories from the person’s waking life. We might never know the real meaning of dreams; however by examining recorded history, shown through the extensive writings of ancient civilizations dating back to 2000 B.C, we can learn so much about how humanity’s perceptions of dreams have changed throughout time.

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There

Elukchana Vivekananthan Come, let’s go, let’s go there, there, where sorrows melt away away and away and away, let’s go. Let’s go there, there, where we can breathe air air - where? where is it here? Nowhere. Let’s go there, there, where it’ll be sweeter, and happier, and fresher, fresher than ever before, before it’s too late. So, come on, let’s go there, just let us go there.

Sacha Taylor

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WHEN I WAS When I was six, I was going to be a firefighter. Back then I was an unashamed Fireman Sam addict. I thought that because my name is also Sam, it was destiny. …It didn’t work out... At eleven I was going to have a novel published – a real life book with my name printed on the front in big bold letters. In fairness to eleven year-old me, I have continued to write bits and pieces; I realised that churning out hundreds of thousands of words, all centring around one story, wasn’t for me. I’ll leave that to the professionals, thanks. Dreams slowly began to grow and evolve when I hit my teenage years. When you’re young you dream of ‘big’ things, like becoming an astronaut or a mermaid in my case. Adults around you chuckle and say, ‘Oh how sweet’ ‘Anything is achievable with hard-work’. They know full well that the tiny human in front of them prancing about in fairy wings, saying that when they’re older they’ll live in pixie land, will end up in an office job in London. Some people say that teenagers can’t be bothered to dream. I do still dream, just differently. I dream of getting to a good university, having grades to be proud of and working in a job which

SIX makes me genuinely happy. They’re all dreams, just a little different to the ones I had growing up, even if I do have the occasional ‘irrational’ dream like playing Glastonbury on my bass with Liam Gallagher. As I said, irrational. Dreaming is like playing the guitar; you start off out of time and out of tune, messy chords merging into one awful noise which drives your family insane. Is it major or minor? Who knows? You haven’t developed your own style yet, roughly copying any old Beatles number as best as you can. This is like childhood; not fully knowing who exactly you are and dreaming of anything that seems exciting. Soon, you start to get the hang of it. Suddenly, you’re playing all those songs that once seemed out of reach, but in your own way. This symbolises growing up and realising what kind of person you are - what makes you unique. Your dreams are now based upon your personality and strengths, making them that bit more achievable. Dreams don’t vanish. They don’t fade away or weaken with age. They just change. And that’s okay.

Sam Simkin

Esmé Fergusson

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How Do You Know You amanda astley

The words on this page, the paper that it is written on- it may all feel real, but could you say, definitively, that this is not just a dream? The philosophical discussion of dreams in Western philosophy is said to have begun with the ancient works of Plato and Aristotle, although it is most prominently associated with the French philosopher Rene Descartes, in his work ‘meditations’. The dream argument, as laid out by Rene Descartes, can be separated into two distinct issues: the idea that you are dreaming the present moment, or the idea that you have dreamt your entire life, and these two arguments come with inherently different issues. (NB: this essay is taking the Cartesian precept that dreams are inherently deceptive, and therefore not trustworthy or true, as an undisputed premise). The basis of Cartesian scepticism within the dream argument is that it is impossible to be able to trust your senses to maintain that you are not dreaming, and so it is- arguably- impossible to separate some dreams from reality, leading to the possibility of leading an untrue life. For example, have you ever had a dream in which you were certain that you were awake- or that you had woken up- only to discover that you weren’t? In this way, it becomes obvious to see the philosophical issues with dreaming, and the issues it possesses to living a ‘real’ life. The first problem presented by Descartes- that a dream which you believe is real for the amount of time that you are having is proven false by your awakening (for example, you might be dreaming this essay, but your life has- in some capacity or another- genuinely happened) comes with several implications; firstly, that some experiences you have may have been a

ou’re Not Dreaming? Esmé Fergusson

dream, and if you are unable to recognise this, you are basing your life off false premises and living untruths (although this does extend the problem by assuming you would be unable to recognise the dream after you have woken up), and secondly that, without the ability to establish whether you are awake or dreaming, you are unable to tell what is real and what is not, undermining every action or decision you have ever made. In order to accept the second as a problem, you do have to identify Descartes’ motivation that formed his philosophy- whether it is possible to live a completely true life, that is not based on falsehoods or incorrect ideas. Some - including Descartes - have argued that this issue can be (quite easily) resolved. Descartes postulated the idea of continuity of objects and ideas within waking life could provide a solution to this issue- saying: “…as it is possible to connect the perception that I have of them [objects and ideas] with the whole of the other parts of my life, I am perfectly sure that what I thus perceive occurs while I am awake and not during sleep, And I ought not…to doubt the truth of these presentations, if, after having called together all my senses, my memory, and my understanding for the purpose of examining them, no deliverance is given by any one of these faculties which is repugnant to that of any other… it necessarily follows that I am not herein deceived” (Meditation VI.24) (This is less reliable when considering the idea that the entirety of your life has been a dream due to the necessity of the theological premise that the argument takes as given in saying ‘as god is not a deceiver’ as the reason that your life must be- to common use- ‘real’.)

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Several critics have, however, accused Descartes of fundamentally having misunderstood dreaming- and thus not providing a solution to the issues. Hobbes claimed that it would be possible to merely dream of successfully performing the coherence test, and the French philosopher Bourdin takes this claim further, criticising Descartes’ reliance on clear and distinct as indications of genuine insight as insufficient, as it is possible to dream of having a particularly clear insight which, upon awakening, is proved to be false. The philosopher Grundmann appeals to scientific dream research to establish a criterion by which it is possible to determine whether we are awake or dreaming; by noticing when we are able to engage in critical reflection, and when ongoing experience is seamlessly integrated into our memories, he believes that there is good reason to believe that we are awake. In response to this, Windt argues that reasoning is not necessarily absent when dreaming, and is often ‘systematically corrupted’ when it does occur, leading us to often believe that we are engaging in critical and rational thought within our dreams, even when we are not. The lack of resolution within the discourse of the first issue of dreaming is concerning, although - arguably - it is the second problem that is more disturbing. This ‘second problem’ can be seen as an extension of the first - in that, it is impossible to know if you have ever not been dreaming. (This idea can be seen as similar to the philosophical idea of solipsism in many of the issues that it raises, both metaphysically and ethically.) In essence, the theory argues that, due to the impossibility of knowing whether you are living in reality- as if you have always dreamt your life, you have no comparable events to use to justify that you are not dreaming- the only knowledge that you can ever truly ascertain in that of your own existence- in some form or another (based on Descartes’ assertion: “cognito ergo sum”, or “doubito ergo sum” depending on which translation you follow.) An extension of this idea leads to the claim that there is no connection between your body and your mind, due to the use of reasoning to achieve this claim. This means that it is almost impossible to prove other people’s reality due to the egoistical and individualistic nature of anything that uses a priori reasoning and justification via the human mind- for example I could insist that I am real to you, but I would never be able to give you definitive proof of my existence, and instead you would merely have to base your belief in my existence of faith rather than proof. Many philosophers have attempted to contradict, or find reason against, solipsism; Satre, for example, held that a feeling of shame proved that solipsism and idealism was inherently false as it has to do with external perception of the person. This has, however, two major flaws: firstly, it reduces proof to an emotional state (which is extremely problematic, particularly when considering Wittgenstein’s private language theory, which states that language only has meaning within a community, or with multiple speakers, and the fact that we are unable to show people our emotions, or properly describe them, means that it is entirely plausible that what one person considers the emotion of shame, another would not- and thus the word loses its meaning.) and secondarily, you only have to believe that

other people are rational and real beings in order to feel shame - which again only verifies your own existence. The philosopher John Locke held that the feeling of pain is proof that we are not dreaming, as the pain in dreaming is lessened than the pain of reality. This is useful when considering the first issue- the idea that you may be dreaming certain moments in time- but less so when considering the idea that we have always been dreaming, due to, again, the insufficiency of making a comparison without an external or other source. The same can be said for Hobbes’ theory of the absurdity of dreams- although this has the added issue of the nature of dreaming being such that it is possible to recognise the absurd as completely normal- and that these ideas only exist within the framework that has been established. (The language around the concept of solipsism, or the idea that you are living in a dream, is problematic for the same reason. Whilst discussing it, there is a tendency to use pronouns such as ‘you’ or even ‘I’ which require, by their nature alone, the concept of ‘other’ in order to have meaning, and so are, in this context, meaningless, as we are rejecting the framework in which they were created.) The nature of the premises and ideas presented by solipsism have been traditionally scorned by philosophers, due to the unprovable nature of the claimsKant, for example, once said of solipsism that there are some questions which should never be asked, and that there is apostolic authority for the injunction ‘to avoid foolish questions’, and one debate on solipsism famously ended with a professor banging his head on the table as “proof” of his existence. The question, they argued, shouldn’t be whether or not the claim is true, but rather whether it should have an impact on our lives- both metaphysically and morally. On the one hand, the idea of a higher reality being considered more moral, or intrinsically better, that the subjective, non-true reality has been seen throughout

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much of Western philosophy; arguably most notably beginning with Plato’s allegory of the cave.1 Descartes took this assertion as fact, as many philosophers have, and thus laid the basis of his dream argument. However, some philosophers, such as the commonsense philosophers and the followers of logical positivism, would argue that it doesn’t. (Logical positivism was a movement formed in the 1920s, which rejected any metaphysical assertions and instead relies on factual knowledge that is possible to be perceived, and verified, or is useful to the world around us. They claimed that, as metaphysical claims could not be proven or disproven, the claims- or even consideration of the claims- were meaningless. Our life does not have to depend on the ‘reality’ of it, merely the actions taken within that framework.) The other question is that of morality. Does ethics depend on belief in other people? Essentially, yes. However, until there is undeniable evidence that the other does not exist, most people, including most solipsists would continue to act in some ethical capacity, even if this only comes from the human instinct to act socially. And so, in this way, it could be considered possible to act on two dichotomous ideas: that other people do not exist, but that you should also act in consideration of others- even if only in fear of (imagined?) consequences. Realistically, it is impossible to live your life under the consistent assertion that you are dreaming everything- or that you are the only person to exist. Even this essay assumes some level of reality to the others or the world around us, and although, as proven in Hutton’s paradox 2, it is impossible to ascertain whether or not we are dreaming, it does not- truly- affect the reality of our lives. Footnotes: Plato’s allegory of the cave refers to a section within the Republic, in which Plato describes a hypothetical scenario to describe the previously described two states of mind; Belief and illusion. In it, Plato describes a cave, in which a set of human live- chained so that they can see nothing but the wall in front of them. In this scenario, the light from the outside casts shadows on the wall that mimic the actions of the people of the outside world- and this is all the chained people know of the world, and what they believe the world is. However, Plato describes a situation in which one of the people becomes free to leave, and steps outside of the cave in order to experience the outside world of ‘reality’- something which is presented as inherently more desirable.

Hutton’s paradox states that if you ask yourself “Am I dreaming” it proves that you are as that question would never occur to you in real life. Yet he could never remember to do it in dreams, and realised that, on reflection, he had actually asked himself that question many times within his waking life. This forced him to question- if the original assertion be taken to be true- whether he had, in fact, been dreaming his whole life.

utopia

lucy hyde

reams can be undirectable nightly experiences, they can be visionary aspirations or carefully planned thought experiments of a better future. It is into this final category that the topic of Utopia fits, one which aspires to create an improved society, embodying the author’s ideas of a perfect social order. A Utopia is an imagined society or place, where a social or political system aims to develop its founder’s notions of equality and justice, and thus achieve living harmony between all its members. There is a vast history of Utopian literature, and I propose to touch on only a few examples of significant ‘Utopias’ that highlight the diversity of ideas surrounding this concept, showing the importance of a writer’s own times and the events of their society in influencing the outcome of their writings. Despite the vast range of wonderful, creative and sometimes very questionable ideas that great thinkers have come up with across history, what is so significantly interesting about the idea of Utopia is the shared universal, hopeful outlook: emphasising the idea that the human situation is changeable, society reorderable, and a brighter future possible.

Libby Feller

正夢 masayume Plato’s Republic

The 1 recorded example of a Utopia is found in the writings of Plato. His Republic, written around 380 BC, tackles the central theme of a search for justice and attempts to develop the idea that a perfect social system will result in the achievement of the ‘just’ principle. At the heart of Utopian literature is social commentary and its answer comes through social restructuring; this characteristic is clearly evident in the genre from the beginning of its long history: Plato presents us with his solutions for the government of an ideal society. st

For Plato the first step to achieving utopia is the proposition of a state divided into three classes: the ‘golden’, ‘silver’ (soldiers), and ‘bronze’ (common) citizens, these divides form the rigid (though not invulnerable) lines along which to draw up his society. Perhaps the strict categorisation of citizens, along with a narrow distribution of power (belonging only to the golden class) seems foreign to our modern perspective on Utopia, where the tendency is rather to dispose of social divides, yet to Plato this structure appears natural and just: the Golden Citizens are the educated and wise ‘philosopher kings’, the ‘benign oligarchs’ who seek to remove poverty through fairly distributed resources – an idea certainly not disagreeable to the likes of Karl Marx. So too is the equality in which Plato expects men and women to live, receiving the same education and similarly allowed to access positions in civil society. Slavery is a clear sanctioned part of The Republic, along with strict censorship designed to ensure the loyalty of subjects to the state- ‘lying’ is described as ‘the prerogative of the government’: over time the people are to be deceived into believing the mythological origins of their state of

affairs, thus justifying their obedience to it. Marriage also is to be reformed: mating is arranged by the state for eugenic ends and children are to be taken from their parents at birth and raised communally to prevent family loyalty outstripping that owed to the state. It is interesting to see Plato’s perspective on democracy, which he holds in a negative light: seeing it as leading to mob rule and allowing the rise of demagogues to Tyranny. In this and other aspects, Plato’s Republic highlights how our views on an ideal society always depend on the spirit of our times: to many 20th century philosophers, such as Karl Popper, The Republic is a dystopia: harsh, unfree and totalitarian, the rigid class divisions and lack of power invested in the working classes, along with a eugenic breeding system, causes Popper to interpret Plato’s ‘justice’ as “keeping one’s place”. It is true that Plato’s definition of justice sanctions inequalities of power & privilege: to him injustice would only occur if men wiser than the guardians were held in lower classes. For a modern reader we find many of Plato’s propositions unpleasant or counter intuitive; the rigidity of the system and its deceitful founding, lack the virtues often expected of a Utopia, yet it is here we see one of the steady characteristics of Utopian literature: it is designed to tackle the issues of the day, the society created is not so different to the author’s own to make it unrecognisable to contemporary readers, and consequently this familiarity gives the work an air of plausibility to those who receive it. We can see the motives of Plato’s Republic when it is placed in the social situations of his time: he had lived through famine and defeat, perhaps it was simply the avoidance

of these evils he wished to achieve through Great Unity the formation of a stable social order where Utopian ideas are certainly not solely a feature each knew their own place and worked for of Western literature: The Peach Blossom the greater good. Spring written in 421 by Tao Yuanming, during a period of instability and conflict in China One unique quality of The Republic that (as is often the case in writers of Utopian we do not see in other Utopian writings is ideas) describes the discovery of a village that it was, perhaps, intended to be actually surrounded by peach trees where the people founded; Plato lived in a time where new live harmoniously with nature. The narrative city states could be formed by a willing carries a sense of timelessness, reconfirming community, wise men were commonly the idea that a perfect Utopia society would employed to draw up city laws, and rule by be unchanging. philosophers was being practiced by the Pythagoreans. However, this was the end Utopian ideas are named ‘Datong’- Great of an age: soon large states and decimating Unity in Chinese philosophy and the concept wars would antiquate the age of political first appeared in the Confucian book “Lǐ yùn” experiment leaving an atmosphere in which around the 3rd century BC: a society with no experimental society could thrive. democratic themes where elders are greatly Libby Feller respected, those who suffer are taken care of, and ‘the big road of virtue was followed by all-under-heave’: Another notable example of ‘Great Unity’ is the modern reformer Kang Youwei’s book of that name (1885): a plan for peace & world unity, where evil – i.e. suffering- would cease, and inequality end through the abolishing of nine boundaries: the boundaries of ‘nation’, ‘class’ and ‘race’, ‘sex-boundaries’, ‘familyboundaries’, ‘occupation-boundaries’, and those of ‘disorder’, ‘kind’, and ‘suffering’. The Idea of Datong has had considerable influence throughout China’s long history just as Utopia has had on the minds of the West: from Confucians to Mao, the symbolic conception of the datong Utopian society has come to represent the ideals of its preachers, whether as an interpretation of Confucian values, or socialist ideas. From the 20th century the endeavour to reconstruct the ’Great Unity’ in a modern nation-state has informed its own interpretation and sustained the significance of the idea.

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More’s Utopia

Although ideas of Utopias have popped up throughout history, it was not until 1516 that the word was applied to the idea. οὐ meaning “not”, and τόπος (“place”) become Utopia under the pen of Sir Thomas More, creating a slight irony in the fact that we name our aspirations for an improved world ‘nowhere’ - More states himself that “rather rightly my name is Eutopia [meaning ‘good place’] , a place of felicitie [sic]”

The prejudices of More’s age are also embodied in this society (as is true of all Utopias in reflecting the times of their maker): premarital sex or adultery are harshly punished, and atheism is despised (atheists will, he argues, have no motive for belief in the nation’s communistic outlook without an afterlife to fear). Internal travel requires a passport, and unpermitted it can result in slavery for the offender.

More’s Utopia can be interpreted in diverse ways: as a blueprint of a working nation, or as a piece of political and social satire of contemporary England, criticising the tendency of kings to start wars, the practice of enclosure and a social system which kills its own victims, for crimes of poverty.

Overall it is not perhaps the society, customs and practise of Utopia that More is really pushing and promoting; in fact it seems certain that Utopia was not written with the purpose of expressing More’s view of a better world: many of its tenets contrast with his own beliefs, such as the contrast

More imagines an island in the ‘New World’ of the Americas, cut off from the mainland by a man-made channel. This is a society carefully subdivided into city, quarter and household; ruled over by an elected Prince. There is no private property (a theme we see recurring throughout many Utopias), liberal treatment of women (though women certainly face greater restrictions), uniform clothing, free hospitals, communal eating, toleration of religions and compulsory employment. By admitting human needs to be few: plentiful food, shelter, social care, the society is able to satisfy all.

Libby Feller

Yet the apparent ideal society holds up mars which a modern commentator cannot ignore: each household has two slaves to it – criminals or foreigners- (whose chains are of gold to bring shame to the metal), foreign nations are bribed into conflict with each other and euthanasia is encouraged by the state.

Libby Feller between Utopia’s religious tolerance and his persecution of protestants. More often comments on the absurdity of Utopian practises. It is also to note that, by littering the text with Greek translations of ‘no place’, ‘much nonsense’ and ‘dispenser of nonsense’, More is perhaps suggesting Utopia is nonsense in itself. Possibly the most significant message that Utopia coveys, over the actual practicalities of its society, is the idea that a perfect society cannot occur with private property, and it is only with the removal of this that concern for the public welfare may wholly increase. Utopia is overall a critique of the ‘realms of greed and pride’ that Hythloday (the protagonist) perceived in the world, where welfare is measured not by wellbeing but by having things others lack, this is an idea influential to many utopian societies (More does balance this with the argument that many great, noble things in European society result from private property). It is a debate of interest between the ideas of philosophical idealism, and pragmatism, showing that each carries limitations and benefits: a criticism of European society in which Utopia acts as the measure society may be judged against, and perhaps in part the way it can be repaired.

More’s Utopia went on to inspire countless writers and philosophers, the Utopian works of the 17th century extend the ideas of their predecessors further, with a vast boom in literature of this type during the age. Of note are Tommaso Campanella’s The City of the Sun (1602) and Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis (1625), in these writings both the Utopian ideas of More and the dawning age of scientific enlightenment is reflected. Shakespeare too commonly imagines Utopia’s in his play: The Tempest is full of illusions to the contrast of the ‘real world’ and ‘new world’, and each character conceives their own Utopia – to Miranda (brought up in isolation on an island resulting from her father’s exile) utopia is a world populated by others, to Gonzalo (the kindly advisor of the king) a realm without states, property or labour. These writers expressed and popularized the idea of utopia, boarding its conception and bringing variation to its interpretation.

Socialism

Perhaps one of the most influential Utopian dreams our world has produced lies in the communist theories of Karl Marx, for it is of the few that moved from theoretical ideas

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towards inspiring a practical movement. It is interesting to note that one of the first forms of modern socialism was itself named ‘Utopian Socialism’, suggesting from the outset its very purpose of creating a better society. These utopian socialists believed in the creation of a rational society expanding the egalitarian principles of the French revolution, they opposed the idea of class struggle presented in the works of Marx and Engels and believed instead in the voluntary appeal of a cooperative society. The 1800s were an age rich in Utopian idealism, from the publication of best-selling novels detailing future societies – such as Edward Bellamy’s ‘Looking Backward’ (describing a Utopian society in the year 2000 where nationalization of industry and military style organization has overcome the inequality and poverty associated with capitalism), or William Morris’s ‘News from Nowhere’ (which fuses socialism and romantic tradition by doing away with advancing technology and modernity: emphasizing the joy of workmanship & agrarian society); to the enterprising Industrialists who, shocked by the horrifying working conditions of their labourers, created welfare schemes, schools and offering high wages and good working conditions: The Cadbury’s pioneered pension schemes, medical service for employees and ensured good living conditions in ‘Bourneville’. The Owenism movement inspired by Robert Owen created several experimental utopian communities for the unemployed poor such as New Harmony in Indiana or Ralahine in Ireland (these communities however failed due to inexperienced management and lack of skilled workers). Yet it was from the idea of Marxism that the first real society based on Utopian ideas (yet arguably removed from utopianism)

was put into practise: Marx believed that a truly utopian society (though he never used the word utopia) must be classless: by removing class structures wealth could be shared amongst all. The contrast between Marx’s view and that of the Utopian Socialist’s lies in the conception of how this should be accomplished: he believed that to liberate the lower class, the government would have to have absolute control over all means of production and land, and this is achieved through 3 stages: revolution (total destruction), dictatorship (establishing absolute control & collectivisation), and finally utopia. Marxism was first put to practise in 1917 in the Russia, fuelled by the idealistic utopian dreams of the Bolshevik party. Following the turmoil of two revolutions, civil war, famine and terror, the Soviet Union formed under Lenin and consolidated under Stalin. In countless aspects the regime that followed is as far from the classification of Utopia as one can reach however, it must be acknowledged, that the idealism of many of the Soviet Union’s founders, and the beliefs in its principles that many sustained under it, reflect the urge we have witnessed throughout this study, to imagine, and to achieve, something greater than what is, to work towards a goal of social unity, and to sacrifice present happiness for the aspirational achievement of a future joy. In line with Marx’s conception of world -wide worker’s utopia, his communistic philosophy spread beyond the USSR: much of Eastern Europe, North Vietnam, Cambodia, China & Cuba all adopted -whether by popular desire, or force- Marx’s principles. Though my judgement may in parts be misplaced, in my assessment Marx’s version of socialism has not realised a shred of the utopia it may have set out to achieve.

Conclusion

The ideal of social cohesion still holds strong in the dreams of many modern Utopian designers: a society where common visions -spiritual, political, or social- tie together a community for the greater good has been shared in the dreams of 20th and 21st century writers. Science fiction is filled with Utopian dreams, sometimes with communities galaxy wide, sometimes small experimental societies. These are scientific Utopias where (often) technological advancements liberate humans from mundane labour, eradicate suffering and allow utopian living standards, H. G. Wells’ A Modern Utopia, Yevgeny Zemyatin’s We and Austin Tappan Wright’s Islandia, exemplify this trend. Feminist Utopias and Ecotopian Utopias also deserve a reflection. The modern utopia often reflects goals towards equality: of gender, wealth, labour, race, age and thus of opportunity; and emphasises egalitarian principles of justice, government and economics.

You do not need to be a great philosopher to aspire towards Utopian ends; all around us the dreams of our fellow humans are expressed and addressed: in the actions of humanitarian workers, in the aspirations of Olympic competitors, in those working for justice, in the protests of those searching for change, in the work of those striving for international peace, and in the everyday acts of kindness that bring each person a step towards their own personal utopia. Libby Feller

It is the profound habit of humankind to invent Utopias, we have seen but a few. In this assessment it is overall the diversity of Utopias that shines through; as each author presents their visionary ideas we begin to see that perhaps the achievement of a ‘perfect Utopia’ is after all unattainable, for to each human the desires and wants vary. But we must also remember -by looking back at those who have created Utopias throughout history- that the Utopia of our dreams may embody different aspirations to those of people of the past, and of the future. It is therefore the duty of those who imagine Utopias to seek not a potential future but actuality of their ideas; as a dream, however potent, will remain unfulfilled unless acted upon.

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Millie - Age 8 “My artwork is about me painting a picture of my cat Poppy. I would love to be an artist and I adore cats!”

Best Drawing

Magazine Team’s Favourite

Olivia - Age 8 “My piece is of a tropical paradise with a beautiful beach in the sunshine.”

Warwick Preparatory School Art Competition We gave a number of students from our sister Preparatory school the opportunity to create artwork to feature in our magazine. the theme we chose was “Aspirations and Ambitions” to introduce the idea that dreams can be interpreted in different ways. Some examples were dream jobs, houses or places they wanted to visit. Thank you to everyone who Participated. Here are a few of our favourites...

Most Creative

Georgia - Age 8 “A house made out of sweets and chocolate with a secret slide escape route and a tongue balcony . At the top is a wizard’s hat and inside there is a Harry Potter theme.”

Most Aspirational Sienna - Age 9 “My artwork is of me doing ballet on Britain’s Got Talent and the yellow circles around me are spotlights. My dream is to do ballet and dance.”

Best Painting

Sophia - Age 8 “My dream job is to be a show jumper so this is me on a pony called Niky”

Best Colouring Makaela - Age 7 “I think sunsets are beautiful and I want to see one on the hills when I’m older so I drew one.”

Amber - Age 7 “My piece is called Happy Families Through Generations. It is about me having a child who will be loving and caring a for him/her to get married and have loving and caring children themselves and keep it following through the family.”

Most Thoughtful

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Challenging social ideologies and contemporary norms, is often the driving force, which spurs authors to encourage radicalised views or absurd ideas throughout their own literary works. Writers such as Franz Kafka and J.D Salinger all utilise an incongruous notion in order to present a multitude of possible interpretations which both rely upon on one theme: dreams. The following will investigate the concept of dreams within literature and how this theme can be inverted and interchanged with other ideologies, therefore presenting a provocative or inferior outlook which not only challenges the readers views relating to their contemporary social stratification, but also resonates with them in the long-term. A predominant theme which runs throughout J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is that of The American Dream, likely because of its verisimilitude and significance within the lives of many. This subjective theory is an ideology which can be addressed when one has both the determination and ambition to hard work resulting in the accomplishment of their dreams and aspirations. Protagonist, Holden Caulfield, appears to have an ineptness when it comes to achieving the American Dream. Or rather, his rejection of the modernising 1950s pop culture and the materialistic possessions coinciding with this, result in Caulfield having the realisation that he has in fact connected intimately with Stradlater, Ackley and Maurice throughout the past few months, even though this appears to be his ultimate objective throughout the novel. Within the very last line of the novel, we discover that he has finally comprehended his actions and their consequences when he says, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” This quotation, interestingly suggests a sense of compassion which we are yet to see from Holden Caulfield, thus resulting in the reader’s realisation that Caulfield has finally gained a sense of maturity and purpose within his life. This is due to the discovery - from hindsight - that all of his social interactions, throughout the course of this bildungsroman, have occurred when he has been attempting to escape reality and ‘run away’ from becoming an adult. Ironically, it is these experiences which have allowed him to mature ensuring he gains a critical and deeper understanding into the how the world functions and to realise that there is no escape from hard work. If we return to our definition of The American Dream, his childlike imagination driving his every move and thought has now begun to dissipate as we finally view him trying to understand the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the world as his naive view is slowly broken down. Overall, J.D Salinger’s contrasting image of the ‘Great Gatsby’ inspired American Dream, concludes in revolutionising this stereotypical ideology based on ambitions into a revelation within the mental state. However, as the reader, we are still resided in the hands of ambiguity, rendering us to devise what has or will occur to the character of Holden Caulfield. Thus, we create a hopeful, idealistic vision of our preference, similar to the theory behind The American Dream. In conclusion, this inverted concept is representative of both the entirety of the novel and the era, resulting in our own realisation that perhaps The American Dream will not always settle in what we first intend it to become. Contrasting this is the 1912 Franz Kafka novel, The Metamorphosis, representative of society’s ignorance in relation to mental health. Dreams in this instance

D rA eu at mh o r s

Charlotte Bend

Esmé Fergusson

ors as ble ept es, ws

an ry rk ars he eld ce ut

could signify a plethora of predominant key matters such as mental instability, surrealism or even act as a warning for the effects of insomnia. We can see this directly from the first sentence, “ As Gregor awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into a gigantic insect.” This quotation has numerous underlying tones of ambiguity, however the prevailing tone is that of Samsa’s awakening from a strenuous lifestyle due to his position with the social strata. Juxtaposing The Catcher in the Rye, this is a book filled with motifs of regret and the vulnerability of the working class in a society, which completely lacks a sense of an egalitarian state. For instance within the quotation mentioned above (“gigantic insect”) there is obscurity within the translation from German into English for the term, “Ungeziefer”. Some critics believe that this sense of vagueness was created by Kafka in order to allow liberty for numerous interpretations to be created and therefore, people can use their own imagination (or dreams!) to decide how this possible metaphorical portrayal of an insect directly correlates to their own life. This noun has a range of translations all of which suggest an insect or some type of vermin, however, when returning to Old High German deciphers as “an unclean animal unfit for sacrifice”. The religious connotations of “sacrifice” appear to link to the idea of society and how one person’s gains are from another man’s losses. Furthermore, this societal concept of a direct correlation for the suffering and despair one is exposed to and their consequential position within the social strata. If this concept appears to be one of truth then Gregor Samsa could be representative of those who no longer dream within society as they have lost all hope. We see this idea extended when Gregor takes his last breath, following the alienation of Samsa from his family and consequently, their negligence. Throughout this short novel, Samsa never once gives up hope until his death, whether it be his desire for a certain food, to see his mother, to be accepted by his father or even to be reinstated as the archetypal son who can reduce his family’s sufferings through hard work. Unfortunately, this dream like manner soon fades as he comes to the realisation that his death would result in his family’s happiness. They would no longer have to hide him away in secrecy, no longer have him has a burden, and certainly not have to dream of exterminating their own family member (as Greta does). All of this culminates into an anti-climatic death in which Samsa never fulfils his only dream of becoming a man again; he gives up his own despairing wish for the hope of his family’s contentment. This is significant as it epitomizes Gregor’s detachment from human interaction and his warped perspective as even he views himself as an affliction on society, resulting in his death, from a malnourishment of love rather than a starvation of food. It almost appears that his death began from the very first line of the novel, as his “dreams” denote a state of depression and mental instability, which result in his inability to find support or affection from his family. Overall, The Metamorphosis is illustrative of many things, however the presentation of dreams throughout appears to suggest a corruption of mental health for Gregor due to his innate need for affection. This gradual estrangement from love slowly kills Samsa from the inside and could likely have occurred prior to his transformation into an insect. However, this physical and ignominious change symbolises the point within his life that society would no longer respect his dreams and ambitions for life, as society cannot love someone who is from a subordinate class. In conclusion, dreams are often used within literature to not only add a sense of verisimilitude, but to exploit the expanse between appearance and reality. On the one hand, there are the dreams, which endeavour to push the limits of a tangible act through the inversion of the physical, in order to become either a metaphysical or utopian vision, all within our unconscious mind, thus linking to The American Dream. Opposing this, is the ideology of dreams being demonstrative of our mental states and therefore our lack of mental capacity or breadth of what society deems as regular can appear through our sleep patterns and hence our dreams too, such as with Gregor Samsa. Both occurrences of utilising ‘dreams’ results in an effective resonance with the reader often symbolising the objectification, neglect or despair of members within humanity, thus requiring acknowledgment within culture to gain recognition for a widespread matter that is yet to gain a voice of respect.

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Dreams Suffice Sam Simkin

et them flutter into the embers all those broken dreams, twirling around the ashes like twisted fairy wings. Snatching around at lifeless wishes promises not to keep, the scent of smouldering traces of old broken dreams. Escaping into those trances distances the bad, leaving life’s reality hoarding dreams to be had. Let them glisten in childish hope way beyond the clouds, looking up to remember that life has a sweet sound. Sam Simkin

Esmé Fergusson

Can we decipher the truth behind our dreams? Imogen Welbourn

The scientific study of a dream is referred to as oneirology; dreams essentially occur during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, this is when brain activity is high and the activity level is equal to what it would be if one was awake. During the REM sleep stage, the dreams are made up of flashes of thoughts and images from your waking life; for example something that happened during your school or working day- though you rarely remember these dreams unless you wake up during them. Although dreams can be experienced throughout any stage of sleep the most vivid dreams are experienced during the REM stage, as this is when the brain is most active. No one knows exactly why dreams are formed, but scientists believe that dreams are formed most commonly during the REM stage. This maybe because the memories from that day are consolidating and brain chemicals are being replenished, this is why many peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dreams are related to what has happened during their day or something that they are either looking forward to or dreading. As we know during the REM stage of sleep, dreams are a lot more vivid and as our brains are completely absorbed and occupied by this state of mind, our bodies essentially turn off and the muscles are unable to move otherwise we would act out the dream. There is

a particularly worrying event that can happen for people during sleep, which is referred to as sleep paralysis, this is when the person wakes before the REM has finished, the brain thinks that the person is asleep so therefore the muscles are still unable to move causing the body to be temporarily paralysed. There are some people who are able to control their dreams and this is known as lucid dreaming and this is the ability to know youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dreaming while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dreaming, not only is a lucid dreamer aware of whether they are in this state or not they are able to go to sleep at night and wake within their dream, the reason this is possible is because they are conscious and this makes the dreams seem more like reality, this can cause people to find nightmares even more distressing and freighting. Once you have achieved this (lucidity) you can explore and even change certain elements of the dream. To have a lucid dream is rather common and most people will experience this type of dream at some point during their lives, but this type of dream does not occur too frequently. But the level of control can vary from person to person, the level of awareness can depend on how deeply a person sleeps. In conclusion, evidence suggests that we experience dreams yet no-one can pinpoint what exactly causes them and the content of human dreams.

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h e V i r g i n Suicides Beth Hammond

Fashion in film;

the long-lasting legacy of the Lisbon sisters.

The

Virgin suicides (2000) delves into a dream world of bell bottoms and pastel tones whilst exploring the hazy dream world of five Catholic sisters and the mystery shrouding their deaths.

Nearly

two decades have amassed since the directorial debut of Sofia Coppola and her films (centred around pretty rich girls living oh so sad lives) became cemented in pop culture. Based on the cult novel written by Jeffery Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides has stood the test of time, and the poignant stylisation of this tragic tale is a credit to her incredible direction and the power of having such a strong visual aesthetic. Her depiction of sundrenched, slow-moving suburbia and the mysterious, enigmatic Lisbon sisters created something special. Somehow, it just gets it right. From the muted, warm toned colour palettes to the moody and dulcet soundtrack, the film captures feelings of nostalgia, yearning and the imprisonment of being a teenage girl, all to the backdrop of a provincial, conservative town in the seventies.

The film revolves around a group

of awkward schoolboys and their infatuation with the Lisbon sisters; their impenetrable and

perplexing neighbours who are confined and kept close by their strict and religious parents. The girls are magical, they transfix the town whilst suffocating in their gilded cage. The relationships the boys crave with the girls are solely figments of their imagination; their ideals projected onto the girls they know little of. Yet, their addiction is extreme. The sisters are so ethereal to the boys that they become ethereal to us. They remain dreamy, carefree and unattainable, profoundly aloof and unfathomable; never quite within grasp.

A film with such a strong aesthetic identity

can be hard to construct, but with the sepia tinged glow of leafy, no-name towns to the gawking, obsessive adolescent boys clad in denim flares and Reebok trainers, Coppola creates a temporal haze; a shift back in time to prairie-clad purity and melancholic, monotonous suburban life. Where the father’s go to work from 9 until 5 and the mother’s stay home and gossip and they rejoin at the weekends for couple’s tennis at the country club. The film exudes dreaminess, it leaks out from every still. It’s a retelling of a sprawling middle class town bathed in golden light and beautiful tragedy; a nightmare dressed up as perfection. The film is so successful, largely, in part, due to the incredible outfits and clothes worn throughout.

Gaining

inspiration from Bill Owen’s Suburbia, Sofia Coppola worked very closely with stylist Nancy Steiner to create her lavish dream world and outfits reminiscent of blurred summer days circa 1976 were all authentically sourced from vintage shops. Baby blue halter midis and crochet cardigans and virginal nighties, button down skirts and tennis dresses,

Esmé Fergusson

flared jeans and polos shirts are all frequent features. Whether it’s rainbow bikini tops or ribbed flowery vests, everything perfectly compliments Coppola’s opulent, dreamy fantasy.

From

the opening scene of Lux (Kirsten Dunst) sucking a popsicle, aimlessly wandering the manicured streets donning her angelic blonde hair in her signature side part and her red striped t-shirt, to Celia’s white, lace, tiered dress that she never takes off (with the collection of pastel bracelets sellotaped over her hospital bandages) to Trip Fontaine’s red velvet suit and effortlessly cool aviators, something about the fashion is endlessly enduring and encapsulates the tone of the film better than any script ever could.

The

prom scene is filled with Gunne Sax dresses inundated with flowers and shades of peaches and pink sweep the dance floor. The four sisters emanate excitement in their ill-fitting, floor-length, ditsy, floral gowns, ready for release from their tight constraints (chaperoned by their father of course.) They look so celestial, radiations of beauty and grace. They resemble every conservative parent’s dream, despite how the nightmare evening unfolds. Coppola blurs the divide between conservation of innocence and the exhilaration of burgeoning sexuality; they are dressed like angels but act contrarily.

Despite being released in 2000, The Virgin

Suicides and its aesthetic made a massive impact on fashion. American fashion brand Rodarte, famed for designing intricate and whimsical dresses, released collections that could very easily be worn by the sisters during their first (and last)

basement party. The Marc Jacobs Daisy campaign, which looks more like a deleted scene from the movie, was directed by Sofia Coppola herself, a long time muse of Marc. The brand also released collections reminiscent of the girl’s modest school uniform, featuring structured grey skirts and white blouses. Karl Lagerfeld designed divine and enchanting white gowns for the Chanel Spring 2011 Haute Couture show, almost replicas of some of the dresses seen at the dance. Tavi Gevinson, founder of Rookie magazine and a self-professed cult follower of the movie, (and maybe long-lost Lisbon sister) returns to the film every summer without fail, and glimmers of the Lisbon sisters can be seen in the dreamy looks she puts together.

The Virgin Suicides creates a whole new world; meandering through a peach tinged, upper-class town full of posh, soccer moms and careless debutantes who are almost bored with their privilege. A world where girls smoke in the school bathrooms in their demure Catholic school uniforms and there is a constant colligation between naivety and the disillusionment of experience. Arguably it is her most visually thrilling film and the choice of costumes massively impacts the essence of the story. What Jeffrey Eugenides captured with words, Sofia Coppola manages to capture with her dreamy lens, ethereal use of colour and of course the fashion. The film is a melancholic tale of youth, an elegy to lonely girls. But at least the clothes are fabulous.

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She is here

Elukchana Vivekananthan She is so beautiful, isn’t she a masterpiece, a wonder. She glides into the room, so gracefully, a sweetly dangerous hint of edge about her. I watch her, from the darkest corner of the bar the way she moves, the way she laughs, the way she is moving. She has a way of making people turn and look and stare at her. She looks at me and her stare O her stare, frighteningly fierce, it burns me. She is dangerous O Dream is so dangerous.

Isabel Meeke

Dreaming

Jess Astley sometimes, she walks through the fields, camera hung around her neck quietly, all self-contained, yet despite her best attempts, life vibrates around her every step. She stops to turn, and pirouettes to every Dozen paces, half turns around againâ&#x20AC;Ś swaying, dreaming, to the past and present rhythms Which hang suspended in the murky summer air. Fingertips, brushing over grass are transformed into wings and they dance, movements that are composed and forgotten to the fast-paced future; it has no time to waste on slowly taken photographs of dandelions, seeds scattering in the wind.

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THE

R E D

THREAD OF FATE

In Japanese culture, similar to that of the Twin Flame connection and the Western soul mates, a fable exists that narrates its unique story of how destiny is fabricated. The Red Thread of Fate stems from the belief that everyone has a destined lover. It is imagined that human relationships are predestined by a red string that the lunar gods tie to the pinky fingers of those who find each other in life. The myth derives from biology. The heart and the pinky finger are joined together by the ulnar artery, hence why the motif of a red string around one’s little finger is used. However, the Japanese believe the thread flowing from the heart doesn’t just end at the tip of the little finger. The invisible red thread imitates and represents love; flowing out of the body and going on tointertwine with another thread, connecting two hearts. Our vital essence isn’t confined to the borders of physical body. Two people who are connected in this way are bound together by Fate itself. The strings can become stretched and tangled with time, but they can’t ever break.

Art and Writing by: Alexandria Mulhern

The two people will always be united eventually. Everything that occurs before unity is nothing more than a plot through the route of the string that ends up with two becoming one. The Japanese thread is not only limited to lovers. It speaks of a type of arterial extension that egresses from the finger to anyone and everyone we will ever connect with, make history with, or help. The myth of the string is a way to understand all our encounters, to make sense of why things happen the way they do, the millions of stories that crisscross with others. According to the myth, they are neither random triumphs nor accidents, but a part of a scarlet tapestry that every single being plays a part in knitting. The Red Thread of Fate is just one of many myths and stories about star-crossed lovers destined to be, similar to Zeus cutting people in half to wonder the world finding each other, or Osiris and Isis being separated, but then connected, by death. However, the Japanese Red Thread of Fate tells us that within the maze of encounters and shared stories, there is a predestined path, perfect for each of us, a scarlet string which connects us with our irrevocable, undeniable, immutable destination placed at the edge of another string that leads to ours.

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Molly Olly’s Wishes was founded in 2011 by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw. Their daughter Molly Ollerenshaw was diagnosed aged 3 with a Wilms Tumour and despite a long, brave five year fight, died in 2011. Molly Olly’s Wishes supports children 0-18 years with any terminal or life threatening illness. This is achieved through granting wishes and providing our therapeutic toy “Olly The Brave” and books to help children understand their treatment journey and therefore supporting their emotional well-being.

The wishes have an average value of £500 and can be for anything and everything from medical aids, toys, days out, shopping vouchers, electronic devices, funds to help things such as transport costs etc. Some wishes such as P-Pod chairs (specialist made to measure orthopaedic chairs for children with cerebral palsy) cost in the region of £1200, and if a family wanted a holiday these can obviously cost more for a family of 7 than a family of 3. However, a wish for an item such as an iPad would be in the region of £300 and where possible we try to get some items or experiences donated. The charity has contacts at the hospitals such as Clic Sargent social workers; play specialists etc. who may recommend families to us as they work closely with families in need of support. Some hear of us through social networking sites and others through their fellow patients. Currently, we do not have to turn any wish requests away other than those that do not fit criteria. They grant approximately 250 wishes per year. Molly Olly’s have also designed a therapeutic toy, Olly The Brave and written two books that help children understand their treatment. The charity donate these packs to hospitals across the UK. We aim to write more books in the future. With any additional funds the charity support projects above and beyond the work of the NHS. We are a small charity based from home. We raise our funds through various activities such as an annual ball with an auction, a golf day and corporate sponsorship to name a few. We work with a host of different individuals, organisations and companies who help raise valuable funds. These are larger corporates such as Thomson Airways, Virgin Media, JLR, SCC to local Brownie groups and schools.

BY KINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HIGH SCHOOL WARWICK 2018