SCRIMP Spring Edition 2017
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PRODUCTS UNDER A FIVER TO HELP YOU RELAX
TOP 10 STUDENT NIGHTS IN MANCHESTER the best and nightclubs you need to visit
ED SHEERAN'S NEW ALBUM An in-depth review of Divide
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EAT YOUR GREENS Tasty recipes to get your tastebuds tingling
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EAT GLUTEN FREE FOR A WEEK? We find out what it's like to eat gluten free for a week
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CONTENTS Pages 8-9
Try out these super salads
What happens when you go gluten-free for a week? Pages 24-25
Pages 16-19
Meet the street
How to stay organised with a bullet journal Mancester's top 10 student club nights Pages 30-32
Pages 42-45
÷ - Ed Sheeran album review
Pages 48-49
Spring Edition
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r e t t e L s r o Edit WITH THE FRESH BURST OF SPRING, WE HAVE TAKEN SCRIMP ON A LIMITED EDITION TRIP TO MANCHESTER. DISCUSSING ALL THE LATEST TRENDS IN FOOD, BEAUTY AND OF COURSE SOME REVIEWS ON EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS SEASON. IN THIS EDITION, WE HAVE REVAMPED SCRIMP GIVING YOU A FRESHER LOOK, WITH PASTEL COLOURS, A SURE WAY OF GETTING YOU IN THE SPRING MOOD.
IN OUR FOOD SECTION WE’VE GIVEN YOU OUR TOP DISHES YOU NEED TO COOK THIS SPRING FROM SUPER FOOD SALADS (SEEN ON PAGES 8-9) , TO GOURMET THREE COURSE MEALS (SEEN ON PAGE 10-12). MEGAN JAMES ALSO BRINGS YOU A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT ON GOING GLUTEN FREE FOR A WEEK, A CURRENT TREND FOLLOWED BY DOZENS OF CELEBRITIES WANTING TO LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE.
WE EXPLORE BEAUTY AND FASHION BY TAKING DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND FINDING WHAT SUITS YOU, OUR AUDIENCE, BEST. WANTING TO MAKE THINS EASY FOR YOU WE FOUND CHEAP AND CHEERFUL PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU RELAX AND WE WENT ON THE STREETS AND ASKED YOU ABOUT YOUR FASHION CHOICES AS WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE CHOSE TO DRESS THE WAY THEY DO (PG 2425). WE TOOK A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO STAYING ORGANISED AND TRIED A NEW TREND CALLED BULLET JOURNALLING WHICH WE ACTUALLY THINK IS REALLY HANDY (PG 30-32). WE ALSO HAD A LOOK WHAT GIGS ARE ON SO MAKE SURE YOU ADD THEM TO YOUR CALENDAR!
WE DECIDED TO BE MORE BROAD WITH OUR REVIEWS, FOCUSING ON TV, FILM, THEATRE AND MUSIC. LOOKING AT THE MOST POPULAR CONTENT ON THE WEB, WE TOOK AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT HOW THE FILM INDUSTRY IS PORTRAYING SOCIAL EQUALITY IN A REVIEW OF THE HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER ‘HIDDEN FIGURES’ (SEE PAGE 51). A TANTALISING REVIEW, ABOUT HOW THREE AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN DOMINATED NASA, BECOMING AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THEIR CLOCKWORK. WE’VE ALSO TAKEN YOU ON A JOURNEY WITH ED SHEERAN’S HIT NEW THIRD ALBUM ‘÷’, POURING WITH THE ARTIST’S POETIC LYRICS AND ENCHANTING MELODIES.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF SCRIMP, AS WE TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY WITH THE TOP BEAUTY TIPS, THE BEST WAY TO SATISFY YOUR DIETARY NEEDS, AND THE NEED TO KNOW IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!
Megan James
Corey Duggan
Emma Greensill
Thanks! www.scrimp.co.uk
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By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk Carrot and coriander Carrot and coriander is a classic. With the soup using wintery vegetables like carrots, I decided to mix it up by using the trendy summery fruit coconut.
Method • In a large pan heat up the coconut oil and add the onion and carrots, cook for around 5 minutes until they start to soften (the onion will turn translucent). • Add the ground coriander, salt and pepper and stir the mixture. • Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil then let the mixture simmer on a low heat for around 20 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. • Add the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. • Re heat the mixture on the hob, add the fresh coriander just before serving.
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Green vegetable with feta A refreshing blend of peas and spinach, helping you feel revitalized this spring. Topped with parsley and feta adding a low fat twist to the classic pea and stilton.
(Photo: Megan James)
(Photo: Megan James) Ingredients • 1 tbsp. coconut oil • 450g carrots, chopped • 1 onion, diced • 1 tsp. ground coriander • 500 ml coconut milk (we used Alpro) • 500 ml vegetable stock • Salt • Ground pepper • large handful of coriander, chopped
SPRING SOUPS Scrimp
Ingredients • 1 tbsp. coconut oil • 1 onion, diced • 250g garden peas • 250g spinach • 1 garlic clove, minced • 500 ml vegetable stock • 40g feta cheese • 4 tbsp. crème fresh • Salt • Ground pepper • Parsley to garnish (optional)
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Chili tomato This fiery soup will delight the taste buds, and is the perfect lunch or starter to kick of spring. Using crème fresh instead of cream the soup keeps it creamy texture without feeling heavy after eating.
(Photo: Megan James) Method • Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and add the garlic and onion, cook for around five minutes until onion has softened. • Add the peas, spinach and stock and season well with salt and pepper. • Bring to the boil then simmer for around 10 minutes until the peas are tender. • Liquidise the soup in a blender adding the crème fresh and a few sprigs of parsley (optional). • Serve in bowels, crumbling feta on top with a little parsley.
Ingredients • 1 tbsp. olive oil • Tin of crushed tomatoes • 2 tbsp. crème fresh • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 1 onion, diced • 1 tsp of sugar • 1 whole chilli, finely chopped. • 1 tsp dried basil • 1 tsp chili flakes (garnish) • Ground pepper • Salt
Method • In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. • Add the onion, garlic and chilli, cooking until onion is soft and transparent. • Add the tinned tomatoes, dried basil and crème fresh, sugar and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. - Garnish with fresh basil, chili flakes and some crème fresh. Serve hot.
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REVAMP OF THE CLASSICS Spring Edition
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By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
Traditional dishes like lasagne are great but why not make them even better by changing or adding just one ingredient, making your bland old weeknight meal perfect for a dinner party, without breaking the bank.
How about upgrading a boring old spaghetti Bolognese with bacon? The salty meat gives another element to the dish. Simply half the mince meat you would usually use and replace with a few rashers or bacon. It really is that simple.
(Photo:Megan James)
Merry Berry’s lasagne will never fail to impress. But you only need to spend a few days in Italy to realize the best cheese to top off your lasagne is mozzarella not cheddar. It gives it a deliciously gooey texture creating the lasagne of dreams.
(Photo:Megan James)
With pancake day done and dusted but the ingredients still hogging up space in the cupboards there’s only one solution, toad in the hole. But instead of the traditional method how about adding bacon wrapped sausages otherwise known as the Christmas favourite pigs in blankets. It will be a favourite with the whole family, and is just as easy as the usual method. (Photo: Megan James)
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By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
SUPER SALADS Scrimp Spring Edition
CEASER SALAD
MOROCCAN SALAD Ingredients • 80g couscous (we used Tesco) • 160 ml chicken stock or water • 80g pomegranate seeds • ½ lemon • handful of coriander, chopped • 1 tbsp. sesame seeds(toasted) Calories: 314 per serving Method • First make the couscous by adding about 160ml of chicken stock or water, until the couscous is just about covered. Let sit for 10 minutes. • While the couscous is cooking heat up a dry frying pan and add the sesame seeds shaking constantly until they turn a light brown colour. • Fluff up the couscous and add the pomegranate, seeds, coriander and a squeeze of lemon. (Photo: Megan James)
GREEK SALAD
MEXICAN SALAD
Ingredients For the salad: • 40g Spinach, rocket and watercress leaves. • 2 tomatoes, chopped • 30g feta, crumbled • 15g walnut halves. • handful of mint, chopped. For the tzatziki: • 125g fat free Greek style yoghurt. • Large handful of mint, chopped. • ½ cucumber, finely diced. • ½ lemon • 1 tsp of garlic puree (we used green organic) Calories: 449 per serving Method For the tzatziki: • Mix the yoghurt, mint, cucumber and garlic puree in a bowel. • Then add a squeeze of lemon and serve with the salad. For the salad: • In a bowel mix the spinach, rocket and watercress leaves, tomatoes, walnut halves and feta. • Add the tzatziki and garnish with some mint.
(Photo: Megan James)
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Ingredients For the salad: • ½ Iceberg lettuce • 30g parmesan (grated) • 3 chicken goujons (we used Tesco) • 30ml Sainsbury’s be good to yourself salad dressing For the croutons: • 10g butter • ½ slice of French or Italian bread 1 tsp oregano Calories: 490 per serving Method For croutons: • Pre heat oven to 200°C/180°C fan or gas mark 6. • Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. • Cut up bread until small cubes (around 2cm). • Add bread to the the melted butter making sure it is fully coated. • Sprinkle with garlic salt and oregano, and bake for 15 minutes until browned. • Leave to cool while you make the salad. For the salad: • Cook the chicken according to packet instructions. • Chop up the lettuce, add the parmesan and add salad dressing. • Add chicken and croutons and mix well. Ingredients • ½ avocado (diced) • ½ red onion (diced) • 2 tomatoes chopped • ½ red chilli finely chopped • 1 lime • 2 tbsp. olive oil • ½ tin of aduki beans, rinsed • handful of coriander, chopped Calories: 415 per serving
Method • Mix the avocado, red onion, aduki beans, tomato and chilli in a bowel. • For the dressing mix the oil and lime juice, and pour over the salad. • Garnish with the chopped coriander.
(Photo: Megan James)
(Photo: Megan James)
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Spring Edition
By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
THREE COURSE MEAL 10
Scrimp Spring Edition
Treat your guests to an extravagent meal this spring and you won’t have you spend the entire evening in the kitchen, with everything apart from putting the camebert in the oven being prepeared and cooked before hand.
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MAIN MEXICAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH ADUKI BEAN SALAD
STARTER CHILLI INFUSED CAMEMBERT Ingredients • 150g camembert (per guest) • 1 tsp Chilli flakes • 1 tbsp. honey • 1 loaf of sourdough bread
Method • Pre heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6. • Score a cross in the middle of the camembert. • Drizzle the honey over the camembert and add chilli flakes to season. • Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes. • While the cheese is baking chop up the bread into bite size pieces and toast under the grill for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. (Photo: Both Megan James)
(Photo: Megan James)
Ingredients For the chicken: • 1.69kg whole chicken • 1 large red onion • 4 tsp fajita seasoning • 2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted • ½ lime Serve with a Mexican salad, as pictured (recipe on page ??). Method For the chicken: • Pre heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6. • Chop the onion in half and stuff them into the main cavity of the chicken, along with the half of lime. • Place the chicken into a roasting tin breast side up. Add the coconut oil, fajita seasoning and lime, making sure the whole chicken is covered. • Cover the chicken loosely with foil and place in the oven. Cook according to instructions it should be around 2 hours, until the juices run clear and there is no pink meat showing. • Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.
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DESSERT TWIRL CHOCOLATE MOOSE This decadent but healthy moose will leave your guests pulses racing. Ingredients • 90g dark chocolate, with 70% cocoa (I used Green & Blacks), finely chopped • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1 tbsp. cocoa powder • 2 tbsp. water • 50g full-fat Greek yoghurt, (I used Alpro) • 2 egg whites • 1 tbsp. golden caster sugar • 1 Twirl bar
(Photo: Megan James) Method • Add the finely chopped chocolate into a microwaveable bowel. Add the cocoa, vanilla and water and mix. • Place into the microwave for 1 minute on a medium to high heat then stir. Repeat in shorter intervals of 15-20 seconds making sure the chocolate doesn’t burn. If the mixture feels to thick add another 2 tbsp of water making it smooth. • Whisk the egg whites, then add the sugar until thick and shiny. • Fold the yoghurt into the now slightly cooled chocolate. • Then using a metal spoon fold around a quarter of the egg whites into the mixture, folding the rest in a little at a time, not over mixing in order to keep the volume of the moose. • Spoon into 4 ramekins and chill for around 4 hours or overnight. • Decorate with crumbled Twirl just before serving.
BUTTER CHICKEN CURRY 13
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By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
A mild curry that’s rich in flavour, making it perfect for all taste buds. With no marinade necessary this is a quick and easy version of the traditional butter chicken curry you may have tried before. Ingredients • 540g chicken breast fillets, chopped into 2 cm pieces • 100g unsalted butter, plus a little extra for frying. • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 3cm ginger (around the size of a thumb), grated • 1 onion, diced • 1 chili, finely chopped • 1 lemon • 1 tsp garam masala • 1 tsp ground coriander • 1 tsp cayenne pepper • Salt • Ground pepper • 2 tbsp crème fresh • Drizzle of olive oil (around a teaspoon)
(Photo: Megan James) Method • Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. • Heat up a knob of butter in a large pan over a medium heat. • Stir in the onion, garlic, chili and ginger, cook until the onion turns transparent with a slight brown tinge to it. • Next add the 100g of butter to the onion mixture along with the crushed tomatoes, crème fresh, garam masala, ground coriander and the juice of half a lemon. Bring to the boil then reduce to a medium-low heat. Cover with a lid simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. • Meanwhile place the chicken breasts onto a prepared baking tray, season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 25-30 minutes. Until chicken is cooked through with no pink meat showing and the juices running clear. • When cooked cut the chicken into roughly 2cm pieces and add to the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. • Serve with pilau rice and naan bread.
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By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
COURGETTE CHIPS Ingredients • 3 whole courgettes, chopped • 60g parmesan, finely grated • 1 tsp chilli flakes • 1 tsp oregano • 1 egg Calories: 130 per serving
UP YOUR SIDE GAME Scrimp Spring Edition
Method • Pre heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/gas 6. • In a bowel add the grated parmesan, chilli flakes and oregano. • In another bowel add the egg and whisk, making an egg wash. • Individually dip the courgette pieces into the egg wash, then into the parmesan mixture making sure both sides are covered. • Place the pieces onto a prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until golden. • Serve with crème fresh and coriander.
Ingredients • 2 ciabatta rolls, halved • 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 2 tomatoes, diced • 30g mozzarella • Small bunch of parsley calories: 141 per serving
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EXTRA SPECIAL GARLIC BREAD
Method • Pre heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6. • In a bowel mix the butter, garlic and parsley. And spread directly onto the ciabattas • Next slice up the mozzarella and add to the ciabattas. Season well. • Place the ciabattas on a prepared baking tray and place under the grill for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. • Finally garnish with the diced tomatoes and some parsley.
HOMEMADE SLAW (Photo: Megan James)
Ingredients • 100g carrots • 100g red cabbage • 1 tbsp. light mayonnaise • 3 tbsp. low fat Greek yoghurt • ½ lemon • 1 tsp paprika • 1 tsp ground pepper • 1 tsp salt Calories: 74 per serving
Method • Using a grater, grate both the red cabbage and carrots into a bowel. • Add the mayonnaise, Greek yoghurt, paprika, and a squeeze of lemon and mix thoroughly. • Season with salt and pepper and serve chilled.
CHILLI INFUSED HOUMOUS
(Photo: Megan James)
(Photo: Megan James)
HOMEMADE HASH BROWNS Ingredients • 1 can of chick peas, drained • 1 lemon • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 1 tsp cumin • 4 tbsp. water • 2 tbsp. chilli infused oil • 1 tsp paprika • Pinch of salt • Ground pepper • Small bunch of coriander Calories: 122 per serving.
(Photo: Megan James) Method • Rinse the drained chickpeas under cold water. Put a few whole chick peas aside for decoration. • Place the chickpeas, garlic, cumin, water, chilli infused oil, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper in the food processor along with a squeeze of lemon. • Blitz the mixture until completely smooth. • Sprinkle with the reserved chick peas and coriander.
Ingredients • 1 onion, finely diced • 4 medium Maris Piper potatoes, peeled & shredded • 1 egg • 170g all-purpose flour • 1 tbsp. coconut oil • 2 tbsp. Sriracha sauce • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp ground pepper • parsley (optional) Calories: 190 per serving
Method • In a bowel whisk the egg, Sriracha, flour, onion and potatoes and season well. • Heat up the coconut oil in a frying pan and add a large spoonful of the mixture, patting it down to roughly around 1” thick. • Cook for around 5 minutes until the hash brown is golden on both sides. • Remove from the pan and serve with sour cream and parsley. (Photo: Megan James)
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WHAT HAPPEND WHEN I WENT GLUTEN FREE FOR A WEEK? Spring Edition
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Scrimp Spring Edition
By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
Day 2 Breakfast: Rice flake porridge from Sainsbury’s free from range, chopped banana and honey.
Lunch: Amy’s Kitchen gluten free vegetable soup with a buttered slice of Bergen bread. Dinner: Pesto pasta (Sacla basil pesto & Tesco free from tagliatelle)
(Photo: Morrisons)
(Photo: Tesco)
(Photo: Megan James)
Whilst realising that summer is starting to dawn upon me on a rare sunny spring day, I decided to go drastic lengths to fight my winter carb habit and go gluten free for a whole week. Of course it wasn’t all about the diet, with celiac disease affecting 1 in 100 people in the UK alone, and with the current trend of going ‘gluten free’ supported by many celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Russel Crowe both of which don’t actually have a gluten intolerance but choose to follow this diet as part of healthier lifestyle, I wanted to see what this diet was all about.
another fad diet like the juice cleanse that celebrities like The Kardashians endorse to make money. For a lot of people celiac disease is a genuine condition, surely this shouldn’t have an effect on their financial situation? These were the main reasons I wanted to try out the experiment, picking up new recipes along the way was just a happy coincidence.
make me feel very healthy I found it was lacking some flavour, so I altered the recipe slightly adding a little bit of spice (see recipe below). After an experimental lunch, for dinner I went for a classic of jacket potato and tuna mayonnaise using the brand Hellmanns as after reading reviews online they have a good reputation of making sure none of their products are cross contaminated with gluten. For an after dinner snack I decided to try out an Alpro soya dessert, which simply tasted like gooey rich chocolate, perfect for a treat after a day of eating healthy.
The Experiment Going gluten free for 7 days wasn’t all about living a healthier lifestyle and maybe losing a little bit of weight. I wanted to see all the effects that come with it, including what it will do to my body I wondered whether I will feel permanently tired due to lack of carbs for slow realising energy, or maybe the complete opposite, feeling revitalised without the stodgy stuff. I was also interested to see what it will do to my bank account. Avoiding gluten isn’t just
Day 1 Breakfast: Poached eggs on gluten free toast Lunch: Quinoa and feta salad Dinner: Jacket potato, with tuna mayonnaise (Hellmanns) Snack: Alpro soya dessert I decided to ease myself into my diet with a pretty straightforward breakfast of poached eggs on toast, gluten free toast that is, and with my regular brand Burgen not only gluten free and nutritious but also delicious. It was the perfect way to start my day. For lunch I experimented a little with a quinoa and feta salad. Although it did
(Photo: Megan James)
(Photo: Megan James) For breakfast I decided to try some rice flake porridge from Sainsbury’s free from range. Costing a whooping £2.40 for a 450g bag compared to the 80p (for 500g) of regular porridge. It was starting to dawn on me that this was going to be an expensive experiment. Through reading reviews online I decided to add some fresh banana on top of my porridge with a squeeze of honey, it was surprisingly delicious, being an oat porridge lover I am surprised to say I could barely tell the difference. If it wasn’t for the high price I would consider keeping this porridge in my everyday diet. By lunch time I was still pretty full from my porridge so I decided to go for a tinned soup and
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a slice of bread. I was really excited to try a new brand of soup as I normally stick to Heinz, however to me it tasted very bland and the vegetables we’re slimy making it unpleasant to eat. And at £1.80 a tin I think other brands like Baxter’s offer better value for money. By dinner time I was exhausted due to my unimpressive lunch and keeping myself busy in order to avoid the Digestives sitting in my cupboard. This was the first time I noticed that not eating gluten was causing me fatigue. I decided to eat pesto pasta, as it was quick and easy and a sure way of filling me up. I used Sacla basil pesto found in pretty much every major supermarket, accompanied by Tesco’s free from tagliatelle. I couldn’t fault this meal, it was easy to make, inexpensive and delicious with the pasta having a less stodgy texture than normal. I would 100% recommend this to anyone wanting to cut out some gluten without losing taste of regular pasta. Day 3 Breakfast: scrambled eggs, grilled flat mushroom with crumbled feta.
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By day free I woke up revitalised, knowing I had a busy day ahead I made myself a big breakfast of scarambled eggs, mushroom and feta hitting as many food groups as possible for maximum energy. Unsure to whether or not my university café catered gluten free products I made myself a ceaser salad for lunch using gluten free breaded chicken. It’s safe to say I never thought I would be so full from a salad, it made me feel like I could run a marathon and I’m not a sporty person so that meant a lot. Also the gluten free chicken tasted just as good as normal in fact I could barely taste the difference which was great. By the time I got back from university I was starting to feel tired so I cheated a little a picked up a free from cheese and onion quiche from Sainsbury’s which was reduced to £1.50 down from £2.00, very cheap for a gluten free dinner. For dessert I tucked into another Alpro dark chocolate pot, ending my day on a high.
Lunch: ceaser salad, with gluten free breaded chicken. Dinner: Free from cheese and onion quiche. Snack: Alpro soya free dessert.
(Photo: Tesco)
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(Photo: Megan James)
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Day 4 Breakfast: Rice flake porridge from Sainsbury’s free from Range, chopped strawberries.
to find gluten free food, of course I used Google to help me with this. With a large dose of determination running through my veins I decided to cook a sausage casserole, using all everyday ingredients apart from my free from gluten sausages (see recipe below). It was a huge success I even managed to convince my gluten loving friends to try some. I topped off the day with a gluten free version of my favourite biscuit, a chocolate Digestive.
Lunch: Corn tortilla, mixed salad and falafel bites. Dinner: Free from chicken katsu curry. Snack: Falafel bites (Morrison’s). By day four I noticed my body starting to change not only did I feel good inside, I could now physically see it, my skin had a natural glow to it and I felt like I had lost some weight. For breakfast I made sure to make the most of my expensive porridge by repeating it but this time adding some chopped strawberries. I’m really coming around to these new oats the only way I can explain it is rice pudding for breakfast. For lunch I popped to Morrison’s and picked up some of their gluten free falafel bites which turned out to be a heavenly snack and perfect for a lunch. I added a couple of bites to a corn tortilla which can be bought in most superstores with a little bit of salad and natural yoghurt. It was delicious and most importantly filling. I was even able fit in an hour of cardio in the gym to get rid of all my excess energy. For dinner I tried out one of Tesco’s free from ready meals, chicken katsu curry. Which I can honestly say did not taste like a gluten free ready meal, it had so much flavour and the battered chicken tasted even better than regular breaded chicken as it was guilt free with the whole dish containing 530 calories and costing just £2.50 (on offer, usually £3.00).
(Photo:Megan James)
Scrimp Spring Edition
Sausage casserole recipe (Photo: Tesco) Day 5 Breakfast: Nestle Gluten Free Cornflakes. Lunch: Watercress, spinach & rocket salad with boiled egg. Dinner: Gluten free sausage casserole (sausages bought in Tesco). Snack: Free from digestive (Sainsbury’s)
Ingredients 3 Free from sausages (I used Tesco) per person 1 onion, diced 400g chopped tomatoes 300ml vegetable stock (I used OXO) 2 carrots, chopped 1 red pepper, diced 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tsp chilli flakes Ground pepper Salt Method Brown off the onions and sausages in a frying pan on a medium heat for around 5 minutes. Add the sausages, onions, chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, carrots, pepper, garlic, chilli flakes to the slow cooker, and season well with salt and pepper. Put the slow cooker on low and leave to stew for 4-5 hours.
I was very positive with my choice of breakfast on day five, as a nestle lover in my everyday life and with the cereal being sold at very fair price at only £1.99 per box, I struggled to see how cornflakes could let me down. Unfortunately, I can only sum them up in one word, bland. In all fairness cornflakes have never been the most exciting cereal, however this particular version tasted more like cardboard rather than the sweet taste of regular cornflakes. I personally would not eat these again but I’m open to the idea of the honey flavoured gluten free version, as it could be more flavoursome. My disaster breakfast aside I was still feeling great and my glow continued to shine. I decided to keep lunch simple mixing half a bag of mixed salad leaves with a boiled egg. I was starting to realise that going for the gluten free specific ranges tended to make my daily shop more expensive so instead I spent some extra time looking around (Photo: Megan James) the regular sections of supermarkets
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Day 6 Breakfast: Jordan’s simply Granola with natural yoghurt
Dinner: Ate out at Pho in Manchester. My main: Phở chín (beef brisket in Pho broth)
Ingredients 1 slice Burgen Bread 25g Butter Method: Pre heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6. Heat the butter in a saucepan until melted. Whilst melting cut the bread into roughly 2cm cubes. Place the cubes into the saucepan with the melted butter making sure each cube is evenly coated. Put the cubes onto a pre prepared baking tray, then place them into the oven for around 10 minutes or until the crotons have gone a shade darker.
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flavoursome as the falafel but none the less they were a filling lunch, paired with some Kale straws. I felt full and healthy, without burning a hole in my pocket with the whole lunch costing around £2.00 per portion. For dinner I tried out some gluten free couscous with halloumi and some mixed salad, topped with natural yoghurt. It was so simple and quick to make and thinking of the recipe myself made it all the more rewarding.
Lunch: Salad with gluten free homemade croutons.
I decided to test out some Granola picking popular brand Jordan’s, I then added a couple of table spoons of natural yoghurt. It gave me plenty of energy and was tasty too. With my new found love of salads I decided to go with a simple gem lettuce, parmesan and honey mustard dressing salad with a slight twist. As my Burgen bread best before date drew near I decided to get my money’s worth in what has been so far a very expensive food week, by making some homemade croutons (see recipe below). It was one of the nicest lunches I had all week and making it myself made it even better especially when one portion comes in at £0.95, much cheaper than any ready-made lunches on the market with the average meal deal costing £3.00. For dinner I ventured out into Manchester finding a Vietnamese restaurant called Pho, and with the majority of the menu gluten free there was no way I was going to feel jealous of anyone else’s food. I opted for a phở chín which was a beef brisket in broth. It was amazing and with chains across the UK its defiantly a must for gluten and non-gluten free Gluten free croutons recipe foodies.
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(Photo: Megan James) Day 7 Breakfast: Eat natural fruit and nut bar, almond and apricot (bought from Asda). Lunch: Corn tortilla with spinach & pine nut bites and salad. Dinner: Gluten free couscous (Tesco), halloumi salad. Snack: Veggie and kale straws (Mor-
(Photo: Megan James) rison’s) For my last day I planned to go big for lunch and dinner so I stuck to a small breakfast of a fruit and nut bar. Although all the negative press that surrounds breakfast bars, when you don’t have time to make breakfast these bars are a great way to start the day. I did start to get hungry earlier than my usual 1pm lunch but this was expected, as I feel it’s more of a quick fix than a long term breakfast. For lunch I had another corn tortilla this time adding spinach and pine nut bites made by the same company as the falafel, so my hopes were high. I personally think they were a little less
Conclusion Although I don’t have a gluten intolerance I’ve never felt better cutting it out of my life. I think I’ve learned that you don’t need to have celiac disease to feel bad from eating too much gluten. Although I must admit that I won’t be giving up gluten entirely I will be cutting back dramatically trying to stick to one piece of gluten a day. Losing three pound in just a week and still being able to eat three solid meals a day plus snacks, I can understand why so many people are choosing to go gluten free. The most shocking part of this experiment was discovering how many everyday objects contain gluten. I was really taken aback at first and opted for ready meals instead of cooking my own dishes to make sure I didn’t jeopardise my experiment. I was also disappointed at how the four supermarkets I visited were making huge profits at the expense of a genuine health condition. But after reading into the policies of these free from brands I understand how the extra charge for everyday items such as gluten free pasta, is largely due to more expensive alternative ingredients which have to be used and making sure no cross contamination enters any of the products produced, which is crucial to sufferers of the disease. I was glad to see the large variety of gluten free products available in the supermarkets I visited, with an alternative version to the majority of products that contain gluten. It’s certainly been an eye opening experience, one thing I will take away from this experiment is that gluten isn’t the only sustainable energy source, with so many other foods giving the same, in particular salads, my new favourite lunch.
Spring Edition
GREEK PASTA 20
Scrimp
By Megan James m.james@scrimp.co.uk
This delicious Greek recipe oozes fresh spring flavours. Simple and quick with only 420 calories per serving. It’s the perfect dish to kick off with this spring. Serve with a Greek walnut salad as shown on page ??. Ingredients • 300g dried tagliatelle • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 tsp dried oregano • 2 cloves of garlic, minced • 100g cream cheese, (I used Philadelphia lightest) • 100g Feta cheese • ½ lemon • 50ml semi skimmed milk • 100g cherry tomatoes, halved • 50g black olives, halved • ½ cucumber, chopped • Handful of parsley to garnish. • Ground pepper • Salt
Method • In a large pan of salted boiling water, cook the tagliatelle according to package instructions. • In the meantime, heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then add the crème cheese and crumbled feta, along with the oregano, ground pepper and salt. Stir occasionally until the cheeses have melted forming a sauce. • Stir in the lemon juice, cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives and cucumber. Stir around until the sauce has covered all the ingredients. • Finally stir in some parsley just before serving. • Serve with a Greek salad as shown on page ??.
(Photo: Megan James)
FOOD
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BEAUTY
5 PRODUCTS UNDER A FIVER TO HELP YOU RELAX
By Emma Greensill e.greensill@scrimp.co.uk
Feelings of wellbeing are fundamental to the overall health of an individual. With the media pushing body images and expectations that many of us can’t reach, we start to feel bad about ourselves which makes our mental well being something that it shouldn’t be.
“At a time when economic measures are generally improving, this is not necessarily reflected in how people tell us they are feeling about their lives. Whilst it is too early to say why anxiety ratings have increased slightly and why life satisfaction, happiness and worthwhile ratings have levelled off in the past 12 months, we can see that factors impacting most on people’s personal well-being include health, work situation and relationship status.” Matthew Steel, Office for National Statistics. Well being is a complex combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Trying to get rid of the negative feelings is hard when you have a lot on your plate and sometimes it’s expensive to just have a moment to yourself to sit back and relax, so we thought we’d do all the hard work for you and find something cheap and cheerful to do in the comfort of your own home, just for that little break to help you take a step back from the world. We don’t just relax because it’s fun; there is actually a really strong connection between relaxation and both our mental and physical health. So even if it’s just for 15 minutes out of your day, we’ve found products under a fiver, leaving you with no choice but to treat yourself. We’ve even included what we thought about the products to save you from wasting even more time on deciding whats right for you.
Pretty Brightening Sheet Mask
Price: 99p Store: Bodycare Description: The Pretty Brightening Sheet Mask is enriched with pomegranate seed extract and rose oil. Combined together they illuminate and correct the skin. Directions: Cleanse and dry the face. Apply the mask over the face and leave for 20 to 30 minutes then remove. The face masks were soaked with the pomegranate seed extract and rose oil, so you’re definitely getting more than your moneys worth regarding how much product you’re getting. This would be great for dry skin, and because the face mask is cold it makes you feel refreshed. Seen as the mask is dripping wet we recommend you have a lie down with a towel under your head to stop anything from getting ruined, meaning you can’t do anything for up to 30 minutes and giving you that pause you need.
PS Face cleaning brush & massager
Price: £2.50 Store: Primark Description: cleanses and massages the skin. Directions: Remove makeup, wet skin and brush and apply cleanser to either skin or brush. Move the brush in a circular motion around the face applying light pressure. The bristled side of the brush is extremely soft and has different sized bristles to help massage the product on the face. The brush soaked up a lot of product when cleansing the face, so we thought it’d be a good idea to try massaging moisturiser into the face which worked treat! It felt like a mini facial and helped push the moisturiser into all the nooks and crannies, leaving the skin feeling super soft. the massager side is not for the sensitive skinned however got the blood circulation going, so this could even be part of your AM of PM routine!
Photos by: Emma Greensill
Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb
Price: £3.50 Store: Lush Description: Your bomb will fizz away releasing its colour and beneficial essential oils. Directions: Drop into a warm bath, lie back, relax and joy. Baths are nearly always relaxing with the right products and a bath bomb is a nice treat. This particular one looks relaxing before you even put it in the bath as it’s simply white with a few flowers showing. It has the smell of flowers but also smells fresh and springlike. When getting out of the bath you can tell this bath bomb has done your skin some good, and with a few candles and a book to relax.
BEAUTY
Spring Edition
Ted baker trio (bubble bath, body soufflé and body wash) Price: £5 (3 for 2 offer) Store: Boots Description: they all blend notes of powdery violet with peach and cherry accords entwined with a soft sweet base of vanilla, patchouli and amber. Directions: Body wash: Apply to wet skin and lather up. Rinse thoroughly. bubble bath: pour under warm running water. body soufflé: Apply generously morning and evening all over body With this trio a bath is as relaxing as ever. The combo not only smells great but also puts you at peace knowing you have everything you need to get clean. The
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bubble bath not only smells really good but also is extremely bubbly so it does what it says on the tin. The body wash smells the same as the bubble bath and what’s nice is that you can tell it’s not just your everyday brand but it’s also cheap at the same time. The body soufflé smells a bit different to the other two products which is probably because it’s a cream whilst the other two aren’t. A little goes a long way and as you barely need any product in order to feel moisturised. and its small enough to fit in your bag if you’re having a dry day! The packaging is really cute which makes them even more appealing and they would be brilliant for a weekend away as they are small but go a long way interns of how much the product lasts.
Beauty Formulas Charcoal Clay Mask
Price: 99p Store: body care Description: Formulated with a combination natural Kaolin clay and Activated Charcoal which combine to act like a magnet to draw out dirt and other impurities from your skin. Helps to purify your pores leaving you feeling deeply cleansed and radiant. Directions: Apply to clean dry skin. Apply to face and neck avoiding the eye and lip area, allow to dry for 10-15 minutes then rinse thoroughly with clean warm water. Pat skin dry.
more wrong. When putting it on the face it gives you a cold and tingling sensation which was quite invigorating. Waiting the 10-15 minutes wasn’t bad either as it allowed time to read, soak in the bath, watch the end of a TV programme, whatever. The product came off easily too as it has a smooth texture and if there’s any left on the face it’s easy to remove with a makeup wipe. The over all experience left the skin feeling refreshed and you could definitely tell there was a change in texture and cleanliness which was completely unexpected because of how much of a bargain it was.
When picking up the product, first thoughts that came to mind where that this product probably wasn’t going to do what it said due to how cheap it was. This opinion couldn’t have been
Photos by: Emma Greensill
While we realise these products aren’t the most relaxing things in the world, we wanted to show you how easy it is to have some time to yourself whilst using things that you could use everyday. Hopefully we’ve also made you realise how important it is to look after your well being and that if you ever need just a little time to relax then you definitely should. That connection is important.
Photo by: Emma Greensill
FASHION
Spring Edition
MEET THE STREET Clothes are what give people their identity and allow people to explore different looks and impressions, but they can be expensive. There are so many styles out there that show a glimpse of our personality whilst giving us the confidence to do so.
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Jack Sharp
Hannah Knight
What are you wearing? T shirt- Vintage shop £10 Jeans- H&M £35 Shoes- Clarks £90
What are you wearing? T-shirt- Sainsbury’s Tu £7 Jeans- Topshop £40 Shoes- converse £40
Last song you listened to Under Control- The Strokes Last book you read Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
Last song you listened to Honey Sweet- Blossoms Last book you read The Brain- David Eagleman
20, Care Worker
19, Student
Different trends and brands are what help us connect to our inspirations such as celebrities, music and more! We hit the street to find out the story behind the peoples of Manchester’s fashion choices.
By Emma Greensill e.greensill@scrimp.co.uk
Joe Wachniuk 22, Musician
What are you wearing? T shirt- Next £10 Jeans- Charity shop (Thrift Shop, Manchester) £5 Jacket- Charity shop (Marie Curie, Halifax) £5 Boots- Dr Martens 1460 £110 Last song you listened to Hari Kari- The Cribs Last book you read Collected Poems 1934- 1953Dylan Thomas
Katy Moss
Corey Duggan
What are you wearing? Jumper- Charity shop (Oxfam, Blackpool) Jeans- Primark £8 Jacket- Charity shop (Thrift Shop, Manchester) £6 Shoes- Nikes from Charity shop (Oxfam Cleveleys) £5
What are you wearing? Coat - Charity shop (Thrift Shop, Manchester £5) T-Shirt - Topman £12 Jeans - Topman £40 Shoes - Vans £60 Watch - Fossil £110
21, Student
Last song you listened to Comes and Goes- Hyukoh Last book you read Golden Boy- Abigail Tarttelin
20, Bartender
Photos by: Emma Greensill
Last song you listened to Slaytina - Alaska Thunderfuck Last book you read Revenge Wears Prada - Lauren Weinsberger
Scrimp
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FASHION
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THE BEST DRESSED: GRAMMY EDITION
With the Grammy Awards being one of the most recognised music award shows in the world, it is well known for celebrities dressing up in extravagent gowns and frocks. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. The many venues of which the Grammys take place mean
that the people attending have to live up to how grand of a place they are.
We take a look at the best dressed female celebs to reinforce girl power and show that you, like the following celebrities, can wear anything
By Emma Greensill e.greensill@scrimp.co.uk Best in black: Tinashe (left) and Chrissy Teigen (right) looking slicked back in black.
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Margaret Cho rocking a suit
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Golden Goddess Solange Knowles
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Jill Scott looks sophisticated in a grey suit
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Different in green: Adele (left) and Celine Dion (right) show no fear in green.
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
FASHION
FASHION
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Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Pleats please: Daya making pleats edgy Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Charlie XCX looking classy in red
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty images
Radiant Kelsea Ballerini making lace look lovely
Carrie Underwood making red look good Photo by: Topshop
LIFESTYLE
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HOW TO STAY ORANSIED WITH A BULLET JOURNAL The Bullet Journal is a new system taking Pinterest peeps, Youtubers and organising wizards by storm. Ryder Carroll, the creator of bullet journal, spent 20 years developing the method so he could stay organised. The idea is that it’s a modern Diary – a place to dump all your thoughts, organise yourself and also involve your creative side. Who doesn’t love a good life hack?
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By Emma Greensill e.greensill@scrimp.co.uk
hat is a bullet journal? Bullet Journal® was created by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer living in Brooklyn, NY. Through many years of trial and error, the system has evolved into the ideas presented in this article. He sees this as an evolving, adaptable practice meant to be self curated as you determine what works best for you. How does it work? Basically, it’s a coded system for organising your thoughts, but it’s essentially a DIY journal. The coded system is made up of three things- rapid logging, modules and migration. all you need is a notebook and a pen to get started.
What is rapid logging? Rapid Logging is the language in which the Bullet Journal is written. Note-taking and traditional journaling take time and effort. The more effort expended, the more of a chore it becomes, meaning you’re more likely to abandon your journal. Rapid Logging is the solution. It consists of four components: topics, page numbers, short sentences, and bullets. • Topics and page numbers: The first step to Rapid Logging is to add a topic on the top outer corner of the page. A topic is simply a short descriptive title like the date. you’ve done that, make sure you number the page. As you start filling your Bullet Journal, get into the habit of titling and numbering your pages before you add content. • Bullets: Rapid Logging relies on the use of short-form notation paired with Bullets. Every bulleted item should be entered as short objective sentences. The Bullets will help organise your entries
into three categories: Tasks, Events, and Notes
Task: These are actionable items like “Go food shopping”. As a task is noted quite a lot in a bullet journal, it has three additional states. These are a completed task, a migrated task and a scheduled task. Event: Events are date-related entries that can either be scheduled or logged after they occur. Event entries can be personal and emotional but should be as objective and brief as possible when Rapid Logging. Notes: Notes include facts, ideas, thoughts, and observations. They are entries that you want to remember, but aren’t immediately or necessarily actionable. Signifiers: Signifiers are symbols that give your Bullets additional context. Prioritised, inspirational and exploration tasks, notes and events have their own symbol so you can scan a page and find your most important entries quickly. What are modules? Bullet Journals have a structure which consist of modules. Modules are methods designed to help collect and organise specific kinds of entries. The power of the Bullet Journal is that you can mix and match these modules to best suit your needs. There are four core modules which include The Index, Future Log, Monthly Log, Daily Log. The index: The first few pages of your bullet journal are the index. This is where you
log the page numbers of collections or whatever you are planning on using your journal for. As you start to use your book, simply add the topics of your Collections and their page numbers to the Index, so you can quickly find and reference them at any point. The future log: This Collection is used to store items that either need to be scheduled months in advance or things you plan on doing in that specific month. Set up your Future Log by ordering your months in a table-like structure. For example, two equally-spaced horizontal lines across facing pages creates a sixmonth calendar. The monthly log: This helps you organise your month. It is made up of a calendar and task list. To set up your Monthly Log, go to the next available double page spread. The left page will be your Calendar Page; the right will be your Task Page. The Calendar gives you a summary of the month. To set it up: title the page with the current month then list all the dates of that month down the left margin, followed by the first letter of the corresponding day. Make sure to leave some room in the left margin of the page to add Signifiers. Use the Calendar Page to schedule Events and Tasks, record Events after they happen, or both. Entries here should be as short as possible as this page is supposed to be for reference only. The Task Page is a list of both Tasks that you want to tend to that month, and unfinished Tasks that have migrated from the previous month. The Daily Log: This is designed for day-to-day use. At the top of the page, record the date as your topic. Throughout the course of the day, simply Rapid Log your Tasks, Events, and Notes as they occur. If you don’t fill a page, add the next date wherever you left off and you’re ready to continue.
What is migration? Migrating content designed for Bullet Journaling. After finishing a month of journalling, take a look at your previous entries. If there are any unresolved tasks either mark it as completed if it has been done, put a line through it if it is now irrelevant or migrate it. If it has been migrated add it to the task page of your next monthly log. Scheduled items are placed on the Monthly Log’s Calendar Page. It may get annoying having to rewrite things over and over again but this is intentional. This process makes you pause and consider each item. If an entry isn’t even worth the effort to rewrite it, then it’s probably not that important. Get rid of it. The purpose of migration is to distill the things that are truly worth the effort, to become aware of our own patterns and habits, and to separate the signal from the noise. Tried and Tested If you’ve ever met me, you’ll know I’m one of the least organised people ever. After doing some research and having an old, unused notebook lying around, I decided to get my life together and try out Bullet Journalling.
Things you need to make a Bullet Journal: • Notebook • Pen
First of all, following the steps on bulletjournal.com was quite hard to come to terms with purely because of the key you’re supposed to use. I watched many tutorials on Youtube to get more of an understanding of how to use it but ended up being extremely
jealous of the artistic skills many of the Youtubers have. A lot, if not all, Youtubers and bloggers said that your bullet journal is your own so make it how you like and do what suits you best, so with that piece of advice in mind I started creating my very own Bullet Journal. First thoughts and ideas before starting I knew that I wanted my journal to be a bit more than just writing, and after seeing so many creative bullet journals I knew I wanted mine to have quite a few minimal drawings to make the pages look more interesting. I also saw a video on which a girl used different colours for each month just to separate the collections and modules and just to add a bit of colour, so I did the same. Many people will question the idea behind a bullet journal purely because most people will have a mobile phone that will do the exact same thing such as record events in the calendar app, create reminders and so on. They will also say that a mobile phone is a lot easier to carry around seen as it’s small and you don’t need aren to go along with it. I have one question if you are considering starting a bullet journal- Are you actually going to use it? What I use to make my bullet journal Obviously you don’t need to go out and buy stuff as all you need to make a bullet journal is a notebook and a pen, but as I said I wanted mine to be a bit creative too, so if you want your journal to have the same aesthetic as mine, you need to buy similar products to the following. • • • • •
Fineliner Crayola 12 pack of pens urban outfitters notebook glue stick scissors
Photos by: Emma Greensill
LIFESTYLE
Spring Edition
I also like to keep scraps of paper like things out of a magazine or birthday card that I think would look good in my journal so that I can fill in the unused paper.
32 I added something that I saw a lot of bloggers and you tubers do which was a Wishlist and a blog post ideas page. I thought this was a nice idea as it meant I could keep track of things and it prevented me from forgetting good ideas.
Making the modules I followed the module idea and started off creating an index page. At first I I then started my monthly log by doing thought this was pointa month title page to add Modules are made the creativity and then less as I wondered when and why I would followed the setting up ever need to go back up of: steps by doing a calto a previous months • The Index endar vertically down collections as I didn’t the page along with think I’d need to look • A Future Log the first letter of the back at when I had to day that goes with the remember to put the • A Monthly Log date. I didn’t do a task bins out etc. The interpage however did two esting thing was that I • A Daily Log other things that other found myself constantpeople inspired me to ly looking back through do which were a habit the pages, and if I tracker and an expense decided to carry this journal on till the tracker. These were extremely useful end of the year the index could end up when tracking what habits I always end being very useful. up doing and made me realise when I should and shouldn’t be doing things. I then made a calendar page just so I also like the fact that I could see how I could have an over view of the year productive I was being. The expense and know which dates are on which tracker was also helpful as it made me days of the week. realise how I sometimes spend unnecessary money, so it showed me where I After this I did my future log which I need to cut back. put peoples birthdays, anniversaries, deadlines and holidays on. I jazzed it Finally, my daily logs were a bit difup a bit with a few minimalist sketches ferent to the simple bullet point type and when I start a new month I pick a layout that is recommended. Instead of colour and make it a running theme. it being an actual daily log I made it a I also colour the sketch in so I know weekly log by titling the separate pages which colour to look for when referring with the month and the dates that go back and flicking through my journal. on that page. I also doodled quite a (I started in March so I didn’t need bit on them to make them less boring, colours for January and February). whilst adding a daily steps box, along My overall thoughts My thoughts after experimenting with the idea of the Bullet Journal are that I am going to continue with it because of how much I enjoyed doing it. I feel a lot more productive when I’m constantly referring back to it as I think a lot more about what I’m doing. For example, in a normal day without my bullet journal I would usually do one of the following things: Wash my bedding, wash my clothes, do a blog post or tidy my room. When using my bullet journal I do all of these in the same day as logging everything makes me realise how much time I have to do them and how much of it I used to waste.
Scrimp with an hours of sleep box. I thought this was a good idea as I have a fitbit and wanted to get the best use possible out of it, so I realised tracking these things would make me more conscious on trying to move and sleep more to improve my daily routine. I also added a ‘brain dump’ of which I add anything and everything from lists, drawings, reminders etc. I also like to add events that are to go into my next weekly log. My version of rapid logging and migration As you can probably tell from the pictures of my very own bullet journal, I haven’t used the rapid logging or migration methods purely because I didn’t think they’d work for me. As the main rule of bullet journalling is that you can personalise to your own taste, that is exactly what I did. I use a checklist layout to keep track of my days as I feel it is simple enough, but also effective enough for me to use. The only symbol I really use, and not very often, is a question mark for if I don’t know whether I’ll actually end up doing something. Like I said, I have a brain dump at the end of each week so instead of migrating the tasks/events to the next month, I just write a reminder and add it into the next weekly log. I do this because it works better for me and because I don’t use the rapid logging technique it wouldn’t really work how it’s supposed to anyway. Photos by: Emma Greensill
I love the fact that every bullet journal has the chance to be different, and I feel like it does what it says on the tin- improves organisation. It’s also a nice idea to save them after the year has gone and you move onto a new notebook so that when time has passed you’ve got a diary to look back on. If I HAD to point out a negative it would be that it’s fairly hard to write when you’re in moving vehicles and seen as I’m a bit fussy I get annoyed if my hand writing is messy, however with that being said I don’t mind simply putting a cross through things as I think it adds a bit of character. Overall I would definitely recommend that people create a bullet journal as it genuinely does make me so much more productive. I feel really organised and it means I can have everything in one place like shopping lists, to do lists, appointments etc. For more information on this ingenious life hack, visit bulletjournal.com to get tips and tricks on the way of the Bullet Journal.
GIGS FOR UNDER 15 QUID
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Yes you read that right. We’ve found four gigs that you can go to for UNDER £15! Does it really matter what music you’re into if you can get into a gig for that price?
06/04/17 Pulled Apart By Horses Sound Control £12
Leeds band Pulled Apart By Horses return to Manchester after the release of their fourth album The Haze. The Noise Punks are set to bring their blend of rhythmic indie and punk screams to sound control in a show that you won’t want to miss.
07/04/17 The Wytches Sound Control £10
The Wytches will be making the stage of Sound Control their own on the 7th of April when they bring their unique mixture of grunge, indie and psych rock to Manchester.
22/04/17 PINS White Hotel Salford £10
All Female group PINS will be playing in the White Hotel in Salford on the 22nd
of April. If you are a fan of bands such as Sleater-Kinney and My Bloody Valentine you will want to experience PINS live.
22/04/17 Record Store Day Soup Kitchen £3
In celebration of the tenth anniversary of Record Store Day several bands such as Plank, Ill and Great Ytene will be performing at Soup
Kitchen on the 22nd of April. Starting at four o’clock and ending at ten; this will be the ultimate celebration of exciting new music.
By Emma Greensill e.greensill@scrimp.co.uk
Photos by: Herbel Essences
Photo by: (KIKI Manchester)
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POPULAR ‘MOANA’ TAKES TOP SPOT AS THE SAIL OF THE CENTURY FOR DISNEY By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
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his is the Disney animation we have been desperate for since Tangled was released almost 7 years ago, ‘Moana’ has captured the hearts of its viewers, with a riveting plot. This engaging adventure undertaken by the female protagonist, Moana, pays a beautiful tribute to Polynesian culture. Battling with her father, with an innocent curiosity of the world beyond her small Hawaiian island, Moana knows of her calling to the sea and the learns of the duty bestowed upon her. Her father, Chief Tu, disagrees with her choices, and is constantly battling with his daughter to uphold all the values expected of the next chief of their people. Despite the battle with her father, Moana sets sail in search for the legendary demigod, Maui, at her Gramma Tala’s wish. Her quest is to find Maui, the demigod who stole the gem-like heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of creation, and get him to restore the heart and heal the world from its dark pain. It is a struggle to get the powerful and egotistical Demigod to do her bidding, but through sheer stubbornness, and a thirst to prove herself, Moana succeeds in getting him on board. We come across many different villains in the film, from signing crabs to thousands of small coconut pirates, Disney have provided us with a whimsical, comedic adventure.
Though the quest is long and tasking, and at times Moana doubts her abilities, she powers through and ultimately completes her quest to the avail of all her people, as well as her parents. She becomes the hero of the story, alongside the legendary Maui and restores honour to her family and tribe. The end of the movie shows how all of her people have overcome their fears and taken to the seas, being true to their ancestry.
The most gripping part of this modern Disney masterpiece is the catchy, feel-good music throughout the movie, courtesy of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton has become a sensation on both Broadway and the West End, winning 11 awards at the 70th Tony Awards. It is no surprise that the songs were such a hit with the audience, hitting number 49 in the charts, with the song ‘How Far I’ll Go’, being Disney’s ‘Let It Go’ of 2017. The catchy song is a favourite amongst fans, with a strong personal message of self-torment and questioning her abilities. The song shows how she comes to some self realisation of who she is, what she is capable of and what her quest is. Although Disney get constantly accused of ethnic stereotyping when they attempt to embrace other cultures, they tend to go more towards appropriation. Can Disney do anything right in the overly politically correct view of its audiences? Or do movies such as Moana shine a light onto varying
Photo by: (Diseny)
cultures as a broad, educational platform for young children to learn? Others have accused Disney of racially stereotyping Hawaiian and Polynesian people as being ‘large-bodied’, as seen by the demigod Maui. Disney have always been put under this light as being racially biased, stereotyping and discriminating different groups of people, whether it be Native Americans in ‘Pocahontas’, or Chinese warriors in ‘Mulan’.
The most disappointing part of the film is what you most expected from a Disney ‘princess’ movie, the sidekick to the hero. From the start, it is assumed that the sidekick who will accompany Moana on her incredibly heroic adventure is the love-able pig Pua, yet we are surprised to find out that her featherbrained chicken, Heihei, is the one to join her. Although it took a less expected route, there is a big opportunity missed by not having a more love-able sidekick on the trip with her, such as Anna had with Olaf in ‘Frozen’. The love-able sidekick is what makes Disney, well, Disney. From the classics, such as Cinderella, having her loyal group of mice, all the way up to Tangled, with Rapunzel having her pet chameleon, ‘Pascal’. Having a sidekick provides a good moral message, as is expected from most Disney films, about team work and appreciating your friends. At some point in the film the sidekick will always do something to help their princess, being their savior of sorts. The message of companionship and the importance of friendships shines through here.
Reviews
Photo by: (Diseny)
of a man to be able to perform her job, providing strong messages for its viewers. Frozen broke records when we discovered that the person who held the true loves kiss that would save Elsa and Anna, was the true love of sisterhood. True female empowerment.
“If you wear a dress and you have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess”
‘Moana’ certainly takes to Polynesian culture well, lending itself to a spiritual journey, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the 1998 classic, ‘Mulan’. The whole film is loosely focused on Hawaiian mythology, which is the basis for the quest. On her quest, Moana is guided by the stingray-like, glowing spirit, or her recently deceased Gramma Tala, as well as a more human-looking spirit. Moana also has contact with her ancestors, who offer her a dreamlike vision of their past, showing their voyaging backgrounds. This is a major part of Polynesian Although it may not seem it, ‘Moana’ is a Disney culture, as they believe that ancestors are spirituality princess movie. It defies the usual norms, but as reincarnated and will be with them, always, as Maui rightly put it, “If you wear a dress and you have guidance and support. The spiritual elements of an animal sidekick, you’re a princess.”. Disney have ‘Moana’ never come across as cryptic, yet merely recently been taking on the more unconventional provide the narrative for a story about the selfideas, veering away from ‘typical Disney values’ into exploration of a young woman, and her quest to a more modern approach, dodging the outdated bravely save her people from impending doom - in Disney tropes. Alike ‘Frozen’, there is a strong true Disney fashion. female lead who doesn’t rely on the love or affection
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GREASE HAS BEEN REVITALISED AT MANCHESTER’S PALACE THEATRE IN A BURST OF COLOUR AND SONG By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
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rease is currently on its UK tour, currently in the Palace Theatre on Oxford Road, Manchester. The classic film has been revitalised on stage in a burst of colour and song, with the narrative that we’re all very familiar with. With a delightful freshness, the iconic musical has taken to stage in its brand-new UK tour, showing the complicated love story between Danny Zucko and Sandra Dee. The film is about two high school sweethearts, Danny and Sandy, who spend one wild and romantic summer together at the beach, before they both returned for their senior year of high school. Little did they know, Sandys’ family were moving to the same town as Danny and she would be attending Rydell High School. In a twist of chaos between the two lovers, they soon come to pass in unfamiliar territory, leaving Sandy embarrassed and heartbroken. She is taken under the wings of Pink Lady Frenchy, and the story unfolds as she battles for her love with Danny, the popular and ‘too cool for school’ T-Bird. They ultimately fall in love, ending with a beautiful celebration of them being together. Danny, as played by The Wanted’s Tom Parker, disappointed slightly in his portrayal of the character, not having the over the top and slightly obnoxious confidence that Danny is known for. Although he has a great singing voice, owing to his whirlwind career back in the groups heyday, Parker’s vocals started off shaky yet grew to his full potential for his big number Sandy. Alongside Danny is the well-known musical theatre star, Danielle Hope, who captured the innocent, virginal personality of Sandy, growing into the feisty and sexy woman she transforms into at the end of the show. Her vocals appear effortless and strong, shining through with the power and grace as displayed by Olivia Newton John in the 1978 classic. She was, undoubtedly, the star of the entire show.
to the iconic Frankie Avalon for his short-lived role as the Teen Angel, an idol of his time playing the almost super-ego role. What really brought the cast together was the energetic choreography, paying a true homage to the 50’s lifestyle, especially during the ‘Born To Hand Jive’ sequence.
The most disappointing performance in the show would be Louisa Lytton, playing the iconic teenage delinquent Rizzo. Rizzo is seen in the popular musical as a defiant teenager, who isn’t afraid to be sassy. Her tough demeanour can come across cold, but her lustrous personality makes her a favourite amongst the boys. Lytton, although playing the character incredibly well, shocked with her vocals, especially during Rizzo’s iconic song ‘There Are Worst Things I Could Do’, a song which grabs the audiences and tugs on their heartstrings, showing another side to the steely character. This effect just wasn’t shown in her portrayal of this character, yet that role was made for Stockard Channing, the original Rizzo. Being one of the best known musicals around, the cast had a huge job living up to everybodies expectations, those of which have been undoubtedly exceeded. The high production values of the musical aided to the great acting, along with mostly beautiful renditions of the well-known classics. An array of authentic costuming from the 50’s to the iconic catsuit which sandy wears at the end of the musical played incredibly for the realism of the production. Although it has its weaknesses, the current UK tour of Grease: The Musical, has so far been a favourite amongst fans and will certainly tick every box for theatre goers and lovers of the original. The cast are energetic and alive, with true 50’s style.
Grease is at the Palace Theatre until March 25th.
With a long list of incredible performances, Rhiannon Chesterman hit the top spot for her confused and ditsy portrayal of Frenchy, showing through all her troubles how loyal she is to her friends, wholly encompassing the character for all she stands for. Also, Danny Day was comparable
SCRIMP Photo by: (ATG Theatres) Photo by: (ATG Theatres)
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MANCHESTER’S TOP 10 BEST STUDENT CLUB NIGHTS
By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
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anchester is well known for its student population, with 3 major universities around the city, as well as BIMM and RNCM, with more than 100,000 students descending upon the city for Freshers Week. Having one of the biggest student populations in Europe, there is an obvious demand and competition for the best student club nights throughout the city. With student’s budgets dwindling in sights of price inflation and less money being put into maintenance loans, as well as student accommodation prices skyrocketing, students have less money than ever before, but that won’t stop them going out.
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3) Hot Mess - Revolution Deansgate Locks Another newcomer to the clubbing scene, Hot Mess is a weekly event held every Wednesday at Revolution Deansgate Locks. It is part of a trio of nights held by the company, Riff Raff events, the other two being Orderly Conduct and After Dark. With £1.50 drinks and £1 shots, it adds to the list of weekday clubbing nights that won’t break the bank. With great music from top class DJ’s, an incredible venue right in the city centre, as well as ridiculous drinks offers on top shelf brands, it’s a valued contender. Ever wanted to go on a night out with £20 and come back with change? Photo by: (RiffRaff Events)
4) Made In The 90s - Fifth Avenue
Here is my top 10 list in no particular order:
1) Quids In - Factory 251
A good competitor for the many student nights on a Tuesday, Fifth Avenue is a favourite amongst the fresher’s. With £2 entry and 90p drinks you have no reason to complain. Situated in a huge underground club, with three different dance floors playing varied music, there is always something for everyone. Fifth host many different events with incredible drinks prices, and they’re always busy. Just be prepared to pay to use the designated smoking area for a cigarette!
That’s right, dozens of selected drinks and shots are £1, as well as entry to the popular student club. With three floors of different music, and 4 different bars to go to, it is a favourite amongst the university students of the city. Certainly one of the cheapest nights, especially if you’re a lover of Alcopops or if you’re a huge lightweight. Officially classes as the UK’s biggest student night, Quids In is held every Monday at Factory251 in the city centre. You’d be stupid to miss one of the busiest weekday nights for students! Forget that Tuesday lecture, it’s too good to miss.
Photo by: (Fifth Avenue)
5) HOMOELECTRIC Photo by: (Fac251 MCR)
2) Filthy/Gorgeous - Void
Photo by: (Kelvin Gray)
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A newcomer to the clubbing scene, Filthy/ Gorgeous was first held in November at Void, and has since grown into the biggest club night for LGBT+ students on a Tuesday. With £2 student entry and every drink being £1.50 it certainly doesn’t break the bank What’s even better is there is a different theme each week, 4 drag queen hosts, lots of free shots and prize giveaways each week! “It’s just been getting busier and busier, we want to bring you bigger, better and more fabulous nights each week!”, said David Squires, creator of the night and General Manager of the club. Filthy Gorgeous is soon to take over KIKI Manchester on a Saturday night, turning the whole club into a fabulous creative are for the LGBT community. But there is one question you need to ask yourselves, are you Filthy/Gorgeous enough?
Describing itself as a ‘Non-stop exotic disco for homos, heteros, lesbos and don’t knows’, Homoelectric is a club night like no other. Delving straight into the queer nightlife of Manchester, Homoelectric takes the artistic flair and exotic LGBT nightlife away from the famed Canal Street to different venues across the city. With a mixture of DJ’s playing some of the best house, R&B and campy classics, there is something for everyone. Be prepared to see those dressed up in the bizarre, with all of the weird and wonderful being embraced. Bringing you clubbing, similar to that of Berlin, Germany, this alternative clubbing night is out of this world, being proud of their anti-discrimination and openness. Being a less frequent event, tickets sell fast and can cost anywhere around the region of £13, but you won’t regret it. Give it a try, cover yourself in glitter, wear your most colourful and camp outfit and dance like nobody is watching. Photo by: (HomoElectric)
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6) The Warehouse Project The Warehouse Project is without a doubt the most prestigious night in the whole of Manchester. Held at different top-class venues throughout the city centre, with hundreds of different guest DJ’s, The Warehouse Project is the most unbeatable club night event in the whole city. Although drinking is a big part of any club night, the music and talent of this event are incomparable. With seamless sets, countless original tracks and drops that will get the whole club screaming, you don’t know what you’re missing. If you are lucky enough to buy tickets for this event before it completely sells out, apologise to your liver in advance and prepare yourself for a whole night of insanity.
Photo by: (TWP)
7) Flirt - Birdcage Probably one of the cheapest places for a Friday night, it will cost you £5 to enter but it is so worth it. £2 double vodkas are the reason that this club reaches capacity every Friday night, attracting people from all over for a great Friday night party. Although Birdcage has little to offer during the week for a good party, with failing club nights and a far-out location, many people look forward to the Friday event, whether for the club or the cheap drinks, we can only guess.
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9) Room Service - KIKI Manchester Coming all the way from London, Room Service is an international club night that travels around to different UK cities to host a club night. Room Service has also been hosted in cities such as Paris, Rotterdam, New York, Milan and Amsterdam. The event brings you a mixture of local drag queens mixed with club kids, and international talent, there will be so much creativity you will be blown away. Mixing underground house music with queer nightlife has created this incredible event, which is most recognised for their highly sought after Room Service photos. Created by world famous drag queen and London superstar, Jodie Harsh, Room Service has held a prestigous name amongst the LGBT community as the ‘IT’ night to attend, the coolest of the coolest attend this night. Great drinks offers, cocktails, hundreds of free shots to give away and even more hot guys, you need to try this night out. Held at KIKI Manchester, there is no entry charge to this event and totally worth the trip!
Photo by: (Room Service)
Photo by: (Birdcage)
8) Skint? - 42nd Street Manchester (42s) Our Thursday club night is Skint? at 42s, a popular indie/alternative club mainly for the student population in Manchester. Opened by the famed George Best in 1963, the club boasts about not hiring ‘Z-list celebrities’ to host their nights, but are all about great music. More of a hit amongst the altnernative, indie/hipster student crowd, Skint? attracts the ‘too cool for school’ students. If you are a regular at this event, you most likely don’t have anything from the UK top 40’s in your Spotify playlist and most of your clothes are from the local Oxfam, but you know how you like your music and how to have a proper night out. Cheap entry, cheaper drinks and a quirky, hipster night is awaiting. Photo by: (42s MCR)
Photo by: (Kelvin Gray)
Photo by: (Tiger Tiger)
Photo by: (Kelvin Gray)
10) Taboo Tuesdays - TIGER TIGER Easily one of the city’s most popular student nights, drawing in students from all over for their famed party, there are multiple rooms of different music, incredible cheap drinks and even celebrity hosts. A huge venue, and another great contender for a Tuesday, students will queue up for hours to get into this club. It is not uncommon to find a TOWIE or Geordie Shore star hanging about in the club. Even better if you manage to get into the VIP section!
Photo by: (Parklife)
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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR’ ISN’T THE TYPICAL POLITICAL SERIES, EXPLORING THE EXTREME
By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
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etflix has dived straight into creating and airing their original series, with the success of series such as ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Narcos’ and ‘Stranger Things’. ‘Designated Survivor’ explores the real, yet unimaginable threats, in society. The ideas in this series are ones that many don’t want to, or are too scared to talk about, yet are brought forth by showrunner David Guggenheim.
bombings, we see the Michigan government go into a state of anarchy, debunking the rights of Muslim ‘Designated Survivor’ explores the very real, extreme citizens, as well as the ban of immigration into the United States. At this point in the series, it is unclear threats facing modern US politics. A designated survivor is a member of the US government, typically as to who is responsible for the terror attack, yet prejudice and fear lead to irrationality. a cabinet member, who is kept at a safe, distant location from any major political events, where Shows, such as ‘Orange is the New Black’ are a large gathering of US political members would gather, such as presidential inaugurations or State of currently waiting to air their sixth series, becoming ever more popular amongst the online streaming the Union Addresses, to ensure the continuation of government. This series explores how one man, Tom community. We admire the scale of projects taken on by Netflix, and we wait for what they have next Kirkman, is sworn into an unplanned and un-elected in store, both for ‘Designated Survivor’ and other presidency after a national terrorist tragedy, killing most senior members of the US political government. shows. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor playing the designated surviror, Tom Kirkman, The show explores how America has a certain intensity and the kind reacts to a national tragedy, of voice similar to Morgan Freeman. how it affects political standings The voice that can soothe millions, and morality. Furthermore, it yet with a sterne authority full of explores how a country is dealt wisdom. He does a great job in with, especially in a time of his role of Kirkman, showing that uncertainty, where fear is the driving force of all through all of the goofiness of the charatcer, he decision-making. has a certain intensity about him that would make a good president. How does this affect our judgement? Our way of life? Our moral standing? These are all things that Tom Kirkman and his administration, or lack of, must overcome. Strife with battles for justice, debating what is morally just and maintaining personal relationships, we delve deep into the mind of Kirkman and his journey of retribution for the United States. Following the devastating attack on the Capitol building in Washington DC, Kirkman faces rogue politicians, the unrelenting forces of those unwilling to accept him as their president, and social injustice for the Muslim community. With stereotypes associated with terrorism leading from the 9/11 Photos by: (Netflix)
Netflix has delved more and more into creating their own series recently, with the success of many different major programmes, such as ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Sense 8’, ‘Daredevil’, ‘House of Cards’ and many more. There are currently 93.8 million Netflix subscribers, watching a combined total of 10 billion hours of Netflix per week. With the rise of their original content in recent years, Netflix have set themselves a budget of $6 million dollars for original content in 2017. This means better quality content, more frequently, from the streaming provider. Lets hope 2017 sees more original content and sequels from existing popular series.
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DIVIDING AND CONQUERING, ED SHEERAN BREAKS RECORDS WITH HIS INCREDIBLE THIRD ALBUM.
of You’ stood out as the clear favourite, reaching number one in over 30 countries, including the UK and the USA. ‘÷’ also made Sheeran the first artist in UK chart history to claim the top two spots, number two being ‘Castle on the Hill’. He started off motional, personal and lyrically brilliant, the singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran doesn’t disappoint on a great foot after his three-year hiatus from the with his new album ‘÷’. Describing himself as an industry, with his perfected album. ‘everyman’, Sheeran writes his songs to be relatable to his fans, showing how he is ‘keeping it real’. His album talks about his life and how he feels through different moments in his life, something which he does very well. One of his biggest appeals when he came into the limelight in 2010 was his relatability, and that he had very little in common with the major names in the music industry. Rising to fame with his breaking album ‘+’, now credited as a seven-times platinum album, he captured the hearts of the British people, especially with his song ‘The A Team’.
By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
Photo by: (Divide ‘Shape Album Cover)
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The third album of the Brit Award winning artist captures his innocent nature, with a mixture of singing styles showing his artistic range. There are many honourable mentions on the new album, yet
“I don’t think enough people use Irish Pop in pop music… Hopefully if these songs are successful, people will do a bit more like it.”
He stays as relatable as he ever has in his third album – Nancy Mulligan tells a personal story to
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raw emotions and truthfulness. Love is certainly the basis for all of Sheeran’s songs, whether about family, friends or relationships, with most of ÷ being about a past on and off relationship with his high-school sweetheart. He idolises love and creates the illusion that it is this firm ideal for which to base all your hopes on. Songs like ‘Perfect’ and ‘Hearts Don’t Break Around Here’ show his love for the idea of love. We are screaming for Sheeran to delve always from the personal, guitardriven songs to something more modern and mainstream, but we would also h8atr the idea that the poetic lost Weasley brother that we have grown to love. His first album, ‘+’ became a worldwide sensation, with a whole set of poetic and heartfelt original songs. We can only commend Sheeran for his creativity, especially with his capability of producing 3 hit albums consecutively. Though he clearly romanticises love through his songs, we admire his innocent potrayal on it, seeing him as the mythical ‘nice guy’. Whether his actual beliefs fall along what he portrays, his invocation of these stereotypes play against the usual ‘women like a bad guy’ stereotype, always pushing away the nice guy to get a bad boy. Yet we see his demeanour and how he really has all Sheeran, about how his grandparents met and fell in Photo by: (The this faith in love. Through his fast-paced love during the Second World War. It describes a true Sun) career he has become an ineviatble success, topping and uninhibited charts and breaking records. What more can we love story, with strong Irish influences, saying in expect from this British superstar? This album sets a an interview with Irish Times, “I don’t think enough very high standard for his next album, yet let’s hope people use Irish Pop in pop music… Hopefully if there isn’t a 3 year wait for the next one. these songs are successful, people will do a bit more like it.”. New Man clearly describes the typical metrosexual vain man, whilst reminiscing on a past relationship. Whereas Dive is a more guitar-led ballad, with very sensual vocals, it is a lot more traditionally British in the way it is produced, clearly written for very emotive moments, like songs such as the sensation ‘Dancing on my Own’ by Robyn, recently covered by the angelically voiced Calum Scott. After ‘Thinking Out Loud’, the worldwide hit from his second album ‘X’, topping international charts and becoming number 2 in the USA, we didn’t think there would be a more heartfelt or tear-jerking song from the artist. ‘Perfect’ proved us wrong, written about his girlfriend, it is similar to ‘A Thousand Year’ by Christina Perri. A beautiful ode to his partner, Sheeran says “I found the love, to carry more than just my secrets… To carry love, to carry children of our own.”. A song like this is what every person secretly wishes that their partner would write and sing for them, so beautiful and creative, showing his
Photo by: (Corey Duggan)
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HIDDEN FIGURES MOVIE REVIEW: A SPACE-RACING FILM ABOUT SOCIAL EQUALITY
By Corey Duggan c.duggan@scrimp.co.uk
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efore computerised IBM machines took over the calculation checking at NASA, the ‘calculators’ wore skirts. A group of black women sat in a segregated building on NASA’s main campus, fact checked the work of an all-white, male group of mathematicians, whose sole job it was to calculate projections for future missions. ‘Hidden Figures’ tells the story of three of these women who played very important and instrumental parts to the daily work at NASA, eventually sending an American man into space. This came at a time were civil rights were a highly debated issue in Virginia, with these three AfricanAmerican women being advocates and crusaders for the fight for equality. One of the first scenes in the movie shows the three women, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), repairing the Chevy which they carpool to work, when a white officer pulls up and we see a terrifying experience happen for them. They are scared, rightly so, of how they may be treated. This is until he learns where they work and what they do, which leads him to offer them a police escort. Throughout the film we learn of the women’s ambitions, Katherine, being a mathematical genius, wishes to have equality amongst the Space Task Force, which she is promoted to, to help calculate their projections on the spot. She tries constantly to be given a chance amongst her fellow employees, yet we see a clear racial bias from Paul Stafford in particular, her supervisor. Dorothy has worked as a supervisor for a group of calculators, putting in more work than she would have liked, working longer hours and harder, yet she wasn’t
Photo by: (Corey Duggan)
being paid an equal wage. Her struggle throughout the film is to get this equal wage. When we learn of the introduction of the IBM (International business machine) to NASA, meaning the calculators would lose their jobs, Dorothy stays late every day and teaches herself how to use the machine; something which a group of white-male engineers were unable to do, making her valuable. Mary wished to be an engineer for NASA, after being encouraged to train as one by her superior. However, she couldn’t afford college, and the only night-time courses in her area Photo by: (FOX movies)
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was in an all-white school. We see Mary petition the City of Hampton to allow her to attend classes. After a long court battle, she is granted permission to attend these courses. All three of these women are just the few amongst the many African-American women who battled gender and racial inequality at this time. All three of these women triumphed at their endeavours, as is told to us at the end of the film. Mary Jackson completed her engineer training, and became the first black female engineer at NASA, achieving the most senior title within the engineering department 34 years after completing her training. Katherine Johnson was instrumental on her work for Project Mercury, as part of the Guidance and Control Division, correctly calculating the trajectory and speed needed for the launch window for American Photo by: (NASA) astronaut Alan Shepard, saving his life. Finally, Dorothy Vaughn became proficient in the programming of the IBM system at NASA, teaching herself and her AfricanAmerican colleagues how to work the machine. She was promoted to supervisor, with equal wage, of a group composed entirely of African-American women. Similar to recent films like ‘The Help’ and ’12 Years a Slave’, we see the struggle for equality in an unimaginable time. All very emotional films, ‘Hidden Figures’ also tugs on your heartstrings as a moving historical-drama. Taraji P. Henson’s performance in particular was especially moving, with an incredible portrayal of the American hero Katherine Johnson. She was able to play her role in a comedic, angry and heart-wrenching way. Her struggle with the coffee pot in the office is one that especially annoys both her and the audience, with the pure pettiness that was expected of the patriarchal, white male community of the time. The bathroom scene in particular, where we watch a montage of Katherine running a series of half-mile dashes, in different weathers, whilst wearing heels, just to use the ‘coloured bathroom’. As much as this film is female-orientated, we have to admire the male role played by
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Mahershala Ali, as the love interest of Katherine Johnson. In a heart-warming and tear-jerking scene, we watch Ali, playing Jim Johnson, propose to her in front of her family, after being given blessing from her three daughters to do something for herself. Kevin Costner also plays the stoic, hard-faced role of Katherine Johnson’s boss ‘Al Harrison’, who gave her the chance to prove her skills and worth. Although he put up a tough battle, we soon grow to like the character for his surprising openness to integration, allowing Katherine Johnson the right to use ‘white’ bathrooms throughout NASA. With a $25 million budget, and grossing more than $220 million at the worldwide box office, ‘Hidden Figures’ was the highest grossing nominee for Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards. Although the film failed to win any major awards, they were nominated for numerous categories in the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and the BAFTA film awards. Overall, Hidden Figures is an enjoyable and revolutionary film, telling the beautiful untold story of how three African American women fought for equality within NASA, eventually winning their battles and being recognised for their brilliance. The film is able to highlight the disgusting racism and unacceptable segregation placed upon the black community in America, and more so the inequality faced by women of that era. Paying a striking homage to three American heroes, ‘Hidden Figures’ is a movie that you will not regret watching.
Photo by: (Vanity Fair) Photo by: (Pantene)