Reading Festival

READING FESTIVAL - By Raveena Hargun

Summer is one of the seasons people look forward to and prepare in earnest on how they are going to spend it. One of the things many people look forward to is festivals. Like many cities and towns across the country, the Reading festivals form an integral part of the summer activities of the people. The Reading festival happens every year on the Bank holiday weekend of August and this year’s festival was held at Richfield Avenue in Caversham from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th August 2022.

Many artists across the world and members of the public from the UK and around the world get together to celebrate this event where people will start coming to set up their campsites and bring their own food and drinks also, sing and dance with their family and friends. Some of the artists that performed during the festival included Dave, Megan the stallion Polo G, Little Simz, Bring me the Horizon, Manneskin, Halsey and Saturday headliners were Arctic Monkeys, but many artists had dropped out this year. However, many youths go to this event from the ages of 14 to 25 while adults between the ages of 26 and 40 turn up for this festival, however, a drop in the adult attendance has been observed over the past years. Some people registered their satisfaction over social media with the performances of Arctic Monkeys and Dave as being their favourites due to the excellent set that they did on the stage while some said that this year’s festival has the best they have been to this year or best set that they have done. There were reports of spiking which the police investigated and got the perpetrator arrested by the Thames Valley Police. Most of these bad practices happened during Arctic Monkeys performance. Thames Valley Police have reported an increase in the number of illicit drugs usage and possession. Volunteers, Thames Valley Police and the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services as well as the general public deserve commendation for a very successful festival this year. Soon 2023 tickets will be on sale once members of the public find out which Artist will be coming next year.

COME & WORK WITH US

Come and join the Estates and Facilities Team! We are a vibrant and diverse team, responsible for looking after the beautiful campuses of University of Nottingham and are looking for enthusiastic, motivated and customer focused people to provide an excellent experience to our wide range of customers.

We have a mix of positions available for cleaners, catering assistants, bar staff and many other roles in our halls of residence, university buildings and Café’s, over a range of hours and days that are fl exible and could fi t around your family and other commitments.

The University of Nottingham has been providing an outstanding student experience for over 140 years and is a leading university of worldwide signifi cance with established campuses in UK, China and Malaysia. Our award-winning sites at University Park and Jubilee Campus are only 15 minutes by bus or tram to Nottingham city centre. https://fumbu.org/0ej

RECOVERY THROUGH POSITIVE SOCIAL NETWORKS

By Chloe Jones

It should be universally acknowledged that recovery is a journey and creating positive social networks can make us feel supported and confident on our way to positive well-being. To recover means to find hope, develop self-esteem and resilience. Recovery is personal and recovery should be whatever recovery means to you.

Discovering your purpose and meaning in life, becoming independent and finally, building healthy relationships are important. Our relationships in life can make a huge impact, to be in a safe and secure one, can improve our health.

What does a healthy relationship look like when

we are going through recovery? Communication | Respect | Boundaries | Support |Trust When entering a new relationship, it is vital to have nurtured foundations and to trust in your independence. The ways in which we are less developed emotionally, perhaps due to trauma, affect the reasons and intentions for having a relationship. ‘’Healing our inner teenager’’ - Our inner teenager may be guarded, more focused on being chosen, seeking approval, not truly knowing what you want but demanding something. But once we mature into an adult who understands and knows ourselves, we can make healthy self-loving choices guided by our core values. Starting with boundaries is a beneficial foundation to set when building new healthy relationships. Tuning in with yourself and recognising your personal boundaries, assures that you won’t be giving too much or too little of yourself when you are recovering, finding the balance and being able to find someone who gives back. This self-awareness and willingness may turn our triggers into teachers. Ask directly for what you want and need rather than waiting for your partner to guess. Maturing into a self-loving being can be taking responsibility for your reality and inviting others to meet you there. Respect is about admiration and consideration for each other, it must be reciprocated for a conscious relationship. Make daily efforts to appreciate who your partner is and how they are feeling. Treat them as ever-evolving, ever-changing beings and make them feel regarded. Engaging emotionally with your partner means you can check if they do understand you and if you understand them. This falls into good communication too - responsive to each other’s needs. Mutual willingness might make you feel vulnerable at first however if the relationship is conscious and healthy, you will feel a balance rather than the narrative you are being taken advantage of. You are both unique individuals and time apart, community connections and friendships separate from your relationship can strengthen your romance. Knowing what you want is direction! And whatever connections you already have are opportunities to make more.

WHAT DOES LONG COVID DO?

Over the last three years, the term Covid has been a common popular word. Then came the expression ‘long covid’. What exactly is the meaning?

Generally, the data about covid-19 and the associated long covid is still at the young stage of development but below is what is so far known. As explained by the John Hopkins Medicines, coronaviruses are a type of virus and there are many different kinds, and some cause disease. A coronavirus identified in 2019, SARSCoV-2, has caused a pandemic of respiratory illness, called COVID-19.

According to the World Health Organization, Long COVID is the term used to describe chronic fatigue that persists after confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection, and which was not present prior. Sometimes it can last weeks, but often it can last months. Some have thought of long COVID as another form of chronic fatigue. Those who have existing medical conditions and then contract COVID-19 tend to have a much harder road to recovery, or COVID could make their condition worse, depending on such conditions. Long COVID can also include a multitude of ailments afflicting people for a period of time after having contracted COVID, such as breathing difficulties or cognitive dysfunction like confusion, forgetfulness or lack of clarity. A persistent loss of the sense of taste and smell has also been commonly reported. Get to know more about Covid-19 and Long Covid by connecting with your communities and daily educating yourself. Community United working with Utulivu women, ACRE, and other organizations to champion the Long Covid conversations in the community. Get to know them more.

Contact Eva Karanja for more info on admin@ utulivu.co.uk

Useful References

1. Afari-Oori, M.et al. Incidence of cardiac complications following COVID-19 infection: An umbrella meta-analysis study. Heart & Lung, v 52, p 136–145, 2022. DOI 10.1016/j.hrtlng.2022.01.001.

2. Xie, Y., Xu, E., Bowe, B. et al. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19. Nat Med 28, 583–590 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591022-01689-3

3. Stammers et al (2022) The assessment of patients undergoing cardiac surgery for

Covid-19: Complications occurring during cardiopulmonary bypass. Perfusion, 37(4), pp350-358. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu. au/10.1177%2F02676591211018983