THE RICHARD HUISH COLLEGE MAGAZINE WINTER 2013/14
ART RELIGION CAPITALISM JOHN ABBOTT BIKE CULTURE FASHION YOUTUBE POLITICS SPORT BOOKS TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY MUSIC SPORT
the Culture issue
So, no pressure for this issue but it’s another good one! Asia’s article on ‘Is Fashion Art?’ challenges our perceptions about fashion and its place in our culture. Andy’s Miku Mustang street bike is an excellent example of technology and invention. And what about YouTube and its impact on our economy? Josh and Andrew challenge our perceptions of politics and our place in the political world. Sarah’s article ‘Religion, Friend or Foe’ poses some interesting questions and we would welcome your views on this for a future ‘letters’ page.
welcome SAM ROOKS
We have always known that Forward is a great example of students and staff collaborating to produce a quality magazine for the Huish community. This fusion of creativity has been nationally recognised having been awarded Gold at the 2013 FE First Awards, beating off stiff competition from colleges across the country. Huge congratulations to all our contributors over the years and a big thank you to our readers.
Hello there! Citizens of Richard Huish rejoice! For the No.1 bestselling magazine at Huish is back, only this time it’s cultural. It is said that culture lies in the heart and soul of a country and it certainly does here in the U.K. Where our small island nation is surrounded by a sea of culture. A culture of poetry, theatre, rolling hills, stiff upper lips and tea drinking. Our culture also has its quirks with the traditions of Morris dancing and Irish dancing, which are actually surprisingly fun, believe me, I once did them in some weird kind of combo dance. Then of course there is the pride of our culture, the Royal Family. To fittingly match this we have laid on a jam packed edition of Forward magazine with everything
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you ever wanted and some things you never knew you did. So hold on to your hats and fasten your seatbelts because here is a taste of what’s coming up over the coming pages! There is fashion, politics, trip reviews, poetry, religion, a student profile, books, a quiz, YouTube, some Christmas comedy, the Artic Monkeys and interviews with Jahural Islam, Michael Glynn, Karyn Walker and your new Principal Mr. John Abbot.
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I would like to thank my fellow writers for all their fantastic contributions and of course Liz, Chris and Liz for all their excellent work bringing all the articles together to make this magazine and also for all their help and support.
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Enjoy!
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meet the team
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Happy reading. Chris Brossard Marketing & Admissions Director Sam Rooks
Iesha Thomas
Eloise Barrett
Rosie Hather
4 | ART FOR ART SAKE
14 | ENJOYABLE SO FAR
25 | ALUMNI PROFILE
6 | RELIGION – FRIEND OR FOE?
15 | STUDENT UNION
26 | MY TAUNTON WHISTLER
7 | IS SANTA A CAPITALIST? 10 | ONE TO ONE KARYN WALKER
27 | WHICH CLASSICAL LEADER ARE YOU? 17 | IS YOUTUBE A GOOD OR BAD INFLUENCE 28 | A NEW ERA FOR ON SOCIETY TEEN FICTION 18 | NO ONE WILL 29 | ARCTIC MONKEYS HIRE ME
11 | JOHN ABBOTT INTERVIEW
20 | BEGINNERS’ GUIDE TO POLITICS
12 | EVOLUTION OF STREET BIKES
21 | SHOULD BRITAIN LEAVE THE EU?
13 | IS FASHION ART?
22 | HUISH ABROAD
8 | CHRISTMAS LAND
Andrew Boucher
Sarah Abdullah
Sarah Taraq
Andy Chan
Richard Huish College South Road, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3DZ forward@huish.ac.uk www.huish.ac.uk The college exists to provide routes to higher education and the professions through close tutorial support.
contents WINTER 2013/14
Foreword
Imogen Snell
Helen Slater
Cat King
Asia Harvey
Front cover image by Rosie Wilson, A2 Photography student.
16 | YOUTUBE MONEY
24 | JAHURAL ISLAM INTERVIEW
30 | PHOTOGRAPHY 31 | POETRY 31 | CLASSIC BOOKS
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culture imogen snell
ART FOR ART SAKE
Culture, what does it mean to you? Fashion, literature, music and the arts are all affected by our cultures to varying degrees.
The definition of culture is: ‘the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits etc.’ In basic terms, culture is the replication of things that society thinks are good, like the more frequent use of mobile phones. This issue of Forward magazine is all about culture, and this article is all about how it has evolved and changed and what it is currently about. Art has always been a very important part of society as it reflects the ideas and thoughts of the time. Art today is very abstract and often random, dealing with all sorts of different subjects reflecting the way in which, society has branched off into all sorts of different groups. The work of Tracy Emin for example, the creator of the ‘Unmade Bed’, represents the controversy over the way art has evolved and its themes of haphazard and unplanned ideas.
much more explicit and rawer in their descriptions of feelings and emotions, the focus of them often being love and the way it makes people feel. Music videos have also become much more important than they were previously and are watched by millions on the internet. Fashion has also experienced a huge amount of reform becoming more and more focused on individuality and personal viewpoints. Historically fashion has always been important and no more so in today’s society. Individuality was looked down on however in many situations, such as in the Victorian era when the ability to look like honourable people and copy them successfully was seen as quite an achievement. Uniformity has become a thing of the past and distinctiveness has become the new way to proceed. Culture has become a very important part of our every day lives and is there in every part of it, what clothes we put on in the morning and what music we listen to on the bus all relate back to culture. Today culture is much more centred around expression than it ever has been before and it would be very difficult to ignore it. All the individual sections of culture have been altered as they will continue to be, whether this is for the better or not is your own decision to make.
Literature has also changed a great deal, a lot more influence coming from current moral standards and experiences of different people and situations. The need to know people’s stories has also become increased and much more explicit material is now being used such as in the book ‘50 Shades of Grey’ written by E.L James. The modifications of literature have also altered the way we look at the world, novels and stories still continuing to have the power to sway us in our perception of our planet. Music has changed considerably dealing with more emotional subjects and now having a huge impact on the world. Music has become something that all people can share in doing and is as universally understood as a world language. Lyrics have become
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faith sarah taraq
DEBATE HELEN SALTER
of people who strongly believe that they are atheists have convictions and close experiences with God, which are just as profound as God’s devotees. However, many people express that they don’t believe in a ‘personal’ God but an unnatural ‘force’ that is undoubtedly greater than the human race. One such example is Albert Einstein who said that although he was an atheist, he was extremely religious: “To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive formsthis knowledge, this feeling, is at the centre of true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong in the ranks of devoutly religious men!”
Religion – Friend or foe?
The concept of religion has been something people have consciously tried to comprehend for centuries and so the question arises – what is religion?
Frankly, there is no answer. It crosses so many different boundaries in human experience that it makes religion unfathomable to define and so consequently, to understand. Lets face it, we have all had our moments where we thought we finally discovered the secret but to no avail! However, it is obvious that there is one thing that is always associated with religion – GOD. Why is that so? Knowledge of God, and belief in him, constitutes the very foundation of religion and is primarily the reason why religion is so important even today. Of course, there are individuals who tend to doubt the concept of God in the name of science ( Big Bang theory), or because they have not had religious experiences which can sometimes get people to change their minds but once God is established, religion follows behind almost immediately and this is true, seeing as the majority of religions today all have one thing in common and that is that God exists. Interestingly, the stark contrast between religious people and atheists is quite unexplainable as millions 6 | FORWARD
This leads to the fact that although not everyone believes in God, religion is bound to everyone in one way or the other and so it defines who we are and what we do. Thus it is integral in shaping our society as religion before is not religion now. Many people strongly feel that when religions first originated, they were a response to human fear. Beliefs of the supernatural, especially in the 16th century, caused people to blindly believe what they were told and so most people didn’t have a clear idea of what they were following except for the fact that whatever happens, God would protect them. Religion, therefore, gave people a sense of security in a dangerous and insecure world. Also a feeling of control over their land, at a time when there was little control indeed. Nowadays, religion is not taken as seriously but it is still very important for many people and it helps them keep their life stable and in control. It also clearly brings people together and mass celebration of festivals are done all across the world. One example is Christmas. Originally, it was a time when people would worship God and spend quality time remembering and recalling the stories about Jesus’ birth and celebrating them. However, centuries later, Christmas has united people from all over the world with different cultures and beliefs to come together for a time of serenity and enjoyment and special holidays are given for this occasion only. What could this mean? Is religion our friend who unites everyone or is it our foe, which creates unnecessary conflicts? That is for you to decide as I believe in faith and purely faith. It is a state of happiness acquired by virtue of positive action but that might not entirely apply to you. There is, as mentioned before, no answer and there will never be as at the end of the day, it is your faith and so your life.
is santa capItalist?
Is the changing of season forming a change in meaning? The spirit of Christmas is looming. Time to dust down the baubles, throw on the tinsel and most importantly… polish your awaited Christmas list. Regardless of our countdown calendars and empty Quality Street tins, how do we all get the sense that Christmas is approaching? Is it from the warm embrace of our relatives, or our empty wallets? The high streets are slowly becoming infested by Christmas festivity, and the adverts are pouring in. Already people are anxiously queuing in Primark, penguin onesie and reindeer socks in hand, as they are huddled like cattle in the waiting line. It doesn’t take long to turn on the TV and find a fusion of Littlewoods, Argos and John Lewis adverts, publicising
and promoting Christmas as an ideological spectacle where everyone gets the presents they deserve. But are these companies projecting an accurate illustration of what us humans define as Christmas, or are they themselves shaping and monopolising what we see Christmas as today – a consumerist swallow of festive spending and moral destitution? By no means does this overbalance of consumerism curtail the ambiance and character of Christmas. It will always be a time of year where we shower the trees in glistening fairy lights, wash down mince pies with mulled wine and fashion artificial paper crowns. Nevertheless, how many Britons still see Christmas
as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, or a chance to spend quality time with distant grannies and grandpas? Do we still feel enriched by these associations, or are we instead becoming enriched by the blizzard of tags and receipts of unwanted gifts? Last Christmas, the harsh reality was that there was an astonishing £2.1 billion-worth of unwanted gifts, a third of them being neglected and gathering dust. It is becoming increasingly obvious that it is not about the love that is all around us, but the stuff to buy. At a time where finance is tough, it seems uncanny that we are feeling the need to go binge shopping on the newest and shiniest items we are exploited into buying. This December, try not to undermine the magic of Christmas by taking the narrow route of proliferate spending. Instead, focus on what you already have and the moments you will later treasure. And guess what? They come with no receipts. FORWARD | 7
comedy sam rooks
Christmas time is a special time, which means it’s not normal. We gather together with the ones we love, and the other ones, for an annual retail festival that transforms us into Christmas Land. Our other festivals only last a day. We get a rose, pancake, pumpkin, firework or poppy and have a really good time. But for Christmas everything changes for a whole month.
The first sign of our transformation into Christmas Land is when the clocks change and we spend the whole of Sunday jet lagged. Then November rolls in and after the initial exclamations of “I can’t believe it’s November” even though we’ve had every other month, we get to Bonfire Night. And it’s then as the smoke clears after the finale, that women get an organisational look in their eye and think “Christmas. Must organise Christmas”. And as the days roll on people make the milestone declaration that “Today, I felt Christmassy for the first time!”. Next comes the men’s contribution to Christmas, the tree. After this manly moment of getting the tree, it’s decorated lavishly with tinsel, baubles and lights that all go out if one goes out. And these lights are always plugged in at the back out of sight, which then means that after originally leaving them on as you go to bed as they looked so pretty you think “There could be a fire”. And so every night of December is spent flailing about under the tree trying to turn them off. Once the tree is up, presents can be wrapped and placed under it, except they can’t be wrapped because you can never find cellotape or scissors when you need
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Some people, namely Cliff Richard, clearly have the wrong idea about presents as seen in his ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ lyrics “And gifts on the tree”. This is one of the songs popular in Christmas Land that are based around empty clichés of goodwill instead of our normal songs based on empty clichés of love. Christmas songs are also a lot more likely to mention reindeer, an animal with which we become obsessed. We admire it for it’s powers of flight, though it seems strange we don’t admire one that can actually fly, such as the robin. We do like the robin, but it’s normally portrayed standing still. Nothing is more Christmassy in Christmas Land than a reindeer flying over a static robin. This makes evident the educational challenges in Christmas Land. This is largely down to the fact we never go to school or work. When we do go to work we simply drink heavily and try to cop off with each other. The thing that we most like to drink during our Christmas Land transformation is a hot, spicy, sweet and sickly drink called mulled wine. Despite smelling nice, it is common to take one sip and then leave it because it has started to cool down. Once steamed up on this, the champagne we had for breakfast and eggnog, we can be war like. And if you eat salad instead of fruitcake covered in marzipan and icing you will be taunted with the phrase “That’s not very Christmassy!”. As well as this cake, we also eat many other strange foods such as brussel sprouts, an annual bushtucker trial of squashed up vegetable fart grenades. Turkey, a dry meat that we
fill with meat we would rather be eating and cover in gravy, cranberry sauce and a liquid bread we call bread sauce. We will eat to excess on these foods until the announcement of “I will eat no more!”, only to have everything again in a sandwich half an hour later. This is not the only festival involving eating, where other cultures starve themselves, we eat pancakes till we’re sick on shrove Tuesday, hot cross buns and chocolate eggs till we’re sick at Easter and chocolates and sweets stolen from other people’s houses till we’re sick for Halloween. In addition, somebody looked at Christmas lunch and decided it needed a paper hat, a bad joke and some toe nail clippers and created the Christmas cracker. After this festive feast and when there’s just a few presents left under the tree (but they’re not for anyone present) everyone, no matter what age, will gather their presents and take them to their room. After Christmas Day the strangest week of the whole year begins from Christmas to New year. During this week all rules are suspended, diets consist mostly of turkey sandwiches, nobody knows what day it is and the strangest thing of all to happen is the sudden yearning to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It’s around this time of year that it may snow and, if it does, it dominates everything. A typical news
show during snowy weather will go something like this: The News– “It’s snowing”, The Travel– “It’s snowing on the roads”, The sport– “It’s snowing on the pitches”, The weather– “You must know the weather, it’s snowing”, The local News– “It’s snowing here too”, “And our main headlines again, It’s snowing, I’ve been John Snow, goodnight.” But, despite all these obscenities and strange customs, I enjoy our annual transformation to Christmas land and the generous, musical, family orientated, lazy, argumentative, obese, alcoholic, reindeer obsessed people we become. And it’s certaintly a lot nicer than our next transformation into the tedious, puritanical, impecunious and miserable ways of January Land where we bang on about our failed diets whilst shaking from nicotine withdrawal. Good luck getting a present out of anyone then.
comedy sam rooks
CHRISTMAS LAND
them. And when you give up and buy new scissors you need scissors to open the packaging. If you do find them, hours are spent picking away to get the end of the cellotape only to get some weird backwards triangle.
Thank you for reading all about our annual transformation to Christmas Land and all that is left for me to do now is to wish you, the readers of Forward magazine “A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good read.” For more of my take on life visit my website: www.samsjokeoftheweek.moonfruit.com or follow my tweets @samsjokeofthewe
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INTERVIEW ANDREW BOUCHER
2. Why do you admire the dead from 500BC far more than the people living now? People from 500BCE do not answer back! I think that the thoughts and written works of the ancients are so inspiring and pertinent to our own society let alone theirs, and yet most people do not ever read them. Plato, Homer and Sophocles knew the flaws in our characters and our societies more intimately than we do ourselves. When you read the ancients you are enlightened by intellectualism rather than who was voted out of X Factor! They show that most people are out for themselves and not the quest for wisdom – this is why I don’t really like ‘people’ – I like those who devote themselves to finding the truth – only found through philosophy and classics. 3. Tell me about any funny incidents when you have been in Greece with the college. Do these excellent moments happen to follow you? Obviously excellence follows me wherever I go. In Greece the funny episodes were entirely independent of me. I guess the funniest was the violent charade game. When a tutee of mine was unintentionally punched in the nose by a team member because we had just won and the boys had lost. I showed my well known aptitude for caring by escorting said tutee into the hotel uttering appropriate phrases of empathy. On entering the reception I found that there was an international football game on tv and so uttered “come on for goodness sake shoot”. I think my tutee thought her time was up. I laughed. 4. What classical names would you recommend people giving to their pets and do you have a certain favorite? I think that people should start bringing back classical names for their children let alone their pets. I
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One to One KARYN WALKER
Classical Civilisation teacher. think that we should be promoting names such as Cleisthenes, Hipparchus and Peisistratus – think of having them on your registers! My favourite for pets would have to be Dogrates and Xanthipuss. 5. At University, what was your greatest asset in getting you to where you are today? Obviously my incredible intellect. I have a charming personality and so can fool people into thinking that I am a caring and social person. The reality is I am not – I have ambition though most would not realize what it is. I was always destined for Philosophy and Classics and see my role as ensuring that students are given the best possible environment within which to study it. I am an avid reader and can read a book inside a day. I have a great passion for learning and see it as the greatest pastime. That and being a genius helps. 6. What is your goal in the future? I think that all those students who have been taught by me over the years know that I believe I was destined to rule. Plato said a philosopher should rule and as I am his greatest fan I think he meant me. I have all the right qualities – superb intellect, sharp reasoning, don’t like people – I am a natural. 7. Which moment of classical past do you admire the most? (The way in which Peisistratus
got in power the third time was good, wasn’t it?) I have heard it said that I am a tyrant – and even that I am sarcastic! I would like to put the record straight that I am not tyrannical and I do not have a sarcastic bone in my body. So although Peisistratus was cunning and I admire his courage and his audacity; the greatest moment in classical history was the setting up of the Academy by Plato. It gave him a reason to write his works, provided a forum for intellectual discussion, provided a blueprint for institutes of higher education, gave philosophy to the world and provided me with a vocation. What a man! 8. If you were ruler of the world for one day, what would you do? Pass a law that said I should continue to rule. I don’t think that one day would be enough to show people the worth of philosophy and classics to their lives. To my students it should be obvious what I would do and anyone else who wished to know would have to enter my classroom and my world. 9. You frequently talk about your admiration of Plato. What similarities do you see yourself having with him? I think we both view philosophy as a vocation – we both see ourselves as first and foremost teachers and I write just as well as him. 10. If you could have one day out with Plato, where would you go? Parliament – so I could show him nothing has changed. 11. What is the best meal to have in Greece? (would this help us reach your immense level of intelligence?) What? It should be obvious to you by now that reaching my level of intelligence is beyond your dreams. There is so much good food in Greece. Here is my ideal menu: Tzatziki and bread for starters, Chicken souvlaki with Greek salad smothered in olive oil and generous portions of feta cheese placed on it. A huge orange picked straight from the tree. Coffee and baklava. I have to go now, I am hungry!
(John, we thought maybe ‘Working Nine till Five’, ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, ‘We Built This City’ or ‘Eye of the Tiger’ could fit the bill) What three words would you use to describe Huish? Outstanding (this is a bit Ofsted cliché but I truly believe Huish is one of the best Colleges in the country) Supportive Ambitious.
Interview JOHN ABBOTT
September not only saw a new intake for Huish but also a new Principal. And now, in an exclusive interview, you can learn more about him. So here it is readers, Forward’s interview with your new Principal, Mr John Abbott! What job did you want to do when you were younger? Professional sportsman. What is the worst thing you ever did at school/ college/ university? I got suspended from school after being sent off in a football match for my involvement in a minor fracas. My parents were mortified and I wasn’t allowed to play sport for a month, which got reduced to two weeks following good behaviour! Why did you want to be principal? Ever since I was fortunate enough to start teaching I have always wanted to try and provide the very best experience for students. Being a Principal just seemed like to the next step in trying to achieve this.
view from the top sam rooks
1. List three ways that being a Geordie is supremely better than being Somerset born. I don’t like being limited by time or number but I will have a go. Obviously it is in the north – and that is always a positive. I can’t actually think of three so I will have to go with I was born there, so that should be enough.
What are the biggest challenges of being principal? 1. Coming to terms with the fact that despite having the best intentions, consulting and discussing with all involved, it is almost impossible to make a decision or a change where everybody will be in agreement or happy about it. 2. Having to respond to the ever changing government education agenda that doesn’t always make a lot of sense and sometimes is something that I fundamentally don’t agree with. 3. Work life balance, I have a two young daughters and seeing them and my wife as much as I would like can sometimes be tricky. What do you hope to achieve by the end of your first year in charge? Develop and communicate a clear vision and set of values for Huish that will help secure its long term future and continue to further improve the experience students have at Huish. What would you like for Christmas? Less commercialisation of the whole event, and more people using the opportunity to do something to help someone less fortunate than themselves. Sorry this is a bit of a bug bear of mine, I love Christmas and the sharing of gifts , but I just wish it wasn’t all so materialistically based. What is your best joke? Dry wipe boards are remarkable... (It’s a teacher thing).
What song best describes your work ethic? Blimey, not sure, something that captures a relentless determination and dedication to get the job done! FORWARD | 11
I came up with the idea of building a replica motorbike after researching motorbikes and other street bikes. But the main concept of this project was ‘Itachari’. This is a Japanese phrase which means putting an animation character on the bike. I chose my favourite character – Racing Miku 2010 version to put on my bike. Why? Because I found a Racing Miku decal (transfer) dressed-up like the character and I thought it would be perfect.
urban culture Andy Chan
Before I started to work on the decoration, I thought about how I could improve the bikes performance to go even faster. The quickest and easiest way would have been to install a new transmission set for a Road Bike (currently 53T crank, 11~28T freewheels). The rear brakes needed to be altered in order to get the fearing on. The gear shifter was still working so I kept the original one on it. Since I didn’t have the tools to change the crank and freewheel, I handed my bike to my friend’s bike shop to customize it.
Evolution of Racing Miku Mustang Street Bike
When that was completed, I moved on to the paint job selecting a metallic blue colour for the frame. Then, I turned my attentions to the body. I created the fearing out of cardboard and I used two pieces of black wallpaper to make the bottom of the fearing. I also had some decals made out of wallpaper and the picture of Racing Miku came from the internet. Both the head body and the spoiler were formed from fibre glass. These parts came from a mini 49cc motorbike and other parts came from a stripped street bike. Finally, I used a few cable ties to install the spoiler and fearing. As the head body was designed for a mini motorbike I couldn’t put it on straight away. To overcome that, I used some aluminium spokes to form a rack to hold the head body in front of the handle bars. Further improvements: When I came to England from Hong Kong to study, I was homesick and especially missed my bike. So, I began to think about how I could improve it. I changed the K spoke, fearings and decals and added a battery for an LED strip on the fearing.
‘Street Bike’ isn’t a new culture in Hong Kong but a hidden culture since the early 1980s. Most street bike owners were trouble I really like the idea of riding fake motor bikes makers at that time. because I can get all other cyclist’s attention, just like
They ignored all traffic lights and signs and rode as dangerously as possible. Although there has been an improvement nowadays, some of them are still challenging the safety of cycling. Of course, I am not one of them. This bike was a present from my teacher in my previous college. Well, it was six years ago when I first saw this bike and I thought, it could be a beautiful bike after restoration. At the very beginning, it was a rusty bike, or you could say it was rubbish. So, I started thinking about how I could restore it. My mom even asked me that why I had
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the feeling you get when you are driving a famous beautiful sports car on the road! You may ask ‘why does it have a number 2 on it? This is because this is my second street bike, so it’s number 2! Finally, it has helped me to meet a large amount of good friends whilst travelling around Hong Kong. It’s my glory as I am the designer, the builder and owner of this bike!
IS FASHION ART? Clothing is more than just warmth and protection – it is a statement of identity, a representation of cultural or heritage roots. Clothes are worn to show compliance or rebellion, but are they just a material good with no artistic influence?
Some may argue that clothes are purely functional – a practical answer to keeping our bodies warm and our modesty preserved. But those people are wrong! (They are probably the ones wearing shapeless corduroy trousers an inch too short, a bobbled jumper and ten year old shoes – “Why buy new shoes when there’s a shoe repair shop in the high street?”) This argument discredits the place of fashion in our society - fashion which brings us life, and colour, and fun, and interest and eccentricity to our world. Fashion is a creative outlet, where vision meets aesthetics, where practicality meets high culture. Clothes are about looking good they are about aesthetic. If Art is about an aesthetic representation of ourselves, about life, about culture, about beauty, then surely
Fashion is all those things too. For many, clothes are a way of expressing individuality, much like an artist conveying emotions and personality through a paintbrush – the line between fine art and fashion is thinner than would first appear. Fashion magazines are filled with pages of beautiful women wearing beautiful clothes. They are gorgeous to look at - as pretty
as pictures. These publications are the equivalent of Art books, creatively set up and imaginatively photographed. These are not clothes merely to keep you warm – they are to sell you an image of who you are, or who you want to be. Beautiful women have long figured in Art, and the women in Vogue magazine are no different. They are the artists models, the Catwalk is the gallery and the clothes the Art itself. Art is a form of culture, and fashion is an art form.
FASHION ASIA HARVEY photography Helen slater
picked up this rubbish. I said ‘Shut up, it’s going to be a very useful bike’.
So top end expensive designer Fashion is an Art form. But what about high street stuff? Can we possibly conceive that Primark clothes can be Art too? Yes we can! Because they are about life, putting looks together, having fun with your look while taking care of your budget. You can look amazing if you put the right stuff together and be imaginative. As Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” FORWARD | 13
first impressions ROSIE HATHER
STUDENT UNION
I was one of the first to arrive, so I picked my place in the class room and chatted to my very first degree lecturer (Eek)! Others arrived and dithered about whether to sit next to me. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite!” I teased! Maybe my nervous jokes aren’t the best… they looked at me as if I was a bit weird (probably a good judge of character) and then took a seat next to me. This all seems like such a long time ago and I am now battling my way through third year work and on the horizon is my graduation… the end of my degree… Hurrah! Of course, it will be a celebration and there is always that great feeling once you’ve completed something you’ve worked so hard on. But I will say in all honesty that I will miss it! I began my degree at Richard Huish for a reason and I have chosen to finish it here for a reason. It is part of why I have really enjoyed my journey through higher education.
ENJOYABLE SO FAR
Stomach churning, hands shaking and heart racing… I was about to start the first day of my foundation degree at Richard Huish College. Even though I had studied my A Levels at the very same place, first day nerves can never be banished and it was the beginning of a very new journey.
So, why did I chose to study my FdA and BA at Richard Huish College, I hear you ask? One thing I think everyone can agree on liking is comfort and that is how I feel here: comfortable. The small classes and the friendly, welcoming lecturers mean that the relationships you build are strong and you can seek support with confidence that you’ll find it within the person sitting next to you, or the person stood at the front of the class. You know that feeling where you could fall asleep in lesson any second? I’ve never had that here! All lectures are very interactive and you’re encouraged to share your experiences, express your opinions and get as involved as you like! I also think this has helped me greatly in the learning process, as putting things into a real life context and adding your own perspective can really help with understanding the subject area. These courses have also allowed me to work alongside studying, which I believe has been a big advantage for many students. To be able to gain a qualification and work experience all at once is setting us up for a bright future and one that we will be fully prepared for. It’s been a very positive and enjoyable journey so far, and I have high hopes that it’ll end that way too… Maybe I’ll just stay away from the jokes and stick to what I’m good at!!
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The Student Union is primarily focused on giving the high number of students at Richard Huish College a voice. We act as a link between them and staff. If a selection of students came to us with an issue they have with any department, be it the Buttery or classrooms, we would strive to fix this or offer an alternative. The Student Union consists of the following:
Student Governors Chair Vice Chair Treasurer Charity Liaison Officer
Mike Hatcher and Charles Turner Claudia Williams Matthew Haines Zoe Backhouse Molly Heath
The first notable achievement of the Student Union is the introduction of a College revision guide “Book-Swap”, where A2 student’s brought in their old AS Revision Guides and sold them to us. AS students could then buy these Revision Guides relevant to their subject choices. We hope this will become more successful over the coming years and give AS students a chance at grabbing a great deal on textbooks. Unfortunately, we were unable to organise a Fresher’s Night this year due to a lack of venues able to host an under eighteen’s night. To rectify this and after many complaints, we have worked hard to provide an alternative and are currently in the midst of organising a Spring Ball to take place in March. Many students have raised concerns over the lack of social space where they can meet friends and socialise in relative quiet. Our reaction to this is to focus our attention on the Redwood Centre and help make it a friendlier and fun place to hang out during free periods with friends. We are attempting to secure a pool table and plan to remove some of the tables and chairs to create more room; we are also investigating the possible re-introduction of sofas. A more recent achievement of the Student Union was the Formal Friday event that took place on the 22nd November 2013. Students were invited to wear formal attire to college and donate a small amount of spare change in aid of the Philippines disaster and Children in Need. The Student Union would like to thank everybody for the cooperation through this first term and look forward to working alongside the rest of the student body this coming year, and if any students have any problems or issues they would like to resolve, please don’t hesitate to ask any of us. Matt Haines Vice Chair, Richard Huish Student Union
web life sarah abdullah
Social Media and Social Networking sites are taking the internet by storm. YouTube and other video blogging networks have given anyone with access to the internet, the opportunity to broadcast either themselves, or other sorts of video media, onto the internet. Just like any other social networking site, YouTube has positive and negative aspects.
The Positives
YOUTUBE MONEY
Once upon a time YouTube was just a place full of funny cat videos and people falling off skateboards, the site was not taken seriously. But now it is used in everyday life from education to political ads, even daily “video shows”. It has got to the point where millionaires have been made by posting videos onto this site. How to become internet famous whilst making thousands of pounds? Want to find a part time job that doesn’t require you to leave your room? Are you also interested in the film and media industry and want to get noticed? Then grab yourself a video camera, an idea and a YouTube account. However, don’t expect the money to come rolling in as per 1,000 views is about £3.
Foolproof Tips to Becoming An Internet Sensation
1. Befriend a famous YouTuber. Head to London and see if Marcus Butler or Zoella will promote you. 2. Build yourself a loyal fan base. Twelve to fourteen year old girls are your best bet. 3. Be consistent and relatable.
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4. Be good looking or presentable (stats have shown males tend to do better on YouTube as the majority of viewers are teenage girls). 5. Once you have enough subscribers, sign up for a partner program. This is how the money comes in. You must be wondering how much exactly they make, well… Word of warning, it has taken years for these people to get where they are, the videos they post range from music videos, weekly skits to gameplay. YouTube was never made to be a money making system, or provide jobs for millions of people. So, make the most of free advertising website to create something bigger. Remember to subscribe to the college YouTube account, Huishtube.
Username
Subscribers
Estimated monthly earnings (£)
Pewdiepie
15,048,016
62.9K – 755k
Smosh
13,135,056
19.5K –234K 13.4K – 160.6K
Boyce Avenue
6,187,337
Toby Games
5,830,021
ShanedawsonTv
5,125,204
Danisnotonfire
2,686,583
2.7K – 32K
Zoella
2,152,204
3.1K – 37.2K
MarcuzButlerTv
1,617,026
1.5K – 18K
11.7K – 140.9K 6.8K – 81K
Amazingphil
1,328,438
1.3K – 15.1K
Crabstickz
494,840
3.11K – 3.7K
Huishtube
5
2 – 26 (per year) Source: http://socialblade.com/youtube/
The popular video sharing website has played a central role in creating instant Internet celebrities, promoting musical performers, providing opportunities for political and religious speech. YouTube is outstanding web based technology that has radically transformed popular culture and the way we think about broadcasting our voices and our personalities to the world. YouTube has created a lot of Internet celebrities, people who become famous when their videos spread like a virus, eventually being viewed by millions. For these users, Internet fame has benefited their lives in truly unexpected ways. An example would be a YouTube user and former receptionist, Brooke Brodack, who was signed by NBC’s Carson Daly for an eighteen-month development contract. Her comedy video had been viewed by over 45 million people, it featured her dancing to Kayne West’s “Gone” aimed at her boss, explaining why she quit her job (she named the video “An Interpretive Dance For My Boss”), which led to her discovery and lucrative job offer. There are also “YouTube famous” people created, these people have created enormous fanbases and have millions of subscribers. To an extent the YouTube famous have transformed lives, PewdiePie, Zoella, Smosh and Jenna Marbles are some of the most popular youtubers. The social side of YouTube makes it easy for people to connect and share ideas of the same topic, social circles can easily be formed and even long friendships can occur. Thoughts can spread rapidly and sometimes even knock some sense into people. An example of this is the infamous Kony campaign, a viral video explaining how Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) was exploiting children of Uganda. The organisers of the campaign “Invisible Children” were asking for money that would ‘help’ towards the campaign. Thanks to the many comments and the millions of people watching the video it was found out the campaign was a hoax; the LRA have been inactive for a number of years. A lot of minds/thoughts concentrated on one video can achieve new heights.
web life sarah abdullah
IS YOUTUBE A GOOD OR BAD INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY?
The Negatives
Naturally, all of this free speech creates controversy. Where there is free speech, it won’t be long before there is censorship, copyright infringement and legal battles over privacy rights. A famous example of this is the Smosh Pokémon theme song in 2005; the comedy duo did a video lip-synching to the theme song of Pokémon and was arguably the first YouTube viral video (viewed 24 million times which was unheard of at the time). However the video had to be taken down after receiving a copyright DMCA notice from Shogakukan Production Co. Ltd. Many other videos have had this problem, not gaining the rights to the background music on uploader’s videos. Cyber bulling is a new type of bullying our generation has to face. YouTube has placed rules and actions a user can place to reduce cyber bulling (such as blocking the comments section) though it is not enough to block out all the hate. Though videos raise immediate bulling awareness, the most well known example is the Amanda Todd viral video. The distressing video was of fifteen year old Amanda Todd explaining why she killed herself. This is a controversial issue that is still being discussed today. Whether one judges the impact of YouTube positively or negatively, the reality is that the video sharing website has become an influential force in today’s society and has forever transformed our options for broadcasting our voices and our personalities to the world. Overall, the invention of YouTube has changed society for the better and revolutionised the film and media industry, created a number of Internet celebrities, given bands a place to test their popularity, allowed political supporters to promote their causes, created space for religious debate and allowed some to discover their artistic selves.
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work culture Eloise BarreTt
Scream all about it
Get the word out about your job hunt. Begin actively telling people that you’re looking for a job. Think about all the adults in your life: family, relatives, friends, your parents’ friends, your friends’ parents and so on. This approach could open some doors; you could even get that ‘I might know someone who knows someone’ miracle. Stay connected with people you know who already work in places that have ‘hiring potential’. It’s not cheating if your friend who works in Tesco tells you somebody just quit. Get in there ASAP!
Prove it
Let’s face it, we are teenagers, and the stereotypical Harry Enfield ‘Kevin’ is not a person that wouldbe employers would jump at the chance to hire. Employers often worry that we won’t be dependable, will have time-keeping issues and generally be flaky — so we must convince them that we’re actually reliable and responsible. This is where that week’s work experience (or something like it) comes in handy. A good reference from an adult is commonly enough to see you through. If we’re going to ‘big’ ourselves up on paper, we should be able to find someone who can confirm it’s all true. Someone other than your mum though…
Beware of the snooper
‘No one will hire me!’
This seems to be a popular phrase used by the young people around me. Some people are lucky, at the right place at the right time. Or they know somebody who knows somebody who knows the boss (which, if you’re like me and you’ve got nothing other than hundreds of copies of your CV and a hopeful smile, will massively annoy you.)
Never underestimate what an employer will do to discover the true you! Un-tag those photos of that party and delete that ‘it’s not what it looks like’ moment (we all know it was exactly what it looked like). But where to start? We’ve all done it, sat at home and Googled ‘how to get a job’ expecting one to land right in our laps. If I’m being honest, all those articles and ‘How To’s’ that I’ve read were completely un-helpful and quite frankly, a waste of my time. I’ve searched the World Wide Web in despair looking for that seemingly perfect part-time vacancy. I found a few… I applied for a few… I got rejected by them all! That was it; obviously this online thing wasn’t cutting it. And that’s true. I was a sixteen year old girl with no experience (does a week in a primary school count?!) and no real work skills. I’m not surprised I was rejected… on paper that doesn’t really sell. I’ve put together some hopefully not completely useless tips…
Show your face
There are a lot of sixteen/seventeen years olds with no experience out there, and it’s fine to be one. How can we have experience… we’re looking for our first job! But the key is to be just a little bit better than all of them. Say you see a job for a part-time Sales Assistant online. It sounds great so you fill in the application form and press send – all the employers see is information on a computer screen. That’s hardly making an impact! They will see dozens exactly the same. How about you print it off? Fill it out and actually take it into the shop, ask for the manager and get your face seen! You’re then already one step ahead.
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Social networking sites were created by the devil. You can forget just how much of your life is exposed. I’m not going to go into a full blown be careful what you do online’ thing, but remember that you’ve given the employer your CV, with all the information that will lead straight to your Facebook profile or Twitter account or whatever. It barely takes a minute to find you and if the first thing they see is you drinking value vodka from another person’s belly button, I can assure you they will not be impressed. Okay, fair enough it does depend on the type of job you’re going for, but the strict, grey ‘Marks and Spencer’ manager type definitely wouldn’t approve. It’s tedious, this ‘getting a job’ business, and I have lost count of how many times I decided to give up! But finally, I landed myself a job in a women’s clothing shop in Taunton. (Miracles do happen!) Be mature about it. The perfect job won’t just fall into your lap. Get up, get out and hunt it down yourself!
POLITICS Josh Bassett
Politics. The mere mention of the word is enough to strike fear into masses of teenagers in the UK; as soon as anyone mentions ‘opinion polls’ or ‘leadership debate’ it’s seemingly a cue for us ‘young people’ to switch off from the conversation. I mean, after all, aren’t all politicians the same? A bunch of expenses-fiddling hooligans who seem to spend most of their time acting like a bunch of children? Right?
Wrong. Well, at least partly wrong; the above description applies to at least some of our esteemed parliamentarians; they haven’t always had the best reputation to say the least. But regardless, the important thing is to not to let that reputation get in the way of you voting in our next election! However much we may dislike some of our politicians, it is vital that we teenagers vote and play our part, because aren’t we the future of this country?
Does my vote matter?
Yes, it really can make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Take our area for example, the constituency of Taunton Deane; currently held by Jeremy Browne of the Liberal Democrats. This seat was only secured by just 4000 votes at the last election and the neighbouring constituency of Somerton and Frome by less than 2000. Both of these areas are known as Marginal Constituencies; areas that could be won by two or more parties in an election. In these cases the Conservative Party have a chance of winning both these seats from the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems).
What does this mean nationally?
Well, you might remember that the last election resulted in a coalition government, with the Lib Dems partnering up with the Conservatives. These two parties had 307 and 57 seats in parliament respectively, which were both short of the 326 needed for a majority. Labour formed the opposition with 258 MPs. Over the next five days there were negotiations between the Conservatives and Lib Dems took place in order to form a joint
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Once the polls close at 10pm the ballot boxes are counted and simultaneously taken to counting centres across the UK. Gradually the counting will finish and each individual seat will declare its result until all 650 seats are government; the first for 50 years. declared. Some of the seats with a smaller geographical area have a running competition to see who Of course, being part of a joint will be the first seat to declare government meant that neither party was going to get things their – currently the record is held by Sunderland South who declared in own way. Believe it or not, the Lib under an hour in 2010. Dems had actually been against any rise in tuition fees but the coalition agreement meant that And after election night? they agreed to concede this piece By the dawn hours, it will have of policy. become clear which party has won the election by securing Now, I know it might be hard an overall majority. As I said to distinguish between the before, no party won the required two parties in government but number of seats to form the there are still other alternatives government in 2010; but that was if you don’t vote for the main a very rare occurrence. Usually the parties. Don’t like the European winning party will begin its term Union? You could vote for the immediately. If a new government United Kingdom Independence has been elected, they will move Party. Concerned about the into Downing Street that day. environment? Then vote for the Green Party! Conclusion There you have it, a quick guide You see, there are lots of different on how you vote and how your options available to you for voting, vote can change your local area it doesn’t matter what your and the nation at large. The most opinions are, chances are there’s important thing though, is to a party out there that represents make sure you vote for someone those views; and if there isn’t, at the next election, whoever that then there’s a long line of ‘joke’ may be. Remember, you can have parties like the Monster Raving as many demonstrations and Looney party that will gladly take protests as you your vote! like, but the best way to make your So, how do I vote? voice heard in Well, the first step is to register democracy to vote and you and your family should receive a voter registration is to use your vote form prior to the next general in a general election; the next full election is election, in 2015, with European elections that’s where it in 2014 as well. On election day, you’ll need to find out where your counts! nearest polling station is and head
POLITICS ANDREW BOUCHER
BEGINNERS’ GUIDE TO POLITICS
down there some time between 7am and 10pm. The physical act of voting is very simple, simply crossing the box next to your chosen candidates name and placing the ballot paper in the box on your way out.
Should Britain leave the European Union?
Britain has had an interesting past with the EU, starting with the UK joining in 1973. After having their entrance vetoed twice by Charles de Gaulle, the president. The single market (1992) allowed for the EU to have a greater role in social and regional policy. Economic and Monetary Union and a further Political Union were pushed for. This was opposed by Britain who was allowed to opt out of the single market and the Social Chapter. Britain is also able to opt out of the intergovernmental Justice and Home Affairs pillar reforms transferred into the super national “area of freedom, security and justice”.
This is some of the history, but is this enough to decide? There are reasons for and against leaving the EU. But in looking at the reasons for, it does paint a certain picture. According to UKIP, we spend £60 million pounds a year on membership. So, in leaving we will be able to spend more money on other important departments. Also, Britain is very densely populated, even more than Japan and India. Statistically, one million immigrants will enter the country every four to five years. If this continues to happen, it could mean dire consequences such as weakened infrastructure and public services as a whole. Furthermore, there have been complaints about the European Court of Human Rights. This criticism was widely received through the handling of the deportation of Islamic cleric Abu Qatada. Brussels prevented this because they were fearful that he wouldn’t get a fair trial in Jordan. Brussels further received criticism over protocol 15, which stated that applicants only have four months to lodge a court case on certain problems, instead of six. On the other hand, there are reasons against leaving. One major one is concerning jobs. At the moment, Britain is in a great trading position in the EU. If we leave or even renegotiate we will lose up to 3.5 million jobs and will not be in as good a position as we are in now. Another important reason for not leaving the EU is because of the health system. Generally, ethnic minorities have been playing a massive role in making the system great, due to the fact that generally they have been doing well in education. Also, if they are thrown out it will be devastating for them as they will have lost what they have been fighting years for. Not to mention the fact that Britain will not look good if we get a reputation for throwing people out of our country. Another reason for staying in is because of America. At the recent G8 summit, The Obama Administration made it clear that if Britain leaves they could lose £10 billion a year of American investment. There are many factors in politics at the moment influencing the EU. Cameron’s confusion. The UKIP rise. The building of relationships between countries. But the question is. WHAT DO YOU THINK? FORWARD | 21
travel ANDREW BOUCHER & MARIANNE PARKER
NÎMES Bright and early on Thursday 7th March, a group of 13 from Richard Huish College departed from Taunton train station. We were to catch several trains that day to arrive at our destination, Nîmes, at seven o’ clock that evening. Each student had a host family to stay with and from the moment we stepped off our train we were hurled into French culture. The week was spent in classic tourist style as we busily visited the sites and soaked up the language and culture of southern
parliament It was 08:00, 21st June. Waiting for the bus to Hammersmith station were 19 students. Tired, excited and one short. It was soon noticed that we were being chased by a car. Noticing number 20 in the passenger seat. Who was fast tracking to North Petherton. After this some fell asleep, some stayed awake, knowing this would be a spectacular day.
no Queen). He then led us to the House of Lords’ Chamber. We progressed past the Queen’s majestic throne and saw the magnificent entrance door. Sighting the past damage that Black Rod had done to it. Then we were escorted into the House of Commons, the highlight of the day. We walked into the chamber and surveyed all its glory. It was a very humbling experience.
Arriving at Hammersmith station we were presented with tube tickets costing a mere £1.60. Which sounds much better than an NUS card! After a short tube journey we arrived in Westminster, first sighting the guards menacingly watching us as though they would happily obliterate any poor fool who thought about bringing a bomb to Parliament. Unfortunately, for some, we didn’t get the chance to see them in action.
After lunch, and seeing the Duel Tower, we sighted an antigay marriage protest taken to task by some in our group. Two, pretending to be a couple, angered the protestors more by arguing their right to marry!
We then awaited the arrival of Jeremy Browne, our local MP and soon-to-be tour guide. But he didn’t turn up and left us in the company of Tom Baycock, Browne’s personal assistant and tour guide debutant. He started by showing us the place of King Charles I’s conviction. We were then led into an overwhelming blue room. It turned out to be the Queen’s robing room (with 22 | FORWARD
France. We met at the French students’ college on the first morning and began our activities. This included sight-seeing - we visited the Pont du Gard, le Palais des Papes, the Roman Arena and spent time in various local towns, including Nîmes, Uzès and Avignon throughout the week. On Monday, we went to school with our exchanges and sat in on their lessons.
We also had the evenings and the weekend to spend with the host families. As well as organising group activities such as parties and meals, they took us on day trips and I think everybody would agree that they fed us very, very well. It was all in all an excellent week and we had near Sighting Thatcher’s gates, perfect weather, despite the Downing Street (and a policeman with an assault rifes) we separated. French students insisting that the sunshine and high average It was a great experience as my group visited Stanford Bridge and temperatures counted as ‘Winter’. I absolutely loved Nîmes, and the East Putney (we didn’t get the whole experience really served to chance to see Craven Cottage). improve my French skills. As well as having the need to constantly We departed from Hammersmith talk in French, I learned lots of feeling tired and arriving home late. Thoroughly unhappy the day colloquial language. The practice was absolutely vital for me and had come to an end. I believe it really increased my ability and confidence in speaking French - just in time for the exam two weeks after we returned. I am excited to go back to Nîmes when I have the chance!
MORROCCO Twenty-six students jetted off to check out the surf in exotic Morocco in February 2013. In early October, dozens rushed to Huish at an early hour to try and secure a place on the sought after Morocco surf trip and after a long wait, twenty six lucky students were successful.
flying. We were taken to a local restaurant for our first taste of Moroccan food. We then went to our home for the week and what a home it was. A spacious multi story villa was presented to us and we made ourselves comfortable with our new surroundings.
The morning came, wetsuits were fitted and surfboards were Five months later we embarked on selected. After a quick but filling an epic adventure of sun, surf, sea breakfast, we headed to the and sand. After a three hour coach local beach in our massive 4X4’s. journey we arrived at Gatwick Surf tuition was given in the airport where we met Nigel and morning and we then entered Denny, the two guys who run the surprisingly warm Atlantic Moroccan Surf Adventures. After Ocean. Natural surfers were an incident free flight we touched identified quickly with many down in Marrakech, fatigued from people showing early prowess.
ALP D’HUEZ Every two years Huish students have the opportunity to go skiing. This year we headed to Alp D’huez, France. For the first time, the group were placed in a ski in/ski out location at the base of the mountain that boasts 250km of piste, the third
largest resort in France. With 25 students in total, we joined with another school so that we could allocate three groups, beginners, intermediates and advanced. We were blessed with the quality of the instructors who embraced their groups from the start of the week and the students all enjoyed
A few days later we went to the Jimmy Hendrix named ‘Paradise Valley’. This beautiful network of river systems, waterfalls and plunge pools was essentially ours for the day. Courageous jumps from rocks were performed by members of the group, a camp fire was lit by some of the guys in the group and a very enjoyable lunch was devoured. Again we returned to the Villa and friendships developed throughout the evenings along with fine food and drink.
travel ciaran mcDIAMOND
HUISH abroad REPORTS
Later that day we were presented with our first meal made by Mo (the best chef in Morocco) - we were fed like kings and queens every night. A great atmosphere and group relationship was developing, helped by card games and musical performances from members of the group.
One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the market (souk) in the nearby city of Agadir. The week was a true combination of friendships, surfing, banter and hilarious incidents. We returned to Huish wishing we could begin the week all over again. the challenge and banter that was presented. I am sure laughter and screams from each group were heard by many others who were also enjoying the mountains. We were also extremely fortunate with the weather, and although cold, the snow conditions were idyllic, with the first and last two days in blue sky and sunshine and the middle of the week under snowfall. The hotel offered a variety of food with a continental breakfast, cooked lunch and then a three course evening meal, a requirement sought after to replace the energy lost from skiing 5 hours each day! The evenings were spent with a variety of entertainment from a quiz, town trail, ice skating, swimming and bum boarding, as well as an optional evening trying out snowboarding. There were plenty of characters within the group, all of whom made the week very entertaining, and luckily, we came back with no ski related injuries. I am sure the stories of the week were passed round college and as a member of staff that went with the group, I am already looking forward to the next trip! FORWARD | 23
ICON ANDREW BOUCHER
Having finished my degree, I decided to undertake a PhD in Chemistry, also at Warwick. During my PhD, I researched a natural product which was active against pancreatic cancer. My aim was to synthesise smaller more drug-like compounds and test them on the cancer cells, which I learned to grow at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter. I published my results in a scientific journal and was able to go to the American Chemical Society conference in Denver, Colorado, to present my findings. I spent time after the conference hiking in the rocky mountains, before heading to Las Vegas via the Grand Canyon and then on to California. It was a fantastic experience but if you’d asked me at college, if I’d ever be able to give a presentation at an international conference, I would have laughed, I could never have imagined having the confidence to do it. After four years, I finished and passed my PhD.
Of course. I love Kevin Pietersen. He has a great attitude. Even though he is a great batsman his attitude is second to none. Pure aggression. Do you have a personal achievement of which you can really look back on with pride? At International level, I got fifty-six runs against India and I had four catches as a wicket keeper against England. I really hope that I can do it all again. On that note, do you have a certain cricketing dream? I want to be a great international batsman and to be well established as one of the best. I also want to score test centuries. At the moment, I have scored over forty runs seven times recently. But really, scoring a test centaury is my dream.
Jahural Islam in five questions Playing any sport on your home ground must be tough. But playing in a different country must double the pressure. That didn’t hinder the Bangladeshi A cricket team in defeating our own English Lions in Taunton. So, sitting in the Taj Mahal restaurant with the Bangladeshi team after victory on Saturday, I had a chance to talk to the captain, Jahural Islam, to find out what makes him tick as a cricketer. Can you sum up what it was like to play against England? Yeah, it is always very hard to play against England. They are in very good form and they are doing well at the moment. I felt that we fought well in this tournament. Going in, we had lost two big matches by a great margin, but we have come back well in the third match. Generally, we have a very good memory of the English lineup in Bangladesh. We have beaten them four times and have lost only once back in 2012. We hoped going in we would do well but didn’t deliver. So that was why the last match was so important to us.
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ALUMNI dr penny turner
been interested in pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry and this confirmed for me that this was definitely what I wanted to do in the future.
Generally, most great athletes will have a certain role model who they look up to. Is there a certain cricketer who you admire?
I’d recommend it to anyone, the project was very interesting and despite the long hours and challenging work, it was well worth it in the end and such a sense of achievement.
Finally, for all those curry lovers out there, which dish would you recommend?
My research group were such a great group of people and I definitely have some friends for life. When we weren’t in the lab, we often went camping and hiking together.
I love lamb routein. Sounds great! Good luck with your future endeavours.
EX STUDENT PROFILE
Ever wondered what happens to people when they leave Huish? Where do those brown results envelopes take them? Dr Penny Turner, class of 2004, tells of her adventures.
In July this year, after a short time doing some post-doctoral research, I undertook a position as a medicinal chemist at the Drug Discovery Unit in Dundee. It’s a long way from home and getting colder by the day but the people have been so welcoming and I’m really enjoying the work. Looking back at my first days at Huish and how nervous I was, I never would have pictured where I am now and everything I’ve done. It just goes to show, if you put your mind to it, you can achieve whatever you choose (and surprise yourself along the way)!
When I went to Richard Huish College just over ten years ago (2002-2004), I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or where it would lead me. I decided to take AS levels in Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and Maths and then continued with all four subjects to A level. I really enjoyed my time at Richard Huish and all of my subjects. The teachers at Richard Huish were fantastic, always very enthusiastic about their subject and willing to go the extra mile to help us achieve the best we could. I particularly enjoyed chemistry and on leaving Richard Huish, I decided to do a masters degree in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Warwick. In my third year of the four year course, I was lucky enough to be accepted onto a one year placement working for GlaxoSmithKline in medicinal chemistry in the neurodegeneration department. I had always FORWARD | 25
experience CAT KING
Just answer these eight questions! 1. Who would you like to be known as? A. The Lawmaker. B. The Tyrant. C. The Maniac. D. The Champion of the Masses. 2. What would you like to be known for? A. Helping to start trade, to create coinage, to create a class system etc. B. Bringing lots of festivals and good times. C. Beheading people. D. Giving more human rights.
MY TAUNTON WHISTLER It has become common knowledge that many young people, both men and women, suffer with self confidence about their body image. There is a lot of awareness about the effects of this: self harm, weight issues, depression and many, many more.
We’re constantly fed images of perfection, or rather society’s ideals of ‘perfection’. Stereotypically we think of women being the victims of this social pressure, however it is becoming more and more of a male problem too. With a rise in male icons, there is an increasing amount of pressure on young men with regards to what they should look like and wear. I recently experienced an event that really made me think about my own image. After a considerably messy art lesson, despite wearing an apron, I had managed to get white acrylic paint all down myself. Jumper and jeans covered. In the session I had also been using charcoal and for anyone who has ever handled it they will know the black smudge goes everywhere; and it did. Every evening after college I meet my mum in Taunton town centre. Realizing the time, late as usual, I rushed out the college gates. Whilst on my journey to town I realized what a scruff I looked like. With the added ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ hair that the wind had kindly styled for me. I truly looked like a scarecrow. As I continued walking, a group of about five girls began to walk behind me and I was convinced 26 | FORWARD
3. Where would your dream holiday location be? A. Egypt. B. Eretria, a luxury part of Greece. C. Lypsdrium, but only when it is a superpower. D. There is no place like home!
whole heartedly that their laughter was aimed at me and the way I looked. I refrained from turning around, just in case. I was almost at my destination when I heard it. The most beautiful whistling I’d ever had the privilege to hear. I turned around and looked to see who was making such an uplifting sound. After briefly looking, I couldn’t see who it was so sat down. As I sat on the bench the whistler walked passed me. He was a grey old man, shuffling on at a steady pace with a dog by his side. Still whistling. There was something about this man that just seemed overjoyed, full of autumnal spirit. There was something about him that was different, perhaps it was because the black Labrador that was with him was actually a guide dog. And that he was blind. It was then I realized how much of an idiot I had been. Here I was so concerned with what I looked like and my image, and there was a man who was full of happiness unable to see his. I’m not encouraging everyone to go out wearing their art lesson on their clothes; but I am encouraging everyone to maybe think, ‘is image everything?’
4. How would you make someone suffer? A. Make sure that they couldn’t grow any crops. B. Kill them if they thought that they were better than you. C. Behead them, obviously. D. Ostracize them. 5. How would you prefer to get into power? A. Get voted in. B. Storm the place with an army. C. Inherit from your dad. D. After being ostracized, be called back and be made leader. 6. If you had a thousand pounds, what would you do with it? A. Invest it in the economy. B. Buy your way into power as forcing your way is difficult. C. Use it to strengthen your favourite city or town. D. Use it to improve the military. 7. What would annoy you the most? A. People disagreeing with you. B. People keeping you from power. C. Someone killing your sibling. D. People politically opposing you.
8. Which of these is your favourite song? A. Hero by Enrique Iglesias. B. Rule the World by Take That. C. Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. D. The National Anthem.
classical QUIZ ANDREW BOUCHER
WHICH CLASSICAL LEADER ARE YOU?
If you are mostly B, you are… PISISTRATUS Pisistratus tried to get power in Athens many times. The first time he got his own men to beat him up so he could claim he needed a bodyguard. This was granted, so Pisistratus used his bodyguard to take over Athens and make him leader. He left as the other two party leaders forced him out of office. In his second attempt, he was helped by Megacles. In return, he married his daughter. Peisistratus was paraded around the city with a slave woman who looked like Athena. But he wouldn’t solidify the marriage by having intercourse so he left in fear. He came back ten years later with an army from Ereta and took back Athens. He redistributed the land to the people, he gave loans to the farmers so they wouldn’t stop farming. He also brought about many festivals and competitions to encourage poetry, music and athletics. But he didn’t get rid of the Draconian rule of capital punishment for murder.
If you are mostly C, you are… HIPPIAS Hippias was the son of Pisistratus and took over after his father’s death. Following the murder of his brother, the tyranny became cruel, leading to many executions. THE RESULTS!!! He exiled the aristocratic If you are mostly A, You are… Alcmaeonidae family. They built the temple of Delphi, enlisting SOLON much Spartan help. They then Solon was brought in after the bribed the Spartan oracle to Draconian era. He created the liberate Athens. Sparta lost at sea new system of tribes. From the but beat Athens on land. This led 500 Brushel class (richest) to the to Hippias being captured. Hippias Thetes (poorest). Each had an then arranged to leave safely. important role. Any of the top three could be ruler and in the If you are mostly D, you are… council. While the Thetes could CLEISTHENES only be in the law courts and general assembly of citizens. Solon After Hippias’ reign, Sparta took control of Athens under banned slavery and loans on the Cleonomus and Isagurous. They body. He did not redistribute the worked together and tried to land to farmers, which caused dismantle the council. Cleisthenes uproar. Furthermore. Solon made was against this but was exiled. the people of Athens politically The people fought against the active, making them take a Spartans and using the council of political view. If they didn’t, they elders, reached a truce and made would be ostracized. He also the Spartans leave. Cleisthenes created trade, trading with other came back and was made cities many Athenian products champion of the masses. He apart from olive oil. He also gave made a much more democratic weights to currency. He left class system. He brought back Athens for ten years so the laws ostracism and got rid of any could take place. political opposition.
If you would like more information about the work of guide dogs visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk FORWARD | 27
fiction iESHA THOMAS
However, no matter how much I adore the twisted plots and stunning good looks of Ian Somerhalder, I can’t deny the genre is very much used, dried up and ready for the bin, and the reputation of a vampire has been tarred by sparkly men and miserable women whose acting ability stretches to one facial expression. In these past few years or so, I have been searching for a new genre to sink my teeth in to, to explore, and to love. Thankfully, a true gem has emerged from the dust.
A NEW ERA FOR TEEN FICTION I set down my iPod touch on the sofa, feeling numb. I glance at the eBook of “Allegiant” by Veronica Roth, gleaming bright white on the cold and windy day. A tear slips from my eye as I am dumbfounded with shock at the saddest, most infuriating finale to a trilogy. Okay, so I know that seems rather melodramatic, and very, very sad. This may seem like I am just another one of those hyperactive “fangirls”. But I assure you, if you open your mind, delve into the three books of the Divergent trilogy, each and every one, so mind blowing and stunning, no adjective can truly do it justice. For as long as I can remember, I have loved books. No, not loved, obsessed, adored. I have journeyed through various genres of fiction in my 16 years. One of the first was Enid Blyton who got me through primary school, dreaming of midnight feasts and lashings of ginger beer. Then, as we all know, came the Fantasy Fiction years. In this day and age, to have not heard of Harry Potter or The Twilight Saga means you have probably been living under a rock, but also have been spared from some truly tragic acting (by this I mean Twilight, most certainly not Harry Potter which is pure British genius). I will not deny that once upon a time, being the foolish Year 8 with hideous taste that I was, I 28 | FORWARD
Finally, in 2013, teen fiction seems to be taking a more serious and thought provoking route. Is the reign of insignificant quarrels between part dog and bloodthirsty pale people finally over? My new favourite, is dystopian fiction, otherwise known as postapocalyptic fiction (says what it does on the tin, fiction set in the future, the world having changed from the world as we know it). Two years ago now, I stumbled upon a new genre of fiction after hearing of a new series called “The Hunger Games” that would be turning into a new film shortly (and now we all know how it has become the latest world-wide phenomenon). My older sister got the books for her birthday and I finished the set within a week, immediately hooked. I thought there could be no better trilogy, especially in the dystopian fiction genre. How very wrong I was… It was only this summer, that I discovered the Divergent trilogy. Incredibly current, the final book came out in October 2013, (which was a week ago today from when I wrote this). Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant. My best friend and
I share a somewhat overenthusiastic response to fiction. Some may argue that it’s weird, to be a “fan-girl”, it’s embarrassing, but I would rather be known for my deep love of literature than squeaky voiced boy bands. It was a warm evening in Spain, my friend and I were up by the bench across from the local bar stealing the Wi-Fi so we could show each other the novels and upcoming movies we had discovered since we last saw one another (as she lives at the other end of the country). When she suddenly squeals and says: “Oh my god, Lesha. I’ve discovered an amazing new trilogy, oh my god, it’s better than the Hunger Games.” “Nope, not possible Tilly.” “Yeah, I swear it is. It’s called Divergent, and it’s set in the future in a city in America, where everyone is divided into five factions, Abnegation, which values selflessness, Dauntless which values bravery, Erudite, which values knowledge, Candor which values honesty and Amity which values peace. It’s incredible, AND it’s being made into a film. Honestly you’re going to LOVE it, it’s not like The Hunger Games.” “All right, all right I’ll read it!”
So I downloaded a copy onto my iPod and begin to read. It took me roughly a few chapters to realise, yep, I’ve done it again, and I have become utterly engrossed in yet another book series, which I cannot put down or stop talking about for the duration of the summer. I am 99.9% certain that you have never heard of Divergent, have no intent to read it, and believe it is yet another love triangle, happy ending kind of
teen fiction for girls. I can assure you, it is quite the opposite. Divergent follows the story of Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a sixteen year-old girl from Abnegation, the faction which values selflessness. At age sixteen, everyone must decide which faction they want to belong to; their original faction with family, or another faction if they feel they are more suited. This often becomes apparent during the aptitude testing. A simulation serum can determine which faction they are best suited to and then they can transfer and leave their family and old life behind. Hence the term, “faction before blood”. When Beatrice has her aptitude test, it is inconclusive. She is Divergent, she doesn’t fit into a category and therefore cannot be controlled. As she switches faction, and becomes “Tris”, she meets the intimidating Four, her instructor, and the initiation into her new faction will test her strength, her will to survive, and how determined she is to do what’s right. At this point, it seems like your average novel. The romance part of the novel is not the main focus of the book, it’s a tiny part of it. Full of action, constantly unpredictable, and Divergent is just the warm up. Without wanting to spoil too much, everything changes, everything is fast paced and you cannot, and will not put this book (or the other two for that matter) down until you have read each and every page. Twice. These books may be aimed at young people, but unlike the usual fluff about which boy some girl will choose, or meaningless high school dramas that always work out in the end, Divergent is unique. This new thought provoking genre of dystopian fiction may make some think about how unjust the government is, and the control of the media, which makes it so different than anything we’ve seen before. But it also teaches us to never give up, and the sacrifices we must make. It’s more meaningful and more of an emotional rollercoaster than any book I have read.
ARCTIC MONKEYS
MUSIC ASIA HARVEY
stumbled upon the series and I too had a “Team Jacob” t-shirt. That is, until I heard of a show called The Vampire Diaries, that was new to ITV2 in September 2009. I watched it to see how much it copied Twilight, and how awful it would be… Four years later it is now in its fifth season and I have never missed an episode. I have every single box set and have shed more tears than I care to admit, particularly during the infamous whoppers of the season finales. I will always love The Vampire Diaries.
Arctic Monkeys, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Tuesday 29th October The ‘stomp stomp’ beat of ,Do I Wanna Know’ erupted from the stage, as a coolly quaffed Alex Turner, starry in a spangled sequinned jacket, made an appearance – accompanied of course by the remaining three band members, looking dwarfed by the mountainous peaks of the letters ‘AM’ illuminating the arena. It’s official, the ‘Yorkshire Lads’ are back, and more on point than they’ve been before. Warm-up act, The Strypes, with their punked-up mish mash of The Beatles sound complete with a Mumford and Sons-esque harmonica in the background, prepared the crowd for the main attraction, playing the hit ‘Blue Collar Jane’ amongst others. The Monkeys explored their repertoire of songs, dating back to 2005 with the classic crowd pleaser ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, which set off the crowd dancing and singing along. A semi-acoustic version of ‘Mardy Bum’ was played as part of their encore, receiving a positive response from the audience. New songs were also debuted, such as ‘Snap out of it’ and ‘Arabella’. In the past Turner has been accused of pretentiousness, with a phoney West coast drawl and sunglasses inside, but tonight he seemed merely friendly. Not chatty exactly, but certainly aware of the crowd’s enjoyment, he ended the gig by saying “I’ve had a lovely evening Cardiff, goodnight!”. The evening finished with ‘R U Mine,’ from the new album. Leaving the crowd on a high, Arctic Monkeys retired from the stage. FORWARD | 29
PHOTOGRAPHY A2 photography
Look at the face in the mirror Who chose that face? Glance down at that body Who bought that from the body shop? Remember your last illness Surely, you didn’t fancy that? What about the time you fell off your bike Did you do that on purpose? See those wrinkles, grey hair, receding temples, sagging tummy. Surely you don’t want them? And as for your thoughts Who could enjoy that range from the pit of depravity to grumpy, moody and down?
POETRY MARTIN SINCLAIR
Hope for us all
Is like you’re out of control! Is there a “knowing” that can watch these things and gradually tame them And liberates us from fretting about things we can do nothing about? If there is, there is hope for us all
It’s All Yours, Sisiyphus
Jodie Williams
CHALLENGING PERCEPTIONS EXHIBITION If you didn’t get to see the recent photography exhibition here are a few of the images on display. Stunning work by the Huish A2 students.
It is so bad and it is so good but avoidance is impossible.
They selected work to display with great care and thoughtfulness and considered the exhibition theme imaginatively, making wide-ranging and diverse interpretations. Issues addressed in the exhibition include Representation, Diversity, The Role of the Media, the Function of Art, the Ethics of Advertising, the Truthfulness of Photography and the Subtlety of Non-Verbal Communication. The show inspired thought, in the minds of the viewers.
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Sunday afternoon, thankful When the week comes to a juddering halt and eternity seeps through a gap between the ironing and Songs of Praise, Time, which was bolting at full tilt like Nijinsky, sticks as Autumn’s grey calls time on Summer’s easy breathing Welcoming the year’s Yang, the dark side of the year, the golden uplands of the conquest of self. Temples grey, sight forks, the boundless supply of tomorrows begins to thin out. The future is over The past never happened, except as a bad dream. Only the present is sufficient. Your roads have narrowed from Spaghetti Junction to a country lane. This is it, my friend, it’s all yours now and yours is all it is.
Face your boulder and push it to the top, smile when you see it roll down again Put your blameless head on the pillow. Let life in Andy Besbrode Megan Weaver
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RECOMMEnded READING imogen snell
CLASSIC BOOKS IN A NUTSHELL
Don’t freak out or anything but this is a guide especially designed to help you find a classic book that suits you. Why? Well you may think that classic books are strictly for English classrooms and should require a licence but they are actually really enjoyable to read and its not that difficult to find one for you! Lets have a go! Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen Difficulty Rating ★★ A story of courting and happiness, following the marital outcomes of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters. A great way to understand what it was like to be an upper class Victorian. Quite a long read but worth the while if you’ve got the commitment. A good first classic. Favourite character: Mr Bennet, for his way of appearing to have an insight into everything.
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte Difficulty Rating ★★ About as classic as it gets. A novel about Jane Eyre, an orphan left to live with her not-exactly-kind aunt and her story as she grows up, becomes a governess and goes to work for a certain, Mr Rochester. Well known to those studying English Literature and a good
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read if you get through the depressing parts. Not exactly action packed but still lovely anyway. Definitely worth it even just to say you’ve read it. Favourite character: Mrs Fairfax, she’s just delightful.
Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift Difficulty Rating ★ A really easy book to pick up and put down and very simple to understand. A story featuring travels around the globe by an adventurer called Gulliver, who goes to all sorts of weird places. You’ve probably watched the film with Jack Black - it’s better than that! Favourite character: the Emperor of Lilliput, even if he is a bit of a backstabber.
Moby Dick
by Herman Melville Difficulty Rating ★★★ My current read. A tale following a sailor
as he works for a captain on the course of revenge against a whale called Moby Dick (It’s not as strange as it sounds!). Slightly on the depressing side it must be said, but worth it in the end. Very insightful and reflective. Favourite character: Captain Boomer, for his jolly demeanour in a crowd of thoroughly depressing characters.
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte Difficulty Rating ★★ A tale of love, jealousy and vengefulness and their effects within a family at a house called ‘Wuthering Heights’. Considered by many as superior to Bronte’s sister Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. Based on what I’ve heard, very gloomy and melancholic in places, but well worth the read. Favourite character: Hareton Earnshaw apparently has a wonderful accent.
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens Difficulty Rating ★★★ Having not personally read it, I can’t give you much of a heads up but it’s the story of the life of David Copperfield, a young boy from Suffolk. A heartstring puller apparently with a huge amount of twists and turns, but as fantastic as Dickens gets. Favourite character: I’ve been told Betsy Trotwood is fab.
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas Difficulty Rating Well known because of that great film with Charlie Sheen and that awful film with Orlando Bloom. Difficult language but a great story about three musketeers as they endeavour to save the king. Who doesn’t love a good sword fight? Can get a bit complicated at times but manageable. Favourite character: Athos, because he’s named after a mountain and he so romantically ripped apart, it’s gorgeous.
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens Difficulty Rating ★★★ Requires commitment but definitely rewarding. An intrigue set during the French Revolution and one of Dickens’ most famous works. I won’t tell you too much so as to not give it away but this really is a brilliant book!
Favourite character: Probably Charles Darnay but I’m also a huge fan of Sydney Carton, a French Revolution version of Severus Snape.
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy Difficulty Rating ★★★★ Arguably one of the greatest classic novels of all time. Great for the philosophically minded and those interested in Russian history although it demands a huge a// ted (their names are also super hard to pronounce). It should also be noted that it is VERY long. Favourite character: Pierre, he may have his faults but he’s a good man at heart and he’s got a truly magnificent name.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain Difficulty Rating ★★★ The story of Huck as he adventures with his companion, Jim, an escaped slave, along the Mississippi river. A very controversial read based on its themes of outlooks on racism and the lives of kids in the 1830s and 1840s. Read it even just to say you have. Favourite character: Jim due to his patience and incredible knack for getting himself into tricky situations.