The Writeous ISSUE 3

BLIND TASTE TEST RESULTS

TM I N D FUhL N E SSe

FASHION SOCIAL EFFECTS

AN D MUCH MORE

magazine

Writeous

2018 may issue #3

Contents

Issue 3 - May 2018

Contents Issue 2 - Feb 2018

6 7 8 13

Baddass Women Playlist Type 1 Tales The Impact That Fashion Has On Society An Experiment With Mindfulness

16

Fairkytes Gig

25 28

Laura’s Graze Review Passenger

29 36

Creative Writing Competition Results GCSE Writing Competition Results

66 72

Film Reviews Game Reviews

84

Self-Belief and Confidence

86

Principal’s Letter

18 Blind Taste Test 41 Interviews 57 Politics

80 Submissions

March 8th marked yet another amazing global day, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. In Honour of international women’s day, Ellie Desborough has so lovingly compiled a playlist that celebrates some badass women within the independent and alternative music industry (Indie-pendent women as she smartly called it). It’s important to support women in the industry and to give them some love because the divide between male and

female artists is bigger than most people think and it can cause a large variety of musicians to be undermined and uncredited. Women still face prejudice within the music community and double standards are everywhere. Support the female singers, the musicians, the producers, and behind the scene songwriters to help them break into the music industry and get the recognition they deserve.

If you found a new favourite, let us know - R

You can find this playlists Lovingly made by Ellie Desborough on Spotify: click here and we’ll take you there

Type ONE Tales

This article is a sort of educational piece mixed with my personal experience thus far.

For those who aren’t completely sure what type one is, It’s an autoimmune disease that affects how the body handles the hormone known as insulin.

It isn’t the same as type two, as of right now there is no cure and I will most likely have it my whole life, also it has nothing to do with how healthy you are physically, and it’s not preventable. Type one is normally something you get diagnosed in your childhood and the cause hasn’t been pinpointed, but it is usually caused by an infection in my case it was a mild throat infection. It accrues when the Infection causes white blood cells to mistakenly attack and kill the beta cells of the pancreas (Basically our insulin machines). In short, type one diabetic people basically have a dead organ floating in their bodies.

Having type one means that I have to inject artificial insulin via a needle practically whenever I eat but it boils down to four to five times a day.

While doing this, I also have to regulate my blood sugar levels before each injection. It’s always funny to me when people see me inject and say “Oh I couldn’t do that,” or “Gosh how can you do that?” Because the simple answer is I have to or I could die. Kidney failure and DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) aren’t very pleasant.

I was diagnosed in the summer of 2013 about a week into the six week holidays. I was showing symptoms of being unwell and lost a lot of weight during the process so my mum made the continues decision to take me to our local doctor.

After some simple tests, we were told I was going

into DKA. Next thing I know, I’m being whisked away in an ambulance to the hospital. After being diagnosed I spent four days there while the doctors and nurses tried to regulate my blood sugar levels.

I was hooked up to about three things. I’m still surprised at how thirteen year old me was so chill about the whole situation, I just sat there and let it all be while eating cereal in my neat remote controlled bed; that my brother abused when he got hold of the remote.

I’ve been diagnosed for nearly five years now and it has been a very up and down thing to manage.

A couple days after I came out of the hospital, my chill and un-bothered demeanour vanished and I did break down a bit when I realized what this meant for me. Since then, I’ve just learned to get on with it all; there’s no point in feeling sorry for myself, it doesn’t change the circumstance.

Having type one diabetes isn’t a takeover. Sure there are the tri-monthly check-ups with my delightful Swedish doctor as well as trying to keep everything under control and regulated as to not get any negative side effects. It’s still an inconvenience but as long as I get into a complete routine of checking and injecting, it becomes second nature.

These are the ever so stylish Insulin pens- used for injecting This is the device I use to test my blood sugar levels P.S. 5.8 is a great level!

Article By Romy Backler

THE

The way Fashion trends have impacted and influenced movements within history.

EVOLUT OF DENIM

The 70s and 80s was the decade for movements that shaped society and their out look on fashion, it was the years of the hippies, the punk scene and disco queens, the 70s became all about equality and environment and with the influence of Celebes and movies like Saturday night fever there became this trend and a huge rise in the need of platform shoes, denim, losses fit clothing, leather and co-ords and don’t forget the use of primary colours.

The 70s was the start of the break through for women’s fashion as the sudden appeal in power suits and shoulder pads took over female fashion, women were starting to become equals to men within the work field and within everyday society so it was out with the formal looking house dresses and in with the mini skirts and power suits.

TION

In the 90s we saw an even bigger rise in certain fashion trends and with the influence from groups like destiny child and popular movies clueless and pulp fiction, many fashion designers caught on to the wave and the cycle of fashion can be seen with the rise of many of theses trends with brands like Tommy Hilfiger boosting the rise in certain style choices like street wear and the celebs who then influence theses style choices.

The most popular trends in the 90s was anything plaid, mini skirts and anything denim.

The 90s was also the era of gender neutral clothing a we started to see more of a male influence within fashion.

2000’s The 2000s was all about casual wear or other wise known as street wear, with many sporting brands like Adidas, Nike, juicy couture and von Dutch with juicy tracksuits becoming a big trend through the 2000s, denim was also still a big trend with society becoming invested denim mini skirts and co-ord denim sets, but with the rise in denim mini skirts in the early 2000s soon came their deadline and everything became about layering and so in came the long denim maxi skirts.

In the 2000s everything was also covered in rhinestones, fringe and embroidery, with the influence of the stars it was soon everywhere and could be see on almost everyone from the grown women to young girls.

The 2000s was also the era that created the term boho chic which became a huge trend amongst the female society, it was a true reflect of the hippie movement as was seen on everyone, down to dolls like bratz, which influenced the minds of younger children.

Fashion trends can have a huge social effect on society, the three main issues being social inequality, consumption and consumerism which are all heavily influenced on social media especially.

Consumption which is the Consumption definition, the action of using up a resource.

Some people see Low price clothing as disposable which creates unnecessary waste this type of fashion is known as fast fashion which is generally produced by companies like primark, H&M and new look that are constantly changing there products to appeal to the consumer so they can always find some thing and because trends are always changing these companies have to keep up with the look and this is known a fast Fashion.

For some people looking trendy and relevant can make them feel important or popular especially on social media where it can be shared and seen by thousands or even millions, but the down side to this is that people are some times buying items of clothing because they want it and not need it and by doing so they are just conforming to a norm of a moment, the trends that society has put in place that only tnd to last a couple weeks or months, this is where the cycle of fashion comes into play with the re-occurrence of (throw away piece of clothing).

FAIRKYT CLICK HERE

“Fairkytes were delighted that Havering Sixth JAZZ BAND

Isn’t She Lovely perform at their venue in March 2018. The eveni Ease Back varied programme of funk and soul music perfor Don’t Worry Bout Thing of theYou performers was A extremely high, which i Shake A Tail Feather

was also ver y refreshing to witness the level o

LOWER SIXTH MUSIC PERFORMANCE GROUP Come And Get Your Love Stand By Me Let’s Groove Tonight Uptown Funk

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC GROUP Word Up Can’t Stop Play That Funky Music

UPPER 6TH MUSIC PERFORMANCE GROUP Dancing In The Street Nakamarra Ex Factor - Ain’t Nobody One Night Only Treasure

TES GIG The music department was out in force on Friday 9th March in Hornchurch at the Fairkytes Arts Centre for a night of Funk and Soul.

John-Michael Mahoney took on the role of compere for the evening and did a fantastic job.

First up were the jazz band with two tracks by Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles to get us all in the mood. The lower sixth music performance group brought a lot of energy to the stage with their performances of 'Uptown Funk'

by Bruno Mars and 'Let's Groove' by Earth, Wind and Fire.

Highlights of the second half of the concert included the contemporary music group with their funky versions of 'Word Up' by Cameo and ‘Can't Stop’ by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

They were the first group to get the crowd on their feet and dancing.

The upper sixth were not to be outdone, taking things down with an incredible version of ‘Nakamarra’ by Haitus Kaiyote and then bringing the show to a close with a tight set including the songs ‘Ex Factor’ by Lauren Hill and ‘Ain’t Nobody’ by Chaka Khan.

Before the half term the college magazine created a blind taste test to test out the foods and drinks on offer to see what you thought was the tastiest. However, we had 3 different kinds of the same food and drink but the price varied, we had a cheap, midrange and expensive product, all colour coded, Pink, Blue and Green. The results are in, so are we open to cheaper alternatives or are we dedicated to our brands?

Wednesday 28th march -in the quad-

12:30-1:30

The writE0us magazine - BLIND taste test

A

B

C

Take part in our blind taste test and have your results published in our College Magazine.

Results

Price Guide Below we’ve provided a price guide based on which item was the cheapest, mid-range and expensive product based on how we colour coded the products. Below are pictures of the products with the original price and the colour we labelled it as.

Crisps

1st Favourite Pringles-Pink £2.50

2nd Favourite Walkers Stax-Blue £1.49

3rd Favourite Snaktastic-Green £0.90

Cereal

2nd Favourite Coco Pops -Green £2.70

Also tied as 2nd Favourite Choco Snaps- Blue £1.70

1st Favourite Choco Rice-Pink £1.18

Diet Soft Drink

1st Favourite Diet Pepsi- Blue £1.99

3nd Favourite Tesco Diet Coke- Green £1.89

2nd Favourite Diet Freeway- Pink £1.29

Energy Drink

2nd Favourite Monster- Pink £3.99 (£1 per can)

3rd Favourite KX- Green £3.00 (£0.50 per can)

1st Favourite Kong Strong- Blue £1.50 (£0.25 per can)

Chocolate Spread

1st Favourite Nutella-Pink £1.99

2nd Favourite Tesco Hazelnut Spread-Blue £1.50

3rd Favourite Choco Nussa- Green £1.09

Chocolate

1st Favourite Dairy Milk- Blue £0.99

2nd Favourite Fin Carre- Green £0.79

3rd Favourite Milk Chocolate- Pink £0.30

As you can see from the results a majority of people thought the most expensive was the best but there were a few first favourites for the cheapest brand, surprisingly enough the mid-range product had a majority of 2nd or 3rd favourite but never a 1st. So does price effect the quality of taste or not?

“In conclusion, personally, I don’t think it does for the most part, a majority of the products came back with very close results, particularly between the 2nd and third favourites. We are a generation where we do love our brands and that is made clear from these results but we’re also a generation that’s willing to comprise based on price. If we think a product tastes similar but is cheaper, why wouldn’t we want to buy it? We live in a generation where brands are not only important but saving money is also extremely important, so do we comprise or simply keep buying things we can’t afford, well if it tastes the same or looks the same or is similar, it seems worth compromising for a cheaper product”

Pictures From The Day

Written and Edited by Chloe Spriggins

A spe cial g ift for a frie nd to from

graz e.com

x2

Laura’s review

When New Year approached we all made New Year resolutions, but have we actually stuck to them?

Probably not. My resolution was to cut down on how much sugar I eat. Most of the time it’s unnecessary because I can eat when I’m bored. However, after registering to become a blood and organ donor, another of my resolutions, I received a voucher with my confirmation letter for a free first and fifth graze box. As it was free, I decided to take up the offer and order my first box, which I could use and eat to replace my sugary diet.

When you’re applying for it you can tell them any allergies you have and what you would like to try by setting your preferences, but as I don’t have any allergies I wasn’t fussed about what I received in my box. As graze is a subscription, you’ll receive boxes about once a month, but what I also like about graze is that you can tell them when and where you would like your box. You can tell them you’re going on holiday so you can delay your regular package.

About 3 days later, I received my first free box through the letterbox. When I opened it, I was welcomed with leaflets, vouchers and codes for me to share with other people if I wanted to, or use them for myself. Despite the box and the food itself being neutral in colour, the inside of the box, the vouchers and leaflets were very colourful, so it was a nice, kinda cute and friendly surprise to see a shot of colour emerge from the box.

The box contained four random snack pots, which were ‘veggie protein power’, ‘vitamin E defence’, 3 ‘original fruity flapjacks’ and ‘cookies and cream’.

I started eating my box on a Friday night while watching Coronation Street… I know, exciting. I had been offered a Strawberry muffin, the four-pack you can buy in Tesco which are filled with strawberry jam and white chocolate chunks. They’re really nice but we’re not here to talk unhealthy. I knew deep down that I shouldn’t have a muffin and so I thought, “I’ll try my graze box!” As it was Friday, I went for the snack pot which looked the most appealing, which was ‘Cookies and Cream’.

1. COOKIES AND CREAM This snack consisted of small white chocolate buttons, sunflower seeds, miniature cocoa cookies and smaller than bitesize pieces of fudge. The pack was labelled to consist of fibre, vitamins and minerals. I expected the chocolate and cookies to taste cheap, but the whole snack tasted really nice and it surprised me. The sunflower seeds didn’t taste of much, which I suppose could be a good thing if you want a healthy alternative that doesn’t taste completely disgusting. The cookies were a little dry but for a free box from a huge company, it didn’t matter too much.

A few days later, I tried the second most appealing snack, which was the original fruity flapjack.

graze.com

2. ORIGINAL FRUITY FLAPJACK This was labelled as full of fibre, with rolled oats, dried apricot, vine fruits and seeds. This one was quite dry and had a thick, stodgy texture. The taste, on the other hand, wasn’t bad but to be honest it didn’t taste of much either. This snack was the first one to expire, so perhaps if I had eaten it first maybe it would’ve tasted better. What did taste amazing though, much to my surprise, was my next snack.

graze.com

3. VEGGIE PROTEIN POWER This powerful package contained edamame beans, spicy chickpeas and black pepper cashews. It has 6g of protein which is a lot for the small pot it was in, and a bonus was that it’s under 150 calories. I’ll be honest, the appearance of this snack isn’t very appetising, but it really does taste great, if you like a little kick of spice and if you like beans and chickpeas. I didn’t think I would like this because I’m not a fan of chickpeas or lentils, none of that kind, but you have to try these things to see what they taste like, as you might find a real gem to replace all that sugar your consuming.

I found that your first box can be a trial and error situation, but I have found some great snacks, which although don’t live up to the sweet taste of sugar, are healthy and I know I can eat more of Sunflower seeds, Spicy chickpeas and Black pepper cashews.

You can always change your preferences and tell them what you like and don’t by rating the different snacks as bin, try, like or love. These were just 4 snacks out out of 130 different ones.

graze.com

4. VITAMIN E DEFENCE ‘To help protect your cells from stress’. ‘Health star’.

‘Fibre, vitamins and minerals’. This seemed like the best snack of all, despite containing raisins. Labelled with these captions, this snack was going to protect me from the stress coming my way, or not. I suppose with continuous consumption but not for now. If you like dried cranberries and raisins, and hazelnuts and peanuts then this snack will be your favourite, but it definitely wasn’t mine. The dried fruit was very bitter, and the combination was very bland.

SPECIAL OFFER!

I am giving away TWO CODES ONLY for you to claim quickly! First come, first serve!

You’ll get:

1st box free 5th box free 10th box free ENTER MY CODE:

465326KLB NO COMMITMENT, SO YOU CAN CANCEL ANYTIME! graze.com

Passenger The doors opened. I got off. I rolled out of bed, chucked on my favourite - aka over worn, comfy and overused - AC/DC t-shirt, pierced my legs through a pair of baggy, cropped, navy corduroys with an elasticated waist and threw on a light blue, men’s, oversized denim jacket. There was no time to untangle my pyjamas from my sheets so I swore to rescue them later, threw on a pair of shoes and headed out of my door. The 07.00am sunshine I walked home in had dissipated into a series of clouds and a watery mist that my bus crawled through. Most stops along my route had no passengers coming on but, one particular stop - Blue Tree Lane. A mysteriously tall figure had boarded the vessel. He stood in the wheelchair section diagonally opposite from where I was sitting. His hair was almost shaven bald except for the fingernail length thorns piercing through the skin covering his skull and into the open. I couldn’t make out the colour of his eyes due to how far I was from where he was standing but, his lips lacked colour and blended with his skin tone; the complexion of a dead man. Scars that covered his hands were a chalky purple-blue colour, smudged and dirty. He wore brown, fitted trousers and a red shirt - a strange, yet complimenting pair of colours - along with a black briefcase, coated in authentic leather and drenched in the smell of it. Mid-analysis of the dark figure that had clouded the bus, my stop had arrived so I proceeded to the door in front of him. As I walked down the skinny, claustrophobic isle, I could decipher the code in his eyes. They were a dark, penetrating brown with shards of black pouring out from his iris. Once I reached the door, I faced away from him; the feeling of his eyeballs trundling within their sockets shifted through me. I felt the bite of his fixation on me and a salty solution leaked from the wound. Flames of a life I had previously forgotten burnt through their confinements and ripped through my consciousness.

Written by - Aneesa Ibrahim Designed by - Sydney Merritt

The overall winner is Amique Gill, with ‘Just a Touch’.

Just a Touch As he engulfed me in a tight embrace, I couldn’t contain my excitement; my lips form a goofy smile.

Slowly, I pull away, trying to compose myself to ‘look natural’. But it’s impossible. I look into his eyes and immediately become lost in the smooth, light brown iris’ which captivated me when I first met him. I remember it like it was yesterday.

“Shall we?” He offers me his hand and flashes me a charming grin to snatch me back to reality. That grin!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight. I nod and coyly smirk back, trying to control my burning cheeks. I take comfort in the fact that his are the same so I take his hand in mine.

Our fingers intertwine for the very first time and in that moment, I feel a surge of electricity racing from his palm to mine. It feels as though he has revived my heart and it’s beating faster than I have ever experienced in my entire life. He leads the way to his “favourite secret place” and I feel more than honoured to be led there. As we walk, we delve deep into conversation and jokes. I laugh at his wit and I feel a sense achievement every time I earn a chuckle from him. Pointless chatter, but the light murmurs of the crowd passing us were silenced as I focused on his every word, his every move. The more we speak, the more I feel myself falling down a rabbit hole. Is this what love feels like?

We finally reach a bench by a sparkling river, isolated from the busy city. The only sound that lingers around my ears is the trickling of the calm water before us. “This is such an amazing view.” I exclaim breathlessly as we both take a seat. He pauses and then turns his body to face mine. “Want to see an even better one?” he asks, pulling out his phone. I chuckle as I already know he isn’t talking about me, as most men would if they’re trying to flatter a lady.

His touch, the softest finger in the world, gently lifts my chin to make me gaze up at the night sky. The dark, clear sky is illuminated by a handful of stars scattered across. The view is picturesque, almost too good to be real.

He moves his finger so my face becomes levelly opposite to his. “That’s nothing compared to you.”

This sends a chill down my spine and I realise that this man is my love, my lust and my life. In any other instance I’d guffaw and tease him for using such a cheesy line but this time, all I do is blush as I believe there’s truth in his words. I feel more relaxed and rest my head on his shoulder, the subtle smell of his aftershave striking me. We continue to talk the night away on this bench and there is no place I’d rather be. Our hands find their way to each other again and we rest there in perfect harmony for what feels like forever but it’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced.

“I’ll never let you go” his voice coarsely whispers, the first words either of us have spoken in a while.

“I promise.” I close my eyes tightly as I’m gripping his hand, my breath shaky and whisper back “but you already have.” I open my eyes again and feel a single tear roll down my cheek. I look down and find my fist clenched into a ball. My surroundings are completely different, but the same. I’m back to reality. Children are playfully giggling behind me in the same park. The world continued to go on without him but mine is at a standstill. I unclench my fist and slowly wriggle my fingers, feeling a slight tingle.

A miniscule amount of his electricity left in my palm, it’ll remain there forever. I stand up from the bench, my knees trembling and take one last look at it. The rickety wooden bridge by the lake that was once perfect.

In memory of him. Gone but never forgotten.

Amique Gill

Fiorella and the Below Fiorella looked behind her, her shoulder grazing her cheek, and stared at a running boy far, far away. She thought to herself, it’s too late to run, so she kept walking on the broken cobble steps spiraling down into the depths of the collapsing city. No screams, or terrified words, only sirens blaring by the sides of the steps. Red, and spinning; the lights span round and round like the panic it was causing. Fiorella stopped.

The steps stopped.

Below her was a crevasse that went deep into the middle of the earth, a sinking feeling filled her stomach and she groaned in frustration. The rest of the steps was tilted thataway, far from where she was standing. Jumping was not an option but if she went around now, it would be too late. She looked behind her, there was no-one there. They must have known that the stairs were broken. Drat. She thought to herself. The boy was gone as well. She could hear the thunder-like rumble rising from behind her. She looked down again. Then up. Down. Up. Down. She jumped. She flew like a bird. With a broken wing.

She spiraled downwards, nowhere near the other half of the stairs she was reaching for. She fell and fell. Down into the darkness, she fell.

Fiorella folded in on herself. Crumpled in the dark like thrown paper. She looked up as a tiny stream of light passed by her face. Her body ached. Her head pounded. She felt like someone was covering her ears; the sounds muffled. Drops of viscous liquid spilled out between her lips. Her eyelids drooped, heavy with tiredness and pain stinging her whole face. She gave up trying to sit up, she exhaled and let her body lie limp on the dark cold floor as the streaming light faded into the distance. Perhaps I am dead and merely dreaming. She thought, Or perhaps I am to breathe my last breath now. She inhaled, exhaled. Pricks of stabbing feelings crawled all over her body. Then, numbness. If she felt like feeling, she could not. The pain was gone, but what worried her most was the feeling she felt now. Nothing. I am dead. She cried to herself, murky tears flickering out of her eyes and dropping onto shadows. Shadows? She looked up. Towering figures, colourless and sinister, hovered above her. There were at least three of them. They all looked like walking

shadows. The one in the middle wore a hat, on the left the shadow had what Fiorella assumed was hair raised in a ponytail and the one on the right they had spectacles on a mess of a head. There was a blinding orange light behind them. She blinked, her body unable to move, and stared as they walked towards her. Around her. Are they going to leave me for dead? Am I dreaming? She thought. Her finger twitched and the hat shadow looked back at her. It leant down behind her.

“Well, hello there young one.” The shadow said in a low voice, poking her back. When it moved around to face Fiorella, she could see it was a young male with scars etching his entire face. Gnashes and burns covering the once fine features, his green eyes sparkled as he looked her over once, “What are you doing here?” Dying. She thought to herself.

He laughed in response, “Then I suppose you need help.” “What did you say Jared?” Someone yelled behind her. “Nothing much.” He said, smiling down at the battered girl. How? You- I wasn’t speaking.

Fiorella strained opened her eyes to inspect the young man once more but she could not make out any details. He tilted his head and shoved his hands beneath her body, lifting her skywards, he stood up. “I’m taking this one.” He said. Fiorella couldn’t tilt her head to look at anything other than the stranger’s odd brown fabric of clothes and his rising and deflating chest as he breathed. How warm. She thought to herself as she let herself be carried. Will I die in his arms? Will they kill me? Her head swam with nonsense and sense, all drowning her out of her consciousness.

“Let’s go home.” She heard him say before she dropped off to rest.

Ridima Thapa

Runner up Ridima Thapa, with ‘Fiorella and the Below’.

Runner up Sian Bannister, with ‘White Winter Hymnal’.

White Winter Hymnal December 24th, I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats, with scarves of red tied round their throats, delicate little voices singing their hymnal notes. They marched unconsciously in unison, mimicking their leader’s stride; heads bowed against the harsh, winter winds. Haphazardly, their tiny, protected feet weave in and out of the remaining soggy autumn leaves, casting slushy sounds into the dark night air. Ominous metal lamp posts stood strong, illuminating the path in front of the children, protecting them from ghosts; yet displaying them to ghouls. Silent, like a hawk, I pace behind the gaggle, keeping to the uneven shadows of the bushes. My sweeping black coat trailed out behind me, gathering moisture from the earth and making a soft rustling sound, like the sound of light papers being shuffled in a quiet room. My fists were curled into two tight balls in my pocket – I thought only to protect my flesh from the cold but really, I was heightened – quick, sharp breaths and twitching eyes gave my anticipation away. If anyone were to see me, that is.

I study the group closely, maintaining my distance from them, as to seem less suspicious if anyone was to wander into this unlikely scene. It was, after all, a strange sight I had gotten myself into – tonight and every night this week, I have been here – behind these children on the way back from church. They all stopped, crowding impatiently around the road crossing. After the teachers’ signal, they fumbled

across the road and made their way home, presumably. I knew my way now, so I bode farewell to that path and slipped off to the left, down the narrow trail between the holly and thistle bushes. It’s almost a picturesque scene; the bright, lurid red berries attached to the deep green leaves; the warm yellow lights of the town, twinkling in the distance. All that’s missing is the white, plush snow – making for an enticing playing ground in the day and a protective blanket at night.

I pick up speed now, hurrying down the sheltered, natural alley, knowing not to fear the crushing dark anymore. I dart left, then right, then left again, assuming myself into a dense maze – a maze only a few people can work their way out of. After what seems like minutes, I emerge from the soundless trail, hit with the impenetrable night air. I look towards the familiar cottage in front of me, for a second, and then duck my head against the cold, walking fast towards the homely front door. I stop, hopping impatiently whilst digging for my key in my pocket. Whilst my numb hands locate the smooth metal, I notice the bedraggled wreath on the door, decorated with tarnished false berries and unintentionally interwoven with cobwebs. I jam the key into the lock, turn my wrist, and enter the abode…

Sian Bannister

GCSE Creative Writing Stories

In the blink of an eye I had a long day at hand; college, work, picking up my siblings from school, going for my audition. Sigh, it was going to be very long. But, suddenly, CRASH! My whole world changed in seconds. One phone call changed my life. I would be lost forever.

Yes, I know you’re thinking what is she on about, so let me start from the beginning. It was a mildly hot Friday morning. Late! Late! I was running late. The alarm had rung so many times and I had managed not to hear it. “No, no, no,” I exclaimed, “I’m really gonna get it today, they’re probably gonna put me on contract.

Arghh!!”

Quickly, I got ready for college and off I went, rushing to get there at least five minutes late. In I went, just as he said my name on the register. Yes, it was my favourite subject, drama, and I had an audition later that day too! My teacher, Lee, was excited for me, it would be my big break if I got the part. Why yes, of course I’d get the part; I mean, I’m the best in this class.

With college done, it was time to go to work. Ugh, work. Such a noisy place, with loud whining kinds and whingeing adults always complaining about their food and the service. I guess they just wanted free food. Yes, you guessed it. McDonald’s, that’s where I work. The loudest, busiest place on earth in my opinion, and not enough pay for all the stress. So there I was, getting changed into my uniform, ready to face the customers at the till.

“NEXT!” I screamed, and there was the most handsome boy I had ever seen. Suddenly, I was too shy to speak. Cheeks all blushing red, I was flushed and nervous. There he was, standing, staring at me, ready to order his food. I took his order, he collected it and walked away with a girl, hand in hand, safely interlocked. “No chance,” I thought. Not looking like this, anyway. I should’ve engaged in conversation, but then again, he has a girlfriend. Oh well, my shifts done.

Time to go and pick up my annoying little siblings.

I got changed, put my clothes in my bag and off I went to the bus stop. “Oh my days, it’s been ages I’ve been waiting for this bus,” I thought. Finally, there it was. The 396 to Littletown. The bus was driving so slowly I thought I’d never make it there and back in time for my audition but I had to. I couldn’t be late to my big break. This could really be it! I could imagine it in the headlines: ‘Lisa Norris from Brentwood, a small town in Essex is the next big thing’. I could see the flashing lights of cameras, red carpets, designer ballgowns, my own handsome prince, better than the one in McDonald’s. Snap, I zoned out and nearly missed my stop. Off I went, walking to the school. They were out already, waiting for me. I could see them through the gate. With a big smile on my face, I hugged them and got their stuff ready to go. They were annoying but I loved them.

“Next! Next please!” I exclaimed.

There was traffic on the way back, the bus was at a standstill, no movement whatsoever. “It’s OK,” I thought, “I still have time.” “Brr, brr, brr,” my phone vibrated. An unknown number. “Hmm, strange,” I thought. I picked up.

No one could hear me, they were all chatting together.

“Hello,” I said with uncertainty.

“Yes, hello, is this Lisa Norris?” the voice said.

“Yes, it is,” I said in the hope that it was the auditioners.

“Unfortunately, your mum has been involved in an accident at home. We need you to identify the body.”

I was terrified, a big lump was in my throat. I did not know what to say or how to react.

“Hello, hello, anybody there?” the voice said.

“Yes,” I replied, remembering I had to respond, “I’ll be there soon.”

Home, finally home and, upon arrival, all I see is cars, police cars and ambulances all over my road and all around my house. I wanted to faint, I looked at my siblings and did not know how to answer all the questions coming from their mouths. My audition was no longer important to me; my family was.

Walking to my front door, officers came out ready to brief me on the situation, telling my siblings to wait outside with another officer.

“Your mum was involved in a robbery, your home was being burgled and your mum came down to see what was going on and was shot. Neighbours called us, to say they heard shots from your home, but upon our arrival, she had passed away. We are very sorry for your loss.”

My world was spinning. What do I do now? All I could see was my mum laying cold in her own blood on the kitchen floor. I wanted to cry but I had to be strong for my young ones.

Questions were all that filled my mind: I couldn’t face that she was indeed gone. My mother was GONE! Tears fell from my eyes as I remembered all the memories. Did I even say goodbye this morning?

My life would never be the same.

Written by Hasel Chukudi

Poor Fred Poor Fred. At age seventy-nine, he stood no chance against the armed robber. Currently fighting for his life in intensive care, everyone else stood around helpless, confused and sad after the events that occurred last night. Fred was a friendly, funny and caring neighbour.

I used to sit on his knee and listen to all his war stories and how he survived three wars.

It shows how age can have an impact on your chance of survival. He’d survived two dog fights, Vietnamese guerrilla fighters and being held captive by the Russians. All this, but couldn’t hold off a pathetic idiot of a robber.

The smell of burnt wood drifts in the air, the thought of Fred’s house chills me to my bones. The robber was careless, whilst pushing and kicking furniture all over Fred’s front room, carelessly knocked a wooden stool onto the open fire that had not yet extinguished properly. The house went up in a glorious blaze; Fred was on the second floor, trapped…

His instincts kicked in straight away! He picked up his old gas mask, using it to breathe in the thick ashy smoke. Using the butt of his rifle, he slammed it through the glass window, then squeezing, he manoeuvred through the window carefully, trying not to get caught on the glass. He’d made it!

Standing on his garage roof, in just his dressing gown and boxers, he had to find a way down. It was at this moment there was a mighty BANG! The roof of the garage had collapsed. Fred fell to the ground: THUD!

I’d witnessed it all: the escape and the fall, all from my small bedroom window. It was time to do something.

I ran down the stairs, through the front door and round to Fred. He laid there unconscious and struggling to breathe. A large piece of wooden plinth stuck out of Fred. He needed medical attention as soon as possible.

“It’s going to be OK, Fred!” I screamed, as I dived into my pockets looking for my phone.

“Nine, nine, nine,” I muttered, as I entered the three digits. It rang briefly and then the operator answered.

I told her about the situation and she said, “the emergency services are on their way, please remain calm.” Time felt like minutes had turned to hours from then on.

Here I am, sitting in intensive care, waiting for the doctor to come out.

Out burst the doctor. “Billy, Fred…”

Written by Daniel Leonards

Edited by Chloe Spriggins

There’s always light at the end of the tunnel As he carefully stepped forward, looking into what seemed to be a never-ending tunnel, Toby was filled with nerves as sweat slowly dripped down his face. He knew it was coming, but there’s nothing that will stop it. It was here. The lights frantically flickered as Toby scampered around, his eyes alert, following his surroundings. He kept walking, yet the tunnel grew longer. Was there any hope for Toby?

It all started as Toby was on his way to catch his train to university. He always travelled by train everywhere he went. Until on the particular evening of June 6th Toby never returned home…

“See ya later, Mum,” Toby shouted as he shut the door behind him, leaving no time for a response.

He was sitting there waiting for his train as usual, distracted by his music playing through the headphones. Everything stopped. The whole train station had just shut down, it was filled with complete darkness as screams rose, crying for help. No phone signals. Nothing. Toby knew what was coming. Luckily, some people escaped.

He knew it was approaching fast as the screams slowly disappeared into the distance.

He shot up, feeling around walls to find an escape. He saw the light enticing him at the end of the tunnel. He said to himself “there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, huh?” and “it’ll be fine,” he said, not knowing the unfolding truth.

Toby felt the presence of someone, something behind him breathing deeply on him. This was it. This was his chance. He ran straight towards

the light, hoping and praying he would get the chance to escape and tell his mum how sorry he was, and how much he loved and appreciated her.

The tunnel grew longer. It was too late. It had him. Toby sunk to the floor, looking for forgiveness and hope.

A deep, dark, sinister voice said, “Is there always light at the end of the tunnel?”

Toby screamed as loud as he could. He opened his eyes after squeezing them together. “Toby, hurry up, you’ll miss your train,” his mum exclaimed.

Was it really just a dream? Or a story just about to unfold?

“June 6th,” he said nervously.

In anticipation, he arrived at the station, waiting nervously for the train.

“It’s fine,” he told himself.

A train was coming in ten minutes. Not long now!

The noise of a switch flicked. The station filled with utter darkness and despair.

It was happening, his dream was real.

He told himself, “remember, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, right?................”

Written by Millie Taylor-Salmon Designed by Sydney Merritt

I nt e r v i e ws

‘Once you have experience it makes things a little easier’

Katherine With the office dog

printing on behalf of our clients. It’s a similar principle for design for web.

As you can probably tell, in addition to the design & artworking, we spend a fair bit of time chatting to clients and suppliers via phone and email. We also spend time creating estimates, invoicing and archiving completed projects. I would say at least one hour a day is dedicated to these tasks. We also spend a little time fussing the dogs, chatting and drinking coffee!

What was the hardest part of becoming a graphic designer?

Probably getting that first initial industry experience. Once you have experience it makes things a little easier. Getting that first break can be hard. I was very lucky!

‘If a website

is required, then that’s me’.

How do you find your clients to work for?

Most are lovely and appreciate what we do for them. There are regularly tight deadlines involved but we always try to meet them – even the ludicrous ones! We have worked with most of our clients for years so hopefully we are doing something right.

Do you work independently, or do you sometimes work in group or with a partner?

It’s a mix. We definitely have our own strengths. If a website is required, then that’s me. If it’s an exhibition stand that is more Niall. If we have an exciting brief that allows for us to be really creative, we tend to work together. Sometimes we have a mini competition where we work on designs separately without looking at the others work. We then have a grand reveal at the end!

Katherine Due to the fact you work for a company, who deals with your finances do you do it yourself, or do you hire someone to do it for you?

We process the invoices. We used a cloudbased accounting system. After that Chris and our accountants deal with everything from there.

What do you do on a daily basis, do you have a routine?

Every day is different and really depends on how many emails have come in and what the work-load is like. I guess a typical day is: - Cuppa!

- Check emails - Reply to easy emails - Make a list of tasks in priority order - Discuss work load with team and portion out work accordingly if required - Work through the list - Periodically check emails throughout the day and respond to any urgent enquiries - Answer phone throughout the day

Some of her clients include:

Vodafone

Hunting PLC

Johnson Matthey 80Twenty consultancy

Mimi Spa

Some of her websites:

dealing with any requests What was your goals when you were younger, did you always want to be a graphic designer?

I knew I always wanted to do something ‘Arty’.

Within your journey into becoming a graphic designer has there been any regrets, anything you would go back and change?

No, I don’t think so. I have been pretty lucky really. I wasn’t very confident at the start of my career and struggled to voice my opinion, but I don’t think I could have changed that. It just came with experience.

Is there anything you would want to be tell me, or make me aware for my journey into becoming a graphics designer?

- Be confident.

- Be enthusiastic.

- Be yourself.

- Listen and learn from experienced designers.

- If you don’t know don’t be afraid to ask. Most people are always willing to help.

- If a client wants to do something that would look really ugly, don’t be afraid to tell them so (in a diplomatic way), that’s what they are paying us for.

This website was designed for The Battle of Britain Memorial. This website is definitely fit for purpose and overall a great design.

This is a website which Katherine designed for a company called Elbar Group Worldwide. The company sells top quality food at a competitive price. Overall this website looks very professional and it is very quick, easy and simple to use. So altogether, Katherine designs this very well and is very brilliant at her job.

If you want to find out more about Katherine visit the website: https://www.plaindesign.co.uk/who-we-are/

Interview with Michael Dunlop Michael who has worked in advertising for 15 years and is now a Marketing manager at Tobynee Hall....

Michael has worked in marketing and advertising for 15 years he first started in a charity however the charity is no longer there so now he is a Marketing Manager for Tobynee Hall which is a charity that works at the ‘frontline of poverty’, a typical day for him at Tobynee Hall is checking his emails, going to meetings if there any, looking through sites and newspapers to see what inspiration he can find and working on projects which at this moment in time is the revamp of the website.

Michael has worked in the creative industry for a long time, so we found out what first attracted him to this line of work and what it’s like to work in marketing and what it’s all about. “it’s understanding how people think and communicate, why people chose the products that they do....the behaviour, the philosophy” this is what marketing is all about as well as this is why he went into marketing as he enjoys writing out flyers ext. as he like the creative side as well as trying to get people to do what he wants after they read the message be it call in in or fill out a form.

After finding out more about the business side of things we asked for any incite and advice he would give to anyone thinking about going into marketing. “read current books, go to seminars, workshops and start writing e.g. make your own ads up and write a blog” however he recommended when writing your own ads stick to one topic and gain a following. He further went on to say that by having good communications skills will help as you will need to know how people think and how it ranges on different social media as well as this, creative skills will be needed so a knowledge in Photoshop will go a long way.

Finally, to get to where he is today he has attended seminars, ad done courses that have helped in his career, English, art and a graphic design course are the three mains that have helped out in his career as they all have aspects that need to be had when in this line of work. furthermore, he looks everywhere for inspiration as anything can help you in creating an ad as you can manipulate anything to create a story.

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What qualities and skills do you have that make you a successful Graphic Designer?

Qualities I have that are useful as a graphic designer include inquisitiveness, an appreciation of aesthetics and the desire to help people ‘make things better’. You need to be a good listener and ask good questions of your clients to arrive at a satisfying solution to their briefs. Necessary skills include the ability to use the relevant tools and software, although mastery of these should not get in the way of being good at what you do. In other words you do not need to be a Photoshop or Illustrator expert to be a good graphic designer; it’s more important to be thorough, systematic and precise in your work and matters less which tools you use. It’s all about the end result!

How do you know if the client will like your designs?

It can be a nervous wait sometimes when you have sent concepts to the client, as even if you really like them personally you cannot always be sure which aspects the client will like or dislike. This comes down to getting a clear brief what the client wants the more likely you will be able to produce something they are pleased with. At the same time, the more of a personal style you develop the more clients are attracted to that style. It follows then that something produced along the lines of my ‘usual look’ will hopefully satisfy my clients.

though; the more thorough you are in your research and understanding career made sense, but it wasn’t something I really thought about. After my PhD I realised I did not have the same passion and drive as my peers and started to explore other avenues. Graphic design was one of these and I found it lent itself well to my range of skills.

What makes your work different to any other Graphic Designers?

Every designer is unique and has their own quirks and idiosyncrasies. As mentioned above you do develop a certain ‘style’, but sometimes it is easier for others to see what makes one’s own design work different. A lot of the ideas and creativity I bring to my work is derived from my background and experiences, as well as the inspiration and different styles of design I have been exposed to. As I don’t have a traditional background in graphic design (see below) I would say I am already a little different from those designers who studied design formally.

How do you make sure you keep up with deadlines?

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ow

Managing expectations is one of the most crucial aspects of what I do, not just as a designer but as a business. If I have agreed a deadline with a client then it is up to me to meet it. One thing I have learnt is to under-promise and over deliver. It’s better to be conservWhat did you study during education? ative with estimates for how long a piece of work will As I mentioned above I have a non-traditional take and then surprise the client by bringing something background as a designer. I spent a long time to the table earlier than they might have expected than in education, doing a degree in Criminol- the other way round and be late. Clients are usually excited and anxious to see what you have been workogy followed by a Masters and PhD in Social Sciences. When I was younger I ing on so it’s good to get the ‘conversation’ around the was very academic and didn’t really design concepts going as quickly as possible. know what else to do as I How long roughly do you spend on one had always focused on studies. design?

This can really vary. For example I might say to a client that I will develop three concepts for their new brand identity. One such concept might take two days to develop whereas another might take 2 hours. But that is only in terms of time spent working on the idea; a lot of the time I find my subconscious is working on things while I am doing completely different tasks, like chores, exercise or going out. It’s good to have a phone to be able to capture ideas quickly when they pop into your head!

In general though I do like to spend as much time on a design as it takes to make it live up to the idea I initially had in my head.

Interview with John Clarke: Poet, Writer, Speaker

Everyone writes, everyone reads.

It’s a part of life. We have all read books as children, we have fond childhood memories of our imagination running wild while read even the most simplest of books. But I wanted to know what being a writer is like, how hard it can and how fun it can be, so I interviewed John Clarke, a writer.

Writing as a career was never a realistic option, I was headed for the railway like my father and uncles before me.

However, I did well enough at school to go to college and, with the magnificent support of my working-class parents, I eventually qualified to teach English.

How did you become an author?

I’ve always wanted to write.

From the earliest age, I loved writing stories. I was very lucky as an eight-year old to have an inspirational teacher who gave me great encouragement.

And it stayed with me even as opportunities for creative writing seemed to diminish within the school curriculum.

Still, I had some poems published and short stories broadcast on BBC Radio Sheffield and Leeds. I wrote articles for the Educational press.

Then six years ago, the opportunity arose to take early retirement. I continue to tutor adult creative writing classes Writing became something I did and I make occasional visits to in private although there was no schools and library groups but coherent plan to what I was doing most importantly, I write. and no outlet for my writings.

Interview with John Clarke: Poet, Writer, Speaker Why did you become an author?

What do you enjoy the least?

Much as I’d enjoyed my teaching career, I didn’t feel that the remaining years would offer me anything new. There would be no further promotions and no initiatives into which I could pour my heart and soul. But writing?

There were so many stories, poems and scripts still to be written. The opportunity was there and I took it.

There appears to be a growing amount of self-promotion involved in writing and it is not really my scene. I’d rather get on with things quietly but that isn’t always allowed to happen. Authors are expected to get involved in promotion and marketing and maintaining a social media presence all of which I will do, but I’d rather be writing.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

What kind of skills and abilities would you say are most important to be successful in this profession?

The act of creation. The making Is it too obvious to say that a of pictures with words. Creating writer needs to be able to put new worlds. When the words words on a page in such a way are flowing, there’s no better that someone else will say I place to be. Runners talk about want to publish that, and others endorphins and exercise induced in turn say I want to read that? euphoria, thrill seekers crave Beyond that, writers need to be adrenalin rushes and I get a able to prove that the inclination kick out of words appearing on to write has substance. Talking the page and the subsequent about writing is not being a polishing and honing. writer. Writers must turn up for work regularly, sit at the desk and do the actual writing. It’s the only way that manuscripts get finished.

Interview with John Clarke: Poet, Writer, Speaker

What does the future look like for the profession?

How hard is it to get known in the publishing world?

We are surrounded by media messages: film, television, video. Whether fictional or nonfictional, they all have at their heart the work of a writer. The opportunities are many and varied. Sadly, the opportunities for paid writing are fewer, and certainly, in the traditional sense of the writer staying at home and writing a book a year, the outlook is grim.

It is very hard to get known in the publishing world. First of all, you need a product such as a finished, published work as it is very difficult to market potential.

Then you need to put a lot of energy into the promotion work to which I referred earlier. Keep at it and hope for some influential good reviews, a highly publicised tv/film rights deal or a high-profile award win. And through it all of course, you have to keep writing.

Very few people earn a living this way and incomes need to be supplemented by additional activities such as lecturing, media work, reviewing etc. Such activities though inevitable cut down on the amount of time available for writing.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in this career?

Hone your craft. Become the best writer you can possibly be.

Don’t settle for second best. If you are happy doing hack work, if it pays the bills then fine. But don’t lose sight of that original ambition. Write a better thriller than Stephen King, write a better literary novel than Ian McEwan or a better film script than William Golding.

Interview with John Clarke: Poet, Writer, Speaker What helps you be more creative when writing?

Is there anything else you feel I should know about this career field?

Remember that you are writing about truth as you see it and not how others think it ought to be.

Be true to yourself and don’t be tempted by the hackneyed, the cliched or the over-sentimental.

Listen to music, read, watch films and tv in a discriminating fashion. Keep a notebook of jottings, ideas and things you’ve overheard. Have a number of simple exercises available for use as starters to get the writing brain moving.

You need to be selfish about your own writing. Be selfish about your own writing space and your own writing time. Protect these things.

No-one would ask a train driver to do something else when they are busy driving a train (I hope) so don’t allow anyone or anything to impinge upon your working pattern. But if someone else is making sacrifices to allow you to write then cherish that person and make sure there is some payback. Cook the dinner, wash the dishes, that sort of thing.

For example: write a sentence which alludes to a character, a form of transport and a human emotion.

I’ll leave you with the words of Doris Lessing:

“You should write, first of all to please yourself. You shouldn’t “Still fighting the tears, she flung care a damn about anyone else at her holdall into the boot of the all. But writing can’t be a way of taxi.” life – the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such Wow! Why is she trying not to a way that your writing emerges cry? What’s in the holdall? Where from it.” is she taking the taxi to? Is the taxi driver sympathetic? I can feel John Irving Clarke’s books are a story coming on. Tomorrow’s available from Currock Press: response to this question will be https://www.currockpress.com/ totally different. book-stall.html

Politics

The day Grant & the J-Lo

of British politics had tea

By Grant MacMaster Designed by Laura Yearley

T

he cloudy skies, the fresh spring air and the light step in my feet as I swept off the underground at Westminster on the afternoon of Tuesday the 27th of March was irresistible. On this day I would give our local Conservative MP an exclusive interview for the college magazine, and have an absolutely fabulous afternoon with her!

Julia Lopez became the Conservative MP to Hornchurch and Upminster on the 8th of June 2017 and gained a majority with 17,723 (31.6%) of votes. Julia is local, from Harlow in Essex, and attended a local state primary school, and secondary school, then reading political and social sciences at Queens’ college, a faction of Cambridge University, a prestigious university in our beautiful country. Julia has done a tremendous job as our local MP, for students she attended the college late last year with her two aides for an open discussion about Brexit, being a student and what she could do to help us as

our local MP, something very few MPs do, but Julia has already done to many of the colleges and schools in the local area. Julia has also been part and continues to sit on the International Trade select committee in the Houses of Parliament, where she sits alongside other MPs to discuss, scrutinise and question those involved in the international trade world, including Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox MP, who was appointed in the aftermath of Theresa May becoming MP. On the day I met Julia, I was escorted by a fabulous aide to

meet with Julia in the House of Commons tea room, located at the heart of the British parliamentary estate, the tea rooms are exclusively for MPs and Ministers alike, and among those having tea were Julia, myself and her aide of which also took part in our discussion on life as a Tory. Although our time was limited, I want to give Julia, and her team the utmost thanks and respect from myself and my educators for allowing me to meet and interview her, and Madam you are a fine MP and continue to stand up for young conservatives and those of other leaning’s on a daily basis,

to which my thanks is colossal.

In the halls of parliament, among the giants of politics, almost such as the Clash of God’s, with the ginormous chess sets, the loud rumble of the young conservative crowd becoming louder and louder, and it is people such as our MP, Julia Lopez that make the difference, to show that the conservative party is the place for the youth of this country, and even recently we have seen the failure of City Hall, and especially Labour run councils and the London Mayor himself be in a difficult position with the spike in murder in our capital, leaving many to look at conservatives to

help answer the difficulty. The upcoming local elections could be telling if Labour continues the way they are going.

In the flamboyant tea session, Julia and I discussed the strong leadership PM May has given during this Russia probe, and how difficult it must be to be a leader at this time. Moving forward with the country is hard, but very crucial to any good leader. After our conversation, I am more than ever inspired to become a leader, and to help the many people of this country who need our policies and help most, and I am most glad that Julia is where she is, and continues to make our constituency and surrounding areas a peaceful and safe place, and that her vibrant, youthful and energetic stance to politics continues!

Here are what I questioned Julia on, and her responses: What skills do you think a good MP needs?

“I think you need to be resilient, and able always to see the bigger picture amidst the day-to-day freneticism of parliament and the media cycle. In having an eye on what you are trying to achieve and the people you are trying to help, you will be better able to deliver for your constituents and withstand the knocks, the criticism and the tiredness!

You also need to be able to connect with people of all backgrounds – to find things you have in common and to take interest in and learn from the > Preparation for my interview with Julia

new perspectives that any areas of difference give you. I think you need to be good at understanding complex issues, linking different areas of policy together and then translating all that knowledge into something that is relevant to people. You need to grasp things quickly and be able to foresee the unintended consequences of good intentions. You need a strong support network of good people around you who can bring fresh perspectives, sound advice, love and honesty.

In building that respect and honesty into your relationships with people, you can achieve more as they will want to help you and work together on shared projects.”

What’s your advice for those who are considering university?

“First, while you do not have to know exactly where you want your studies to lead you, make sure you go to university for the right reasons. Too many people feel that they ought to go to university and then find that it does not give them the direction they hoped. There are lots of fantastic options out there now in terms of apprenticeships, in-work training, setting up a business and so on.

Vocational or technical work is not a ‘second-best’ option, so make sure that university is the right route for you. Then go to university with an open mind and allow yourself to be challenged - explore different ideas, meet new people, learn as much as possible and enjoy the process of that learning. University is as much about learning new ways of thinking as it is about the facts and knowledge that you pick up.

Use your holidays wisely. Read,

earn some money to keep your debt levels down, explore – whether that’s globally or your immediate surroundings - and try to set up good work experience opportunities that will give you a wider network and a more interesting CV.” As a young Tory, it’s really hard to speak as in Education you speak at your own risk; even the teachers sometimes are against you- what’s your advice for a young conservative?

“It is very sad to hear your view that young people with Conservative opinions and ideas do not feel comfortable

expressing those views in the classroom. I would encourage you to arm yourself with facts, speak with calmness, dignity and passion and then request that classmates listen to you with the same tolerance of difference and diversity as they likely purport to champion for others.

I would then suggest that you encourage all classmates to read, to explore issues fully, to question orthodoxy and to look behind news stories and social media one-liners to work out what is really going on for themselves. Independence of thought – whether among those with Conservative, Labour or

Julia Lopez and I sitting down for tea and a chat

any other leanings - is extremely important, and I would suggest you try to open people up to genuine, open debate rather than opt for the automatic option of anger and intolerance.

I would also suggest that you use your words and views to speak to the people in the room who are saying nothing. We often hear only the noisiest and most opinionated voices but those who prefer to sit quietly and listen, need to hear the full range of views and they require your courage to give them the full menu of options!

Try also to meet other people who might share your views and help you develop them. Join your local Party and actively campaign on individual issues that matter to you. Engage with your councillors, your MP, your local media and show people how to make a practical difference to the community.”

What was it like sitting on a council?

What has been your greatest moment as MP been so far?

“It was fascinating being a councillor in Tower Hamlets at such a big moment for the local authority - the Mayor got removed and Commissioners were imposed by the government. Even though I was an Opposition councillor, I was able to achieve much more in my ward than I had imagined by building strong relationships with residents, council officers and local businesses.

“The best thing so far has been to come up against a huge array of obstacles and new challenges, and then learn how to push through them and carry on, how to survive and adapt. You learn a lot about yourself, life and other people, and then you can gather up all that knowledge to help deliver results for the people you represent. Getting breakthroughs has been really satisfying – whether that is helping a constituent set up an autism support group or getting additional money to train up new medical staff or securing a change to the tax system that improves air quality.

It was an intimidating place to start as an elected representative as councillors often got into very loud and dramatic arguments. It is a very diverse borough and I enjoyed learning about other cultures. I also loved the planning aspects of the role – it was one of the fastest-growing parts of the country and I got to decide on applications for big skyscrapers and regeneration projects.“

In terms of an individual moment, driving up to the front door of Chequers was pretty amazing and learning all about the famous Prime Ministers and Presidents who had been there.”

Do you have any advice for a future PM? “Goodness, I think you said this is for your school competition and manifesto launch. I would suggest setting out a strong, positive vision for the direction in which you want to take the country after Brexit. That vision needs to be something that aspirational people of all ages and backgrounds can buy into and feel that they have a stake in. Place a thriving economy at the heart of what you do, and then set out how that will pay for modern, responsive and people-focused public services that embrace new technologies and improve people’s chances in life. “ Julia Lopez visited our college recently, standing with Politics students.

Image from www.yellowad.co.uk

A world of Friendship, Policy and Rage, and how to stop the Fire and Fury In the world today, the problems facing the leaders of tomorrow are ever increasing of cataclysmic circumstances, intolerance and anarchy than ever before. In the modern history of the world, our grandparents, for the most part, had suffered the most devastating wars and conflicts man has seen before, the economic prospects of the world have been in a collapsing cycle, of communism to overspending, and the religious and cultural conflicts of many nations are still living in contemporary earth. I, as many of the students in today’s society, am very politically aware and have been for a very long time. I, as many of the students in the world today am surrounded by amazing friends that nurture and help make my mind on certain issues, and we all dearly love them friends who we couldn’t imagine life without. However, to juxtapose the point of friendship – we have in society today been confronted by mass anarchy, protests, chants, uncivilised unity and mass rejection to cohesion, on both the left and right wings of the political spectrum.

In recent months, my very close friend Lily, who is notably of a different political affiliation to me, has become more of a best friend, and our unity has grown stronger. In many circumstances, we cannot have anyone around us who do not agree with us, we only want “YES” men, and as Margaret Thatcher once detailed when asked in a

restaurant for dinner “Any vegetables with the steak” – she responded “They’ll have steak too” – about her cabinet as one must presume. My point is clear – friendship is about having a love for life and something in common, not having everything in common. A clear exemplar is that we base our friendship on the confidence of having a love for our country and that we love politics, and have similarities on certain issues – e.g. – Gun control – I believe guns should be heavily regulated, and banned in many states across the pond in the USA, and Lily agrees also. No matter whether I am a member of the Conservative Party, and Lily is a member of the Labour Party, we still love politics, we still have a love for the unity of our country, and we still have respect, tolerance and diversity for each other, and the peers surrounding.

An issue that hit close to home for all students and parents earlier this year on the 14th of February 2018 was the mass carnage and shooting that happened in Parkland, Florida, in a High School. The shooter was an ex-student, and a known NRA supporter, known to the FBI for having violating views and perhaps mental illness. Before that day, we still had devastating gun attacks – such as the Texas church shooting of late 2017, San Bernardino during the GOP primary of 2016, the Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016, and many many more. The carnage

By Grant MacMaster

has to stop. The GOP Republican party has said that they want to protect the 2nd amendment rights of the constitution, and as a New Right conservative, I partly agree, pragmatism is an ideal way of thinking.

However, being a leader is all about change, and reform has negative connotations when used for gun control to the 245 million NRA (National Rifle Association) members, and the hundreds of millions who own guns in the US. Now, many may think why I am so concerned with this, I am a UK citizen, and live far away from any harm. The point I want to make is more than a self-interested point of political capital, but a much bigger point.

The modern conservatives have to accept that a world where a developed economic country of productivity such as the USA has weapons of carnage in nearly every household is acceptable is a large con of the average international citizen. Firstly, the historical context must be large to blame for the 2nd amendment of the US Constitution.

In December 1791 when the Bill of Rights was entrenched in US law and contained the first ten amendments, the United States was a very different landscape. Women could not vote, men were permitted to have defence and weapons to go about their business, and there was no real stability due to the British rule and fear of more conflict, thus we have to account that today’s landscape is so much different. There is so much

“mass carnage and shooting”

“The carnage has to stop”

“the USA has weapons of carnage in nearly every household”

“we have a knife problem

carnage in society for the wrong reasons.

If you are a homeless person in the USA, you are 80% more likely to get killed by a firearm than if you have a home and a roof over your head.

The issue is secondly bigger than history.

Studies worldwide, including by psychologists here in the UK hired by our government to do analysis on the use of any weapon on the streets (guns, knives and other street weapons). They concluded as did many other analysis’ of the hypothesis of needing to be armed that if one has a weapon, no matter what kind, the chances of them using a weapon are higher than if they were unarmed. Notably, I am not ignoring the issues at home also, we have a knife problem on the streets of our cities, and I understand that the US may see something bizarre to speak about, but it is a passion from all over the world at the moment. Continuing – the problem is also that once you have a law passed in the US, it is extremely hard to repeal and replace it.

The following is one way of banning guns in the US: 1) The president must take the legislation suggestion – which would be to repeal the 2nd amendment and abolish it, to the Senate and the House of representatives – and there would be a debate and then a vote – 2/3 of the House of Representatives and 2/3 of the Senate must agree to proceed to phase two. 2) The suggestion then

goes to the individual states under the 10th amendment – where ¾ must agree to this.

However, this could be tricky as it would only take 13 states to veto this. All ¾ would have to vote in favour of the proposed legislation. The result would be magnificent but it would come with some hurdles to mount over – firstly the 4th amendment – this prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, which would be what happens if the US gun holders wouldn’t willingly give their weapons up – as it is a weapon of illegality then. Of course, the armed services, police, federal agents, and hunting, security and border support services must be armed, even with just a handgun, as it is essential to secure a country, but does an everyday citizen really need to walk down his/her street with an Assault Rifle, with hundreds of bullets ready to defend themselves in any situation. If so, that is a world of danger, and social action must be made.

I am not a socialist, although it may sound as though I am due to my intolerance for arming ordinary people; however, I feel passionate about the everyday families affected by mass carnage such as that of recent gun crime. If guns were less accessible then guns crime would reduce, and perhaps social norms of US culture such as teaching children how to shoot would change. The US is a great place to live, and I am sure that the majority of gun owners are positive

on the streets of our cities”

and are of no harm to the people of their country, but they have to accept the damage that has been made countless amounts of times to the people of their country from these weapons. Friendship should never die, there are countless ways which you can lawfully protect your friends – without a gun, and perhaps with a heart?

In conclusion – the idea is grand, the fact that someone could go down in history as stopping the most absurd law from occurring, and reform the law to make the country a safer and more modernised country.

As the UK did, in 1996, banning guns that would be used to harm and violate people- excluding sporting/hunting guns. There are several movements that could transform reform and decentralise laws on guns – e.g. individual states could have their own laws, and perhaps the GOP may separate from the NRA and their insufferable negative propaganda, reeling in the people of the US to gain these weapons of destruction and hatred or a full federal record of all gun owners and regular checks, and a ban on Assault weapons could be taking shape. In short, whatever follows the horrors of the shooting in the US, one thing will always remain, that the US is a special country, and they should consider the right to bear arms a dangerous piece of legislation, and perhaps replace it with something more moderate, and contemporary to comply with the

international community. This doesn’t have to be a republican vs. democrat issue, or a left and right issue, this should be about unifying a country with deep wounds from the devastating shooting it has had in recent history.

“a world of danger”

“a ban on Assault weapons could be taking shape”

Designed By Billy Sellar

film reviews

WHIPLASH

A Behind the Curve Review - written by toby marshall Designed by Laura Yearley Some find the much celebrated work of Chazelle to be middling and middle-brow. Just too much vanilla to merit serious consideration. His parents are middle-class academics, don’t you know. But maybe his weaknesses are his strengths.

film, fight for one final time. Here what Whiplash seems to be suggesting that arts education does not depend on the formal institutional apparatus of the school, or that contemporary trends within arts education are holding back the development of excellence. Whiplash might also be proposing Whiplash, as has been generally been recognised, that the final phase of one arts education requires is a remarkable cinematic tour de force from an a violent death duel with one’s former pedagogic emerging auteur, one which was constructed on master, one in which emotional safety of all is a micro budget of $3.3 million. abandoned, and an institutionally dangerous levels of risk are embraced.

The film itself is a tribute to world’s art educators, and perhaps educators more broadly, and to jazz Whiplash offers one view of arts education. It (of a certain period). It also offers a bitter sweet is certainly fun, but it is not superficial. Chazelle reflection on the ways in which the transition preference is for a simple story well told. He doesn’t to adulthood may require an at least temporary wallow in art-house alienation. In Whiplash rejection of the love, and authority, of our parents. Chazelle for artistic winners and grafters, not for All of these dimensions of the film are brought losers and slackers, and he states his position with together in its final scene. At this point it might also an infectious confidence and style. be argued that Whiplash offers a counterpoint to our emotionally risk-averse times.

La La Land showed what Chazelle could do with a larger budget. Here he explored the next phase of In the conclusion, pupil Andrew Neiman (Miles an artists’ life with a similar style, but with greater Teller) and instructor Terence Fletcher (J. K. melancholy. I look forward to the next chapter of Simmons), who have been fighting it out throughout this story.

A telling story about love, growing up and being gay! At first glance, the film appears to be a typical teenage love story – fabulously ambitious teens becoming star-crossed lovers and a narrative of peace and joy, but this teen film is so much more.

The story of a mother and her child, the story of a father getting to know his son, a story of love between two men – both anonymous to each other, and a revealing story about the love between a group of friends – and how they are coping with life in the modern era.

The thrilling elements of plot twists, surprises and unexpected humour makes Love, Simon all the more fascinating and realistic. You will cry – and quite a lot too, you will also laugh insufferably, which is refreshing after the dark year of political thrillers and dramatic films that have been dominating the cinematic field for over a year.

Apart from all of the above, Love, Simon also touches on the pressing issue of homosexuality in the 21st century, and what it means to be a closet gay in America at the moment. This creates a fantastic plot base, of which one is equally thrown with emotion and swept away with charm and comedy by this element of the film, and equally drawn closer to the protagonist – Simon.

qwetyuisdf-

by Grant Macmaster

designed by Billy Sellar

LOVE, SIMON

It is more than twenty years since I last tried to get to grips with the dark magnificence that is Taxi Driver (Scorsese and Schrader, 1976). This was a film I selected to write about for my A Level Film Studies coursework, for perhaps obvious reasons.

What appealed then, and now, was the way it mobilised such a wide range of cinematic resources.

From Bernard Hermann’s brassy noir inflected score, through to the steamy, oversaturated, reds and blues of cinematographer Michael Chapmen’s hellish vision of 70s New York at night. Taxi Driver from the outset, to the end, works its audience.

Then, of course, there were the outstanding performances. We all remember Robert De Niro’s pent up, fragile, but violent Travis Bickle. Our wounded warrior, honourably discharged from the paddy fields of Vietnam, but humiliated, emasculated, angry. “I’ve just got to do something. I dunno what. Something big” he tells us. Unfinished business: “Are you looking at me? Well, I don’t see anyone else standing here”.

We’ve all been there.

What I had forgotten, however, was that our cinematic hero was also a romantic, so more than a warrior.

Travis, in fact, is a romantic knight, but a rough one at that. He beau is the political promoter Betsy (Cybil Shepard). At the start she’s initially attracted by the depth of his emotion, as well as his internal contradictions, and perhaps also his vulnerability. But she is soon repelled by his uncouth ways, especially when he takes her on a second date to a porn film (we are rather cruelly invited to laugh at him).

Other players also stand out at second glance. Jodie Foster is Iris, and delivers an utterly compelling performance as the twelve-year-old runaway girl from out of town. She is being pimped by Matthew “Sport” Higgins (Harvey Keitel). Sadly, our delicate naïve has escaped the confinement of middle America, only to find herself trapped and exploited in a neon Gomorrah. Used, abused, she remains a child, chatting idly about star signs to Bickle, and believing that Sport is in love with her.

Then there is Kietel, who perhaps matches De Niro, albeit in a more limited role. He’s the masculine counterpart to Bickle. No cowboy boots, buzz cuts, army fatigues and plaid shirts for Sport. He’s a jive talking, urban, sexual exploiter, loose of limb, with one extra-long purple finger nail (should he need to sample

the candy). A white street Satan, hanging in his NYC lair, all feminine hair, white vest, muscles, topped off with a dandy, pimp-style, hat. Sport will attend to your every whim, at a price.

Another thing I had forgotten was the ending and that our rough warrior prince in fact gets his girl. As the film progresses, Travis, of course, really does do something big. Not the big he initially planned – the execution of the political phoney who employs Betsy – but a different kind of special operation, one in which he springs Iris from white Satan’s lair.

His mission, as all extra-special special operations must be, is knowing suicide, one good man’s sacrifice for the greater good. An ordinary joe’s personal jihad against the pimps and the pushers who have taken over the streets.

Initially, we are perhaps unsure as to how we feel about Bickle’s special operation; sure the paedophile pimp Kietel, and his mafia bosses, need taking out, but a double murder? So much brain on the wall, surely this is police work? Well, Scorsese, and scriptwriter Schrader, know where they stand.

In the film’s coda Iris has been returned to her loving parents, who have written a letter of appreciation to Travis, and have promised that in the future they will not attempt to control her. For his part, the once agitated Bickle is back to normal, working the rank, and chatting with his pals. Bickle’s “something big” has restored that which was lost in Vietnam – his masculinity – and for a good cause, as after all, the real enemy was always at home.

In the parting scene, his first pick up is Betsy. She sweeps out of a swanky New York hotel and into the back of his cab. By now Bickle is a popular hero. NYC’s Rough Knight of the Cultural Restoration. And Betsy’s curious, maybe loving, glances suggest that our warrior prince might just have won his princess after all, emotionally at least.

BATTLE

Gameplay: 9/10 At times, it feels like there are some frustrating balance issues. But those are few and far between.

Bad Company 2 is a fantastic game to pick up and go to town with. You’ll find glee in causing buildings to crumble around you, planting that charge of C4 on a tank and blowing it up, nailing that perfect headshot from across the map. However, where Bad Company 2 really shines is when you log on with some friends and get coordinated. Communicate and work together to outgun, outflank, and outdo the enemy team.

Multiplayer: 10/10 As mentioned earlier, Bad Company 2 really shines when you play with friends, but even alone you're going to have a blast with this one. Hours and hours of fun and destruction await you, with several different modes of multiplayer available to choose from. Be warned though, if you join up this late in the game you're going to face some very, very good long-time players. Given just how dynamic and robust the physics engine is, running on the revolutionary Frostbite 2.0 technology, matches will never play out the same considering open-ended the possibilities are, making each round feel unique, and much like it’s own small war.

BAD COM

EFIELD

MPANY 2

Graphics: 7/10 A beautifully rendered world, extremely satisfying levels of destruction, grand animations, and an easy to understand interface. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 had it all… For it’s time. Being a game that was released in 2010, while certainly having mind-blowing and impressive graphics for it’s time, more recent additions to the franchise have usurped it, regarding graphical capabilities.

Story/ Campaign: 4/10 Being entirely honest, if you are playing Battlefield games for the story, you're going to be really, really disappointed. While there is a story mode there in the form of a campaign, it honestly isn't worth much of your time except as a glorified tutorial. The characters do give a few good laughs though, and all have enough memorable quotes and striking enough personalities to be worth your time.

BAD COMPANY 2 Replayability: 8/10 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a game that keeps you coming back, and as many would argue, is the peak of the Battlefield series so far. It never gets old racing out of a building as it crumbles around you, covering your team on a withdrawal from an overrun area, or being at the front of a charge to capture a point.

Don't miss out on one of the most enjoyable Battlefield experiences yet. The only struggle here is that most your friends will probably have moved on to the new battlefields, leading to a majority of servers being unpopulated.

Despite this, there are still active communities who share the same passion for the game, so finding at least ONE match is never a problem.

DLC: 8/10 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has on only, this being a content package War of the 1960s.

Featuring 5 new maps based off ic war, 6 new time-appropriate vehic weapons that also adhere to the ti 60s soundtrack featuring iconic so Company 2 Vietnam really blows to adding meaningful content to a and adds a bit more spice to the m standard military shooter may offe The only downside to all of this, is content is locked to only being ab maps, but other than that, the expa attention, and adds MUCH new fla seeking something different.

ne expansion, and one expansion themed around the Vietnamese

Overall: 7.6/10 Though not as popular as it once was (due to the new battlefields) Bad Company 2 still stands at the top of the Battlefield mountain.

conic warzones of the same cles, a whopping 15 brand new me of their creation, as well as a ongs from the 60s, Battlefield Bad it out of the park when it comes game, that is all fairly priced, multiplayer experience than just a r. that all of the Vietnam-themed le to be used on Vietnam DLC ansion pack deserves your avour to the game, for those

The Frostbite engine really shines in this iteration. Multiplayer is fast-paced, brutal, and spectacularly fun. Don't like those trees?

Mow them down with your LMG. Don't like that building? Blow it up. Your team being overrun? Call in an artillery strike and give them some relief.

All in all, an absolute must have for any Battlefield fan.

ST U D S U B M I S VESELA YULEVA

AMY R

D E N T S S I O N S

RICHARDS

LUCIE VEGAS Rimmel has teamed up with ‘W’ magazine to launch a new range of make-up aimed at adolescent/young adult market which will be published in the August 2017 issue. The magazine has commissioned you to produce 2 double page spreads which showcases their new range of make-up in a creative and inventive way that will appeal to young people. The title of the campaign is ‘Bring the Colour Out’ Which brief did you choose and why?

I chose the ‘Rimmel’ brief because I was most interested in the brief, I really liked the concept of creating a two double page spread for a magazine. With beauty and fashion, there are also many directions at which I could take my photography so I felt like I already had a range of ideas that are creatively and visually based and which would be appealing to the target audience of young people. I believe that our final product has the features of a high profile product and is also representative of “Rimmel Cosmetics”. I believe that our characteristics of bright colours, highquality elements, confident models and range of styles suited the brand and fits its nature, as well as meet the expectations of the target audience. I also believe that the photographs give the message of being confident and powerful while wearing the ‘Rimmel’ products.

This identity may give them more freedom to gently bend or outright break expectations around gender expression.

NATALIE H

SELF EXPRES BOYS

instagram @nat_photography__

HOLEWA

SSION...

S WITH MAKEUP

“ Belief Belief isis the the

“

start of

achieving achieving

Self Belief and Confidence In this terms article I wanted to cover a subject area that occurs in everyone at some point in his or her life. is highlighted subject, which was voted the second most popular topic was Self con dence/belief. I found it shocking and heartbroken conducting this for people to share, as the things that they said which they claimed to not like about themselves truly made me think how social media and society plays a huge part in believing.

Being your own person is a great way to go about in today’s judgemental world. As one person said to me for advice was “Everyone is beau- tiful in his or her own way, wear what you want and present yourself as you and rock it!”

One story that someone expressed to me and will remain anonymous was “I’ve been called fat and all names under the sun! But I have lost a lot of weight, and changed who I was which was a huge mistake.

If you have to change for people they are not worth it!” You do not need to change yourself to satisfy what other people are looking for, beauty and appearance do not over run the beauty inside which in the end is the most successful characteristic in any friendship and relationship. People should love your own style, creativity and beauty. Instead of doubting your imper- fections and hating yourself constantly forthem. Em- brace them, make them something amazing. I feel that my height is my imperfection. However, I now use it to my advantage by being able to wear certain clothes better or do other activities at ease and more success- fully. is can be done by any imperfection you may feel that you have. e one way in overcoming and powering through positive self belief is coming out of your comfort zone, if you always put things o , cancel

plans, don’t talk to people, your always going to have a negative memory or mind bubble until you do it and achieve it, the thought you have a er is amazing and a sigh of relief. If you think deeply about a situation and what could go wrong, its all made up in your head, if you don’t think you can do it prove yourself wrong, not others rst, you! at’s what’s important, you! Another tip I have for self con dence is being you, and doing what you want, standing up to peoples expectations is not a great way to go about daily, it will just give you less self con dence and put on negative pressure. Everyone is di erent not one the same, so why are people so judgemental? We do not need to nt into peoples picture of a perfect person, we have certain characteristics and personalities for a reason and for us to use them to the best of our ability.

For help with self con dence and belief a amazing website that I recommend to take a look at is: www.mind. org.uk ey are a company that provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Havering Sixth Form have worked with mind before showing young students where to go for help.

Mind helps awareness of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family struggles, self con dence and much more.

You can call them directly for prvate 1 on 1 chats or simply read their articles for more infoma- tion. Never be afrid to speak out or if you feel any sort of negative energy let it out nd let it be known....

By Rhianna Marshall-Read

MANY THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS Billy Sellar Chloe Spriggins Gabriele Jonutyte Grant Macmaster Laura Yearley Jack Thompson Olivia Walker Katie Sia Rhianna Marshall-Read Rhianna Thompson-Fowler Romy Backler Sydney Merritt SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHANIE SEKULA FOR ORGANISING THE COLLEGE MAGAZINE

See you you next next year, year, See and to to those those who who are are and finishing: all all the the best best finishing: for the the future! future! for