THE HALL NEWS MAGAZINE (SEPTEMBER 2020)

LONDON’S DIGITAL MAGAZINE

EYLUL 2020

ACCEPT AND ADAPT SEPTEMBER 2020

INTERVIEW: THE MAKING OF MORO VELONA LEBANON’S BREAKDOWN

FROM DESIGNING BRIDGES TO SAVING THE PLANET

REINVENTING TRAVEL

TUR KISH PAG ES AT THE BAC K

Nº9

COLOUR ME IN

4 EDITOR’S LETTER As school’s are reopening after months, the world is slowly going back to ‘normal’ In this issue we try to define what normal really is.

CONT

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12 ACCEPT AND ADAPT Loneliness is the biggest silent killer of our age.

How are we coping with the added pressure of the pandemic?

F E AT U R E S

14 IF WHAT...?

Pets could talk. This is a new section which introduces interesting ideas and how our world would look like if they came to life.

7 LEBANON’S BREAKDOWN The capital finds itself surrounded in chaos, the public will not bow down until those in power surrender.

8 REINVENTING TRAVEL How has the tourism sector been affected by the pandemic? Here is a summary of one of the world’s biggest industry’s walking on its last leg.

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16 UPDATE YOUR CAREER A piece on what future jobs will look like.

ART & MUSIC 20 BAD AURA Chapter three of the novel follows the breadcrumbs of the last chapter as the characters meet new faces. Some good some, dangerous.

11 A SILENT WORLD Trying to translate through the movement of hands is one of the greatest art form for some.

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24 FILM REVIEW Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

TENTS

THE HALL NEWS MAGAZINE

26 INTERVIEW

Moro Velona Online boutique for Hand-embroidered accessories and fashion.

FOOD 46 RED VELVET COOKIES Deiciously hand-made treat!

LIFESTYLE 32 THE HOT BOD In or out; the advantages and side affects of the pulling in your stomach.

36 MEET THE TEAM A heart warming and unique interview with one of our writers, Nadia Laza.

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40 FROM DESIGNING BRIDGES TO SAVING THE PLANET An interview with the North London business man Azad Ayub, as he gives tips on how to buy the perfect property!

T ű R K ç E YA Z I L A R 50 BüYüK VERi Büyük Veri uzun süredir ortalıkta ve hiçbir yere gitmeyecek gibi.

52 YALANCININ MUMU “Yalan zekâ işidir. Dűrűstlűkse, cesaret ister” Victor Hugo’nun bir sőzűdűr.’ diye başlayan tavsiye odakli bir yazı.

55 LEYLAK’ıN GUCU Son bahar’a Merhaba, leylak rengi ile yeni sezon kombinleri.

58 Zűmrűt Gőzlűm şiir

We lc ome !

EDITOR’S LETTER ESRA KANBUR Editor-In-Chief & Digital Designer

EDITOR’S CHOICE:

n many ways, September is like a New Year. A new term time begins at schools, the new season for shows launch and autumn makes an entrance. The tree’s loose their leaves and float on the streets making perfect Instagram photos. Last month numerous people went away on holiday to try to enjoy their last chance at a decent summer, but they did this by risking spreading the Covid-19. The number of cases shot up in many countries where the rates were low, to begin with.

It is not only people flying in from aboard but city people going away to the countrysides. Travellers are welcomed with a two week self-isolation period as though the first time around quarantine was not stressful enough. The effects of quarantine are analysed in the article “Accept And adapt” in the Features section. Where the theme of loneliness and finding new norms for the way schools operate is detailed.

The front cover for our September 2020 edition is of a boy living in a black and white world. He is enhanced by the modern-day wonderland he stumbles across through the crack in a wall. The world inside the wall colourfully offers him fame and money. But sublimely also previews the ignorance and arrogance of those living in that world. The boy is hypnotized, waves and drops the white flag in his hand and simply says “colour me in”, in other words, take me in and make me one of you.

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TheHallNews.com

The creation of this design I was inspired by the film review Eurovision Song Contest: Fire Sage in the Art section. The story about a boy with a dream of winning the ever so loved song contest. I reminisced about the time when I had seen the contest for the first time and had the same dream- although I was not blessed with a beautiful singing voice- a girl can dream. I was rather intrigued by the superficial opportunities presented by the entertainment industry and us perhaps blindly walking towards it in hopes of becoming fulfilled in some way.

Subscribed to our YouTube channe1!

The Hall News Magazine introduces a new page called “What If...?” Every month we will write about an innovative, exciting scenario and create a world where it is supposedly true. To get it started we ask the light-hearted question of “What If Pets Could talk?”

At one point or another, maybe even while watching Dr Dolittle, we have wondered this.

Fake News section of the article presents a fake news story as if this had transferred into reality.

This month we have three interviews, Moro Velona, Azad Ayub Ltd and Meet The Team. The common factors be-

“A GIRL CAN DREAM”

Follow us on Instagram!

tween the external interviews are that both businesses are entrepreneurship. We wanted to introduce the geniuses behind the brands to give our readers some inspiration and motivation. The video version of the Moro Velona interview is shared on our social media accounts. As we are slowly spreading across all social platforms, we appreciate your interest and support!

Connect with us on LinkedIn! /CORRIDORTV /THEHALLNEWS @THE_HALL_NEWS @THE_HALL_NEWS

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FEATU R ES NEWS MAGAZINE

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LEBANON’S BREAKDOWN

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he pier in Beirut near the city centre encountered chaos that has left everyone to pick up the pieces. The first explosion almost came as a warning, the second was the real deal. The gigantic explosion shot in the air and blew away all in its path. buildings, cars, and people destroyed. Watching the explosion in slow motion, unable to move, whoever was unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time paid the cost with their lives.

The torment came has an awakening just days after the catastrophe, thousands of people had flooded the street to protest the government, questioning power and wanting to see change. The people of Lebanon stress their restrictions, limitations and poverty weighing heavy on their hearts. The explosion was the last drop and now their now and most importantly who did it. cup is over-flowing with blood, tears and A massive explosion near the centre of sweat. Fighting back, fire for the fire to gain populated Beirut makes one question if some control and right over their beloved Lebanon is part of a bigger plan. The only land. thing waiting to land next is evidence for The question lingers in the air unanswe- what happened. But until then it will unfortunately only remind as speculation. red, why did this happen to Lebanon, why NEWS MAGAZINE

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REINVENTI

To u r i s m a n

ELIANE

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ourism has experienced continuous expansion and it has become one of the most significant economic sectors globally.

In 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) decided to institute the World Tourism Day, to raise awareness of this sector to the global society and demonstrate how tourism can impact countries socially, culturally, economically and even politically. As the World Tourism Day approaches, on September 27, it is worth remembering how the tourism sector has been one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a consequence of the imposed lockdown measures to contain the virus.

This economic impact translates into a loss of at least $1.2 trillion, stated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTA).

As every year there is a theme associated with the World Tourism Day, in 2019, the

chosen theme was ‘Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all’. Little was known that the COVID-19 pandemic was around the corner, which brought a significant negative impact on this sector, causing unemployment and recessed economies. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up around 80% of the tourism sector, have been particularly impacted. People who solely rely on tourism as a means of living and economic inclusion have been left with no solid means of earning an income. This negative impact reminds us all of how big this industry is and its economic influence; approximately 10% of global GDP derives from the tourism sector alone.

Governments and international organisations have to keep sending clear messages, emphasize the proven tourism resilience as seen in the previous crisis, call for strong international leadership and fund future

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ING TRAVEL

nd COVID-19

DE SOUZA

recovery of the sector, predominantly in countries and cities where tourism supports several jobs and businesses and where it is an important part of the economy. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated that COVID-19 has contributed to 60% decline in international tourism in 2020, and if recovery is postponed, this number could increase to 80% by December. However, although many governments and tourism businesses are working together to reopen and rebuild destinations by introducing measures for safe travel and tourism activities, there could be a challenge to regain travel confidence and stimulate travel demand. Therefore, the reality is that global tourism will be affected throughout 2020 and beyond, and tourism recovery will be a gradual and non-linear process which will need a coordinated approach of countries.

The tourism sector also contributes to the delivery of some of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, particularly concerning the Goals 8, 12 and 17, on ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’, ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’, and ‘Partnerships for the Goals’, respectively. Perhaps, this disruption in the tourism sector can also be an opportunity to rethink this sector for the future, or in other words, to think more sustainably. This means that while assessing the long-term consequences of the current crisis and protecting visitors, workers and businesses, it is significant to align tourism with the digital age we are living, support low carbon transmission and have a bigger environmental commitment in tourism. Let’s keep in mind that when reopening tourism activities, the measures applied today will influence how tourism will be tomorrow, post COVID-19 crisis.

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A SILENT WORLD WORDS BY EMMA OLSEN

T

we think. If we were to think about anything right now, there is a mental voice that appears and speaks at us. The concept of thoughts can shift immensely, as deaf people have reported that they more often think in sign language. This is extremely difficult to comprehend, but it is assumably something that comes naturally to a person who was perhaps born deaf. However, no two people are alike.

There are levels to peoples’ hearing, some are considered to be hard of hearing, some have been able to hear to a certain degree with hearing aids on, some may get Despite its obvious hardships, it is a so- by with vague sounds and vibrations and litude that humans can reap the benefits some may be in a complete silent world. of. Losing a sense can be seen as a great misfortune, whether it is encountering The deaf community and charities are the deterioration due to old age, an acci- working towards building a reality whedent or repetition of harmful acts. But life re deaf people can live in an equal worcontinues in a new form, it becomes the ld. If we look at the statistics the loss of new normal and in need of adaptation. A hearing can take a toll on mental health lot of truths we thought we knew can be as the person may choose to withdraw turned upside down, for example, the way from social interactions from the fear of

here are 12 million deaf people in the UK and the figure shoots up to 250 million all around the world. Hearing is a vital sense for some people, especially those who may have a visual impairment, where they would rely heavily on their ears to guide them. On the flip side, deaf people rely on their sight, this makes their visual reflexes sharper than most. This can come in most handy when driving or using certain equipment. In a world with so much chaos, mess and distraction, deaf people live in their peaceful world of silence.

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rejections, from being misunderstood or judged. It is confirmed that almost 50% of deaf people live with mental health issues, which is double in figure compared to the 25% of people without hearing disabilities. We as a society must include everyone. It is not just in friendly interactions but in our workplaces too. Again there is almost a double unemployment rate when in comparison with the general population. Employers and recruiters should be considering their applicant’s skills and experience when offering jobs rather than their disabilities that would not be affecting the standard of their work. Polls suggest that 35% of employers do not feel comfortable nor confident in employing a deaf person as they feel they will not be able to perform to their fullest potential.

Music is a big part of our lives, we listen to it when we are down, happy or simply to pass the time. It gets us through hard times, we connect with other music lovers and create our own communities.

This luxury can be misinterpreted with the deaf community, as they can enjoy music too through its vibrations!

Dating is another topic that may raise curiosity. Some people can be reluctant to date a deaf person as the form of communication will require a lot of effort and how can you get to know each other if you cannot speak? Many deaf people can talk, although this depends heavily on the individual and their support system, or when in their journey they lost their hearing. It is noteworthy to mention that all relationships require effort, and this will not be any different.

Did you know in 2018, there was only a 1% contribution to the research for hearing

British Sign Language has gestures, handshapes, body language and facial expressions to communicate meaning.

loss. The figure explained are more dramatic, it only equals to 83 pence per person, who are affected by this condition. What can we do to help ease this situation you may wonder. One of the first steps will be to be aware of this problem and if you are in a position of power to utilize it for good, in the name of being all-inclusive or adopting certain methods within the workplaces or at schools to offer a fair chance to all. If you consider yourself to be a regular citizen with limited influences, then your best bet is to be welcoming and a friendly face. Understand that not everyone was given an equal playing field and most importantly it should not be seen as a total disadvantage. As underlined in this article, there are many bright sides to this condition that other senses are enhanced due to being relied upon more. Look out for charities that are trying to raise money for research on how to advance hearing aids, and perhaps one day to find a cure. Remember, our senses sometimes only become valuable to us once we have lost it. Be grateful for what you have and also mindful of what goes on behind the scenes of industries such as the media, representation, medical research and technology.

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WORDS BY D O I N A G AV R I L O V

ACCE PT AN D ADAP T TACTICAL MEASURES IN THE MIDST OF TRYING TO GO BACK TO NORMAL

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According to psychologists, loneliness can his year has certainly been one of the develop the following characteristics: shines, hardest trials for social life and psychological low self-esteem, social withdrawal and anger. health. All these difficulties started with the unaAll these characteristics have been identified vailability of social and habits that benefits our as primary causes of the next mental and phyoverall health and well being. With the advent of sical conditions: social isolation, depression, coronavirus, the difficulty of treating this virus poor sleep and appetite, suicide, affection of and the lack of means and health approaches to cardiovascular and immune functions. This is deal with it eventually led to a general lockdown why, often when people have mental issues, in the majority of states. doctors recommend group therapy because The virus has affected the entire animal kingthis is a way of integrating humans into sociedom too but has a specific impact over the huty and giving them a feeling of belonging. man race because of our way of being, unlike At this moment you would probably say that other mammals, namely our social life and the the internet should solve the loneliness prodifferent physical construction which has turned blem. Not necessarily. According to a psychoour hands and social life into means of transmitlogical study applied to Americans, loneliness ting the virus. has raised from 11-17% in the 1970s to more The difficulty of controlling the unconscious than 40% in 2015. The rate is high in other movements of the body and the need to have a countries too, like the United Kingdom with social life, which seem to be the main factors 26-37% of individuals which feel often or in the spread of the virus, have motivated the sometimes lonely, or New Zealand where national governments to take hard measures to around 33% of individuals of 15 years old and stop the spread of the virus. This led primarily older feel lonely much of the time. to the closure of all educational institutions. To Andersson identifies in 1998 that the main fill the education gap, online classes appeared to reasons for loneliness are: isolation, separahelp students to finish their education. tion, people that have limited communicaAt this time, although not much research has tion and mobility. The lockdown has brought been done in this direction, two major problems exactly these things: limited mobility, the unveil, one related to the cognitive, social and incapacity of face to face communication and psychological difficulties caused by the locklack of social activities which finally contribudown, and the second is about the lack of attented to an increase of stress in all humans, both tion paid to the education system that could not kids and adults. face the crisis.

A study made in China in April 2020 shows Let’s start with the first problem and analyze the that no less than 28% of parents in quaranthings that are important but not revealed to us tine have been diagnosed with trauma-relaon TV. ted mental health disorders. The same study How much loneliness can we tolerate and how shows that almost 10% of the hospital staff in much can we expect the rate of psychological presented high depressive sympNEWS MAGAZINEquarantine 12 problems to rise, especially in kids?

toms, which are expected to be healed during the next three years. Then, in the working class, high-stress levels are recognised in almost 50% of the people, which influences their ability to work and leads to a loss of 35% of their productivity. Under these conditions, we understand that all societies have been affected and that all of us will feel the lockdown effects to a certain degree.

Although many of us believe that the kids should not feel these times as bad as we do, we may be wrong. Let’s look at the advantages of the educational system and identify how it helped our kids and us to grow.

Face to face communication is the first thing we should miss. It represents a key tool of our growth because of the contribution it makes to the enlargement of our knowledge horizon. In school we talked to our classmates, we learned to empathise and engage in group or pair discussions. The school created a natural environment for communication and knowledge exchange. In the lockdown, we had the online courses, where lots of teachers had no background in online teaching and a lower chance in creating the same learning environment.

Another important aspect of the school before the lockdown occurred was the exchange of life knowledge, the formation of competencies and abilities which we use in our daily life as adults: public speaking, participating in face to face interviews, learning social rules and behavioural habits. Lots of these abilities cannot be taught, and will not be learned in the online classes. This way, we risk raising our kids as shy and depressive persons, which will find integration into society and in the work environment much more difficult.

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At the same time, the classes with masks are not much help either. Much of our interaction is based on interpreting facial expressions.

How can we know if the teacher is sad, or mad, or how can we know if we have said something that upset someone.

Then, there is the problem of acoustics and hearing in the classes. Although the mask does not block all the sound, a small part of it will be blocked and that will be enough to misunderstand some words, or not hear at all in a big classroom.

So what is the solution?

The best solution would be to vaccinate the society against the virus. And here we point out, that the vaccine should be a well-tested first, not one that could trigger other health problems, such as immune responses.

Until a vaccine is available, one solution is to respect the hygiene rules as much as possible and test the kids and students before the academic year, to identify and treat the infected ones together with their families.

And last but not least, we should change our educational system by involving technological means in daily teaching, to prepare the teachers and the students for such future situations. Also to develop specific competencies regarding working with technology, because we cannot deny it - technology is the future.

While trying to overcome the effects of the actual crisis and preparing for another one, let’s not forget that global warming is one basic factor that established the appropriate thermal environment which led to the development of this virus. Therefore, let us not only treat the effects of global warming but change our entire activity so we could stop or at least slow down this process.

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WHA

PETS CO

W ES

Image a world where weird and wick of our desires and secret interests co possible fun scenarios and bringing th what if

O

Or imagine if you go to a cafe and they happen to have a birdcage with two little budgies in there. “Hey little birdies, why are you so quiet?” You asked curiously. The bird pours its little heart out. “Will.i.am was here

ur furry friends, what are they trying to tell us? There is not a solid way of knowing unless you are a cat or dog whisperer. Have you ever watched the animation

the Wild Thornberrys, or Doctor Dolittle and last summer and I sang him a freestyle. And just wished that you too could speak to ani- then he stole it! Now it’s first in the Pop charts mals- or they be able to speak to you. all over the country. Since then I solemnly never sing for strangers.”

What if not just the owners, but just anyone could have a conversation with the pets. Let’s What about a cat? Certainly, humans will say you are in the park and cross paths with an love to go inside a cat’s mind, figuratively and English Bulldog, wouldn’t you like to say “Hello, find out what their plans for taking over the Mr Churchill, how’s the day treating you?” and world are. “Meh, everyone thinks I want to he responds; “Just on my second walk of the take over the world.” A notorious cat gangster day, chased a squirrel, heard the owners are in jail opens up. “All I wanted is what my anthinking to get me neutered. I’m not mad about cestors deserve, to be worshipped as they did it but not too thrilled either. But just thought back in the good old days.” You have to admit, they should have asked me first really.” And you he has a point. tut and emphasise, “Surely it’s your choice, Mr Churchill. How about you just let them know In these scenarios the animals seem to be that you know what they’re up to and you’re not moaning a lot of the time, it does make you happy about it. Maybe you’d want to be a father think how much we do without their consent one day!” then the bulldog ponders the idea of as they cannot make these choices due to not fathering pups and throws some wisdom your being at the same intellectual capacity as a way. “To be or not to be, that is the question.” human. But what if they were...

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AT IF...?

OULD TALK

WORDS BY SRA KANBUR

ked things were real, could you fathom the extent ould lead to. WHAT IF...? Is about investigating hem to life, even if it’s just on paper. Here we ask, f pets could talk?

S W E N E K A F

THE HUMANISER Following recent breakthroughs, a trail has started in Sweden that has pet owners galloping over the moon! Scandinavian scientists have been working on a hormone that prolongs the developmental process of pets so they can learn how to speak and make decisions that are not based entirely on their instincts.

Pets or other animals stop developing after a certain point.

Therefore they do not learn how to speak and most of their actions are based on their instincts rather than intellectual, or emotional decisions like humans.

The hormone, the scientists now call The Humanizer 2020 or H-20 for short has passed the trial stages at the laboratory and will shortly be marketed all over Europe!

Asian and American governments have rejected the distribution of the hormone, and the USA NEWS MAGAZINE

has classified it as “Inhumane” as opposed to the name given to the invention. The US president spoke, “What’s next, animals will be taking over our jobs? They are human companions for goodness sake, you cannot change the natural order of life. If they get a conscience mind, we don’t have to worry about robots anymore, because cats will take over the world!”

Some animal protection charities also oppose to the idea, “They will start getting bored, questioning their lives’ meaning. It’s hard enough when humans go into depression. We don’t want our animals to feel the same.”

However, the majority of pet owners are adamant about this new technology. “I will love to hear my hamsters insight!” says one owner as he is on his way into the clinic to get the H-20 shot or his furry friend.

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UPDATE YOUR CAREER WORDS BY YA S E M I N G U N D O G D U

Challenges Led To Mega-trends Globalisation, digitalisation and other mega-trends are bringing radical shifts to how we live and work. These changes raise essential questions around the skills we need for future jobs, the quality of those jobs, the support available if we’re unable to work or retire, and what voice we have in shaping these outcomes. Even as jobs are being created, there are concerns about worsening job prospects and employment conditions. 1 in 7 workers are self-employed while in 1 in 9 employees have a temporary contract and many works part-time. Temporary, part-time workers and the self-employed often have difficulty getting unemployment benefits, health insurance and pensions.

Especially digitalisation is likely to have a profound impact on the world of work, according to reports of OECD, nearly half of jobs will be transformed by automation with %14 high-risk of being completely automated, and another %32 likely to be radically reshaped.

Digitalisation is affecting not only how many and what types of jobs are available, but also how and by whom they will be carried out, in

other words, technology and automation are affecting the skills we need for jobs.

In addition, digitalisation has given rise to the platform economy and, while the number of gig workers is currently relatively small, it is increasing rapidly. While new types of work promoted by the digital revolution allow for more flexibility for both employers and workers, they also bring important risks in terms of lower job quality. Digitalisation, therefore, sets important challenges also for labour market policy and institutions.

Challenges of reshaped work life are being planned to be solved through a path based on 4 aspects such as; “inclusiveness for everyone”,” social protect”, “skills & learning”, “job quality”.

While governments and institutions work on these aspects, working individuals are recommended for assessing, learning and responding to changing skill needs.

Skills & Learning Are those who most need training actually receiving it? Helping people successfully navigate the changing world of work means helping they acquire the right skills for new

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jobs and new tasks. People will need to learn not only at school but throughout their lives.

Governments and firms alike will need to explore ways to help them do this.

Skills transform lives and drive economies.

But this requires developing the right skills that respond to labour-market needs and ensuring that these skills are fully utilised by individuals and employers. Employees themselves can also contribute to this skill learning process. For employees to figure the necessary and promising skills. In this database, individuals find in-demand skills of their country.

Employees need to have knowledge about everything besides their expertise area, they have to be engaged with technological and scientific developments and all upcoming new concepts. Briefly, employees of the information society are supposed to be made up of people who are “A mile wide and an inch deep.”

Future Jobs New professions began to emerge one after another. For example, in the early 2000s, while there were no SEO staff members, today Google SEO experts are among the indispensable roles of many companies. Technological developments point to the emergence of new professions in many fields such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, robots, automation, electronics, communication, food safety and biological security.

For the ones who want to change their career, here is a long list of top 20 future jobs.

Most of them do not exist yet.

1.Memory Repair & Enhancement Specialist 2. Nano-Medicalist 3. Organ Manufacturer/ Designer 4. Cyber ​​Police, Cyber Terrorist ​​ Expert 5. Vertical Farmer 6. Digital Scavenger/ Data cleaner 7. Climate Controller and Regulator 8. Avatar Manager 9.Memory Cleaning/ Filtering Specialist 10. Time Planner, Broker, Broker 11. Personal Brand Designer and Consultant 12. Child and EQ-IQ Designer 13. Emotion Designer 14. Outbreak Disease Guard 15. Robot repairmen, Robot Workers Agency 16. Internet Marketing Professionals 17. Occupational Therapists 18. Change Management 19. Dream Makers 20. Holographers

This skill development and learning process approve futurists’ advises those once were telling that everyone will be responsible for improving themselves. In case of not investing for personal development, academic proficiency won’t be sufficient to proceed with their career and finding a job.

In summary, to stay in the game, it is necessary to follow the futurists and adapt ourselves to technological developments. Find and learn new skills required by our profession should also be a priority, or to choose a new field and specialise in that field.

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Q uot e of T he M o nt h:

“While trying to overcome the effects of the actual crisis and preparing for another one, let’s not forget that global warming is one basic factor that establishe d the appropriate thermal environment which led to the develo- pment of this virus.”

-Ac ce p t an d Ad a p t by Do ina Gavr i lo v

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AR T

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BAD AURA

A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes A Novel, Exclusive to The Hall News Magazine

by Esra Kanbur

CHAPTER THREE The Mints is a small kitsch style strip club with its title written in italic neon mint. Kitsch is constantly increasing around the City as an iconic art form slyly being shoved down throatsclassic meets mainstream; with a postmodern spin.

Texas hasn’t been to any clubs however she has stood outside many and robbed drunken people.

• Rule Number Three: robbing drunk people is a cowardly aim as they are by far the easiest people to steal from. You can strip them down to their underwear and they wouldn’t notice.

At the entrance of the club, the bouncer hasn’t taken his place yet so the cats enter without a hassle. Inside, there is a life-size statue of a pink Marilyn and a gold Elvis pointing towards the direction of the dance floor. Texas fixes her eyes on them for a minute. She’s almost in a catatonic state- hardly breathing, barely living. She can see their eyes shyly looking away from her and of course, she doesn’t miss Elvis’s wink.

A DJ is picking music to play for tonight. There are three poles on the stage and the tables are tightly squeezed together and are being set up by waitresses in mini nanny outfits. The cats go to a woman sitting at the bar, is she wearing all black to cover up her true size. Her cheeks are loaded with pink blusher and her fake long eyelashes are like a metronome swinging between cheekbones and her thick overdrawn brows as she blinks.

‘Hi, we’re lookin’ for a woman called Sienna?’

Texas disturbs her.

She looks them up and down and frowns.

‘No, sorry you’re too skinny.’ She says to them.

‘Men like women with a bit of meat, you know something to grab. Men aren’t dogs looking for bones. Well, some men are dog… Even if they are looking for bones, they ain’t gonna find it here.’

She suddenly slips into a trance of some sort. ‘I told her to stop sending me people, our club is full. Once a success you always get people who want something from you.’ She dives into her life

story.

The cats look to one another, Texas raises an eyebrow. ‘Where is she?’ Texas asks again, with no intention of explaining anything to her. The thought of becoming meat for money had never occurred to the girls, even during the darker days.

The woman points towards a narrow corridor.

They walk on, leaving the woman to her adamant misery.

Each door has a huge star on it with nicknames written on them with italic fonts. They search for the name they are here for. A door opens and a curvy, tall girl with bright pink lipstick and a bottle blonde hair comes out.

‘You’re not a driver.’ She says disappointedly. No, they are not. This must be their Sienna.

‘Well done, smarty.’ Texas chuckles towards her kittens.

‘Well, I’ve been fooled.’ she crosses her arms in defeat. ‘Who are you, what do you want?’ she turns around and walks into her dressing room, the girls expect the door to slam shut behind her but she leaves it open.

Don’t go inside, it’s a trick.

She’s a spy, she’ll kill you.

She’s not going to listen, she never listens.

Cause she’s stupid.

Don’t, don’t, don’t They go inside; it is light pink everywhere, from the walls to the floor and a hot tub with a small chocolate fountain. ‘Glamorous isn’t it?’ Sienna says as she sits at her dressing table, picking up tweezers and concentrating on her eyebrows.

‘So it seems,’ Texas replies and Imogene pushes her forward. ‘Yeah so, do ya know a guy with a scar on his face?’ She skips to the point. ‘Let’s say I do, what are you going to do about it, babe?’ Sienna says she is like a swan, her long neck peeks up and her graceful hands move around endlessly always reaching for something. ‘Is he your dad?’ This swan just assumes anything, one minute you’re someone’s wife, next you’re a daughter, if they

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him as Marley the police officer. Are you going to come down?’ She speaks as if Texas is a little wounded kitten covered with newspaper on the pavement after being run over. Texas is angry, she is fuming inside and she is not one to hide it. She swings on the tree again giving Linda yet another fright. Her long, stone earrings swing below her earlobes and she catches them, pressing them back. ‘I see… whichever way you are comfortable, we’ll leave it at that. You can stay up there, we don’t mind.’ She walks to the patch of grass and takes out a handkerchief from her handbag placing it on the ground before sitting on it. Kat joins her. Imogene is standing around not sure what she should do, finally, she gives in and climbs the tree too. The two of them wastay any longer she will suspect them to be the tch as Linda talks to Kat and she signs to her police.

‘Well, there were these guys who in return. ‘How long have you been away from beat the hell out of him and stuffed him inside a your parents?’ Linda asks sweetly. Kat holds up car and threw him outside our home. Thought ya three fingers. Linda strokes her hair and Kat lets might have somethin’ to do with it?’ Texas raises her. Texas hears the radio in her head switch freher voice. This grabs Sienna’s attention; she drops quencies; she hears mumbles until the converher blusher and swings around in her chair. Her sation is clear. But she doesn’t recognise them, breasts hang out from her transparent bra and she Bonnie and Clyde are gone. Or maybe they have tightens her washed-out pink coloured robe. She morphed into something else. Again. The voices squeezes until she obtains an hourglass figure. haven’t settled yet, they are intertwining with Satisfactory.

‘Is he alright?’ She asks, placing each other, not quite a conversation, and they are a hand on her bumpy chest.

‘Why don’t you speaking over one another. Texas feels like she is give me his home address and I’ll go around and eavesdropping on them. see for myself?’ Texas folds her arms. The swan scribbles something down with trembling hands Kat hates you, you didn’t share your food. Haand gives it to her.

-ha. An Elvis -like voice laughs.

‘I smell money, this man is rich. I think Linda Norman will split you up. A panicked we’re onto somethin’. Texas says as they go back Marilyn- like voice says. to their railway. ‘Or we can just blackmail him She hates you, everyone hates you. and see where that goes.’ A woman is standing Just die now! around awkwardly by the tracks. Texas stops and No, push Imogene she is the spy, it’s because tries to identify her. She doesn’t look like one of of her. them, she is clean, groomed, has light blonde hair It’s because of Imogene! She called Linda. framing her heart-shaped face. ‘Wait, I don’t know Because she hates you. her.’ Texas instinctively thinks she might be an investigator; she is here to question them about ‘Why didn’t ya tell me ‘bout her?’ Texas asks the scarred man. She holds a hand out protecImogene. ‘When were ya plannin’ on tellin’ me? tively preventing the two from walking on. Kat When she splits us all up ‘cause she’s gonpushes her hand away and runs to the woman. na!’ ‘She’s nice and Kat likes her. Why would she The woman gives her a small hug. Imogene walks split us up? She’s only trying to help. Besides next to her too and they begin to talk. The woMarley sent her.’ They watch as the wind blows man looks over at Texas and waves. Texas’s heart north, a chill strokes their spines and they shiver. transforms into a hummingbird, her mind buried ‘It’s almost winter, a home wouldn’t be too in silent- no guidance, and soon no friends. ‘Who bad.’ ‘Fine!’ Texas shouts and jumps down onto are ya?’ she calls out from where she is. The girls her feet without a wobble. ‘I’m leaving, if ya come wave her over, Texas walks slowly, circling them now I’ll allow ya, but if you choose to stay with a and climbs up a tree nearby. Looking down, she social worker don’t come cryin’ to me init!’ Texas swings her legs menacingly and the woman brin- marches past the social worker and Kat, almost gs her hand to her mouth and gasps with concern. stomping over them. ‘I ain’t your earrin’ you can’t Imogene rolls her eyes. ‘She’s always climbing catch me and hold me down.’ Texas shouts at trees. Don’t worry, she won’t fall off.’ ‘I hope not,’ Linda.Linda brings her hands over her earrings she brings her hand down and walks closer to the again and blinks, offended. Again Imogene is tree looking up. ‘Hello, Texas. My name is Linda torn between the two, Kat rolls her eyes and Norman, and I am a social worker.’ Texas almost doesn’t look like she will be moving anytime falls off for real this time but grabs on. ‘I came soon. Imogene fills her cheeks with air again and looking for you girls, a few days ago. I’m sent by puffs as she slowly follows the tail of Texas. They the request of Martin Hudson, you may know NEWS MAGAZINE 21

go to a hospital and wait for their turn to use the toilet. The toilets have a shower where they can have their weekly clean. Though they would rather stay away from water, as it takes forever to dry but they have to keep clean or else they will fall ill and die before they can all reach adulthood.

They go in one at a time; Texas takes an uncomfortable shower with Marley’s baby girl covered in blood watching her from the corner. Texas throws a fist full of water at her and she melts away. She planned to drown her, she should pay for what Marley did- he called Linda on them. Imogene’s knocking at the door disturbs her train of thought.

When they leave the hospital Texas begins to bitch about Kat, saying how she just lets anyone lead her, and how she will end up being adopted, forgetting all about them.‘She won’t forget us, besides Linda never talked about us being adopted.

She just talked about us going to school and having a safe place to sleep at night, where we don’t have to deal with dead bodies being thrown at our head each night.’ ‘Yeah, yeah’ Texas continues to horrify Imogene with stories she has heard about social workers. ‘They beat ya that’s for sure; I know that one ‘cause I witnessed it with my bare eyes!’‘Where did you witness such a thing? Is it like the time you rescued Kid Noel from the sinking ship?’ Imogene snorts and laughs, again covering her face feeling self-conscious. Texas ignores her until they get to the subways. There they stumble across a bunch of hobos sitting along the walls, they are holding their hands out for each passerby. Two of them hold out cardboards with writing on them.One reads: Help the forgotten; I used to be a businessman and didn’t help, but look at me now! God bless you. Another reads: I need food for my dog, please donate generously. And with him sits a grumpy looking furry, fleabag, which sniffs everybody that walks past them. Another man with a long, messy blonde beard and a broom full of hair on his head sits like a toddler with his legs spread out and his gloved hands hold onto a can of alcohol. Beside him, he has a backpack and tins of preserved food. Texas points to them but Imogene shakes her head.Rule Number Four: Never steal from or harm your kind. ‘He is one of us, we can’t steal from him.’

Imogene warns. The man has his eyes closed and Texas isn’t a person to resist temptation. These people are like flies; unwanted garbage sniffing flies, the way people try to shoo and ecstatically shake them off is proof. Texas tiptoes towards him, hiding her shadow; Imogene stands by in case of an emergency. The man with the dog watches them but he doesn’t react. The odd passerby looks straight through them like they are a ghost.

Texas is not picky, she intends to take them all, but she tries to read the labels with her primary level English. There are beans, vegetables, tuna and beef. Her mouth waters as she grabs it without making a sound; silent as a slipper. The grumpy old dog barks aloud waking the bearded

man who is quick to take action and grabs onto Texas’s jacket.‘Oh no, you don’t!’ The man says with a tired but authoritative voice. He pulls Texas back but she hangs onto the tins. The man knocks them down to the ground and she is left empty-handed. ‘You steal from a fellow, Traitor!’ He shakes his head gathering his tins and placing them back in his bag. His sort is easy to identify, it’s not that hopeless, untrusting look in their eyes nor is it the dirtiness of their skin which no matter how much you try and scrub off seems to stick on like a tattoo. ‘We’re hungry, you idiot!’ Texas protests. It is the awful aggression that boils in their blood, the rage that fills them; the drive that makes them do what they do is what classifies them. ‘Not my problem little girl, go blab to someone who cares.’ He sits back down. ‘Why don’t you just beg for money like the rest of us? Pretty things like you are sure to earn a few bills a day.’ He suggests aggressively.‘I ain’t goin’ to sit around reachin’ my palms out and expect people to just give me things!’ Texas is ready to go, she nudges Imogene to walk on. ‘So you steal from innocent and honest people. Is that what you do? Your mother didn’t teach you any better?’ He calls out with laughter. Texas freezes on the stop, she begins to pace around trying to make a decision. The voices don’t make an appearance. She decides to set the deal straight and storms back to him. She takes her claws out, gains speed and swings them towards the man. He shields himself with his arms covering his face. Texas makes another swing but the man takes her arm and pulls it behind her back bringing her close to him so she can smell his intoxicating breath. ‘Now I’m not going to hit you because you’re a girl but next time we’re all equal.’ He says to her.‘We’re all equal in God’s eyes.’ The former businessman calls out. ‘Amen, amen, amen.’ The bum with the dog adds. ‘I can cut you,’ Texas hisses, struggling under his grip. Imogene stands awkwardly waiting for the shenanigans to end. The man let’s Texas go and tells her he would like to see her try. ‘What’s up with your accent? Why don’t ya just go back to where you came from and beg there?

You’re takin’ up their chances.’ She points to the two men who don’t seem bothered by it.‘Well, you

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have a funny accent yourself, why don’t you go back to yours, kitty cat.’ He laughs and opens a tin of beans and begins to eat with his fingers. ‘Yum, this is great.’ He says and throws a tin over to the other two men who thank him. The man looks up at Texas who is seeing red and clocks her head deciding if she wants to give it another try. She can kick him down and take his backpack.

Easy. ‘Can we just share?’ Imogene suggests with a shake in her voice as she peers from behind.‘Now there’s a thinker, yes you may. Take a seat.’ He moves over and they sit down beside him leaving a massive gap in-between. He gives them a tin of corn to share and opens it for them with a knife.

‘Life is strangely wonderful, a minute ago you were stealing from me and now we are sharing food.

God bless the Queen.’They lift their tins in the air in thanks. The man with the dog shares his food with the fleabag and Imogene begins to warm up to them. Texas, on the other hand, isn’t ready to break the ice however she is enjoying her first and only meal of the day.‘Cheers.’ The man says in response. ‘You girls look troubled, what’s wrong?

Spill the beans.’ ‘We’re dealin’ with an unwanted social worker, she’s onto us. She wants to split us up.’ Texas says with her mouth full. ‘There are two kinds of people I hate in the world. First, traffic wardens and second, social workers. I mean if they’re onto you, you have to leg it or else they will put you in care.’ He informs them ‘Unless you’re over eighteen.’ He adds. Texas is nineteen but Kat and Imogene still have a chance of a secure home.

‘Swansea,’ the man says in silence. The two girls look at him. ‘I’m from Swansea, and your accents tell me that little kitty is from right here but big kitty is from up north. Am I right? Of course, I am.

But seriously I’ve been all over the city and the only place they wouldn’t come after you is if you get out of the “hotspots” for good.’ He advises them. ‘Why, so outsiders like you can run this place?’ Texas gets up and walks away without a thank you, but Imogene whispers thanks as she runs after her.

Texas looks at the address in her hand, Sienna’s handwriting is impossible to read as if she intended it that way. After many wrong turns and a few ‘free’ bus rides later they stand before a mansion in Bishops Avenue near Hampstead Park. The tattooed map on her hand wasn’t much help after all. ‘You were right, this man is rich!’ Imogene cannot believe her eyes. A long white mansion, small double glazed windows, little black-barred balconies, a roof garden with plants weaving its way around the sides and hanging down like ropes and a front garden with tall trees surrounding it. A black, narrow sign by the gate with gold letters read Flincher’s Manor. There is an empty small security booth by the tall front gates. A shiny car drives past the two cats and the driver gets out and unlocks the gates with his keys then he drives on and pulls up by the front door of the mansion. The

driver gets out again and knocks on the door. A boy around Kat’s age answers it and calls out for his dad, and then the man with the scar across his face says he will be a minute.

They know you are here, they are watching you. Marilyn warns.

He called the car for you, don’t go inside.

He will trick you. Push Imogene, they will know it’s a sign that you know about their games.

It’s her they want, not you, why would they want you?

Imogene is prettier, they want her, idiot. Elvis bullies Texas.

It was a trick all this time, this is the real mission!

You must help that boy to escape, he is imprisoned.

‘That’s our man,’ Imogene says and as they near to see what is happening, they are standing on the other side of the gates beside the tree branches camouflaging themselves. Only their eyes glare like car beams. The short, scarred man returns with a woman in a wheelchair, she looks unhealthily skinny, with a fistful strand of hair left on her head, nonetheless, it lays gracefully over her shoulders, she is pale and has similar scars on her face but they are smaller and scattered around her cheeks. The boy calls the woman mum and helps his dad push her out and into the car. The woman’s head is crooked and permanently tilted to one side like she had a stroke. One hand is parallelised and she looks like she has intense pain. ‘Texas this will be worse than stealing from our kind or even a dead man. Let’s get out of here.’ Imogene tugs her arm. Texas lets herself be pulled away as she stares back at the windows of the mansion with unblinking eyes.

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TO BE CONTIUED (CHAPTER FOUR IN OCTOBER 2020 ISSUE)

FI L M R EV I EW word s by e sr a k a nbu r

TH E STORY OF FI R E SAGA. . . PROBA BLY Do you remember the first time you watched the Eurovision Song Contest? I certainly do, and lucky enough one of the many things that made me fall in love with it as a kid was that the first year I watched it, the winner just so happened to be my fatherland of Turkey. I was obsessed, with all the songs and we had video recorded it, I would rewind the VHS and rewatch it as many times as my heart desired. Still, to this day my family and I gather around the

big screen and watch with wide eyes, the costumes, the entries, the mishaps- It’s all part of the fun and its what unites Europe.

When I came across Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of fire Saga, on Netflix I just had to watch it. Lucky for me it was not at all a disappointment. I was already sold on the cast with the leads being Will Ferell and Rachel McAdams- whom I was especially excited to see in a comedy after so long. The film is about two people from Iceland, Lars (Ferell) and Sigrit (McAdams) who become obsessed with winning the Eurovision Song Contest after watching it in a family setting as children. They have a band called the Fire Saga and perform at their local pub, where everyone is interested in them playing one song onlyor let’s just say anything but the band’s songs. Of course, like any other lead characters, there is platonic love, however, they decide they must concentrate on their band instead. Their interactions with whomever they meet always result in being asked if they are brother and sister, which Lars comically response as “probably not!” on numerous occasions.

It is interesting to observe the Icelandic culture, in regards to their belief in the elves, which to provide offerings to in exchange for their wish come true.

Although there are very few Icelandic

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speakers in the films- they cannot be blamed as it is an extremely hard language to learn. It’s hard not to notice that a few times their American accents shined through in some scenes of high emotion.

There is always an obstacle in the way of people’s dreams, and Lar’s one is his father, Erick (Pierce Brosnan) as he is seemingly ashamed of his (probably) only son.

There is absolutely nothing realistic about the film, with the justification being it is a comedy therefore, the viewers are completely aware of this. By chance, their audition tape is selected and they are part of Iceland’s elimination process to choose the winning entry. After having a horrifically entertaining and embarrassing local TV performance they are doomed and are in despair that they will never be able to go to the finals. However, with some elves luck, the party yacht with all the contestants explode killing everyone including the favourite to win Katiana (Demi Lovato). By default, Fire Saga get to go into the finals that will take place in Edinburgh. Which again seems quite impossible as the United Kingdom has been in at the bottom of the table since the start of the century. Again, this can be overlooked due to its genre, making it acceptable for them to not be in touch with reality.

The songs in the film are extremely catchy that one cannot be bored. If you enjoy cheesy pop songs then you will be nodding along to the catchy tunes throughout. Not to be confused with a musical as they do not burst out into song in the middle of a scene, but you cannot watch a film about the Eurovision and not expect to hear a few entries’ perform.

The film has captured the essence of the contest and why people have loved it for so many years, the hardcore fans of Eurovision will be delighted with this respectable outcome. There are appearances from real contenders and winners from previous years! See if you can spot them as only true fans will know!

This is a feel-good film, creates escapism from the real world, with a friendly message of following your dreams, and having fun along the way. With a bit of elf magic, everything is possible!

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n ductio o r P 0 202 l, Fer re l l i W ng: s Star ri cAdam M l utes e Rach n: 123 min io y Durat omed C : e r Gen

EMBROIDERY, ACCOUNTS & JETS

THE MAKING OF MORO VELONA INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ESRA KANBUR

Nayab Nasim is the founder of the online hand-embroidered accessory and fashion brand Moro Velona. An accountant by day and a craft master by night, her edgy and chic character are in complete harmony with the brand’s vibe and values.

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e meet in Nayab’s charming studio flat in London, Highgate. The interior of her flat has small touches in each corner resembling fragments of her spontaneous and adventurous personality. The Moro Velona totes are laid out for The Hall News to gaze over. Images of sophisticated, and glamorous portraits of young women are embroidered on each one ready to meet their new owners. Our tea is waiting for us as we begin our interview.

She starts by mentioning embroidery is something she learned from her late aunt who passed away recently. “My fondest memory was watching her do embroidery.”

When did you get the idea for Moro Velona?

The idea came during the isolation, where I needed a creative outlet. I started doing embroidery because I was missing home and my family. Then thought to myself, ‘hey on a simple tote bag embroidery looks so cute!’ With the concept of saving the planet and reducing the use of plastic, I was thinking everyone is going to be using tote bags, but I don’t see many handmade ones out there.

So, line illustrations, mixed with an artistic approach can turn ordinary, boring objects into something extraordinary- this was the idea behind it.

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You are an accountant with a creative side. Which do you enjoy doing most, accounts or embroidery?

Both, to be honest. I enjoy my day job, when I work 9 to 5, I am totally and purely an accountant.

I can only think of numbers. After my work day, I want to switch my brain to an artistic environment, so I shift to creativity. But I equally enjoy both and I believe both skills are helping each other out. When I’m creative and when I start with my accountant book it’s very fresh and a new mindset.

Somehow both of these things are balanced.

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Moro Velona is chic and edgy, what made you choose this vibe for your brand?

I feel like this is how I am internally. To articulate why I do embroidery and have a need to express an artistic side. I feel; very classy, sassy and chic.

This is exactly how I would describe myself and therefore wanted my brand to reflect this.

Where do you see your brand in 5 years?

A very established brand, maybe even a brand that celebrities will be wearing. I will love to make a limited edition tote for you!

Any tips for people with desk jobs looking to follow their passion?

I think everybody in their heart should have a creative side, this is what will make you colourful, give you a lot to talk about, it’ll give your personality an instant boost. And creativity can come in any means- I chose embroidery but this could be painting, music, doing different things that are not just confined to a 9 to 5.

I suggest trying a few different things and see which ones sticks, get into different sorts of artistic outlets. Whichever you feel like you are more connected to, research and learn more

about it. When there is so much choice it is difficult to choose what you like. You just have to try it out and see for yourself.

You were born in Lahore, lived in London for 10 years and also lived in Dubai and Amsterdam. How would you compare London to all these cities, which city is your favourite and why?

I studied here and lived here for 10 years before I moved to Dubai for work. I feel like London is home, there is no other way I can describe it. Dubai has its charm, I enjoyed my time there, it was extremely hot!.

Amsterdam has a completely different vibe to it, that city is very fun

“I am like an onion, I have many layers.”

and beautiful - with the canals.

It’s very interesting how they are very free and controlled at the same time. I did struggle with the Dutch language, it was very hard for me to learn, I did pass level one. So I memorised to say ‘mijn nederlands is niet zo goed’ which means my dutch is not so good. Due to the language barrier, I was finding it difficult to connect with people. But London, I have my friends here, English is the universal language. The first day I went to Amsterdam and everything was written in Dutch, I went to the supermarket and I didn’t know what I had bought! I thought I was buying pastry, and it turned out it was a pastry with ham in it. (Ham is prohibited in Islam) When I had a look inside it, it was odd to find meat inside it. Luckily, I didn’t eat it.

More businesswomen are stepping into the scene with the Digital Age of social media. Why do you think this encourages others to become an entrepreneur?

It’s much easier now for women to market their products, before, traditionally speaking, it was much more complex with having to leave the house, leave the kids and go to the markets and deal with men.

Now they can do that from the comfort of their own home.

I believe that machines are taking a lot from us, but on the other hand, technology is giving us a lot as well. So we kind of have to see which way we are going to take it. Now, it’s easy for women to put the product online cutting out the middleman and saving on time.

Being your boss and working on your schedule helps too.

Who is your inspiration, this can be in your real life or from the media?

As Frida Khalo says, ‘I am my muse’ I think I take my inspiration by going inside… the funny thing is all we see is the outside but where everything happens is on the inside. With

my embroidery, I can look at an illustration and say this is what I am feeling right now, and then I try to bring that to life. Embroidery is more philosophical to me, it teaches so much patience, to keep going because every stitch you do takes you one step closer to finishing a pattern. When you do one stitch you think it’s not making a difference, but when you look back and see how far you have come it gives you the motivation to keep going.

Is embroidery relaxing and would you recommend anyone under stress during the pandemic to take up this as a hobby. And what benefits has it brought to you?

I would recommend people to do it, it takes a lot of focus, it trains you to be in the moment. If you mess up one part you have to go back, so you become more meticulous and the actual end goal may take some time to reach so it is a great pastime skill. So during the pandemic when it is difficult to find what to do with yourself, and especially now when there are whispers that we might be

going into a second lockdown, we need activities to keep ourselves busy and at the end, you feel more happy and accomplished.

You have something to show. The purpose is the process.

Do you have any other secret talents?

I am learning how to play the flute, I try to do some water colouring and I am training to be a pilot- because the red bull wasn’t giving me enough wings to fly! Growing up I was always fascinated with flying, so it wasn’t random, I had three career goals as a child. I was either going to be an accountant pilot or a snipper. I like the mixture of bad-ass and feminine.

I am like an onion, I have many layers. I always wanted to be an all-rounder, I like to achieve one thing and move to the next and add value to myself at the same time- get my hands dirty with everything. My next big adventure will be to learn how to ride a motorbike. I am doing everything in reverse, I never learned how to cycle but I enrolled myself onto a pilot course first. It’s funny

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how I can fly a plane but can’t ride a bike. I run, then learn how to walk. Speaking of running, one other thing I am proud of achieving during lockdown is my 5k run after an 8-week training through the NHS guided podcast.

Is there a brand you find inspiring that is similar to yours and why?

I like a quirky brand like Machino and the message that NastyGal sends which is very liberal. I am more into the brands that are outside the box.

Once our interview is over I have a go at embroidery. Nayab shows me the basics, it requires a lot of precision and mindfulness than I had anticipated. There’s an element peace to the act of stitching, just like any other creative outlet it promotes multitasking. Put on some background music or a film and let it take you on a journey.

Get your hand-embroidered tote from Moro Velona Etsy shop, or order through Instrgram @Moro_Velona

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FOR THE EMPTY HEARTED MEGHAN REINHARDT

Is it a coincidence that the steps to overcoming

heartbreak are almost the same as dealing with grief? The breakage of the emotional attachment can be so intense that it can almost feel like physical pain. Just like mourning, it is a natural process and a part of the human experience. The difference between a death of a loved one and the death of a relationship is that one is alive and most likely well, whereas the other has vanished forever into the unknown. The mourning or grieving phases also bare some similarities. There are the famous steps of coping with grief such as anger, disbelief, acceptance. More grievers have reported that these are not conceret steps, and some people do not even go through them. In fact, these steps are most likely what a dying person living in a hospice experience.

Alas, one of the first things that must happen is to sit down with yourself and notice your pain whether it was a month old relationship or ten years, you have the right to feel what you feel.

Ignoring the pain or pretending it never existed will only make things worse for you later on. As resentment has funny ways of showing itself in unexpected and unrelated situations. Putting a temporary bandaid on an open wound will surely result in some degree of unresolved defect. Accepting what you are going through is hard, and it will be tough and uncomfortable for a while, there is no time like the present to face your problem straight on. Acknowledge that it was a real relationship therefore it deserves a real farewell. Give yourself a very brief moment for self-pity- then pick yourself up and march on.

You may have to put on a brave face in front of those who do not know about it, in professional environments such as at work or school. You do not have to be made of iron at all times, sha-

re your pain with someone you trust, talking is healthy and having a shoulder to lean on at the time you are not feeling your best self is not a bad idea. Everyone deserves at least one confidant.

Each suffering is unique and there is no one way, some breakups do not even come with suffering.

There is not a time stamp on how long it takes to get over someone either. Let time do what it does best, and guide you down the most natural path. Detach the dream from the individual you are sour over, and let the dream live on. But bury the dead. It does not mean the memories are destroyed and pointless after the apparent loss, rather take away what you can learn from this experience and try to apply it to your life.

A break up can feel like you are far, far away from home. Like you have been evicted from the place you thought was meant to be yours. For, love is where the heart calls home. The good news is, every closed door is one step closer to the right one. Sure, it would be easier if you were just given the correct door number so that you don’t have to encounter such tragedies. Perhaps you receive a portion of the road map from each room you wander in to. Soon you will build your mansion on a strong foundation. Believe in life after a heartbreak. Unexpected change is challenging, you become in search of a new norm, and go on a route of self discovery. Why must we always try and fix who we are, just like we do not look for a fault in our character or hobbies when we encounter a death, we should not deconstruct our minds or bodies to the finest element at the defeat of love.

Simply rewire your outlook and reaction to the change in circumstances and catch yourself looping through the same scene. Zoom out of the details and see the story as a whole. Just like death and bankruptcy, breakups are a natural cycle of life; the good, the bad and the good again.

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H E A LT H & W E L L B E I N G

Words By ESR A K A N BU R

IN OR OUT We all have a stomach but “too much” of it can be unpleasant to the eye, or so we believe.

Scientifically it is proven that a smaller waist is always more attractive to the opposite sex, especially during a woman’s ovulation her waist will appear small to seem more appealing to men. Having a smaller torso inescapably makes us feel better about ourselves too. But not all things we like are good for us, and pulling your belly button into your spine is no exception to this rule.

M

any people, men and women go through years of pulling in their gut when in certain social circumstances. For example, let’s go ahead and paint a picture; a school reunion is a milestone and comes once every 10 years and people attending this reunion have an image in their head of you from 10 years ago. You either have a point to prove or you have a reputation to keep up. But let’s say life got in the way with the stress of work, homing a human in your belly for 9 months or recklessly binging and you don’t look like how you imagined yourself to be. You are as alien to yourself as the next person. Your love handles create a force field; bingo wings are clapping with each movement and the worst of all- your hanging gut! The horror.

How dare your tummy rolls disobey your command to stay tucked in? So there you are at the front gates of the school and your old classmates looking like they

landed a private jet onto the football field with their body made in Miami.

In comparison, you weigh the ups and downs of the situation and decide to work those abdominal muscles and pull in with all your might. You’re walking your new walk and unaware that anyone has the slightest idea that you have just lost 5 kilos in 3 seconds.

Breathe-breathe- and ... pull. You hold your breath in-between mindless encounters and turn your back on the crowd while you take a few short but essential breaths before you suck in all the air again. Promising yourself next reunion you will be prepared but the vicious cycle continues because a quick fix is easier than spending your time meal planning and hitting the gym. But did you know pulling your stomach in can be very harmful?

Here are a few ways pulling your stomach in is harmful to you:

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By squeezing your diaphragm your body will receive 30% less oxygen! There’s no point of having a thinner waist if you’re not around to enjoy it! By clenching your stomach so tight you are probably depriving yourself of a breath of fresh air. You will weaken your abdominal muscles by always keeping it in the same sucked in position. Keeping your muscles tight only works when there is motion involved. It can prevent the stomach from digesting the way it should. Digestion can slow down and you can permanently damage this beautiful function that allows you to eat sausage rolls and pizza.

Many people suffer from side effects of having low confidence

therefore suffering from the 3-second fix without realising the dangers they are putting their body through. There is a healthier alternative such as wearing loose clothing or vertical shapes or bolder colours to give the illusion of a smaller torso without suffering the consequences and feeling wonderful about yourself. The temptation will be there however to prevent yourself from falling into the trap and free your mind from negative thoughts about your body as nothing comes near to perfection as a healthy mind and a healthy body. Take in fresh air and never hold it in to satisfy what you think others think of you.

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DRE SSIN G THE GIRL S

ADITHI GHOSH

Women still have a hard time finding the right bra size. A considerable amount of women wear the wrong bra size and have only been educated about fitting using the traditional bra fitting method. There is a need to raise awareness and educate women on professional fitting techniques such as the ‘best fit’ method as results show that these techniques have a higher success rate than previously adopted methods.

F

or most women a bra is an essential piece of clothing, however, most women don’t find it comfortable to wear a bra. Since the COVID pandemic and the lockdowns that accompanied it, women have had the freedom of not having to be caged in a bra for long hours. Now as we go back to normal, there is a space for this question to be asked, why aren’t bras comfortable?

cating women about key parameters such as cup, underwire, straps and front band and what a good fit should look like would significantly help them understand and shop for bras better. This would be extremely beneficial for women given the current scenario where social distancing protocols make bra fitting sessions impossible. When you know and understand what a good fit looks and feels like, it makes it easier to purchase the same product According to Mona Zhang a bra fitting expert, a manufactured by a different brand. Apart from this lot of women are understandably confused by their a well-fitting bra would also create a positive user bra size and suffer from ill-fitting bras. For many, experience for the product and help women rebra fit is a serious problem. A suitable solution to ceive the support their bras are intended for. This this problem would be to educate women with would lead to a growth in body positivity among regards to key parameters that were to be conwomen as a well-fitting bra is crucial for good susidered when trying to understand what kind of pport apart from helping women look and feel their bra fit would be more comfortable for them. Edubest.

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A well-fitted bra could also help prevent back Band and neck pain and reduce irreversible breast sag Too tight: flesh bulging over the top of band, among women. Simply put the way bras are being subjective discomfort such as “feels too tight.’ made hasn’t changed in decades, but our undersToo loose: band lifts when arms are moved tanding of the human anatomy and the structure above the head, the posterior band not level of a human female bust has gained significant with the infra-mammary fold. insights. There is an understanding that breast Cup can’t be categorised as easily though. The in-depth Too big: wrinkles in cup fabric knowledge science has gained shows that breasts Too small: breast tissue bulging above or become in a variety of different shapes and sizes, so low or at the sides how could a specific set of sizes cater to a broad Underwire spectrum of differently structured women? To address this problem, awareness has to be created Incorrect shape: underwire sitting on breast among women that wearing bras have to be a com- tissue laterally (under the armpit) or anterior fortable experience, not a painful one. midline apart from subjective discomfort.

Brands and medical practitioners would have to bring about change in terms of suggested/ industry-standard bra fitting techniques and work to educate women on what to look for in terms of fit. I’d want to leave you with a question to ponder over, When there is a way to help women be more comfortable with wearing a bra why are we not being told about it? With lockdown and people being home for so long has made most women comfortable with the idea of not wearing a bra and going back to wearing them for long periods may be causing women stress, something I have felt myself. Learning about how you could help yourself find a more comfortable option would considerably ease this stress. Also with the future being uncertain and social distancing protocols in place, there might be a considerable change in how shopping happens.

Straps Too tight: digging in; subjective discomfort; carrying too much of the breast weight.

Too loose: Sliding down off shoulder with no ability to adjust the strap length.

Front band Not all in contact with the sternum

bra fitting techniques. Women with back, neck or shoulder pain caused by ill-fitting bras approach medical practitioners for advice, this allows them to educate women about how they could help themselves with a better fitting bra. This could be achieved by raising awareness regarding methods such as the best fit technique which consists of 5 major criteria used by professional bra fitters. This technique accompanied by a frequent evaluation of bra size, understanding that sizes vary based on brands and being prepared to buy a range of Currently, with fitting rooms being closed for different sizes could significantly improve the the foreseeable future, this education would immensely help women make educated decisions for experience of wearing a bra. themselves when shopping online for bras.

These techniques would help women identify The lingerie industry engages with its consuproblems with their bra fit and allow them to be mers, i.e women to create awareness regarding their products. These interactions make it conve- rectified faster when compared to experiencing discomfort with an ill-fitting bra. This knowledge nient for them to help spearhead this change in would allow women to make better, informed and educated decisions with regards to what she finds comfortable for a bra.

-30% of respondents had never been

fitted for a bra.

-72.4% of them felt they were wearing the wrong bra size at some point in time .-86.7% of them felt that adverts did not give them enough information about what the right bra fit was.

-Almost all of them (99%) said they didn’t know any other bra fitting techniques other than the traditional fitting methods.

-25% of the women felt uncomfortable getting fitted and found the process awkward.

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MEET THE TE AM NADIA L A ZA Nadia, is a short form of the Russian word ‘nadezhda’ (hope) and that could be misleading to some. Da, ia govoriu Po-Russki, as Nadia is not of a Russian descent. For anyone wondering where her American accent comes from – cartoons. It all started in her early childhood. She explains having a digital antenna at home and she watched TV stations from all around the world. Mystery solved! She was born in a small village in the West of Romania. Nadia is a voracious reader, a non-propagandistic pescetarian with a passion for fashion, she loves all-things-art and getting into contortionist asanas. She is also a frantic label reader, she “turns & learns” all her ingredients – always going beyond surface level!

Our first YouTube video was starring you! You look You have an interest in photography, when did that like a natural on-screen, how did you prepare for it start and which photo is the best you’ve ever taken and would you consider having your own YouTube in your opinion? channel one day?

My passion for photography began when I was in First of all, thank you for allowing me to introduce high school. I was mostly using the camera on my our team. I always carry some sort of journal with phone. Now that I think of it, I realize that it wasn’t me and you cannot imagine how many ideas I kept detrimental to the “artistic” quality of the photos jotting down. Weeks later, the creative process came at all. I guess I was paying even more attention to to an end. That same day I shot the video. One-take, details, to make up for the lack of available techin abundant daylight, so there was not much edinology. After I got my first compact camera, I kept ting involved, except for noise enhancing. I would limiting myself, thinking I needed to level up and like to disclose that it was not a flow-of-consciousget a DSLR. Which, in the end, I did get – but I must ness-type of speech, it was pretty well thought out. confess it’s all about being present and allowing I didn’t want to miss anything and I was going for yourself to receive whatever is there, unfolding ria compact, but also a genuine presentation of who ght in front of you. The best photos I’ve taken are I am, why I joined The Hall News and why I think it those that exude emotion. I am a highly emotional is, indeed, a place for everyone. being, and a prerequisite for all the photographs I Fun fact: one of my childhood dreams was to besnap is to generate, feel and encapsulate emotion come a news anchor. I always remember ‘’broadand sensation, in fragments of nature, on the faces casting’’ news made up on the spot for my family of people, in static settings etc. or friends. I am not camera-shy. As for a separate

YouTube channel… it’s an option. Right now I’m just You like to write about books, what is your favourite trying my hand at it. genre to read and if you could only choose one book NEWS MAGAZINE 36

At The Hall, we encourage everyone to be themselves. What is your most iconic, a signature stamp that makes you unique as an individual in a world of 7.8 billion people?

My ornate and elaborate discourse is what sets me apart and what draws people in. I love words and somehow the odd or uncommon ones stick with me. That’s what has always made an immediate impact: something that I have said or the way I said it.

But everything we do contributes to our signature self-portrait.

If your close family and friends were to describe you in a few words what do you think they would say?

They would say that I am loyal to the core, resourceful, studious and funny – and even if it may jar with my polished image – a little bit too serious and dominant at times.

You are from Romania, how do you define your country and if someone was to know one thing about it what would you like that to be?

The country of wild contrasts, without any doubt.

It’s possibly one of the few countries in the European Union where you can still find virgin landscapes.

Where do you stand on the spiritual spectrum, do you believe in religion, if so, how much of your life does it influence?

I am a faithful Orthodox Christian. My belief is my guiding light. I hold my Father Confessor very dearly to my heart, as he has been a guardian angel and a source of wisdom for me during pivotal moments. He is a man of infinite kindness. He has also introduced me to the teachings of Orthodox Church to read for the rest of your life which one would it be? Fathers, such as Teofil Părăian, Ilie Cleopa, Iustin I read based on what I’m feeling at a particular mo- Pârvu, writer and monk Nicolae Steinhardt or Saint ment. To me, emotion is direction. I have multiple Nectarios of Aegina and many more. That’s how favourite genres: poetry, spirituality, psychology, art, I realized that people my age tend to equate such mindfulness, I read health and medicine journals, texts with mental restraint and antiquated views – books on nutrition etc. In recent years, I’ve also been which is not at all the case. I have read numerous taking a great deal of time to research all the ingre- other books on spirituality and I have looked into dients used in the products I’m using. When making the principles of other religions as well. That has a choice, I try to balance out not just my consumer broadened my sense of understanding and further needs, but also the impact they have on our planet.I consolidated my sense of belonging to Orthodoxy. don’t have a favourite book, but I do have a favourite text. There’s nothing close to it: The First Epistle to What do you think is the purpose of life and if aliens the Corinthians (the Pauline epistle) Chapter 13. one day wandered into our planet what short des cription would you like them to stumble across for What did you study at school and why? it?

I have a BA in Philology and an MA in Slavic Cultu- The purpose of life is… to be of purpose. An act that ral Studies. I finished both at the Faculty of Foreign we can manifest in the simplest of ways – it doesn’t Languages and Literatures within the University of have to be using grandiose achievements. Let’s preBucharest. My major was English, and my minor tend aliens are reading a travel guide: “Welcome to Russian. I was already set on studying English, and Planet Earth, one of the most singular destinations so my Bulgarian uncle insisted that I should study in the entire galaxy. An eccentric land, where you Russian as a second language. I love a good challen- will never live a boring experience. You’ll stumble ge, so I went with it. It exceeded my expectations upon fascinating humans that will make you reconand put all the synapses in my brain to work. All sider everything you thought you knew about life… those years of the study prompted me to develop a or yourself. If you love nature, you will adore Eardeeply personal writing style. th. Whatever place you choose to go to, good food is NEWS MAGAZINE always 37

on the list.”

Do you consider yourself an activist, if not why, and if so, which movement do you support at heart?

I wouldn’t call myself an activist, just because I think that implies more agency, presence and movement. I like to maintain a low profile when it comes to getting involved in certain humanitarian causes, especially when I’m contributing to them financially. It’s not that I don’t want to be associated with them, it’s rather that I prefer to do it anonymously. Mostly, the causes I am drawn to and supporting involve children.

How would you like to be remembered as, in a thousand years?

My name, “Nadia”, says it all: a beacon of hope.

What do you think is the biggest problem in the world right now and if you were the president of a country with great power what would you do to change it?

Power is intoxicating to even the brightest minds – and all the more to a caged one. I would invest in education and in making people understand that the very differences that seem to separate them are not meant to be built into walls, but into bridges. Do you acquire a secret talent or an interesting skill that you would like to share?I am quite the dancer!

I love to dance and I used to be part of a traditional Romanian folklore dance group for 8 years. In addition to that, I took classical and Latino dance classes and became an absolute enthusiast. I am now taking a break, because of what is going on in the world. Dancing makes me feel energized, free, happy and it is such a creativity and confidence booster – even if I may sometimes step on someone’s toes, in a dance frenzy.

What is your biggest dream and what will you do to make it come true? … to be of purpose, both in my personal and professional life. I am a traditionalist, I believe in marriage and I see myself having children. I consistently make an effort to improve myself, to be kind, tolerant and receptive and I think that’s great practice for building strong relationships, of any kind. I want to at least impact the domains I actively engage in. As a copywriter and translator, the nature of my work is as complex as it is underrated. One thing I find is missing right now is impeccable professionalism and high-quality services, so I strive to always deliver that and raise the standard.

As a writer for The Hall, which would you say is the best part about writing for the magazine and where do you see this platform heading in the future?

As much as I consciously invest time in reading, researching and taking notes, I find it hard to simply sit down and write on a particular topic. I do have the occasional bouts of inspiration when words seamlessly glide onto paper, but that’s uncontrollable and sporadic. The best part of being a staff

Nadia’s favourite painting. “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli

“A flight of Hope”. Favourite personally taken photograph. writer is that it provides you not just with a platform to express your thoughts, but it also disciplines your craft. I also know that the content that I’m trying to put out is being reviewed. I would not have written as many articles, had I not joined The Hall and I am very grateful for that.

What are you watching on Netflix right now?

I’m rarely watching Netflix (shocker!), but if I do, it’s probably a documentary or some intense and dramatic thriller.

Which book are you currently reading?

Andrei Pleșu – On Angels.

Coffee or Tea? Was there even an option, anyway? Tea! Always! I sometimes do enjoy a creamy Ristretto or a Macchiato, but I’m caffeine sensitive, so I always opt for the decaffeinated option.

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BUILDING PEACE DURING THE PANDEMIC

IN IT TO WIN IT TA H İ R M O L A

C R I S T I NA E K S I O G LU

Gambling is more than just a game. Gambling can turn three grand into five. Conversely, one can lose and be left without ten pence. The gambler puts everything on the table saying that the assertive will win. Car, house, bank card… Types of gaming in the past have been played as a chance game in form of flipping a coin (heads or tale), rolling dice and bringing six, fifty double cards (king, joker), and most recently throwing coins into the machine. As we developed technology and manufacturing, new projects have found their customers. The computer and the phone are designed for fast communication. Factories were constantly operating new models and us consumers are always out to buy the newest design.

Revolving capital increases its cost, and makes its owners and operators earn from where they sit.

Metalworking did not just make water pipes. Submachine tank, Steamboat, Airplane, Car Industry advanced to name a few. Competition has determined the brands. One had the chance to buy the rich, high-quality goods by choosing the best. The middle class has the idea of forward investment and is also being conservative. The poor; they cannot be humble.

Of course gambling is not recommended for anyone.

It is well-advertised, and it is accepted with its ability to persuade. In the Running Horses, print five coins ‘Acacia number ten’, win five races. Car races; rally, how much money do you invest? Other types of games of chance; rows of numbers, names... What did you win?

Like boxing, buying and going to human fights. The torment inflicted on that person. Bringing animals to the province. One wonders how can these be fun?

For a moment of fun, we tend to bring the sunset on our early years. Those who are afraid of losing do not gamble. If you carry the fear in your pocket everywhere you go, you can protect yourself. Do not believe in fake words that ‘the loser in gambling wins at love.’

The 2020 World Tourism Day theme is “Building peace.”

When the theme was chosen the organization did not know that 2020 would come with a big pounce for tourism. But even so, the theme seems to be the perfect fit: building peace after a lockdown period; building peace with yourself and with others, travelling locally or abroad. The United Nations World Tourism Organization chose this day to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political, and economic values worldwide.

I believe modern-day tourism is more than a holiday, visiting and relaxation. Nowadays tourism also means psychological treatment, medical tourism and studies tourism. In other words, tourism is very important from the economical point of view, but also in terms of health and spirituality. Being a tourist means that for a short period you are part of the chosen culture and nation. It is important to observe the locals and to respect the place which you choose to be a part of. Building peace in 2020 is remarkably interesting to observe how people started to “practice” tourism. Local tourism is particularly important during this time as many people choose until now to visit other parts of the world.

It is similar to building peace with yourself and with your home country.

Due to lockdown, many local businesses SMEs have suffered or lost the fight with surviving on the market. “Neighbour tourism” is also an option chosen by many. From a personal point of view, presently as I am writing the article, I am travelling to Greece, we choose Greece because it is close to Romania (where I live) and has better conditions and prices than Romania. Unfortunately, when the conditions are not good – infrastructure, services, prices – people choose to travel 8 hours instead of 4 or 10 but to enjoy their time. This is in my case too. Even if we had to do COVID test – which is not free or cheap in Romania – complete procedure forms for the Greece Embassy, we preferred to travel 10-11 hours to go to Greece, then 7 hours to Constanța, Romania.

Tourism is a very important piece in the economic, medical, cultural puzzle and even if it seems very difficult to travel in a pandemic period, people find the solution, because the psychological part of the story is, we all need to take a rest, and that is the most important thing. Stay safe, stay healthy, travel, and help yourself and others.

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FROM BUILDING BRIDGES TO SAVING THE PLANET THE MANY ACHIEVEMENTS OF AZAD AYUB INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ESRA KANBUR

Azad Ayub is the owner of Azad Ayub Ltd, a property, development and management agency located in Haringey, North London. The office interior is modest with a nostalgic feel. I am welcomed into a hard-working environment with the constant inbound calls and potential clients walking in.

Azad Ayub’s empire is the tip of the iceberg, as we find out during the interview that takes a trip down memory lane.

You studied civil engineering, the premise of this study centres around constructing our cities’ infrastructures. In particular areas such as roads, bridges, buildings and aircraft. How did your skills from civil engineering transfer and translate into what you do today?

Civil engineering is a very broad subject, it covers all the fields mentioned. But initially, I specialised in designing motorways. Some of my designs have now been constructed, and if you go to Devon you will be driving over motorways I’ve designed, and the big bridge in Exeter over river Ex. So quite a lot of interesting projects in this country. I’ve also worked on a lot of projects abroad. Including the middle east- Dubai, Africa- Nigeria and also in Istanbul, Turkey- a project called Trakya Otoyolu, it was a 350 million pounds project at the time (in the 1980s). So as I was doing all these projects for other people, and other companies I realised that maybe I

should work for myself. I started buying properties in London, I transferred my interest from highways and bridges to property. During this time, I also did a master degree at Imperial College.

Now I take a very active interest in Imperial college, where I am a trustee and community member of Friends of Imperial.

Your company has won awards such as the Best Green Landlord of the year in 2013. As a local entrepreneur and businessman, how would you describe being given this status and what degree of motivation has it provided your business?

We won this award 6 years in a row from 20122018. We work very to get the award, we had academics come into advise us on how to make our properties greener. We implemented their suggestions and as a result, we submitted our application for this award and won. We are active in this field in our day to day life, implementa-

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tions include using green light bulbs with 5 watts- although they cost more, they are environmentally friendly. Other things include loft installations, double glazing, disposal of rubbish, thermostats to save on energy and solar panels. We do these without getting subsidies from the government, we pay for it ourselves. We have spare money to spend on these measures, whereas new landlords are so busy trying to pay off their montage that they don’t have money for going green. If we were to start now, of course, going green would not be a priority as we would be stuck for cash flow, we are in a position where we can allocate a large sum for this every year. In the long run, being green saves costs.

Was finding accommodation an issue for you as a student when you first arrived in the UK, and If so, is this the reason why your initial market was student accommodations?

The short answer is there wasn’t a difficulty in finding accommodation, but there was difficulty in finding good accommodation. The general standards were very poor; it was old, not properly maintained, rooms were small, furniture very old and oddly matched, bathrooms and toilets were not up to standard and no central heating. When I saw how students were living I decided to put my energy into trying to provide better accommodations to students. So we installed proper kitchens, washing machines, and dishwashers. We look after our students very well as for many it is the first they are away from home and their families.

You buy, design, sell and manage properties.

How involved are you in the interior design aspect, and is there a signature Azad Ayub Ltd style you apply to these properties?

There is a natural signature in terms of making our properties as good as possible and improving the quality. In terms of design, we also choose the colour green wherever possible. We choose this colour because it is the colour of Pakistan and the Nigerian flag, also the symbolic colour of Islam and also for being environmentally green. It is my favourite colour, even when I choose a car I make sure it is a green colour.

You have a team of workers that have been with you for a long time, this reflects as traditional, dependable, and presents long-lasting

client relations. However, as your main target market is students and the youth, how do you deal with appealing and staying relevant in an ever-changing world?

Our plumbers, builders, electricians, they have been with us for a very long time. In many cases it is the second generation that is working for us now- For example, the electrical was working for me 30/40 years ago and now his son is working for us. So there is that continuity, in that aspect experience is more important. As far as dealing with clients is concerned, we have young staff who deal with younger clients.

Your first-ever investment was buying a house for 9000, what can someone do with £9000 today if they were looking to do the same?

I suppose today £9000 would be the cost of installing central heating in a house.

Haringey has changed so much since the 1980s, what are the main shifts in the borough in terms of local businesses, culture and aesthetics, and what do you hope or predict for its future?

When we first came to Haringey, it used to be a place where shops were open 5 days a week, Wednesday and Saturday were half-day and they would close completely on Sunday. At that time there was a strong presence of the Greek community, so the Greeks moved away and Turks came. We were quite instrumental at the beginning of the Turkish people coming to live here. As we had a lot of properties, during the summer holidays the properties were empty as the students went back home. A British refugee councillor approached me to say there are all these houses, you could accommodate refugees.

That summer there were floods of people who would come straight from the airport to us and we housed them. And when term time came, of course, we could not ask them to leave, so they stayed on. So that kind of transformed the area from a Greek area to a Turkish dominated area.

As there were so many people who came needing housing benefit, the council was not able to pay for all of them, therefore I took the government to court (the process of judicial review) and I won!

You are interested in helping charities and providing sponsorships. Why is it important for you to be involved in this area, and what can other local businesses do to help humanitarian causes?

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I believe the more you give, the more you get.

We sponsor a lot of charities, the most high profile one I sponsor is the Reflections of The Lord Mayor of London, it is an annual event where the lord mayor of London reflects on what has been achieved within that year. As a result of my slightly raised profile in the city of London, I was just awarded the Freedom of The City of London, the ceremony is yet to take place, it’s been pushed back due to the pandemic.

You have created your software platform to aid the management aspect. How and why is this software helpful to you and would you consider selling the idea to other businesses?

This software is called Props. Initially, we were on the hunt for a program we can use to assist our daily tasks in the office, but we were unable to find something suitable for our needs. My brother who is an accountant, a programmer and I came together to design this bespoke program.

It does everything we want it to do. We did try to market Props, but the effort and energy required to sell it are not worth our time. But as we have the pattern for it, it is always an option in the future.

How has the pandemic affected the property sector, especially your business?

At the start of the pandemic, we wore it to all our tenants. We told them provided they continue to pay rent on time, we will reduce their rent by 30% as a write-off. This particular initiative helped us a great deal, they rent kept on coming in and so we haven’t been affected that much. In general for the property sector, it was difficult for everyone but it wasn’t affected as much like other sectors.

Your company also has properties in Pakistan, Spain and the USA. How different are the sector and client needs compared to the UK, and why in particular have you chosen to branch out to these countries?

The best place to own a property in my point of view in London, in particular inside the M25.

My brother worked with me for a while in my London office then went to live in America, I bought some properties there for him to manage for him to start his business. However, in comparison, it was not like London. I had one staff member who went to live in Spain- the funny story is, he was fed up of getting parking tickets in London so he decided to move away!

I ended up buying some properties for him to work on too. Lastly, in Pakistan my family has properties, so we look after them ourselves, in Pakistan the population is large and the growth rate is quite high so there is a good return.

Lastly, do you have any tips and tricks you would like to share with first-time buyers?

The best advice I could give is don’t hesitate, just buy it. The prices go up all the time and for long periods. If you have the means, don’t think about it too much and go for it. One of my friends knows a guy, he wanted me to help him to pick the right property to purchase. We viewed 6 places, I told him ‘You buy the one you want and I’ll buy the other 5.’ In the end, he didn’t buy it and I bought all of them. The point is that once you buy a property you have a stake in it and it goes up in value. I’ll give you an example, buying a property is like having a child because over time the value of the child goes up and the same with property.

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DOCTOR’S KITCHEN Linguine with Mussels ANJANI KUMAR

INGREDIENTS:

Linguine is a traditional and wonderful pasta to use. But you can make the dish with whole-wheat or gluten-free pasta; both are getting better and better. Look for a flat noodle like tagliatelle, fettuccine or spaghetti.

o200 gr. Fresh cherry tomatoes cut into half. o3-4 minced garlic o1 shallot, finally chopped o100 ml. cup dry white wine o500 gr. mussels, rinsed, scrubbed oBeards removed or 250 gr. Frozen shelled mussels o2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

o¼ teaspoon chilli flakes

oPinch sugar

o1 teaspoon lemon zest

o2 tablespoon lemon juice

oSalt and pepper to taste

o400 gr. linguine or other pasta

o¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION:

•Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, minus 1 minute, they will absorb some of the sauce and you get perfect pasta al dente.

•Heat olive oil over medium heat in pan and add minced garlic and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shallot, and cook it for about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and cook them further for about 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes get little soft.

•Add mussels, lemon zest, white wine, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Mix them well and cook them for about 2 minutes. Add 150 ml. pasta water or fish stock. Cover them with a lid and cook them on medium heat for 3-4 minutes (until mussels open up)

•Add pasta, fresh parsley and lemon juice, mix them well and cook for about 1 minute.

•Serve right away!

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G N I K BA M AD

WORDS BY AREEJ DALI

RED VELVET COOKIE •230g cold chop unsalted butter ped •100g caster suga •100g soft brown r sugar •250g white choc olate chips •475g plain flou r

•20g cocoa powder •1 tsp salt •3 tsp baking powde r •2 eggs •1 egg yolk •1 tsp vanilla extrac •1 tsp red fod colour t paste. Not liquid

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METHOD: Preheat your oven to 180°c.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or handheld mixer beat the butter for 30seconds just to break the butter up.

Add both caster and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until it’s formed nougats with the butter.

Fold in the white chocolate chips on low speed until evenly combined.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder through a sieve and mix well until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until it’s formed into a sand-like consistency.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla extract and red colour paste.

Add the liquid ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.

Scrape the dough from the bottom of the bowl and squish it together just to get bits that may have stuck to the sides and bottoms. (you might need to wear gloves with these otherwise you’ll have red hands!)

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Using a scale weigh the dough into 50g balls ( I like mine to be a bit small as I can get more cookie doughs out of the batch, this should make around 22-25 dough balls. If you want them larger weigh them at 80g) Once you have shaped the dough into balls, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, make sure there is space between each one as they expand once baked.

Bake the cookies for 14mins until you see it slightly crispy on the outside.

Take them out of the oven and leave it to cool completely for about 15mins, or longer if you have time. Once out of the oven they might look soft but it will harden once cooled.

If you don’t want to bake all of the cookie dough in one go, you can keep them in the freezer in an airtight container. This will keep well for up to 3 months! The best part about freezing is you can always have some freshly baked cookies whenever you want!

Just make sure to bake for an additional 3-5mins in the oven.

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TURKISH ARTICLES

T űR K çE YAZILAR

SAN

AT

K E M YE NEWS MAGAZINE

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YASAM

TA R O R őP 48

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LüBNAN ÇERNOBiLi B

OSCAR KEEN

eyrut’ta binlerce ton amonyum nitratın kaza sonucu patlaması olarak nitelendirilen endüstriyel felaket, araştırma safhasına girdi ve birçok soruyu gündeme getirerek birçok tartışma senaryosu başlattı.

Başkan Aoun, Uluslararası bir soruşturmayı reddeden Lübnanlı yetkililer tarafından resmi olarak değerlendirilen iki ana senaryodan bahsetti: ihmal ve dış saldırı. Ayrıca Fransa’dan, bölgede depoya çarpabilecek uçak veya füze olup olmadığını değerlendirmek için uydu görüntüleri istediler. Lübnan ile diplomatik ilişkisi olmayan İsrail, felakete karışmadığını söyleyerek insani yardım teklifinde bulundu. Ve ABD Başkanı Donald Trump, bunun bir saldırı olabileceğini bildiği bir açıklamayı medyaya sızdırdı. Saldırı etrafında varmış gibi görüntülerde görünen, üst üste binerek monte edilmiş sanal bir drone ile bir görüntü geliştiren Arap basını, ve internetten bahsetmiyorum bile, bu açıkça yalan haber olarak nitelendirilen bir olay. Şimdiye kadar ortaya çıktığı gibi, Lübnanlı yetkililerin ele aldığı ilk senaryo gerçek görünüyor.

Soruşturmanın sonuçlarına henüz sahip değiliz, ancak Lübnan’ın başkentinin ortasındaki bir depoya muazzam miktarda amonyum nitrat yerleştirmek, bu gerçek saatli bombanın varlığına ilişkin tüm Lübnan kurumsal yelpazesi hakkında çok fazla uyarı olmasaydı, ihmal için yeterli kanıt olmayacaktı. Bu, Lübnan Cumhurbaşkanı Michel Aoum’un kendisi tarafından kabul edildi. Bu durum da Lübnan Hükümeti’ni doğrudan sorumluluğa götürüyor. Ya da 2013’ten bu güne peş peşe Lübnan hükümetlerini de diyebiliriz. Bu mevcudiyet, Lübnan’ın iyi yönetiminin geleceği hakkında büyük soruları ve endişeleri gündeme getiriyor. Dolayısıyla, Çernobil vakası ile yapılan

karşılaştırma, ille de patlamanın büyüklüğüyle ve hiçbir şekilde çarpma ve kazazedelerin boyutu ile değil. Bu, dünyanın en büyük krizlerinden biri olan nükleer santralin güvenli işleyişini yönetmekte başarısız olan, o zamanlar Sovyet komünist olan bir sistemin yetersizliğini ve yetersizliğini itiraz etmeden ortaya çıkarmakla ilgilidir.

Nükleer santralin başlamasından önce eksik güvenlik testlerini ve teknolojik uyumsuzlukları kapatma olasılığının olduğu, beş yıllık planlarda imkansız ekonomik başarılardan insani ve güvenlikçe uygun olmayan tasarruflardan kaçma olasılığı olduğunda, Nisan 1986 felaketi meydana geldi.

Bu, Lübnan’daki iç savaşın çözümüne yönelik uzlaşma ve düzenlemelerden kaynaklanan yeni bir siyasi sistemin yetersizliği ve idari kapasitesinden yoksunluğunun yeni bir sınavıdır. Tüm siyasi sınıfın meydan okunduğu ve hali hazırda sokaklarda olan on binlerce insanın, Hariri hükümetinin ayrılmasına sebep olan sistemin işlemediğinin ve sürdürülmesinin ilişkilerin kemikleşmesine, Lübnan’da siyasi sınıfın yenilenmesini ve mezhepsel ve dini feodalleşmeyi engellediğinin sadece bir kanıtıdır. 30 yıl önce olanlar bugün canavarlar üretiyor ve sistemin yapısal sorunları olduğu için temelde yeniden yapılandırılması gerekiyor. Bu, siyasi sınıfın yapısal sorunlarını kabul eden, ancak erken seçimlerle sınırlı olan görevdeki başbakan tarafından da kabul edildi.

Anlaşılan o ki önümüzdeki günlerde Lübnan var olan siyasi çekişmelerin gölgesinde bir de bu felaketin açmış olduğu yaralarla tekrar seçime gidecek olmasıdır. Umarım yeni gelecek olan irade, var olan istikrarsızlığın devamına engel olur ve halkın huzur içinde yaşayabilmesi için elinden geleni yapar.

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BüYüK VERi B

DR OSMAN KöMüRCü

üyük Veri uzun süredir ortalıkta ve hiçbir yere gitmeyecek gibi. İlk defa duyanlar için kulağa heyecan verici geliyor. En azından bende uyandırdığı merak yüzünden peşine düşmeme engel olamadım. Ve şimdi bu büyülü dünyanın bir parçası olmak için çabalıyorum. Günden güne yaşam alanlarımızın her kısmında bir ihtiyaç olarak görünmeye başlandı bile. Eğitim, bankacılık, sağlık, ulaşım ve daha bir çok alanda çalışma alanları çoktan oluştu. Günümüzde bu konuya yanlış anlaşılmış olduğu kadar geniş bilgi edinmeden de yaklaşıyoruz. Yuval N. Harari’nin son dönemdeki meşhur olan kitabı (21.Yüzyıl için 21 Ders ) bu alanda okuduğum en anlamlı ve bilgi içerikli bir eserdi. Özellikle Büyük Veri ile alakalı olan bölümü herkese tavsiye etmek isterim.

Her saygın alan gibi, Büyük Veri ifadesi tanımıyla başlıyoruz: “Özellikle insan davranışıyla ilgili eğilimleri, kalıpları ve ilişkileri ortaya çıkarmak için sayısal olarak analiz edilebilen büyük veri kümeleri.”…belki de tüm faaliyetimizin dayandığı pazarlamada çalışmıyorsak eminim bunu pek anlamamışızdır.

lediğimiz her şey bize karşı değil, bize yardımcı olmak için kullanılabilir ve kullanılacaktır” gibi bir şey anlaşılıyor. Evet, göründüğü kadar belirsiz olsada sizi çok fazla korkutmaya çalışmıyorum.

Büyük Veri, çevrim dışı ve çevrim içi bilgilerin analizini içerir. Çevrim dışı olanı; mağazalarda, sokakta, postayla veya bir şirket, satıcı vb. tarafından talep edilen her türlü geri bildirim yoluyla doldurduğumuz anketleri ifade eder. Bir alışveriş merkezinde izlediğimiz rota bile analiz edilir ve bilgiler inşaatçılar tarafından her mağazanın önünden geçilecek şekilde projelendirilmek için kullanılır.

Yine en iyi örneklerden bir tanesi, havalimanında güvenlik kontrolünden sonra biniş kapısına erişmenin tek yolunun bir Duty-Free mağazasından geçtiğini görebiliriz. Her alışverişte uçak biletimizin taranması bile çok şey ifade ediyor. Mesela yolcular vergi indirimi alırken gelinen ülkeye ve nereye seyahat ettiklerine, ne satın aldıklarına bağlı olarak bir alıcı profili oluşturulur.

Çevrim içi analiz daha karmaşıktır ve hayal edeBüyük Veri, bir kişinin “hizmetlerini iyileştirmek bileceğimizden daha fazla bilgi sağlar. Google, amacıyla” kaydettiği tüm bilgileri ifade eder. “Söy- Facebook, Instagram’da bir e-posta hesabımız ve NEWS MAGAZINE

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muhtemelen bir Apple kimliğimiz var. Hesabımızı oluşturduğumuzda orada bir şeyi kontrol ettik mi, hatırlıyormuyuz? Kabul ettiğimiz bu şartlar ve koşullar, bu şirketlerin bilgilerimizi okumasına ve bize, örneğin Google Play mağazasındaki veya AppStore’daki uygulamaları önermesine izin verir. Bu daha başlangıç…

BÜYÜK VERİLERİ KİMLER KULLANIR? Büyümek isteyen tüm şirketler; ister ürün ister hizmet olsun, herkesin satacak bir şeyi vardır.

Reklamlar ayrıca bir web sitesine veya mağazaya giren herkesin davranış analizine dayanan Büyük Veriye dayalıdır. Arkadaşlarımızı ve tanıdıklarımızı doğum günümüz için aradığımızda bile bu tanımı kullanırız. O tarih ve yere kimlerin gelebileceğini, kimlerin müzik veya yemek konusunda benzer tercihlere sahip olduğunu analiz ettik ve hatta en doğru misafir sayısını belirlemek için bu konuda bir anket yaptığımızı düşünelim.

Google, muhtemelen bu listedeki ilk, en iyi bilinenlerden biri. İnternette aradığımız her şey, gördüğümüz reklamları, aramamızın sonuçlarını ve çok daha fazlasını etkiler.

Bazı özel şirketler, insanlara büyük verinin işlerinde onlara nasıl yardımcı olabileceğini öğreten başka bir çalışma alanıdır. Dahası, dünyanın herhangi bir yerinde alınan büyük miktarda veriyi kendi kendilerine analiz etmeyi öğrenen bilgisayarların algoritmalarından sorumludurlar.

Karşılaştırmak gerekirse, 1990 yılına kadar 100 yıl boyunca toplanan tüm bu bilgiler bir USB belleğe sığar. Ama günümüzde sadece bir günlük biriktirdiklerimize bakılacak olursa, binlerce sabit diske ihtiyaç olabilir.

İNTERNET BÜYÜK VERİLER İÇİN DOĞDU Geçmişe göz atarsak bu bilgilerin, IBM ‘de ki gibi çok pahalıya mal olan devasa bilgisayarlarda saklandığını görebiliriz. Araştırmacılar okyanusları aşarak bu verileri manuel olarak analiz etmek ve tartışmak için Cenevre’deki CERN’de bir araya geldiler. Zamanla dünyada bu tür bir kaç veri merkezi oluştu ve bunları olabildiğince çabuk güncellemek için birbirine bağlama ihtiyacı doğdu.Ve internet böyle ortaya çıktı, tüm bu bilgisayarların birbirleriyle veri alışverişi yapabilmesi gerekiyordu.

BÜYÜK VERİ TEHLİKELİ Mİ?

Artık bu büyük verinin ne olduğunu ve nasıl bir etkiye sahip olduğunu bildiğimize göre, ne düşünüyoruz? Bu soruya hemen şu şekilde cevap verelim: Bu terim nedeniyle, internet doğdu ve sanırım bir çoğumuz internet olmadan yaşayamam diyebiliyor. Tabi en doğrusu, herhangi bir şeyin aşırı tüketimi hem fiziki hem de ruh sağlığımıza ciddi şekilde zarar verebilir.

Evet, Büyük Veri daha fazlasını ödemediğimiz bir kolaylık. Ne satın aldığımızı, nerede, ne kadar durduğumuzu yada uyuduğumuzu gizli tutmamız gerektiğine inanıyorum. Akıllı saat veya cep telefonu bile uygulama üreticilerine sürekli olarak büyük miktarda bilgi sağlar. Banka kartı bilgileri hariç neredeyse tamamı.

Bütün bunlar hayatımızı kolaylaştırıp bilgiye daha hızlı erişim sağlamamıza vesile olmakta. Yapmak veya satın almak istediğimiz her şeye daha fazla alternatif bulabiliyoruz. Dolayısıyla evrende var olan her şey gibi büyük veri kullanımının da hem faydalı hem de zararlı yönleri olabileceğini unutmayalım.

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YALANCININ MUMU “

çAĞRI EKİM

Yalan zekâ işidir. DŰrűstlűkse, cesaret ister” Victor Hugo’nun bir sőzűdűr. Yalan kelimesini gerçek dışı, olayı olduğundan başka sőylemektir. “Yalan sőyleyip yűkselmektense, doğruyu konuşup kűçűlmeyi tecih ederim” demiş Hz Ali. Işini yolunda sűrdűremeyenler, işini kaybetmek korkusundan, beceriksizlikten utanan, kişi kendisini olduğundan farklı gősterip, beğendirmek için yalan sőyleyebiliyor.

lâflar, ‘kalp kazanıldık’tan sonra da çekip gidilebiliyor.

Iş yapanlar, Műhendis, Műtehait işbirliğinde arsa űzerine yapılacak binaya gerekli malzeme kullanıyorsa ev sağlam yapılmış oluyor. Yoksa temeli eksik; kum, kireç, çimento, tuğla, demirden kaçınılmışa işaat çőkecektir. Gűndemini yalan, yanlış haberler yaparak dolduran televizyon, radyo, gazetenin yayını kapatılır.

Yalancı siyasetçi, yol, su, elektrik, vergiye zam getirIlk defa ev ődevini yapamamış őğrenci, őğretmenin mek sureti ile seçmenine kazık atabilir. Dűzgűn olangőzűne girebilmek için; ‘őğretmenim, ődevimi evde sa, çok çalıştığı halde kendini ispatlayamıyorsa ismi unuttum. Izin verirseniz, bir soruyu sınıf őnűnde ce- silinecek. Mustafa Kemal, Atatűrk bu konuyu ile alkali vaplayabilir miyim?’ diyerek zekâsını kullanıyor. bir soz söylemiştir; “Tűrk Milleti, asildir, çalışkandır” Yalan sőyleyip işini yapabilmiş çocuk, bunu alışkan- deyişi ile halk’a, dűrűst olup, dűzgűn çalışabime motilığa dőnűştűrebilir. Yalancı, yalanı alışkanlık duru- vasyonu vermiştir. muna getirmişse; herhalde bunu sürekli hayatında kullanacaktır. Kendisini ifade etmekte, işinde, evinde Ayni zamanda, “Aramızda hainler de olacaktır” sőzű yaşadığı alana taşıyacaktır. Onunla konuşmanızdan; ile de işbirlikçi gőrűnűp, bozgunculara da dikkat ediliyi, etkileyici, ikna kabiliyeti yűksek, inandırıcı sőzleri mesi gereğine dikkat ediniz demiş.

Gőrűp bildiklerinizin yerine, başkaları çıkıp gőzbağile sizi kendisine bağlamış buluyorsunuz. cılığı, sihirbazlık yaparcasına bildiğiniz doğruların Okul çağındaki gençler, yaşlarına uygun diğer kimseler aksine yanlış talimatlar verip fikrinizi değiştirebilir. ile arkadaşdır. Yűrűdűğű yolda arkadaşı ile karşılaşır, Başınıza çeşitli dertler açabilir. Arkadaşınız gelip size, selâmlaşıp oyun bahçsinde vakit geçirir... Genç de- bu bakkal iş yapmaz. Bakkalı kapat, bir tekne alıp delikanlı, genç kız belli dőnemler geçiriyor. Bulûğ çağın- nize açılalım. Yapar mısınız? Neden yapmalısınız? dakiler; yűzű sivilceli, şişman, bakımsız olabiliyor. Deniz, gűneş, kum şahane! Ikna edici değil mi? YaparOnlar, çevrenin bakışı, dűşűnűlmeden sőylenmiş ső- sınız, eğlenceli zaman da geçirirsiniz ama beş kuruşzlerden aşağılık hissine kapılıyor. Kolayca elde etmek suz kalınca, balıkçı mı olursunuz? tekneyi mi sataristenildiklerini fark etseler de ‘zaten çirkinim, beni sınız? Iyi gűn dostu arkadaşınızı mı yollatırsınız? kimse beğenmez’ duygusu benliğine hakim olduğun- Yalan oluduğunu bilerek ısrar etmek, yalana pirim dan, erken yaşlarda uygunsuz iletişimlerden pay vermek kadar kőtűdűr. alır. Hayatı pahasına, geleceğini kőreltebilir. Bűyűk ağabi, ablalar gençliklerinde yeni duygulara açık, de- Şahsiyetli olup onuruna dokunacağını bilenler; neyimlere kapılıyor. Kűçűk beyaz yalanlar sőylerbilir- zehirli yılandan uzak durmak istercesine ‘yalan’dan ler mesela. İltifatlar ile yola çıkarak, “Seni seviyorum, soyutlanmıştır. Yalandan kim őlműş? Diyenler ise seni Anne, babandan isteyeceğim, evleneceğiz.” gibi ‘sőylediklerine bilerek inandım, yoksa sana kanmavaatler... mizacı dűzgűn kimseler, doğru sőyleyerek zdım,’ der. ‘Çűnkű seni sevdim. Sevmekle başladığım hayat hikâyemi yarım bırakmak istemedim.’Yalanla sevdiğini kazanabiliyor. hayatını sűrdűrebilecekler yarınına bir daha uyanaYa yalancı insan ise, “bakınca gőzlerinde denizi bilecek mi? Bilçlenmeli, doğruya, ődűl vermek lâzım. gőrűyorum, selvi boylu, gűl yűzlűm, bal dudaklım” gibi Yalana ceza vardır.

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KADİM DOST K

OYA K ANBUR

apımızı, mahallenin çocukları çaldı. Içlerinden birisi yavru kediyi gősterdi. ”Evsiz, almak istermisiniz”? Ben yok dedim, bizde kedi var. Oğlum, alalım, diğeri ile arkadaş olsun. Kediyi alıp içeriye saldı. Kara tűylű yaratık, kűçűk patileri ile sallanarak yanımda durdu, bana baktı.Ben de ona baktım. Kara kendinin, yeşil gőzlerinin içindeki ince damarlar kızarmış, Gőbeği, kűçűk bedeninden dışarıya doğru fırlamış. Űrkek hali ile ődűn vermeden içeriye yűrűdű. Ben kediye iki hafta yűz vermedim.

Evin içinde dolaşan bu yaratığa bakmak lâzımdı. Ona, su ile yemek verdim. Karnı doyunca bir kenarda kıvrılıp uyudu. Sessiz sakindi. Gűnlerinden sonra, kızım onu kucağına sevmek için aldı.

Karnında ceviz bűyűklűğűnde bir beze varmış dedi. Gecikmeden Veterinere gőtűrdűk. Sekreter kedinin isim kartına, ‘Coco’ yazmış. Getirmiş olduğumuz bu vesile ile bebekleri olmasını istemiyorsak; ayni zamanda kısırlaştırılabilineceğini sőyleyip imza yetkisi alındı. Gereken yapılmış geceyi bakım altında geçirmişti. Ertesi akşama onu alıp eve getirdik. Arabadan inmeden őnce ben, onu kedi kutusundan çıkardım.

Kucağıma alıp, Karnına baktım, karın bőlgesindeki tűyleri tıraşlanmış ameliyatlı yeri dikişlenmişti. Kollarımda rahatlamış vaziyette sağa sola zıpladı. İçeriye girince onu yere bıraktım. Eve dőnűşűne sevinmiş, yerinde duramıyor bir odadan diğerine geçip, bakınıyordu. Ona kendim bir isim takmak istedim; ‘Gucci’, ona uğur getirsin dileyerek isimlendirdim. O gűnden sonra, Gucci, benim çocuğum gibi oldu. Ona baktım, sevdim, korudum. Evimizdeki erkek kedi ‘Kandi’ ile kızımız Gucci birbirleri ile iyi geçiniyor. Ranzada yanyana, oturuyorlar. Evin içinde beraber koşuyorlar.

Gucci, bazen

Kandy’nin tűyletini yalayarak temizledi. Kandy de izin verirdi. Bu hareketi ile iyi arkadaş olduklarını anlayabiliyordum. Eve yavru bir kőpek de alındı. Kediler, kőpek ile yanyana duramadı. Saklambaç oynuyor gibi yerden yere kaçıp saklanıyorlardı. Gucci, uyku saatlerinde, benim yatağımın űzerinde yatardı. Ya da, yatak başlığına basarak, giysi dolabının tepesine zıplardı.

Uyandığında, etrafı gőzetler, hedeflediği açık yere doğru atlardı. Pencere kenarlarında oturup dışarıya bakmayı çok severdi. Karnını doyurmak için gittiği, yemek kabının yerini bildiği gibi, tuvaleti için de topraklı evine giderdi.Tatile gideceksek, hazırlığımızı anlar, valizi koklar, içine girer, etrafında dolaşır miyavlayıp da anlamlı yűzűme bakıp, beni bırakıp gidiyor musunuz? Gitmemi istemiyor, engel olmak istercesine ayaklarıma yatardı.

Dőnűşűműzde ise bir iki çalım atar, sonra da annesinin eve gelişini kutladı.Gucci, bu sene hastalandı. Kustu, ishal oldu. Yanağına baseball kadar apse çıktı. Bir ay őnce, ameliyat geçirdi.

Iyileşmek yerine, kőtűleşti. Nefes alıp verirken yorgundu. Karnı şişti. İştahlı yemek yedi de, aç da kaldı. Yeni bir umutla veterinere gittik. Acil, çekap, skan tekrar bir ameliyat yapılmış. Sidik torbasının içi, dışı iltihapla sarılmış. Çiş torbasının, hayatı őnemi çok bűyűk. Veteriner, doktor bizi her aşama bilgilendi. Kedi çok acı çekmiş.

Bu durumda en doğru karar Gucci’yi uyutmakmış. Zor, kabul etmek, uyutulmasına İzin vermek, ne kadar gűç olsa da onun için uygun bu.Son nefesini verip, bir daha alamamįş, ruhunu huzur içinde teslim etmiş.

Az őncesine, İşaret olarak, etrafımızda renkli bir kelebek uçuştu. “Anne, ben iyi yerdeyim” demiş.

Gucci, bana sadık, on bir sene iyi evlât oldu.

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SON BAHAR’A MERHABA

-MODA -

Lila rengini bu sezon tüm vitrinlerde görüyoruz.

Çok sıcak canlı bir renk olan lila göz alıcı bir ton. Lila rengini kombinlerken zıt renklerle kombinlemek daha çok göze hitab eder.

AS L I B E D I R

Desen Desen seçtiğiniz kıyafetlerinizde kesinlikle diğer seçtiğiniz parçalar düz renk olmalıdır. Düz renk seçtiğiniz parçalar arasinda ton geçişleriyle hoş bir görüntü oluşturursunuz.

Lila ve sarı Çok uyumludur olan iki renk. Lila kıyafetinizin tamamlayıcısı olar ak mutlaka sarı ayakkabı ve aksesuarlar tercih edin.

Takı, Toka, Oje

Lila rengi takı, toka, oje, fular, eşarp, şal çantalarda rastlamak mümkündür.

Lila rengi kombimleyebilceğiniz renkler.:sarı, mor, Yavruağzı, toprak tonları, vizon, beyaz, siyah pudra pembe ve lilanın tonları. Lila rengi kiyafetinizin altina vizon, bej, nude, gri renklerde ayakkabı Nişan, söz, kına seçerseniz sizi daha uzun boylu Davetlerde lila yi tercih edecekseniz lila elbisenizi yine lila’nın tonu olan ayakkabı gosterir. ve aksesuarlarla zenginleştirip hoş bir makyajla tamamlarsanız gecenin yıldızı siz olursunuz.

Gündelik

Gün içinde tercihiniz sade ve şık olmak ise lila rengini ekru, vizon, toprak tonlari, beyaz ve pudra ile kombinleyebilirsiniz.

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şiiR L E R OYA KA NBUR

Yi ne de n Yeni bir kitap lâzım.

Eski defteri kapattım.

Yeniden başlayacağım.

Kar kadar soğuk.

O kadar da yumuşak, pamuklar űzerine, yeniden doğacağım.

Dűnya’ya gelişimi ilk, ben kutlayacağım.

Emekleyip, ayağa kalkışım, Őğrenecelerim ile hayatı, yakalayacağım.

Bir ben gibi ben, gelmemiş.

Dűnya yűzűme dűşse, ben ona bakmayacağım.

Aşk’tan içim titrese, susuz kalmış çiçek gibi solsam bile, sevmeyeceğim kimseleri.

Beylerbeyi, kőlelik bitti.

Bundan bőyle, Bőyle.

Yeni kitabım bana ait.

Isim, Ben. Doğum yeri, Dűnya.

Yeniden doğacağım.

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OYA KA N BUR

Kűşkűn Bu gűn kaderime kűskűnűm.

Beni yazmış kalemi kırdım.

Kendime kırgınım.

Gőnűl gőzűmle baktıkça; Kőr, badem gőzlű.

Deli, Adem dostu değilmiş.

Insanoğlu, hainmiş.

Hatır saymaz, iyilik bilmez, Ben, kendimi sersefil etmişim.

Kaderim en vazgeçilmezim, Yalnızlığım, bana ait oluşum.

Zorladıkça, kendimden gőçműşűm.

Oysa, kendimdeymiş.Varlığım, yokluğum.

Kűskűnlűğűm; zorla zorlayarak, gűzellik gőrecekmişsem!

Kendim yerine, başkaları, başkalarını koymuşum.

Bundan sonra, bitmiş geçmiş.

Geçmişi siliyorum.

Almışım başımı gidiyorum.

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OYA KA NBUR

Zű mrű t Gőzlűm Bu sefer de, sen gittin be gűlűm.

Hayır, gidişine kızmadım.

Dőnűş yolu, olmadığına űzgűnűm.

Yeşili senin ile sevdim.

Ormanın, dehası gőzlerindeydi.

Kőműr kadar karanlık; Siyahlığın matemini, unutturdun.

Zűmrűt, elmas, değerlimdin.

Ben, sana koşulsuz inandım.

Sen de bana, őyle baktın.

Aramızda, gőrűlmez bağlar.

Konuşamadan, anlattın.

Beni, al gőtűr beraberinde.

Sonuna kadar, gitseydik.

Son, bu gűn sana yazılmış.

Senin, acını gőrmek varmış.

Ama, bana kűsme.

Sana bakamazsam, gőzlerim, gőrmez dűnya’yı.

Kader mi? kısmetsizlik mi?

Bardağın boşalmış.

Boş bardakları, kırasım gelir.

Hatırlıyorum, cesurca koşarak ilk bana, sen gelirdin.

Kűçűk şey, kalbimi yaktın.

Gűlűm, kűlűm de sen.

Toprakla sulanırsın.

Zűmrűtűm, veda zamanı.

Bir el sallayış, hak helalliği.

Sakın dert etme.

Sonuna kadar, beraberiz.

Anmadan seni, geçemem.

Dualarımdaki, diğer sevdiklerimlesin.

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OYA KA N BUR

SON çiZGi Canım, canın kadar sevdiğine; yani bana, attığın o son çizik iyileşti.

Canım, canım gene yanabilirdi.

Yanımdaydın, sağımda, solumda.

Ama dokunmadın, çűnkű uzaklardasın.

Sadece ben, seni dűşlűyorum.

Bana gelişin, yılların alışkanlığı.

Sen, son çizginin őtesindesin.

Geride kalanlar, gidişinin farkında.

Feryadım, kulağına gelir de, űzűlűrsűn.

Ismini, her çağrışımda bana koşardın.

Neşem, kederime ortaktın.

Anlıyormuş gibi, hep bakardın.

Sen, oralarda sakın hiç korkma, Kızıl saçlı, Badegűl de yanında.

Kızıl saçlı, dokuz yıllık kıdemli.

Badegűl, iki buçuk senelik.

Sen űç gűnlűk, yenisin.

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WWW.DAAMI.CO.UK

- YEMEK -

ş

EF KUBRA ELBESIK

Kramalı Patates Hellim Peynire Sarılı Antrikot 120 gr patates 12 gr krema(tikveşli) 10 gr kaşar 2 gr beyaz biber 2 gr tuz 2 gr biberiye 2 gr sebze çeşni 10 gr kaşar

Yapılışı Ince ince yarım ay doğranan patateslere biberiye beyaz biber sebze çeşni tuz ilave edip harmanlanır.

Borcama boşluk kalmayacak şekilde elimizin yardımı ile sıkıştıralım. Özellikle köşe kısımlarının doluluğunun eşit olmasına özen gösterin. 170 derece 15 dk fırında pişirelim. Süresi bittiğinde kontrol ederek ilave dk gerekirse verilir. Fırından çıkan patatesleri üzerine rendelenmiş kaşarı her yerine serpiştirelim. 160 derece 5 dk kaşarlar eriyene denk Fırınlayalım (kaşarlar kızarmadan çıkartalım) Fırından çıkan kremalı patatesi bıçakla kesip istediğimiz şekli verelim.

Hellim peynir 40 gr Antrikot 180 gr Soya 150 gr Su 100 gr Kekik 5 gr Demi glace sos 40 gr Krema 25 gr

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Yapılışı Hellim peyniri 40gr gram kesilir. Antrikot hellim Peynire sarılır.

Soya, su kaynatılır.

Bir tutam Kekik atılır.

Antrikot un üzerine verilir. 170 derece 1 saat pişer Knorr ‘un demi glace sosu ile servis edilir.

RUKIYE

Kadınbudu Köfte Trakya mutfağının önde gelen yemeklerinden biri olan Kadınbudu Köftesi, Saray mutfağı zamanlarına dayanmaktadır. 18. Ve 19. Yy.da Kadınbudu Köfte adı ‘mücmer’ olarak bilinirdi. Buna karşılık ev mutfaklarında yapımı da oldukça yaygındır. Özellikle evde artan pilav

MALZEMELER :

malzemesi değerlendirilirken akla ilk gelen pratik yol kadınbudu köftede kullanılmasıdır. Nefaseti, yumuşacık dokusu ve ağır olmayan bir köfte çeşidimizdir.

Orta bir porsiyonunda 160-170 gr Kadınbudu Köftesinde 400 kcal kalori vardır.

Alerjen besin içermektedir : yumurta.

•180 Gr Dana Kıyması YAPİLİSİ : •20 Gr Pirinç (2 Çorba Kaşığı) Pirinçler yıkanır, yarı haşlanıp süzülür. Çok küçük •10 Gr Maydanoz doğranmış olan soğan ve sarımsakları kahverengileş(6-7 Dal) •1 adet küçük boy kuru meden az yağda kavurun. Kıymayı 2 eşit parçaya bölüp ve yarısını da soğanlara ekleyin ve birlikte kavurmaya soğan devam. Kavrulan kıymayı soğumaya bırakın. Kıymanın •1 diş sarımsak diğer yarısına yarı haşlanmış pirinç, küçük doğranmış •1 Yumurta maydanozu, tuz ve karabiberi (isteğe bağlı bir tutam veya •1 Yumurta Beyazı daha az kimyonda ekleyebilirsiniz) ekleyip yoğurun. Ka•40 Gr Ayçiçek Yağı vrulan kıymayı da ekleyip karıştıralım.

(4 Çorba Kaşığı) Yumurtaları bir kapta çırpalım. Köfte harcından irice bir •Bir Tutam Karabiber (Zevkinize Göre Arttıra- ceviz büyüklüğünde parçalar kopartın ve avuç içinizde bastırarak yassı köfteler hazırlayın. Şekil verdiğimiz bilir Veya Azaltabilirsinköfteleri önce una sonra yumurtaya bulayıp sonra kızgın iz) yağda ters yüz ederek kızartın.

Yanında isteğe göre patates püresi veya sarımsaklı veya sarımsaksız süzme yoğurt ile servis.

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E KARA

Kabak Tatlısı Yine Trakya bölgesinde meşhur olan ve en çok tüketilen tatlılardan biri olan kabak tatlısı sağlık açısından birçok faydası bulunmaktadır. Bol lifli bir meyvedir ve bunun yanı sıra bol miktarda; Kalsiyum, sodyum, fosfor, potasyum ve demir bulundurur. Balkan köylerinde kavun dilimleri şeklinde dilimlenip siniye dizilen kabaklar üzerine şeker serpiştirilerek peçkada ( sobada ) pişirilir ki bu yöreye has bir özellik taşır.

Porsiyonuna göre 160 ile 200 kcal kalori olan tatlımız diğer şerbetli tatlılar göre kalorisi en düşük tatlılardan biridir.

Alerjen besin içermektedir : tahin, ceviz, kaymak.

YAPİLİSİ : Balkabağını kavun diliminden biraz daha büyük olacak şekilde dilimleyin (10cm), ortasındaki lifli ve çekirdekli kısmı iyice temizleyin. Dilimlenen kabakların dış kabuklarını yeşil ve sert hiç bir yeri kalmayacak şekilde soyun. Ayıklanmış kabakları yıkayı, geniş tabanlı bir tencereye yerleştirin ve biraz aralıklı kalmasına özen gösterin. Üzerine önce suyunu sonra şekerini ekleyip tencerenin kapağını kapatarak kısık ateşte pişirmeye bırakın. Şurup koyulaşıp köpürmeye başlayınca ocaktan alın. Soğumaya bırakın. O sıra ceviz içlerini kırın veya kırılmış cevizde temin edebilir misiniz, isteğinize göre ceviz içi toz da kullanabilirsiniz. Soğumuş olan kabakların birkaçının üzerlerine tahin gezdirip üzerine ceviz, bir kısmının üzerine de kaymak veya dileğidiniz dondurmayı koyarak NEWS MAGAZINE 63 servis edebilirsiniz.

Malzemeler :

•1 Kg Balkabağı •200 gr Ceviz İçi •250 gr Su •400 gr Şeker •Kaymak •Tahin

THE HALL NEWS SEPTEMBER 2020 CREDITS

The Hall E-News Magazine has made a constant care to make sure that content is accurate on the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily are the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials and all other content is published in a good faith. The Hall E-News Magazine cannot guarantee and accepts no liability for any loss or damage of any kind caused by this website and errors and for the accuracy of claims made by the advertisers.

All rights reserved and nothing can be partially or in whole be reprinted or reproduced without a written consent.

EDITOR-IN-CHEIF & DIGITAL DESIGNER ESRA KANBUR WRITERS OSMAN KOMURCU ELIANE DE SOUZA NADIA LAZA DOINA GAVRILOV KUBRA ELBESIK MEGHAN REINHADT* Dr. Anjani Kumar rukiye kara OYA KANBUR CAGRI EKIM * AREEJ DALI TAHIR MOLA* emma OLSEN* ASLI BEDIR OSCAR KEEN* CRISTINA EKSIOGLU

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