Athena

BOOK TO SCREEN

DESIGNERS WE LOVE

Social Media VS Reality

FROM THE ATHENA TEAM

Here it is, issue two of Athena! We have been working hard since the successful launch in spring, and are excited to show you our new issue! A second cocktail, book recommendations and Met Gala looks are all to come in the following pages, as well as a look at influential fashion designers and the effects of microediting social media pictures. We appreciate the love you showed our first issue, and we hope you love this one just as much, or maybe even more...

MEET THE

Loves: Summer, Eating Out & Tv Series

Loves: Coffee, H&M & Italian Food

Loves: Harry Styles, Plants & Books

Loves: Tea, Music & Animals

Loves: Fashion, Beauty & Travel

MADELEINE

Loves: Music, Art & Formula One

NATASIA

Loves: Gaming, Tennis & Music

CONTENTS CONTENTS

CONTENTS CONTENTS

LOVES

New Look, £32.99 Blue Floral Satin Cowl Neck Midi Slip Dress

SEOL+ GOLD, £39.99 White Daisy Flower Tiny Hoops

Oliver Bonas, £26 Heart Shape Sunglasses

New Look, £37.99 Bright Pink Strappy Heel Sandals

Primark, £4 Pink Canvas Bucket Hat

New Look, £25 Scoop Neck Top, £15.99 High Leg Bottoms, £9.99

Tk Maxx, £24.99 Mushroom Lamp

Oliver Bonas, £59.50 Paddie Paper Wave Slouch Tote

Tan-Luxe, £36 The Face Drops

Oliver Bonas, £6.50 Aster Diffuser Vase

CONNECT WITH US!

Keep up with your daily dose of Athena content on our socials @athenamag_

Which Bridgerton character are you?

Have you ever wondered which Bridgerton character you are most like? You can find out right now! Follow these simple questions to find the answer. Will you be Daphne, Kate, Simon or... one of the other characeters?

Start SarcaStic or Sincere?

read a book or go for a horSe ride?

book

dogS or catS?

kate Sharma

eloiSe

bridgerton

Speak your mind or wait your turn?

sarcastic sincere ride dogs cats breaker

watchafight speak your mind

enjoy afternoon tea or watch a fight?

afternoon tea

wait your turn secret teller

Secret keeper or Secret teller?

keepersecret

daphne

bridgerton

rule abider or rule breaker?

penelope

featherington

anthony

bridgerton

daPhne Bridgerton

Daphne is an extremely kind-hearted person who dedicates herself to her family. She strives to uphold tradition and go out of her way to help others. Though she is both polite and well-mannered, that doesn’t stop her from speaking her mind.

kate sharma

Kate is a confident, witty, and protective person. Thanks to her incredible sharp humour, she always knows what to say. Even though she can sometimes get certain situations slightly wrong, she has a kind heart and beneath all of the armour, is a sweet and loving person.

anthony Bridgerton

Anthony Bridgerton is a loyal, trustworthy and the ultimate rule abider! He can sometimes appear to be coldhearted and closed off but, deep down he is anything but that. He is constantly being haunted by his past and has a lot resting on his shoulders but, when with the right person these lift.

simon Basset

Simon is a well-rounded, selfsufficient person who works hard for what he wants and never gives up although, he also has high standards, and tends to be a bit stubborn. Sometimes he is ruled by his emotions and acts before he thinks, which sometimes gets him into trouble.

PeneloPe featherington

To the average eye, Penelope is an absolute sweetheart. She appears shy and loving towards her friends and family but, she is not exactly that. Yes, she does have a kind side, but she can also be devious and betray those that she loves.

eloise Bridgerton

Eliose is smart, analytical, and loves to learn new things, no matter the challenge. The word “no” does not come into her vocabulary and nothing stops her doing what she wants to do. She is feisty, independent, and makes decisions with her head instead of her heart although, is not afraid of taking risks.

Rainbow Food Challenge

We’ve all tried those TikTok viral challenges such as the Tortilla challenge. I personally can tell you it’s harder than you think! Others include, the Don’t Rush challenge which has generated over 1.2 billion views and the Cha-Cha Slide challenge. However, I came across a food challenge about rainbow food and I thought why not give this a go? So here is how it went when I ate a different coloured food or meal for five days!

Monday Red

To kick this challenge off I decided to go with a classic Italian dish - sausage ragu with a homemade sauce. The rich sauce consists of red wine, passata, tomato puree, garlic puree, Italian herbs and of course apple sausages and tagliatelle. This is a ten out of ten for sure.

Yellow

Tuesday

Today’s meal is a firm favourite, the Quiche. This can be eaten hot or cold and can be filled with whatever you feel like really - broccoli, asparagus, cheese, ham. This concoction in particular is a classic Quiche Lorraine served with a bit of a salad, potato salad, couscous on the side and potato bites.

Words by Chloe Boulton

Pasta is one of the main dishes in my house, we eat a lot of it. This one can be made in under 20 minutes.

Spinach, even though you might think this is an odd choice to put in pasta, you will not be disappointed! Mixed with white wine, crème fraiche and pancetta, a beautiful food sensation.

Blue

Thursday

Pancakes. It’s like a buffet of toppings. You can have whatever you want with them, I like many things, banana and Nutella (sounds questionable but trust me it’s brilliant) or classic sugar and lemon. But I love them with Greek yoghurt, strawberries, and blueberries, especially if the pancakes are American style, drizzled with a bit of honey, delicious.

To conclude this challenge, it was difficult but inventive. I found it hard to think of different meals for each day when you don’t really think about that sort of thing, you just eat whatever you can find in the fridge. I would give this challenge a go with your friends or see this as a way of getting to cook and try new recipes.

Violet – Friday

Friday

The simple traybake is a throw all the vegetables together with your meat or meat -free choice served with a warm sauce, it’s delicious. Personally, I love to add some onions, peppers, and carrots as well. To top it off, you can add a warmed up crunchy baguette and share with everyone.

The TikTok cake trend tested

by Megan Wilkins

TikTok is a place where you can watch a tutorial for anything. you may have heard of the tiktok cake? if not, you have come to the right place.

Find out what happens when Athena's Megan Wilkins, takes on the challenge of making the famous TIKTOK CAKE!

Trying my best to ice the cake

Just about everybody who has TikTok knows how addictive the platform can be. One second you have taken a seat on your bed and it is still light outside, the next streetlamps are on and you have done nothing but scroll through pointless videos for two hours. It has its own time zone, I swear!

The thing is with TikTok, it always gives you exactly what you want to see. A cute video of a Capybara dancing? YES. A video about how to fold clothes for your suitcase so that you get the maximum space possible? YES. A ‘what I eat in a day in New York’ video even though you have never been or are not planning on going any time soon? YES. Whatever it is that it does, it sucks you in to watching a bunch of random 30-second clips for no reason at all.

One of my biggest obsessions on the app is baking. I just love to watch videos of people creating what look like the yummiest sweet treats and saving them for later, knowing that I will never be bothered to even attempt to bake them in the real world.

If you are on the baking side of the app like me, then you will have scrolled through thousands of videos of bakers perfecting their version of the ‘TikTok cake’. Typically, the cake is either round or heart shaped, has a colourful base colour and is decorated in the exact way that Belle’s iconic yellow dress is designed in Beauty and the Beast. Honestly, they look exactly like the type of cake that would be a centre piece at an animated Disney wedding, drapes and all.

In TikTok, they all look insanely beautiful. Every single tutorial on how to make this perfect cake looks exactly that… perfect. Unfortunately, not everyone is a five-star baker. I for one, am certainly not, and if I am to take a wild guess, I would say that 99% of TikTok users are also not. On the other hand, I am also up for a challenge and, perhaps I am wrong. Maybe this cake is the easiest thing to bake in the world. Maybe, I will be whipping one of these up for every event I go to for the next 18 months. So, I decided to seize the day and

see if these cakes really are as easy, delicious and as Instagramworthy as the app makes out.

Unfortunately, when I first decided to pursue this idea, I envisioned the decorating part but not the actual baking part. I would not say that I am an awful baker, but I would also not say that I am a good one. I can make cookies but not meringues, and scones but not brownies. It really is a 50/50 chance for me. Either my family will receive a really nice treat for pudding, or, I will have already thrown it in the bin with despair.

When making this cake, I decided to go simple… a Victoria sponge. Nothing could go wrong with this, surely? Wrong. The cake mixture was easy enough, equal quantities of everything apart from eggs and baking powder. It seemed to be working well. The actual mixture was a success, but it was the baking that did not go so easily. The first two layers, fine. The third was not the same. I do not know what happened! For some unknown reason, when I tipped the cake onto the cooling rack alongside the other two, it oozed a yellow liquid. Raw cake mixture. After a few seconds of re-evaluating my decision to start this in the first place, I decided to pop it back into the oven for a few more minutes. All is fine. No.

I forgot to set a timer. TWENTY MINUTES went by and out came a singed cake with a large crater in the middle where the seeped cake mixture used to be.

At this point, I was not impressed but decided to power through. I let the three layers cool, yes three, and prepared the icing. Having too many icing colours would be too much for me to handle. Trying to separate one butter icing mixture into five bowls with five different colours would have been an avalanche of icing sugar waiting to happen. So, I made the decision to stick to two main colours. Pink and blue… very Athena!

The same thing happened with the icing. I mixed a load of normal icing, and it tasted amazing. Then, I split the mixture into two bowls and added the colours. Why, oh why, did the blue turn out amazingly fluffy, light and delicious whereas the pink, turned out lumpy, sticky and crunchy? Don’t answer that please. I do know. For some reason, I added a tiny bit of water, as I did not have any milk, to make the mixture a bit thinner. When I say a bit, the tap was on for a little bit too long and from that point on, the pink icing was never the same again, no matter how long that I mixed it for.

Once the cakes had cooled down, I decided to put the layers together and as luck has it, that the third layer I had baked was just about thick enough to split in half and chop off the burnt bit. Thank goodness! I laid the layers on a plate and started to piece it together with jam. As I added one on top of another, they started to slide. Remembering the TikTok hack that I had seen before, out came the skewers and, I placed three in the centre to hold it up. It worked a treat. Great success!

Onto the icing. Now this is the bit that I guess you have all been waiting for. I got a spatula at the ready and made my first attempt at putting a full layer of blue icing onto the cake. After seeing all of these TikTok videos and watching them put a crumb coat onto the cake every time, why did I think I would be able to get away with only putting one layer on it? I was

wrong. The first layer did not go so well, and you could definitely see gaps of cake through it. Luckily, I plastered a thick, and I repeat… thick, layer of more blue icing on top of it and it worked wonders! After I had gone over it about 300 times to make sure that there were no holes, I was done, and if I say so myself, it looked pretty good. Voila! If only that was the end.

Onto the pink icing. I knew from the crackled sight of it that this was going to be a failure and I should have known better. Nonetheless, I filled up an icing bag with the pink gloop and started to pipe around the end of the top of the cake. This was a mistake. As soon as I had piped the first two swirls, it started to run. This was where I started to panic “fridge? Noooo. Ahhh. WHAT DO I DO? Help. Help me!!!!!” I screamed. Looking back at it, this was hilarious, but at the time, I did not see the funny side. After a few more seconds of panic, I decided that I was a strong independent woman and would carry on regardless. Once I had piped around the top of the cake, I realised that I definitely was panicking. It did not run too much and actually looked fine. Not like the ones on TikTok but still, fine.

At this point, I was over this activity and did not really want to carry on but, I was in it for the Athena team! To finish it off, I decided to mix both of the icing colours so that it had more chance of survival. This turned out to be, not really a purple but, a grey-ish blue. Rolling with it anyway, along the side I piped a draping line and around it, tiny polka dots. It did not look too bad. Using the same tiny nozzle, and practising on a bit of kitchen roll first, I wrote the word ‘Athena’ slightly off to the left. Deliberately, obviously. Just to balance out the wonky-ness, I placed a cute little heart under the ‘A’.

Overall, the cake did not turn out too badly and it also did not taste too bad. The actual cake was a tad dry but the raspberry jam really helped there. Seeing as I wasn’t following an actual TikTok recipe for the baking, I am going to ignore this. Plus, everyone that tried it said that it tasted good! I do not know if they were just being nice but, I’ll take it. The icing. I am not sure if I am ready to come to terms with. It 110% did not look like the one of the videos that I have seen on my TikTok but, it was not exactly a fail. In its own way, it was cute. A different kind of cute but still cute. I have to say though, that it is not as easy as it looks on TikTok. I will not be trying any of these TikTok trends again any time soon.

So, dear Channel 4, this is my application to join the next season of the Great British Bake-off. Watch out Paul Hollywood and Alison Hammond, I’m coming your way. Trust me, it will make great viewing figures.

The finished Athena cake

The slow process

BOOK TO BOOK TO

By Madeleine Grice Woods

“The book was better.” Hands up if you’ve heard this comment from an avid book reader whilst watching a book-to-screen adaptation. Yes, it’s true that some of the classic books that were made into films do not compare to the original source. Adaptations are tricky to master as they must reach the readers’ expectations creating a world we can only imagine in our minds. Translating this to the screen can cheapen the experience and the power of the words on the page. However, this does not deter production companies from giving it a shot, with the latest book-toscreen adaptation exciting fans across the world. You may have read the best-selling novel It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. You cried, laughed, smiled, and maybe felt left wanting more. Well, get ready because your prayers have been answered! After fans took to social media to share their love for the sensational novel, it was announced a few months later that a film adaptation is officially in the works.

A remarkable all-star cast is lined up, including Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively playing the lead, Lily Bloom, and Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni, who is not only cast as Ryle Kincaid but is also directing the movie. Filled with complex romances, challenging relationships, secrets, and gut-wrenching plot twists, it’s set to be an unmissable film, though the filming hasn’t begun yet and there is no release date set, so we can only expect to see it on the big screens in 2024, at the earliest. To fill the time, we’ve rounded up five of the greatest movies and TV series adaptations that we believe are just as good as the original book, if not better.

Greta Gerwig’s rendition of this captivating novel offers a fresh and whimsical aspect to the reflections of the March sisters. Masterfully creating a world of romance and female empowerment, Gerwig ensures the movie steps into a chaos of overlapping personalities whilst teling a reconstructed version of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved book. Including all the iconic moments (a near-death experience, unrequited love, and a curling wand misfortune), this movie introduces a more modern tone to the story, whilst portraying the characters in a way that the audience can relate to and understand. If you don’t like this movie, I don’t think we can be friends.

The best way to describe this TV series is that it will leave you feeling sad and horny. Filled with stolen glances, pained silences, and some spicy scenes, Hulu’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People will mess with your emotions and tear at your heartstrings. However, it is about far more than just sex and heartbreak. From two different backgrounds, Marianne and Connell unexpectedly find an intimate connection with one another. Although, due to a lack of communication at critical moments, they find themselves weaving in and out of each other’s lives for four years. Despite their relationship changing over time, their connection remains unfeigned. This TV series feels real, it tells an honest story about life that many of us experience, reminding us of how vulnerable love is.

TO SCREEN TO SCREEN

In a world of Tinder, sliding into dm’s and complete ghosting, romance could never be the same as the allure of a Bridgerton love. The show’s regency-era take on dating is very different to what we do nowadays, but that’s part of the fun, right? The words in the book create a world of beauty, elegance, and regency perfection, but the tv series brings the whole thing to life. It’s as if the reader is sitting on their sofa in a ballroom, surrounded by beautiful gowns and flowers, awaiting a handsome duke to dance with. Introducing tasteful balls, troublesome courtships, influential families and not forgetting about some saucy scandals, the tv series can only be described as the new Downton Abbey. As well as a captivating storyline, watchers are presented with pop hits turned into classical compositions, with each adding a modern element separating the series from other period dramas. This tv show portrays the will-they-or-won’t-they forbidden romance at its best and is undoubtedly a must-watch.

It’s indisputable that this story is sweet but sad, with a beautiful ending. It’s a classic tale. The vague hostile, rich man falls in love with the bright and kind-natured, working-class woman. This film is nothing like the over-the-top, dramatic, and slightly overdone Hollywood romance movies. It tells the tale of an unconventional love story between two people from opposite classes and directions in life. This film is realistic, and touching, yet heartbreaking at the same time. We see a raw depiction of a physically and emotionally broken man (Will), alongside a similar version of Bridget Jones (Lou), who’s rather clumsy and bubbly, but most importantly helps Will to forget his limitations. Portraying a pure, boundless love and emphasising the importance of living life to the fullest, it’s one you’ll want to watch repeatedly! The ending of this movie is a tear-jerker. I won’t say if they’re happy or sad tears, but I can say there won’t be a dry eye in sight.

This film balances the act of telling a heartwarming story with beautiful cinematography perfectly. You won’t be able to look away whilst watching, with each scene aesthetically showing the simplicity of a lifestyle in the heart of an Italian summer and the romance between Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer). Rather than using basic long shots, director Luca Guadagnino embeds meaning through simplicity in every scene, using minimal shots of the surroundings. It’s as though the characters are going about their lives and we, the observers, are watching them pass by like strangers on a street. The layers and depth used within this movie, add to the intimacy between the characters and creates private and believable moments. What captures the watchers is the unflinching portrayal of first love, both the happiness and the authentically human heartbreak. If I could do anything for the first time again, it would be to watch this movie.

Designers we love: The Two Vs

The world of fashion lost two of its most powerful ‘V’s just over a year apart. The OffWhite and Vivienne Westwood founders both left behind some of the most memorable designs of their time, as well as legacies of their own. If it wasn’t for them, neither brand would have ever been created... imagine that.

By Lucy Swift

Virgil Abloh: A True Icon

“There is no limit. Life is so short that there is no time to be wasted subscribing to what someone thinks you can’t do versus what you know you can do.”

Artistic director for male Louis Vuitton and founder of Off-White,

No Limits

The specialist luxury goods brand LVMH paid tribute to him two days later in their Miami fashion show, directed by Virgil until his death, with the running theme of ‘Virgil was here.’ On the eve of his death, Saturday, 27th, he continued approving every detail for the show, his peers still clueless to his illness. The show’s purpose then switched to paying tribute to the creative mastermind, and ended with a recording of Virgil’s voice, “There is no limit. Life is so short that there is no time to be wasted subscribing to what someone thinks you can’t do versus what you know you can do.” Many items in this ‘Virgil was here’ collection have since been bought thousands of times over, proving how important the designer was to fashion lovers and how greatly they will be missed.

Controversies

To add to his list of successes, Abloh was the creative Director at Donda, Kanye West’s own brand, back in 2010. However, there were rumours that Ye [Kanye West] wasn’t all that kind to the designer, despite claiming they were best friends. “Keep Virgil’s name out your mouth,” Tremaine Emory, creative director of Supreme, posted after Ye had used Abloh’s death in a caption for a “Dying for validation and attention seeking” post on Instagram. It clearly upset true friends of the fashion mogul, as Emory continued “Tell people why you didn’t get invited to Virgil’s actual funeral”. With Gigi Hadid commenting beneath: “Finally! Everyone who knew Virgil knew Kanye did not treat him like a friend.”

Manofthepeople

To the surprise of some fashion fans, the late designer was also a talented DJ, performing in places as big as Coachella. It’s obvious he was skilled in many different areas. In 2020, he collaborated with Grammy Award winner Lupe Fiasco, to create a track called SHOES, based on the life and death of Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man who was killed while out jogging, and to “all black people murdered for living their lives.” Abloh supported those from a similar background to his own as much as possible throughout his life. In 2020, he had raised $1 million for his Post-Modern Scholarship Fund, which facilitated paid summer internships in different fashion companies and mentorship from industry leaders. He also collaborated with Nike in the Black Skate Program, aiming to elevate black talent in skateboarding. He contributed to healthcare in many ways, creating capsule collections supporting the likes of the American red Cross and the British Lung Foundation, before working with Equinox to raise money for Cycle for Survival, a movement to beat rare types of cancer. He will be missed by many in the fashion world, along with lots of friends and family, but he leaves behind a legacy that will inspire generations for decades.

Virgil Abloh died in late November 2021, leaving the millions of people who loved his designs in complete shock as they didn’t even know he had cancer. At 41, he died in his hometown of Chicago.

“Stop buying clothes. Why not protect this gift of life –I don’t take the attitude that destruction is inevitable. Some of us would like to stop it.”

Dame Vivienne Westwood was a highly respected English fashion designer, born in 1941, who sadly passed away in December 2022. She was rated fourth most influential artist in Britain of the last 50 years by Sky Arts just a few months before she died, an achievement that highlights the mark she made in the fashion industry.

Vivienne died in Clapham in London, aged 81, with her family around her. A representative said she continued to make art and doing everything she loved until her last moments. Clearly, the Vivienne Westwood brand was at the forefront of her mind even in her last days, as Andreas Kronthaler, Vivienne’s husband, and creative partner, said “We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with.”

Punk roots

Known now as the ‘Queen of British Fashion’, the English designer started off as self-taught, with no formal fashion training. She learnt by taking apart second-hand clothes she would buy from markets, cutting them up and re-constructing them. The unique style she developed stayed with her even when she was one of the most well-known designers around, as she never lost touch of her authenticity and ‘punk’ inspiration. Some pieces even caused controversy through her career, but that never phased her. Never disappointing, many of her collections shocked everyone in the world of fashion, from early on in her career. In 1987, her Statue of Liberty corset was labelled as starting the ‘underwear as outerwear’ clothing trend, one which is still around today, showing how groundbreaking her ideas have always been.

Royalendorsement

The strong-minded designer always had an activist streak in her. She was once on Tatler’s cover dressed as Margaret Thatcher, in a suit ordered by the Prime Minister herself, (which she later cancelled) with a caption reading ‘This woman was once a punk.” When receiving an Order of the British Empire medal in 1992 from Queen Elizabeth II, Vivienne twirled to the photographers outside, to reveal she had worn no knickers that day! Although, no matter if you liked that side of her or not, no one could turn away from her massive success, as she was invited back to Buckingham Palace in 2006, to receive her designation of Dame Commander of the British Empire.

Changemaker\

Like Virgil, Vivienne supported many campaigns, including focusing on the climate crisis in 2007. She published the manifesto ‘Active Resistance to Propaganda’ and wrote “We have a choice: to become more cultivated, and more human, or by not choosing, to be the destructive animal, the victim of our own cleverness.”

To the surprise of many, as she was a businesswoman after all, Vivienne was openly anti-consumerist. She enjoyed teasing her customers, telling them things like “Stop buying clothes. Why not protect this gift of life – I don’t take the attitude that destruction is inevitable. Some of us would like to stop it.” To add to her list of remarkable resistance and determination, she drove a tank to David Cameron’s home, protesting against fracking. She also joined other designers like Stella McCartney in bombarding the government to ban the retail sale of real fur.

She regularly wrote on her own website ‘No Man’s Land’ about climate and social issues and highlighted them as much as possible throughout her career, always putting them before her own success, showing how important the world and the people in it has always been to her.

Effortlesslyoriginal

Rightly so, Vivienne will be remembered by all as ‘The Queen of British Fashion’ and for all her amazing work, whether that’s designing new concepts of fashion or going above and beyond for a better future for the world. “She tore apart notions of femininity and sex, and demanded that fashion do better in regards to climate. She was effortlessly original” wrote Karen Elson, a model who worked with the artist on many occasions. Other tributes after her death came from other designers like Marc Jacobs, who was “Heartbroken”, or those who used to work at her stores. “Vivienne is gone and the world is already a less interesting place. Love you, Viv.”

MET’S BEST DRESSED

This month we saw the A-list celebrities go all out for fashion once more. There have been some amazing outfits over the years, dazzling people with their creativity. It’s hard to pick out just one jewel in the crown, and so we’ve rounded up our top 10 favourite Met Gala outfits of all time.

Lewis Hamilton 2021 ‘Celebrating all things american fashion’

Kendall Jenner 2021 ‘Celebrating all things american fashion’

Janelle Monáe in 2019 ‘Camp: Notes On Fashion’

ILLUSTRATED BY MADELEINE GRICE WOODS

Lady Gaga in 2019 ‘Camp: Notes On Fashion’

Lizzo in 2022 ‘Gilded Glamour’

Pryianka chopra 2017 ‘Avant-Garde’

nicola coughla in 2022

‘Gilded glamour’

SELENA GOMEZ IN 2018

‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’

Timothee chalamet in 2021

‘Celebrating all things american fashion’

Blake lively in 2018

‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’

Binge-worthy

In a book slump? We’ve got your back with 10 binge worthy books, from memoirs to fiction, Greek myth to time travel, no matter your taste, there’s something here for you. Keep an eye out for our Instagram, @athenamag_ for more five star reads.

Words: Olivia Withers

Before the coffee gets cold

A fast paced, whimsical novel taking place inside a nostalgic, retro café in the heart of Tokyo. Inside the café, time travel is possible, forwards or backwards in time, but whatever is done in the past, cannot change the present. Get ready to immerse yourself into the four short stories in the cosiest Japanese café, you won’t be able to put this one down.

Ghosts

Nina is 32, single and a successful food writer living in London. Her friends are securing their relationships and begin starting a family. The pressure of societal norms pushes her to download a dating app where she meets Max, speaks to him for a week and is ghosted. Poof, into thin air. If you need a (very British) chick-lit to devour, Ghosts is for you!

Beach Read

Meet January and Gus, two writers, both struggling to write a new book for their editors. Escape to the beach as they decide to swap genres and write each other’s, in a competition to see who gets published first. A summer romance with nuggets of humour and wit throughout, whilst diving into familial traumas of both Jan and Gus.

The Song of Achilles 

A retelling of the Greek hero , Achilles, from the point of view of view of his best friend, Patroclus. Instead of a book based solely on the war, we are exposed to the loyalty, heartache, love, grief and betrayal. Certainly a page turner to say the least!

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

British painter, Cleo, moved from England to New York when she met Frank. Double her age and everything that she isn’t, he offers her the opportunity to paint and be free. Their relationship develops, but not well. This book is for readers who love millennial fiction, characters that are extremely real and navigating relationships.

Everything I know about love

If you want a genuine and truly hilarious recountcovering all aspects of being in your 20s, here it is. Dolly Alderton shares all of her stories on heartbreak, friendships, horrific hangovers and her greatest life lessons. This book is really like speaking to someone you’ve known for years. Get ready to experience all emotions in this one.

WeloveDolly Alderton!

books we love

A historical fiction novel based on the biggest 70s rock band in the world, Daisy Jones and the Six. In 1979, the band split, fans had no answers until now. Written as an interview, we witness opinions, conflicts, relationships, regret and meet some badass women. The perfect summer read.

August, 1983, the day of Nina Riva’s infamous annual summer party. Anyone can attend and everyone wants to be around the Riva family, especially as their father is the infamous singer, Mick Riva. In 24 hours, their lives change, by midnight the party is out of control and by morning, the Riva mansion is up in flames.

A book you finish and forget it’s fiction. Set in the 50s through to the 80s, meet renowned actress, Evelyn Hugo and her seven husbands. We’re thrown into the shameful, dark reality of the movie industry, the trials, tribulations, sacrifices and mistakes made to keep yourself alive.

CoHofanatic

A sweet, cosy romance to devour, that follows Tiffy and Leon. They agree on a strange arrangement to share a flat AND a bed together, but they never see eachother. During the evenings, the appartment is Tiffy’s. When she leaves for work, that’s when Leon goes home. With such lovable characters, it’s hard to put this one down!

A classic, American feminist novel that criticises the expectations of women in the 50s. We follow Esther who has won a litary competition and moves to NYC as an intern at a magazine. She works hard and has many opportunities, but within the writing you can see her depression brewing.

If you don’t know Colleen Hoover, where have you been? A tale of two lovers who only meet once a year on November 9. Fallon is moving cross-country the day after she meets aspriring novelist, Ben. As time goes on, Fallon starts questioning if Ben truly feels the way he says he does.

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Daisy Jones & the six 

Malibu Rising 

The Flatshare 

The Bell Jar 

November 9

Ournumber oneauthor,TJR!

‘FITS FOR A KING

Our favourite looks from the Coronation of King Charles III

The Princess of Wales wearing Alexandra McQueen

The most loved outfit at King Charles III Coronation seemed to come from the Princess of Wales. When Kate stepped onto the royal ‘red carpet,’ it was accompanied by the roaring cheers of the crowd, who were waiting patiently for her arrival. I think it’s easy to suggest that the Princess was the crowd pleaser on the day, leaving the nation stunned and left speechless with how breath-taking she looked. As the rain came down, The Princess of Wales, along with her family, were shielded by umbrellas as they made their entrance into Westminster Abbey.

The Princess arrived in an ivory silk crepe and robe, designed by Alexander McQueen, who was also her wedding dress designer. Her outfit was accessorised with a stunning headpiece designed by Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen, which consisted of a silver bullion, crystal and silver thread work, creating a masterpiece of beautiful, combined leaves. This statement headpiece was thought to be designed instead of wearing a tiara, to respect the Kings wishes in encapsulating the environment and nature throughout the Coronation weekend. The Princess of Wales’ stunning jewellery also made a touching tribute to past members of the royal family. Her diamond George VI Festoon necklace was a gift from King George VI, while her pearl earrings had belonged to her husband’s late mother, Princess Diana.

Princess Charlotte, looking like the ‘minime’ of her mother, also wore an ivory staple Alexander McQueen dress, coordinated like her mother’s ivory silk crepe and robe at her grandfather’s coronation. Eight-yearold Princess Charlotte’s, ivory sheath dress featured the embroidery of a rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrock motifs- which are the four flowers of the United Kingdom. Accompanying her dress was elevated with a glittering Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen headpiece which matched her mothers headpiece. Alongside the headpieces that both the Princess of Wales and her daughter were wearing, it is believed that the young Princesses motifs of flowers of the United Kingdom were also a visual way to pay respect to the passion of the new monarch, following the wishes of incorporating the environment and nature into the Coronation.

Zara Tindall was yet another royal to stand out in the crowd. Joining her family members, Zara also wore a baby blue coat dress, designed by Laura Green. The baby blue dress was paired with a gorgeous, elegant floral hat, matching the colour of her dress. Zara also appeared to be wearing a diamond brooch, which was her mother’sPrincess Anne. The brooch was originally a present from the new King Charles, so carried extra significance and pride on Zara during the coronation. The mother-of-three finished her look with statement white gold drop earrings from Calleija and a baby blue clutch from the brand Strathberry.

Illustrations and article by Grace

Princess Charlotte wearing Alexandra McQueen

Prince Louie wearing Dege and Skinner

Zara Tindall wearing Laura Green

In conversation with... a pole dancer

We spoke to Kara Bates, a 27-year-old pole dancer and instructor from Swindon about her background, what she loves about pole, her new business ventures and even performing on stage with Snoop Dogg!

Words by Natasia Smith

Tell us about your upbringing and your relationship with exercise and self-esteem.

As a child I was quite active despite the fact that I never really did any sports, but I was always out and about with friends participating in active days out such as swimming or ice skating. I was creative and carefree as a child, my parents gave me freedom to explore whatever avenue I wanted. I dipped my toes in a few activities to build skill, such as ice skating, dance and gymnastic lessons as these combined flexibility and strength which I’ve always been in awe of, but then I gave up quite quickly due to social anxieties. I was always quite a natural in picking things up so it’s a shame it prevented me; I only ever did about max of 5-10 classes of anything. During my childhood I was never really phased by my looks as such, I was more tomboyish growing up to start off with then that all changed during secondary school. I was thrown into a school in which I didn’t know a single child, so as I found my feet there, I started to wear make up, maybe to fit in a little. As someone with ADHD and autism, that can be tricky. This is when I started to develop more awareness of my looks, the societal pressures of being a teen I suppose. Then from there on I always felt a pressure that I put on myself to present and look a certain way. I think social media and societal pressures are to blame for this and then fitness started to become important to ensure I kept slim as body image was something I struggled with for many years of my life.

How old were you when you began pole and what was it that inspired you to start?

I started pole dancing when I was 19 and I discovered it firstly when stumbling into a strip club after a night out with some friends. I remember watching a stripper dancing on stage shaking her booty and being mesmerised, thinking I want to learn how to move like that. After then, I started watching people on YouTube and enhancing my desire to learn. [I was] captivated by how they made it look effortless.

Did you initially find it easy or challenging?

I started by teaching myself so initially it was a bit of a challenge, as I had no dance background and started with little strength, but I did also find that I had a natural ability to pick some things up quickly too. My autism helps me hyper focus on new hobbies and pole has always been what I’ve fixated on and I would train over six hours a week.

What was

your biggest dream or goal when

you started, and are you on track to achieve it?

I didn’t really have any big dreams when I first started, I just wanted to be good at it. After never pursuing sports activities as a child even though I wanted to, I wanted to have one thing where I could put my all energy into and having a pole at home gave me the confidence to eventually get myself to a class. I’m at a level which I am really proud of so I would say I have achieved this. Now my dreams keep getting bigger and bigger and I’d love to travel the world teaching workshops. I have had interest from people in other countries so I’m getting close!

What was the process like for getting chosen to perform with Snoop Dogg?

The process was pretty straight forward as I just had to submit a video of me freestyling to one of his songs and then some other bits but the mental process was the hardest. I questioned my capabilities and had a lot of self doubt. I had only just started to move towards what’s classed as a professional in the industry so this felt like a huge next step, but after watching so many incredible dancers grace the stage with Snoop Dogg in America, I knew this was an opportunity I didn’t want to let pass me by.

Kara (right) and friend Chloe, after Kara won a pole competition

“I had caught the performing bug and knew that the stage was a place I wanted to be”

How was performing with Snoop Dogg?

The tour was incredible, I got booked for two shows, Manchester and Amsterdam. The person who hired me was a dancer called Nicole who would give you all the details of where to be and give you advice before stage and hype you up! They wanted to get the best out of you as well, so honest feedback during the show was given so you could recognise and improve on the spot.

It did get in my head a little bit and I struggled to connect on stage during the first show, so I had felt like I had let myself down and actually felt quite low afterwards. That doesn’t erase the good memories I had though. I was with such a lovely bunch of dancers, and it was an absolute pleasure to share the stage with them all. Backstage it was so lovely to see all the dancers clothes sharing and giving advice for different outfit changes. It was a nice way for us all to bond before the show started. After performing for eight songs, we settled in the dressing room waiting for the green light to meet Snoop Dogg backstage. We were all quite timid to start with and stuck with each other at the start. It’s not every day you get to share the same room with a worldwide icon. A few drinks and a spliff later, we eventually left with our signed gear and headed off to leave the venue.

The adrenaline after the first show is quite a wild ride, I’m glad I had my friends afterwards to chat their ears off as I was still in shock from the whole night! It was truly magical and an incredible step for my career. Then the adrenaline wore off eventually, and that’s when the low kicked in as I started to overthink everything. This lasted a fair few days and then I had a call from Nicole. We spoke through the night and I spoke to her about what went through my mind and then the next day she booked me for Amsterdam. I couldn’t believe my luck! I was so happy to hear that Nicole saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, it was the confidence boost that I needed and then before I knew it I was booking a last minute flight to Amsterdam to do it all over again. I felt much better about the show the second time round, Nicole did say that you get better and better with each show which just gets me more excited to see how my confidence progresses with each show, no matter how big or small!

How did you get into competing and what are some of the highs and lows?

Has pole helped your confidence and if so, how?

Oh massively! I was shy and lacked so much confidence in my teen years that if someone told me back then that I’d be travelling the UK teaching workshops, classes and performing on big stages I would’ve laughed! Public speaking still isn’t my jam I must admit; and I’m still socially reserved too so it still does baffle my mind that I am doing all these things. My passion has pushed me outside of my comfort zone and I couldn’t be more grateful to have found my thing in life.

When I was a baby poler, I was so impressed when I saw other dancers around me competing. I idolised their dedication, strength and perseverance and it was something I wanted to strive towards. It was also a way to get a chance to perform and after being in a student showcase show, I had caught the performing bug and knew that the stage was a place I wanted to be. There are so many highs of competing, the main one has to be winning your category, as it’s a rewarding feeling after all the hard work you’ve put in. Getting to meet and socialise with other dancers in your community is also incredible as I’ve always felt so inspired being surrounded by creatives like myself and being on stage can be so much fun and having the crowd enjoy your creation is fulfilling. Equally, performing can turn into one of the lows depending on what happens on stage. When you’re competing rather than doing a show for fun, there’s a lot of pressure to be ‘perfect’; fuck ups are deductions so it’s easy to get in your own head. Not being present is more common when you first start competing. At my level now, I try to only focus on enjoying my stage time without caring about fuck ups as I don’t want to put a downer on my time there. Other lows include lack of time to focus on other training you may have which can make training a bit more stressful and less enjoyable at times but overall competing has been very positive for me. I wouldn’t have so many incredible friendships within the pole community if it wasn’t for competing. One recent competition involved having the opportunity to connect with two dancers I had idolised over instagram from the US, so these competitions do bring dancers far and wide together! I also had the opportunity to dance with one of them at their workshop the following day which was a huge highlight for me and I got to share the experience with some of my dearest friends that I see often.

Kara (far right) and other dancers with Snoop Dogg

“Sharing my art with others is a great feeling and I feel so lucky that I get to call it my career”

How did you decide to become an instructor, and what are your favourite aspects?

I can’t remember how I decided as such but I remember me and a friend deciding to do [a teaching] course together. I think I was eager to start teaching to spark that passion in others. My favourite aspects of pole are getting to see the support of the classroom environment. I remember when I first wanted to do pole dancing I only wanted to do private lessons as I was too nervous to join as a group, which is a shame as the support from everyone in a pole dancing class is something quite special. The way we all celebrate strangers and friends in the room is heartwarming and that’s what I love about the community. I love seeing my students progress too, nailing moves they’ve struggled with and seeing their faces light up when they’re proud of themselves, it melts my heart! But also, sharing my art with others is a great feeling and I feel so lucky that I get to call it my career.

Tell us about your workshops and online studio, and is it challenging to essentially have yourself as the business?

It has been an amazing experience being able to take my work online and connect and teach dancers all over the world! I’m still in the process of growing my business into something bigger so I’m excited for the future! It can present some challenges. You have to battle a lot of self doubt and develop a strong and positive mindset such as understanding that lower numbers doesn’t equal lower self worth, as this fluctuates all the time. I have a lot of faith in myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to so I’m only thinking positively about my future and my business.

Any advice for those wanting to take up pole dancing?

Don’t second guess it, it could be the best thing you ever start. You won’t know until you give it a try. Find someone to go with for your first few classes if you’re worried, that helped me dip my toes in. No-one there cares about how you look either, so don’t worry about what shape you’re in, what clothes you’re wearing. When you’re there you’re not thinking about how your body looks, your minds to busy focusing on how to nail the pole trick your instructor just showed you!

You can follow Kara on Instagram: @karamel.aura for her main account

@karamelstudio__ for workshops and online classes

She instructs pole and heels pole classes for beginners up to intermediates at: @momentum.pole.aerial in Cheltenham and @inspire.ciren in Cirencester

She also does workshops around the country so keep an eye on her Instagram to find out more and to check out her talent!

“I have a lot of faith in myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to”

Cocktail HOUR

Our Summer Splash Cocktail is perfect for those sunny days when you want to enjoy a cool, relaxing drink in the sunshine. This sweet and fruity cocktail will keep you refreshed in those summer months!

How to create the Summer Splash Cocktail:

Fresh Lime

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh Mint

Ice

Tequila

Mango Juice (can be substituted for a juice of your choice)

Lime flavoured margarita mix

Spotlight On Women’s Health

Women have never been more open about their health. Athena’s Chloe Boulton met with Fran Burley, a nurse practitioner at a surgery in Shropshire to find out why that’s a huge step in the right direction.

Words by Chloe Boulton

In her day-to-day job as a nurse practitioner, Fran Burley sees women wanting advice on everything from smear tests, sexual health advice, concerns about lumps, contraception, and pregnancy care. When it comes to women’s health, she believes no topic should be taboo.

“There’s never been a better time to be a woman or to talk about women’s health. It’s very much an open forum out there,” says Fran. “All the resources for anything are available online.

Social media and the internet have been prevalent in how women receive information about health with well-known celebrities having also played a factor in this. Fran tells me: “There’s a lot more information out there online, and women do talk to each other and social media.

“Women have usually done their homework by the time they come to us, or they just want to have a chat and see if what they’ve heard and read is relevant and specific and appropriate for them.”

Nowadays women are very much a lot more open about health and their well-being as well as having the ability to have a lot more choice over their body, however is there still a stigma around women’s health at all?

“Not really from where I’m sitting. There are no real stigmas associated with anything.”

HRT

HRT stands for hormone replacement therapy, and it helps to relieve symptoms of the menopause. As you go through the menopause, the treatment replaces the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone which are at lower levels.

Fran says: “HRT was always badly thought of it was an increased risk of heart disease and breast cancers and all that sort of thing. But honestly, without a doubt the benefits far outweigh any slightly increased risk of developing these things.”

“There was a big drive on hormone replacement therapy with the likes of Davina McCall and Lisa Snowdon and various other high-profile women.”

SMEAR TESTS

Smear tests are done by a brush taking cells from your cervix and then sent off to a lab to check for HPV.

Often women can be fed misinformation which often leads to anxiety about smear tests: “I have personally made it very much a priority to explain to women walk cycle screening. So when they come and have a smear at 24/25, that’s the first invitation and just trying to remind women that actually this isn’t about trying to find cancer. It’s about looking for abnormal cells.”

HPV

HPV is human papillomavirus and its mainly passed through sexual contact. If the immune system can’t fight off the infection, overtime it can cause cells to turn abnormal and then into cervical cancer.

Fran says: “Jo’s Cancer Trust website talking about HPV which young girls are vaccinated against. That’s all very much out in the open and you’re keeping down although it will encourage our family and friends to talk.”

BOWEL CANCER AWARENESS

Bowel cancer, sometimes called colon or rectal cancer depending on where it starts, is caused by several factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking tobacco, obesity, and inherited genetics.

Bowel cancer sufferer Dame Deborah James, who died last year aged 40, stressed the importance of bowel cancer screenings. “We need to destigmatise certain issues i.e., STIs and bowel screenings,” Fran explains.

“Deborah James did an awful lot for awareness of bowel cancer and the importance of checking yourself. With her army of fans, she probably saved a lot of lives through constant promotional videos”.

CULTURAL BARRIERS

Cultural and societal views play a part for women and access and knowledge to healthcare can be limiting. “We’re in a very privileged part of Shropshire and the problems that arise here may not echo the problems that arise everywhere else in the country. Cultural, religious, differences, language barriers, ethnic groups. All of these things play a part in women’s health and that’s probably where the work has to be done.”

Are selfie filters ruining your mental health?

Whether it’s an influencer, your best friend, or yourself, we all know someone who edits their pictures. It’s an easy boost of confidence. But how is the new norm of editing pictures before posting on social media really affecting our mental health? To really put this in perspective, I decided to edit some of my own pictures.

Words: Olivia Withers

It can be hard to tell if someone has edited their pictures, especially if they are micro-edited. This means only slight adjustments have been made, such as cinching the waist in, widening hips to give the effect of a bigger bum or maybe just covering up some spots or blemishes.

When conducting a survey of 16 people aged 18-25, we found that 38% thought micro-editing is worse for your mental health than obviously edited pictures. This could be because it gives the impression that it’s not normal to have hip dips, under eye bags or blemishes, creating low self-esteem and body image as a result of this editing as it can look so believable and natural. Not only does this affect the viewers of these posts, but in some cases, the ones creating them who then can’t see themselves properly without the edits created, enhancing the chance of body dysmorphia.

On the right is a photo of myself, which is perfectly fine (may I say so myself), but I’ve micro-edited some parts of my face, can you tell where? Doing this myself made me feel very insecure. I began flicking between the edited and unedited versions to see the differences and was shocked by the original image of myself. It was actually quite upsetting to see the huge difference I had created without even realising, just by pressing a couple of buttons on my phone.

lip tint

Smooth filter, dark circle remover, spot remover, tan, contour for nose and cheeks and

On the other hand, editing can completely boost our confidence. Although there are some negative effects of editing, in the survey, we found that 62% of people thought it’s alright to edit pictures sometimes and 25% said it’s completely okay. One respondent said, “Luckily, I’ve come to realise almost everyone edits their photos and I no longer compare myself to peoples ‘best bits’ online. In the past, I developed anorexia, which was not helped by seeing influencers on TikTok and Instagram who clearly do not look that way in real life because bodies are bound to have rolls, but no one will show that when we’re trying to portray our best selves.” Filters and editing almost work the same way as makeup, like removing a spot or softening your face, but when is enough, enough?

to live up to unrealistic standards of beauty.” Some influencers promote makeup but when the viewers goes to buy the product and it doesn’t work as well as they saw online, they may begin to wonder if they’re different to anyone else or if they’ve done something wrong, when in reality, it’s been completely edited.

Sometimes, editing out a spot or two isn’t too bad but where exactly is too far? One respondent said, “I worry about the harmful standard it sets for young girls, especially when they start wondering why they don’t look like these pics on social media when they’re impossible to achieve. It creates so much insecurity and body dysmorphia.” The latest 2022 Ofcom report states that 98% of 16-24 year olds use social media, spending an average of two and a half hours on it everyday. Consistent exposure to filters and images that are edited on social media can cause unhealthy obsessions with users, leading to life debilitating disorders, such as body dysmorphia or anorexia nervosa to try and achieve these impossible bodies.

Recently, Gen Z has fought to return Instagram back to its casual posting as it once was in its early days. Some influencers and celebrities, such as Emma Chamberlain (the mother of Gen Z), Dua Lipa and Matilda Djerf all have adopted the healthy ‘casual Instagram’. This creates a healthier and friendlier place to be on Instagram and following these influencers and celebs can easily make you feel like a friend of theirs. It shows that everyone lies in bed, everyone has bags and everyone has off days! It is refreshing to see content that is natural, yet still posting the best parts of life to social media.

When influencers and celebrities want to showcase a brand they’re working with, they need to prove it works to the public. In some cases, advertisements like these are often a fad, especially on TikTok. When asked if editing pictures creates an unrealistic expectation of beauty and lifestyle, one respondent said, “Yes. Say if it’s for a skin product and the person has edited the photo to make it look like they have perfect skin, it makes people think it works when in reality, it doesn’t.”. Hygiene brand, Dove, who clarifies there is ‘no digital distortion’ to their images, found that “77% of women believe media images are digitally altered” and “69% of women felt anxiety from advertising and media

There is no sign of filters going away anytime soon, but as long as we educate ourselves, begin to focus on our own mental health and love our bodies as they are, filters don’t have to be seen as a negative and more of an enhancement to people’s looks and their confidence. With casual posting coming back, we can unfollow the accounts that flaunt a false body image and revert back to the nostalgic times of Instagram, before everyone was so obsessed with how they look to everyone else, other than themselves.

Cinched waist in, arms made thinner, rounder hips to fit the expectations of a womens body on social media...

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