Librezine 2020 - Back to College Edition

Librezine SHOWCASING REBECCA’S RENAISSANCE

2020 BACK TO COLLEGE EDITION

LET’S GET DIGITAL ONLINE LEARNING GUIDE

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY BOLTON COLLEGE’S EDI FEST

BOLTON FILM FESTIVAL

A FESTIVAL IN YOUR FRONT ROOM Cover photo Naima Abdi

BACK TO SCHOOL HACKS

A SURVIVAL GUIDE

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Contents 4/5 6/7 8/9 10/11 12/13 14/15 16/17 18/19

Back to College Hacks Let’s Get Digital Diversity Fest Showcasing Rebecca Davison Homegrown Edibles Bolton Film Festival Carry on Caring Eco Friendly Lockdown

LRC Opening 1st Floor LRC Monday - Thursday Friday

8.30am - 7.00pm 8.30am - 4pm

2nd Floor LRC Monday - Thursday Friday

9am - 7.00pm 9am - 4pm

Arts & Construction Monday - Thursday Friday

8.30am - 4.30pm 8.30am - 4pm

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LET’S GET DIGITAL

The LRC assistant’s main role is to support and help all our students so they are equipped with the relevant knowledge that helps them to progress with their education. So whether it’s logging onto a computer, activating your account, learning how to research, reserving a book or a computer, or understanding how the ‘Harvard System of Referencing’ works, our friendly staff are always here to offer some help, advice and guidance.

More than ever, Bolton College wants the learner to feel comfortable with many of the online learning facilities available to them so here’s a quick guide into what is available.

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STUDENT HOME PAGE This is the first page you arrive at when logging onto the college system. Here you will

find many areas related to your student learning and development such as your college e-mail account, e-books and library services, Moodle, The Blended Learning Consortium, Pro Monitor and access to ADA our digital assistant.

MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 All students who attend Bolton College get free access to Office 365 to help you with your studies. Office365 gives students access to a college e-mail facility, 1 TB of storage so you can save your work in the cloud, access to programs like Word, PowerPoint and Excel and also access to Microsoft teams for online group work.

MOODLE Moodle is Bolton College’s Virtual Learning Environment

and this is the area where all of your course related material will be placed. When you first start on a course you will be given access to the course through the Moodle tab on the home page. Throughout the academic year the entire class will refer to the embedded course related materials and tutorials needed to complete the course.

BLC RESOURCES Blended Learning Consortium is located within the library

tab on the home page and is the perfect place to visit when researching a course related subject. Here you will find a number of good quality learning resources which have been designed for different levels of learning.

ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD For the more creative students don’t forget you have access to all the Adobe Creative Cloud applications such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, In-design & Illustrator.

ZOOM You can sign up to Zoom for free although the free account will only give you up to an hour

for your group sessions. Zoom is a great way to connect with multiple people online, you can arrange meetings and speak with people face to face without having to leave the comfort of your home or office. Zoom also offers convenient breakout rooms for activity sessions and group work.

SOCIAL MEDIA, APPS & YOU TUBE Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp have all been helpful during lockdown as another way to digitally showcase your work & communicate your ideas. You Tube is a great place to learn something new.

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Diversity Fest

At the beginning of March Bolton College had it’s annual Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Festival. The festival is a celebration where students and staff come together to express themselves and their unique individuality. There’s no doubt that this day is an educational experience with lots of competitions, stalls that promote EDI awareness, as well as a chance to share your talents and entertain the public through song and dance. The LRC created a photography studio for both learners and staff to come and have their portrait taken.

Here’s just a few from the beautiful people we met that day.

Name - Danny Okunz Age – 17 Motherland – Netherlands First Language – Dutch Faith - Christian Ethnicity – Black Studying – Sports Clothing Type – Urban Question – Why are your clothes important to you?

Answer – Because they help to tell people who you are.

Question – What have you enjoyed about the EDI Festival?

Answer – Everything Name – Reem Sabeeh Motherland – Iraq Age – 29 First Language – Arabic Ethnicity – Arab Faith – Islam Studying – Maths, English & IT Clothing Type – Abaya & Shemagh

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Question – How important are your clothes and why?

Answer – Very important because they show a bit of me.

Question – What have you enjoyed about the EDI Festival?

Answer – The photography session.

Name – Iman Khan Motherland – Pakistan Age – 19 First Language – Pushto Ethnicity – Afgan Faith – Islam Studying – Health & Social Care Level 3 Clothing Type – Salwar Kameez Question – How important are your clothes and why?

Answer – They represent my culture.

Question – What have you enjoyed about the EDI Festival?

Answer – Dressing up.

Name – Yasat Muhammad Hussain Motherland – Pakistan Age – 18 First Language – Urdu & Punjabi Faith - Islam Studying – ESOL Clothing Type – Salwar Kameez Question – How important are your clothes and why?

Answer – Because it’s traditional.

Question – What have you enjoyed about the EDI Festival?

Answer – Music.

Name – Umama Shehzadi Motherland – Pakistan Age – 19 First Language – Urdu Ethnicity – Asian Faith – Islam Studying – Health & Social Care.

Clothing Type – Salwar Kameez Question – How important are your clothes and why?

Answer – They are important because they represent my culture.

Question – What have you enjoyed about the EDI Festival?

Answer – The dancing & singing.

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Showcasing Rebecca’s renaissance Zoe - Could you please give me a bit of background information about yourself?

Becky - My name is Rebecca Davison. I celebrated my 50th birthday at the beginning of 2020 and I work at the college.

I’m a wife, a mum and a grandma of 2. Family is most important to me but my second love is everything art. I’ve loved to draw and paint from being a small child, it always makes me feel happy.

Zoe - What have you studied in the past?

Becky - I studied for all my qualifications at Bolton University. My Art PGCE course was brilliant, I learnt so much and met so many enthusiastic and talented artists.

Zoe - Did going onto university help you to progress with your style?

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Becky - Not really, at the time I was a single parent and had to

do three part time jobs just to survive. With art, it has to be your passion, you have to live and breathe it every moment and I didn’t have time for that.

When my youngest daughter was born 15 years ago I put my paint brushes down and only picked them up again a couple of years ago.

Zoe - Who or what is your inspiration for your pieces?

Becky - Family, I think?

I do feel like I am learning a lot from different contemporary artists at the moment. My favourites right now are a Black American artist called April Harrison. Juliette Belmonte also has a unique way of painting faces from the Victorian era and finally Elizabeth St Hilaire who uses gel plate printed paper that she has made herself to create exquisite collage paintings.

canvas gives the surface a tex-tured feel. I then draw the picture using white chalk to mark out the bold shapes. The purpose of the chalk is to not paint in those areas and it can be washed away later leaving you with a black outline. I like the way this technique surprises you, like a little bit of magic.

Zoe - What medium do you work with most and why?

Becky - I like to use acrylic paint as I find it so versatile and easy to use. I have also been trying my hand at paper painting collage for added depth and texture.

Zoe - Talk me through your procedure?

Becky – I start off by priming the canvas with gesso and black acrylic paint. Priming the

Zoe - Who’s your favourite artist and why?

Becky - I would have to say my all-time favourite artist is the great master of Viennese Art Nouveau, Gustav Klimt. His use of gold leaf in his paintings, decorative art and his depictions of the female form are reasons why I celebrate his work.

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HomeGrown Edibles

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The lockdown of this year seems to have brought back a revival of the green fingered gardener, and in particular, having a try at growing your own organic food.

I have an allotment with varying degrees of success from year to year. A lot depends on the conditions that certain vegetables will thrive in, for example the type of plant working in harmony with the nutrient’s in the soil, the amount of water and the weather we have. Often things can go pear-shaped and your crop can suffer through diseases, infected by insects, eaten by slugs or become stunted because they are not growing in harmony with the natural elements. Yet the enjoyment really comes from the whole process……of being outdoors, of getting your hands dirty, of planting a seed, nurturing it and watching it grow.

If you are new to “growing your own” my advice is to start with easy crops that don’t

take too much of your garden space or precious time, and can also be grown in tubs, pots or boxes. If you have a garden or an allotment that’s great, but if you only have a window sill, a backyard or front door step you could still grow yourself some lovely herbs or rocket, juicy strawberry’s, or some sweet tomatoes.

Getting started is easy as growing most seeds work in the same way. Many are grown indoors first, in a sunny spot

near the window, and you sow the seeds in trays of compost at a depth that is quite shallow.

Once the seeds have started to grow into seedlings and get strong, you simply separate them whilst taking care of the roots to transfer them into

mutually beneficial plants in the same plot and they help each other to grow. It’s quite an alchemistic approach as various types of plants can assist their neighbour through nutrients, protection from pests or providing shade.

It’s a technique known as ‘Perma-gardening’ where diversification is key. A good

their individual pots. When they look like they are becoming too big for that pot, you simply repeat the process until they look strong enough to plant outdoors, which for many veggies is normally around late April/early May - after the last frost.

For the more serious gardeners there are plenty of options, although creating beds of veg can require a lot of time, example of companion planting is known as the ‘Three effort, energy and money.

Sisters’ and consists of planting corn, beans and squash together. The beans grow up the corn whilst also providing the nitrates for the other two plants, and the big leaves of the squash provides shade to the soil which traps in the well needed moisture.

So why not have a try at The rewards are felt, howevgrowing your own veg – it not er, throughout the following only gives you a healthy organmonths whilst tending, haric sustainable diet it also provesting and eating your own vides your body with exercise, produce. Once you get your confidence you can learn about gets you outside, and helps with your general wellbeing. ‘companion planting’. This is when you plant two or more

By Zoe Rothwell

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Bolton FILM FEST A FESTIVAL IN YOUR FRONT room

Ordinarily Bolton International Film Festival would bring in crowds of students, industry experts and film makers to the town yet this year’s event will be going virtual.

The festival will run from the 16th October until the 25th October and at only £10 a ticket for a 10 day bonanza it looks set to bring in more audiences than ever from both home and abroad. We caught up with festival director Adrian Barber to get the low down on what BIFF will offering this year.

Zoe – Hi Adrian, thanks for meeting us today. Firstly, can you give me a bit of background information about the festival?

Adrian – The festival began in 2017 when we identified a need for more cultural events in Bolton, since the inaugural edition we’ve had an Oscar winner, BAFTA winners and as 14

a festival we’ve rose through the ratings to be listed in the Top 100 from over 8000 festivals on FilmFreeway.

Zoe – So you said it’s going online this year – how has this changed the festival?

Adrian – Nothing substitutes for a physical event but it would be irresponsible of us to not consider a second wave of Covid 19, so we’re going online with a “Netflix” type VOD experience, but with LIVE talks, masterclasses and digital networking too.

2019 physical event at The Light Cinema

2020 Virtual Edition - A Film Festival in your Front Room

Zoe – Could you give us an idea about some of the talks and live events you’ve organised?

Adrian – We’re still confirming guests at the moment but so far we’ve confirmed Paddy Wivell who did the documentary series “Prison”. We’ve got Creative England with “Script to Screen”, Doc Society are joining us with 1:2:1’s for potential funding, the BFI and Directors Notes are with us and many more.

Zoe – Do you have a theme or message related to this year’s film festival?

Adrian – The theme is simply ‘great short films, some of the best in the world’. Our message if we have one is to stay safe and enjoy the experience of a film festival in your own front room.

Zoe – Are there any gems we should look out for this year?

Films are down to taste aren’t they? We’ve got drama, comedy, animation, documentary, virtual reality, horror, fashion, dance, music, student films and community films so there is something for all tastes.

They’re all gems in my opinion.

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CARRY ON CARING

Although many of us grumbled and complained about the restrictions of lockdown, there were many aspects of the situation that we can celebrate and continue into a new way of life. New behaviours started during lockdown can become established habits and rituals to continue into the future to make our world a better place to live.

CARRY ON MAKING FEWER JOURNEYS

Are all journeys we make necessary? I learned during lockdown that I can easily wait until I need to make a few journeys and make them in one go, calling at each place on the way to another, thus reducing my time on the road. Not only does this reduce the amount of fuel used, it reduces air and noise pollution too. We have a moral duty to take care of our world for our children and grandchildren, who will live in the world we create.

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CARRY ON THINKING OF OTHERS NEEDS

I don’t know about you, but before lockdown I shopped for my own items only.

I never thought, “I wonder if Mr or Mrs whoever needs anything from the shops or chemist.”

In lockdown I learned to be more considerate towards other people.

I never went out without telephoning friends, neighbours and family, to see if they needed anything. I will endeavour to continue doing this, but with the benefit of being able to enter their homes for a chat and a brew afterwards.

CARRY ON COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

Hundreds of community initiatives were introduced during the pandemic to help those in need. Wouldn’t it be great if this help continued and became the norm?

Businesses like the Kitchen and Brigade Bar worked hard to feed those who

are living on the streets, via food donations. For many elderly people, isolation was nothing new, with lack of contact being an unwelcome way of life for many years. Time & Talents in Rotherhithe London, focused on keeping in touch (safely) with older people in self-isolation, ensuring that they didn’t feel lonely, and delivering food packages to them.

These are the kinds of activities that must continue.

CARRY ON RESPECTING KEY WORKERS

Key workers really came into their own during the pandemic, putting the needs of others before their own safety.

This is something care workers and NHS staff have always done, but it took a global emergency for their commitment and compassion to be recognised. It’s about time we all appreciated them more. So next time you are face to face with a key worker, show kindness and respect.

CARRY ON KEEPING IN TOUCH

During lockdown, I telephoned people I hadn’t heard from for a while, to see if they were okay and coping with the situation; making use of technology – video calls and conferencing technology. It was great to catch up. I know most people had more time back then, due to not being able to go out, but if we make it a routine, at the same time and day every week, it will be much easier to carry on. Admit it, we all enjoy a catch up with old friends, it’s good for our mood and wellbeing.

CARRY ON EXERCISING

A whopping high five to

Joe Wicks for getting the country exercising.

Although personally, I’m not a fan of indoor exercising, he inspired me to get outside walking and cycling. I have never done so much exercise and enjoyed the increase in energy levels and mental wellbeing.

The best way to keep up your exercise is to create a schedule so it becomes a routine and habit. There will be times when you can’t be bothered, but if you discipline yourself you will feel better.

By Janette Davies

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ECo-Friendly LOCKDOWN

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COVID-19 brought a lot of confusion, unease, stress and uncertainty, however, it gave families the time and opportunity to reconnect with each other, creating bonds of support with the neighbours that have never spoken to until now, a time for reflection about our place on Earth. Lockdown meant the hustle and bustle of our streets became very quiet and eerie areas, which allowed nature to inhabit places that once was theirs.

During the lockdown, Venice’s murky canals where thousands of tourists enjoy a gondola ride became clearer waters, so clean that dolphins and jellyfish visited the canals from the Adriatic Sea. In the UK we saw herds of fallow deer grazing in the lawns of East London, and in Llandudno, the goats from the Great Orme took to the seaside shopping streets.

With each passing week of lockdown, more indications of improvements to our environment became evident.

Although being in lockdown has shown some environmental indications of how life could be with nature and humans cohabiting, the climate crisis is still apparent, and there needs to be drastic government actions to be made.

It doesn’t mean that us individuals can’t make a difference.

We have seen when we come together for something we believe in, significant changes occur. So why not for the climate crisis that will affect us all? Greta Thunberg, a 17-yearold Swedish activist, became an international ambassador for the climate crisis. She highlighted to everyone about taking action, fighting for our earth and changing our habits

are essential. Climate change is real, and human activities are the leading cause (IPCC). So while at home during the lockdown, I started to re-evaluate my lifestyle choices and how I can make a difference. Here are some ideas that might inspire you:RECYCLING YOUR WASTE I am an avid recycler, but I have found that not all items are recyclable in the Bolton area.

Things such as yoghurt pots, plastic containers and foil, it feels so wrong to put them in the waste bin, when I know other regions can recycle them. So I now split my efforts I either keep them to one side so when visiting my parents’ house I can put them in their recycling bin or use the yoghurt pots as flower pot containers to grow seedlings.

GROWING MY OWN VEG During the lockdown, I have started to dabble in a bit of gardening. Spending this length of time at home, I needed some greenery in my life!

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, so I started to use my waste as containers to grow things, such as using milk containers, microwaveable trays and jars. When I cook, I use a LOT of vegetables, and after cutting roots and de-seeding the veg, I have come to realise that with the waste I can grow more. Using the offcuttings to grow more will save me money and be sustainable. At the moment I am trying to grow spring onions from the roots I cut from shop-bought ones.

RECYCLE OLD CLOTHES Why not donate your old clothes that clutter your wardrobes by giving them to charity or seeing if family or friends fancy any of them. Alternatively, turn them into rags to use around the house or garage.

Remember that small changes can make big things happen.

Help to stop climate change.

Article By Amy Worsley

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