issue76

A HARINGEY YOUTH PUBLICATION

free JULY 05

£0.00

ISSUE 76

• BLUNTS • BOOTY • BLUBBER • BUMOCRACY•

Exposure is free and open to anyone between 14 and 21 living in or around Haringey. write, edit, illustrate and design this magazine build your own website make a video To arrange work experience, a work placement or to volunteer call Gary Flavell on 020 8883 0260, email gary @ exposure.org.uk or just walk into the office.

The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Tel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282 E-mail: editor@exposure.org.uk

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www.exposure.org.uk Regrettably our office is inaccessible to wheelchair users but we will nevertheless make every effort to include your contributions.

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sponsored by:

Lowy Mitchell Foundation

social spider

ISSUE #76 JULY 2005 You’re sat on the sofa with a bucket of deep-fried chicken and a two-litre bottle of lemonade. On the TV, skimpily dressed men and women grind against each other while they sing about sucking things. You wish you had a body like that.

‘Viewers of our interactive service can press the red button now to access the booty-cam’. You press the red button.

The TV switches off. You wish you could afford a set-top box. You wish you could afford liposuction.

yasmin noreen abi charlotte james raine

georgia

wilson amber george nick

BOOTY CALL - 10 Noreen Dove blasts music video babes

DEAR MR. DEMOCRCY - 14 Wilson Pereira blows his top. Designed by Abi Arojojoye.

nick

noreen ernest

Articles HIGHER EDUCATION - 08 Ernest Osafo goes up in smoke. Photography by Nick May

joey

georgia

Editorial Team Ernest Osafo, Georgia Wheeler, Joey Leskin, Noreen Dove, and Yasmin Barracks

ernest

You think about getting off the sofa.

CHEWING THE FAT - 18 Georgia Wheeler lights a fuse under junk food.

raine

CHRONICLE - 20 Leone Christou hits Australia in part three of her travelogue.

PLASTICALITY - 24 Raine Telles on a cosmetic explosion.

UNDER EXPOSURE - STIs

Features

Contributors

04 POETRY - 11 & 19 GALLERY - 12 ZOODIAC - 16 ENIGMA - 22 DIRECTORY - 27

• Abraham Borges • Amber Roper • Charlotte Haynes

JUNK -

• Gb da Poet • George Barrow • James L’Aimable • Nick May • Raine Telles

The Tottenham Grammar School Foundation

03

SILVER FIN BOOK REVIEW £4.99 Wow! This book is amazing. Well, only if you’re into love, action and adventure. The main character is the one and only James Bond. In this book, he’s a teenager who’s sent to Eton, a very posh school. He’s classified as the new guy but makes a few friends and, of course, a few enemies. James Bond always likes to explore and find adventures, but this is one trip that’s very different from the rest. Try it, I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.

EO

F I N G E R TIPS T I P S FINGER FESTIVALS Fancy a music festival this summer? Follow the 10 tips from eFestivals neatly spaced, like well organised hippies, through the magazine. www.efestivals.co.uk

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J

Don’t take anything you can’t afford to lose; leave your Louis Viton at home!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

MUDDY HELL

If somebody asked you to beat someone up, would you:

www.MyTentOrYours.org.uk

• Do it so your friends respect you?

• Do it regardless of what anyone else thinks?

• Tell your friends to get lost and walk away?

If you had no money but wanted the latest jacket, would you: • Save your money and buy it later?

• Shoplift the jacket and hope you don’t get caught?

• Mug someone on the street for it.

If your employer asked you to make tea and clean out the back room on your first day, would you:

If, like me, you’re clueless about festivals and wouldn’t know Glastonbury from a couple of tents and a radio in your back garden, then you may want to visit MyTentOrYours.org. You can find out who is playing where, how to travel there and how to look after yourself once you arrive. It’s got advice on everything from safe sex, drug taking low downs and how to be smashedout drunk in a sensible way to reminding you to bring a tent. The web page even comes in bright green.

RT

• Tell them to shut up and do it themselves?

• Go and do it because you’re getting paid?

Choose your answers carefully...

SL

A CASH COURSE Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) www.direct.gov.uk/ema 080 810 16219 The EMA is the new earn as you learn scheme to encourage young people to concentrate on GCSE retakes, ALevels, and NVQ’s. If you are 16 or 17 before 31 August 2005, and your parents earn under £30,000 a year, you can get up to £30 per week paid straight into your bank account. If you show progress and commitment to your course you can get bonuses of up to £500 over two years. And you can keep your part-time jobs and make your bank account extra phat. Education combined with money: what more could you want?

“

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“You have to go through something to get to something because if there were no humps in life there would be nothing to get over.”

USHER, R&B SINGER AND LADIES’ MAN

YB

05

HARINGEY WEEK OF PEACE 11-18 September The Haringey Week of Peace is about bringing people together to celebrate the diversity of our community. Events already planned include a talent competition, 5-a-side football, poetry, music, dance, film-screenings and a Peace Festival on Wood Green High Road.

There is still time for you to plan your own event to make Haringey a safer and better place: email info@peacealliance.org.uk or call 020 8808 9439.

BACK IN DA DAY 14 August at Bruce Castle Park

COMIC EFFECT HOW TO DRAW & SELL COMIC STRIPS ÂŁ12.99 26 August

A group of young people from Tottenham are organising an anti-gun crime festival to promote peace and positive community spirit in Haringey.

Events include a football and streetball competition, producer and dance jumpoffs, music workshops and more.

Contact Benny or Marie on 020 8807 7591, 07837 729 193 or 07984 655 024

Alan McKenzie’s book covers everything from three-panel funnies to graphic novels.

Now fully revised, rewritten and updated, it contains a history of comics, a list of leading UK publishers and everything you need to know about writing, pencilling, inking and computer colouring comic strips.

Essential reading for aspiring comic writers and artists.

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J

Essentials? Ticket, loo roll, underwear, sun cream, money . . .

A grammatical guide...

THE COMMA A comma is used to separate the different bits of a sentence. In the old days, commas were always used before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet). Now, the comma can be left out if it is clear what the sentence means without it: It was obvious I was hooked(,) but I didn’t care.

1. Commas are used to separate items in a list. The last comma isn’t always needed but is always right: Get a balance between carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

Weed can make you feel drowsy, relaxed, or talkative.

2. Use commas when the words between them could be removed and the sentence would still make sense: Moderate daily exercise, such as a brisk walk for 30 minutes, helps keep you healthy.

And around the names or titles of people: Yes, sir! The amount, Mr Bush, that you seem to be spending...

But don’t forget the first comma: Now I’m sitting in a cell(,) a ruined man, with no one to turn to.

3. Commas are also used to separate introductory bits (which often begin with after, although, as, because, if, since, when, while): After spending so much money on green, I could barely afford the latest garms.

If people just sat down and listened, all of these things could be stopped.

Notice that if you swap the sentence around the comma isn’t needed: All of these things could be stopped if people just sat down and listened.

AND THE REST ADVICE GUIDE

GUT WEEK

Having problems with debt, employment, civil rights and other boring stuff? Well, now there’s a website to answer all your problems.

Take a fun journey through your digestive system this Gut Week, 18-24 July. www.gutweek.org.uk/game.htm

www.adviceguide.org.uk

CLIMATE CHANGE

FILM EDUCATION

Ben & Jerry’s, polar explorer Marc Conelissen and WWF are looking for six 18-25 year olds to become climate change campaigners and help lick global warming.

www.filmeducation.org www.nsfw.org

www.climatechangecollege.org

Free interactive CD-ROMs on films like the summer blockbuster ‘War of the Worlds’ including trailers and study guides.

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A SHORT STORY BY ERNEST OSAFO PHOTO BY NICK MAY I was 17 when I first started smoking weed. My friends kept pressuring me to try it. They all said everyone was doing it. I hesitated when I saw the spliff but eventually I was persuaded to try the drug. The first pull of weed made me feel a bit drowsy, then I relaxed and got talkative.

I started to get into a daily routine: me and a group of rebels would bunk lessons and go smoke some spliffs. I got used to the fresh taste of weed. It was all I could think about. It was obvious I was hooked but I didn’t care. When I was high I felt relaxed and calm, which was enough to keep me satisfied.

My mum started to get suspicious. She kept stressing that my attitude towards her was disgraceful: I was rude, lazy, and disobedient. But I didn’t care what she thought. All right I did have a few mood swings but I was stressed out from college. It wasn’t because of the weed.

Well, that’s what I thought. When I got the munchies I’d go in the kitchen and eat anything I could get my hands on.

I went from looking like a matchstick to looking like an overfed gorilla.

I was spending so much money on green that I could barely afford the latest garms. I thought the only way I could refill my wallet was by selling on some of my own weed. This didn’t go according to plan. I got caught by the police. I didn’t have much on me so I got away with a reprimand. I still needed money so I carried on shotin’.

Then the feds stopped me with a bag full of weed. They knew I was dealing so I wasn’t going to get away with a warning this time. I was so messed up.

Now I’m sitting in a cell with no one to turn to and my mum doesn’t care about me anymore. I hope I have something to live for.

08

nick

ernest

Some people think smoking weed is nothing to get excited about.

It’s become so common in the UK that seeing someone ‘blaze’ wouldn’t shock you. But just because it’s common doesn’t make it legal.

What are the effects?

Most teenagers smoke cannabis due to things like peer pressure.

It’s easy for young people to be influenced to try weed by their mates, often without know the dangers involved.

Cannabis is a confusing drug: it has different effects on different people. Some people can smoke weed all day every day and be as healthy as a newborn baby. Others can take as little as a single pull on a spliff and put themselves at serious risk. It can relax you or freak you out; make you talkative or scared to say anything at all; make your life seem easier or impossible to cope with.

What is weed?

What does the law say?

Cannabis is a plant that contains mind-altering chemicals.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main one. Weed shouldn’t be confused with skunk. Skunk is a hybrid of various cannabis plants bred to be extra potent. Some variations of skunk have been known to contain amphetamines and heroin. Skunk is a Class A drug.

On 29th January 2004 the government reclassified weed from a Class B to a Class C drug. The consequences are still serious: depending on your age, you could get up to five years in prison and/or a large fine for possession of weed and a maximum 14 year sentence for supplying. So just giving some weed to your mates could get you into some serious trouble.

Other information

“I was spending so much money on green that I could barely afford the latest garms”

J

Smoking a lot of weed can affect your short-term memory. Weed can also increase the risk of developing the mental illness schizophrenia.

You become detached from reality and can suffer from illogical patterns of thought, hallucinations, delusions and, in extreme cases, hear voices in your head.

Weed has some serious effects on people. A lot of hardcore weed smokers are in rehab fighting to overcome their addiction. Just because your mates smoke it doesn’t mean you have to follow.

There are some amazing things to experience in life. Weed is not one of them.

Put the tent somewhere nice. So, not near the communal toilets yeah?

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noreen

BY NORE N DOVE Switch yo ur TV to P op you’re lik ely to see world, MTV or Top a of the Po boobs rig ps and ht up aga naked woman sh aking he inst your would ha r ass or screen. B rdly ever ack in th see a wo alone ha ed man in a lf naked music vid ay you dancing.

Now wom eo, let en in vid eos are d possible. ressed in Most mu as little c sic video with Dav lothing a directors e Myers, s seem to who’s ma Ludacris agree de video and Britn s e fo y Spears, r Jay-Z, skin make when he s a whole said “mo lot of mo remind y re ou of pro ney”. Do esn’t tha stitution? t

“We shou ld in order t respect ourselve o be resp s It’s strang e that wh ected by en rappe the need rs make a men” to make video the explicit v anymore ersions. y also : it’s a

feel bout w It’s not a girl with th bout the e biggest hether 50 cent or music Nelly can boobs or These vid bum. get the v eos give ideo ou attention , all you h t the message th at if you ave to d like Catw want to g o is wear oman. O et the Most n olds acti Tightest to a guy’s ng like th any High Road in p and wa is. Its nice Haringey sometim lk to get att you can es it can fin e turn into their old more, like ntion if you look g d 13 year bangers. ood but men invit ing you fo I can und erstand m r a ride in en gettin stupid. Bu g excited t aren’t w because o young w they are omen we men supposed to pla m sh respecte d by men ould respect ours ature before men in elves in o ? As and prov oversized rde e that we boobs an can have r to be d bums. more tha n just

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J

Drink more water then larger.

! g n i ’ T a t a h W

by Kelly-D ee

ht? see you at nig ly n o I t a th r matte Does it really doing a t’ing.

‘Coz we’re only ly ever atter that I on m lly a re it s e Do one thing? phone you for doing a t’ing. ly n o e ’r e w z o ‘C

No.

No.

Does it really matter if I got a ma n?

‘Coz we’re only doing a t’ing.

No.

Does it really matter what star sig n I am?

‘Coz we’re only doing a t’ing.

No.

write? r if I can’t read or te at m ly al re it s Doe ing a t’ing.

‘Coz we’re only do

No.

dislike? ter what I like or Does it really mat ing a t’ing.

‘Coz we’re only do

No.

Does it really mat ter if I tell you lie s? . ‘Coz we’re only doing a t’ing.

No

So it doesn’t real ly matter what I sa y or what I do?

Coz I’m doing a t’i ng.

No.

And that t’ing is YOU. Send your poems with your name, address and age to Exposure, The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park, N10 3QJ email editor@exposure.org.uk or fax 0208 883 2906

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12

J

Sensible clothes please. It’s just gonna rain and freeze ‘ya up at night.

Gallery

Cut-up, by Amber Roper

Send your artwork to: The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Tel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282, Email: jon@exposure.org.uk

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DE AR MR DEMOCRACY

14

Dear Mr Bush, I hope your bank has contacted you about the dollars you’ve been spending since March 2003. Yes sir! I guess you know better than anyone else APART FROM MR BLAIR - exactly what I’m talking about.

Do you remember the Iraq war? I think you know there’s an organisation called the United Nations that was created after World War II. You know why? Now I know that you know but I’ll tell you anyway just to refresh your mind, sir! It was created so that all the countries in the world could come together and have a talk about the problems they had with each other,

abi

wilson

BY WILSON PEREIRA DESIGNED BY ABI AROJOJOYE

billions, mega billions, of dollars spent on the war in Iraq. The number just keeps going up and up and up... people dying every day... the number just keeps going up and up and up... NEVER DOWN. Now Iraq is a ‘free’ country but there are attacks everyday! In most attacks someone dies! I really don’t understand anything about politics but in a free country people wouldn’t attack each other and people wouldn’t be scared of leaving their homes.

In Africa there are children - the adults of tomorrow - dying every one... two... three seconds and all they needed was to drink clean water or get some food. They probably don’t even know how sad that is. But you spend billions and all you buy is death. Is killing people more important then saving lives?

“If people just sat down at a table, had a talk and listened, all of those things could have been stopped” to stop wars and killing innocent people, like babies, like what Hitler did to the Jews or the Vietnam war in the 70s or atomic bombs or people just disappearing?

Well, my friend, Mr Bush, if people just sat down at a table, had a talk and listened, all of those things could have been stopped and a lot of things happening now wouldn’t be happening.

You say you fight for ‘freedom’ but freedom is not free. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been wasted and

J

Don’t trust strangers! Mates watch your stuff and you watch theirs.

15

16

Rooster 1981.1993.2005

Rat 1972.1984.1996

You’ve been getting a lot of stress through work, mates and relationships but only because you’re letting petty things distract you. Ignore the immature people and annoying rubbish and concentrate on what you enjoy. Live freely!

You’ve rummaged your way through the smelly days of Spring and made the most of the leftovers. You’re a whisker away from everything you ever wanted if only you could see beyond the end of your nose.

Dog 1970.1982.1994

Ox 1973.1985.1997

Summer’s here and you’re determined to sniff out that someone special. Be sure you’re on the right scent or you’ll be running home with your tail between your legs to curl up in your basket whimpering and feeling licked.

You‘ve been feeling down, like you’re dragging round a heavy load. But a friend is there to help you. Don’t let your anger take over or, in all the red mist, you might lose them too.

Pig 1971.1983.1995

Tiger 1974.1986.1998

You need to let a close friend down but you’re worrying about how to do it. Good friends are hard to find so if you’re only interested in saving your own bacon perhaps you’ll deserve it if you end up getting fried.

You are being way too bossy in your attempts to be the leader of the jungle. You might have a fearsome roar but unless you let others have their say, when things go wrong they’ll find out you’re just a pussy cat underneath.

Rabbit 1975.1987.1999

Horse 1978.1990.2002

You’re hopping round with excitement but try not to make a big deal out of it. Some of your mates might think you’re being a show off and, when it’s all over, you’ll be back down the hole you crawled out of.

After finally landing a serious relationship, you’re scared that it’s all falling apart. You’ve got to stop nibbling yesterday’s hay and start cracking the whip. You can gallop through anything you put your mind to.

Dragon 1976.1988.2000

Goat 1979.1991.2003

It’s been a very tough time for you but it’s best if you just bite your tongue. If you let your mouth slip there will be serious consequences for you as well as anyone stood in the way of your fiery outburst.

Stop being so grumpy or you’ll end up Billyno-mates. Your friends are only trying to make you happy so don’t throw it back in their face. Get too gruff and you might wake up the troll in them.

Snake 1977.1989.2001

Monkey 1980.1992.2004

Doing things just to please yourself is making you poisonous to everyone else. Try to please others and you might find you’re less venomous and less likely to be beaten to death with a stick.

You’re trying to climb higher than you can reach. Don’t be in such a rush. Take everything one branch at a time and find the time just to swing... you’ll get there soon enough.

J

Follow the festival current. That means loose the planning notebook.

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georgia

BY GEORGIA As a nation we’re growing fatter and fatter; it’s not surprising if you think about it. We’re richer, busier, play more computer games and watch more TV than ever.

We just don’t have time to live a squeaky clean lifestyle. You might think it sounds good but a more comfortable lifestyle has contributed to our expanding waistbands and the death of 30,000 people a year due to obesity.

Imagine you just got out of school and are starving (you haven’t eaten for three hours). You wander into the newsagents and what’s there? A selection of brightly coloured crisps, biscuits and chocolate bars all wanting you to buy them. You can’t decide: Kit Kat or Snickers? You take both; they’re only cheap.

How familiar is this situation? Are there apples and yoghurts on display? If they are, they’re stocked

18

J

right at the back where few go far enough to see let alone buy (except the little old lady who started shopping this morning when you bought a can of Coke for breakfast). And look at all the fast food restaurants (if you can call them food): McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King.

‘I like my junk food and can’t be bothered to exercise’ I’m not saying that everyone should give up their favourite ‘pleasure’ foods in favour of a wheatfree, dairy-free, fat-free, everything-nice-free diet: counting calories can become just as unhealthy and obsessive. All you need to improve your diet is a balance between carbohydrates, protein and

No condom? Just put it away.

fat and five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day. You can still have the occasional burger.

Exercise plays a huge part in keeping healthy and two out of three teens aren’t getting enough. Are you one of them? Lack of exercise is as bad for you as a packet of cigarettes a day. But what is enough exercise? Well, a brisk walk for 30 minutes most days helps to control weight and cuts stress, anxiety and depression. That’s five problems in one!

If you’re reading this thinking ‘I like my junk food and can’t be bothered to exercise’ then good luck to you. You can look forward to a life with a range of health problems: arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, shortness of breath and depression.

Is your daily Big Mac worth all of that?

W

a

i

t

i

n

g

As I sit and wait I contemplate fate’s dates.

I imagine. I dream. I wait.

Do you know what I mean?

I’ve been thinking about liking, sinking and blinging.

This woman next to me is going mad, Talking about her husband beating and raping, And I’m taking in this blatant display of Satan.

Only because I’m waiting.

I’m in the queue eating chocolate in the bank with my eyes closed.

I’m in my think tank enjoying every miniscule molecule Cadbury put in those chocolates.

Mmmmmm lovely.

Then I open my eyes.

What a tragedy, reality.

And then I’m waiting again.

But not for that girl to call.

I’m on the train waiting to hear that lady’s voice again.

I wait for the bus. I wait for the train.

I swear this life is a waiting game.

I’m not waiting for fame.

Patience is a virtue they say.

Patience...

Hmmmmm.

What am I doing, late night on road.

How come I never listened to my mum?

You know what?

Forget waiting.

I’m gone.

Gb da Poet, 19, Tot’nam

Send your poems with your name, address and age to Exposure, The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park, N10 3QJ or email editor@exposure.org.uk or fax 0208 883 2906

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BY LEONE CHRISTOU rn Hemisphere!

Hello from the Southe untry since I'm now in my fifth co the world! Nearly see to me ho leaving I'm here in w No o. four months ag lia. stra Au l tifu beau imagine it from Oz is exactly how we ich is such a wh n do our sofas in Lon predictability un nice change from the nce ala imb of ling fee of Asia. A ntinent co t tha d un followed me aro It was a it! h wit fun h suc d ha but I t world so landing completely differen a great culture in Sydney gave me phrasebook a ed ne n't shock. I do ve been ha I h anymore althoug the placards by es tim few a sed confu t say 'no tha bs clu d an outside pubs sandals in are gs’ thongs inside'. ‘Thon ! ere ph mis he vy tur this topsyly ever dreamed I'm doing things I on scuba diver ied of. I’m now a qualif rlds! The wo t en fer dif t ou (talk ab eeds our exc far e underwater on jumped out of a d an s) am dre htly nig

20

1

HULK I have driven a plane at 8,000ft. nd, isla nd ound a sa of a 4x4 truck ar iving dr of he lic -c ch at doing the Bayw e th at up g splashin with the waves held ts, an ph ele n truck. I’ve ridde and w fish, crickets koalas, eaten ra homek un dr d an s cockroache only d tequila. And brewed beer an e th s wa it ! I think thrown up once h! ac ro ck co e tequila, not th e first bout of I’ve also had th ngs e weirdest feeli Th ss. ne ick homes g round llin ve tra e u'r yo attack you as d by lly accompanie the globe, usua go to ing nt ver wa the feeling of ne in how pla ex I n ca w home again. Ho e you ur own can mak being all on yo my of ge ing in char feel so alive? Be t me gh ou br s ha y, da own day, every er ev I could much more than inias occasional 'm imagine as well breakdowns'. w, t that I have no I have no doub every ed nc rie pe ex and only now, d, le to humankin emotion availab 2

and on a daily basi s! I cry, gasp, lau gh cower, sm , moan, cringe, ile, smirk, snigger a sigh at d nd ifferent ti mes and simultane ously.

The last ti me I crie dw the sight of a rainb as over ow. The elderly c ouple ne xt to me a little co were ncerned for me un told them til I I'd never seen a whole ra inb slowly ba ow. Then they cked aw ay (whic was the h last time I cringed last time ). The I gasped w three do as when lphins (po ssibly fou decided r) to pick th e light at one end of the ra in bow to le around in ap . The last time I laughed was at m y friends gasping at the sa me scen e.

3

J

The last ti me I moa ned was the rainb as ow bega n to fade The last ti . me I cow ere the thund er before d was at th rainbow.

The last ra e ge? That was at th e wind fo r forcing to leave me the rainb ow to ge shelter. I t last snigg ered at th thought e of where I was five months a go and th e the thou ght of wh n sighed at ere I'll be months fr five om now.

And that was all th is mornin To feel th g! at many emotions one day in (which is n’t even yet) make over s me fee l so alive and wou ld give a nyone m breakdo iniwns... rig ht? OK, th might be ere another reason... one of th I'm ose peop le when Bu sted broke that cried up.

4

Look after each other, no one else will.

21

Enigmatically reproduced in this issue: theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, a very, very curious man.

Over the last few months I’ve been getting so many spots around my face.

Every day I get at least two more. My boyfriend said I should clear up or he’ll clear off and my friends just laugh at me and call me names. How do I get rid of these things on my face?

We know from daily life that we exist for other people first of all, for whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends. But remember, not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

That includes spots, boyfriends and your ‘friends’.

22

There’s a really fit girl who goes to my youth club. All my mates think she’s well nice and they all say she fancies me. But I’m too scared to approach her. I have this feeling that she doesn’t like me and my mates are just pulling a prank. How can I chat her up before another bloke tries to steal her?

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.

That’s relativity. Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love; where there is love there is no question: we have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility.

joey

Send problems to Exposure: The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park, N10 3QJ or email: enigma@exposure.org.uk

Something’s seriously wrong with me. I like dressing up in my mum’s church dress and playing with my little sister’s Barbie dolls.

What am I thinking! I confuse myself! I’m not gay, I really fancy a girl at school, but she won’t like me if she finds out I feel more comfortable doing girl things. Help me!

I want to die. I’m being bullied at school because of the colour of my skin. I have no friends and people chant nasty comments at me and call me ‘blick’. My mum says I should be proud of who I am and the colour of my skin but I'm not.

What should I do?

Great spirits have always found opposition from mediocre minds who cannot understand it when a person does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices. But once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing dresses and playing with dolls comes easy.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts. But it is not by sitting still at a grand distance and calling the human race larvae that people are to be helped: setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.

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plasticality

24

raine

BY RAINE TELLES You get up and look in the bathroom mirror: ‘Oh, crap, look at that face!’

If you could only change your ‘imperfections’, you’d be so happy. All of your problems would be gone and you could achieve everything you wanted: to be loved by everyone; a miracle on perfect ankles.

A 21st Century Frankenstein’s Monster, or perhaps the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He is a prime example of a shiny plastic addict. Lolo Ferrari is a good one too. She died due to her famously massive breast implants. These people don’t need a plastic injection, they need help.

But it doesn’t stop at just the face. No, you need haircuts, well accessorised clothes and all the latest gadgets and other pointless stuff. So why is it, after you’ve lost two stone and bought yourself a shiny new blow-up chest, you’re still so low you’d be dead if you were lower?

From LA we move on to Mexico, the dumping ground of the disfigured. In one case a woman wanted wrinkle filler but couldn’t afford LA’s leading practitioners. So she went to a ‘well known’, ‘highly recommended’, Plastic Artist’ who sold her dreams on the cheap. Thing is, he wasn’t a qualified

“The plastic world is sometimes lethal as well as pretentious” surgeon or even a doctor. He was a If you’d suffered third degree burns and had been eating your meals through a tube, then plastic surgery, the biggest tweak of all, would be a wonderful option. But if you’re a beautiful 20-yearold model with a breathtaking body, is it right for you to want, let’s say, bum implants? Is it quite so amazing? No. It’s stupid and vain.

The business of plastic surgery is too often driven by vanity not medical need. Just because so many of us are uncomfortable about who we are, surgeons who should be saving people’s lives are making money feeding on insecurities.

The plastic capital of the world, Los Angeles, is the worst offender. It eats up ugly and spits out clones. Everywhere you turn you see beautiful faces, figures and cars but they all look the same.

And since everyone is pretty no one is special. Michael Jackson, what a face!

J

con artist who’d latched on to the dollar signs that dictate the plastic world. She lasted a few hours but then began to feel sick, dizzy and itchy. He hadn’t injected botox or collagen fillers, he’d used vegetable oil. She developed huge lumps of oil under her skin that her body was trying to get rid of but couldn’t. She was rushed to hospital where real doctors fought to save her life, popping the lumps of oil bubbling under her skin. The plastic world is sometimes lethal as well as pretentious.

There doesn’t seem to be any way of preventing the ‘Plastic World’ from expanding but we could start saying to ourselves: ‘No, I don’t have to look like all of those Barbie Folk. Put down the make-up, forget the anti-cellulite cream and look good inside today.

Stuff the rest of you!’

That really would be a miracle.

Tantrums are a no. ‘Sup to you to make festivals fun!

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Directory YOUTH CLUBS Muswell Hill Youth Centre Hillfield Park, Muswell Hill Tel: 020 8883 5855 Bruce Grove Youth Project 10 Bruce Grove, Tottenham Tel: 020 8808 1604 Wood Green Area Youth Project New River Sports Complex, White Hart Lane Tel: 020 8489 8940 / 020 8489 8942 SEXUAL HEALTH 4YP Haringey Tuesday 2.30-4.30pm St Ann’s Sexual Health Centre, St Ann’s Hospital, St Ann’s Road Tottenham N15 3TH Tel: 020 8442 6605/6536.

4YP Drop-in Sessions: Northumberland Park Monday 3.30-6.30pm Aspire Youth Project, Kenneth Robins House, 240 Northumberland Park Rd, N17 0BX. Wood Green Wednesday 3.30-6.30pm Sky City Community Centre, (Wood Green Shopping City), 65 Penwortham Court, 50 Mayes Road, Wood Green, N22 6SR. 4YP Bus Tel: 0800 1613 715 www.4yp.co.uk

STAFF Andreas Koumi Jon Golds Enrico Tessarin Luke Pantelidou

Gary Flavell Ryan Alexander Mirella Issaias

Young Mums To Be Alexandra Court 122-124 High Road Wood Green Tel: 020 8889 0022 Outzone For gay and bisexual men under 26 www.outzone.org.uk MENTAL HEALTH Antenna 9 Bruce Grove, Tottenham Tel: 020 8365 9537 www.antennaoutreach.co.uk email: info@antennaoutreach.co.uk Host Excel House, 312 High Road, Tottenham Tel: 020885 8160 LEARNING DISABILITIES Markfield Project Markfield Road, Tottenham Tel: 020 8800 4134 DRUGS AND ALCOHOL Step-ahead 40 Bromley Road, Tottenham Tel: 020 8493 8525 Turning Point The Old Health Clinic Suttton Road, Muswell Hill Tel: 020 8883 8887 HAGA 590 Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham Tel: 020 8800 6999 Freephone Child helpline: 0800 389 5257

Michael Rally David Warrington Liz Millar

is a registered trademark of Exposure Organisation Limited, registered in England no. 3455480, registered charity no. 1073922.

The views expressed in Exposure do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. (c) 2005. All rights reserved. ISSN 1362-8585 AWARDS Purple Youth Award for best youth representation website London Electricity Londoner of the Year Award Nationwide Award for Voluntary Endeavour Phillip Lawrence Award Ed & F Man Award for Best London Youth Publication ADVERTISING If your organisation wants to get its message across to young people call 020 8883 0260 PRINTERS Miter Press Ltd, Miter House, 150 Rosebery Avenue, N17 9SR Tel: 020 8808 9776

HERB ONLINE www.herbonline.info EMERGENCY HOUSING Shelterline Tel: 0808 800 4444 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Hearthstone 10 Commerce Road, Wood Green Tel: 020 8888 5362 SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES Duke of Edinburgh Award New River Sports Complex, White Hart Lane Tel: 020 8489 8941 / 07967 336 338 e2e Alexandra Court 122-124 High Road Wood Green Tel: 020 8889 0022 Keep It Simple Training Sentinel House 1 Ashley Road Tottenham Hale Tel: 0871 200 2321 Prince’s Trust Old Fire Station Tottenham Green Enterprise Centre Town Hall Approach Road Tel: 020 8375 3420 BTCV Millenium Volunteers Tel: 020 7843 4292 / 7843 4291 E-mail: mv-london@btcv.org.uk www.mv-london.org.uk Tottenham Connexions Centre 560-568 High Road Tottenham Tel: 020 8808 0333

DISCLAIMER Exposure aims to give young people an independent voice which can contribute to the democratic process.

We apologise for any offence caused by the way young people choose to express themselves.

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CONTRACEPTION 4YP BUS REGULAR SITES

The 4YP bus has regular sites across Enfield and Haringey in Crouch End, CONTRACEPTION 4YP BUS Edmonton REGULAR Green, WestSITES Green, Enfield Town and Wood Green.

To find out exactly where the bus will be and when visit www.4YP.co.uk or call 0800 16 13 715

4YP SESSIONS Free DROP-IN condoms and chlamydia screening packs are available.

4YP PHARMACY If you've had sex without using contraception or think your contraception hasn't worked, SEXUAL HEALTH AND STIS emergency hormonal contraception (the 'morning after pill') can usually FAMILY PLANNING CLINICS prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours (3 days) of having sex. It is more effective if taken within the first 24 hours.

4YP CLINICS

You can get the morning after pill free from selected 4YP Pharmacies in Enfield and Haringey, look for the silver sticker in the pharmacy window.

This service is free and confidential for all young females aged 18 and under.

4YP DROP-IN SESSIONS - Free condoms, pregnancy testing and screening for chlamydia 4YP PHARMACY 4YP WOOD GREEN Wednesday 3.30-6.30pm Sky City Community Centre (2nd Floor, Wood Green Shopping City), Wood Green

SEXUAL PARK HEALTH AND STIS 4YP NORTHUMBERLAND Monday 3.30-6.30pm FAMILY PLANNING CLINICS Aspire Base, Kenneth Robins House, 240 Northumberland Grove, London 4YP EDMONTON Thursday 3.30-6.00pm Artzone, 1st Floor Edmonton Green Shopping Mall Free condoms, pregnancy testing and screening for Chlamydia are available

4YP CLINICS - For full sexual health screens and contraception 4YP HARINGEY Tuesday 2.30-4.30pm St Ann's Sexual Health Centre St Ann's Hospital St Ann's Road Tottenham 020 8442 6605/6536 4YP ENFIELD Monday & Wednesday 3.30-5.30pm The Town Clinic 33 Eaton Road Enfield 020 8370 2550

Enfield & Haringey