Kettle Mag, Spring 2018

@KettleMag

The best student writing ...

Spring 2018

Hello Spring....

The best student writing online and in print... www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

1

Want to write for Kettle...?

...if so then please get in touch: info@kettle.co.uk 2

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

Editor in Chief Leon Wingham Spring edition Editor Rita Cunha

All images from www.pixabay.com unless otherwise stated.

Contributors Rita Cunha Zoe Little Lucy Skoulding Lauren Harrison Afonso Fernandes Sophia Bi Jasmine Butler Alex Cutts Chloe Sayers Nathan Shepherd Alex Veeneman Andrew Shaw Leah Walker Thomas Howes-Ward Claire Lyons Richa Kundnani Emily Baker Beatriz Ferreira Taylor Finnegan Cameron Ridgway Picture Editor Nick Banks Designer Christopher Wolsey

Kettle Mag is published by Red Chilli Publishing Ltd 273-287 Regent Street London W1B 2HA www.redchillipublishing.com

www.KettleMag.co.uk

Editor’s Letter So spring is finally here - huzzah! After what seems like the longest, coldest, wettest and snowiest winter since, well - forever, there are definite signs of spring out there. The air is sweeter, the sun is warmer, the birds are singing and the evenings now extend well into the... um... evening. Yes spring is here and this makes me a happy boy.

For me, one of the real highlights of Spring - and indeed the whole year - are those first really warm days. The days when the temperature edges towards 20c and despite the fact that it will be Baltic in the evening, we all still leave the house after breakfast, dressed like it’s mid-August. People are wearing a little less than usual and everywhere you look you catch glimpses of bare skin. Arms, legs, chests - all peeking through the bars of their winter prisons, with the hope of catching a few rays.

But it’s not just the sun that all this bare flesh is attracting, eyes are lingering and glances are being exchanged. Springtime friskiness isn’t just for the birds and bees, you know.

So now that everyone’s stock has jumped and we’re all prancing around thinking we’re Margot Robbie or John Boyega or whomever, it’s time for the sunny afternoon/evening trip to the boozer.

You leave work early, keen to get a decent spot outside but everyone else has had the same thought. The pub is heaving. It’s not been like this since last Summer and even then you’re pretty sure it wasn’t this rammed. Everyone is slowly getting wasted and there is a genuine sense of comerarderie and optimism in the air... after all, summer is only just around the corner. The evening wears on, you exchange numbers and then you head home - freezing your bits off because it’s still bloody April and the temperature has plummeted.

Ah yes... spring. Welcome back old friend.

KettleMag

3

@KettleMag

Kettle Magazine

www.kettlemag.co.uk facebook.com/kettlemag twitter.com/kettlemag

11

Happily Ever after: Shakespeare

For journo students

✳ Life lessons I’ve learned ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳

44

✳ ✳

The Guardian goes all tabloidy on us...

✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳

56

Trust in journalism

82

Kettle’s Sian Elvin - what’s she up to now?

4

Contents

KettleMag

✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳ ✳

from books............................................

Why are Young Adult books so important..............................................

In search of comedy.............................

Has perfectionism gone too far?........

Labour’s “Youthquake” impact on the 2017 election..................................

The 2018 F1season..............................

How fashion can bring about chage......................................................

Top trends for Spring 2018.................

My 5 favourite cocktails......................

The future three lions..........................

The coffee shop and self-care.............

What is the new UEFA Nations League, and why should I care?.........

Trump and the world’s news..............

Will Syria see a political resolution in 2018?................................................

How to go green....................................

A matter of (digital) trust...................

Long distance relationships...............

Studying abroad...................................

Time’s Up, but the clock’s still ticking...................................................

Studying music in Amsterdam..........

Big Brother 2018, Please don’t disappear..............................................

Review: Still Game- Fly Fishing.........

Western feminism & rural women....

Vital tips for journalism students..

5 tips for reporting news on Twitter.........................................

Further Reading...................................

8 14 16 20 22 26 28 30 36 38 40 42 46 50 52 56 59 60 65 68 70 73 75 78 80 85

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

5

Kettle contributors People what did write in this here mag...

Rita Cunha is the Women’s Editor at Kettle Mag, and a Literature student in Lisbon. She works as a freelancer editing, proofreading, and translating from English to Portuguese. She has an interest in literature and journalism, and wants to work in these fields in the future.

Alex Veeneman is Managing Editor of Current Affairs for Kettle. He has also written for publications in both the UK and the US. Outside of Kettle, Veeneman is an active member of the Society of Professional Journalists in the United States. He is based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area.

Emily Baker is our Social Media Editor and a third-year Journalism student at the University of Sheffield. Writing has given her a fiery interest in feminism debates, a topic she has grown to love.

Nathan Shepherd is the Football Editor at Kettle Mag who also works as a web and content manager for a startup company. He is a Media and Communications graduate with a passion for writing and football; in fact, a football fanatic reading, listening and watching his favourite sport.

Cameron Ridgway is Media Editor at Kettle and Modern Languages student currently on a year abroad in the South of Chile. Interested in media and world news and drinks far too much coffee…

Tayler Finnegan is Kettle’s TV Editor. Having just completed a Masters in Global Journalism, Tayler hopes to become a writer reporting on contemporary issues around the globe.

An all-rounder, her passions include current affairs and politics, as well as TV and pop culture.

6

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Lucy Skoulding, 22, works as a junior editor in London while studying her NCTJ with Press Association. She has also co-authored a trilogy of books called So Great a Man, the first of which will be published in 2018. She is a Warwick English graduate and your Kettle Mag Culture Editor.

Chloe Sayers is 21, and has been Kettle’s Food & Drink editor for almost three years. She became an NCTJ qualified journalist at Brighton Journalist works, and lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex. She is passionate about food & wine, and always looks to try new recipes and restaurants.

Leah Walker is the Books Editor at Kettle Mag and is also a final year English and Creative Writing student, who hopes to one day write her own novel. She’s a complete bookaholic, coffee addict and a serial Netflix binger.

Zoe Little is currently finishing her final year at university, studying English and Creative Writing. A self confeesed theatre nerd, bookworm, and fiction enthusiast.’

Shonagh Mulhern is a full time law student and part time explorer. Her solo travels have helped accumulate various interesting and inspiring tales of human interaction, tribulation and triumph. With a passion for culture, humanitarian issues and travel, her content may vary but her style never does.

Victoria Blake is a writer of several disciplines including Journalism and is World Editor at Kettle Magazine.

She regularly contributes writing to the magazine and outside of Kettle is active in the Society of Professional Journalists in the United States.

Jasmine Butler is a second year Journalism student based in Devon. Currently as KETTLE magazines fashion editor, she oversees and writes articles for the top trends, style and advice circulating within the fashion world. She also blogs on the side, and loves a good shopping spree. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

7

Life lessons I’ve learned from books Rita Cunha

Growing up, my parents always encouraged me to have my nose in a book. We were fortunate enough to have lived in a house where books were plentiful and a library card was a gateway into a new realm of adventures.

It is no wonder that a lot of the lessons I have learned over the years came out of bound pages and millions of blackink words. These are just some of what books have taught me over the years.

It’s okay to like doing different things Matilda

by Roald Dahl Matilda was a character I really connected with instantaneously when I read Roald Dahl’s book for the first time.

I remember my fourth-grade teacher giving it to me a day during recess 8

KettleMag

and being completely sucked into this world. I could see myself in Matilda.

Although she was a child prodigy and I was just a simple elementary-school student, we both shared a passion for things my friends didn’t care about: books, puzzles, and going to the library.

Matilda taught me it was okay to be a little outside of the norm, that spending recess reading instead of playing soccer or playing tag did not make me weird or any less of a child.

Not everyone has had the upbringing you did Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi Reading this graphic novel really made me see that I should be more grateful for the things I had growing up because they weren’t a given for everybody. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Your words matter Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank Anne Frank’s story is one that stayed with me ever since I read the book for class. Learning about the historical facts and studying her specific case was heartbreaking.

Numbers are terrifying, but reading Anne’s story in her own words was much more frightening.

Back then, I caught myself thinking about how happy she would be if she could ever know how impactful her words were.

Anne Frank was a massive inspiration to out my thoughts to paper because they matter!

Even when the world is the direst, intolerant place you could think of, words are powerful and can bring about change. www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Unlike Satrapi and many other children around the world, I have no idea what it means to be hungry or feel thirsty. I have never had to consider leaving my home and family behind to be safe. Or have to hide some behaviours because they could get me in trouble with the government. Reading Persepolis was the turning point when I realized that even though everybody goes through their own problems, there are people in much worse situations out there.

Step out of your comfort zone — but be true to yourself Since You’ve Been Gone

by Morgan Matson Morgan Matson’s novel about a girl trying out new things and taking risks during the summer before her first year at university gave me the inspiration to do the same. I read it just before moving to a new school where I didn’t know anyone and it helped me calm down my anxiety. Having always been a homebody who’s afraid to get out of her comfort zone, this was the book I needed at that time. It taught me that we can only grow up if we come out of our cosy, comfortable shells — but in doing so we shouldn’t lose sight of ourselves and change completely.

Always step into other people’s shoes before judging them To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird is a much-loved American classic for a reason. One of the most infamous quotes Atticus Finch says in the book really stuck with me, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Although easier said than done, I try to do this every time I feel close to judging somebody without knowing the full picture. In a world where war and conflict seem to always be lurking, trying to see the world from other people’s point of view is incredibly necessary—now more than ever.

KettleMag

9

A small action is better than no action Eating Animals

by Jonathan Safran Foer Three years ago I turned vegetarian because of ethical and environmental reasons.

Learning about the meat industry’s negative impact on the planet disgusted me, and so I made the decision to never eat meat or fish again. This went against my family’s wishes as they saw my decision as a single drop in the ocean. They told me that I would never see any change in how things are because I was just one consumer out of billions.

Nonetheless, I decided to take the step and stick to plant-based foods. I know I haven’t changed the world and that I never will, but I took action against something I saw as problematic and am proud of myself for it.

partying and drinking every day, I was a little scared and anxious, to say the least. I have never been one to participate in those activities and being at a party makes me feel trapped. Being home reading a book or watching some Netflix is much more my style.

When I read Fangirl I was dreading September.

However, Cath made me feel like I was not the only person feeling like this. Reading about her journey as a firstyear English major was a precious experience and it definitely made the transition to higher education smoother and less stress-inducing.

Books were there to teach me how to accept myself and how to grow up emotionally when I needed them the most.

They have a very special place in my heart and I will treasure them forever.

It’s okay to be a homebody at university Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell Going to university in a city where the culture around it consists of 10

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

By Zoe Little

Shakespeare and the ‘happily ever after’

From double-suicides to revenge served with a cannibalistic flair, Shakespeare is renowned for Old-Testament style dénouements that seem as far from a fairy tale as possible. This should come as no surprise; as echoed in the likes of Marlowe, Ford, and Webster, Renaissance tragedies indulged in unapologetic melodrama that simply left no room for joviality amongst the gore and callous intentions. In fact, brutality is perhaps the very fabric of tragedies and histories of the time, whether it be through physical brutality, or the simple brutality of truth and acceptance. We see lovers ripped apart; eponymous characters defeated; friendships destroyed; and, although the force of evil is often defeated, is it ever that satisfactory after we have seen them cause so much damage? Brutality seems the nucleus of these plots, and even more so the endings. www.KettleMag.co.uk

But, what of comedy, exactly? And in particular, Shakespeare’s comedies, that are often placed on a pedestal within the literary canon?

Comedy is a genre which often follows that generic ‘happily ever after’ story structure, whereby the conclusion consists of reunions, the defeat of evil, a reward for the protagonist, and the belief that the characters will live in a perpetual state of happiness. It is the most common structure even today, exercised in romantic comedies, fairy tales, and other such ‘feel good films’ and pieces of literature, which is perhaps why we are fooled by Shakespeare’s endings, even now, during a time of hyperawareness.

Although Shakespeare’s comedies follow this structure almost to the letter, the conclusions we are left with are often cynical and problematic, without much of a ‘happily ever after’ in sight.

KettleMag

11

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, for is that both Gwendolyn and Cecily example, should have the perfect believe Jack and Algernon to be called ending. After a tapestry of mistakes Earnest – a name which the women find and arguments, two sets of couples, desirable. Although Jack does deceive Hermia and Lysander, and Demetrius Gwendolyn at the end of the play, and Helena, are both wed. As an promising her that his name is Earnest, audience, we have been rooting for the such a deception is a slight one which hurting, hard-done-by Helena to get her can be rectified, thus not destructive man, especially after she feels mocked to the happy ending. If the deception in and emotionally vulnerable when both ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was to Lysander and Demetrious declare their be rectified, however, both Helena and love for her. She is that unlucky in love Demetrius would be left heartbroken heroine whom we feel for, and perhaps and damaged, removing the happy even see as a mirror to ourselves. ending altogether, and sending their So when she marries Demetrius, the plot arc into the parameters of tragedy. person she has been pining for since the off, we should be happy. However, Moreover, even when Shakespeare negates magical forces, the whole relationship ...when he still applies a cynical is problematic for one undertone to a romantic single reason: it’s an Shakespeare Within illusion. negates magical dénouement.

‘Twelfth Night’ we once forces, he still again have two couples, Initially, Demetrius is applies a cynical Viola and Orsino, and in love with Hermia, Olivia and Sebastian, so much so that he is undertone to only this love triangle set to marry her. These a romantic is more elaborate and feelings do not fade dénouement. despondent. Olivia is naturally, nor do they unwilling to marry really fade at all, but are instead stolen from him by Puck, and has relentlessly expressed her a sprite, who enchants Demetrius into disinterest in Orsino, and yet he falling in love with Helena. And so, the continues to harass her. She is even cruel for constantly love between the couple that ultimately considered culminates in that ‘they live happily rebuking his unwanted advances. But ever after’ ending is a lie. Neither are to her surprise, she does find love, and aware there is a spell in place, but even in the form of Cesario (who is Viola, so, is his ending happy for being forced disguised as a man). Meanwhile, Viola into love? And is her ending happy, – still in the disguise of Cesario – is not being loved for real, but through a falling in love with Orsino, who in turn is falling in love with her (even though trick? he thinks her to be a man). Whilst the Such farcical tones are common within confusion of identity makes this play comedy, as demonstrated in plays such genuinely funny, there is a sense of as Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of foreboding that comes to fruition at Being Earnest’, which, similarly to ‘A the end. Orsino and Viola (no longer Midsummer Night’s Dream’, consists disguised) are together, and so their of two couples that ultimately are ending can be considered a happy one. wed. The hurdle within this, however, But what of Olivia? After falling in love 12

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

as a ghostly reminder of the love that she lost.

And then, of course, we have perhaps the most problematic comedy of all, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’ Whilst this play would likely have been received well during its time, it is That person was Viola in disguise, and now often looked upon as infuriating so Olivia is either in love with Viola – misogyny than demoralises the which simply couldn’t end happily brassy heroine. Katherina begins the in the Elizabethan era – or she is in play as independent and feisty, but is love with a man that never existed in eventually ‘tamed’ by her husband, the first place. Either way, her ending Petruchio – through mental, emotional, seems cruel. If this was not enough, and physical abuse – culminating in we have Malvolio and Antonio; two a speech at the play’s dénouement, characters who are isolated by the in which she lectures women on why they should obey end. Malvolio is not the their husbands.

Even kindest of characters, and This change if the modern issues of although it is debatable is not one of sexism are removed whether he deserved the torture he endured (which progress but one (as Elizabethans would certainly contributes to a of submission, not likely register this large portion of the play’s which cannot be inequality), Kate ends the play a different woman to comedy), his ending is still dour one. He too is in love looked upon as a the beginning. This change happy ending is not one of progress but with Olivia, and is tricked one of submission, which into believing that such cannot be looked upon as a feelings are reciprocated.

By the end he has been humiliated and happy ending for her. beaten, with all hopes of love cruelly taken away. Similarly we have Antonio, So Shakespeare’s comedies, although who loves Sebastian. Although it is entertaining in their own right not clear whether he is in love with (and dependent upon how they are Sebastian or has a strong platonic love produced), have a disparagement for him, he is discarded of by Sebastian attached to their endings which, for Olivia, and thus alone, despite contrary to popular belief, result in all he has done for his friend. In this these plays – or at least these three instance, it is challenging to see who is plays in question – not having the more damaged: Malvolio, for perhaps a ‘happily ever after’ that the genre couple of humiliations too far of a fair suggests they should have. In fact, it comeuppance; Antonio, for becoming is almost possible to argue that, whilst dispensable to someone he truly cares reaming comedies, it is the elements of for and has supported; or Olivia, who the tragic which not only make these found a love she thought impossible, plays darkly comical, but helps guide only to have that person taken away the plots altogether. and replaced by a stranger who looks exactly the same, and thus could serve www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

13

@KettleMag

(which seemed like an impossibility to her) with Cesario, she is coupled off with Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother.

Not only are Sebastian and Olivia strangers, Sebastian, although he may look exactly like Cesario, is not the person she ultimately fell in love with.

Why young adult books are so important Leah Walker

We live in a digital age where we are constantly glued to our phones and our sense of self-worth is measured by how many likes we get on Instagram. Our society is one where we are pressured to appear perfect 24/7 and no-one feels this pressure more than modern day teenagers. You may think that in a world so heavily populated with technology that books have become insignificant, especially those aimed at the young adult market, however, according to market statistics the sale of YA fiction has sky rocketed. This is largely to do with the fact that it’s not just teenagers that are now reading these books and apparently around 70% of YA titles are being read by those aged between 18 and 64. You may believe that this is just due to a misplaced nostalgia for one’s teen years, but it’s so much more than that.

A long time ago you would have been judged harshly for saying that you were 14

KettleMag

reading a book aimed at young adults, but today everyone seems to be reading them, but why is that? and why should they be considered so important? For a start, young adult books tackle a huge variety of genres and topics: from the richest fantasy worlds developed in Sarah J. Maas’s “Throne of Glass” series, to the most heart-breaking romances like in John Green’s “The Fault In Our Stars”, YA covers a huge spectrum of genres and topics that are not only incredibly engaging, but each are insightful and offer a unique view of the world. Despite this there are still some that would happily dismiss YA novels as ‘not proper literature’ as there is still the ingrained belief that it is simply written for children and is based on child-like whimsy. However, YA has been covering seriously difficult topics in recent years, including those of mental health issues, bullying, LGBT rights, sex and relationships. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Meredith Russo’s “If I Was Your Girl” talks about being a transgender teenager and the difficulties that teens face not only in transitioning gender, but also the reaction of friends and family members to their decision.

Written by a woman who herself is www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

15

@KettleMag

For example, Jennifer Niven’s “All transgender, the novel offers a very The Bright Places” focuses on a dual real insight into what life is like and the narrative between a boy who lives challenges of transitioning, whilst also with depression, how he deals with dealing with all the adversity teenagers it and a girl and how she copes with have to face in day to day life. the death of her sister and falling in love with a boy who wants to die. This It is widely believed by critics that book in particular covered some hard- by discussing these topics within the hitting topics and highlights not only realm of YA fiction it is damaging to depression within teens and how it the health of teenagers and encourages feels to deal with a mental illness, but them to have thoughts that they would also foregrounds the entire spectrum of not have had otherwise, however, this mental illnesses and forces the reader is simply not the case and the fact that these sensitive topics are to recognise that mental illness is not one effecting ...it is damaging being discussed so openly fiction should be adults across the globe, to the health of within celebrated, as it opens but young adults as well, teenagers and up the conversation to a which is often dismissed and not taken seriously. encourages them wider audience. By simply to have thoughts discussing issues such as mental health, enables a Jay Asher’s “Thirteen Reasons Why” covers the that they would reader to develop a wider view point of what it’s like topic of bullying and how not have had to suffer with a mental damaging it is to teenagers otherwise, health issue, and could and their health. The also potentially enable novel follows a young girl, Hannah Baker through a series of audio a young, scared, teen a viewpoint tapes explaining why she chose to end and an understanding of what he/ her life. Some may believe that suicide she is going through. Therefore, YA is a topic that is much too mature to should not be dismissed as ‘improper discuss in YA fiction, but it is a fact literature’ or considered to be ‘just for and according to a study done last year children’ as not only is it intelligently more than 4 suicides were occurring in written and engaging, but it also covers teens every week. By discussing suicide a wide spectrum of issues that have within the bounds of YA helps others to scarcely been touched upon in modern recognise when someone is considering literature. taking their own life, and also benefits readers who may be having these thoughts to recognise them and seek help.

In search of comedy

by Lucy Skoulding

Image: freepik.com

Over the years the word, ‘comedy’ has had varying meanings. The Ancient Greeks were one of the first groups to use the term ‘komoidia’ which literally translated as ‘village revel’ and ‘comic’ in Greek meant ‘laughter-provoking’.

Comedy has been on a journey through history and cultures, meaning slightly different things depending on the years you lived and your geographical location.

The Greeks and Romans confined their use of comedy to stage plays which always had a happy ending. Aristotle, on the other hand, said comedy was an imitation of men worse than average, though he also argued that comedy was generally positive for society (confusing!). Plato simply believed that 16

KettleMag

comedy was totally destructive to the self.

Comedy lived on despite opposition, growing and changing with the times up until the modern day, where comedy now takes many different forms. It continues to be a major part of our lives, from watching sitcoms and sharing memes, to seeing funny films and posting amusing social media posts.

Despite the rise of the internet and digitisation, though, live comedy has survived and continues to entertain millions of people.

So how do you fit comedy into your busy lives? Well there are plenty of ways. Whatever floats your boat really. www.KettleMag.co.uk

The spots of humour in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” and the hilarity of This Country are some of my recent favourites.

Then again, maybe we get most of our comedy from each other, making each other laugh with the things we mean and don’t mean to say on a daily basis.

And what about online comedy?

As the newest way of distributing comedy, social media and other online communication forms allow us to share funny videos, messages, quotes, memes, GIFs and more with each other no matter where we are and what we’re doing.

But my favourite comedy has to be the live version. The version where the comedian will often interact with the audience, work on the spot, come up with new and clever material that noone has seen before.

You are totally in the moment at these shows. It is too easy these days to only half watch something, while also being on our phones and cooking the dinner, but during live shows you are rarely even allowed your phone, which forces you to really immerse yourself.

Live comedy itself is can be split into different types. There is the classic stand-up comedy, the sketch shows which usually involve a cast, and there is also improvisation - or improv.

Improv is a very special type of comedy, which I have dipped in and out www.KettleMag.co.uk

of in my life. Whilst at school I went to a weekly drama class, and most of our time was spent doing improv activities and performances. I loved it. It was two hours a week where I got to be creative and have fun. Crucially, I wasn’t a fantastic actor. I was ok - good enough to get a drama GCSE - but definitely nothing special, yet that didn’t matter.

Improv wasn’t really about having outstanding acting abilities.

@KettleMag

Perhaps the most common way we consume comedy is via televison and film. From classics like “Laurel and Hardy” to the silliness of “Mr Bean” to the dark humour of “Fargo”.

It isn’t just comedic. Improv can be any genre about any subject, but recently it is the funny kind that I have rediscovered.

“

The freedom of not being ‘in my head’ and the permission you have to just be silly helped enormously with my recovery...

I went to watch “The Right Kind of Trouble” at The Bill Murray theatre in Angel for their Christmas show, and my stomach genuinely hurt from laughing.

Not only that, I couldn’t get over how clever it was. I knew a bit about improv, but I had never seen it done properly.

“The Right Kind of Trouble” takes a word from the audience and builds a whole show from that one word. It’s incredible.

Izzy Kirk, a member of “The Right Kind of Trouble” said: “When I started doing improv with MonkeyToast I was suffering a lot and my mental health was really poor.”

“The freedom of not being ‘in my head’ and the permission you have to just be silly helped enormously with my KettleMag

17

recovery and it continues to help to this day”.

“I trust my teammates implicitly, and being able to go on stage knowing that we all have each other’s backs is such a powerfully positive thing. I love my teammates to death.

We’re like family, and we love making each other laugh.”

“The Right Kind of Trouble” trained at London improv c o m p a n i e s , Monkeytoast and FA. They put on shows every month at venues around the capital. It’s only £5 or £10 a ticket for two hours of amazing entertainment.

It’s such a good night out.

Image: Defence Images, Flickr

The fact that getting involved in comedy helped Izzy’s mental health is such a powerful takeaway from this.

It is a message about the importance of laughter and smiling.

We all know that laughing releases endorphins which in turn cause us to feel euphoric, but do we do enough of it?

18

KettleMag

One apparent secret of a long-term, happy romantic relationship is to laugh together often.

What about laughing at work? While you can’t be constantly joking around, work should involve some fun, and laughing with colleagues or even clients can be part of that.

If you have to stop and think about the last time you genuinely laughed hard at something, you aren’t getting enough fun in your life.

If you have to stop and think about the last time you genuinely laughed hard at something you aren’t getting enough fun in your life.

Watching comedy is such a wonderful way to boost your mood and do something sociable.

You could even get involved in it. It had a huge impact on Izzy’s life, could it do the same for you?

I think the key to this is to find a thing or things that you love, and it will help you in your path to happiness.

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

BECOME A KETTLE CORRESPONDENT Kettle is looking to add university correspondents to it’s “Student Life” section.

If you fancy representing your university and reporting on from around your campus then please contact: info@kettlemag.co.uk www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

19

Has perfectionism gone too far?

Lauren Harrison

The need to prove ourselves to others in an effort to be perceived as ‘perfect’ (whatever that even is) has never been as prominent as it is in today’s society. The culture of perfectionism is primarily rooted in our communal infatuation with social media (or rather; addiction). I think most of us can agree that as a society we are, in a way, almost controlled by the likes, comments and compliments that we receive online. Why? Because receiving positive feedback on our images and status updates adds value to our perceptions of ourselves. In turn, this makes us long to appear perfect to our followers and friends online.

But why is this feedback so important to us? For me, I believe that we have become obsessed with appearing successful. Obviously this is a subjective term, but it has become synonymous with popularity on social 20

KettleMag

media. Sites such as Instagram give us the opportunity to become who we want to be, but not necessarily who we really are. The ability to edit and add filters to our posts allows us to portray ourselves in a particular way, specifically: how we want to be seen by others. Scrolling through the site, it is clear that 99% of users will post images with a filter, perpetuating this culture of perfectionism.

Of course, social media has its benefits.

Keeping up to date with friends, celebrities and news is accessible at the tap of an icon, something we massively take for granted. Yet, it cannot be argued that social media has had a massive contribution in our quest for perfection. Expanding on my previous comments, social media becomes more problematic when it gives us access to false realities of those we know as well as celebrities. www.KettleMag.co.uk

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

21

@KettleMag

In some ways, the culture of perfectionism becomes more troublesome when it comes to real people in our lives. These people are – for the most part – in the same boat as you. Their pay cheque is in the same bracket, they live close by, and they have access to the same things as you do. So why does their life appear so much more perfect than yours? The truth is: it’s not. Their life online is a construct of what they want you to see. Your friend who went travelling and posted It is so, so important to remember tens of images in a tropical haven? Did that we are most likely to only post you know she was extremely homesick the entire time? Of course things which portray us in a positive light, and so the Your friend who not, because that’s not the reality that she wanted to same applies to celebrities and those with lots of went travelling portray to her followers.

It is our choice what we followers. Now more than and posted ever we have the ability tens of images post online and how we convey ourselves to others. to really see into the lives in a tropical Equally, it is our choice how of celebrities. Or at least, haven? Did much we allow the culture what they want us to think are their lives. Yes, they you know she of perfectionism to impact us. may look incredible in their was extremely selfies and have millions of homesick the The message to take away, comments, but we need to keep in mind that these entire time? Of is that the term “Perfect” is completely subjective. images are not necessarily course not It cannot be defined or a representation of the real them. In that, we should resist adhered to because it means something the pressure to live up to similar different to each of us. The culture of expectations of perfectionism and perfectionism, then, is a construct that thus, lose the negative impact that we create ourselves, based on what we these posts can have on us. The perceive as perfect. This is reflected in influence of the celebrity life which is the type of post that we share and the consistently flaunted in our faces, even kind of status or image that we imitate. inadvertently, every single day means We solidify the notion of perfectionism that we are consistently comparing in society by comments such as our lives – our bodies, makeup ability, ‘#goals’, which in their essence may fashion sense, social life, relationships; seem harmless but, in reality, create to the ideal representation of the pressure on us all to adhere to this celebrity. As a result, life has become a social construct of what perfect really competition to be perfect; whoever gains is as we associate them with valuing the most likes out of your friendship our own identities. group is, of course, perceived as the most popular, successful and ‘perfect’.

Our instant access to edited images and carefully selected posts causes pressure when it comes to creating our own posts. We are more likely to attempt to imitate those ‘perfect’ images from celebs such as the Kardashians, bloggers and even our friends. Even the Instagram grid now has pressure to be perfect in itself; users create their Instagram page using similar tones, hues and colours in order to have a feed which ‘flows’.

Labour’s “Youthquake” impact on the 2017 election and its leadership Jeremy Corbyn’s path to the Labour Party’s leadership was a tumultuous one, having readied a press release in case he didn’t actually get to be on the ballot, due to a lack of parliamentary signatures. While Corbyn got on the ballot, the election proved no easier task, with he and his team ridiculed for their start to finish, their strategy worked, winning Corbyn the leadership.

Afonso Fernandes On the 2017 election, history almost 22

KettleMag

repeated itself, with Corbyn winning more 32 seats and with the Tories losing 13, defying his critics and doubters, both inside and outside Labour.

Corbyn’s rise to stardom was led by what many have described as a “Youthquake”, a surge in young voters in support of Labour and its leader that led Corbyn to almost snatch the Prime Minister title from Theresa May. www.KettleMag.co.uk

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

23

@KettleMag

Engineered by an hybrid campaign, increasing the connection between the combining offline events such as town- activists on the field and the people hall meetings with a smart online they are trying to reach through their strategy, utilizing the latent potential in campaigning, and also “Promote”, the digital media for political discourse, designed to augment Labour’s abilities more specifically mobilizing musicians on platforms such as Facebook. and others with large social media followings, who are associated with Apart from campaigning strategies, the kind of anti-establishment persona even Corbyn’s ideas, or at least his that is Corbyn, to reach out to young priorities and the way he approached people that see some value in the ideas the public about them, turned different expressed by these musicians, and due to the increased weight of young Corbyn himself, getting them to go out voters in Labour’s agenda, with such cases as Brexit, in which and vote, with more than most young Corbyn had been extremely 1.5 million people under 35 voters are critical of the European registered to vote 5 weeks Union, going as far as to say before the election, and also in favour of “I would advocate a No vote energizing some of them remaining, if we are going to get an to the point where several with many imposition of free market Corbyn-supporting youth groups started popping up even defending policies across Europe” and that he had “mixed in the internet. that idea feelings” about the EU, These results show that after Britain’s advocating more changes Corbyn’s choice to create referendum... to the Union. a bigger Labour presence online is paying off, effectively Meanwhile, most young voters are in increasing the voter turnout and favour of remaining, with many even Labour’s share of it. When compared defending that idea after Britain’s to the last election, although it’s also referendum, which creates a dilemma true that much of Labour’s success for Corbyn, in which he is stuck with young voters is also due, not only between being extremely upfront about an increased online and Corbyn’s ideas, his distaste of the Union’s recent path but also to his personality itself, many and not chase away young voters that younger voters were seduced by his might be more sympathetic to Britain’s candour and willingness to be upfront presence in the EU. about his beliefs -- qualities that in the eyes of many seem to be in short He has until now been able to hold supply not just in Britain, but in politics his own, by having focused more on austerity than Brexit during worldwide. the campaign, defending Britain’s As much as Corbyn’s success was remain side during the referendum, due to this youth movement, his way even if accused by some to have lack of making politics is also effectively motivation while defending it and that changing him and the Labour Party. A he should have took a more active role, prime example of this is the increased and finally by choosing the moderate investment in novelty tools, such Brexit path as the most desirable of all as “Chatter”, with the purpose of possible outcomes.

But the fight is not over yet. Many in Labour’s field hate Brexit with a burning passion and wish it would try to reverse the situation at all costs, even going as far as ignoring the referendum results and engaging in an all-out war with the pro-Brexit camp and Theresa May. Corbyn has been winning momentum with young voters through these last 2 years, from winning the party’s leadership, surviving an attempted coup by many Labour members, humiliating May’s in the snap election she herself called.

Being neck to neck with her in some of the most recent polls, he has been acting has an almost unstoppable force, but while this may seem like a blessing, it may also become a curse. While Labour’s change to a more tech savvy party are welcomed change, Corbyn himself has taken a step back on some of his ideas regarding the EU, an action unlike his usual upfront personality, being unusually ambiguous in stating his current position on how the country should act.

This smokescreen will not remain active for much longer, as the Brexit negotiations unfold and Parliament will see major votes on the matter, Corbyn’s momentum may be killed, should he lose a great share of the young voters who are fiercely loyal to the Remain side. Should that not happen, there is always the danger that he is possibly seen as backtracking on the issue and lose much of his ‘honest and direct’ persona, in either case the damage to his movement might be significant and irreversible.

24

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

t iscoun d e s U code LE” “KETT 5% ur 1 for yo unt disco www.KettleMag.co.uk

UNIQUE SHIRTS

for parties, stag dos, golf days and basically any event where you want to stand out from the crowd.

www.TheMutts-Nuts.com KettleMag

25

2018 F1 season – what changes can we expect for this year’s championship?

Sophia Bi

As the new F1 season approaches, fans are expected to see some new changes on and off the grid this year. Fans will be surprised to learn a lot of things have changed in the f1 world as new rules have been put into place as the season starts on the 25th March, so let’s look at what new changes have been set in stone so far.

To begin with, fans have been told to expect an all-new experience in how the championship is televised this year.

26

KettleMag

Liberty Media have started putting its action into place as new the F1 App, OTT platforms (Over the Top/streaming) and will see significant changes there on the broadcast, on the graphics and the storytelling and the way the race is televised. Liberty TV have proposed to see more fan engagement, building on last year and there will be new media properties to help fans get closer to the teams. They hope it will give a younger and bigger audience in hope that they will be more engaged. www.KettleMag.co.uk

This year’s car launches unveiled new designs for this year’s teams and the one change every F1 fan will immediately notice in 2018 is the introduction of the halo – the cockpit protection device designed to further improve driver safety in the event of an accident, and to deflect debris away from the head. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Haas were the first team to unveil their new design, with online images of their predominantly white and red VF18 offering fans the first chance to see the Halo device on a 2018 car.

Williams opted for a lowkey online launch of the FW41, while Red Bull raised eyebrows with a special camouflage livery on their RB14. Sauber launched their 2018 effort showing off their new partnership with Alfa Romeo while Renault showcased a striking black and yellow design on the R.S.18. Mercedes then unveiled their new car at Silverstone although the W09 had already been seen on circuit, while Ferrari also launched their SF71H on the same day. McLaren have delighted fans with a new ‘papaya orange’ colour scheme on their MCL33 challenger, while Toro Rosso shared a picture of their STR13 on track.

Red Bull showed off their official blue, red and yellow livery on the first day of pre-season testing, while Force India were the last team to unveil their 2018 challenger with their bright pink VJM11.

Will the Hamilton-Mercedes juggernaut triumph once again? Can Vettel and Ferrari’s campaign go the distance? Formula 1 is back for another season of high drama.

KettleMag

27

@KettleMag

As well as introducing the new F1 logo and theme music, another big shake up was the ban of grid girls.

F1 bosses announced they would replace grid girls with a new programme called ‘grid kids’ this season. F1 bosses plan to use budding racing drivers “to make the pre-race ceremony more relevant and interesting for fans, especially the younger ones”. No doubt this announcement caused a lot of divided opinions over the decision to no longer see female promotional models on the starting grid. No doubt F1’s decision to stop using grid girls has been met with a “welcome to the 21st century” message from Formula E. F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches said using grid girls “does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms”. The children used on the starting grid will be competitors in karting or junior categories, chosen by national motorsport authorities.

How fashion can bring about change Jasmine Butler Fashion is more than the style, fit or trend. Over the years it has helped create who we are in the world and society. Fashion is a tool to be used when it comes to economic, political and cultural changes as It can express modernity and often symbolises the current status of the times.

From the personal perspective, fashion has been there to portray your personality and express who you are as an individual. It can be symbolic to your beliefs or can reflect your mood entirely. I wear all black on the days I feel self-conscious – and bright colours on the days I feel my happiest and most confident. I feel that fashion has enabled me to show off who I am and how I view myself. It has also given me a hobby and something to enjoy.

I love a good shopping spree- as it 28

KettleMag

feels relaxing, and I enjoy writing and reading about it. Without fashion, I feel that I wouldn’t have been able to unwind from my daily stresses of life.

This of course is not the same for every person out there, but everyone has at some point been influenced, changed or even inspired by the fashion industry, as I go on to explain.

Aside from how we choose to dress now, historically fashion was there to serve the classes and what level of society you were, from being only allowed to wear certain colours to only wearing what you can afford. This can sometimes be seen in fashion today – with the race of cheap disposable fashion against the expensive big labels. However, I do believe society has moved on from this slightly and tends to be more accepting of people’s individual dress sense, www.KettleMag.co.uk

Fashion not only evokes change within ourselves (sometimes seen by changing our persona or style) but it evokes change politically and culturally.

Recently international women’s day has shown this, by reflecting on how far women have come in history. As women have become more liberated from stereotypes, the fashion has changed with it. Adopting shorter skirt lengths, being able to wear androgynous fashion, and celebrating who we are and what we represent. Furthermore, with the red carpet for the Golden Globes 2018 being walked by many celebrities, many of them used fashion- wearing all blackto show their solidarity and views on sexual harassment and assault, to try and influence change - politically and culturally - by the ‘Times Up’ movement.

There are many cases similar to this, where fashion was used as a tool to advocate – Slogan Tees, Berets, peace symbols all included, which still remain in our trends today, and still continue to advocate the campaign in which they started from.

Not only is the change political or cultural, as I stated above, but it is also economical. On average, people are buying and investing more than 1.5 times the amount they did 6 years ago. In 2015, the fashion industry alone contributed £25 billion into the economy. Looking into supply and demand – the fashion industry is www.KettleMag.co.uk

contributing to the economy massively.

People need clothes, yes, but people also want clothes. The more of us shopping, the more clothes are created, allowing expansion and more jobs for people. It is generating a pattern in the economy, which is only set to grow like it has been for the past few years.

Although consumers are spending more, we are also- as a society- being more mindful towards the impact it has on our environment. With the advancement of technology, we are able to upcycle and sell our clothes to others who would appreciate it after we have.

Which again has changed the way we view fashion.

In 2015, the fashion industry alone contributed £25 billion into the economy.

With this rise, fashion is being used more and each time to a different purpose, belief and identity. Fashion is constantly changing in itself through styles and trends. Although fashion changes political, cultural and economic ways of the world, it’s a circle. Politics, culture and economics also influence fashion. Just like fashion, these factors never stay the same.

With all that said, take some time to reflect on how your fashion has evolved over the years. I’m sure the majority of you will be able to say that you too have changed! Perhaps some of you will also be able to say you assisted political change- for example- with the help of slogan tees or how you dress! With this change, there is more to come!

KettleMag

29

@KettleMag

rather than focusing on what a person can afford. Many celebrities today advocate a mixture of luxury brands, but also are proud to show of some bargains from cheaper brands. With the rise of social media, this has made it easier and helped them interact with their audience more and put across Fashion influences, beliefs and political views.

Top trends to look out for during Spring 2018 Alex Cutts With spring just around the corner, we can all look forward to warmer weather and brand new fashion trends to go along with it. The fashion for spring 2018 features futuristic fabrics and retro-inspired styles. Here are some of our favourite trends for the spring of 2018.

Pastel Hues Icy mint and baby pink are just a few of our favourite colours that definitely need to be added to your wardrobe in time for spring. Pastels add both femininity and delicacy to any outfit.

The pale shades have the purity and innocence of white whilst adding a slight pop of colour. They’re the perfect way of introducing a bit of brightness into your wardrobe if you’re a repeated monochrome offender (don’t worry, we’ve all been there) without taking 30

KettleMag

a huge step out of your comfort zone.

Start off small with accessories and jewellery — they act as statement pieces in your looks.

Pops of Colour Both brights and pastels are on the menu for spring of 2018, but for those of you that are a bit more daring then rainbow is the way to go. From fiery red to vivid cobalt blue, block colours are sure to make a statement in any outfit. You can start introducing pops of colour into your outfit with accessories and shoes. How about hot pink tassel earrings or teal velvet ankle boots?

However, if bold and daring is more your style, then go all out with a rainbow striped jumper or yellow checks à la Clueless. For even more colourful outfit inspiration, check out @confetticrowd and @sassyworld on Instagram. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Denim is a classic staple piece in everybody’s wardrobe, for any time of the year but especially for spring. It can be dressed up with a floaty chiffon shirt or dressed down for a more casual everyday look, paired with a T-shirt and trainers. However, this spring is all about throwing it back to the nineties and the noughties with double denim. Yep, you read that right. Pairing your jeans with your denim jacket is all the rage for this season, but it’s not quite as scary as it may sound. Throwing homage to 2001 Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s red carpet moment but with a more wearable approach. Try mixing tones and textures, such as light wash ripped jeans with an acid wash jacket to add some variety to your outfit.

Glitter All-things-shimmer is the new trend for spring, think mermaid-style, holographic fabrics and glittery textures.

Metallics and space greys with hints of shimmer give off mystical and psychedelic vibes, perfect for party dresses and late night looks. Play around with different metallic tones such as silver, copper and gold for a more varied look. Glitter and holo give a futuristic twist to any outfit, whether it be a shiny shirt or a pair of glimmering earrings. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

31

@KettleMag

www.instagram.com/gucci www.instagram.com/urbanoutfitters

Denim

www.instagram.com/elliesaaab

32

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

We all know that even though it claims to be spring, it can still get pretty chilly.

Having an on-trend coat is essential for both keeping you warm during the changing of the seasons and looking stylish. This season’s favourite coverup is the trench coat, Sherlock Holmes called this one. They come in a range of colours from classic camel to delicate shades of blush but, no matter what colour you get, the long line hem will add a sophisticated edge to your outfit.

Sheer Fabrics Mesh, chiffon and lace are a few of the textiles that have been featured on the runways for this spring. The best thing about sheer fabrics is that you have the freedom to layer. You can pair clothing items with bold undergarments or different patterns to add dimension to your layering. Sheer clothing adds a classy seductiveness to outfits: try matching sheer outer pieces with statement garments underneath such as a white blouse paired with a strappy black bralet.

Vinyl When you think of vinyl clothes you probably have flashbacks to early 2000s Britney in the “Oops!... I Did It Again” music video, but we promise you (however groovy the queen of pop did look) that it’s much cooler in 2018. Vinyl and plastic clothes were all the rage back in the 60s and 70s and they’re making a comeback this spring. Wet looking “Paddington Bear” coats and mods in high vinyl boots paired with mini skirts are a few of the vintage looks that are being repeated on the runways for this season, along with more modern designs such as PVC bodycon skirts and glossy fitted trousers. If vinyl clothing is a step too far out of your comfort zone, start out with vinyl bags and if you’re wanting to take your look one step further then try a clear plastic tote.

Statement Belts Wide belts with big chunky buckles or belts adorned with charms and chains; if it cinches in your waist and makes a statement then it’s bang on trend for spring in 2018. A statement belt is the perfect way to spice up a boring outfit. A thick black belt paired with an oversized boyfriend shirt gives a more feminine silhouette to what was an androgynous look. Have a few different styles of belts, try out different colours, types of buckles and charms to add a unique spin to basic wardrobe pieces like jeans. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

33

@KettleMag

Trench Coats

Kettle needs your help to survive We have always tried hard to give a platform to student writers and journalists in an attempt to provide real, hands-on publishing experience.

Many of our writers and editors have found great benefit from their time at Kettle.

But Kettle costs and sadly it is clear that we can no longer rely on advertisng revenue to support it.

Without your help, Kettle will close and we’ll no longer be able to support future generations of writers... ...so please, please help us.

Visit this page to help >> 34

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Could you please spare a few pounds each month to help us continue our work?

In return we will bestow upon you a bounty of wonderful gifts such as you’ve never seen before.... ok well not quite but we’ll happily give you: • Access to our exclusive “How to” content, where professional writers share their knowledge and expertise on a range of subjects each month.

• Our magazine delivered to your door each quarter • a bunch of stickers and badges (woot!)

• We're even giving away some t-shirts

patreon.com/kettlemag www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

35

My 5 favourite cocktails

By Chloe Sayers

Now the weather is finally warming up, we can all begin to sit outside, or at least dream about sitting outside, catch some rays and relax with our loved ones (once exams and dissertations are over of course!). And drink cocktails.

Cocktails are typically defined as a drink which contain two of more mixed ingredients, one being alcohol. However while the amount of cocktails that exist is increasing on a regular basis, so are mocktails, alcohol-free versions of these amazing beverages. Here is a list of my five favourite cocktails that I have tried and tested over the years that never fail to quench my thirst in the sun:

Image: freepik.com

Mojito This is my most recently tried cocktail, and upon my first taste, I feel as though I spent the first 20 years of my life living in a hole having not tried a mojito. Without a doubt, this is my favourite cocktail. Or drink I have ever experienced in my life. Who would have thought such combination of lime juice, 36

KettleMag

soda water, sugar, mint and rum could go together so perfectly.

I first experienced a mojito while on holiday to an all-inclusive hotel in Majorca. Having seen somebody leave the bar with a green drink with lots of crushed ice, given the temperature was already in the late twenties and I had been in the sun for several hours, I decided to order one myself. This was a decision I do not regret. Fresh mint had been thrown in, as it would be served traditionally in a bar, I could taste the speckles of sugar and there was a strong hint of lime. It didn’t even taste alcoholic! I now go to the same chain of hotels at least once a year, and mojitos are a must.

I’ve ordered many jugs of mojitos in the UK since, and have even tried a raspberry mojito (which as lovely as it was, I felt the raspberry was a bitter intruder in what was a perfect drink).

If you have never tried a mojito, I really urge that you must! www.KettleMag.co.uk

Once again an amazing thirst quencher (I have been trying and testing it for several years!). Typically served in a highball glass over ice and with an orange slice, this cocktail consists of orange juice, cranberry juice, vodka and peach schnapps. Today, there are so many variations, some including grenadine, lemonade, pineapple juice, apple schnapps, coconut rum and white rum instead of vodka and even amaretto for an extra kick. It’s one of the most common cocktails out there today, and can be easily ordered in most pubs and clubs, as the ingredients are basic. Orange juice mixed with cranberry juice is a wonderful combination regardless of whether any alcohol is thrown in, but the peach schnapps adds a fantastic refreshing kick.

Virgin Sweet Sunrise Despite what this article may suggest, I’m also partial to an alcohol free cocktail, AKA a mocktail. One of my favourites is a Virgin Sweet Sunrise.

A standard Sweet Sunrise contains tequila and crème de cassis, but if you take these out you get a wonderful, sweet treat. A typical Sweet Sunrise contains of 8 parts grenadine to 1 part grenadine, garnished with an orange slice, personally I find this a bit too sweet. I find 4 parts orange juice, 4 parts lemonade and 1 part grenadine the perfect combination.

The secret to a perfect Sweet Sunrise is add the grenadine at the end very slowly- and DO NOT STIR! This makes the grenadine settle at the bottom and create a traffic light lolly effect. Also be careful if you add a straw…

Gin and tonic

Strawberry Daiquiri

Probably one of the easiest to make and most readily available cocktail, there is no occasion where a cheeky G & T doesn’t cut it. Even in the winter, it makes for a fantastic cocktail. Whether it is inside in a nice, traditional, cosy pub, a trendy city bar, or relaxing in the garden, a gin and tonic always cuts the mustard. Gin is incredibly trendy.

There are festivals dedicated to this juniper berry-based spirit, and now there are so many more varieties on the market. My new favourites include rhubarb and grapefruit! Many people argue about the quantities of gin and tonic to add to their beverage, but I’m partial to 3 parts tonic and 1 part gin.

There are many different flavours of tonic water out there, but I enjoy tonic water with a twist of lemon (and a slice of lime if I’m feeling rebellious…).

The name originates from a Cuban beach, and there are many variations of a daiquiri. However, a Strawberry Daiquiri has a sweet taste, similar to a smoothie. Made from ripe strawberries, lime juice, rum and sugar, this drink is guaranteed to sweeten your palate.

The original daiquiri contains the same ingredients minus the strawberries, so it is a little more bitter and stronger. A frozen strawberry daiquiri is an even more uplifting upgrade to this cocktail, and I highly recommend this.

www.KettleMag.co.uk

There is a world of other fantastic cocktails out there, so I apologise if your favourite hasn’t made this list! Now just time to pray for some sunshine to enjoy our cocktails in style this summer…

KettleMag

37

@KettleMag

Sex on the beach

The future three lions

by Nathan Shepherd CIES Football Observatory recently published a list showcasing the most promising prospects in Europe, so let’s investigate.

The list contains 50 of the best young talents from around the world, four of which are English and two of those feature in the top 10. That is quite an achievement considering the top 10

are thought to be able to establish themselves in the very best European teams.

As the World Cup returns in Russia this year, we may see some of these wonder kids make a name for themselves on the big stage, so get familiar now before they make the headlines.

1 - Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy/AC Milan) 2 - Aban Lafont (France/Monaco on-loan to PSG) 3 - Kylian Mbappe (France.Monaco on loan to PSG) 4 - Christian Pulisic (US/Borussia Dortmund) 5 - Malang Sarr (France/Nice) 6 - Dyot Upamecano (France/RB Leipzig) 7 - Tom Davies (England/Everton) 8 - Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Ajax) 9 - Kai Havertz (Germany/Bayer Leverkusen) 10 - Ryan Sessegnon (England/Fulham) 38

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

The right-back has played 12 games so far this season scoring one goal, last season he was awarded the club’s Young Player of the Season. Ronaldo Vieira, who plays for Leeds United in the Championship ranked 20th in the list, the defensive midfielder has played 20 games so far this season and he too was rewarded the club’s Young Player of the Season.

France known to be the birthplace of Ranked 10th is Ryan Sessegnon who football greats from the likes of Thierry currently plays for Fulham in the Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Eric Championship. The teenager lighting Cantona has the most players in this report; a total of nine all up the Championship over the world – four of has played over 30 The teenager which are in the top 10. games for Fulham this lighting up the No surprises that the season scoring 14 goals football factory of the and providing four Championship assists. The left-back is has played over Netherlands Ajax have three representatives the youngest player in 30 games for of the club here: Carel the entire report at just Eiting ranked 35th, boy 17-years-old and was also Fulham this wonder Justin Kluivert recently named Young season scoring ranked 16th and Matthijs Player of the Year at the 14 goals and de Ligt ranked eighth, the London football awards, providing four most of any club in the a popular transfer target new report. Kluivert is for sure. assists. certainly making a name for himself this season, Ranked 7th is Tom Davies who currently plays for Everton six goals and four assists in over 20 in the Premier League. An outstanding games he is on course to follow the breakthrough season in 2016/17 footsteps of his father, Patrick Kluivert awarded him with the clubs Young once named Dutch Football Talent of Player of the Season, Goal of the Season the Year in 1995. and Performance of the Season. The academy graduate chipped in with To be amongst some of the hottest two goals and three assists in over 20 prospects on the continent such games in that campaign, a fan favourite as Paris St-Germain striker Kylian with his all-action approach, quickly Mbappe and AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma speaks making his stamp in the game. volumes for young England players.

A special mention to the other two For once hopefully the future is finally England players outside the top 10 but bright for The Three Lions, and dare I nevertheless inside the top 50. Ranked mention the often referred to ‘golden 41st Trent Alexander-Arnold who plays generation’ is now imminent. for Liverpool in the Premier League. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

39

@KettleMag

Manager Gareth Southgate may well turn to youth in England’s international campaign in the summer, hungry to prove themselves. I personally see no harm, especially considering past experiences. The following exciting double act made the top 10 of the most promising prospects in European football, both Englishmen play in their home country gaining attention and interest each game that passes.

The coffee shop and self-care Alex Veeneman

Upon first entry through the side entrance in a busy shopping centre, life appears to stop. People sit down, drinks and other items in hand, and focus on the conversation. The queue when I visited on a Saturday morning this past February was long, with sound of drinks being made all while the woman at the cashier exclaims: “I can help the next person in line!”

Yet, the reaction of people in the queue, on a weekend where conferences, exhibitions and sporting competitions are in abundance, would be the opposite of what you would ordinarily think. No one seemed to mind that the queue was long, as people sit and pause, as the hustle and bustle of downtown goes by outside.

This was at a Starbucks, in the City Centre of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had seen the element of life screeching 40

KettleMag

to a halt here before one day late in 2017. It may have been before 9am with people making their way to work, yet in here, one would not have noticed that it was during the working week.

Life coming to a halt is a scene that is repeated not just in this Starbucks, but at other coffee shops. It is a scene that is contradictory in this society of ours, and is a reminder of selfcare – something that in this modern, digitally advanced world of ours is not practiced often enough, and ends up on the backburner.

We live in a world where life can become a little bit much. In an attempt to distract ourselves from what is going on around us, we bury ourselves – be it in work, our studies or other projects that know that we have to do. We bury ourselves to a point where most of the time, we don’t come up for air. www.KettleMag.co.uk

on life in the moment, and they’re being held in a place where life can be paused, and city life, be it in the centre of Minneapolis in Winter or the centre of London in Spring, can just go about its normal routine.

As an early-career journalists, these types of conversations are one of my favourite things to do. In times of uncertainty, there are questions that you ask yourself. These conversations in the intimacy of a coffee shop is one of the most effective ways to get those questions answered. It’s the days not only cathartic, but also inspiring.

Meanwhile, as you find yourself buried, you wonder often about what the point of life is, if you made the right decisions, and if you’re on the right track. Amidst the fast paced nature of the world, be it the Gone are 24 hour international when the coffee news cycle, the pace of shop was just a one’s degree and work or people rubbing it in on place where you their Facebook, Twitter grabbed a tasty or Instagram timelines, beverage and left, life can be too much to handle. going amongst

Gone are the days when the coffee shop was just a place where you grabbed a tasty beverage and left, going about your day.

Now the coffee shop is an invitation to not only your day. have a tasty beverage, Yet, we soldier on, but to take time out of knowing that a proper the day to pause. It is kick in the bollocks is coming if things aren’t complete. There perhaps why I made a point to visit is no alternative solution. We have no the Starbucks on South 6th Street, and why it has become a favourite of mine time to think about what’s next. ever since.

The coffee shop has, as a result, taken on a new identity, in response to the If Starbucks and the other coffee shops circumstances that society has put of the world can teach us anything, it is itself in. It has become an institution this – it is important to stop. When you where one core principle of self-care do, the world is going to keep moving, can be practiced – the principle of life will keep going, and the fabric of making sense in a world of chaos. All society will not collapse. Stopping not it takes is a conversation – be it with only benefits you, but can benefit the your mate, significant other, colleague world around you. in an organisation (be it a newsroom, student paper, university, the org in Trust me. For those few minutes, life which you work, or otherwise) – it can wait. could be anyone.

Conversations like these allow for a second pair of eyes to help reflect www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

41

@KettleMag

We focus on the deadlines that are before us – the deadline for that essay, that exam or that project that needs to be in at a precise time or otherwise the boss will erode panic-inflicted stress on you. We can’t come up for air, for if we do, not only will the deadline be gone, but it will come at a cost – the loss of a job.

What is the new UEFA Nations League, and why should I care?

By Andrew Shaw

Typical. You wait two years for a huge football competition pitting some of the world’s best teams against each other and then two come along almost at once. The first is of course the 2018 World Cup, but it’s the second that’s got people squinting their eyes and saying “what the hell is that?” As usual, we’ve got the answers.

This September will see the debut of a new tournament called the UEFA Nations League, UEFA’s attempt at improving international football. That means less meaningless friendlies – looking at you, 2003’s England vs Australia – and more evenly-split matches between teams of similar quality. One look at who England have drawn in their mini group (Croatia and Spain) shows the world of difference from the teams they’re usually 42

KettleMag

matched up against in these sorts of group stages (Algeria, Massachusetts United and the People’s Republic of the Dark Side of the Moon).

That’s not to say it’ll just be a competition for Europe’s big guns – a total of 55 nations from across the continent will be taking part. Each country’s position in the league tables will be decided on by their UEFA ranking from the year before. Once again, England find themselves sitting pretty in the top league, surrounded by all the biggest names in European football, including Germany, France and the mighty Switzerland (credit where credit’s due, they were the only team to beat Spain in 2010 and were two minutes away from taking Argentina to penalties four years later). www.KettleMag.co.uk

The first really interesting part comes at the opposite end of the tables. In a new direction for international football, the four sides that finish bottom of their groups will be relegated, to be replaced the year after by the top four sides in the league below. This surprise move could fairly easily result in England going from hosting games against some of the world’s best teams at Wembley to being forced to play significantly less prestigious teams: Bosnia and Herzegovina for example, or Wales.

But the excitement doesn’t end there.

Unlike mere friendlies, which have a

pretty small impact on the famously reliable FIFA rankings, the Nations League will have a direct effect on the Euros, and could lead to second chances for qualification for some teams.

Each league gets four play-off spots, meaning the 16 best teams across every group and league, who haven’t already qualified for the Euros, will have one last opportunity to book themselves tickets for Europe’s premier international football competition.

Less pointless thrashings – still looking at you England vs Australia – more teams of similar quality facing off and the chance of winning a slightly more respected trophy than the Confederations Cup all make the UEFA Nations League an intriguing proposition for fans of the beautiful game.

LEAGUE A

Group A1: Germany, France, Netherlands Group A2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland Group A3: Portugal, Italy, Poland Group A4: Spain, England, Croatia

LEAGUE B

Group B1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic Group B2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey Group B3: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland Group B4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark

LEAGUE C

Group C1: Scotland, Albania, Israel Group C2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia Group C3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus Group C4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania

LEAGUE D

Group D1: Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra Group D2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino Group D3: Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo Group D4: Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

43

@KettleMag

All mini groups will play each other, with the four winners of League A playing each other in a one-legged semifinal to be held next summer, followed by a final match to decide who will be crowned the Nations League champion.

The Guardian newspaper in tabloid shocker...

In January, the Guardian and Observer launched a new tabloid print format and a digital redesign.

The new format marked the end of both in house printing on the paper’s own presses and the larger European-style Berliner format - which both papers had used since 2005.

Although the redesign did bring significant cosmetic changes, the main reason for the change was the need to save money and rejuvenate the publication’s struggling finances - printing was outsourced to Daily and Sunday Mirror publisher Trinity Mirror as part of the change in format.

Cameron Ridgway 44

KettleMag

The switch was planned as part of the Guardian Media Group’s (GMG) three year plan to break even at an operating level

by April 2019. Along with an increase in the paper’s cover price and a growth in paying members and international operations, GMG’s finances are slowly recovering. Indeed, it now looks likely the company’s news operation will break even again by next year.

The format itself was met with mixed reviews when it was first revealed to the public at the start of this year. While some, including Spectator columnist David Butterfield, accused the paper of abandoning both

its Mancunian roots and “broadsheet values”, others welcomed and accepted the change.

Many readers said that they found little of the nature of the content to have changed, even if they did miss the distinctive larger size.

Alex Breuer, GNM’s Executive Creative Director, summed up the new design, maintaining that it remained unique within the UK media landscape: The new design has readability at its heart, with a new headline font and a new colour palette as core elements. At the forefront is the bold new masthead, which represents The Guardian’s place and purpose in today’s turbulent news agenda.

With a more flexible page layout...our new design is simple, confident and stylish - providing readers with the best possible experience across all our platforms.

The new layout also saw a change in the internal content of the paper - with content now divided into three sections. The main part of the paper now contains news and politics, world affairs, finance, and sport. Journal, a new pullout section, includes www.KettleMag.co.uk

Declining revenue from print advertising has forced many publications to find alternative funding models to remain financially sustainable - such as paywalling content and increasing the presence of advertorials and sponsored content.

The paper’s weekend content was also While GNM does engage with businesses revamped. Saturday editions now and publish advertorials and sponsored include a new food magazine entitled content through its Guardian Labs Feast, featuring food critic Grace Dent, division, the publication has long and the Weekend magazine also has a opposed paywalling its site, arguing that new design in addition to new features its journalism should always remain free to access. and columnists.

The the publication Observer, published in place of the Guardian has long opposed Instead of a paywall, the undertook a on Sundays, has a new paywalling its Guardian large expansion of its masthead and the site, arguing that membership programme Observer Magazine enclosed within the paper its journalism establishing three tiers of has also undergone a should always paid membership as well as redesign. The designs of remain free to allowing readers to make one-off contributions to both the Guardian website access help fund the paper (an and mobile apps have also initative which has found been overhauled to bring them in line with the new particular popularity look paper. among the publication’s US based readers). The paper’s expansion of its Some of the paper’s regular international operations (especially columnists, including left-wing its US wing), and involvement in political commentator and former collaborative investigations such as BBC Newsnight journalist Paul Mason, the analysis of the Panama Papers as Deborah Orr and Giles Fraser, were part of the International Consortium dropped as part of the changes. Mason of Investigative Journalists, have also praised the redesign and “very sharp” netted it greater exposure and publicity. new logo on Twitter, but said that he had hoped to continue writing for “the best Perhaps the biggest test for this newspaper in the UK”. revamped design will be the extent to which it can stem the Guardian’s The Guardian is the latest in a long financial losses. That GNM is now on string of former broadsheet newspapers the path to breaking even is a promising to make the switch to the smaller size step forward, but with so many outlets, - both the Times and the Independent both print and digital, struggling to (prior to it becoming an online only make ends meet in an increasingly publication) made the shift as the competitive media landscape, making newspaper industry became an journalism financially sustainable still increasingly difficult environment. looks to be an uphill struggle. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

45

@KettleMag

comment pieces and columns, long form features and obituaries in addition to reader letters and the cryptic crossword. The G2 pullout section, which existed under the old format and includes features and arts content, has also been redesigned.

Trump and the world’s news Alex Veeneman

Sulome Anderson has been acclaimed as one of the top journalists reporting from the Middle East. Her work during the course of the last decade had seen her reporting from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt and published in a plethora of prominent publications.

Yet, Anderson recently decided to return to the United States after what she called the worst year of her career.

The reason was the signal of a worrying trend – a domestic news cycle fixated on the actions of President Trump.

“I can’t make a living reporting from the Middle East anymore,” Anderson said in an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review publication. “I just can’t justify doing this to myself.”

Anderson was a freelancer working in the Middle East, and the issue she found was finding the space for news 46

KettleMag

not about Trump.

Anderson notes that her pitches get more of a response if there is a peg about him, yet though the decisions by publications not to accept her pitches were not squarely put on Trump, it signals to her a wider problem within journalism in the United States.

“Open any American news outlet and it’s just Trump, Trump, Trump,” Anderson said. “When that’s the case, there’s very limited space for news that’s not about him. It’s just intuitive that foreign coverage would suffer.”

It had even got to the point where Anderson, though she believes in the need for journalism, started to consider what the entire point of a career in it truly was. www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

“

It’s a very stressful job to begin with. And to go through that and then have to deal with the added highly stressful element of not being able to get anyone to take the story you put so much time and effort into, it almost makes you lose hope.

“Honestly, if it continues like this, I don’t know if I can put myself through this,” Anderson said. “It’s a very stressful job to begin with. And to go through that and then have to deal with the added highly stressful element of not being able to get anyone to take the story you put so much time and effort into, it almost makes you lose hope.”

I entered journalism in the age when social media continues to revolutionise the industry. With competition for space increasing, conventional ideas about one’s craft and story judgment have been challenged, and stress levels for many in the industry are on the rise.

Indeed, the taunts and vitriolic rage against the media composed in the form of 280 character tweets from the President of the United States, including the notable instance last year referring to journalists as the enemy of the American people, add to already high stress levels, despite knowing full well that journalists need to have thick skin to survive in this industry.

Yet, it’s more than just the tweets. The Trump presidency has had an impact on the news cycle itself, as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC shift their focus to drama and the shouting and screaming of paid network contributors, alongside opinion driven hosts, to showcase that their opinion is better and to score political points. www.KettleMag.co.uk

As it’s my job to oversee Kettle’s Current Affairs output, I often wonder what stories can stand out, as the Trump presidency dominates the US news cycle, while the news on talks on Britain’s exit from the EU and what Prime Minister Theresa May does next dominates the UK news cycle.

Yet, there’s a twist. I’m an American and I work for Kettle from the United States. I have become too aware of the changes in the American news cycle in the era of Trump, combined with the pedantic approach most American media has towards Britain – that being, if the monarchy isn’t involved, there’s no interest, and despite everything, she is not the Duchess of Cambridge – she’s still Kate Middleton.

With this news cycle, I have found my job to be two-fold. Wearing my editor’s hat, it’s down to honouring the obligation to find stories that need covering in order for the events of the day to be understood, and what signifies worth hearing about, including developments about Trump.

Wearing my writer’s hat, it’s down to attempting to produce stories that stand out in a competitive, noisy world – a world that includes a pack mentality of reporters competing to produce the news about Trump that exists in abundance.

KettleMag

47

So when I read the story about Anderson, I knew her dilemma well. The challenges that journalists face today are unprecedented.

This is especially for early career journalists, who want to find work in this industry because they believe in the public service values that encompass journalism, yet struggle day in and day out.

Anderson believes in these public service values of informing, educating and engaging, allowing people to understand their world better, and the work of journalists like Anderson should be applauded, and such work should be encouraged throughout the industry.

Historians, when they look to reflect about the journalism and media landscape in the era of President Trump, someone who is all too familiar with making it work for him, will observe the challenges journalists encounter during these several years, as well as the questions that journalists ask every day.

It was there before Trump took office and it will continue to be long after he leaves office.

It’s up to those in the landscape, and those who influence it, to figure out what state journalism will be

Yet despite all of that, one thing will come out of it – they endured. They endured because of the demonstrated need for journalism, the need for journalism to support democracy, and the knowledge that an informed public is the ultimate benefit.

I don’t doubt that journalism will remain vibrant and relevant. It was there before Trump took office and it will continue to be long after he leaves office. It’s up to those in the landscape, and those who influence it, to figure out what state journalism will be in when all is said and done.

Until the answers to how that happens emerge, there is only one thing to do – keep going. Keep going even if we don’t want to, and keep going even if it’s just trying to figure out what we’re supposed to do next.

The world depends on it.

48

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

UNITY

Ongoing Education, Recognition & Intervention in Mental Health

Every year, 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental disorder Almost a quarter of a million children and young people in th UK are receiving help from NHS Mental Health Services Up to 1.5 million people in the UK care for someone with mental ill health ...and millions more suffer who SIMPLY aren't diagnosed.

We need to stand up against this crisis

With your help we can make a difference Visit our website to find out more...

unity-mhs.org

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

49

Will Syria see a political resolution in 2018?

Thomas Howes-Ward In Syria, war rages on. The 15th March marks a full eight years of unbroken, unrelenting conflict; with over 465,000 Syrians killed, and at least 12 million civilians displaced internally or having fled abroad.

Talk of ceasefires and de-escalation zones has dried up, with a Russian enterprise for a temporary pause in hostilities for Eastern Ghouta having failed spectacularly back in February.

Eastern Ghouta is one of the last armed strongholds of the opposition, and its fate may very well determine the outcome of the civil war.

50

KettleMag

Pro-regime forces, backed by Russian air-power, stepped up their bombardment of the district in February, trapping 400,000 civilians who have been under constant siege since 2013. Eastern Ghouta’s strategic location, just outside the capital Damascus, makes it a top priority for the Assad regime; which is in perhaps its strongest position since hostilities first began. Russian intervention on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in 2015 has facilitated a complete reversal of fortune for the regime, and shielded it from international pressure. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Syria looks unlikely. UN brokered talks have consistently failed, and indeed the very question of who represents the Syrian opposition politically is a minefield, with radical Islamist groups often not included in dialogue, despite wielding more influence on the ground than more secular rebels.

With the Islamic State no longer a major force in Syria, control of territory is primarily a three-way tussle between government forces, rebel groups, and Kurds in the north. Turkey’s recent invasion of Kurdish-held territory along the Syrian-Turkish border has complicated the dynamic, since the Assad regime and the Kurdish YPG militia have largely operated under an unofficial, temporary truce, and there have been reports of pro-government forces aiding the Kurdish YPG to fight the advances of the Turkish military, and their Syrian-rebel (Free Syrian Army) allies.

Buoyed by recent advances, the Assad regime will be less inclined to agree to terms at the negotiating table. If, and when, Eastern Ghouta falls, pro-regime forces will be stretched far less thinly, and able to turn their attention to the falling number of rebel enclaves left.

With much of the international community paralysed by years of indecision and idleness, conflict rumbles on, and we can but hold our breath for the people of Eastern Ghouta.

Should Eastern Ghouta fall to regime forces, attention will turn more fully to the north. Will President Assad allow Kurdish zones to keep their autonomy, or will he advocate a policy of retaking control of the Syrian state as it was precivil-war? International actors may play a determining hand in this. The Kurdish groups in the north still enjoy a level of American backing, having been armed and supported logistically in their fight against the Islamic State, and due to a broader U.S. pro-Kurd policy in the Middle East. Such support has dried up somewhat in the face of Turkish resolve not to allow a YPG controlled border area, but should Syrian regime forces turn on the Kurds, a more aggressive U.S. policy on Syria may finally appear.

In the meantime, a political solution for www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

51

@KettleMag

Russia has been described by a senior U.S. general as acting as both “arsonist and firefighter,” and it has undoubtedly been their support which has enabled pro-regime forces to regain control over much of Syria’s more densely populated western belt, along with the key cities of Aleppo, Homs, and Palmyra.

Image: freepik.com

How to go green Claire Lyons

52

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

How we started The Frugal Family’s mission has been a lifelong process from the heady days of marches and youth movements to a more online approach now supporting people living on a budget and with a family. Our choices around ethical living have also seen ups and downs based on our income, local facilities, needs and energy levels.

Despite all the changes, there has been a core desire to show love to the planet and reduce our negative impact on www.KettleMag.co.uk

it. How we (and you) do this on a daily basis will change over time—and that’s ok.

One of our main goals is to encourage people to look at changing one simple daily habit, to continue until that becomes their new normal, and then change the next thing. It’s that simple. You may have a long and detailed list of all the things you could and should do; but end up doing none of them as the list is just too long and difficult to tackle.

By just concentrating on one very simple thing you will not only have an impact on your own contribution, but also to those around you when you chat about it, explain why or just role model.

Here are some ideas to ponder:

Reduce The first of the simple 3 Rs system are and the easiest and cheapest to do! Simply stop buying stuff… Sounds so simple but can be hard to retrain our well-worn patterns of behaviour.

Challenge: Spend one week being a more conscious spender – before making any purchase ask yourself if you will still be glad you KettleMag

53

@KettleMag

Everywhere you look at the moment people are going vegan, zero-waste, campaigning against single-use plastic and it’s an exciting time for the sustainable living movement. But it can also be a bit overwhelming when you are bombarded with information and choices and pressure to change the way you live right now! If you’re living in shared accommodation and don’t have full control over your living space, that can make it harder still. However, this article is going to show you a wide variety of ways you can steer your life in a ‘green’ direction, using the JustOne-Thing method.

spent that money on that item at the end of the week.

Ideas: One of the best ways to reduce is to set a budget for items you buy regularly. This could be a budget for food, the pub, nights out, clothes, downloads, etc.

You could also look at reducing in a less physical sense. Maybe you reduce your car use, your water use, or your energy use. Whatever you decide, remember to only change one thing at a time.

Re-using The second of the 3 Rs of green living that you will already know all about.

Again, the idea is to look at all the ways this could happen in your life but only pick one for now.

Challenge: Look in your recycling bin and see if there is one item you can reuse. Get in the habit of reusing before you recycle.

Ideas: • • • • •

Use unwanted mail to write your shopping list on Use a washed out shampoo bottle as a charging station holder Use an empty tissue box as storage for elastic bands, receipts, old tickets Use loo roll tubes to tidy up your electrical cables Use bread bags as a sandwich bag

Remember the best way to move towards less waste is to slowly buy items that can be reused again and again. They may cost more in the short term, but save lots of money in the long term.

54

KettleMag

Recycling This is the last of the classic 3 Rs and possibly the most popular of the basic stages of green living, and you are probably doing lots already.

Challenge: Think of one thing you could recycle that you currently don’t, or change one item you buy regularly to a recyclable version.

Idea: we have started to get ketchup in glass bottles again instead of plastic.

This costs more money, so we have also started to reduce how much we use to even it out. There is a health benefit; glass is easily recyclable in our household collection, and ketchup has become a really precious and somehow more enjoyable item.

I’ve also started to take my own drinks with me. I have invested in a metal water bottle and a brilliant insulated mug. This has reduced my spending on drinks and my use of disposable bottles and cups. It’s a win-win. If I do have to buy a drink, I try to go for a can which I know I can recycle easily (plastic bottle recycling is a big hit or miss where I live).

Repair This is the lesser known 4th R… At least in our house it is! With the strong movement away from fast fashion and its hideously unsustainable and unethical legacy, along with many other aspects of our love affair with the throw-away culture — you may want to think about what you can repair rather than replace.

Challenge: Think of one thing you can repair or repurpose that you would www.KettleMag.co.uk

Sourcing

Ideas:

As you move your focus onto living more sustainably, it starts to take over — in a good way! Thinking about where all your stuff comes from is also an area you can regularly review. We have also made a successful effort to shop more locally and now have some great friendships with local businesses.

• • •

•

Wear odd socks, or use the single ones for…

Cover up small tears, holes or stains on clothes with a patch or creative stitching Replace a broken screen on your phone or iPad using YouTube instructions, and remember to recycle your phones if you do upgrade Use Sugru to fix broken mugs and ceramics – and turn into bird feeders when no longer fixable.

Swap & share This is one of the easiest and most satisfying ways we have moved towards a more sustainable life and a savings mentality. We have set up several Facebook groups locally for sharing all sorts of things like books, DVDs, board games, ‘special’ clothes, gardening equipment, kitchen equipment, car share trips and even pets!

Challenge: Think of one thing you can change to a local supplier.

Ideas: • Go to your local pub instead of into town.

• Buy at second-hand, vintage or charity shops instead of buying new • Investigate sources of food like Approved Foods • Use local shops for fruit and veg, taking your own bags • Make your own toiletries, save a fortune and less chemicals and packaging

Challenge: Think of something you need and were going to buy – now think of someone you know that might be able to lend you that item or swap it for something you have they need.

Ideas: • Borrowing extra plates, etc when having friends over • Have a monthly book swap • Investigate car sharing sites for long journeys • Share the cost of a weekly shop – buying in bulk is cheaper and (generally) uses less packaging • Asking for help with ‘wear once’ items for a special occasion www.KettleMag.co.uk

For more tips, head over to: www.thefrugalfamily.co.uk KettleMag

55

@KettleMag

would normally just throw away.

A matter of (digital) trust Alex Veeneman

The words “fake news” and “post-truth” have something in common. They were both words of the year (post-truth was Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year in 2016, while fake news was the Collins’ Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2017), and have arguably become a part of the international lexicon.

They have become intertwined in this 21st century media culture, where 56

KettleMag

trust remains a pressing question, and mediums expand and adjust in this digital age. As social media and the web evolve, people flock to these platforms to get information on the world – be it their community or events thousands of miles away. Along the way, budding journalists are told that a presence on social media is imperative to inform, educate and engage the audience. www.KettleMag.co.uk

important now as they were decades earlier.

The ethics code maintained by the American Society of Professional Journalists encourages journalists to seek truth and report it, irrespective of platform. Not too far from that saying is another guideline: “Neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.”

There are many news organisations, For any relationship, to be successful including the BBC, that have a unit is to ensure that both parties trust devoted to verifying user-generated each other, and this is especially the content, as well as examining specific case between journalist and audience statistics. Yet, in this digital age, member. In this age where metrics and going viral appear while these solutions I know that to be increasingly on the issue of trust in journalism is important, the issue journalism make valuable contributions to restoring itself competitive, of trust is something trust, more must be done. and a multitude that journalists should not take for granted of reporters find – no matter if they’re Indeed, organisations in Britain are not the themselves in the tweeting their way only ones answering pack mentality, through a hearing at Westminster, posting this question. It is a attempting to about the snowstorm prevalent question one-up their heading through New in the United States, York, Boston and the where the contentious competitors...

East Coast of the US, relationship between President Trump, his supporters and or considering the implications of the media has become the norm, all Frances McDormand’s speech at the the while conversations take place on Oscars. the midterm elections which will occur Recently, Amol Rajan, the long-time here in November.

US news organisations are trying to editor of The Independent, now Media settle the question of how to restore Editor for the BBC, gave the annual trust, even as Trump spouts the words Bob Friend lecture at the University “fake news” on Twitter daily, and of Kent in Canterbury. He wanted to regularly belittles journalists and the discuss how to save journalism from itself – and at the conclusion of his media in public rallies. lecture said this, as he referenced the story of the tortoise and the hare.

Social media is not going away as a “’Slow and steady wins the race’ was platform for news anytime soon, and never meant to sound galvanising,” though it is still relatively new, that Rajan said. “But it was meant to point does not mean it should be treated to a deeper truth - and truth is our differently from traditional media currency. As the sprint of the hare was platforms. No matter how one receives his undoing, and the dopaminethem, the facts of a story are just as www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

57

@KettleMag

Yet, a recent poll said only 24 percent of the British public trusted news on social media, in a world where anyone can tweet an image, video or text, or post it on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, and consider it as fact.

The hope of going viral is given more precedence than whether the content itself is true.

fuelled thrill of the share is ours, so the enduring wisdom of the tortoise should be our inspiration. It’s all a matter of time, my friends. Journalism today, and tomorrow, will be at its best when it re-learns the habits inherited from yesterday.”

Rajan may not have meant for that to sound galvanising, but he captured a habit that in my judgment is necessary for journalism to survive in this digital age: It is better to be right than to be first.

I’m not naïve – I know that journalism is itself competitive, and a multitude of reporters find themselves in the pack mentality, attempting to one-up their competitors with that all essential scoop – the one story that will go viral, spark dramatic debates and send their metrics, ratings and other data through the roof.

may.

The world can be complicated, and journalists’ responsibility is to make sense of what is going on through our pursuit of the truth – and present it factually and accurately without fear or favour.

The truth is more important than ever, so it is for the public that I, my colleagues here in the US and in Britain set out on this objective from the American Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Code: “Seek truth and report it.”

In addition to his duties at Kettle, Alex Veeneman is a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Professional Journalists.

Yet, I didn’t enter journalism to get famous. If I wanted fame, I would’ve done something completely different.

I entered journalism because of the importance of public service – the notion that facts are presented to the audience to help them make sense of the world around them, so they can go about their daily lives and make up their own minds. I don’t care if I’m first or not, so long as I know that it is right and accurate so I can present it to whoever needs the information, whether it’s on Twitter or a conventional media platform.

I hope the audience can trust me enough to share this information with them, which I ensure every t is crossed and every “i” is dotted – for I trust the audience to take this information and to go make sense of it however they 58

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Long distance relationships Richa Kundnani I had always been a rational person, but in the summer of 2016 I was tempted to jump the gun and move halfway across the world. I felt like I needed a change of pace and environment. I felt like I needed this.

I had always been a rational person, but when we had to decide ‘what now?’ when it came to us, we just couldn’t let go. Not after being together for nearly five years. Not when he was my first serious boyfriend ever.

In general, I was never a believer or a fan of long-distance relationships. I liked being around the ones I loved and the ones who mattered to me. I had been in a long-distance friendship with my best friend for over five years, but couldn’t imagine it with a significant www.KettleMag.co.uk

other. When anyone around me said that they were in a long-distance relationship, I scoffed in response – how sustainable could it really be?

I’m sure you’ve heard it all - a long distance relationship is tough. Plain and simple, but love is supposed to overcome all barriers, right? I gathered my courage and we took the plunge to put the theory to the test during the winter of 2017, when I officially moved to London.

The first few months weren’t as tough as people made it seem – I was caught up with adjusting to a new lifestyle, job, people and surroundings, however, it wasn’t the same for him. He was still in the same country, driving through the same roads that we used to together.

KettleMag

59

Technology made it fairly easy for us to stay connected and feel like we were a part of each other’s daily lives. We would stay in touch through various social media channels by messaging each other every day through WhatsApp, tagging each other on quirky Facebook posts and sending multiple snapchat videos. If that wasn’t enough, we would even Skype each other once every few days. As you can imagine, we were highly reliant on WiFi/mobile data, but there were never any complaints.

much as it was worth it, or so we were convinced. After all, almost every time we Skyped, there would be a mention about our plans to meet each other next.

One thing I can’t emphasise enough for having a successful long distance relationship is the three most important things: trust, honesty and communication. It might seem absolutely cheesy or overrated to some, but when there’s not enough level of honesty and transparency, I know, I know. For some, all of that negative emotions and thoughts such virtual communication might seem like as suspicion can easily come about. a hassle, but for us, it took absolutely After all, you’re kilometres away from no effort. In fact, it was rather natural. your significant other, your loved one.

You know how some say I wanted him to know We were happy ‘Not telling the truth isn’t what was happening in lying’? Or ‘They didn’t this ‘new life’ of mine, — the pure, and he wanted to equally comforting love, ask, so we didn’t tell’? We didn’t believe those - that’s keep me in the loop. deep respect, why we worked. strange quirks Eventually, I started getting used to my and continuous Being in a romantic relationship with someone environment and sarcastic comic who wasn’t physically succumbing to the banter with me meant I was had nature of my 9-6 work to operate completely routine. On days when I was exploring the city, things independently – something I wasn’t constantly reminded me of him; when I entirely used to. Now, don’t get me was meeting others, I would talk about wrong – I wasn’t completely reliant him; when I was trying out new things, on him. I was fairly independent, but I I was wishing it was with him. It was knew he always had my back no matter starting to become a struggle, but the what. There was always someone I thought of having someone who loved could dot in in my good times or bad me wholeheartedly filled me up and times; ups or downs. Now, I had to get used to doing things how and when I made it worth it. wanted to, and get comfortable doing Several months down the line, the them alone. Otherwise, I had to get out struggle was starting to become more there, make some friends and do it with prominent. It was noticeable when the them. Being without him pushed me out frequency of our Skype calls decreased of my comfort zone like nothing before. from once a week to once every two weeks. Compromises started slowly At some point in time, however, the being involved – but it didn’t matter first seed of doubt was planted in me — 60

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

that uncertainty felt like a decision in its own right.

We were happy — the pure, comforting love, deep respect, strange quirks and continuous sarcastic comic banter.

We were almost perfect, it seemed, so why would the thought of leaving even cross my mind? I asked myself that a thousand times.

Sometimes, it’s easy to wish that fortune tellers or psychics were real, to know what the future holds. Maybe it would be easier to go through this life knowing that we would be together.

But I’ve truly enjoyed not seeing him coming, like a freight train, and altering my life in an unimaginable way.

The thoughts hit me like a ton of bricks.

I never really had given time to myself, and that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to focus on myself. I wanted to be a part of his world, not his world. I wanted him to be a part of my world, but not my entire world. It might have been selfish, but I was convinced that independence would do us good and allow us to focus on ourselves, our career - the bigger picture.

When we ended our relationship, the impact crushed me. Worse, it crushed him. I could hear it in his rare calls, voice notes or texts — I didn’t even need to see him for that, but I was done.

Not with him — I still loved him a lot — but with it. The battle. The conflict.

I hated the ambiguity of it, with time www.KettleMag.co.uk

It’s been several months now, since that date. We’ve had our differences, given each other space and faced several emotions. We eventually came to the conclusion that we were important individuals in each other’s lives — regardless of the label of our relationship. Mutual friends laughed and said it was impossible to transition from a girlfriend into a best friend but we had gone through several challenges in our relationship and this was just another one to add to the list. While we definitely haven’t perfected it, I believe we’re slowly getting there.

Honestly, I don’t think we can ever completely lose the fire we had.

Perhaps our timing wasn’t right and I was meant to find him years later, perhaps we’ll even be together in the future. Or he may even find someone he’s happy with along the way and so might I. Regardless, we know that the intensity of emotion, the depth of care and the true happiness of giving ourselves to one another will never be shared by another. It’s a story that only we could create and I’m glad that I can always look back at it and smile.

KettleMag

61

@KettleMag

not sure if it was reality or rational. It made a habit of returning every once in a while and did an unfortunate, yet great job of swirling my thoughts around. Maybe this wasn’t it, maybe we weren’t forever, maybe I wanted something else entirely. I was starting to become smothered by the distance and thoughts — what our end goal was and when it was going to be. I wasn’t talking about marriage, just actually being physically together. After all, I didn’t know how long my stint in London was going to be, so I didn’t know how and when that would be. As more time passed, I realised that throughout the time we had been together, it was all about us, my friends and family.

Studying abroad Rita Cunha

In an increasingly global world, student mobility programs are available like they have never been before. Almost all universities provide their pupils the opportunity to do a semester abroad, if not more. There are also more and more students seeking foreign universities to continue their studies, which has been shown by the growing number of foreign students in universities all around the world.

Joshua Collier is from Warwick and got his Bachelor’s in Politics from the Newcastle University after having studied abroad in Copenhagen. Joshua currently lives in Oxfordshire.

Christopher Bruha is an American student from Nebraska. He is in the process of obtaining his BA in Language Sciences from the University of Lisbon.

His current residence is in Lisbon, Portugal.

For this issue of the magazine, I have interviewed three people from different countries who have all studied abroad.

These are their opinions.

Why did you choose to study abroad?

Meghan Fenn is from the US and holds a BA in English and Art and an MA in Design Studies. She did her MA at Nottingham Trent University. She currently lives in West Sussex, UK.

Meghan Fenn: I wanted to experience travelling on my own, being somewhere different. Prior to that, I had only been outside the United States in Canada and Mexico and those trips were with my parents.

62

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

I get to be surrounded by the standard accent, which I really wanted to pick up.

I think that it is a better city in terms of entertainment and quality of life when compared to other Portuguese cities and towns.

Christopher Bruha: I really love languages and in my state getting into a What was your favorite degree that has language learning at its experience while there? core wasn’t an option. I chose to go to Portugal because here I have the ability MF: Learning to speak Italian, making to be immersed in a new culture that friends, seeing beautiful places — so speaks a language I love. Not to mention many great experiences! that tuition is cheaper here I guess the than in the US! JC: I think the best thing

Why did you choose the city you did?

MF: I didn’t. I chose the art programme and that happened to be at a spectacular place. I couldn’t be too choosy at the time because I was a little late at applying.

biggest cultural difference would be how matter-of-fact other nations are when compared to England

JC: As a non-linguist I had to choose a place where not only the course was taught in English, but also where the local population had a good grasp of the English language. Many options were open to me in Northern America, Asia and Australia. However, to qualify for the Erasmus grant I had to choose a European institution.

The only English-speaking options available to me were in Copenhagen and Oslo. I plucked with Copenhagen as the cheaper (not compared with most European standards) option, as well as it having a better reputation for being student friendly.

CB: I chose Lisbon because it is the capital and it’s where the most prestigious university in Portugal is.

One thing good about Lisbon too is that www.KettleMag.co.uk

that came from it is that I made friends for life from a number of different places.

It has enabled me to expand my network way beyond the borders of the United Kingdom!

CB: A moment I treasure a lot was when an old Portuguese lady talked to me at the grocery store in Portuguese. In that moment I truly felt like a real native speaking the language.

It wasn’t the first time I interacted with someone in this language, but it was special because it made me feel like I can keep going down my path of language learning and master it.

What was the biggest cultural/ language difference/barrier for you?

MF: How people shopped. That was so different in Europe at that time— asking for things over the counter. If you don’t speak the language, it can be a real challenge. And realizing that the United States of America isn’t the only country in the world!

KettleMag

63

@KettleMag

Joshua Collier: Even when applying to university I knew it [studying abroad] was always an option I wanted to pursue, as I lived as an expat for the first part of my life.

JC: Because of the ability of Danes to speak English and the fact that the course was taught in English meant that communication with anyone was pretty seamless. I guess the biggest cultural difference would be how matter-of-fact other nations are when compared to England.

CB: The greatest barrier has been dealing with the fact that Portuguese people sound very rude when they’re talking because of how the language is structured. I found myself feeling attacked when I got here when I really shouldn’t have.

What was the most difficult thing about studying abroad?

MF: I didn’t find it difficult, I loved it. I didn’t want to go back, so I got a job and stayed for the rest of the summer after the course ended.

JC: The only bad experience I had was that my flatmates in the accommodation I was in and I did not get on. Just personality clashes. However, I didn’t spend that much time in my own flat, except to sleep. Because it was in a huge student hall, I was able to socialize with others in the same accommodation.

CB: Adapting to living by myself. Being alone, by myself, was a challenge at first — but I’m getting used to it! Having gone from being a high-school student, living with my parents, and working a parttime job to being in higher education, living alone for the first time, and being surrounded by a new language was a bit of a shock in the beginning. I think that it was a very big and abrupt change.

future?

MF: Yes, and it did for me. I wouldn’t have gone abroad after graduation to work if I hadn’t previously had that experience as a student, and never would have met my English husband — so I wouldn’t be living in the United Kingdom right now at all.

JC: Absolutely! I hope to return to work one day in Denmark!

CB: Absolutely! I want my future self to be surrounded by languages, and my career to be based on language learning.

This experience will definitely open up doors in this area, and I’m grateful for that.

Would you do it again?

MF: Yes, and I’d love for my own children to experience that too.

JC: I would definitely do it again!

CB: Of course. Even though it gets rough sometimes because of the challenges I mentioned, I love it here. This place has too much to offer to stay away from it.

Do you recommend studying abroad to other students?

MF: Yes. JC: I couldn’t recommend it more.

CB: Yes, but only if they’re in the right mindset. If you have the slightest doubt about it, it is going to be much, much harder.

Do you think this experience will open doors for you in the 64

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

Time’s Up, but the clock’s still ticking.

Emily Baker www.KettleMag.co.uk

Sexual harassment is a laboured topic today. Men are finally becoming more and more ‘scared’ of the changed parameters of what was once deemed acceptable.

It’s become open debate with more women stepping out from the shadows and revealing their experiences. One of the biggest problems is assessing what ‘counts’ as harassment, because of what different people define it to be. From wolf whistling, winking and making derogatory jokes, to the acts of grabbing, flashing or forced sexual acts, almost all women have faced the scarring endurances on some level, or will face it at some point in their lives.

The vital question amongst sexual harassment and the fresh air brought by the Time’s Up movement is this: what does it mean to be a woman in 2018?

The movement flourished from brave and defiant

women. It’s an open letter addressed “Dear sisters” in the name of solidarity, following on from 700,000 female agriculture workers who penned their experiences to paper. They are amongst the women sick of putting up with the workplace persecution, strangers groping them in clubs and romantic partners taking advantage. Enough was once and for all enough.

Day 1 of 2018 was the day the movement came into action; fitting, really, for a fresh and unapologetic start: a new year’s resolution.

What kicked it off?

Harvey Weinstein. Why? Because his disgusting behaviour affected enough women with a big enough platform to speak up. Media organisations across America stood in solidarity and revealed the gross misconduct, where a string of other ‘successful’ male figures were fired from their projects and positions: Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K to name just two.

Celebrities got behind the movement and began sharing their stories, using the hashtag #MeToo to promote the message that girls are not alone. It wasn’t just about creating publicity, but rather supporting KettleMag

65

@KettleMag

If you haven’t heard of the Time’s Up campaign, get belted in. But first of all, check your privilege.

Whilst the introduction of a new year brings fresh and exciting changes for most of us, women get lumped with the same old treatment. Sick of it? #MeToo…

supporting victims unable to raise legal fees in sexual harassment cases.

What may seem a great leap for society has far from abolished it. The window’s merely been opened ajar to a vast tunnel of industries crawling with the infection. The very place that allowed us to hear about Weinstein’s actions is just one. In an article for the British Journalism Review, Sunday Times editorial director and chair of Women in Journalism, Eleanor Mills, said: “Journalism doesn’t stand aside from society, it is a part of it. And just as Westminster and Hollywood are reliant on powerful male gatekeepers, so is journalism.”

...he said revenge porn was a normal part of a breakup. There you go boys, validation for exploiting a woman’s privacy, breaking the law and ruining her life all in one sweep.

On paper we might be moving towards a more equal society (… at long last) but not on our pay cheques. Men in higherpaying jobs will earn around 20% more than women, according to the Office of National Statistics last year. On average, women are paid far less than their male colleagues. That stretches across a mixture of different jobs and contracts and fluctuates depending on earnings, but the message behind it is pretty clear: women are less equal, less important and less intelligent.

This wage gap divide has existed forever, but the news reignited when BBC’s China Correspondent Carrie Gracie quit her job because of it.

She gave an enchanting and honest 66

KettleMag

speech earlier this year detailing her experiences: “I knew, as did many other women at the BBC, that we had been underpaid by comparison to male peers. We knew there was inequality. It is an insult to add to the original injury.

Our business is truth, we can’t operate without the truth. It just won’t do.”

The very fact that such a respected news corporation is in fact unequal in the treatment of such influential, hardworking women is astounding. Oh, and it’s publicly funded, so we’re pay for that inequality too. As a result, six of its leading male employees took a pay cut to stand with her. Is that enough? Who else has to quit for action to be revised, and what else has got to give?

My question still remains: what does it mean to be a woman in 2018? Is it support, above anything, and bellies of fire banding together in solidarity?

If you ever considered yourself as someone who sits on the side-line, politically unengaged or more-of-aguy’s-girl-anyway, this year isn’t about the old you. It’s about a new improved socially aware version of yourself.

Time’s Up isn’t a cult, it’s logic: female or not, sexism and sexual harassment will affect you, or someone you love at some point in your life. Even with those conversations in play, the contradictions are everywhere.

I was watching The BRITs recently, and right when I began to congratulate Jack Whitehall for wearing the white rose in support of #MeToo, I found myself close to breaking my TV screen.

Why? Because he said revenge porn was a normal part of a break-up. There you go boys, validation for exploiting a woman’s privacy, breaking the law and ruining her life all in one sweep. It’s still a joke, we’re conditioned to laugh at the www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

expense of the abused and make excuses for men. Why does it feel like with every step forward we take three or four jumps back?

These are all facts of the world we live in, facts that women are expected to shut up about and stomach. We’ve been conditioned that way. We can’t stand for it anymore. Being a woman in 2018 may be relatively indifferent: sexual assault won’t miraculously end, and the century-old attitudes won’t fade easily either. The year of recognising women: this could be it. The calls for suffragettes to be pardoned, the protests, and ultimately the most important piece of the puzzle: the broadening of the conversation.

If we don’t continue to talk, to better ourselves and the people around us, we won’t grow into the society we need to be. The kind of society women deserve.

The kind of society free from ignorance, bigotry and misogyny.

@KettleMag @KettleMag www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

67

Studying music in Amsterdam Beatriz Ferreira

My name is Beatriz and I’m studying Music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Playing the recorder, also known as Flauto Dolce, has been my passion ever since I was around eight.

It might seem like a young age, but it is actually quite late to get started at an instrument — however, I only started studying it at school when I was ten.

Nevertheless, I would say I made good progress, especially when I switched to a better school, around my 12th anniversary.

Playing has always come naturally to me, and I was confused when I saw other recorder players struggling with things that I found so easy. I kept playing; people kept praising my performances, and that only motivated me further.

Whenever someone needed a recorder student for some project, they would ask me. With all of this and more, I got quite confident and comfortable 68

KettleMag

onstage and with my playing (which many people find surprising since I’m shy and insecure offstage).

I finished high school studying music last year with a great grade and happy and excited to see where life and my playing would take me.

However, all that changed when I started studying in the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t regret coming here one bit!

But my perspective has changed immensely. I used to practice around four hours per week (sometimes even less), and I didn’t worry about that because I was still the best. But here we are expected to practice around 3 to 6 hours per day. I feel like I really need it because I’ve met incredibly talented and hard-working people who motivate me to go further, challenge myself, and work to reach my potential. www.KettleMag.co.uk

Over the six months I have spent here, I have started to feel progress, but at the same time I am now aware of so many things that I still have to work on and improve. I was completely oblivious to them before, and I often get hopeless, feeling like I will never reach the stage that I want. But that is normal, and I just have to accept it and be able to wake up with enough energy the next day and make the most of it.

The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is generally regarded as one of the best music Universities in Europe, and even though I knew this in advance, it only really hit me after I came here.

I notice it every day — either in the number of monthly projects, concerts, workshops and masterclasses for every instrument and musical genre; and in Apart from my emotional struggles the quality of the students I have had related to playing the recorder, it was the pleasure to listen. The fact that the pretty tough in the beginning to live alone in a new city and theoretical classes are quite demanding, and that almost ...it was pretty studying at a new school. of those things are every person who teaches tough in the Each difficult by themselves, here also has many other beginning to but the three combined are active musical projects outside the university live alone in a really, really complicated. (which is not the case for new city and It is something that I now realize everyone here had every teacher in other music schools) only showcase the studying at a to go through and struggle Conservatorium’s quality. new school. with, but something that helps is knowing that I have met many recorder players, and everyone here is in the same boat, gotten into a whole new world around since the majority of the students are my instrument that I didn’t even know originally from abroad. existed. I realize that I have had to relearn everything related to my way of This brings me to another topic that I playing the recorder, and although that can’t not point out when writing about was very tough and frustrating at the Amsterdam, which is the number beginning, I eventually managed to of people from different countries, get out of my pedestal and accept that continents and cultures that I have I am not in the same position here as met here. It is truly amazing and I was in Portugal. In the meantime, I extraordinary to hear four different have realized that almost everybody languages while just going to the felt the same thing at first, and one bathroom, or to be able to play in a of the teachers said something that quartet where all the people are from stuck with me: “In your schools and different continents. I have never seen your countries you were probably the or heard any mean comment regarding best, but here you are just another someone’s origin, and no one sticks to one.” Although it might seem like it, groups of people of their nationality. creates a heterogeneous, this wasn’t meant in a harsh way, but This rather as an inevitability that we have intercultural group of students sharing one thing in common – their love for to accept — the sooner the better. music. www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

69

@KettleMag

Actually, the fact that I don’t know where my potential ends is just so exciting and motivating.

Big Brother: live on our screens since 2000.

Please do not disappear...

by Tayler Finnegan

The era-defining reality TV show is rumoured to be coming to an end, and has a history as colourful as its everchanging logo...

With franchises in over 54 countries, there is no denying that reality game show Big Brother holds the monopoly on 21st century entertainment.

The ultimate social experiment began in the Netherlands in 1999 before stretching to all corners of the globe.

The original Dutch version, created by media tycoon John de Mol, ran for 70

KettleMag

just six series before coming to an end in 2006. It would seem that the people of one of the happiest nations in the world are not so happy when living in a televised goldfish bowl for entertainment. Who knew?

In the early days of Ofcom, Big Brother was undoubtedly more controversial than it has been in recent years.

Channel 4 – the bolshie, boisterous and unafraid host of many an unapologetic topic – aired one of the most shocking episodes of Big Brother back in 2004. www.KettleMag.co.uk

what it takes (confidence, charisma, and a dazzling smile) they climb the shiny silver chrome stairs as virtual unknowns and emerge to roaring applause and new-found cult status in the Big Brother hall of fame.

Alas, Big Brother is nothing if not a double-edged sword. As easily as it can launch a celebrity profile for an ordinary citizen, it can sink the careers of already well-established famous faces with a few misguided comments.

Parallels have been drawn between Big Brother and frightening Celebrity Big Brother is psychological studies, As social often a conflicting concept. such as the 1971 Stanford creatures, we It first aired in 2001 shortly Prison Experiment – in love nothing after the civilian series which participants were began in the UK. The spinplaced in a jail and split more than annually attracts much into two groups of prisoners analysing our off criticism for everything and guards. Its aim was to investigate the effects fellow humans from the less-than-famous contestants to instances of of perceived power, and – friends, bullying and harassment. it is easy to see the link colleagues, Placing 12 opinionated, between the study and the celebrities, fame-hungry and mediareality show it manifests trained celebrities into a in. The very currency of reality TV Big Brother is power. With a contestants... pressure cooker of a house and taking away the luxuries guaranteed walkout almost every series, the true effects of such an they have come to expect and demand intense environment are clear to see. makes for great entertainment. Yet it The Orwellian dystopia is recreated can also leave a sour taste in the mouths every year and a group of individuals is of viewers who watch their favourite placed under constant surveillance by actors, musicians and sportspeople the all-seeing Big Brother. As if having decimate their own careers in front your life controlled in a custom-made of them. It was a refreshing change, house day-in, day-out was not testing then, when Celebrity Big Brother 2018 enough, there is also the obstacle of provided some real lessons among the nominations and evictions to tackle. usual controversy.

Big Brother is, above all, a popularity contest. Housemates are placed on the 1984 versus 2018 world stage to be judged on everything they say and do, and even what they The winter series of Celebrity Big fail to say and do.

Brother this year saw a femaleonly house for the first few days to Like most reality TV shows, Big Brother commemorate 100 years since some has proven its ability to create careers women were granted the right to vote. out of very little. If applicants have The line-up was the show’s most diverse www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

71

@KettleMag

Big Brother 5 will forever be infamous for the explosive arguments that broke out on Day 20. Immortalised in pop culture as Fight Night, the foodthrowing and physical altercations that occurred within the house were enough to warrant police intervention.

Since that fateful night fourteen years ago, there has certainly been tighter reins held on the housemates to curb any extreme behaviour.

to date: openly transgender, gay and lesbian housemates represented more of the LGBT community than ever before.

With so many culture differences between the celebrities, the debates were louder, more frequent and touched upon topics that were previously untouched on the show by even the most abrasive housemates. One shining star in the latest series was Courtney Act, the Australian drag queen who rose to fame as an alumnus of drag trailblazer RuPaul Charles. Courtney, real name Shane Jenek, respectfully and graciously educated her fellow housemates – and the nation – on the complex concepts of gender. If Big Brother’s fate is sealed, it is fitting that the 2018 celebrity series went some way to redeem the less than savoury moments over the past seventeen years, such as Kim Woodburn’s meltdown, and George Galloway’s feline impression *shudder*.

behaviour and instead became the catalyst that made us think about the concept of achieving instant celebrity status. The show’s scarce entry requirements saw applicants clambering to cash in their fifteen minutes of fame, to varying degrees of success.

The Big Brother franchise has certainly had its nightmarish moments, but its ability to entertain with such a simple format is unparalleled. After eighteen years, two channels and countless hosts, the future of the show is in jeopardy after suffering plummeting ratings. Surely it’s not time for this cultural institution to be sent to Room 101 just yet...

The appeal of Big Brother as a form of entertainment lies in its simplicity.

The format is unique enough to keep us watching every year, but has those mainstay features which make it so familiar. That balmy millennium summer brought with it a new, fast paced TV show that would change pop culture forever. Around 4.5m of us tuned in to watch a group of subjects navigate life in a camera-filled house. Long after the format stopped surprising us, Big Brother remained an exciting conversation starter. As social creatures, we love nothing more than analysing our fellow humans – friends, colleagues, celebrities, reality TV contestants...

Admittedly, after a few series the show stopped being about observing 72

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

R ILE !

O P T S ER AL Still Game has been running since 2002, albeit with a 9 year hiatus from 20072016. Despite the break, its return in 2016 was welcome. And having waited since November 2016, and a pushback from the end of 2017 to 8 March 2018, Still Game is finally back on our screens every Thursday on BBC1 at 9.30pm.

The Scottish sitcom, which has won several BAFTAs, was created and is written by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who play the lead characters, Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade. Based on the fictional Glaswegian suburb of Craiglang, the show returns with shenanigans of the two pensioners and their friends and neighbours.

My three favourite characters: busybody Isa Drennan (Jane McCarry), www.KettleMag.co.uk

Review: Still Game- Fly Fishing Chloe Sayers

Winston Ingram (Paul Riley) and tightwad Tam Mullen (Mark Cox) were back and ready to cause some drama.

The 8th series begins in The Clansman, the local dive of a pub. Jack, Victor and Winston are having a disagreement because Winston wants to move in with one of the two best friends while his own home is being treated for asbestos, to which they both outright refuse.

This is one of the main storylines in the first episode. Boabby the barman immediately begins taunting his punters by referring to the way they all gather in the pub similar to an old folks’ home. After complaining that he has only taken £16 that day, barely enough to cover the “leccy” for the fruit machine that Tam is playing on, he proceeds to win £16 on the machine, KettleMag

73

one of the funniest moments of the show, as the whole series always focuses on making Boabby’s life as difficult as possible.

Clansman and after Jack says “How bad can it be?” a man falls through the glass front door, another classic one liner from Still Game.

Meanwhile Isa’s birthday is approaching and is keen to know whether anybody is throwing her a surprise birthday party. Navid, owner of Harrid’s convenience store where Isa works, comes back from the cash and carry. Isa is convinced somebody is throwing her a surprise party, but with her “nosey bastardness” (as put

by Navid) that she entails, must know before. Throughout the episode there are hilarious flashbacks to her spoiling the surprise parties, my favourite being one in which everybody is stood in the dark waiting to wish her a happy birthday, and she is lurking in the background. Isa spots Peggy McAlpine buying some party hats from Navid’s and becomes obsessed with the idea that Peggy is the person throwing the surprise party. When she spots Peggy walking past the shop with a cake, she drops her mop in a comical fashion and follows her to the local community centre. It turns out the cake says “Happy birthday Andrew” and she feels well and truly awful.

All three subplots are combined in the ending. Winston ends up squatting above the unused flat of The Clansman thanks to big eared “Shug” and the lads have all been stealing bottles of spirits, crisps and drinking cans of lager.

Winston refers to the tin of lager as an “ugly sister to the pub pulled pint” which had me in hysterics. They use a fishing line and an umbrella (hence the episode is called fly fishing) to steal the alcohol through a hole in the ceiling.

It comes to an end when they knock Boabby over the head by accident with his 25 year old pride and joy bottle of Mcrennan malt. This knocks his tooth out so the lads are forced to leave the squat to check on him, and it turns out he was the person responsible for planning Isa’s surprise party, in which she turns up at the same time with Peggy. Winston wakes up very drunk to the commotion, and falls through the hole in the ceiling. She is checking out the lovely spread Boabby has done when Winston falls through with no pants on and says “and you got me wee chipolatas too!” in which the audience ends in crying laughter.

Another subplot emerges when The Clansman suddenly goes upmarket, causing outrage that the usually rough and ready pub is now serving bottled beer, tablecloths, “West End garbage food”. The funniest moment is when Tam says “What even is pulled pork?

Sounds like a porno movie!” which highlights a generation difference and is quite relevant to society given how many bars and restaurants are serving totally new types of food, which older generations may struggle to comprehend. The lads try the only other local pub, a bigger dive than The 74

KettleMag

Still Game is available to watch on BBC iPlayer for up to 28 days after each episode and the older series are on Netflix. If you haven’t seen any of this yet, you are seriously missing out. Absolutely flawless and not a dull moment!

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Western feminism and rural women Rita Cunha We can all safely say that 2017 was a great year for the gender equality movement. From the beginning to the end of the year we saw grassroots organization of protests and campaigns against gender-based injustices making headlines. What was left unreported, however, were the initiatives started by rural women and their organizations, mainly in undeveloped countries. This leads me to ask a question — are we, Western feminists, forgetting about our fellow women outside of Europe and the United States?

January 21st was the date chosen for the Women’s March on Washington.

Just a day after Donald Trump was sworn into office, almost half a million people gathered to peacefully protest the new administration. Similar marches took place all over the United States and in all continents (yes, in Antartica too!). The most impressive thing about these marches, in my opinion, is that they were all started www.KettleMag.co.uk

by citizens who saw something they found unfair happening them and took action. It went to show that the spirit to vote, protest, and be a part of the active political life is not as dead as one might think.

Nine months later in October, the social media movement using the hashtag #MeToo blew up the internet. Created in 2006 to support victims of sexual assault, it went viral after rape and harassment allegations were made against film mogul Harvey Weinstein.

It didn’t take long until women of all backgrounds were using the hashtag to share their abuse stories with the world.

This initiative propagated like wildfire through Facebook and Twitter didn’t show just how common and normalized sexual assault is, but also that social media can bring about change. We had already witnessed this with the Arab Spring, but we got a whole new glimpse of it that didn’t stay confined to just one region of the globe.

KettleMag

75

But what can we say about initiatives that focus on women from undeveloped countries?

While #MeToo, Time’s Up and the Women’s March on Washington took over our screens and feeds, we cannot say the same about campaigns and rallies in the nonWestern world.

“

In August, after intense protests led by women, Chile’s Constitutional Tribunal voted to make abortion legal under three

At the heart of leaving no one behind, is leaving no one out. One of the single most impactful contributions to achieving the 2030 Agenda would be to level inequalities for women and girls in rural areas. cases. This was an important step for a country where abortion used to be completely forbidden In the Democratic Republic of Congo, women’s rights groups achieved the unthinkable: to include women in the talks for a peace treaty to end violence in the war-torn country. Women make up now 20% of the members at the table, which wouldn’t have been made possible if not for the Congolese Women’s Forum. In Mexico, after one of the strongest earthquakes in the country’s recorded history hit leaving behind a trail of destruction, female grassroots movements helped relief the catastrophe’s effect on rural communities.

Focusing on women’s and girls’ needs, the rebuilding process

76

KettleMag

would have been much slower if it hadn’t been for them.

With all of these examples of women taking action to better their communities, it’s no wonder that 2017 has been hailed as one of the best and most promising years for gender equality. But why have we only been bombarded with speeches from the Women’s March and galas only open to celebrities? We can all remember Meryl Streep’s speech at the Oscars, but why didn’t we hear about these news from the DRC? The Commission on the Status of Women is gathering in New York in the month of March. At the core of this gathering are the “challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.” The rural women and girls the Commission mentions play an incredibly important role in keeping society together as we know it.

They are primary energy managers in their household and play an important part in the world food production. Despite their undeniable importance, the gender wage gap between rural men and women can be as high as 40% — much higher than what women in the West face.

In addition to this, in countries where water isn’t just the flick of a tap away, girls and women are the ones stuck collecting this necessary resource. Rural women are much more likely to suffer from malnutrition, anaemia, and to have less access to schooling. www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

The organization of this convention clearly had this one thing in mind: how come we have taken so many steps forward when it comes to Western women’s rights, yet the issues rural women from underdeveloped countries barely get any attention in the news cycle? After all, this is one of the biggest critiques made against feminist movements in Europe and America — that while they claim to stand up for women, little to no thought is given to women from completely different upbringings.

As UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said, “At the heart of leaving no one behind, is leaving no one out. One of the single most impactful contributions to achieving the 2030 Agenda would be to level inequalities for women and girls in rural areas. Significant progress for them is progress for the whole Agenda, and for the world.”

Feminism is, at the end of the day, the fight for gender equality. This definition encompasses every girl and woman in the world, regardless of class, ethnicity, religious beliefs and country of birth. How can we, selfproclaimed feminists, call ourselves that if we disregard non-Western women’s narratives and the struggles they must endure? A feminist movement that doesn’t include and try to protect every woman is not a step towards equality, but rather just another system of oppression and discrimination.

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

77

For journo students

Vital tips for journalism students Alex Veeneman

There are many things that journalism students ponder as they go about their studies, from planning schedules and content for student media (and elsewhere) to dates for pending work experience placements.

There is, however the ultimate question – am I able to get a career in the industry that I’m studying?

Journalism is changing right before our eyes. Social media is evolving how we not just consume but create and disseminate media, while the print industry figures out its role in an age of fluctuating advertising, and the internet influences distribution and output of major broadcast brands.

But as it changes, the reason why you wanted to pursue work here has not. You want to help improve the civil discourse – you want to make a difference in people’s lives. You want to educate, to inform, to stimulate, and to engage the public, in order to help them be better informed.

A career in journalism is not out of reach. Here are my tips to help you get there.

Stay up to date on trends

at an interesting time for the industry – a time when trends and the technology that surrounds it is changing. It is important therefore to stay informed with trends. Read journalism news and media sites (i.e. The Guardian’s media section, Nieman Lab at Harvard University, Press Gazette) in addition to other news sites.

The more reading you put in, the more of a contribution you can make when it comes to course discussions or other work in your modules.

Get involved in student media Whether you are studying journalism at the undergraduate level or not, getting involved in student media can help develop your career.

Indeed, many student newspapers across the UK have editors that aren’t studying journalism directly (they’re studying Politics, English Literature, History, Economics or another subject), but hope to pursue a career in journalism after they graduate or go on to get their NCTJ qualifications, either through an MA or another programme, either from the Press Association or elsewhere. The same rule also goes for student radio and for TV.

You are pursuing a career in journalism 78

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

For journo students

Do some networking

Build your portfolio There is more that you can do in building your portfolio with student media. You can also build your portfolio through work experience placements as well as for writing for web sites, including Kettle. It will help you build your CV and help you stand out in the crowd.

Twitter and LinkedIn have become quintessential tools when it comes to networking in journalism. Follow journalists you admire on Twitter in In addition, this also allows you to build addition to others in the industry, a niche that you’re interested in and no matter if you’re looking to go into perhaps want to pursue further as you broadcasting, newspapers or online. work towards your degree and begin Engage with them and your career. don’t be ask questions, and learn discouraged what you can from them Don’t be discouraged if something alongside what you’re learning at uni. happens during This may be obvious, but an exam or if you to me, this is the most In addition, network with important tip of all. Don’t don’t get that journalists on LinkedIn be discouraged. and build a professional placement – it’s following. It doesn’t cost not the end of the Study hard, but don’t be anything, and the contacts discouraged if something world you make now will benefit happens during an exam you as you progress through your or if you don’t get that placement – it’s degree and beyond. not the end of the world. If something happens and you can’t get a job right There are also organisations you can away or you’re unable to afford a get involved in within student media, Master’s degree, it doesn’t mean you’ll from the Student Radio Association be able to have a successful career in and NASTA (National Student journalism.

Television Association) to the Student Publication Association (of which Keep working and keep trying. There Kettle is a member publication). You is a route to your journalism career – can interact with others across the UK even if it’s not the one you planned. and exchange tips and ideas.

Journalism may be changing, but your In addition, there are other prospects of a successful career in this organisations, including the National industry have not. If you work hard Union of Journalists and the Society and put in the time and effort, you will of Editors, which have student be rewarded. memberships. These would increase your opportunities to network.

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

79

@KettleMag

When the opportunities arise, don’t be afraid to sign up or learn more. You’ll have a beneficial experience, meet a lot of new people, and begin to build your portfolio and career.

For journo students

5 tips for reporting news on Twitter Alex Veeneman

Social media has had a significant impact into how we distribute, disseminate and curate journalism.

We use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms to inform as well as engage users in conversations about the day’s events, be it the recent vote on the UK’s membership in the European Union, who is number 1 in the charts, or the forthcoming sporting fixture at the weekend.

It has also become a backdrop to help supporting work in another medium, whether you’re researching a segment for a Radio 4 programme or writing for your own student publication.

A world of information and facts is at our fingertips – it can be right, or it can be wrong. This is especially the case when it comes to Twitter, where anyone can post something and have it known to the world in seconds - not knowing whether if its right or wrong

Be forthright

The social network has become a quintessential part of modern journalism, one 280 character post at a time. Audiences flock to the platform to be informed of events on the go, looking for accurate information in a brief amount of time.

80

KettleMag

Therefore, it is important to remember several things when it comes to reporting a story on Twitter. Here are five things that are crucial when you’re reporting.

A common goal in journalism is to be the first with the story – having that exclusive. However, accurate information is essential, especially in a breaking news story, and has more value than being first ever will. Be honest with your audience and tell them what you know. In addition, don’t speculate.

The rule in the BBC’s editorial guidelines is put this way: “Achieving due accuracy is more important than speed.” www.KettleMag.co.uk

For journo students

If you’re reporting a story on Twitter and are live tweeting, do not be afraid to cite other reports. If you’re seeing conflicting reports, tell your audience about these reports, and say you’re working to get the information.

However, while citing is helpful to help inform and gain perspective, consider the value of the information, and if it would help tell that story. Think twice before you retweet.

Get on the phone

you’re honest with your audience in your reporting, they’ll come back to you because you provided trustworthy and credible information. After all, an honest journalist is a credible journalist.

Twitter has shaped how we think about journalism in the 21st century. These tips will help you become a better journalist in this ever changing digital age, but also help you remember one thing – there will always be a need for accurate journalism, no matter the platform.

You have the reports – now it’s time to figure out what is true and what isn’t.

Jump on the phone and make queries.

Call the source or organisation in question if possible and get the facts.

Report what you know afterwards.

Verify everything In this multimedia age, pictures and videos also come through in a breaking story. If something is sent to you through Twitter, get in touch with the user to do a quick interview with them and have them describe what they saw.

Be informed before you tell the story.

Honesty is the best policy The Society of Professional Journalists in the United States (of which I am an active member) tells us in their Ethics Code to be accountable and transparent. It is one thing that all journalism students should remember, and something that is worth repeating!

Tell your audience what you know.

If you get something wrong while reporting it, admit it and amend it. If www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

81

@KettleMag

Cite with care

Where are they now: Sian Elvin

Name: Sian Elvin Employer/job title: Kent Live (Trinity Mirror), Social media and homepages editor Role at Kettle: Social media editor

similarly in the future. I decide what the splash and main stories on the front page of the website are going to be, and regularly update them throughout the day to keep everything looking fresh.

What do you do now and what is your typical workday like?

I also get to experiment with things, such as setting up Facebook groups, launching a Kent Live advent calendar and posting Instagram Stories.

After working as a reporter at a local paper for almost two years, I was offered the role of social media and homepages editor.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

This involves planning a daily schedule of which stories will be posted on our Facebook pages, as well as planning photos, videos and Facebook Lives which will accompany them. I look at the reach of every single post which goes on our Facebook pages and work out why the post failed and how to improve it, or why it succeeded and how to make other posts perform

Keeping up to date with the rapidly evolving nature of social media – particularly Facebook. The website is constantly updating its algorithms which can affect the performance of publications’ pages, in both positive and negative ways. To ensure you are performing at the top of your social media game you need to know what the company wants to see more of. So I’m

82

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

When did you first decide that you wanted to be a journalist?

When I was growing up, my parents would always put the 6pm news programmes on while we were eating dinner together. As I got older I started paying more attention to what was being said and it would trigger (occasionally heated!) debates between family members, and I used to look forward to these discussions each day.

I wanted these kinds of conversations to continue in my working life – and to inform the people having these discussions.

What did you study at university and did you do any postgrad courses?

I studied student newspapers at the University of Warwick, with a degree of English Literature on the side.

Seriously!

After graduating I realised I needed some official qualifications in journalism to get a job, and took on a fast-track NCTJ diploma at the Press Association in London. After being employed for 18 months I took the next level of this qualification, the NQJ.

It’s a tough world out there – how did you break into the industry?

I was really annoying. To the point where I have probably annoyed you in the past… I was constantly writing to get my name out there, both on my personal blog and for student www.KettleMag.co.uk

publications. I bugged people to get work experience placements and engaged with people on Twitter to increase my following. I built a portfolio of work and took on new projects all the time, such as getting involved with the Student Publication Association.

And it obviously worked in the end as, once I was qualified, my former editor messaged me on Twitter and asked if I wanted to apply for a job. And here I still am!

What do you remember about your time at Kettle and what did you most like about it?

What stood out to me about Kettle was its friendliness. Before contributing I took a look at its Twitter profile and enjoyed how it interacted with its readers and writers, and felt its informal but fun tone perfectly suited a student magazine.

It was so easy to get involved and all the editors at the time were so lovely, and that seems to have continued. I have also made lifelong friendships through getting involved with Kettle, which I could argue is far better than any career benefits!

Has Kettle helped you in any way with your career so far – if so, how?

Kettle was the first publication which really made me realise my interest in social media, and helped me forge a specialism. Writing and reading about social media each week encouraged me to follow the growth of Facebook and Twitter and realise how important such networks are to news organisations – KettleMag

83

@KettleMag

constantly reading, and find I can never read enough!

and how they can influence readers.

Editing other people’s stories and giving them feedback helped me develop different skills other than writing, too.

What is your dream job – where would you like to end up?

Seeing as I have spent the last four months trying to figure out Mark Zuckerberg’s secrets, Facebook!

What advice do you have to anyone wanting a career as a journalist/writer?

Obviously use your time working towards employment to get your name out there as much as possible, but don’t be conventional – experiment! Find new and different ways to tell stories, and it will help you stand out. And if it goes wrong, it doesn’t matter as much as when you’re working for a company.

I would really focus on looking at the multimedia side of journalism, too.

Nowadays editors expect you to be a jack of all trades, so as well as being able to write, you should be proficient in video, audio, photography and liveblogging. The industry is changing and papers are suffering circulation losses every single week.

And finally, enjoy it while you have the time and the opportunity. It’s not all about finding employment, it’s a lot of fun and you have the freedom to write about whatever you like, without the pressure of deadlines and having to cover certain topics when you do get a job. Let your creative juices flow.

84

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk

@KettleMag

Further reading.....

Now that you’ve read this edition of Kettle and you’re in the mood for some more entertainment, here’s a bunch of stuff that Kettle writers are reading, watching and/or listening to at the moment.

Leah Walker: I’m really into Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet at the minute, funniest show I’ve watched in ages!

Rita Cuhna:

I’ve been loving the Banging Book Club’s podcast lately. The girls will go on a break for a while but all the already-aired episodes were a blast.

Hannah Witton, Lucy Moon and Leena Norms got together to read and discuss books about sex, sexual identities, and gender. It’s a very cool concept and the girls are a blast!

Katie Williams:

I’ve been making time for the new series of RuPauls drag race. Just as dramatic as ever and always giving me makeup inspiration.

Also, lifestyle blogger @VixMeldrew on Twitter. She’s honest and real.

Stephanie Hallson:

I’ve been loving watching recently. So addictive.

Bones

Tom Howes-Ward: I’m about to start reading The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak - has been glowingly reviewed

Lucy Skoulding:

I’m reading ‘The Paying Guests’ by Sarah Waters right now and loving it

Leon Wingham:

Carole Cadwalladr on Twitter has been just amazing recently. She has opened up a real can of worms and it’s fascinating to see it unravelling right before my eyes.

The Fighting Cock podcast continues to disgust and crack me up, in equal measures - if you’re not a Spurs fan, however, then it’s probably not for you

Chloe Sayers: I’ve been watching The Supervet, although as a dog owner it has me in tears most of the time so no idea why...

www.KettleMag.co.uk

KettleMag

85

86

KettleMag

www.KettleMag.co.uk