The Writeous ISSUE 4

The Writeous Magazine

2018 Nov Autumn Edition

Issue #4 -CHANGE

IS marriage relevant? ask an american the language we speak short stories poetry photography challenge and more

EDITOR’S LETTER _ What changes have come your way recently?

The Writeous has been through some changes since the last issue. We have a host of new recruits - 30 members this year! gaining students from a much wider breadth of the college this time. Many of the original college magazine enrichment team have embarked on university degrees in design and journalism, and our new volunteers are eager to fill their boots.

Discussions of selecting a theme for each magazine issue were had in early meetings this Autumn term, and in recognition of this, the team voted for the word ‘change’ to be this issue’s focus.

There is global concern for many issues right now: climate change, gender inequality, Brexit, future employment opportunities for the young. Our writers recognise this, and have focused their efforts on sharing their views on these matters and more.

Happy reading.

- Stephanie Sekula

Contents

Issue 4 - November 2018

Contents Issue 2 - Feb 2018

8

10 Eco-Friendly Swaps

10

Is Marriage Relevant?

14

Winner Of Library Book Review

16

Gender Inequality in Sports

20

I Understand

22

USA vs UK

26

Riddles

60

The Piece De Resistance

32 48

Creative Writing Politics

64

Brooklyn 99 Review

69

My Experience: D of E

82

Riddles: Answers

70 78

Portfolio Photography Challenge

the langu age we al l spe ak Throughout society we are constantly building barriers between ourselves and each other, creating

ways for us to feel distant and disconnected to other inhabitants of our planet. One of the main walls that divides us from others is language. Through speaking different languages we are isolated into a group of people that can understand us and whom we can also understand, as a result we do not venture out far due to a fear of not being able to communicate with others, a situation that would leave us in a state of confusion, danger and at the mercy of others. This hurdle of language can seem an endlessly tricky one to jump, but we can and do jump it as there is one language that we all speak: visual language.

Every day we embark on communicating with those around us through visual language. There are people who gain more credit from their use of visual language such as advertising agencies and graphic designers, but it’s important to note that every one of us is fluent in this way of speaking, and one of the strongest forms of speaking it is through our clothes. What shoes do I wear, the sneakers or the boots? How do I style my hair today, curled or tied up? Which jumper should I take, the green one or the black one? Daily we are constantly making decisions regarding what we would like to say through visual language. The black jumper may be too dark and solemn but the green one may clash with the t-shirt, it’s these decisions that give others an insight into who we are, our personalities as well as how we want to be perceived, as what is on the outside may not always be what is inside.

"There is one language that we all speak: visual language”

And as the fashion season of Autumn/Winter 2018 rolls around we see more than ever how our choice of clothes immensely portrays how we truly feel inside. As the traditional neutral, more earthy tones of the season take a step back, many brands, including Jasper Conran, Versace and Lacoste, allow bright, vibrant colours to reign through to the new season. It was stated in Elle magazine back in August that when discussing the power of the colour yellow, Sara Maggioni, director of retail and buying at trend forecaster WGSN, believes ‘the innate positivity of it resonates with a generation growing up in tumultuous times’, further highlighting how we wear how we feel, or more specifically how we desire to feel.

This deliberate action of reaching for a colour that is able to distract us and project a message that is stronger than those portrayed in the media is a prime example of how visual language is able to shape our communication as well as judgements of others.

Maybe there are barriers built between each of us that are hard to climb over, but there is one that we need not worry about as it is clear we will always have our visual language to fall back on, to reach a common ground and most importantly project what we truly want to say.

By Isabella Pavitt

Yellow: "The innate positivity of it resonates with a generation growing up in tumultuous times" - Sarah Maggioni, director of retail and buying at trend fore-caster WGSN

5 Eco-friendly Life Swaps 1. Steel straws

The infamous plastic straw has recently acquired a terrible name-especially among sea life activists. Plastic straws can often be found lodged in the nostrils of innocent sea turtles. So why not trade this perilous plastic for a steel straw that you can use over and over again? You can easily slip the metal straw into your bag where ever you are going and save the turtles while you sip...

2. Portable knife and fork

Plastic cutlery is everywhere from local cafes and school canteens to the shores of beautiful beaches and landfill. The stuff takes 450 years to decompose! So, the fork you eat your chips with at lunch tomorrow will still be around choking wildlife for years and years and years to come.

You should probably consider preventing this by investing in some portable metal cutlery. Like this set from amazon that includes a metal straw (!) and comes in a coloured pouch of your choice.

‘Ackmond camping outdoor utensils’-£5.99

3. Fabric Bags

Fabric bags or tote bags are an excellent and trendy alternative to disposable plastic bags and the perfect way to reduce your plastic waste. This, as well as all the other swaps, will save you money in the long run and is so handy to have around.

The less plastic bags you purchase or use when shopping, will mean less wildlife ingests or is suffocated by the bags and less chemicals from the plastics are released into the oceans we rely on so heavily for resources. Most cotton tote bags are easy to roll up and stuff into whichever bag you use most often and can then be an easily accessible, handy accessory you’ll be glad you have when you cant fit any more items into your main bag! This is an especially good swap to recommend to whoever does the food shopping in your house, you’ll be saving them money- as well as the planet! Tote bags can be found in most clothes shops or supermarkets in a huge range of patterns, ‘Lush’ cosmetics shop sell them also.

4. Reusable water bottles

Plastic water bottles, another one use item for most people, are a very common and unnecessary pollutant. Fifty percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away, the majority of this plastic will end up in oceans polluting the habitats of animals that are key to our ecosystem and therefore our survival on this planet. We are so ignorant to our own actions, blinded by our consumerist lifestyle that we are actually prioritising ease and comfort over living itself! Whats the point in living with slightly less effort when we don’t value the lives we are living anyway? Now its time to start living consciously and buy a reusable water bottle! You can find a good hard-wearing water bottle almost anywhere from supermarkets to online shops. This one from Amazon is stainless steel so can keep your water cooler for longer or even hold hot drinks too: ‘SHO Bottle’-£12.99

I know that these swaps and tips seem

5. Charity Shops

This is a bit of a more general swap than others but nonetheless important. Fast fashion brands like Primark, New Look, Topman and Topshop may be appealing when you see the relatively low price-tag for an on trend item but the true cost is far more great in value. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, as most of the fast fashion items and the old stock will end up in landfill.

This is a staggering statistic and should truly make you think about where and in what you are investing your money. As well as this, a variety of toxic chemicals like lead and pesticides are woven into the cheap fabrics that we put on our bodies.

Not only is this bad for us as individuals but these chemicals can also leak from factories and back into the earth! An alternative to this is charity shops and vintage shops. They have huge ranges of clothes, shoes and accessories and not only is it healthier but I feel this is a much more interesting way of clothes shopping rather than seeing similar items in each shop that are all super cheap and unoriginal-plus it benefits the planet! Now your shopping money will be helping individual shops and charities instead of huge corporations with sweatshops and underpaid workers… and you’ll look good.

minimal in comparison to the monstrous scale of the issues themselves but every little action helps. Every small decision to help the planet every day will add up and not only this but your eco-friendly habits can then inspire someone else’s and so on and so on. Therefore creating a ripple effect of environmentally-friendly choices and a movement of caring for our planet. These swaps are little, but when considering the effect they individually have it is evident they will influence change, all it takes is you

By Jessica Clark

Marriage:

is traditional marriage relevant in today’s society?

Written By Fatima Akuji Designed By Omair Malik

Frustration, powerlessness and misery might just be a few of the emotions you may feel. What if there was no escape from the emotional and physical abuse, from the humiliation of your partner’s incessant infidelity, vindictiveness, from their apathy. What if your ‘home’ is not a home at all but instead, somewhere where you are tortured everyday – where your life is not your own – where you are a helpless victim to your partner’s whims and moods and to society’s expectations of you as a married woman.

Traditional Marriage versus Modern Marriage

This was often the dilemma of many women in traditional marriages in the past who couldn’t leave for fear of judgment, the stigma attached to divorced women and financial insecurity. Modern day society seems to have freed women from such a predicament but what about what traditional marriage has to offer. Can it teach us anything about marriage today?

The stigmWa associated with divorce in the past incentivised many to remain in loveless marriages, particularly where the couple have children. This is not healthy of course, for the couple or their children but the pressure to remain married often forces the couple to seriously evaluate the problems in their relationship and potentially overcome them, no matter what. Modern couples lack the same motivation, today, a couple will go their separate ways at the first sign of trouble. The value of commitment has been eroded away by the all too easy option to walk away.

Modern couples have lost the ability to work on their relationships – to empathise with one another on a deeper level and to have the patience to make the changes necessary to save their marriage.

What does marriage mean?

Most associate marriage with a voluntary lifelong commitment based on love and compatibility where two people with shared values and interests come together for a better quality of life. But why does society insist that such a commitment must come with a label, a contract – with legally enforceable rights and obligations. Why must the world at large be made aware of your relationship – your marriage. Does the act of marriage really benefit a committed relationship?

Traditional marriage is equated with the official union of a man and a woman - where the two parties to the marriage have distinct, unspoken but accepted roles bestowed on them by age old custom premised on the Abrahamic notion of marriage and in turn, societal expectation. The woman is the home maker and full-time career to the couple’s children, the nurturer who is adept in all domestic affairs and the man is the bread winner, strong and level headed.

Marriage and Romance Today In today’s society, men and women’s role in a relationship is not as clearly demarcated. Many choose to go without marriage altogether and instead pursue long term relationships as cohabitees. The modern couple may be homosexual, trans, bi or have an open relationship where two people are ultimately committed to each another but are open to temporary romantic/ sexual relationships with others, often to diversify and gratify sexual desires, believing that this attitude will in fact fortify their relationship because monogamy is too restrictive and even unnatural. The modern-day marriage is not marriage at all – it’s about options because it simply isn’t sensible to tie yourself to one person for life. Marriage is seen as a complex and suffocating constraint on an otherwise healthy relationship, marriage is the root cause of relationship breakdown.

While modern ‘marriage’ gives the couple the freedom to choose to stay or go and make their own life style choices, I believe there is a strong argument to be made for the values espoused by traditional marriage. Traditional marriage is very relevant today, in so far as the many advantages it has to offer over modern marriage and the impact it has on society at large.

This modern wave of commitment phobia is not conducive to stable parenting and long term happiness. A couple committed to making their marriage work till the end of their days will be able to provide emotional security for their children. The children will learn the value of patience, even compassion and how to really listen to others. Divorce can of course be a disruptive and difficult force in a child’s life and can subconsciously teach them that it is ok to simply quit when things become too difficult.

Traditional marriage is by definition, the epitome of security in so far as it is highly unlikely to end in divorce. This fact provides a deep rooted emotional security to the couple who are rarely in fear of separation which again, creates a sense of stability for their children.

A shocking 40 million people use online dating services to find the one – their long term partner today. It is no surprise then that the temptation to be unfaithful to your partner is stronger than ever in today’s society which provides innumerable means to do so. The wide spread use of social media and dating and so called hook up websites means you are often just one click away from cheating on your partner. This state of affairs means, many simply don’t feel secure in their relationships – if things go wrong, they’ll just find another. The greater financial independence of women furthermore, though a positive development, means that women no longer feel the need to stay in an unhappy marriage for financial security, arguably, making both partners susceptible to give up on the marriage at the first hurdle.

Many will argue that it is not always possible for one parent to be a full time carer to their children in today’s society – they simply cannot afford to. The days of a single income household are gone due to the ever rising cost of living.

I would argue that this is the result of a shift in culture. While women should have the right to compete with men for jobs, progress in their careers and receive the same pay, it should be a choice. There is a reason why courts invariably award custody of young children to mothers when a marriage breaks down. Mothers conceive of and birth children, they therefore often have a stronger natural bond with them, not to mention the fact that only mothers can initially feed their children.

Traditionally, society respected this fact, one parent would have to be with the children, full time, in their early years.

Men were programmed by society to believe that they would be the ultimate breadwinner which in turn engendered an immutable sense of responsibility and work ethic. Couples with children were able to, as a result, rely on a single income. Today, men expect their female partners to return to work as soon as possible, they assume their partner, like them, will be working throughout their lives. This ingrained attitude has driven up previous concessions to the full time parent – which made full time parenting possible.

I would therefore argue that it is the culture of today which is to blame for the breakdown of the traditional family unit. This is not to say that traditional marriage is perfect, only to assert that traditional marriage espouses values which provide for a more harmonious balance of responsibilities and expectations.

Single parents were of course less common in the past. Traditional marriage offers children a full-time career, this does not necessarily have to be their mother today of course but a full time parent is arguably a better alternative to two part time parents. Children find security in the knowledge that one parent is always available and able to take care of all of their needs, whereas, two parents who are not always available can mean that boundaries laid down to protect their welfare are not always enforced because neither parent is able to provide the consistent supervision required to ensure that the child doesn’t go out of bounds.

In conclusion, I believe we should have the freedom to choose how we live our lives – our marriages. Possibly, the greatest gift of modern society is the ability to choose without fear of judgment. Traditional marriages are however highly relevant today – there is much we can learn from them today. Traditional marriages are secure because the parties to the marriage respect the commitment the marriage represents – they work on their issues, they are loyal, their children have a stable home, they look after one another’s material needs and do not buckle under the pressure of financial strain which is often one of the main causes of modern day marital breakdown. The reason why the same values are not alive today is because of a gradual shift in culture away from respecting the principles which traditional marriages are premised on.

Traditional marriage comes with its own problems but its benefits are invaluable.

Traditional marriage is therefore still relevant today.

Gadget Gifts for Christmas The newly released iPhone XS comes at a hefty price of £1000 something not everyone can get however it proves to be one of the most powerful phones out there due to the improved chipset, this means that the overall speed of the phone has increased. A new neural engine enables the phone to work out automatically how to improve the quality of a photo that you are taking and the ai processor has dramatically improved to speed up AR. The phone this year seems to be guided more towards media and gaming users as just using this phone just for calls and texts seems like a waste. However you cannot use these features for too long as the battery for this phone is quite limited, lasting just about a day.

Launching in early 2018 the switch has been lacking proper online features for a while with all their current features being free untill October when Nintendo released their subscription service, which not only adds better online features but adds old nes games with more being added every month. It also allows use of your mobile phone to voice chat online making communication much easier including a mute player feature. Although it means you have to subscribe in order to acces online in games such as mario kart 8 and splatoon luckily the service is fairly cheap, with 3 months of subscription costing £6.99. If you are not sure if it is worth it you are in luck as there is a 7day free trial though keep in mind cloud data wont be able to be accessed unless you buy the membership. Cloud data means that if you lose your switch or get a new console you can get access to all games data as it is linked to yout nintendo account.

Apple have yet again released a new and upgraded watch with the Apple Watch Series 4 with a larger screen that makes it easier to use apps and read text without increasing the font size, it also comes with a better speaker with all round being much lighter, although there isn’t much difference in terms of physcial apperance than before new additions like the fall detection that can contact emergency services if you dont respond in 1m of a detected fall but is only manually on for those over 65 are welcomed features.

Audials One allows you to download mp3 files for your favourite songs from popular streaming services such as Youtube and Spotify, and also save your favourite movies and series on Netflix and Amazon. You even have the option to watch hundreds of english and international tv channels all in high quality and high definition. This is useful if you are traveling as you can listen to the radio or sync your device to be able to watch

By Zak Cronin

everything in one place.

It lasts till 2020 when you can renew the service again and only costs £40.

WINNER OF THE LIBRARY B Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda: Book Review

By Caleb Hernandez

Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is about a closeted homosexual boy who has been emailing another closeted homosexual boy in his year at school. They use fake names so neither of them can figure out who the other person is to keep it anonymous. The book is predominantly focused on Simon, his friends, secret, and secret emails. The popular jock, Martin, finds an email Simon wrote to the boy he is messaging, who goes by the codename ‘Blue’ and uses it in a blackmailing scheme: if Simon isn’t Martin’s wingman to try and date Simon’s best friend, Abby, he would expose Simon’s sexual identity secret.

a very smart idea for the book. It creates this unwanted but needed mystery about Simon’s life, that excites and intrigues not only him, but you too. Albertalli did an amazing idea of not telling you who he was emailing until the very end to make you read it all. To make you want more. Simon does suggest who he think it might be, which gets you thinking on who you think it might be. The book makes you theorise and think about who Blue may be for hours whenever you’re in the shower, or any spare time you get. Taking in every character Simon mentioned details, trying to figure it out before the end of the book.

The book is so brilliant, and well thought out, I applaud the author’s creativity. I enjoy the idea of anonymous, teen flirtation across a computer screen, and knowing you go to school with them, but not knowing who they actually are. It creates this peculiar adrenaline rush that makes you read on; it makes you eager to know more about the characters and the mysterious boy Simon is emailing all of this time. The fact Simon is gay isn’t overdone or exaggerated into a stereotype which I respected. The book is very diverse in characters as Simon talks about how some of his friends have different skin colours and the main character himself is a homosexual.

Personally, my favourite part of the story was when Simon finally met Blue. I was so exhilarated that he was finally meeting the boy he’d been talking to for months on end. It gave me a feeling of euphoria, that stayed with me until the final page. I felt Simon’s jubilation and my heart ached of happiness for him.

The book filled me with a roller coaster of emotions and I fell in love with the characters. The book is a great portrayal of a homosexual romance and all the characters are very three-dimensional, with their own individual thought out personalities. Albertalli is a gifted writer, and this coming-of-age story is very much needed today, for other young LGBT teenagers to read and understand that they are not alone; that other people feel the way they do.

I thought the fact you didn’t know who Blue is was

BOOK REVIEW COMPETITION

Gender Inequality In Sports

Written And Designed by:

Bethany Smith

As young people in the 21st century, we tend to be observers... Bystanders to many variations of inequality. Due to a lack of knowledge and understanding we tend to overlook and ignore these issues. So I’ve decided to bring one of them to light. This issue has been neglected, overlooked and ignored for years. Yet it has recently come into the spotlight due to the case of Serena Williams.

Serena Williams. Globally recognised sports woman respected all over the world for her extreme talents and achievements, but also for her voice, which projects feminism and equal rights loud and clear for all to hear. Due to this I find it ironic how this embodiment of change was caught up in a trap of injustice. Tennis, like many sports, is full of emotions fuelled by adrenaline. It is segregated between men and women... To make it equal. Right?

Wrong. Let’s start by going back a couple of months. Early September, women’s finals. Serena is playing against a young Japanese girl, Naomi Osaka. All seems to be going well until the umpire (a man) accuses her of cheating. But Serena isn’t having any of it! She starts shouting at this umpire. Accusing him of lying and sexism. This issue later results in Serena losing the game to this young girl. In the following days that come the news was blasted with Serena Williams headlines. Labelling her as an ‘embarrassment to the sport’ and as ‘un-lady like’ these comments started me off wondering about this topic and today I would like to discuss some of my thoughts with all of you.

‘Un-lady like’- in 2018 I thought that we were open minded and had banished all the old traditional stereotypes and opinions. In 2018 I thought that we had come to understand that gender does not identify us as people. However, this comment proves that society may not have come as far as I had hoped. Who, in this world, decides what is classed as lady like.

- wearing dresses and being all so polite and nice seems pretty old fashioned to me. Serena was just expressing her anger, like many male tennis players before her. They do not get nearly the same level of hate for shouting at the umpire as Serena did. Is that because they are male? Are they allowed to shout and have a ‘tantrum’?... Now, I’m not suggesting that how she reacted was right or justified in any way. I am merely implying the way it was received and perceived by the public and press was not equal, nor fair compared to her male counterparts.

Women, in the eyes of the law, are seen as equal to men now. Equal opportunities, equal rights, equal say in the democracy we live in. However, equality goes so much deeper than the law. Its about societys beliefs and actions. Without realizing it we are all steroetyping and

altering our views on people depending on who they are. This needs to stop. Women are still being brought down by other people’s opinions on how they believe we should act. A prime example of this is that people believed Serena should be passive and just accept that she cheated however they accept it when John McEnroe has a screaming fit in front of millions of people.

I think the problem is we don’t question these inequalities anymore because we have become so used to them occurring. Nobody questions that there was a male umpire looking over a women’s match. If they have made the decision to segregate male and women’s sports, then they should consider the impacts of having males umpiring women’s matches and vice versa.

In all of this drama the person I feel sorriest for is that wonderful young girl who played the match of her life, just to be overlooked by the press and the public alike. Maybe we should start by congratulating her for her win. Then we can move on to start improving these problems. Teach children that it’s ok to play football if you’re a girl. That it’s ok to do gymnastics if you’re a boy. We need to encourage the next generation to accept each other for who they are.

On the 12th of January 2015, the first steps were taken to improving sports for women. The #ThisGirlCan campaign recognised that before we can get women to feel comfortable in participating in sport, we need to show them the importance of exercise. Sports England have identified that 2 million fewer women exercise in the UK than men. How can we expect to be equal in sport if we don’t even have enough women taking part? The answer is we can’t. This is shown very clearly in recent statistics that show that the UK is ranked 3rd for male participation however, 19th for women’s. This is not good enough…. Exercise is a vital part of the world we live in, both socially and biologically, for both men AND women.

We need women to be fit and healthy and to feel comfortable enough in themselves to play sports, or even just go for a jog in the park! Within the first year of the campaign’s launching, 1.6 million women have now started exercising. This is 1.6 million women more than the year before and hopefully another 1.6 million women for the year after. Women are listening!

They are getting behind these campaigns because they know how important it is for their daughters and sisters to take part and not to be dragged down because of their gender.

Starts with acceptance. Ends with equality!

Is Pop music really dying?

Hearing Drake for the past year as the number one recording artist has become incredibly boring.

Rap and Hip –hop is dominating the media and pop fans are tired of it. Pop stars like Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and even famous pop stars like Justin Bieber are now considered very bland as they have nothing more to offer their audience. Britney Spears was one of the top well known artists who practically created this generation. However, her recent albums have not been successful such as Glory which was a massive fail in her music career. Artists such as Rihanna are changing their music styles and it seems as if she is leaving the pop community as it is said that for Rihanna’s upcoming album, she will be doing Caribbean music which is a change from her very successful pop music career.

Hip hop and rap music are very popular right now as they are highly diverse and only continue to expand. Rap is a great genre to listen to as it can be poetic but also brutal and ugly, so it is popular amongst those who just want to reflect on life while listening to music aka teenagers. Rap is such an expressive genre many teenagers are touched by rap and hip-hop music as they see it as relatable to them, Rap is one of the very few genres that encourage free speech as it uses politics and certain lifestyles in their lyrics and music videos which lets artists express themselves through fast paced music which builds adrenaline. Which is why rap and hip-hop music are very popular in today’s generation.

A study taken by Nielsen Music said that hip hop represented 24.5 per cent of all music consumption in the US - the largest share and the first time it had led the measurement for a calendar year. The sales had increased for rap and hip –hop drastically more than it ever did for pop music However, although pop music is no longer as popular, I do believe certain artist show that there is still potential in this genre. Artists like Charlie Puth whose music has been in the top hits and has a great fan base and Zara Larsson who is an underrated artist as she has not released a lot of music recently but still has high potential show that Pop music could be making a comeback. Charlie Puth peaked at #2 on the music billboard chart in May 2018 for his album sale. Which shows how popular he still is whilst creating pop music.

Pop music is no longer popular amongst teenagers as it used to be, and that is mostly due to the reason that hip-hop music is much more diverse, and I see it being a very successful genre in the future.

-Aiveta Vaitkeviciute Designed by Isabella Pavitt

Designed and written by: Rhianna Marshall-Read

“I UNDERSTAND“

What the future holds for young adults and what is making it harder for some to imagine For all of you that were not able to read my last few articles from last years magazine, I will introduce you to what I write about and a bit about myself.

I am an individual that struggles personally with anxiety, with an interest to assist others and aspire to be someone who can support and talk to people however they may need support. I have been told a lot in the past how I can give helpful and relevant advice due to my personal experience hence why my article is called ‘I Understand’. I cover a range of subjects chosen by the people around me and through students anonymously through college. In my last few issues, I covered anxiety and depression, family issues, and self-confidence / self-belief which had very positive feedback which inspired me to write on.

The main objective of my articles is to show people and assure people that they are not alone one bit and that people like me understand.

For my first article this year I want to cover a strong topic that is frequently talked about when reaching college, this is the future and what peoples insights into their future are, more specifically what they think their future will be like.

For example, in my case, I got phases throughout the year since I started college that I could not imagine my future, simple as it was it felt empty, I felt like I had nothing to live for and that I would not be happy whatever I was doing and my love life was none existent. However, its not until you simply let yourself be happy, let yourself explore and try new things. I was always brought back by anxiety but it wasn’t until I experienced going out of my comfort zone once, that you understand that if you continue to do so imagine how life in the future can and will be.

The key to overcoming is trying and experiencing and every push is worth it.

Secondly, I received a story from someone anonymously that they were willing to share that explained ‘ When I think of the future, it just brings me a huge wave of anxiety and stress over me. It honestly scared me. Because we are so forced to choose what our future is before we’re ready. I see my classmates knowing exactly what they want to do in the future and i feel like I’m wrong for not knowing what I want to d. If we were freer and given much more advice as to what our futures will be, there will be fewer people having a less negative outlook into their future. ‘ Career choices, Postgraduate courses at University, Apprenticeships, UCAS applications, A-level exams. It all comes around very quickly and that’s not even including coursework, homework, college lessons, sleep, social life or whatever other hobbies.

Trying to juggle them all seems impossible and feels impossible right? For a lot of us yes, I used to struggle so much, every night staring at the screen stressing about how am I going to do all of this.

However, you need to accept that doing it all at once isn’t going to help, take a break do something you enjoy, then get back into it. Don’t stress yourself thinking you have all these deadlines left, right and centre. Instead, think of it in a positive light, if I get this done then look how much it will improve my work. In terms of careers, yes some people have their path written out in front of them, but even now not everyone knows what they want to do, I personally still don’t know what to do, yes its scary but the worst is not going to happen, the pressure is put on us to push us to be the best we can and make sure we get what we deserve.

Don’t panic, breathe, be yourself, take a break and most importantly, your path will lead the way.

US vs UK Living in a new country always feels strange – new laws, systems and way of life are just a few. This means when someone from one country meets someone from another, they want to get to know all about their old life and the small nuances that make us different. As an American, I always get asked the same few questions about education in the US vs the UK, so I thought I would help clear up some confusion in one area. The four questions below are the ones most commonly asked of me regarding the different school systems and attitudes in the US.

How does the type of education differ?

How does the American school system work?

In the US, during elementary school (primary school equivalent) we don’t have a very strict system. You have one teacher with general qualifications to teach you the essentials for life. Early on in our education it’s quite free-form and the teacher doesn’t really establish differences between subjects, at least in public schools. We also have recess instead of breaks. Recess happens once a day usually after lunch and it lasts around half an hour at most schools. It’s just a free time for kids to play and interact with each other. Recess goes away and is combined into a longer lunch once we go into middle school.

In the UK, you go through nursery and reception before starting primary school. In the US it’s basically the same however we call it preschool instead of nursery and reception. At primary school you start in year one at age 5, however in the US we start with Kindergarten (from the German ‘kinder’ for children and ‘garten’ for garden).

This means that as we get older, the number for the grade (in the US we say grade instead of year) is one behind the UK year system, e.g. 10th grade is equivalent to year 11.

At middle school, the education becomes more rigid. It’s most children’s first experience with separate subjects and separate more specialised teachers. It’s like secondary school except there are no breaks and usually your schedule has 7 sessions per day, with the same subjects every day rather than rotating. Lunch typically lasts for 45 mins-1 hr depending on the school. At this age we are starting to be encouraged to join in lots of extracurriculars, but the pressure for these doesn’t get heavy until high school.

After elementary school we move into middle school while the UK moves into secondary school. In the US, most middle schools end at the equivalent of year 9 in the UK, where the US students move up to high school. The last two years of secondary school and the two years of college are combined into high school. At high school, they also refer to the years using a different system; freshman for year 10, sophomore for year 11, junior for year 12 and senior for year 13. After all that the students in the US can choose to leave education or continue to Uni just like the UK, however in the US 16+ cannot do an apprenticeship instead of education, though some schools offer half day work-study or trade schools, with

High school is the last phase of mandatory education in the US, with the majority being able to graduate from it. At high school stress is a common issue. There is an extreme competitive environment, and the pressure to perform whilst being a well-rounded person is evident. At this age people’s personalities are developing so a large majority of the school develops into ‘cliques’ and you feel stuck in that clique until you graduate.

Maths, English and Science taught during the other half of the day.

The schedule remains like middle school, but there is more pressure to use your spare time before and after school in clubs and activities. Most who intend to go to university take part in 3-4 clubs minimum, but the high achievers are usually the president of a few and are a part of an even higher number of clubs at school.

To have any hope of getting into a top university, students are expected to perform at a high level, both in classes and extracurriculars.

What is the difference between the attitudes of the kids?

American children are taught from a young age to obey the system. Deviation from the rules is often punished whereas following the system is greatly rewarded. This begins when the child starts to develop fine motor skills and complex language, often toddlers are when the US system teaches right from wrong and how to impose the desire to excel. Teens and children there are considered ‘rounded’ as the US school system doesn’t specialise as much as the UK system, even remaining into the University years, with mandatory maths courses for English majors or visa versa. There is more emphasis on gathering a multitude of skills rather than specializing on just one or two. Students in the US are typically less independent and free thinking as the system is so strongly enforced, it’s feared to speak your mind freely in education.

The only time students get some freedom is at University, however in high school (years 10-13) speaking out or trying to improve your situation is generally frowned upon. Over in the UK, students are more likely to speak there minds if they disagree- which is both better and worse in some scenarios. It’s better in the sense that you learn how to be independent earlier and if there is an overall better scenario you can go after it with far less punishment. This can sometimes be negative however, as it can encourage an environment of ‘too much effort’ and some students use that excuse to put less pressure on themselves. This can also put pressure on children from lower socio-economic standings as they both must provide for their families, but also must maintain a balance with their education which can be difficult to impossible to upkeep. It depends on the personality, attitude to education and the factors which interfere with their education, as to how a student will react to this independence, but it can set people up for a worse future based on some decisions made during a stressful time in one’s life.

Which system do you prefer?

I personally prefer the British system, as it encourages free thinking and independence- both crucial skills for real life. There is the downside of course where some children and teens exploit it to avoid necessary evils early on and close off their options without even realising it or can’t ever take advantage of it because of obligations out of their hands.

Many places such as Havering Sixth Form College offer great opportunities for students and provide the required resources to either go to university or start a career. To improve it I would want to offer more support for children with tough backgrounds and enforce consequences for missing out on relevant opportunities to the students’ plan for their future. This is partially accomplished through 1 to 1 coaching and bursaries, but often the support network isn’t enough for certain students. In an ideal world everyone’s needs would be addressed on an individual basis, however there needs to be more of a balance between children being stuck where they are and excelling.

Written by Jasmine Leake Designed by Kaiesha Melloy

A World Without Words

(This could be our society, without a doubt, in 20 years)

By Catia Martins De Sousa Da Conceicao I knew words could be powerful and hold great meaning, but I never thought about the possibility of words becoming meaningless.

This idea was brought to me during my half-term stage at a festival called ‘Battle of Ideas’ in which I was volunteering in London. I, like many others, attended very interesting and must I say magnificently well-thought sessions however in my last conference I came ahead with a very different experience - never, must I say, did I experience something like this before- not only was it interesting but it was also very provocative.

The last session which I was so excited to attend was being presented by Lionel Shriver and her views on whether “free speech is fictional”. In this session I learned various things, one in particular that words are becoming meaningless, especially words that hold power like racism, love or depression.

We live in a society where unfortunately things like depression are being normalised and where words like ‘love’ are used in a million different ways; either to express a serious affection towards an individual which you’ve been crushing on for the about a month now or to just say I love you to the fifth Coco-Pops cereal bar that you’ve eaten today. Tragic I must say!

When I was at the Lionel Shriver’s talk, I was speechless to find out this woman, who is both a journalist and a writer, expressed her very careless opinion on how “words like racism were becoming meaningless”.

To an extent I firmly disagreed at first but truth be told the only two words I had previously heard in that sentence were ‘racism’ and ‘meaningless’- which led me to conclude that she was inferring that a word which has connotations of a certain group of people feeling like another group of people are inferior to them due to their colour not being important all, and that it did not affect anyone. However, post having a rapid mental breakdown and realising I was making very uneducated and pathetic assumptions about

this woman and what she had stated, I came to the conclusion that I completely agreed with Lionel. The sudden change of opinion was because words like “racism” truly are in today’s society being used more often in everyday conversations and in every topic on the news, it is used so often that the real true meaning and the origin of the word is beginning to be lost and therefore its impact is not as powerful or big as it used to be.

Lionel was absolutely brave to have expressed her opinion so carelessly when obviously this woman is clearly older and rather experienced, personally, I would have thought that due to her awareness to the attention she gets, she would have known how her words would be perceived by the audience and how it would have a certain impact on certain individuals and therefore not have shared her opinion at all, yet I hate that as controversial as she may sound her actual argument is without a doubt a very valid point.

Now what called my attention was the phrase ‘words like racism are becoming meaningless’, not the fact that the word ‘racism’ was used but just because the particular ‘word’ was used for the example, and I say this in the sincerest way when I express my belief that words are powerful, language is one of the most powerful things in the world, something that can be used to hurt or demonstrate deep affections for someone, something that keeps us all connected to each other.

I want you to quickly envisage this: it’s a warm Friday afternoon, the scorching sun is setting, and it is at its most beautiful golden hour, the sky has been strobed with lucid oranges, emeralds, sapphires and beautiful rose colours and the hot sun rays are warmly penetrating your skin in an incredibly pleasant way.

(You are not single like the rest of us in this particular scene so) you slowly look to your left where that one person you have deep affections for, playfully and charmingly smirks at you and there, at that perfect moment a warm summer breeze delightfully comes over you and he/she says … “I love you”. In this very moment, as soon as those words sweetly enter your ear and it engraves itself on your brain you become jubilant, your heart seems to ache with pleasure and warm reassurance of an eternal to be love, something that seems so consistent and ever-lasting yet subconsciously you know that it is temporary.

In this very scene, envisioning yourself being said “I love you” to, and being looked at as if you were the most precious treasure in the world, is something that undeniably brings you temporary contentment-

as it should- these words were said in a reassuring way and above all else in between a couple, not just thrown around in between two young adults interacting with each other, these words are being impactful because they are not being just thrown around in a meaningless way or in an ordinary situation but yes in a particular time.

Society has honestly never been more disconnected when it comes to language and communication. Yes, we do have social media but what about face to face communication and human interaction? Especially within teenagers- words are being constantly overused and misused at the point where words begin to lose meaning and begin being replaced with other types of colloquial language such as “wagan” or “what you saying”. I firmly believe that as a growing society and as open as we’ve ever been to change and development, we, the individuals within it, should become more aware of what words we use and how we use them. We should without a doubt begin to accept that even though we have different cultures, different accents and pronunciations we should be more cautious, educated and smart towards ‘words’ and how we use them, particularly when using specific impactful words at the right times , may not seem as much but this is a start and this is the reason why phrases like “I love you” are still impactful enough to make your heart ache with endless warm pleasure whereas phrases like “I am depressed” do not bring you sudden jolts of sadness are not taken seriously as they should.

“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” Yehuda Berg. Considering the ‘powerful force’ of the words we utter, we must discipline ourselves to speak in a way that conveys respect, gentleness and humility. Therefore, I will leave you with this food for thought and I hope that this may enlighten some of you on how powerful ‘words’ are and how we are using them inaccurately and making them meaningless- all of this in hope of a future change.

Black History Month From Here To Where?

Black History Month - From Here To Where?

It started with a spark. With one woman deciding enough was enough and taking her stand (well, seat) against someone else’s decision – she didn’t think it was right. The truth is, Rosa Parks lived in a society where not a lot was right. She didn’t have the same opportunities. She wasn’t valued as a member of society. She lived in a world where everyone was ‘equal’, but segregation reigned supreme. Where was the equality in that? And so, on that day when someone decided she should move, she decided no.

She started the spark. And it grew into a flame.

Tiny, barely noticeable, but a flame nonetheless.

A small tongue of fire that took shape of the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. For thirteen months, approximately 40,000 bus passengers from the black community refused to take the bus until discrimination came to an end – they wanted jobs for black bus drivers, a first come, first seat basis on buses.

What did they get? The end to segregated seating on all transport. One victory won, one step forward.

The win was small, but the fire had been evoked. It didn’t stop there.

1963, Martin Luther King Jr declared ‘I Have A Dream’ to a crowd of both black and white. 1948, migrants travelled from the Caribbean on the SS Empire Windrush to start a new life in England. And it didn’t stop there. We saw nine black people stand in parliament in 1992, the 1968 black Olympics saw athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists for the black salute, a symbol of defiance televised for all to see. And we didn’t stop there. Each victory fed the flame, each downfall evoked a spark of resistance. Nelson Mandela was elected president of the now diverse South Africa, and America saw its first black president in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama. There is no denying there have been trials, tears and numerous defeats. But you can’t say we haven’t come far either.

So then, my question to you is this - why does it feel like we’re going backwards?

Since the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, it seems all we’ve been doing is fighting for centuries, trying for a better chance, and we got it. So, what went wrong?

Martin Luther King Jr might have united both races that day in Washington, but it seems that work is slowly coming undone. There are several factors to suggest why this divide may be growing but one stands out prominently amongst the rest – police prejudice. The most prominent case being the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The murder of the young eighteen-year-old brought to light, not only the fact that there was still racial hatred prominent enough to take a person’s life, but the discouraging incompetence of the police to investigate the murder thoroughly. On April 22nd 1993, the aspiring young architect was attacked by a group of white young men while he waited at the bus stop in South-East London. Within days of the murder, dozens of people came forward to give the names of the suspected killers; the police took a statement from another alleged stabbing victim of the same suspects and they had a witness, Duwayne Brooks, a friend of Lawrence who was at the scene of the crime. The police had enough evidence to make arrests but didn’t. In May, the Lawrence family held a press conference for their son’s case, attended by Nelson Mandela himself. He condemned the police’s indifference and even stated - ‘It seems black lives are cheap’. Finally, in July that year, the arrests were made... and charges were dropped. Lawrence’s killers walked free.

The botched case sparked an outrage so great, the word ‘MURDERERS’ was splashed across the front page of the ‘Daily Mail’ with the suspects’ images, challenging the police to sue them if they were wrong. Only after years of campaigning and private inquests and prosecutions by Lawrence’s parents, two suspects Gary Dobson and David Norris were finally convicted of the murder on 4th January 2012.

After nineteen years, two of the four prime suspects were apprehended for the crime. Could this even be counted as a victory though? The entire case was tainted with ‘institutional racism’ - the police failed to conduct a thorough investigation due to prejudice and racist stereotyping. Stephen Lawrence may never have received justice because the police had regarded him as another troubled teen in South London. Why is it that in modern day Britain a pivotal force in society failed to acknowledge the murder for what it was – a racially motivated attack?

A cold-blooded murder. How can society ever move forward if we cannot admit that racism does still exist and must be condemned immediately? If we are silent, we are complicit in this discrimination.

If the Lawrence family were silent, there would have been no justice for Stephen, no awareness of an institution riddled with prejudice. Even in 2018, the transgressions of the past still linger in the presence, plaguing the lives of so many.

This transgression has lingered in the lives of the Windrush generation, who we discovered only in 2018, were facing deportation, unemployment and homelessness. Why? Because when their relatives arrived in the UK, the government failed to document their stay. No documents, no legitimacy. No place for them in Britain.

We see it now in South Africa. The country that once fought back against the racial segregation known as apartheid are now fighting against each other – once again it’s a fight for rights. Under the apartheid, black people were limited from buying and selling land, resulting in many losing the land they owned. Now with the killings of white farmers and black farmhands alike, the question of land rights has caused tension between the races once again.

Everything Nelson Mandela fought for and went to prison for 27 years for is now at risk of falling apart.

2018 would have marked his 100th birthday.

What’s even more worrisome about this resurgence of conflict is that no one is safe from this war of rights. Example – Donald Trump and the Honduras

migrant caravan. Around 4,000 Hondurans and other natives of Central American fleeing gangs, violence and poverty in the quest to reach the American Dream. The same dream Trump is stepping on.

The caravan comes, unfortunately, for a beautifully convenient time for Trump. Just before the midterms, the vote for who comes into Congress. The caravan is his propaganda. The ‘hardened criminals’ he needs to whip up immigration paranoia and convince Americans to vote for Republicans - Congress would be dominated by Trump’s people, he would never fail as president. Racism is the prejudice, discrimination or antagonism of someone of a different race. Who are we to stand by as Trump alienates these people for not being white Americans, and feeds off their struggle to fuel his success? How is this fair? What about the right to life? Black people fought for centuries for that right, is it not our duty then, not just as proof of victory but as members of humanity to protect that right for others?

So far, this narrative has been grim. The work of centuries seems to be undoing itself in what seems to be the span of a few years. But it’s not all bad news.

This world may be going two steps back, but we’ve also come two steps forward.

Let’s review. We’ve achieved a level of diversity that might have been thought unimaginable in the past.

Representation in film has expanded on a scale we

should all be proud of. If it weren’t for our acceptance and increasing respect for other walks of life, we wouldn’t have witnessed the creation of films such as Moana, the tale of the Polynesian teenager, that depicted accurately and wonderfully a culture only few knew so much about. Maybe Marvel would never have achieved worldwide unity and enlightenment with the success of Black Panther. To say the movie was a landmark in the entirety of film history really isn’t an understatement. Black Panther followed the story of T’Challa, the king of an advanced African nation, who was also a superhero. Unlike Will Smith’s boozy anti-hero, Hancock (who we still love), T’Challa was someone every young black boy could look up to. The film was of its first to have nearly an entire black cast, and to demonstrate the traditions and cultures of several African nations, making it the strongest representation of black people to date. It is the world’s ninth highest grossing film of all time.

And it’s not just in film. 2008, Tyler Perry was the first African-American to launch his own film and TV studio. Malorie Blackman is credited with the groundbreaking perspective found in her Noughts & Crosses series in which she reversed segregation!

Black people were the dominant race in her world while white people were discriminated against.

We’ve seen the creation of hiplet, the combination of hip hop and ballet, and the rise of BET, the Black Entertainment Television, whose audience is primarily black people and seeks to celebrate them in the form of events such as Black Girls’ Rock. 2018 has seen Donald Glover defy the status quo perfectly as Childish Gambino, in his hit ‘This is America’, an ambiguous banger.

Now, we address the question. After everything we’ve reviewed and learnt, do we still need Black History Month? The month is in celebration of the racial struggle and victory, but with conflict seemingly to be on the rise again, is there any point in celebrating efforts in vain?

The truth is, we need Black History Month more than ever. We can’t forget what we’re fighting for - a world where institutional racism doesn’t hinder our society; where everyone’s right to life is protected and the wrongs of the past don’t infringe on our futures. We need Black History Month to remind us of how far we’ve come, how much that spark has grown. It still burns to this day and it’s our duty to pass on the torch and keep it burning brightly. Now, we go forward.

Written and Designed By Gabrielle Prah

Creative Writing

FIREWORKS Written by Katie Brett Designed by Sydney Merritt

Flashing flawlessly, the sparklers dance in our hands. We Ignite the iridescent colours and Release them into the night sky which Explode into ear-splitting excitement. They Whizz into the air like racing rockets and Oblique are the lines of colour which light up our eyes. We Roar, we rock, and we roll to the noise as the Kaleidoscope colours burst in a split second and then Snap, crackle, pop is all you can hear as the last of the fireworks fizzle out

Changes We experience changes every day, Whether minute or significant, As the trees dissipate preparing a welcome for fall, A mother is crying, sweating and pushing Her new baby into the world.

Soon the baby starts screaming, cooing and teething, Days, weeks and months go by, The baby learns how to stand on its own feet and balance its own weight, Tears of joy will be shed but surely a few hearts will be sunk, Their precious baby is changing, their precious baby changes every day.

Perhaps it’s bike riding, learning a new instrument, an introduction to the timetable, The baby experiences challenging changes.

More people, more faces, more experiences, more emotions, Here comes the first moment their heart beats at the sight of their crush, Learning how to tie a tie to impress their first date, Practising pickup lines in the mirror, Then huffing and puffing because nothing is going right, Nothing looks right.

Or perhaps confidence is their first nature, So the feeling of anxiousness does not lie within them, Hearts broken, hearts melted, hearts lost.

The changes from love to heart or perhaps hate to love.

Primary, secondary, sixth form then university.

As expected, a job comes next, Or perhaps a job was always there, School as a job.

Relationship as a job.

Life as a job.

A lover you will meet then comes marriage, Or perhaps you’re like me and cohabitation is a better suit.

Screaming, cooing, and teething.

Children have come, You – a bigger child taking care of a smaller child.

Days, weeks, and months go by, The baby learns to stand on its own feet and balance its own weight, Your precious baby is changing, your precious baby changes every day, You change too.

Clear soft skin to wrinkled and harden skin, From strength to weak, Fewer words are said, less company seems better, You prefer the quietness and peace of nature rather than The loud disturbing sound of the club, You’re at peace with the world, yourself and – nature.

One day you look out the window watching As the trees dissipate preparing a welcome for fall.

You’ve experienced your changes, Whether minute or significant, You’ve embraced them.

And that’s all that matters.

By : Jesutomisin Adeagbo Designed By : Sydney Merritt

Infliction.

She was frozen in the moment, everything around her was still. Her breath, which once was slow and steady had increased and gathered pace in such a short period of time. Everything around her became still, her smile had faded replaced by a frown, her lips sealed together, she was shaking in fear though she remained still. You could see she was holding back every emotion she felt in that moment. Nothing could stop her, nothing, no one’s words. Her eyes, her eyes were a mystery, her eyes had held a story, an unforgettable one. They once had shone, shone with so much light, life and purity. Her eyes were crystals, translucent as glass. You could stare at them and truly be amazed, ever so astounded by the astonishing beauty. They held depths, unimaginable. The bright hazel eyes turned lighter in the rays of the sun. But now, the unforgivable had happened.

She was traumatised, horrified to say the least. Her eyes filled with a million tears, her tear ducts were . If she blinked she’d be letting out an ocean. Her once rosy cheeks which use to gather little specks of pink had turned icy pale. She trembled in fear, she was holding onto so much but no one could see. She was broken, she was empty, empty like hollow glass. She had no one. But no one could see. No energy left, weakness taking over every single bone, fibre and ounce of hope she had left within her. Every limb was shaking, faring every breath she had breathed. She walked over, on the cold hard concrete. The pain was nothing to match her emotions, nothing would ever be. She held on, held on for dear life onto the cold metal barrier which was the only thing keeping her from…

The cold felt nice she thought, it was soothing. Her horrid thoughts put to rest.

She looked over, with a small smile creeping onto her face. She saw the tender, mesmerising beauty. The alluring lush pink blossoms. The cold breeze felt nice she thought, she was once on top of the world and now her world crumbling for dear life. She wanted to leave, to escape her reality of a nightmare. Every second passing by was eating her up alive. She wanted to do it, she wanted every single limb to bash against the cold floor. She wanted it, she wanted red, fresh vibrant blood to scatter all over the floor. She wanted it.

If water would fall She inhaled the misty air with all the might and strength she had left within her.

She looked across the never ending road, to see the beautiful tree growing with gorgeous radiant flowers. The ripened fruits which were attached to the tree looked absolutely mesmerising, so bright, in a pale lush pink colour. She took a deep breathe and continued her walk, her thoughts clouded with a thousand questions which she never had the answer to. She felt alone, broken in every way, hiding behind her own smile. She felt like a cracked glass, ever so hollow.

Why was life so hard she asked herself for the millionth time? Fed up, with this battle she sat down on the cold, hard sidewalk wanting to gather all her thoughts up. So many questions zooming through her head, though no answers. Every little thing she was recalling, every memory which she had buried deep down within her, the memories which she had locked up and thrown the key away for.

It all came rushing back, a thousand memories, the flashbacks of trauma, too much for her little brain to handle. She could not handle it anymore, she wanted to break free, break free from the agonising pain and sorrow, which caused much pain to her little heart. Her stunning hazel eyes which once sparkled and held so much joy held a story which had never been told. Her beautiful eyes which sparkled as they were touched by the sun had filled with water. The depths of her tear ducts were clouded with water, which she tried to hold in. Her once cleared vision had now blurred, though a blink of an eye let out all the water. Her eyes let loose an uncontrollable flood of tears, enough to fill the depths of an ocean.

Written By Fatima Akuji Designed By Omair Malik

Autumn’s End Autumn. A soothing season. We lost the madness of Summer and settled down to colder months. The sun used to burn down on us, but now, beams over every so often. We watched the leaves turn: red like roses, as brown as acorns which fall from the oak trees and pumpkin-coloured; a bright orange which signals the spooky season’s start.

Rustling gently, the leaves sway in the breeze. You can hear the wind’s whistle, and the crunching of the leaves under your feet, as you walk along the cold concrete paths.

The delightful aroma of Autumn is all around us.

Some days, the air can be crisp and cold smelling.

Other days, there is an earthy scent wafting from the fallen leaves, as well as, a cider-y smell from the decaying sour apples on the ground.

We munch on cinnamon pretzels and sip our pumpkin spiced lattes which taste heavenly in this cold season and warm us down to our core.

The fallen leaves are as light as feathers, as we pick them up and throw them into the air. We make piles out of the leaves, jump and scatter them everywhere again. They feel rough like spikes against our skin but it’s all fun and games in Autumn.

But what is this around the corner?

Sleigh bells ring and bells jingle. Christmas is coming! The countdown begins. I wonder what Winter will bring.

Written by Katie Brett Designed By Sydney Merritt

WINTERS ONSET

The cold approaches.

Creeping frost glistens on the corpse leaf broach, Crystalline white invades as green flees, The waning sun in the distance.

The crisp winter air hangs in disdain, A dying light perforates the patchwork sky, Eerie fog lingers in the distanceEncompassing and suffocating.

A perverse loneliness is forged, In the all-encompassing fog; A coarse chill creeps, Along the final dying rasps As winters onset begins, So too does the lurking presence of death advance, A blighted presence spawns, As autumns final note plays.

By James Laker

Designed by Liam O’Hanlon

Denovo investigation and the case of the missing hoodlum

Chapter one dman The hallway was quieter than I was used to, for once I could hear my train of thought without drowning out the sound of trap music and the squabbles of the Mustafis. The panels underneath the damp-stained carpeting groaned in response to my steps; the tip of my umbrella tapped the floor leaving small drops of water. I opened the door to the Montague, being exposed to the purple neon lights that flare through my windows and like every night before I go to sleep.

I write.

18/11/2026 5:45 in the morning, I was awakened by the very unpleasant words that resonated from the walls; they were not aimed at me but at my polyamorous neighbor who was getting too sloppy. I would describe my routine to be very meticulous, but to those without the commitment, it would be unforgiving. If it weren’t for the callous fornicator next door, my day would normally start at 6:30. I begin by taking a shower; I first wash my hair with a coconut and cocoa butter blended shampoo, after, I scrub my body with a

special bar soap that I get exported in bulk from Bangladesh; in the summer of 2024, I discovered that Mr. Begum, the husband of a local shop owner, had been embezzling a large sum of money from his wife to pay for the mortgage he applied for him and his mail-order bride, who he is planning to live with and to start a family, and in turn, Mrs. Begum has granted me a lifetime supply of the soap from her store; it is a mixture of neem oil, glycerin and sodium which has an antiseptic quality, which can be useful for knife wounds and the occasional cut.

After I apply conditioner, I scrub my body with a moisturizing shower cream, comprising of Lime and lemon which laces my body with a zesty scent.

Once I have showered, I meditate for 10 minutes to sharpen my cognitive abilities as well as promote circulation to my body and then brush my teeth. When my morning routine is complete by 7:00, Mrs. Mustafi downstairs delivers my issue of Psychology Today and the Telegraph, and finally, I open for the day.

12:15

lips whilst maintaining eye contact.

Round 12 pm a sea of the desperate, confused and scared flooded through my doors. One of which was a woman in her late forties, Mrs Abigail Johnson.

She worked in a school, judging by the mountains of books in her tote back; primary school (year 4 to 5) by the dreadful painting stacked on top. she suspected her husband was cheating, again, oscillation near the door always indicates suspicion of adultery. She has expensive shoes; 500 to 800 pounds but not on a teacher’s salary, she is wearing an expensive ring, meaning she has a rich husband. she’s tried to win her husband over by the recent work she’s had done on herself: Botox injections and the slight lip enlargement judging from the small red marks on each side of her jaw as well as on the corners of her lips. she’s just come from work meaning its urgent, she’s had suspicions, but something recently happened which has pushed her off the edge. Her case seems slightly interesting but not enough to grab my short attention span. Many like her had left my door disheartened and distressed: Miss Ramsey, who suspected she was being stalked by one of her millions of followers on Instagram, Mr Dyer, who wanted me to do a background check on a privately-owned supermarket company in India called “Morisainsco” and many more.

3pm At 3pm, as Mrs. Dunlop left crying, I was visited by Aaliyah Mustafi and her vexatious friend, Roxy.

“Hiya Ani”, she said with half of her body in the Montague “Afternoon, what do you want”, I replied.

“I wanted to talk to you init. Oh my god!, last night, me and Roxy went to this new club near the Shard, and I swear I saw Krept and Konan. “Anyway, how was your morning?” she said slowly getting nearer, whilst Roxy thankfully loitered outside my door.

“I have no idea who they are, and nothing happened; potential clients came, I refused to take their case, they were boring”, I said “Oh my god, you’re so mean!” she replied as she ideally gazed at me whilst brushing off a strand of hair which dangled from my shoulder, to which prompted Roxy to smile and turn her back. “Are you busy on Friday?”, she said, biting the corners of her

“Yes, very much so, I have to survey a murder suspect for Inspector Deacon as a favor I owe him”, I replied. “why?”

“Nothing, its fine”, she said with a smile. Actually, me and Roxy are going to Nandos at White city to with a few of our friends tonight so we’re going shopping, so I’ll see you yea?” she said, slowly retreating from the Montague.

I met her a year ago, funnily enough, she stared at me ideally then too. On that day, I, unfortunately, met all the Mustafis: the first was Darwan Mustafi, an accountant who worked abnormally long hours judging by his slightly sluggish reactions and the mild swelling of his eyes which imply lack of sleep.

He is prone to be very irritable as usually on Sundays, you can hear a random, “IDIOT!” or “DUFFER!” which shakes the very grounds in which I work, which is later followed by Haroon’s, his second son’s, shrill cry or Aaliyah’s rant of fury, but when you see him passing through hallway, he’ll give you gentle smile and nod of his head. Shazia Mustafi, a stayat-home Mum with a passive aggressive disposition judging by the way she told trance DJ Brian, the callous fornicator, to turn the music down for the fifth time. She impressively wakes up half an hour earlier than me and starts her day, at 6:15 she wakes up Haroon for school, which prompts him to let out “I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!”, from the top of his lungs. After Haroon leaves for school at 6:45, Mrs Mustafi goes to the main door of the building to collect all the tenet’s mail and delivers them. When everyone has left, Mrs Mustafi puts on old Bollywood music and sings along whilst she cooks lunch for the family. Finally, Aaliyah, she is woken up by her mother at 9am and lets out an equally loud “GO AWAY, I HATE YOU!”. Apart from going to parties, drinking and snapchatting every restaurant she goes to, I have no idea what she does. Let us not forget about DJ Brian, who after doing a set in some underground club in Shoreditch brings home another unfortunate victim, with a lot of daddy issues, for his nocturnal amusements.

With the absence of any groceries in my fridge, I composed myself and sauntered down to a nearby coffee shop where I was graced by the pathetic smile of a sanguine millennial who asked me wheth-

er I wanted to try their new Boba tea.

I walked back to the Montague with a steaming cup of coffee and a sad little Danish, which was free.

When I entered my living room, I was welcomed by two men and one woman. The first one was a very bulky man, who was enveloped in a tracksuit which was too small for a man of his size. The second, a very scrawny man with his trousers low to ankles exposing the “Calvin Klein” of his underwear, he wore a false viscid to intimidate. The woman was a single, middle-aged mother judging by the resemblance to the young men and the absences of a ring; her face weighted by the expression of worry and hopelessness. “afternoon, bitter outside is it not?” I spoke to break the tension. I sat in my chair whilst the scrawny one gave me an expression of indifference.

“Good morning Mr Denovo, my name is Silvia Weston, this is Rashean and Derek,” she said whilst gesturing to the two men. “I saw your ad in the paper and thought you would be able to help me; two days ago, my son went missing”. she said with tears forming in her eyes, she handed me a recent picture of him, “he was 16, the last time I saw him, he was leaving for work; when he didn’t come home, I tried to call him, but he didn’t pick up. Finally, I sent his older brothers to look for him, but they couldn’t find him. his a really good boy”, she said with a smile, “he spends all his time with his friends revising at the library. I know that I can’t do anything with my life but knowing that Daniel is going down a good path tells me that I didn’t mess everything up. Please help me”. “why come to me and not the police?” I asked.

“My family don’t put our complete trust in the police in these types of matters,” she said timidly. “good, I like you already, now that we have established that Mum doesn’t know anything, what aren’t you telling me, “I darted my focus at the scrawny man.

“Really!? because the lardy one sitting across from you hasn’t made eye contact with anyone in the room apart from you. That normally means that you two know something that your mother and I don’t. If you want your baby brother back, I need you two to be completely transparent with me.” I said to them.

“I’ll ask you again “Mum, Daniel told you that he was working at a shop, but he was actually working with Deno”, he said with his eyes examining the floor. “what are you talking about Derek,” she said with an expression of confusion.

“Deno started working for some guy and his friends doing different jobs, they said they wanted some young people. Just by doing a few things for them, Deno was getting 70 quid an hour, so Daniel started as well,” he said “What did he have to do exactly?” I inquired, intensifying my stare at Derek.

“He had to go make some deliveries with a few other youts like him and, uh, other...stuff” he replied timidly.

“Be specific! what ‘Other things’ did Daniel and these ‘youts’ do” I replied in frustration.

“They delivered drugs to buyers, and if they didn’t pay the right amount, they would jump them,” he said with a tone of embarrassment. “when you two went looking for him, what did you find?” I asked Derek whilst Mrs Weston broke down in tears.

“We went to this restaurant where they all meet up, and we heard that apparently, something happened on their last delivery and the plug they were working for, found out and was looking for Daniel and his boys, we tried to find who he was and to get Daniel but...” he stopped. “what happened?” I asked.

“Suck your Mum,” he said under his breath after kissing his teeth. “my mum just told you init”, he said in denial.

“Hush Raeshaen!” his mother replied in an instant.

“the guy that Daniel worked for; the people that Daniel’s boss was working for weren’t like other mandem doing road, they were different...” he said trembling To be continued .

Written By Fahim Khan Designed by Sydney Merritt

Changes

Written By: Jesutomisin ADEAGBO Designed By: Rhianna MARSHALL-READ

Dry.

My throat is dry.

I am not used to being speechless.

My words used to spit mercilessly at those who belittled me, I am not used to this, I am not used to the silent noise coming out of my mouth, My words used to bring me victory to my battles, My words used to voice my opinion and assert, My mighty presence.

But now, now there is nothingness, Now there are changes, Now my throat is Dry. My hands do not shoot up like they used to, Instead they remain weak, tired and by my side.

I cannot shout out answers like I used to, Now fear coats me and leaves me in the darkness, Now I sit silently in class, Legs swinging, constantly pulling up my sleeves and my throat itching, begging, pleading to shout out, The answer.

Dry. My mouth does not allow me.

It never does.

They work together: my eyes and mouth, My eyes scan the unfamiliar room, It does not recognise these people, It does not understand the changes, To protect me, My mouth does not permit me to speak,

I listen to its command, I do not argue or try to fight back and let my voice be heard Instead I sit there: silently obedient, Crumbling to the changes and leaving my throat Dry.

I am in a new place, a new environment, New people, new teachers, new surroundings.

A big change from being in the same place for 5 years to now – Sixth form.

A big change indeed.

I have allowed the changes to cease my voice and keep it trapped, I have allowed the changes to stop me from being heard, I have allowed the changes to suppress – me, I have allowed the changes to make my throat Dry. That should not be.

My voice is my weapon.

It is a powerful tool which I have let rot due to circumstances, Due to changes.

I must embrace those changes, Embrace the new people, teachers and surroundings, I must make my voice heard again, I must give back the noise to my mouth and Let my words spit mercilessly again, Let my words bring me victory again, Let my words voice my opinion and assert My mighty presence.

I must not crumble to the changes, I must embrace no matter how challenging, For my throat must not remain Dry.

Politics

Where is Politics going?

Dear readers, I want to begin with a rhetorical question which will be a reoccuring theme of my writing over the three issues this year, and that question is, where is the world of politics heading, and how can we make our voices heard? Welcome to the politics section of the college magazine if you are new, and if your in second year as I am, I hope you enjoy the section again this year, or find something new! Our structure has changed due to a new member of the politics section, Chloe, who will be writing a different point of view to politics, and as we do not share a similar ideology, it will be great to engage both sides of the spectrum and have a new diverse audience! As the magazine team is bigger than ever this year, the design is second to none, and firstly would really like to thank the new Lower Sixth members and fellow Upper sixth for helping design a truly unique politics section once again, highlighting the best of the Sixth Form students, and would like to give much thanks to new member Chloe, who will of course do a fabulous job as a co-editor of the section, and as we are classmates I am sure we will make

each other think just as much as in lesson. To briefly introduce myself, I also would add that my focus is generally on the British political system, and all that entails, rather than critiquing the global network of politicians. I feel everyone has their own view of how the world should be run, and when one interferes with foreign entities, the argument becomes unclear, therefore I stick simply to the UK, and how to improve, impact and use our system correctly!

Studying politics makes you realise that predictions are always wrong, history certainly does not repeat itself and to take all other articles with a pinch of salt, or indeed an open mind. As students and staff are probably aware, my issue articles are not from an unbiased tone, I am a member of a major political party, the Conservative Party, I canvas, campaign, attend dinners and stand up for the men and women of this country, I also do my best to bridge the gap between our wonderful constituents and parliament, because everyone can fulfil their true potential and should go as far as their talents will take them, a true

meritocracy. This being said, I also have a tendency to become immersed into cross curricular work, for example the media work of politics, fashion, especially what clothing means in the world of politics, and also sociologically, and how policy impacts those worse and best off in our society. To some, I can understand that my tone, my panorama of existence and views may seem alien, and out of touch, but as a predominantly opinionated person, one allows room for the comments and inspiration, and will work best to build upon this, not dwell over it. However, in a world of everlasting “Fake” news, and populism, I will try my best to report on fact, and in certain pieces there may be questions, but I will indicate a distinction between fact and opinion, and great debates.

I will be writing an array of opinionated and fact only pieces this year, and this one will be a general view from me at this point in time, not a Conservative broadcast, but a year 2 student’s point of view on the current events heading up to Christmas, and what is ahead!.

In the last 2 years, since Theresa May

took office and residency in Number 10 Downing Street, a lot has happened.

The country will be leaving the EU, with a plan known as the “Chequers deal” (we have not achieved a deal status yet but is being named this however) and this plan is loathed and loved by many MPs, which isn’t unusual for our heavily opinionated Parliamentary system, but for something as cataclysmic for the country as Brexit proposes to be, this could become a problem. However, one has to do a news diet to cope with the stress of a twenty four hour news cycle, and in order to keep sane in this day and age! I have had to learn that my “go home and watch the news” tradition is getting evermore harsh to practice, thus one alternates to a late evening summary, and an early morning briefing to balance the neverending seesaw of British politics. In addition to this, Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party also had a bad summer, of which has concluded in the thunder becoming a rumble, and the “dogs”, for lack of a better word from Chuka Umunna, have finally gone to sleep. Both major political parties are in complete dystopia - arguably

@MacMastergrant one more than others, but in terms of our governmental, political, economical, social and constitutional stability, one should realise we can, and must move on to a better politics. This will come in time, but hopefully very soon, in fear of a damming political atmosphere rising from the smokey chambers.

Upon writing this article in late September, pouring over the skies was conference season! This means for fellow parliamentarians that three weeks of neverending coverage on BBC parliament and news is not a choice but a necessity, the last days of which bring to the world a vision of party leadership. Now, I may be a Conservative, but am a fan of the British process, therefore when conference season is upon us, I tend to watch all of them with the eye of an eagle and bated breath of a lion.

The three main conference’s are the Liberal Democrats from September 16-19th, Labour from September 23-26th, and Conservative from September 29th October 3rd. These work hand in hand due to recess of parliament, and thus are a modern practice of politics in our

country. In this issue of the magazine, I wrote an article about my five day conference trip to Birmingham, staying four minutes away from the Prime Minister and seeing her and hundreds of the big beasts all in the ICC, the heart of the conference being in the Symphony Hall, a great hall full of bright red seating, and almost a Godly feel when someone on stage rumbles the audience, a great feeling. I will also be partnering with Eve Hill our Fashion editor, to do a collaboration of my outfits and her tips for formal dressing, and how to rock political fashion, and lots of leopard print!

Twitter is now the political establishments form of social media, networking and ways of communicating to a broader audience, not the niche audience that is traditionally used. I am not Twitter’s biggest supporter, but believe that it is key for anyone who has aspirations and goals in the political sphere to be up to date, and in that spirit my Twitter handle is @MacMastergrant for anyone that wants behind the scene updates and an insight into my views!

Lastly, at Havering Sixth Form, we have a truly magnificent Government & Politics department, headed by Tom Porter, who is a great mind of the entire 1st and 2ndyear syllabus, and is also a great mentor to those who want an unbiased insight into the UK and the world in general. Angela is also a great teacher, and is equally as insightful, and was my teacher for most of the first year, and co-heads the department! Angela taught me most of UK politics, and it was here that I was encouraged to participate in live democracy and party politics, and we wish her and her family all the best with their new arrival! Katrina Fuja taught me most of the first term up until Christmas of the first year, and was a brilliant teacher with a fresh modern take on politics, and is equally as great! Politics is a really great subject, and I encourage those who sit politics to read both myself and Chloe’s articles, as they will give you both sides of the arguments, and perhaps act as catalysts to those attracted to contribute, I would be happy to publish comments if that would be of interest also!

I wish all the happiest of Christmas’ and New Year, Grant E MacMaster, Political Editor of the College Magazine

The Tories are desperate

we shouldn’t listen to them Not so long ago, writing in the Observer May asks Labour voters to take a “fresh look at the Conservatives” and describes their policies as “decent, moderate and patriotic.” Theresa May’s attempt to appeal to Labour voters is not only desperate, but laughable. In her article, May takes free reign of her imagination, and paints her government as one with the ability to end the 8 years of austerity and unite the country.

With the recent universal credit scandal, increasing homelessness, a hostile environment to immigrants and the general dishonest rhetoric of the Conservative party, she is surely living in a fantasy land.

The PM had claimed that she wanted to help the’ just about managing’ families with the “cost of living.” This is just another fantastic example of a Conservative PM saying one thing … and then doing the exact opposite. May’s government has rolled out universal credit, which will end up taking £200 away from families a month, making 3 million families worse off. Universal Credit is a monthly payment that helps families that live on low incomes or are unemployed.

Esther Mcvey, the Work and Pensions Secretary even admitted in a cabinet meeting that “half of lone parents and about two thirds of working-age couples with children would lose the equivalent of £2,400 a year.” – although of course

Written by: Chloe Nelson Designed by: Rhianna Marshall-Read

Downing Street deny this. So much for helping out those JAM families eh?

The Conservative party, unlike the Labour party, hasn’t really changed, and neither has the world that we live in.

As a result of the Universal Credit roll out, the Trussell Trust is calling for a revision of the policy, as ultimately food bank queues will grow even longer.

It states on their website that areas where there will be a full universal credit rollout there will see a 52% rise in the use of food banks. I personally don’t see anything “decent, moderate and patriotic” about forcing even more desperate families to turn to food banks to feed their children.

The PM genuinely thinks that austerity is over, but as Jeremy Corbyn pointed out “eight years of painful austerity. Poverty is up. Homelessness and deaths on our streets are up.

Living standards down, public services slashed, and a million elderly are not getting the care

they need. Wages have been eroded and all the while, billions were found for tax giveaways for big corporations and the super-rich.”

Economically, the government isn’t able to eradicate austerity due to weak wage growth and the fact that there simply aren’t enough taxes coming in. In order to ‘end’ austerity the chancellor would need an extra 19 billion in tax and even then, benefits would still see a drop. It follows that the government simply cannot commit itself to tax cuts whilst ending austerity at the same time.

Theresa May is trying to unite the country following the fallout of Brexit under a conservative government that is better described as “dishonest, chaotic and oppressive” rather than “decent, moderate and patriotic.” So far Theresa May is doing a good job of saying what everyone wants to hear, and not much else.

My week at the Conservative Party Conference!

Written by: Grant MacMaster Designed by: Nikki Onafuye

S

aturday until Wednesday I was in Birmingham, to see our Prime Minister at the annual Conservative Party Conference - and there I saw cabinet ministers, fellow members and delegates from all over the UK and around the world.

In the week, the Education Secretary Damian Hinds gave a keynote speech about diversity in education, and it was an honour to be there. In the week I saw other speeches such as the Northern Ireland Secretary, Karen Bradley and the Work and Pensions Secretary, Esther McVey. I also attended the Leave Means Leave fringe one evening, of which was insightful into a No-Deal Brexit, but of course my personal aim is for the government to establish and work a good deal with the European Union, and for trade and citizenship to be perfected.

The ending of the week was fabulous seeing the dancing queen on stage live, the symphony hall lit up and the lights were on, even Laura Kuenssberg looked shocked! It was a brilliant ending to a long weekend! Very excited for Manchester next year!

QUESTIONS FOR AN AMERICAN

Questions from around the college In early October the Writeous magazine sent out a questionnaire college-wide to lets students ask questions to me: an American born person living in the UK. These are some of the best questions from around the college which were submitted by lower and upper sixth.

1) What’s it like being an American?

I had to think about this question. I never thought about it like that but after thinking about it- being an American is kind of strange. When I was growing up nothing really felt different with my heritage. Lots of people around me were from the same country as me so I never really thought of it. After moving here though I learnt just how different I truly am. The people that surrounded me all talked different, wore a different style of clothes, walked differently and so many other little quirks. The people around me also started paying more attention- in America no one ever really noticed me when I walked past but sometimes I can be having a conversation with my friends or my mum and be tapped on the shoulder only to be asked “Are you American?”

While all that is strange; you eventually get used to it. The weirdest thing though is when I go back to visit America it feels different too. I’ve been surrounded so long by British people that when I go back it doesn’t feel like home anymore. Though being here doesn’t feel like home either. I like to refer to myself as a ‘nomad’ because I don’t relate to my past or my present homes and because I don’t have that attachment to one place though I have the freedom to uproot my life and leave. The hardest part though is leaving all your friends.

2) Are you proud of your country?

This is a difficult to summarise- but in short, I’m not too proud right now considering the political climate and attitudes. When I lived there, most people didn’t question their pride in their country; we grow up surrounded in an environment that encourages country pride and not questioning the status quo. We sing the pledge of allegiance each morning with our class with our right hands over our hearts looking to an American flag placed somewhere in the room. Country pride is a big part of our culture and if you grow up surrounded by that it’s often quite natural to believe it. Being exposed to America from an outside perspective puts into place just how wrong that belief was.

Over here, you might learn the ‘British Values’ in school but you won’t be forced to memorise all prime ministers or counties in the name of ‘pride’. In America though we learn all 50 states and sometimes all the presidents. There is a lot of emphasis on being happy with your country and going along with everything no questions asked. But seeing how British people take their pride with a grain of salt and aren’t afraid to challenge the rules for a greater social good has taught me to look more critically at my country and what they are doing. I realised that we are doing so much wrong in the world and Americans are often obliviousespecially in small towns or suburbs.

3) What is the best food in America?

I’d say the best food is American pancakes with maple syrup from Vermont or Canada. In America, our pancakes are a lot thicker and fluffier- what you call a pancake here we call a crepe. If prepared correctly- American pancakes are delicious. There are only two places in the world who can make good maple syrup: Canada and Vermont. It’s just the right consistency and flavour to compliment pancakes but delicious enough on its own that it can be added to other things too. I always must bring a bottle back whenever I visit. They are certainly unhealthy even before we drizzle it with sugar-filled maple syrup, but if you ever get the chance to try them- do it.

4) What did you miss when first leaving, and what do you miss four years on?

When first leaving the country, I cannot lie, I missed the convivence. Yes, there are things over here that are open 24/7, but it’s very rare. Most things close around 4pm-6pm which when you are going from being able to go out at midnight and do anything you want to have to time all your activities around what’s open and closed it’s quite jarring. Access to things was also difficult, if you wanted something there were six different brands but over here there is only one brand that is not as quality as the American one- you just never get used to it.

Four years on I miss the attitudes of students in the learning environment. I can get used to the extra scheduling required, but now it upsets me to see kids who don’t want to put forth the effort to study. I see it all the time, but I can’t truly do anything about it. I talk more on this in my article US vs UK education, and even though I do say I like the debate and independence in our learning, I still sometimes long for that American education where we all act similarly. It’s still nice to hear different opinions in the classroom but sometimes it can make it difficult to learn if you have too many students like that.

Written by Jasmine Leake Designed by Liam O’Hanlon

The Purge (2013) “The Purge” is one of the most talked about films in our generation with it seemingly a hit with adults and teenagers alike. It has, admittedly, got an interesting concept to it and speaks to the parts of ourselves which we don’t often show – the selfish and benign traits. However, as I’m reviewing it I don’t feel the need to agree and, as I’ve said that it has its interesting qualities, it has its ridiculous qualities too. In keeping with both themes of Guy Fawkes Night and Halloween, it is only right that we look at the first in a series of interesting films, “The Purge”.

Feeling that it’s only right we start at the head of it all, the writer and director of the film was James DeMonaco, who has gone on to write three of the other films in the franchise. He has not done too much apart from theses series of movies and rather focuses on these films, which are life questioningly deep. He’s like a bat who would stalk a mouse - anarchy and social issues themes are his metaphorical mouse. He has also written the terrible screenplay for Jack (1996) so don’t let the fact that he wrote something as bad as that play on your mind. Also, in another brilliant turn of events Michael Bay is one of the producers which sounds as destructively bad as it sounds. Yes, the King of making things explode co-produced this movie and is attempting to oversee another successful *ahem* franchise.

The film itself is set in America (of course) in 2022 which is a dystopia and for one night a year all crime is legal and there are no laws. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with this concept in fact I think that it is neat – it wasn’t executed, however, in the brilliant way in which it could have been exploited. It’s like having baked a cake and then for a large portion of it to be thrown away. Nonetheless, we are introduced in the film to Sandin family who are seemingly going to be safe as they clearly have great security. I’m sure that no one will raise the security protocols to let someone in. Oh wait. It’s an overly clichéd film of course someone can get in if they ask nicely enough. I don’t mean to sound like a heartless person, but if someone is injured in a place where it is expected that such things should happen you should protect yourself first. The child of the family, Charlie, lets him in and this would be a good explanation as to why the security went down as he is a child and normally children have the most heart. But it isn’t. By his character, he is eccentric, and we don’t generally expect him to risk his life and health on saving a stranger. This means that his eccentricity is never explored and is just left as apparently that builds character but contradicts everything when he lets the wounded male into the house. Even the daughter, Zoey, doesn’t understand this (seriously what are they teaching these kids in 2022) and lets her boyfriend, Henry, into the house and, in another event we’ve seen time after time, the father and the boyfriend do not get along. This leads to them engaging in a shoot-out for reasons other than they don’t like each other. In a sense, the opening is something we’ve seen time after time and the first act does not set a great tone for the film although the mystery and the action, in my opinion, is at a decent level.

Going forward in the film, we are introduced to the people that should be the antagonists in the Purgers. We don’t know much about them or their motivations other than they want to kill people. This is very drab and doesn’t add anything to a film already full of people who want to kill and dreadfully thought out.

Which is why I’m always surprised to hear that people genuinely feel fear when they watch this movie. One thing that stands out to be bad is performance in this movie. The main “Purger” in this film, played by Rhys Wakefield, acts like the Joker being tazed every five minutes. His performance, in my opinion is very goofy and wild which doesn’t for me as such give fear factor but rather a laugh. The other Purgers in the film seem to do childish things which really makes them scary right? Wrong, it’s at best very laughable and it makes the whole aesthetic of scary seem very comedic.

As overly dramatic movies would move, James, the main character, dies (as if we haven’t seen that enough already in Infinity War). He shoots the main Purger as they wreck his house and does the heroic thing by killing them. I would say it was a lovely and touching moment but he dies in front of them.

The absurd un-Joker-like main Purger is also killed in the scene by James’ daughter. Then, literally after they are almost killed, the neighbours attack them. There’s no indication of dislike apart from a few camera shots and this makes you simply lose interest and want the film to end. The film, at this point, seems as though a great cake lked than it seems. Even more bizarrely, the wounded man, who is suddenly able to fend off someone with a gun, holds one of the neighbours hostage so that the family can escape. How very convenient.

To conclude, the film is a cliché but not as bad as I make it out to be. It does have some decent action and tries to convey an interesting message to the audience but doesn’t deliver it in the right way. It was a box office hit but evidently not with critics although the films in the franchise have gone on to become more interesting and better written. It’s been a hit with many people who believe that this resembles our society now (although I disagree). However, it is a review about this movie not about the series itself. If it was a dark comedy it would be great considering its goofy and childish nature, but it’s not so will have to go down as a lacklustre movie. There was very little effort put into this movie and it seems like an idea wasted because of the ambition and drive to make a lot of money.

To conclude, the film is a cliché but not as bad as I make it out to be. It does have some decent action and tries to convey an interesting message to the audience but doesn’t deliver it in the right way. It was a box office hit but evidently not with critics although the films in the franchise have gone on to become more interesting and better written. It’s been a hit with many people who believe that this resembles our society now (although I disagree). However, it is a review about this movie not about the series itself. If it was a dark comedy it would be great considering its goofy and childish nature, but it’s not so will have to go down as a lacklustre movie. There was very little effort put into this movie and it seems like an idea wasted because of the ambition and drive to make a lot of money.

- Written by Harry Bruns - Designed by Liam O’Hanlon

Brooklyn Nine Nine: A Spoiler-free review

By Jack Thompson

Brooklyn Nine is one of the best diverse, boundary breaking, yet still hilarious show of today, and heres why: Now if you have not heard of this show already, where have you been?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a great comedic show that begun as a sitcom making fun of the usual stereotypical police shows but has become so much more since then. It deals with all kinds of serious issues like racism and homophobia, which for a comedy show isn’t usually a great idea, but the way it has been done on this show has

been executed perfectly. It deals with these serious issues all while still being a comedy, bringing joy to people and bringing these issues to light.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is about Brooklyn’s 99th police precinct and the detectives there. Jake Peralta, a carefree, talented and caring cop who never had to listen to the rules too closely when his old police captain was in charge, but now

My Top 10 episodes: 1. Season 5 Ep 4 - HalloVeen 2. Season 1 Ep 13 - The Bet 3. Season 1 Ep 12 - The Poniac Bandit 4. Season 2 Ep 23 - Johnny and Dora the new captain Raymond Holt has arrived he has to start being serious and following the rules but he tries his best not to.

The cast of characters all break their stereotypes and creates a diverse range of people which is another reason why it is such a great show. The show incorperates really important issues going on in the world and explores them seriously while still keeping its comedy style to it, which isn’t to be mistaken as making fun of the situations.

5. Season 4 Ep 16 - Moo Moo 6. Season 2 Ep 10 - The Pontiac Bandit Returns 7. Season 4 Ep 8 - The Skyfire Cycle 8. Season 4 Ep 19 - Your honour 9. Season 2 Ep 13 - The Cruise 10. Season 2 Ep 22 - The Chopper

Jake Peralta “Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool” Jake Peralta is the main character of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and is one of the greatest. He starts the show off very focused only on helping himself, but Holt helps create the team bond and takes Jake under his wing to help him become a better person, and detective

Raymond Holt “Meep Morp, Zeep” Raymond Holt is a gay, black police captain who shows almost no emotion and has been placed as the police captain of the 99th precinct and wants to do his best as he has finally got into a position of power after many years of discrimination and hate. He mentors Amy throughout the show and takes care of Jake like a Dad would.

Amy Santiago “Man, my snitches are the best” Amy Santiago is a strict rule follower and smart but a very competitive detective who competes with Jake a lot with many different bets going on throughout the show. She is very passionate about her work and is one of the most hardworking characters on the show.

Brooklyn Nine Nine: Character Profiles Terry Jeffords “I’m a detective. I will detect.”

Terry Jeffords is a family man and very strong yet very emotional and caring. He is the most mature one of the group of detectives and keeps them all in check. He is stuck on desk duty ever since he had an accident in a shooting situation, he got scared of using his gun or being in danger as he doesn’t want his kids being without a dad.

Charles Boyle “Help me. I’ve gone Full Boyle.”

Charles Boyle who is another hardworking detective who idolizes Jake and is his best friend. He loves everything way too much, this is shown when it comes to realtionships, food and even his pets. He has a huge crush on Rosa at the beginning of the show and is not sure how to handle it at all.

Rosa Diaz “Your entire life is garbage.”

Rosa Diaz who is a mysterious, intimidating detective. She cares about her fellow friends and workmates but doesn’t like to show and does not really know how to. She has to try her best to keep Boyle away from her as she doesn’t like him in that way but does not want to hurt him.

The Writeous Rating:

10/10 This show gets 10 stars due to how diverse, funny and different it is. There are some episodes that really tackle some heavy issues like racism in the workplace and within the police like in the episode Moo Moo (S4 E16), and other issues like accepting people’s sexuality. The show tries to view these problems in a light way but still shows the real hardcore parts of it and it really targets the issues well.

Sadly, Brooklyn Nine-Nine got cancelled this year only on season 5. But, due to the amazing huge fan base, NBC picked it up to continue the show which made everyone, especially the actors, extremely happy.

Why did Fox decide to cancel such a great show that still got a lot of viewers?

Who knows, but what I do know is that if you haven’t watched this show you need to before season 6 releases some time at the start of 2019. Brooklyn NineNine is on E4 or Seasons 1-4 is now on Netflix.

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My name is Danielius Grabliauskas and I am an amateur photographer based in Thurrock and London, where my goal is to become a freelance/ professional photographer.

This was a collaboration shoot with Tyla Paton, a model based in Bristol. We used the theme of weather and change in weather to create a set of photos. The first photo was more based on fashion where the clothes complement the background and the lipstick also complement the red in the leaves. This photo would be more of a commercial photo that would advertise the brown coat in its natural setting.

The second photo with the flower and snow is showing the weather of winter, but it is an unusual winter as the skin tones and the overall photo looks warm, winter shouldn’t be warm. My intention was to show that the current season is autumn and wanted to add winter as something that would be coming early this year. I also intended to make winter feel more welcoming as people hate winter because it is cold and wet, when actually if you have the right mind set winter could be very beautiful and warm, something that connects people together.

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Pet Portraits

by Lily Harlen

These are two of the many pet portraits that have been handdrawn by Lily Harlen. She produces pet portraits for family, friends and anyone who would like an outstanding drawing of their pet.

If you are interested in getting a drawing completed by Lily Harlen, please email her for further information: Lily.Harlen.72852@havering-sfc.ac.uk

WHY NOT JOIN US?

Come along to the Library Tuesdays, 12.15 – 1.00pm or ask a member of staff for further details.

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Jesutomisin Adeagbo Nikki Onafuye Fatima Akuji Isabella Pavitt Katie Brett Gabrielle Prah Harry Bruns Billy Sellar Jess Clark Bethany Smith Zak Cronin Jack Thompson Lois Edwards Aiveta Vaitkeviciute Porchia Enimil-Ashun Fahim Khan James Laker FACILITATED BY Jasmine Leake Stephanie Sekula Grant MacMaster Omair Malik Rhianna Marshall-Read Catia Martins De Sousa Da Conceicao Kaiesha Melloy Sydney Merritt Chloe Nelson Liam O’Hanlon

ENRICHMENT TEAM

MANY THANKS

TO THE COLLEGE MAGAZINE

LOOK OUT FOR ISSUE #5 COMING FEBRUARY 2019