The Quiet Times

November 2023 Edition

The Quiet Times

The Quiet Times investigates the Israel and Palestine conflict

New York, St James Remembers New York Our St James cadets honoured our fallen heroes on Sunday 12th November.

The Remembrance Day parade was watched by over 200 parents and staff. The occasion was marked by a brilliant march by the cadets and a solemn moment of silence. The cadet programme is a huge part of life and teacher students about leadership, responsibility and team building.

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‘...it’s been waiting for you”

After a very long plane journey, we arrived in New York, mesmerised by the sight of the buildings growing around us. As soon as we dropped our bags off we set straight off to the Hard Rock Cafe.

Even though everyone was exhausted the food was a treat after the long journey.

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St James Deep Dive on the Argentinian presidential election Lucas S. takes an in-depth look at the surprising results.

Newest news

entertainment Luca S. talks you through the hottest new films and TV shows to look out for

The School Bake Sale and Movember How we are using cake and moustaches as a force for good

November 2023 Edition Personnel

Mrs Khanna Samirova Head of Media Studies The Quiet Times Editor

Tom C Year 12 Sports Editor

Iceland volcanoes

Iceland has always had a lot of beautiful volcanoes but recently there has been fears of a “super volcano eruption“. The reason that some suspect there will be an eruption is because there have been serious tremors between November 1517. It is estimated that out of the 2000 earthquakes Iceland has experienced this year, 1467 of them have been in the last 2 months. This is why the Icelandic government is evacuating residents who live in the areas near earthquake affected areas.

There is also fears that there is magma nearing the earths surface, some residents have stated that tar on the roads have melted and the stones on the pavement are too hot to stand on. About 6000 residents have been evacuated from this area and have been forced to leave their belongings behind, some are homeless so let’s just hope that nothing bad happens and it doesn’t erupt. Especially since we will ALSO be affected.

Rohit K Year 9 Foreign Affairs Jellyfish on our shores

Luke M Year 10 Features

Luca S Year 12 Features

Lucas S Year 12 Political Correspondent

Will S Year 12 Features

World

North America

As a result of climate change, the UK’s waters have become somewhat warmer and jelly fish have started moving into our shores. Many reports say that bright vibrant jellyfish dance through the waters at day and at night they almost glow!

Most of the jelly fish come from the pacific oceans but as the winds change so do the tides which is why they are appearing here. While most of them get washed up on shore and then get picked up by the high tide, some of them get stranded because of the location or the infrastructure there and they die but fortunately , the locals all along the coast have started helping them get back in the water. While their stay here is fascinating to us, when the temperatures change again they won’t be as comfortable and their journey back home will be REALLY long.

Africa South America

Affairs Rohit. K talks about the world right now

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If you didn’t know, Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. It has a massive population of 20 million people and has many government institutions and headquarters. Unfortunately, the traffic in Cairo isn’t as great as the city itself and there is a mass water shortage in the city becuase of the sole dependence on the Nile, which links to an unpredicted population growth. Egypt’s leaders have even stated in an interview: “ two childrean is enough”, this is how crowded Cairo has become. In 2014 Egypt started looking for a way out, the construction of a new capital has been well underway for the past 9 years and has had unprecedented success. The new capital city includes an organised government headquarters, sufficient housing , a leisure park, sports city and a man made river to quench its population. The Egyptian government has also started building a mini city of skyscrapers in the soon-to-be capital with will consist of the Iconic Tower ( tallest building in Africa) and the Oblisco ( the tallest building in the world) which is inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture. While these things are great ideas , they haven’t been finished yet but if you want a more in depth review of a new capital, go to page 8.

South China Sea

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Egypt’s new capital

Asia

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China has recently made a statement that has angered quite a few south East Asian nations.

They have claimed the South China Sea as their own territory which opposes Vietnamese , Malaysian , Indonesian, Filipino and Bruneian depictions of their own maritime borders.Usually these South East Asian countries have a firm grip over their land, or in this case the sea, but since it is China they are dealing with, they don’t want to start something they can’t finish.

As for what China is doing in the sea, they are building tiny, man-made islands. These islands may just be used to gain more territory but it is more likely that they are being built for the natural resources available there.Though these islands are a very strategic place when it comes to the naval bases: the South China Sea has 11 billion barrels of oil, 190 trillion feet of natural gas and it also contains 30% of the world’s trade.

As time goes on, because of climate change, oil and gases will not be our main options so one side or the other will eventually let go of their claims or just abandon their islands!

Nepal and TikTok

Nepal has banned TikTok and is the 2nd country to do so, but they have a reason for this. The Nepalese government has accused TikTok of disrupting social harmony and ruining family relationships , Shou Zi ( the CEO of TikTok ) appeared in Washington DC to regard the mistrust in his app. He states “TikTok is a way to communicate and express yourself to others“. I am sure the 2.2 million TikTok users in Nepal would agree with this but so far I don’t think this ban is going to be lifted.

The Quiet Times Rohit. K talks about the Israel-Hamas conflict

What is Happening?

The history of Israel and Palestine is a complex series of conflicts , territorial struggles and more. The establishment of Israel in 1948 was a critical point that led to tensions with their arab neighbours and the migration of the many Palestinians in Israel. In the following year several wars including the six day war (1967) and the first and second intifadas shaped these two nations into how we know them today At the very beginning of this conflict, back when it started, the UN proposed a partition plan to divide British Palestine into a state for Jews and Arabs, with Jerusalem as neutral ground.This movement was fuelled by the Zionist movement, which sought to establish a homeland for Jewish people because of the Racism they were facing in Europe at the time. They thought it was they only way to ensure their safety. When it was time to accept or decline the proposal, Jewish leadership accepted it and the Arab leadership didn’t. This was the cause of the 1948 Arab Israeli war . The outcome was Israel’s independence and a sense of uncertainty in the Arab nations surrounding it.

Conflicts like the six day war, in which Israel occupied the Golan heights , the West bank and Gaza, followed in the next 40-50 years.Over the next few decades , Israel befriended other Arab states in the area and created a time of peace, but as time went on, the Palestinians in Israel controlled west bank, grew restless.

Many groups like Hamas grew through this period in hopes for independence, they fought wars like the first and second intifada which resulted in somewhat of a self governing West Bank and an independent Gaza, in 2005.

This is the situation as it is today , Hamas has grown powerful in Palestine and Israel is getting ready for a big war.

The Aerial Bombings of Gaza has followed Hamas’s attacks on October 7th , in which, Hamas crossed the border at several points and Attacked towns and settlements in southern Israel , they killed 1400 people, mainly civilians including an unknown amount of children.More than 200 people have also been taken into Gaza as POWs( prisoners of war )and 6900 are injured .

The Hamas-run Gaza Health ministry says at least 10800 people have been killed in Israels retaliation effort.They have also stated that more than 26000 people have been injured and 1.5 million people displaced , according to the UN relief effort. As of November 3rd , 67% of deaths in the entire conflict are made up of women and children.

Since the first week of the conflict , Israel began warning more than 1 million Palestinians to move to safer places in parts of southern Gaza , as soldiers prepared to invade the residential areas, where they believed Hamas soldiers were hiding.

Over the last few weeks of October, Gazans have endured devastating strikes from the air , while the IDF( Israel defense forces) have been laying waste to the northern tip of the 140 square mile Gaza Strip.

Israelis in southern regions have experienced the same thing with countless victims trapped under rubble and debris, waiting for people to help them.

Unfortunately for all these people, the majority of the hospitals in both Gaza and southern Israel have now been destroyed, which means that the injured must be treated by doctors and nurses that have fled the hospitals and are treating people in overwhelming numbers.

The humanitarian efforts have helped massively but as the conflict has gone on, more injured people that cannot be treated has increased. The Air raids and missile strikes have been increasing too, with about 1000 bombs and missiles on each end of the war from October 7th to November 7th.

This conflict has been going on for a month now, about an estimated 22000 people have died, and both powers are still strong. We can only hope that it will be resolved soon and the people on both sides can find peace .

Spotlight What is a genocide?

The UN defines genocide as a ‘crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part’. There have been numerous genocides in modern history with experts arguing that current events in Gaza and The Congo fit the criteria.

Council. In 1976 Indonesia Talk of the reported genocide declared Timor-Leste as part in Gaza is by no means the of their country. In the period only instance of widespread when Timor-Leste was killing of a certain occupied by Indonesia over demographic. In the 1960’s 200,000 people died. The the former Dutch colony conflict in the DRC dates West Papua gained back to the 1990s when it independence only to be went through two civil wars taken by Indonesia 1 year in 1996 and 1998. The later. The native Papuans conflict erupted in the wake resisted this ruling, which led of the Rwandan genocide in to the ongoing conflict. In 1994 where ethnic Hutu 1969 the United Nations extremists killed nearly one controversially ruled that million minority ethnic Tutsis West Pupa was part of and non-extremist Hutus.

Indonesia. The Indigenous Since then, the eastern DRC, Papuan still fight for their bordering Rwanda, has been rights in many protests, facing insurgency however, the Indonesian perpetrated by several rebel Security Force stops the militant groups. On October protests with violence 30, the UN International against the locals. TimorOrganization of Migration Leste is an ex-Portuguese (IOM) reported that the colony in south-east Asia. number of people who have After the Portugueses left the been internally displaced in Timor-Leste there was a war The UN defines genocidewho as a ‘crime with the intent toof thecommitted Democratic Republic between two groups destroypower. a national, However ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in Congo (DRC) has risen to 6.9 wanted part’. There have been numerous genocides in modern historyissues with million. These ongoing Indonesia invaded the experts arguing current in Gazaus andthat The Congo remind therefitistheno country, and this that action wasevents end to suffering worldwide. condemned by the Unitedcriteria.

Nations General and Security

What is a genocide?

A ‘silent genocide’?

Many are arguing that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing its own silent genocide.

As of October 2023, 6.9 million Congolese people have been displaced due to violence and rebel attacks. Some of that displacement (about 400 households in October 2023) has been linked to forced evictions driven by cobalt mining.

In response to the violence, on 08 November 2023, a video of a man who set himself on fire holding a ‘Stop the Genocide in Congo’ sign went viral on X.

Is Jakarta sinking?

Jakarta: the bustling capital city of Indonesia. Full of tall skyscrapers and a wonderful culture, but wait, Jakarta is sinking? Yes it’s true , Jakarta is sinking at a rapid rate and nothing the Jakartans are doing can stop it.

Over the last few decades, the relatively small city of Jakarta has grown into a bustling mega city with 35 million people in its metropolitan area. Besides being the capital of Indonesia , it is also the capital of ASEAN ( South East Asian EU ) which adds to its importance as a major city but it has problems which make it a somewhat unfavourable capital.

Jakarta has 13 rivers running through it of which only 2 are still unpoluted, which means that drinking water is scarce so the only way for most people to get real water is by using ground pumps. But as the water between the surface is removed the soil above with compact and sink, the big heavy buildings in Jakarta don’t help the sinking problem.

As a result of this, Jakarta is sinking about 1 cm a year but some areas are already suffering 25 cm of irreperable flooding. With 40% of the city under sea level , it’s safe to say that Jakarta is not safe. As a result, the Indonesian government has theorised a massive sea wall artificial island hybrid that will protect Jakarta from the ocean.

After it is built , the 13 rivers will be cleaned up and the remaining sea in Jakarta bay will become a reservoir for fresh water, meaning this problem will not happen again. This is one of the ways that Indonesia plans to tackle this problem but other ways are also being considered especially in the event of a terrorist attack or a sea wall failure: the wall is a security weak point which will also have to have continuous maintenance and many locals residing in the current bay will have to leave their livelyhoods behind to move further inland because they will not be able to afford the housing near the new sea wall.

This is why in 2019 the Indonesian government anounced the moving of the capital.

Rohit. K talks about Jakarta’s problems

The location of this new capital is unknown but we do know that it will be in East Kalimantan ( the east side of Borneo ). The reason for this is because Borneo is the most central island in Indonesia so the population not living on java , where Jakarta was , would feel more represented.

Another reason for this is because of the terrain , while Borneo is quite mountainous, there aren’t many volcanos on it unlike java which would make it almost earthquake proof.

There isn’t much on Borneo as of the present so it is likely that the entire island may be dedicated to serving the new capital , in terms of resources ( there won’t be any other cities to compete with ).

The new capital territory will most likely be built as a coastal city with a similar size to Greater London and a predicted population of 7 million people 5 years after its completion.

There are a few problems with this new city though: As stated earlier, Borneo isn’t very populated so the majority of it is a jungle so if a city was to be built, the environment would certainly suffer, at least for a little while. Another concern is that Indonesia shares Borneo with Brunei and Malaysia which could be a security issue but these countries are both in ASEAN so it is unlikely to be a problem.

While building a new capital is a solution, the real goal is to relieve Jakarta from some of the pressure of its population.

St James Deep Dive Longer stories that matter

Argentine Chain

What Javier Milei me

Argentina’s Presidential election was held on the 19th of November, its winner and President-elect Javier Milei has garnered international attention for his distinct style of politics and far-right views.

Worsened by Peronist infighting and division. This set the stage for an outsider who would oppose the the Peronist orthoddoxy that had ruled Argentina for decades.

Argentina has been an on-and-off democracy for the last century, with the military often taking power and performing coups. Juan Peron, who first came to power in 1946, has shaped Argentine politics since. Peronism is a unique ideology, it has elements of nationalism and socialism. He ruled for 9 years before the military coup that kept him from retaking the presidency until 1973.

He ruled as a benevolent dictator and was popular in rural and working-class sections of the country.

Since the end of military rule in 1983, out of the last 12 Presidents 8 have been from the Peronist Justicialist Party (PJ). However, Argentina has also been dominated by extreme economic ‘boom and bust’. The economy has struggled due to extensive government spending on generous government programmes, a precedent set by Peron, with the Central Bank printing money to help cover the costs often leading to high inflation.

In 2015 the Centre-Right Mauricio Macri won the Presidency on the promise to fix the economy. Macri initially appeared to succeed, achieving economic growth and lowering inflation. However, due to political pressure, he got the central bank to move its inflation target from 12% to 15% as well as cutting interest rates to allow for increased government spending. Economic orthodoxy dictates that if inflation increases then so should interest rates to bring inflation down. This resulted in investors losing confidence, causing the Argentine Peso to collapse. He’d failed on his key policy of creating a stronger more stable economy. Macri therefore lost the 2019 election to the Peronist candidate, Alberto Fernandez. Fernandez failed to end the economic turbulence, which was worsened by Covid and the current global inflation. Worsened by Peronist infighting and division. This set the stage for an outsider who would oppose the Peronist orthodoxy that had ruled Argentina for decades.

Milei who was a member of the Chamber of Deputies (the Argentine parliament). The Peronist candidate Sergio Massa, who was the Economy Minister under Fernandez. This gave him baggage as the person responsible for the economy during times of difficulty.

Argentine inflation has reached over 100% and just before the second round was 143%, inflation is very volatile.

Milei however was not uncontroversial, rather quite the opposite. Milei is a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” which means he supports little to no government and letting the markets run the economy. Milei has declared “the state is the enemy” calling it a “criminal organisation”, he believes the less the government does, the better. For instance there’s footage of Milei calling for the legalisation of organ trading which sparked immense criticism. Milei called Pope Francis an “imbecile who defends social justice”, a “son of a bitch preaching communism”, and “a filthy leftist”. Somehow this did not damage his electoral prospects considering that around 40% of Argentinians are Catholics (according to Statista). Milei has also sparked controversy for praising Margaret Thatcher as one of “the greatest leaders in the history of humanity”, however he wants the Falkland Islands to be ‘returned’ to Argentina. Thatcher is hated in Argentina as she was the British Prime Minsiter who successfully repelled an Argentine invasion of the Falkands. Milei sparked further anger when he criticised Diego Maradonna’s ‘lifestyle choices’, this should have been two acts of political suicide due to the universal hatred Thatcher is held in and the universal love Maradonna has.

Milei has become famous for waving around a chainsaw during his political rallies, this is a reference to his policy to cut government expenditure. He has as a superhero alter-ego, General Ancap who sings about the economy.

Argentine Chainsaw Massacre What Javier Milei means for Argentina and why it happened Milei also has 5 cloned dogs, cloned from his first original dog that died. The 5 Mastiff’s are named after Free Market and Libertarian Economists, such as; Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and Robert Lucas. He reportedly spent $50,000 to clone his original dog Conan.

Milei’s Policies Milei has made bold promises regarding the economy, he’s promised to abolish the central bank, calling it “one of the greatest thieves in the history of mankind” and saying he would set it on fire, clarifying during an interview with Bloomberg that it was a metaphor. Dollarisation being another key pledge of his, Argentina would switch their currency from the Peso to the US Dollar (USD). Dollarisation would require reserves of 40 billion USD which Argentina is far from having, amongst other possible issues with this strategy.

Milei crucially wants to cut government spending drastically, which could be harmful to the 40% of Argentinians living below the poverty line and the millions who are suffering from inflation and high prices, cuts would mean less social programmes, which help the poor, and less subsidies which have kept energy prices capped at an affordable price for two -thirds of consumers. This is an expensive policy and Milei wants to “chainsaw” government spending and wants to eradicate government debt and create a surplus within a year. Milei also intends to privatise many key state industries, such as health, which he intends to abolish the health service and create a system in which the government pays for citizens insurance. Milei has become famous for waving around a chainsaw during his political rallies, this is a reference to his policy to cut government expenditure by 15%, he’s promised to abolish 8 of the 18 government departments.

Milei has also said on trade that “We do not make a pact with Communists” in reference to China, who is one of Argentina’s largest trade partners. He also has been openly critical of Lula DaSilva, the left-wing President of Brazil, who beat a political friend of Milei’s, the former President Jair Bolsonaro. His criticism has led to questions about a possible deterioration of relations between the two countries who are large trading partners.

Milei called for organ trading to be legalised, calling it “just another market”. Despite his Libertarian views about individual free choice, Milei opposes a woman’s right to an abortion.

The Election In Argentina, like France, they have a first round where all the candidates may run and then a second round where the top two candidates run. Milei beat the centreright Patricia Bullrich by 6% coming second in the first round, under-performing, leading a lot of people, including myself to think Sergio Massa would win. Milei ended up beating Massa by a margin of about 11%, a decisive win. The margin was a surprise but the factors I have written about contributed to the discontent that carried Milei to power. Milei did particularly well in regions of the country that traditionally Peronist voters.

However analysts believe Milei will struggle to deliver many of his many radical policies, as he does not have a majority in the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate. This means he has to negotiate and maybe moderate some of his stances in order to pass legislation.

Argentina like many countries has elected the far-right, there seems to be a rise across the globe in the success of far-right politics. We’ve seen in the Netherlands too similarly a far-right party, the PVV, win more seats than any other party. However there is hope for the left and centre of politics, countries like Spain and Poland rejected far-right populist parties and candidates in recent elections. It’s yet to be seen if this will continue.

School News Bake Sale!

On Friday the 11th, Louis It provides money for Schomberg (Y13) brought men’s mental health in over 80 brilliantly baked services as 73% of suicides cakes made by his in the UK are men. It raises mother. They ranged from awareness for these chocolate brownies to devastating facts, lemon drizzle to banana encouraging prevention bread! Tables were set up through discussion and at 3:55 PM awaiting openness. Money is also purchase from students donated to male health and staff. The school has services like prostate and raised £280 so far within testicular cancer checks the first 2 weeks of and research, for example.

November, combining the bake sale, the GoFundMe Male mental health is and the table tennis obviously taken very tournament. seriously at St James and Movember is celebrated ‘Movember’ is a charity whole heartedly. movement that takes place every November.

St James Remembers The Cadets at St James meet every Tuesday with Captain Fletcher and are open to anyone with the right skills and attitude. One Y9 cadet said that he loved being a part of the day as it helped him remember the sacrifices made by the brave men and women that came before him. We can’t help but agree.

New York, New York After a very long plane journey, we arrived in New York, mesmerised by the sight of the buildings growing around us.

As soon as we dropped our bags off we set straight off to the Hard Rock Cafe.

Even though everyone was exhausted the food was a treat after the long journey. Mr Coburn led us out of the Hard Rock Cafe up to the Empire State Building. We marvelled at the twinkling lights of New York from one of its highest points.

On Monday we started the day with a drama workshop on stage combat, it was thoroughly enjoyable and we had great success. We left for Times Square where we had lunch and went to shops you can only get into the US, like Target.

After lunch, we went to Radio City Music Hall which was of breathtaking proportion. We finished the day with a meal in Chinatown.

We started Tuesday with a visit to Top of the Rock, which we mostly said was slightly better than the Empire State Building, with a view down Central Park and the other way to the financial district.

We proceeded with a mindful visit to the MET Museum, and after some free time blew off steam in Central Park.

Wednesday morning started with a stroll along the High-Line walk, which is an old subway line that was turned into a garden walk as it was troubled with crime. This was followed by a deeply moving visit to the 9/11 memorial. The day was finished off with dinner at Ellens Stardust Dinner, which is an American diner where the waiters sing like Broadway actors.

On the morning of Thursday, we visited Ellis Island and went up the Statue of Liberty, from here you could see a view of Manhattan Island. After visiting Times Square we had an early dinner at Forest Gump-themed Bubba Gump. After this, we watched Moulin Rouge, which was a spectacular visit from our last full day.

On Friday morning we had an adventurous morning in Area 53, which was a Go Ape/Soft play centre. Followed by some time to roam around Times Square. Sadly we had to leave after this for a very long gruelling journey overnight back home.

An International Christmas Luke M. researches the different ways countries around the world celebrate festive season

This is one of the strangest Christmas traditions that I came upon, so I had to put it in. In Czechia, families will buy a live Carp a few days before Christmas and keep it in their bathtub.

When they want to eat it they kill it so it is fresh. This is even stranger when you find out that carp a really big fish and are about 70cm long.

In Germany on the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas people dress up as the Krampus and walk the streets.

The Krampus is a horned figure from folklore who scares naughty children in the Advent season.

In Iceland there is no Santa, instead, they have 13 Yule Lads come down from the mountains to visit the 13 nights before up to Christmas Day. Each Yule Lad is known for a specific thing he does, like the Skyr Gobbler who eats up all of the Skyr (an Icelandic type of yoghurt) in the house.

The Yule lads leave a little surprise for the children in their shoes, which they leave on the windowsill for them. For good kids, they leave candy but for the naughty ones, they leave a rotting potato. There is also the Grýla who also comes down from the mountains and boils the naughty children alive. The Grýla is also joined by the Christmas Cat who eats anyone who is not wearing at least one new piece of clothing on Christmas Eve.

In Norway on the 22nd of December, you will notice a difference compared to the UK: there will be no Christmas decorations up. The Norwegians put decorations up and break gingerbread on Lille Julaften (Little Christmas Eve), which is on the 23rd of December. The main celebrations don’t happen on Christmas Day, instead, they happen on Julaften, where they enjoy a festive feast and sing carols around the Christmas tree.

Do They Know it’s Christmas Advert Time?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so they say. And it feels like the unwritten rule of the calendar is that as soon as the leaves turn brown and our pumpkin Jack o’lanterns start moulding, we are inundated by Christmas adverts left and centre.

Every year, the budgets are bigger, the guest stars more glamorous. In some ways, Christmas adverts have become and inextricable part of our social fabric that Christmas almost doesn’t seem real until John Lewis has strummed on our heartstrings with another croony cover of an 80s classic. This year, they face stiff competition from Asda teaming up with King of Christmas Michael Buble and family favourite Kevin the Carrot (who, though he may be an antrapomorphic carrot is not without his

controversies).

But it’s important to remember that behind every fuzzy advert which features a family enjoying the season is an advertising executive whose only goal is to drive sales and up profits. John Lewis, whose adverts mark the advent of the Christmas shopping season, is currently operating at a loss, even after closing 16 of its stores only two years ago. The advert, therefore mark a much more dismal reality: our high streets are dying and advertising executives may be the only ones who can save them.

So whether you love John Lewis’ new festive flesh eating plant or not, may it haunt you for the rest of the season.

M&S under fire for controversial advert British retailer, M&S released its 2023 Christmas advert earlier this month and was instantly met with furious criticism.

The advert, featuring TV stars Hannah Waddingham and Tan France amongst others, showed people rejecting traditional Christmas traditions including sending Christmas cards or wearing Christmas cracker hats. Some viewers disliked the message of the advert, including Katherine Birbalsingh, Head of Michaela School in Brent who wrote that it “encourages people to ignore the inspirational spirit of Christmas”.

Others were quick to point out that the burning of red, green and gold hats may have been insensitive given the current war in Gaza. M&S issued a statement to its audience, apologising for “any unintentional hurt caused” but continued to suggest the advert was designed to “remind people that it doesn’t matter how you celebrate”.

Many responses were much more positive with some X users lauding the advert for being “fabulous” and “iconic”.

Hannah Waddingham M&S’ divisive advert

in

New Entertainment

Luca S. pulls back the curtain on what to watch and where

Wish Instead of being the next great Disney Animation movie, it's a bop that's likely to land with a lot of buzz and then disappear. It's fine, and it serves a purpose, but Wish is robbed of the opportunity of being its own movie, and that might leave audiences dreaming about how it could have been so much more. Look out for our review in the next issue.

The Hunger Games This prequel to the Hunger Games series, which explores the early life of president-to-be Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) should be an undeniably striking work, unfolding against imposing fascist-classical architecture and boasting a glorious array of costumes. Rachel Zegler, the breakout star of West Side Story, is one to watch.

The crown (season 6) The Crown has been a jewel in Netflix’s (ahem) crown for many years now but it seems the sixth and final season has critics perplexed. This season follows the tragic death of Princess Diana and the fallout following the car crash in Paris. With an exquisite line up of actors and a blow out budget, it may be worth watching yourself and making your own mind up. The Crown is streaming on Netflix.

Three out of the top four grossing films of all time have been directed by Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron.

squid game: the challenge After the roaring success of Squid Game in 2021, we all wondered how we would fare in the challenges. Now, 100 strangers have faced the heat and will complete the challenges from the TV show. However, the show has been marred by poor reviews and lawsuits with contestants alleging poor treatment and conditions.

Squid Game: The Challenge is streaming on Netflix.

Just Kids by Patti Smith Review My first book review is of Patti Smith’s ‘Just Kids’, a memoir of a troubled and eventful life in and around 1970's New York City . Smith writes with a steady warmth about her teenage-hood, her experience of teen pregnancy and adoption and the death of a close childhood friend. The memoir gives no room to breathe as Smith moves southern New Jersey to the big city aged 21, a desperate poet and artist with nothing in her pocket and nothing to fall back on. She writes of desperate weeks skipping meals and sleeping in public bathrooms, desperate and touching anecdotes I’ll never forget. From here she meets the love of her life, Robert Mapplethorpe, a photographer with an enthusiasm for psychedelic adventures and self-discovery. They stumble across each other at Patti’s work place and move in together immediately. Things are great for a while and we read more anecdotes of poor urban living and NYC life. However, the couple seem to lack a certain level of intellectual intimacy and the flame of their love begins to falter, resulting in Robert going to San Francisco in order to find himself. He comes back with a boyfriend and with much sexual experimentation under his belt. Patti doesn’t react well to Robert’s discovery of his homosexuality, thinking of it as a sickness, making the two share many painful and toxic moments together. The tone of the book shifts from here, it becomes a painful love story of miscommunication, making the reader wish they could let out a hand to help.

The memoir’s first line details Robert’s death due to complications to do with AID’s. The rest mostly details Robert and Patti’s strange and deeply complex relationship and Robert’s excruciating health decline.

In summary, I think everyone can get something from this book.

Whether you look at it as a bleak look at the social stigmas or socio-economic class, or as a record of a life of struggle, I think

everyone should read it, especially those with an interest in any kind of art. It is an emotional elegy to the New York City of the late 1900's, it acts as a true rapture.

Just Kids Excerpt In the summer of 1969 Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe moved to the Chelsea Hotel: Here, she recounts her first impressions I had no concept of what life at the Chelsea Hotel would be like when we checked in, but I soon realised it was a tremendous stroke of luck to wind up there. We could have had a fair-sized railroad flat in the East Village for what we were paying, but to dwell in this eccentric and damned hotel provided a sense of security as well as a stellar education. A week or two after we moved in I waltzed into the El Quixote. It was a bar-restaurant adjacent to the hotel, connected to the lobby by its own door, which made it feel like our bar, as it had been for decades. Dylan Thomas, Terry Southern, Eugene O’Neill and Thomas Wolfe were among those who had raised one too many a glass there.

I was wearing a long rayon navy dress with white polka dots and a straw hat, my East of Eden outfit. At the table to my left, Janis Joplin was holding court with her band. To my far right were Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane, along with members of Country Joe and the Fish. At the last table facing the door was Jimi Hendrix, his head lowered, eating with his hat on, across from a blonde. There were musicians everywhere, sitting before tables laid with mounds of shrimp with green sauce, paella, pitchers of sangria, and bottles of tequila. I stood there amazed, yet I didn’t feel like an intruder.

St James

SP RT Laura Enever sets incredible world record for biggest wave surfed by a woman

On the day Enever broke the record she was second alternate at the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational meaning she would only take part in the competition if two women were injured. That event was held on a break close to the beach so the Australian, and her friend Felicity Palmateer, decided to surf in the Outer Reef where the deeper ocean meets the sea floor and the world record was broken.

“I knew it was big when I paddled into it and then when I took off I looked down and I knew it was definitely the biggest wave I’ve ever caught,” she said.

Recent St James fixture scores The rugby success at St James continues with a win for the Saints on November 1st when we beat Burnham Grammar School 28-7. This is an amazing achievement and we look forward to even more sporting successes in the new year.