We need to put an end to modern Slavery!


In the last few weeks we have seen lockdown restrictions lifting all over England, where transmission rates are at least LOWER than before (though the extent varies depending on where you are). However we have also seen spikes of this in certain areas of the England, for varying reasons including population density, and crowded living and working conditions. One area which has stuck out in particular has been in Leicester, where “more than 1,000 people per 100,000 residents having been infected by Covid-19″ compared to in Dorset where there has been only 343 confirmed cases throughout this whole pandemic.” This has lead Leicester to have to go into a dreaded regional lockdown…

Government publishes new local lockdown rules for Leicester ...
Leister has been forced back into lockdown due to the horrifically high transmission rates there have been.

There is speculation that this could be down to the crowded living conditions many are in, but is also very likely to be due to vast number of people working in “sweatshops” in Leicester; where workers are being made to work in dangerous conditions while being subject to mistreatment. Here workers are being paid between £3.50- £4.00 an hour which is less than half the adult minimum wage, while a report conducted by Labor behind the Label (a workers rights group), reported that people were being forced to come into work even if they knew that themselves or a member of their household had been infected by coronavirus. Furthermore the physical conditions of these factories aren’t much better where most “are housed in dilapidated buildings, with little investment in building safety and modern ventilation”. Now it disgusts me that people are working day in, day out to produce this clothing- while being subject to such dangerous conditions. While journalist and reporter Luke Hanrahan filmed an employee bravely speaking about the inhumane conditions he was having to work in, all whilst being yelled at by an employer. Click here to watch this!

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Five garment factories in Leicester have now been forced to close due to the high transmission rates.

Also it looks like brands like Boohoo, will continue to be very prevalent within the fashion industry, with them experiencing a “45% revenue increase in the three months to May the 31st.” Therefore the use of quasi slavery around our cities will continue unless practices take a drastic change. And although there has been a bit of a decline in purchases from Boohoo as this cause has come to our attention, I cannot imagine that this will be long-lasting, as we found out a few years ago that both Primark and Topshop had been using children as young as 14 as slaves in their production.

It isn’t just in Leister however where workers are forced to work in such appalling conditions, in-fact all over the world, workers of all ages are being forced to “work for less than a few dollars a day” on a “14-16 hour shift” while “many sweatshop workers will eventually sleep, eat, live and quite possible die from exhaustion, malnutrition, physical abuse or worse.” While if this is bad enough, it is estimated that about 10 million CHILDREN are forced into modern slavery- to this day! Nevertheless it is most likely that the outcome of this is right on your doorstep, or to be specific right on your body- even if you don’t buy off places like Boohoo and Primark. Well known and heavily priced brands including Gap, Nike and Victoria secret also resort to people working in sweatshops to produce some of their clothing. It is estimated that there are over 40 million slaves around the world, and they are only those who are employed by the fashion industry. Meanwhile there are still over 10 million children slaves around the world.

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It is not only cheap clothing brands which relay upon slaves. And this issue is prominent in many countries.

Now I hope that everyone who has been made aware of this is either in shocked, or still feels numb but outraged, from being made aware of common working conditions within England, which you would have expected to have seen die down years ago. But just let this sink in. To this day, industries fueled by global capitalism are benefitting from slaves.

If I am honest, I often find myself in a shop or browsing around on an online website, contemplating on whether I ought to buy certain items of clothing or whether I should resist the brutal, moneymaking business and wait until I can see something sustainable. But often with little time on my hands, and little money to spare I often think that I can’t really afford the price or the time to spend on looking for more expensive sustainable options. Therefore I also plead guilty here. But realistically not everyone has the time or money to browse around for a pair of sustainably sourced trainers, which may take 5 times longer to find, and cost 10 ties the amount…

And what good would it really do if we were to boycott the fast fashion industry all together? Those who work in retail shops need their jobs, and if we stop buying from there all together then the job losses resulting from the pandemic will be even worse than forecasted.

Nonetheless surly there is another alternative, and the way I see it there must be. I read only today that “17% of young people questioned said they wouldn’t wear an outfit again if it had been on instream” (conducted by Hubbub foundation), which shows the extent of how our society is literally fueled by consumerism. Therefore if there is an item of clothing which you see displayed in a shop where you are uncertain about the practices, then ask yourself whether 1) You would wear this on several occasions and 2) if you could actually get a similar item from a sustainable source, such as from a charity or an independent business. If these aren’t the case, then you shouldn’t feel ashamed of buying from these firms, but with many being aware and vocal about these cruel practices, we should be able to form a force which is strong enough to reduce and eventually eradicate slavery. As by showing your concerns, emphasises that you are not happy with the practices by carried out by these brands. Meanwhile if you are able to make purchases from independent outlets or ones where you know that there has been no cruelty involved in making the items, then do just that. Because though it may cost you a little more, you are directly helping the economy more by buying it as you know the workers are being paid proper wages therefore the money is going to the people who need it more rather than to the filthy rich businesses owners, who most likely will grasp it, and the money will do little help otherwise. While I mean buying less of a product is obviously making a point, and the firms will simply have to listen if they want to remain in the industry. Oh, and products which have been sourced responsibly actually have the tendency to last longer…

Finally I would say to keep an eye out for petitions to do with this cause, because like I said in the previous post, when a huge number of people sign a petition on the same issue, eventually there will be a point where so many people sign so many, that at least something will have to be done. I have listed a few to get started, however I am hoping that more will be launched in the near future.

Petition to end modern Slavery

End Slavery in the Modern Fashion Industry

Protect the victims of Modern Slavery

Guarantee support for all UK slavery victims

Opinion: Are signing petitions a waste of time?


Hiya, well I was pondering on what to say next really. In the last few days and weeks, there has been so much news everywhere, from international affairs, tragedies of what has been happening in other countries aswell as stuff which has been going on in the bloody UK. Now then, with all these issues with far less knowledge of them than what I ought to have, I wasn’t sure what to write about. Maybe I could try to raise awareness on one of these issues (again), but there are so many brilliant people already doing so, educating us and helping us attain a better, clearer understanding. Meanwhile there are many issues we still generally don’t seem to have enough knowledge about, maybe things which have hit us in the last few weeks. However I don’t want to be writing something fictitiously, relying on the first piece of information given to me from google search. Rather I would like to get a more rounded image on what is going on, before I say too much.

But thinking about this, it is great that there have been so many fab people raising awareness on online platforms, so we end up being far more informed than what we would be otherwise. Which also enables us to see the need for change more clearly. And what is a better way of doing so than by signing petitions?

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We can make a change!

Yet I know that it is quite easy to become a little complacent when we are now confronted with so many petitions day to day, and we end up becoming rather reluctant to sign each and every one of these. Take the petitions which have been flooding Instagram in the past few weeks. It is unquestionably brilliant that we have taken such an interest in these issues the petitions have been addressing recently, nonetheless I am sure I am not the only one who’s hesitated before or after signing one of these, thinking what difference is my signature actually going to make to the cause- let alone the rest of the world! As while seeing so many petitions receiving so many signatures is very reassuring, making me think that people are genuinely showing more concern about the perturbed state of the world. But then I question whether this spike in signings is just going to die down again, as we become immersed in our own lives once again, and when posting awareness pictures and links on Instagram stories are no longer perceived as a “cool” thing to do.

So I recently heard that the most common platform for sharing petitions (change.org) kept a fat lump of money made from petitions for themselves, as opposed to donating it all/most of it to the cause. Meanwhile they are not fussy about what petitions they will have, meaning they are most likely to have a petition completely against the cause that you are signing for- on their same bloody website. Now did that surprise me? No of course it didn’t… It is just a platform for sharing petitions. But then would it not be better to only sign petitions that aren’t on their website. The issue is, is that they are the most used platform, and unless you are famous, you cannot really make a petition on a different specific website go viral. So then could we say that it is simply better to just donate to a charity of that cause, rather than frazzling about with signing petitions and donating to probably a very wealthy so and so, who will use most of it to go towards a new Ferrari, or to piss up against a wall. Rather than using it to constructively help the cause you are advocating.

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Yet there are some other platforms where you can create and sign petitions such as http://www.thepetitionsite.com where you can easily create petitions as well as sign them, however generally fewer petitions use this platform, and these petitions generally get fewer signatures but they do focus on similar issues including human and animal rights. There is also not the option to “chip in” or at least if there is, I cannot see it, meanwhile it is far quicker and easier to sign them. So we all win! Now back to the money aspect, I think we can conclude that it would be a waste of money to donate via change.org but if you have the money and feel passionate about the cause, then do donate to charities which help with this matter. Whether it be “Best friends animal society” who are non profit and are “dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters”, “building effective programmes which reduce the number of animals in shelters” as well as taking in animals themselves for care. Whilst there are ways anyone can act in a way to help the cause you feel passionate about. Such as supporting black businesses, living a more sustainable lifestyle or by further educating yourself and others. This way society can have a direct influence on the world, without even touching politics!

Woman with long wavy red hair holding an orange tabby cat over her shoulder
Taken from the Bestfriends” animal rights website. Now I would happily adopt this cat!

But with so numerous ways off having a strong positive influence on matters which concern you, why would you choose to sign a petition to be a thousandth, hundred-thousandth or millionth of those who are also signing it, when there is no guarantee (in some cases very unlikely) that anyone will even act upon it? Think of the petition for there to be a second EU referendum, in which over 4 million people signed. Well in this context it may seem irrelevant, however there have been many occasions where petitions have had a positive influence on the outcome. The petition to not let Boris Prorogue parliament got nearly 1.5 million signatures, which resulted in the supreme court declaring his act as unlawful. And even if it doesn’t look like there is any outcome, often there is but it may just be more discreet. The results from that petition could have been the reason why a second referendum was part of Labor’s manifesto in 2019, meanwhile if the signing of petitions shows that there are demands to finally tackle racism. I would think or at least hope that the government would eventually have to do something….

Though we cannot overestimate the effects of these, because the result of petitions does only show a small faction of public opinion, rather than what the majority believe. Which means that even if a couple of million sign one, showing that they support a certain cause, it doesn’t mean that it will be taken seriously by the government- if it seems that the majority of the population are hostile to the cause. Nevertheless we still need to be accounted for, therefore participation in petitions is still far more effective than nothing. While can you think of a more pragmatic way educating and encouraging others to begin supporting our cause, than letting them potentially have a direct influence on the outcome of this?

Furthermore in recent years, governments and political parties have always been influenced by public opinion, even including protests. Where at worst many people become aggressive toward the cause, yet this draws lots of attention to the cause while at best all of the poor political parties end up having to put some of the cause into their manifestos; meaning that public opinion is finally going to end up having to become government policy. Because our own education, has caused us to become swung on an issue, meaning that if a certain party brushes off the environment, they may be at risk of either losing. While we never know, but they may finally see it as an important issue themselves. While petitions differ further, by firstly showing a numerical value suggesting the number of people who support this cause, meanwhile there has to be a key number of signatures in order for this to be debated in parliament. Therefore those in power can see how many support a certain cause. And while these actions don’t always win, they sometimes do, and even if they don’t, we are in effect educating our and the next generation (well if they decide to get off tik tok!) . So why would you want to not be part of this?

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Yep, it is very important to still sign petitions after all…

To conclude I would disagree that signing petitions are always a waste of time, as there have been cases when signing one has lead to action which would not have taken place otherwise. And even without this, it would be much harder to measure our views on some cases plus why would we want to throw away our only means of direct democracy. However it is fair to day that politicians can be rather slow to act upon these, and it can often seem that our aimless clicks are mounting to absolutely nothing. Yet we cannot give up. As we need to remember although they may be flawed, they do still have influence. Alongside ways of educating ourselves and others about the issues the world is facing, as this way we are all collectively contributing to changing the society we live in, making it a better place for everyone.

“Individual efforts can bring excellence, but collective efforts can bring efficiency”

Narendra Modi

Finally I would mention that it is so important to keep on signing petitions which are meaningful whenever; regardless of whether the cause is trending or not. Take the recent petitions relating to the Black Lives Matter movement, and police brutality. As while we can see that the signing of these petitions have lead to some of of these tragic cases finally being investigated, after all the effort we have done, we cant now allow ourselves to turn a blind eye to the numerous injustices fueled by racism which take place every day! Which is just proof that these do work. While though there has been little outcry about animal rights in recent months, there is still an enormous issue which needs to be addressed.

Now I would probably agree that browsing the web for every single petition would be extremely difficult, but it is important to try to sign (and share) what you are able to. Follow sites which share information, continue to take proactive action and continue to question our own standings on issues, to improve society for ourselves and for others.

What the Cluck



What the Cluck? What could this all be about? Maybe an independent butcher who works for Tesco, my growing excitement which arose when KFC reopened, or some spontaneous trip to a farm where I came across a load of chickens. Wrong! Though ironically all three of these points are indirectly relevant to this. But instead this is going to be a little more sinister, as instead I am intending to cover why there have been certain (cough) outbreaks of this (cough) virus in places which cater for those who like to might like eating fried chicken and the like.
Short disclaimer- I am not having a bash at those who choose to eat meat, but rather the barbaric (and dangerous) practices of the meat industry. Because not only is it immensely cruel to the poor animals who involuntarily suffer as a consequence but less obviously, these practices pose a threat to the wellbeing of humans, due to a number of reasons. This post is going to be focused on how this exploitation might lead to outbreaks of various epidemics, the most recent being Covid-19. Now there is clearly evidence in favour of the claim that the exploitation of animals is leading to further outbreaks of covid-19, and while it’s quite possible that the evidence isn’t that clear cut to what I am claiming, there is too much evidence to dismiss this as being just coincidental therefore the meat industry ought to get….. well another roasting (sigh).


Where would be a better place to begin, than starting from the origins off this virus? As it is widely known that Covid-19 originated from a “Wet Market” in Wuhan. Brutal is it’s name “Wet market”, which is attributed to it from the blood that soaks the stalls’ floors after live animals are killed once purchased.” Now the “Oxford learner dictionaries” definition of this is “a market selling fresh meat, fish and vegetables” where “traditional wet markets” sell meat which has been “freshly slaughtered.” The case in Wuhan, alike numerous ones, was just this- with live animals kept alive(in very cruel conditions) before being ready to be killed, or “freshly slaughtered”. And while this all sounds grotesque, how did this actually become the bathing zone for a global pandemic?

Now according to experts, in this particular market there was “cross contamination” which “allowed coronavirus to spread from animals to humans easily”. This is where in Countries including China, India and Vietnam, “animals such as deer, raccoons, crocodiles, and dogs are shown living in filthy conditions, suffering from dehydration, starvation and disease.” This barbaric practice not only leads to a “living hell” for these animals, but the close cross contamination creates the “perfect breeding ground for zoonotic diseases like COVID-19.” Now you may think this is still coincidental, but a report conducted from zoonotic diseases showed that 3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.” Now this includes the outbreak of the influenza pandemic (commonly known as the Spanish flu) in 1918 which killed an estimated 50 million people which was more than any other illness in recorded history in the short time frame. This sparked “new viruses coming from it” which “became common in pigs” where the virus would sometimes spread from pigs to humans.” Then HIV has been traced back to a chimp version “which was  when they hunted these animals for meat, getting exposed to their infected blood.” Meanwhile SARS, another type of coronavirus, is been known to have “originated by half a dozen animal species, including pigs.” This suggests that animals being so close to each other, treated in these inhumane ways, could well be behind many pandemics which have occurred.

You are absolutely correct to think that these practices are beyond disgusting, however many of us are unaware of the extent of these cruel practices elsewhere, for instance take the western world. Take the USA, where to start with, there are still 3 states where animal cruelty isn’t even a crime! However the states where this is allegedly illegal are really far from free of inhumane practices. Factory farms are dotted around all over the USA, wheere I couldn’t think of a more crude way of how animals could be treated, compared to how they are treated inside these. Just as an example, take the breeding of pork: where within just over a week of a piglet being born; their teeth are removed without any pain relief, they’re castrated and they have their tails cut off. Then these are kept in heavily overcrowded conditions, increasing the risks of transmission of certain viruses. And these are animals with the equilivent intelligence to a three year old. However if you were to take a stroll near a village in remote Western England and be confronted by the impressive amount of cows and sheep happily grazing and chanting to one another, you might think that the UK doesn’t have a problem concerning meat production. However what you don’t see is the “8000 livestock mega-farms” where millions and millions of animals (mainly poultry) are kept in the most crowded conditions, before being killed for food. And this doesn’t look as if it is getting any better either, with “a 26% rise in intensive factory farming in six years.” Therefore it would be arrogant to solely blame China for the hygiene issues associated with the meat industry, simply because- most western countries are guilty too… Moreover the assumption that most Chinese people are fond of eating dog meat and the like is an absolute myth! When in-fact the thought of eating dog meat “upsets many Chinese nationals”; with 70% saying they have NEVER eaten it, while with over half believing that the trade should be banned.

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An insight into the conditions of one factory farm within the USA

Not only are these practices barbaric and to me unjustifiable, but they are a potential outbreak zone for diseases which can clearly make humans become ill. “A chicken plant in Wales” had to stop production after there was an outbreak seeing 175 employees contracting the virus. Meanwhile lockdown measures had to be tightened in a German county after “a large increase of covid-19 cases linked to the virus” where over 1500 workers contracted it. This suggests that there might be a strong link between the produce of meat and Covid-19. This is explained partly due to the difficulty of social distancing in these plants, as well as how “Many employers are refusing to provide any financial support for those presenting with symptoms.” While Professor Rowland Kao, a professor of veterinary epidemiology and data science at the University of Edinburgh says “low temperatures have also been shown to result in higher rates of transmission of influenza in experimental studies, and to improve the survival of other coronaviruses such as MERS-CoV. While this is not proven for Covid-19, similar mechanisms may apply.”

But while this might well be part of it, I believe there is a much greater underlining reason as to why so many of these animal places have been linked to outbreaks of Coronavirus. We already know that most diseases which become transmissible in humans come from animals. And this is fairly logical, thinking that most species on the earth aren’t actually human. It is said that Ebola originated from monkeys, while MERS was linked to Camels. Furthermore experts have warned that human activity could lead to more of these zoodic diseases. For example Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, states “the science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife…then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead.” So by looking at it this way, we can see that the way to prevent further epidemics is by reducing or better still stopping the practice of factory farming as well as taking action to prevent further effects of other human activity which can cause further disease which is also linked to climate change- take the bubonic plague in Madagascar which is “spread by rodents fleeting wildfires.”

Finally this has really only delved into one issue with these brutal practices, nevertheless as touched upon a moment back, there are many concerns relating to the exploitation of animals as well as links to outbreaks of epidemics. From issues relating to climate change, food security, growing immunity to antibiotics not to mention links to the Coronavirus, hopefully you can see why the problems with the meat industry need to be further adressed.

Guide to spending summer in whatever kind of lockdown this is



Hi, so this post is aimed generally at anybody who may be in school, collage, or at Uni who has got their summer holiday coming up. Now although now we are able to meet, go to the shops and even go down the pubs, things are still going to be rather different. Sadly it is going to be harder for anyone looking to get a job because of this situation, while I am sure many holidays will have been cancelled (though we can legally visit some countries abroad now). While there are things which we may have liked to do depending on where we are; for some internal ships, for some it would be programs like NCS and for others university open days. And if you are anything like me and you are finding yourself in this situation, you may feel the impinging fear of boredom and unproductivity that the coming 6 week holiday may be lingered in.
This may lead to the overwhelming feelings of guilt. However there are ways to tackle at least some off these obstacles. And while some may not vanish regardless of how hard we try, we can actually enable ourselves to create something new- in this seemingly grey climate that us young people are struggling through. Therefore I will go through each category, worry by worry, and see what can be done.

Money Matters
As I already mentioned, earning money over the summer is going to be a little harder than usual. And though we may envy those who have got a job and reasonable hours secured, I can promise that there are many whom don’t have this sense of security. So here is a list of different potential ways you could earn money over this time.
° Looking for work: So I know this is kind of contradicting what I just said, but don’t lose hope. While as many establishments are reopening, it is likely some of these are going to be hopeful and optimistic that they will get good custom over the summer. Just look at the enormous quews there have been outside takeaways recently. While I’ve noticed too that many local restaurants and hotels have been recruiting (as well as takeaways) round where I live. Therefore it is certainly worth having a look.
Furthermore to get these jobs, I know from experience that it can be more helpful to look on sites like Facebook and gumtree, rather than indeed. Though indeed can be useful, often jobs on there are listed for many weeks therefore they receive many applicants. While jobs listed on platforms on Facebook tend to get fewer applicants, and they may not be listed for as long. While if you have the confidence, then it might even be worth walking into some of these establishments and asking if there are any jobs available. Believe it or not, that’s how I got my first job.

  • Online surveys: Another method of earning money (which I am sure we are all too aware of) is by doing so online. Now there are multiple ways to doing so, but one good way to do this would be by setting up a business. Now this can be tutoring if you are a student, teaching a musical instrument, selling jewelry or whatever else you may be passionate about.
  • Using an Internet site for working: Sorry this doesn’t sound too clear, but if you have a good following on social media you could try influencing, if you are into reading there are platforms where you can give book reviews or if you enjoy blogging there are ways and means of doing this through social media.
    Side note, there are many freelance writing websites, though I have heard that many of you scam you into paying up front, before you are actually paid to do anything.
  • Communication matters
    With it being pretty much definite that social distancing matters will remain in place during summer, social contact with friends will be a little more stranger than usual.
    But this doesn’t mean that this should be awkward and painful, as there are very effective ways to communicate from that distance.
    Going for a walk or going down the park seem the most obvious ways to get around this because you are outdoors in the open, and there should be plenty of room.
    However if you are more of an indoors person, or you would rather go for a trip down the shops, then this may not really appeal to you. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
    Now firstly shops are now open, and I know maybe spending half an hour quewing outside before you are invited in may not be too appealing to you, let alone the huge numbers of people you will bypass during your trip. But to some degree there is a way around this. I would advise visiting early in the morning, say begin between 9 and 10, on a week day where there aren’t going to be too many people around. This way you avoid the stress of the quews, the risk of close contact is minimized and not to mention that the shop will appear cleaner and will be more pleasant to visit. Though at the same time, if you live in an area where there have been a lot of recent cases then it may be best to avoid, but otherwise-the way I see it anyway-you are supporting businesses and therefore people’s livelihoods. Especially if these businesses are small and/or independent!
  • Travel:
    Yup, we might be able to visit Spain and France without even a quarantine. But first of all not everyone would feel comfortable travelling at this moment plus its not much good if you booked a holiday to go to Greece!
    However don’t let this put you off exploring or travelling somewhere new. As this can be possible, even within a few miles of your local area. Perhaps there’s a local beach that you hadn’t visited before, or a place of historical interest that you would like to know more about. Honestly travelling around your local area doesn’t have to be boring at all, because within the last few months even I have discovered new areas which I didn’t necessarily know about, which are in a bike ride’s away. And I am one to obsess with walking around random places and taking far too many photos!
  • Alternatively travel around England is allowed again now, meaning that if you fancy you would be able to go camping. Meanwhile if camping doesn’t suit you (or your family lol) then hotels are going to open. While if you don’t feel comfortable staying in hotels then I am sure there are many places in reach for a day trip. And this doesn’t have to be at much of an expense, as I am sure for many of us- simply walking around a new town would be refreshing, considering what we have been through in the last few months.
    “School work wise”
    Ugh two swear words next to each other are never good. But I am sure I am not the only person who feels a little nervous about what will happen regarding many circumstances.
    Now let’s start with uni because gosh, the thought of having to pick a few places, then end up somewhere we haven’t really seen is pretty unnerving.
    An option could be to look at virtual tours, because then although it isn’t the same as seeing the place for real and it is pretty obvious that they are going to only show us what they want us to see, at least you should be able to see a few of the people who attend and have a look at at least SOME of the university. This way you may be able to get some feel of it, even if that’s not much. An alternative is that they often have online presentations where they give details about a specific course, which may be better as it should be tailored to you, rather than anyone else.
    Alternatively come say September, October and November, universities may well be holding open days than instead, and if you don’t mind leaving things to the last minute and you would rather put the process of picking and choosing a uni off for now(like me) then this is may be a good alternative.
    Online internships/apprenticeships
    Funnily enough I didn’t know what an internships were until a couple of weeks ago, but it is similar to an apprenticeship where you work alongside someone else, doing the work you would be likely to be doing if you were working for someone else. Apart from the fact that often you have to pay for these (rather than getting paid). Nonetheless it is bound to look pretty on the CV, and it is a shame that some of us would be missing out on them. However there are some places which are offering online internships which may be very effective if your field is something that can involve a lot of online activity (therefore nowadays this would appeal to a lot of people!)
    Online courses: This is another way to “up your game career wise” and these should also be enjoyable too! Hunt for one which you may think is career related, or related to what you are/want to take in university- but also one which you would be genuinely interested in. One which looks particularly appealing on “UCAS” forms are what they call MOOCS. Now I don’t quite understand why these are seen as far more worthy than of other, but maybe because the content of these are relevant to similar things you would learn at uni, while the skills they enable you to develop are like those that would be required at university. But rather honestly- I reckon any online course would be great!
    If not then honestly don’t worry. Universities, employers in the future eg will completely understand that there was a pandemic and would recognize that you would have taken up these opportunities if they had been available.
  • Things you could do independently to help yourself

These are what you could do to advance your career and even start up a little career right now. For instance if you wish to go into media you could make a few podcasts yourself, if you wish to go into music you could continue to produce music throughout the summer possibly putting it online and if you wish to go into graphic design you could have a little play around yourself. Therefore this is a way that anyone really can get involved.

CV
When did we last update our CVs? Because at our age, if we have one, even one which is a year’s old can seem very out of date. Therefore It wouldn’t be a bad time to update them. Even if it won’t necessarily benefit us this year, it will definitely come in handy at a later date, and will save you from having to alter it as much then.

Exams
In a way I am very fortunate in that I slipped through this rather well, not being caught out by this during exam season. However for those who weren’t I know that it is a bit messy at the moment.
It may feel like a major inconvenience to some of you now having the “option of taking an exam” when you thought that you wouldn’t need to do them. Maybe because of feeling there’s an expectation to do better, or that you should take the exams now that you have this option or even that unis and work places would think more of you if you attained this grade by taking the exam.
Yeah there’s a lot of worries…
Therefore If you genuinely think that you would feel far better by taking an exam, or if you are unhappy with the predicted grade that’s been given to you, then it’s probably not a bad idea to take the exam. But still remember to take a break and not work yourself up over this. As now that we are “allowed out”, we don’t really want to be spending all day sloughing over some revision.

Just winding down
So to be a bit clique there’s “two types of people”: those who probably watched Netflix throughout this quarantine rather than doing the school work, and those of us who feel bloody guilty when we sit down and watch TV for 10 minutes. Though in reality many feel bad about doing nothing at times, yet we still manage to spend an hour looking at our phones when we are trying to work.
But no, really we all deserve a break. Especially as most of us have been working through a very difficult time, taking on the stress of what is happening around us as well as the stress of day to day work. Therefore take some time out to visit friends and family (responsibly), have some time outside and just have a chance to actually be able to chill at home, without about 6 folders open in front of you!
So have a good one! 🌞🏖️

Monthly Moans: June


So on the radio this morning I heard there was a huge banner going above a football stadium stating “white lives matter” (I don’t know what team it was or in what country it was). Now OK, I can initially understand why people are arguing that all lives should matter, when people of all colours are being affected by police brutality and other prejudices. However from looking at the statistics, it is quite clear that black people are affected far more by this that white people. In the USA, African American people are three times more likely to be killed by a police officer, compared to white people while in the UK, Figures released by the Home Office showed that 12 per cent of incidents involving the use of force that were recorded by police were against black people, who make up only 3.3 per cent of the population. Can anybody actually rationally justify this, or does this clearly show that there needs to be change?


Another pending issue relates to how white people are better off financially, health wise and concerning opportunities. 70% of ethnic minority workers in the UK say they have experienced racial harassment at work in the last 5 years, while 60% say they have experienced racial discrimination from their boss moreover 26.8% of black people in the Uk live in overcrowded accommodation compared to just 8.3% of white people. Now nobody can say this is “only a coincidence” but again it is due to historical inequalities, relating to how one another are viewed and how others are treated. The fact that people of colour are less likely to receive adequate treatment for eating disorders compared to white people, although eating disorders most certainly don’t discriminate, just shows how there are prejudices embedded into our minds, and these need to be gotten rid of. This too could explain issues like the pay gap, and police brutality where we don’t necessarily purposely pick on these people but it’s more  subconscious, as these judged characteristics are already apparent in our minds. 


Moreover I know that some people have been very oppressed to the protests which have been taking place, which could partly be to do with the way that a minority of these have been acting and also probably because due to social distancing. But what has been kept more hushed up is about how many of these police have been treating some of these protesters–being completely innocent ones. (enter facts about what’s been happening). Now surly should this not be getting as much coverage as the knocking down of statues has, if not then more because these are actual people being hurt?  While whatever aspect you may be opposed to, you need to realise that it is still only a tiny minority of people who have been getting involved in this, while the majority of protesters have actually been maintaining social distancing. However like with anything the protests  And if you want to argue the same thing concerning the police, then yes. I totally agree with you and I do respect the vast majority of police and the vast majority of what they do. While I would argue that we do need more police to keep our streets safer. Nonetheless there is a very visible problem and this needs to get corrected. Therefore I think it is important that police are collectively respected while we recognize there is an issue which needs to be fixed (within wider society too) meanwhile we need to respect what the protesters too are standing for. In fact it is essential to do so. 


Of course we need to view society as wholesome, rather than splitting people up into different groups such. But until all biases are erased, we need to focus on how we can do this. By making people aware and educated, while trying to better our own understanding. Therefore if we work to eradicate problems faced by the oppressed, then everyone can feel this sense of collectiveness, rather than there being members of our society who are still facing belittlement .And no, I am not suggesting that I have all the answers, however ignoring these problems isn’t going to achieve anything, thus it’s best to continue with open ears. 

Answering a few Questions


Hiya, so I am amazed to find that I have been nominated for “blog of the year 2020”? by https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/ and I would like to say thankyou 🙂 And for this I have been asked to answer a few questions. Now to be brutally honest,. I have left this so late. As I basically had a lot on my plate, intended to answer these, then lost them.

But I have managed to delete a few (out of nearly 2000) photographs off my phone, and while doing so, I found the screenshot of the question. So, lets get started!

1. Where do most visits from your blog come from

Now my visits predominately come from the UK, however I am surprised to see that there are a good number of people who visit from all over the world. So I would like to say hello and thankyou to anyone who visits this page, whether you live in the same home as me, or whether you are a complete stranger and we are separated by thousands of miles of land and sea, yet connected by this world wide web 🙂

2. What is your favourite sport?

Oh yes, running!! Running late, running away from my problems and running into things. Now I wouldn’t comment on whether it is enjoyable, but it is the only sport that I am good at. In a matter of fact, I reckon I would make it into the Olympics if there was a triathlon including these three incredible factions of one sport.

Ok, actually I do like one or two sports so I will go with swimming. Especially in the sea. It is relaxing, it is not boring due to the changes and variation in atmosphere and there’s fewer people!

3. What has been a special moment for you so far in 2020?

Oh God. I don’t actually have an answer to this one, because things this year have been pretty grim. Though obviously we are all hopefully learning some valuable lessons from this! I guess seeing some of the kindness and sense of community within society because of this. As it gives you hope that things can change, and humans might collectively be really good, generous loving beings.

4. What is your favourite quote

Well I am not sure, as I am never much good at remembering these. However I think “wake up every morning and tell yourself that you’re a bad ass bitch from hell, and that no one can fuck with you” (mentally or physically) by Kate Nash is one that sticks.

As you need to remember who you are and remember how important it is to be strong 🙂 Don’t let anybody mess with ya! Oh and Kate Nash is an incredible artist, in-fact one of my all time favourites, so if you get a moment- then check out her music!

5. What is/was your favourite class when still at school?

Well I am kind of still in school, or at least 6th form. It is hard to say what my favourite class is (or was if it is a subject which I have dropped) as there are some aspects within each lesson I do which I really enjoy, and I guess some aspects which I don’t find so compelling.

I will say that voting behaviour and general political science in politics is very interesting (though I always do shit in the essay, but probs because I overcomplicate them so much then go off on a tangent) while behavioural economics is fascinating. Though I have only just begun learning about it!

6. Anything you had wished you had learned earlier?

Hell yes. Probably many things, however mainly I wish I could have learned to not be afraid of myself or embarrassed by myself. It has definitely prevented me from mixing with people who I would have liked to have known more, or has stopped me from attending clubs which I probably would have enjoyed. Not to mention making social contact.

I know now that I am who I am, and there are many others who feel marginiaised because their characteristics aren’t exactly conventional, but there are so many who are in this box, and so many of us who are probably hiding it. Therefore i think that no one should be embarrassed of themselves or be trying to hide themselves, and instead just embrace it. Makes life far less of a strain and far more enjoyable.

If I am honest, my brain is still automatically working in this way, but at least I know now what I should be doing, so I hope that gradually things will improve for good.

7. Which politician would you never vote for, supposing you could never vote for him or her?

Well, in the UK politicians literally drop like flies. So unless there’s some immense disaster in parliament, it will be a few more years until I actually get to vote in a general election :((

Therefore come then, Boris may well choose to retire or step down- especially if things carry on as they are. So instead, I would say that I could never vote for the conservative party. As I know what their aims are: opposing increased welfare to those who need it most, shutting the doors which could lead to a stronger international community and provoking the public into fear of change. The way I see it anyway, they are opposed to any forward change or sense of equality.

And while I wouldn’t exactly call myself a die hard socialist, the last few months more than anything have proven that our society needs to change. Mainly the attitudes towards various groups of people and how the way some occupations are perceived as far more deserving of high pay than others. While some of the lowest paid workers, work harder than most of us…

So come 2023…Vote!

Why I am not stressing about A-level mocks (and why you shouldn’t be either)


Hi, well I will be honest with you and say that my title is a bit of an overstatement. Meaning that naturally the idea of having mocks and the idea that the grade which I obtain will partly determine my “UCAS” predicted grade, does cause a little anxiety. However at the same time I am telling myself that there is no real reason why I, or anyone, needs to be worried.

I know that many feel especially anxious because of this reason on top of the immense disruption to our learning, which we have all experienced. But I know that I have “done my best” therefore why should I waste my time worrying? I would also like to acknowledge that “we are all in the same boat” however I am aware that this is not entirely true. As we are all experiencing our own issues, and we all go to different schools/collages of varying degrees of helpfulness. Nonetheless regardless of these circumstances (which I know suck), this will be ok!

So here are the reasons why stressing about exams is unnecessary. now I will start with the more “basic” reasons, but then I will move on to why the value of exams (or mocks, or unis or whatever else) is immensely overestimated!

Disclaimer- I know that this these experiences regarding sixth fform and exam arrangements arrange massively between people, therefore some of mmy experiences I am taliing about are going to vary very differently to yours.  Therefore feel free to comment your experiences!

1. Teachers aren’t expecting you to do as well as you would have necessarily done so otherwise

Ok, so it may not seem that way- when a teacher sends you this perpetual power-point on politics where you seem to write about 4 A4 sheets of notes, in the equilivant to one lesson. Or when you get an attachment to an A level economics “tutor to you lesson” where the videos collectively take up about 90 minutes of watching- never mind making the notes! Nonetheless, any teacher with some humanity (which is most of them, believe it or not) is going to understand that working from home isn’t any where near as effective than completing assigned tasks in a classroom environment.

They will realise that naturally us young people absorb less motivation and for that matter, knowledge penetrating from a laptop compared to in a proper lesson. Therefore we are all going to struggle. And I also reckon it is the same for teachers! Because if my teachers were as motivated while at home, then surly they would stick to their hour long “zooms”, while still producing attractive looking notes for us all (though I will thank mine and other teachers- as I know that all of mine and so many others have been working extensively hard during this lockdown). But anyway- nobody naturally is going to be as self displined at home, and take stuff in as much, and teachers do understand this. Therefore no one will be “mad” if we do slightly less well than expected.

2. Think of how low next years grade boundaries will be

So we all know that we are struggling collectively. Therefore if we are all a little behind, then the grade boundries will creep down to our level. Now as we probably know, these boundries are not set in stone. Remembering GCSE’s, the teachers would always stress that these do adjust year to year depending on how well we do. Possibly because of the varying difficulties of each batch of exam papers from year to year.

While next year, the exam boards will be all too aware that we will be the year who has gone through a pandemic. Therefore it is obvious that collectively, we would have potentially have done better in our exams if it hadn’t been for this. Therefore all exam boards will have no choice but to lower the grade boundaries.

Teachers will be well aware of this too, so if one doesn’t do quite as well as what would have been expected otherwise, teachers will have to make allowances for this. Therefore the “mock” expectations will also be lowered, so we will probably still have the predicted grade which we deserve.

3. “They are only mocks”

Yeah, the thought of having “mocks” always brings a sense of impending doom upon us all, however teachers know us relatively well, and know roughly what we are capable of. Therefore if we don’t do too well in these tests but we have generally been doing well all year, then teachers are going to realise that our mock result doesn’t determine what we will actually get or what we are actually capable of. So its fine…

Now it is fair to also say that a teachers view on what we can achieve is far more subjective than the result in a mock, but consuidering it- the accpomplishment of a mock or an actual test is as well. Considering it is hard to predict how we will exactly perform on a specific day.

However the two can bring about a good kind of bridge for assessment.

4. We still have time

So the thought of attaining a predicted grade, made up from an assessment of a teacher who you may have only known for less than a year, plus an exam that has kind of been thrown upon you still doesn’t sound great does it? Hopefully, even so, these combined may give some good insight. However we have over 4 months of education (hopefully in school) before this grade is finalised, therefore plenty of time to prove what you are capable of. So if you keep on persisting with a subject, then you could easily hatch that grade up by one, or even two letters.

And that’s basically my attitude. If I fuck up these mocks, I have four months to work hard, and show the teachers that I am capable of attaining better grades than what I would have done in mocks.

5. Better than having them in September!

So some argue it is ridiculous to have thesel, considering that we will have hardly been at school sinse early march. Yeah, you may claim that is an entirely unnecessary burden of stress. But think about it…

Would you really want to be worrying about these throughout the summer holidays? I know I certainty wouldn’t. I deserve a break and you all do too!

However if you are in the bloody situation of having to do these in September, firstly I don’t envy you; but just try your best to switch off during the summer, and only begin to worry about these as you return. Because otherwise it is just counter productive, and you deserve a break anyhow!

6. We often assume the worst of ourselves

Now I don’t know about you, but I hate it when you are in a classroom after compleating some sort of mock test, or just before you get the result of it. And all you can hear are people saying, “I’ve done so badly”, “I know that I have failed” or “I have definitely ggot a U”. It is actually so offputting, but most of us do it. Maybe so then if we talk ourselves down, then when we get a grade above what we have been saying, but maybe slightly below what we may have hoped to have gotten, we don’t feel quite so bad about ourselves. But also I think that naturally we have the tendency to think the worse off oursleves.

Therefore we are bound to feel worried about mocks, thinking that we are going to do terrifically bad. when in reality we do know more than we think we do. Therefore push that “bad grade” up in your mind, and remember that it doesn’t define your self worth regardless.

7. We have been caught in the middle of a pandemic

This has been so harmful for us all in ways. Nobody is expected to do so well learning, or doing whatever, when there is so much going on in the world. Which has firstly been worrying and overwelming for everyone to some extent, but it has also been a massive learning curve for us all. Until then, we didn’t kow how to stay away from friends for such a large period of time, how to automatically keep 2 metres away from those conflicting passers by on our walks, not to mention in the supermarket, not to mention being able to focus on as much work at home as ever before! All whilst we have been learning about the nature off this virus, about how the world around us can change so rapidly and um….how rubbish our government is…

Therefore who is expected to be so produictive. Yeah, we may have parents who have been working throughout, and we may know people our age who have been woorking in supermarkets (don’t ask me how…). Howeverthough we are almost adults, we are still very young. And even when we turn 18 even when we are 20 something, we are still classed as young adults. This doesn”t make usstupiud at all! But means that theres generally more to take in at this age, as we have seen less off the world than maybe our older counterparts though I definitly feel we have taken more in, than they would have at our age…

While A levels require taking in a lot of information.. Therefore it is naturally going to be more difficult, when there has been a pandemic- where we have also been required to take a lot in…

7. Grades don’t “define” you

Now you may quite rightly feel that despite of this pandemic, some are going to be more effected by this than others. And I cannot deny that this is true. We all struggle in different ways, but I know this will have been especially hard for some people. I guess this enhances that up to a point, however even if this hadn’t happened, people still struggle with stuff throughout their education, which can seem, and is immensly unfair.

Attaining slightly lower grades because of what life brings you, isn’t a sign of being “weak” or being “less intelligent”. It makes you incredibly strong.

Unfortunately this is something that universities don’t necessarily realise either, or they like to conceal it. But anyone who has or is in this situation, what you have gone through personally is more of a sign of strong willpower, and being able to get further in actual life, than any letter on a piece off paper would ever be!! (yup, 2 explanation marks, because this is some important ass stuff).

But we don’t just learn from what is taught to us at school and a number doesn”t define our intelligence; not to mention our wisdom or kindness. In-fact I think that wistom is far more important than intelligence. This way why on earth should we ponder upon grades?

8. There’s more than one university!

Now I know that many desire to get into oxford of Cambridge (or “Oxbridge” if you want to sound extra prestigious haha). And while I am too lazy for all that, I wouldn’t have minded going somewhere like London or Bristol. However for the course I want to take, Kings collage requires three As. And I mean it would be nice if I could get that, but really what would happen if I don’t? There’s Cardiff, there’s other less posh ones in London, and there are many others to be properly discovered and noted down when I stop procrastinating.

Same course. Less chance of being in the same lecture hall as a future tory minister (ever so sorry!).

Oh and less pressure! phew….

9. So much more to yourself

Now far more plays toward who you are, as well as simply grades! Just think about what you have overcome in life to reach this point. Just think of what personal virtues you may hold, or may attain in the next few years. Think of your personality in general, or about what else you are good at.

You really don’t need to put your worth down to how well you do in a test (well a few of them). That would be ridiculous.

10. So much more to life…

Honestly there is not only soo much more about you, compared with the grades you get, but there is so much more to be seen and achieved in life.

Just think, you don’t know if a place at a certain university will get you a specific job in the future- let alone a job you enjoy- not to mention a life!

Therefore these grades (especially these mocks) play such a miniscule role in just everything really. Therefore why worry so much?

From having an alarmingly over the top attitude toward GCSE’s (though I would still constantly stress how I thought they didn’t matter) and until a few months ago I was rather anxious about these impending mocks, I am glad that I have had somewhat success in playing down these worries.

Honestly life is too short, and it is something I want to work on, not only concerning exam- but everything…

Small things in life which we can appreciate at all times


Hi, so decided to put up a little list of small things in life that you can apprecriate at anytime. Now it is partly a coincidence that I happen to be writing this considering the time period that we are in. However knowing that this is somewhat-very difficult for anybody, regardless of your situation, I thought it would be an appropriate time to do this. I think that we have all been at/or will be at a point in life where we feel that our lives are rather dry, for whatever reason. Nevertheless there are always things- which may seem so small- but are actually incredibly important in making s happy every day. And I think often we have the tendency to under estimate these things, meanwhile we put what we think we want “the bigger things”, in front of us. Then we realise we haven’t even got the time for the things which matter the most. Come on, we have all done it…

So anyway! Here are the important things…

1. Sunsets:

I am actually so obsessed sometimes, it is ridiculous. Now whenever I come across these, I cannot resist taking a snapshot of it, even if this is simply outside the window! Just the colours are so magnificent! It is just- wow… It reminds me of how much beauty our planet does have, in-spite of anything else which may be happening.

As well, I feel they are kind of symbolic, firstly showing us how much beauty the sun really attains, by it’s compelling show of colours, but also that the sun will fall (hence sunset) nonetheless we know the sun will rise yet again!

Fairly old photo, and I don’t like the angle which I took this at, though you cannot deny how beautiful the sky is!

2. Baby birds (and really any other baby animals, or just animals)

This is something I have only begun to appreciate recently, as the world has quietened down, and enabled many lives of birds to begin. Seeing them all lined up together behind its parent, is one of the most beautiful things. And believe it or not, before this I wasn’t even sure if I ever remembered sighting baby geese before.

This is something I have only begun to appreciate recently, as the world has quietened down, and enabled many lives of birds to begin. Seeing them all lined up together behind its parent, is one of the most beautiful things. And believe it or not, before this I wasn’t even sure if I ever remembered sighting baby geese before… Or maybe we are just noticing small things more now- because of lockdown.

It upsets me how blurry this is, and it certainly didn’t come out like this when I took this on my phone. But I promise there were goslings!

3. Music

Like so many of us, I have had a massive appreciation of music long before any experienced pandemics, during both rough and promising times. Turning to artists expressing similar emotions, experiences or opinions to my own. While in the midst of lockdown, I find simply listening to music can really uplift your mood, but also can be incredibly inspiring.

I know many artists have been making and releasing music during this period, including Charli xcx who has made and released another album, in the midst of all this, and I have promised to myself that I will listen to this… Now I have also listened to Hayley William’s new album, Petals for Armour which I love, as well as many throwbacks. But unfortunatly I am a person of habit and I tend to listen to the same things which I connect with, rather than widening my horizons, therefore in the next few weeks I am hoping to actually listen to more. As well as learning to play a few songs on the guitar.

See the source image
The talented creator of Petals of Armour, and the lead singer from Paramore, Hayley Williams

4. Art

Ok, you may not necessarily realise it, but it is kind of everywhere. Unlike before, when you could only really come across it in an art gallery, there is a huge range which is accessible to us in a click. Or even without, as we can come across it without even wanting to, or even on the streets. Now if I am honest, art is something I happen to stumble across rather than search for, however I never regret seeing what I see.

So throughout this, there have been many releases of art due to the Coronavirus pandemic, including from Damien Hurst who produced the digital “rainbow heart design” where all purchases go toward helping “felix project, London’s largest food redistributor.” Whilst a new “banksy” has appeared outside an NSH hospital. But it is not only professional artists who are powerful during this or any other time, anything done by anybody is. I have recently seen so much “stone art” gathering in certain areas, mainly in tribute of the NHS, but created by mainly children. Whilst I think that many have turned to art as a means to stay sane during these times, however I have also begun thinking of it as being a bit like a time capsule. As some will obviously be stored in art galleries, while others will be as simple photographs on a phone. And artwork can convey strong messages, and these don’t need to be at all negative, in-fact much of this is telling us to be strong during these tough times; with the message that “everything is going to be ok.”

So at any time, art can be so calming, reassuring and simply pleasant to look at- or even create!

Just some of the beautiful stone art which I discovered along one of my local beaches

5. Food

Now this almost seems too simple, considering we need this anyway. But I feel to those who are lucky enough to be able to stay at home now do have more time to be spending on “home cooking” eg, and probably for the best, considering there is now a more limited choice for alternatives. I feel when we have the time, home cooking can actually be enjoyable, and really the options are unlimited. Baking has too been proven to be a favourable pass time explaining why there have been shortages in flour!

6. Books:

So I know often when I am reading a book, what can be happening in a book there are more bad things happening within it, than there are currently. So you may think, oh well why would I want to read about something bad? For me, it is still a distraction, and I know that none of it is true, although it can often be based on some of the sort. I have recently been reading some crime stuff as well as a Jane Austen book (where I am not too sure how far I will get with, because put it this way, it is quite hard going (I am actually so thick haha). But there are many other kinds of books which can be read for pleasure, which are not as depressing, and I am still trying to find what I am most into. So keep reading, and eventually you will find what you like!

While even if at now, or any point, you struggle with the time it takes to read something; it isn’t necessarily a reason to put yourself off! Even if it is for 15 minutes for each night before bed, instead of that amount of time on the phone, it definitly does add up- and before you know it, it is a book read. As well, it can help with sleeping so much.

So reading, believe it or not, is something which can be enjoyed by everybody!

7. Helping others

So I know this sounds like work apart from anything else, but as well as it doing the person you’re helping a lot of good, it is also very good for you and your wellbeing. It can feel so rewarding, even just the smallest of acts.

Now you may wonder how you can actually help others when you may have limited time or opportunity; but it doesn’t always necessarily mean spending two hours each day volunteering somewhere. Instead it can be as simple as checking up on a friend, offering to do the shopping or some other chore or even as simple as picking something off the shelf for somebody less able to reach. Now this can be done at any time, though I know that during lockdown, many have been helping more.

8. The rain

What on earth is she on? Yeah if you know me well, you know I don’t usually like the rain or cold weather, like at all. However strangely enough, I have begun to appreciate it more. Especially when I am indoors! Now I enjoy listening to the rain as I go to sleep and also watching the water droplets falling further and further down the windows.

9. Exercise

Right I am getting crazier. But once you get into it, it IS actually enjoyable.. There is definitely something for everyone and the feeling during and after is something we can definitely appreciate.

10. Coffee

Yup, due to not being “in” sixth form, it is now almost compulsory for me to have a coffee at around 11am regardless. It is a great energy boost, smells great and tastes great and who needs costa when you can make it better yourself?

11. TEA!

Everybody should like tea, and there’s just something so refreshing about calmly drinking with tea. Also there is such a range of types and flavours of these, which is incredible considering that tea is made up of a few crushed leaves, of , well tea plant.

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Different types of tea leaf

12. Plants

So recently I have had a little more time to spend attending to my plants, and not long after the garden centre opened, I couldn’t resist not buying a few more. It is just so rewarding to watch them grow, while watering them makes you feel like you are enabling this growth. While they are known to purify the air, reduce risks of long term and short term illness, while boosting your mood.

New inmates of my plant colony!

13. Rainbows!

I find the rainbow so beautiful and compelling for more than just one reason! But there is something just so momentous about looking up to the sky and sighting a rainbow. The way it is just there, and really changes the way the sky looks. And though really it is a kind of optical illusion. Ironically the rainbow is now very symbolic during this virus, because “after a storm, becomes a rainbow.” And it is so true, and there is something beautiful about when a really touch period ends and there is light. Plus it is light which is so clear, colourful and unique to see; as we all begin to appreciate the positive times more so than before.

Therefore although life can definitely feel overwhelming and pretty depressing at times, it is crucial to remember what really matters. Although it is important to know the big picture, very often this isn’t in sighting. Therefore all we can do is try our best to play our part however the small details are so important and are so easily forgotten. And while many don’t have time for these for one reason or another, I think it is important to make the time when we can. Even if it is only at the weekend, or 15 minutes before bed. As if we don’t, we are missing a large chunk from the enjoyment of life. And I am not going to plainly state that life is beautiful, even though I think it is. There are numerous ugly elements too contained in life, which we are all too aware of- nevertheless there is genuinely so much beauty too to be discovered!

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It will all be ok!

Personal side note: While I am adding in the photographs, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed about everything. Having looked at a couple of photos from almost a year ago (school prom), it reminds me how different things were then. While although I grumbled enough at the time, I wouldn’t mind going back to then. Or even GCSEs.

But I feel now we are (or were) definitely in a period of time that we will never forget. As we look back on it, almost oblivious to it having ever happened.

Black lives really do matter and we all have the right to protest; peacefully + to LEARN:


Hiya, so what I am writing about has been on mine, well all of our minds really, in the past couple of weeks. I wasn’t actually thinking of writing about this however as we have seen, many things have taken off in the last couple of days, and there really have been a huge range of conflicting views, where some feel it is immensely important to not only raise awareness online but to take this out onto the street- while others are at disgust at the threat that a small minority of protesters have on some of our most iconic statues: leading them to also take to the street in order to protect these. While others think that we shouldn’t be protesting at all because we are all still in the middle of a pandemic! So then, what should actually happen. Well , personally anybody should have the right to protest providing no harm is done while everyone should be educated about the surrounding issues as best as possible. Believe it or not, generally I think that this has been happening in reaction to what has happened. Though there is a minority of people, on both sides whom I think are taking this too far, meanwhile it is SO IMPORTANT that we combat racism!

Group of people peacefully protesting in York, UK

Now to begin with, in many countries NOT excluding the UK, there are tremendous levels of racism. Whether it is disguisable or not. There is a far greater proportion of victims of police brutality coming from ethnic minorities in the UK, in comparison to those categorised as “white, British”. Between 2017 and 2018, there were 10 arrests per thousand of white people compared to 35 arrests per 1000 black people. While if you find this shocking, “black people are more than 8 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police” while the “metropolitan police is four times as likely to use force against black people”. What’s more is that a study showed that 42% of millennial employees had experienced or witnessed racism in the workplace. Now if this can’t make you outraged, then I don’t know what can…

Furthermore lets talk education. Now I was NOT aware of the immense levels of racism which occur within the UK, or elsewhere. I knew that there may be SMALL levels of police discrimination here in the UK, and I expected this to be worse within the USA and other countries. But not to this extent. Initially I wasn’t too surprised at the George Floyd killing, having some knowledge on police brutality. But in the wake of the outrage following this, I begun to realise the hideous reality faced by so many people! Therefore it is essential that we all continue to listen to others, educate ourselves and then speak up about these matters ourselves! We should ALL be disgusted about this, as although we do not face this ourselves, it is our country and world therefore our duty to make it a fair place for everybody!

Moving onto the statues. Reading what I have said, you may or may not be surprised about what is about to follow. However I do not condone ruining or dilapidating statues and I will go onto why I think that is the case. Nevertheless I do symaphasise with these people choosing to do so…

The statue of Robert Clive stands outside the Foreign Office
Many have called for the removal of Robert Clive, who had links with the slave trade and was widely revealed as “one of the most hated men in England”

Quite rightly so, people are outraged about how so many years have passed, nevertheless we still have not managed to overcome the prejudism within our country, let alone in others. Meanwhile during the lifetime of some of these people represented in these statues, we were a far more racist society. Thus in some respects, you could claim that British history is actually rooted in racism. Yet I personally believe that some of these people have done genuine good for the history of the UK, and while too there are repulsive elements of their legacy, in many cases, it is still history. Which we shouldn’t hide, but instead educate others about, and accept this was the past and there was some good, yet now we can and should move forward and do much better!

But who the hell are some of these people then, really?

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3, 2, 1 and… Sploosh! Edward Colstone’s statue plunging into the Avon.

Initially when I watched videos of Edwards Colston’s statue plunge into the River Avon, not to mention him becoming knocked off the post- I was fuelled with satisfaction. Having become informed that he was a slave trader (I didn’t know who he was before then). Though he also supported and endowed schools and hospitals in Bristol and elsewhere. But does this justify his brutal actions and involvement in the slave trade? Absolutely not! And I think that most of us would agree. Now let’s Winston Churchill, who unlike Colston we all know of, and we generally perceive him as having been a good person. A war hero! He inspired the Nation with quotes like “blood, sweat and tears” and historian Max Hastings states well that “It was his inspiration that prevented Britain from joining the rest of Europe in surrendering to the might of Nazi Germany,”. Though what is less known is that he also held very controversial views regarding race and disability. According to TheWeek.com, he was “a keen supporter of eugenics” which is something he actually had in common with the Nazi party. While he “drafted a piece of legislation which mandated those suffering with mental illness to be steralised”. He also admitted that he didn’t think a “great wrong” had been done regarding the takeover of the “red Indians of America” or the “black people of Australia” by a “stronger, higher grade race”. Therefore was he good or bad? Regardless, most believe that he did a great deal of good for the country, meanwhile if you don’t agree- his legacy was enormous! While Baden Powell, founder of the scouts, is also allegedly a Nazi sympathizer and a racist. It has been revealed that he “was invited to meet Hitler after holding friendly talks about forming closer ties with the Hitler youth movement”. While he “attacked masturbation and homosexuality”. However we cannot forget what he has done for the Scout movement. But it is fair to say that many of the UK’s historical figures did hold abhorrent views regarding race. So perhaps it may be a case here those who have done more harm than good get removed and the others stay?

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Baden Powell’s statue, having been boarded up. Also this is my photo 🙂

But I think that the actual issue doesn’t lie within the presence of the statues, yes it is immensely devastating that so many of our historical figures showed such abhorrent views, but what is worse is that we still haven’t gotten rid of racism within our society after all these years. While many (including myself) weren’t completely enlightened on the force of racism in the past, and certainly weren’t aware on the amount still reoccurring today…

Therefore I think that it is a lack of education as opposed to what has happened. Children should be taught about the past, not only in advances which have been made, and battles which have been won, but the reality of how so many were treated with such barbarism. As well as the imperative advances which need to be made to this day! While institutions within the UK should work harder on providing people with more information on the reality of the ugly involvements in British history- then possibly reconsider celebrating some of this. But not hiding it.

This way we should be well enough informed to fight any current inequalities. While we need to realise that the mammoth majority of those of us quite rightly advocating for BLM, are not particularly interested in any statues- and MOST CERTAINLY don’t want any violence. Rather we want to see a world where everyone is treated and perceived with equal worth!

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Black lives matter protester, pictured carrying a counter protester to safety after becoming injured.

Finally I know this is a subject very challenging to have a conversation about. As so many have such strong views on this, on either side. However I do think it is important to talk about these issues, in order to continue to raise awareness, and so that us as a Nation (and world) are able too genuinely move forward. As it is only people who have the power to combat these issues for good, and collectively- there is absolutely no reason why this wold be impossible.

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Let’s prove that we can all do better than this!

Pride Month: What pride means to me and why it SHOULD be celebrated.


We are in Pride month, a month to well…celebrate “gay pride”. Usually this would be the time when many “pride marches” take place up and down the country, with streets filled with glitter, rainbows and partying… What is there not to love about that? However this year is going to be rather different. It is likely that many feel pride has been cancelled, because many communities cannot get together. Yet if anything, I feel pride is needed more this year than before.

Whilst I know that there’s many people who believe that “pride” is not really necessary within our country because legally we are not faced with inequality any more. While some may question why we should be “proud” of our sexuality, when it is simply apart of who we are. Then some seem keen on a “straight pride”, thinking they have just as much reason to celebrate. But actually the inequalities regarding sexuality amoungst many other issues, are just as relevent now, regardless as to where you live, than ever before…

Creator of 'straight pride' flag says he's not homophobic
Yup, lets all wave a black and white flag outside, this month!

For a start, think about how recent these changes in rights have been. And this is for those of us who are lucky! Only in 2014 was it made legal for those of the same sex to marry one another! While only in 2001, the age of consent was lowered to the same age for homosexual couples to hetrosexual couples (which is 16). This just shows the extent of the inequity experienced by homosexual people in such recent times, even in socially liberal countries! Moreover in the USA, trans people aren’t allowed to serve in the military, due to being barred from doing so in April 2019, which pushed many out of it. This shows that there are many battles still to be won, concerning some of our fundamental rights.

While if you still consider us lucky, there are many who are having to conceal their sexuality or gender on a day to day basis, to those who they should be able to relay upon the most for confort and nurturing. Many sadly live in households, which are anything but accepting. With the prevaling fear that if they were to reveal who they are, they could be subject to disbelief, abuse or even disownement. This just proves how so many people who are part of this community cannot live and express themselves freely within our country, due to enourmous misjudgements and misconceptions which are still held today.

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Although many in the UK are able to openly express themselves, there are many people who cannot open up to their families?

Furthermore considering the prevelent stories in the news within the last few days- concerning inequality- I cannot forget how priviliged I am. Firstly there are many countries in which simply being openly part of this isn’t allowed, let alone marriage. There are many countries where people would be subject to imprisionment for being LGBTQ+ and even life sentences. However if this isn’t bad enough, in Iran those openly gay can face the death penalty.

While LGBTQ+ African Americans continue to be extremely disadvanced, with a report conducted in 2012 finding that “32% of children being raised by black same sex couples live in poverty, compared to 13% of children being raised by hetrosexual black couples”. While obviously the last few weeks have shown that racism is still such a rampant problem, really all over the world- homosexuality is another factor which faces huge discrimination…

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People from ethnic minorities and STILL face more inequality!

But what actually is the meaning of pride? Now I think it means something different to everyone, and is very open for intrepratation. However for me, it is to acknowledge how far the LGBTQ+ movement has come in achieving a fairer society for us, meanwhile acknowleding how much further we need to go torward achieving complete justice here and afar. It is a way of celebrating our diversity, when many have faced, or are facing persecution because of it. While normally it would be an occasion for many of us to come together, however this year it is more about doing so digitially (wihich has been the case concerning much else). I also think it is to provide a voice for those who are not able to openly celebrate or speak out, making our voice stronger to account for those who cannot be heard.

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Now finally a message to anyone within, or to anyone who supports the LGBTQ+ community, there are obvioulsy many hideous views held by so many. However it is important to be fairly “soft” on these people, and rather than screaming about their poor understanding, educate them. Unfortunatly many people have been brought up into families or backgrounds whom hold very misjudged views on these matters, therefore others are likely to pick these up. While even within the LGBTQ+ community, there are varying biasies toward one another, which SHOULD NOT BE THERE! But the best way to overcome this, is to educate ourselves and to educate others.

Therefore I will conclude this on my hopes for the future. I hope that celebrations attributed to the LGBTQ+ community aren’t worn down in the next few years, as they are still equally as needed. To anybody within the community, or to anyone really fcing any kind of inequality, continue to stand your ground. The world is a place which should be accepting to all, and the world has room for everybody. Continue to educate others, continue to speak out- but most of all, continue to try and find comfort within yourself.

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