To Join or Not to Join the World of Social Media?

Now I bet there are a lot of people out there who have made a minor attempt at setting up a Twitter account, a blog (ahem), a LinkedIn profile and then have left it sitting there doing nothing, being of no use to anyone.

I talk from experience my fellow reader.  I too am guilty one too many times of seeing something that looks interesting, making an attempt to get started and then forgetting to maintain it.  If it's something you haven't done before then lack of knowledge and the initial lack of a community or following may discourage you from continuing to use social media.  However, I urge you to stick with it!

I recently wrote a blog for work discussing why it's a good idea to set up a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn account for networking and job hunting purposes.  Even if you're not an active job hunter, it still enables you to join a network where you will know the latest information about your industry.  Head hunters are very open to sharing this information with those they engage with, so don't be afraid to connect with them.

Within the aforementioned blog, you'll see I've provided you with a few tips for getting up and running on LinkedIn which I hope you'll find useful.

Another link you may find interesting is the following regarding Intel's social media recruitment strategy.  A great example of how companies are now realising that social media has become such a permanent fixture within people's lives, that this is a fantastic platform for engaging with a) the type of people they want to employ and b) their customer base where they can also gain some intelligence and brand awareness for free!

I guess the overall message of this blog is "get stuck in".  If you're going to start using a social networking site then throw yourself into it because that's how you'll get the most out of it!

Two Tickets to Condale Please!

Summer Camp – a band whose sound is truly symbolic of those hazy summer moments. You know the ones: lying on the beach in the sunshine breathing in the salty sea air, the nights of drinking too much strawberry cider, the smell of dew on the grass carried by that gentle evening breeze and the taste of that sweet summer crush on your lips. All of that wrapped up in a strong American 80s vibe with a modern British twist is the brilliance of Summer Camp and what proves them to be so amazingly addictive.

My addiction has grown somewhat within only a few hours as Gemma (the best friend) and I had the joy of watching them perform live last night at The Rainbow in Birmingham. It wasn’t a massive venue with the biggest crowd which to me was an added bonus. Intimate gigs are always the best and you leave buzzing and feeling privileged that you’ve experienced something wonderful with only a small group of others.

The level of talent radiating from the band was immediately obvious as they began their first song Welcome To Condale. The singing duet consists of quirky Jeremy Warmsley and the beautiful Elizabeth Sankey, also an engaged duet off stage who clearly posses a love for one another which cannot be hidden and is shared during their performance. Both own incredible voices; powerful and complementary to one another and when combined creates a sound like no other. This was proved further when performing songs acoustically; walking through the crowd at one point singing Losing My Mind with only Jeremy’s guitar which they dedicated to Spencer- one can only assume someone they hold close to their hearts as the importance of that dedication seemed to overwhelm Elizabeth and the crowd as a soft ambience spread amongst us whilst we softly sang along. That was another fantastic thing about their gig; the raw emotion behind their songs, something which seems easily lost in translation in today’s music as record companies attempt to create that popular song that everyone will love. But they’ve managed to keep it real and have a given their art a meaning which is what music should be about. The reason why this works so well is not only because of their obvious talent but due to their personalities too. Both are confident yet personable and quick witted, with Elizabeth cracking out several lines in response to some hecklers which had the crowd cheering for her.

Now I can’t write about the band without mentioning their session drummer Will Bowerman: the hotty who sits behind that dazzling drum set and got some amazing moments to steal the thunder and explode the songs into overdrive. When Elizabeth introduced him he seemed somewhat modest, in keeping with the band’s seemingly humble personality. The stage set-up was good, featuring a screen in the background playing clips from those 80s classics such as Footloose (a nice emphasis on the retro vibe) which meant the band was pretty much in a line and we could see everyone. I always feel sorry for the drummers who are usually stuck at the back, almost forgotten about when it’s their sound which completely changes the feeling of a song and is an important touch which ties it all together.

To sum up, it was an absolutely amazing gig which has sky- rocketed Summer Camp to the top spot amongst my favourite bands. As they tour around the globe this year I suspect the addiction will spread and we will see them rise to success with the potential to becoming the music scene’s benchmark for breakthrough talent.

My attempt to jump start the brain

Something occurred to me recently which was a little unnerving and just generally a bit sad. Its that mushy brain of mine. To be specific, my memory. It seems to have gaps, massive looming gaps and no I don't just mean from those nights out where one stupidly consumes as many rum and cokes as possible, almost in some sort of fear there is going to be a rum drought. Wow lets not even joke about that...that would be somewhat devastating.

No, I refer to just a normal day where I have a conversation with someone and my brain goes to retrieve a memory as I begin discussing a fantastic film with that brilliant actor...ermm ohh who the hell is it again, or that subject we studied back at school and we looked into....that ...you know...thing.

I grew quite concerned when it actually dawned on me that this was happening a little too regular for comfort. Then a few of my friends told me it was because I wasn't using my brain as much as I was when I was back at school or uni. Which makes sense and thus I'm clinging to this theory in hope it isn't early signs of dementia!!

Yes it would seem the 'use it or loose it' theory is strong at play and so I looked at my day to day activity to see where I could slot in a bit of 'brain training and realised all I'm doing is working! 6:30am- 6:30pm is dedicated to work and that's on a good day. 7pm-8:30pm is gym. Then its dinner if I can be arsed and then time for bed. My god that's sickening to actually write it down!!! That accounts for 5 days of my week. Then the weekend is spent 1/3rd partying, 1/3rd hungover and the other third catching up with people, housework and just generic Sunday behaviour. So in an attempt to break my behaviour of the full time worker and full time loser I decided a good bit of training would be to revive the old blog; use the brain and get writing again. Coincidentally I'm due to start doing this at work from next week. Although I have to be somewhat stricter with myself and actually assign the writing skills to discussing something more 'business like' and steering shy from topics such as how I've rotted most of my brain cells from smoking and drinking too much after a grotty night at Scandals (ok three grotty nights on consecutive weekends).

So there we have it folks. My first blog in almost a year where I've pretty much concluded I'm a forgetful sado. Stay posted for even more self-indulgent whines this week as I'm making myself blog everyday in an attempt to create a habit and break away from solely keeping my nose to the grindstone...and rum bottle.

4 nights in The Dam

Amsterdam Coffee Shop
Its odd how leaving the country can open your mind so much. Leaving a place you are all too familiar with to go somewhere completely alien. Your life back home suddenly seems even more insignificant and I have to admit there's an odd addiction to this feeling. I know it sounds as though I've been travelling for months rather than having only 4 nights away in Amsterdam, but its great to think a trip as small as this could leave me feeling so....enlightened

When we first arrived in Amsterdam we were of course immediately

lost and stuck out like a sore touristy thumb! However thanks to the wonderful Dutch who compensate for hopeless Brits by learning English, we managed to find our way to the hotel and would later on rely these lovely people to find our way around the city.

Amsterdam is very different to any city I've ever visited. Usually with cities such as London and Paris you have the hustle bustle lifestyle, the people who are too busy to realise they've knocked you flying as they stride past you in the street, the constant beeping of car horns and the general feeling of being unclean as you swan about in the pollution and don't realise until you get back home and have to beat the dust from your clothes! Perhaps it was the daze incurred by some quality Amsterdam weed but Amsterdam seemed like a laid back city. People were friendly and there seemed to be a greater sense of community amongst everyone.

The sunny days brought this feeling out more and as we floated down the canal on our touristy boat ride we could see so many people of all ages out in boats with all their friends and family having parties or sunbathing and despite it being 1p

m, everyone had a beer in their hand. Some of their boats were sophisticated and expensive whilst others were no more than a bit of wood with a motor on the back. Either way it seemed like the perfect way to live.

Of course I can't paint the perfect mellow picture of Amsterdam. The city has, what seems to be, a million lanes for its various modes of transport. Bicycle lanes, tram lanes and car lanes and all the while you have to make sure you're looking the correct way as they drive on the opposite side of the road. It sounds simple enough but you won't believe how hard it is to break a habit of a lifetime of looking right, left. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is stepping into a bike lane and sometimes you won't even realise you're doing it until you see an angry Dutch person hurtling towards you. If its one thing the Dutch lack patience in, its their cycle lanes. Bicycles have right of way over pretty much everything, even pedestrians, so its best to avoid getting in the way. Having said that, as much as

cyclists can add a stressful element to strolling around The Dam, it is an amazing sight to see. Nobody seems to own any top notch, multi geared, super bicycle with the latest, specially designed helmet. They all appeared to ride modest bikes and as for helmets, well who has to worry about silly things such as protecting your skull? Not the Dutch. Health and safety seemed less abundant there, which also became obvious when spotting how many passengers the Dutch try to cram on one bike. I can say it exceeded three quite often. Also there are so many people who choose to cycle over driving. Thinking back I can't even remember seeing car parks I just remember bicycles parked everywhere and even multi storey......'bike parks'?

Another great thing about Amsterdam is the food. There are so many different food outlets- you can get pretty much anything you want, whenever you want it. And after many visits to coffee shops and copious spliffs later you'll find this is a god send!

Coffee shops are most definitely something that should not be neglected on a trip to Amsterdam. Its got to be one of the big reasons people even visit the place- to enjoy the legality of cannabis. Well legal to a certain extent. You can't just walk around with a spliff hanging out of your mouth...although you'll soon realise that quite a few people do. However, play by the rules and go to a coffee shop and settle in for some laid back, deep conversation. It'll hit you as strange as you light up in front of so many other people, almost having to fight your natural instinct of hiding it away, but once you're over that its a brilliant atmosphere.

Now of course we couldn't go to Amsterdam and neglect its infamous Red Light District. Its honestly worth a look because you've never seen anything like it before. Its this complete juxtaposition of lovely canals, some beautiful architecture and then semi-naked (or naked!) woman watching you from a glass door. Some of them will act up, pouting and asking men to come over to them, whilst others just sat on a stool texting and probably browsing Facebook and updating their status- 'Work

is so boring today'. Its strange to see guys have the nerve to go up with their money in their hand and be pulled in....and even more strange to see them leave. It could be described as seedy and dirty but it was also quite business like. The feeling or look of shame seemed absent because nothing was being hidden. It was just right there.

The sex shows were something else all together. The title 'sex show' may imply you're going to watching something 'sexy' however we soon discovered this to be a wrong assumption. If you're looking to get aroused at a sex show in The Dam, good luck- most of it will have you laughing or cringing. Unless you really haven't got laid in years or indeed enjoy the sight of fat people fucking on stage. Yes, you read correctly. But you know what they say- when in Rome!

So from this entire trip all I can say is I want to go back and explore more. The way of life is so completely different it has me curious as to what it would feel like to be there longer and whether I was just caught up in some tourist frenzy for four days. If you're reading this and have never been I strongly recommend you go! You won't regret it.

An extremely condensed piece on the government's failure to stop drug (mis)use...

Centuries ago the government cashed in on the drugs trade, realising the money that could be made from exporting and importing substances such as opium around the world. Even in the early 1900s people were able to purchase drugs such as coke and heroin from the best of London’s shops such as Harrods! It was only with an increasing pressure from other countries that the government decided that it was time to bring in some sort of legislation to prevent drug abuse amongst the population.

Fast forward to today and experts are saying that the UK now has one of the most drug involved population in Europe, despite the fact that the government are always amending the ‘Misuse of Drugs Act’ by changing the classification system in an attempt to make the number of users drop.

In 1997 Labour started their ‘war on drugs’ leading to them spend £10 billion on an outcome that didn’t look very different to when they’d started. Along with the wasting money and failing to produce the correct outcome, the government is also prone to ignoring advice from the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) - a group of scientists who ensure that the government is implementing the drug law correctly. A classic example is when cannabis was made a class C drug the number of users actually dropped. However the government decided suddenly to put it back up to a class B, despite the ACMD strongly advising against it, in an attempt to appear tough on drug use. But what does this really mean? A drain on money and law enforcement over something that, I’m sure is the case for many young adults, won’t change anything. Is this really going to stop people from taking a substance which is so readily available that theories of it becoming socially acceptable are becoming ever more significant?

And this doesn’t just apply to cannabis but to other substances too. After all these years and all these different laws, of which nobody really knows what means what, the fact remains that drug use is at an all time high and nothing has changed. So this calls for something bigger than just changing weed from being a bit naughty to naughtier. Perhaps it calls for drugs to be de-criminalised all together. If we can’t stop people from taking drugs then why not at least make money off of it like with alcohol and tobacco? The tax could go towards the NHS to make up for the higher number of casualties and to educate people thoroughly about the effects (both positive and negative) that these substances have on the body. This would then mean that the government had done its job in acting responsibly but that it had also accepted that at the end of the day if someone wants to take drugs it is their own choice to do so.

Another positive to the drugs being made legal is that pharmaceutical companies would produce them, meaning underground drugs would be wiped out and so the substances would be pure. For example the main reason ecstasy is so dangerous is because it is often cut with other drugs such as paracetamol, meaning that the consumer is unknowingly taking potentially large amounts of paracetamol which could lead to a damaged liver. If made legal this wouldn’t happen because it’d be in a safe and controlled environment.

Drugs are always going to be a subject of controversy and the idea of legalising drugs is a scary thought for many people. But it is about time that the government realised that their methods of controlling drug use are failing and that maybe it’s about time to listen to the experts rather than the tabloids.

To be a graduate

The life of an unemployed graduate is most certainly nothing to boast about! After all those years of education and budgeting, you get excited about the prospect of leaving it all behind to finally enter the real world of work and money and freedom. But why do we have these delusions?

It has been far from work, money and freedom. It has been unemployment, countless job applications, obsessive waiting for the phone to call and realising that your social life has diminished so badly that you follow whoever is next through the door around the house like a lost sheep!

Now I sit here at home bored as hell wondering what I could do. There are various useful things I could be doing with my time. First of all I could be applying for more jobs- although I've done that so much recently that the idea of unemployment seems much more appealing than having to fill in the 100th application. My brain is a blur with boasts of my past achievements and my various CV layouts.

Secondly I could be writing the article that I said I would for Winchester's student magazine. But I have over a week before the deadline, have done all the research, and I think that in that space of time I could find myself even more bored than today and would really need a project like that to focus on for the day.

So that leaves me with other options. Pick a new hobby. I want to start learning to play the guitar again but being back in my parents house I have to respect the fact that my Dad works night shifts and so guitar playing is not possible until after 2pm. Even when he is awake, I'd rather not practice with him around because he hunts me out just to tell me that my playing sounds awful. This then puts me off playing all together.

I could watch a film but the weather is at that stage where its hot but cloudy and I have this weird guilt consume me, as if I should be outside all day long to appreciate that it's not raining for once.

Basically there are lots of things I could be doing but cannot motivate my brain to do any of it because I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself which is utterly pathetic. My lazy git attitude is most definitely not helping but before any of you can call me an ungrateful, moaning, time-waster I will end with a positive phrase; the only way is up!!

Dissertation? Easy! Application forms? Go away!

Ok so I'm sat here in this slightly odd emotional state of being upset because I'm leaving university but also exhausted after working so hard for so long and therefore slighly relieved that it's all over with. This means that the last thing I want to do is fill in the world's longest application form but that is what I'm doing right now and finding it ridiculously difficult!!

It's as if my brain has given up on me and is having some sort of protest and is refusing to do any sort of intellectual, challenging thinking for the foreseeable future. This comes as quite a problem as the deadline for this application form is tomorrow evening. I've completed almost all of it except for the parts where I have to address 10 different skills that they require and examplify how I possess these with my past achievements. Sounds fairly simple and yet it feels like a major hurdle to overcome and I also worry that I'm repeating myself time and time again.

It probably hasn't helped that I have abused my poor body with stupid amounts of alcohol this past week and that won't really change this week either. But I would like to think that I still have a fair few other brain cells left that would work!

So this is the end of my rant, I just had to blogg about this because I thought it might help wake my brain up and get it to write coherent(ish) sentences. I fear that it has had no such effect.

Keeping fit, broken trains, power in numbers and bald pervs- a standard trip home?

On a good day I bloody hate travelling on the train. The panic that takes over me before arriving at the station is unbelievable; no matter what time I plan to leave I always think that I will miss it. Even if I leave a ridiculous amount of time to get there, my walk turns in to more of a jog in the fear of being late.

Of course, in reality this means that I am always early and have broken in to a sweat for no reason and turn up looking a slight mess. So this was the standard series of events that occured before I caught my train(s) back to Cornwall yesterday. However, the events that were yet to unfold were far from standard!

As I arrived in Southampton Central I got off the train safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't have to find the platform for my train because it always left from the one I was standing on. I was annoyed already because I hate catching this particular train due to the fact it is only 3 carriages long and there are always so many passengers who want to get on. They all stand in the 'ready to sprint' stance, ready to push anyone who gets in their way on to the tracks below. Its everyone for themselves. Anyway for some reason, for the first time in the entire three years I've been travelling back to Cornwall, this train had changed platform. So I begrudgingly hauled my heavy bags up the stairs and along the bridge.

My panicked feeling soon returned as people, in what I exaggerated in my head to be hundreds, began to gather on the platform. Everyone realising that we wouldn't all get on began edging towards the yellow line, judging where the carriage would stop. But then, with only a couple minutes to go before it's arrival, the voice of doom announced over the tannoid that there had been a platform change. At that point everyone stampeeded up the stairs and down to the train as it pulled in. I MADE IT! I sat down in a huff at the fact that the train had arrived at the platform it had always gone to previously and decided that it was possible the government had joined up with railway stations to make people run for their trains in an attempt to wipe out obesity.

However, I was soon in a bigger huff as I realised that there were no plug points. My one form of entertainment (the laptop) was therefore only good for half an hour of the 3 hours ahead of me. I was in for a long journey.

So I began typing up some work when this strong waft of alcohol went up my nostrils. I soon realised it was the girl opposite me who was apparently quite drunk and didn't look too good. She got up to go to the toilet and as she came back she was crying. This made me extremely uncomfortable. I'm not good with tears at the best of times but when its a drunk stranger I'm absolutely clueless. So I did what most english people do and pretended that I didn't notice, engrossing myself in my work. However this girl spotted that I was chewing gum and asked for some. I couldn't ignore her any longer and after handing it over to the blubbering mess I asked what was wrong. Apparently she'd split up with her boyfriend and thought it was a good idea to get drunk on cidar, vodka and tequilla and then travel 4 hours to see her mates in Cornwall. Excellent I thought- she will definaltey vom.

She soon found out where I was travelling to which meant I was going to be stuck with this bumbling drunk for the entire journey who had just began to complain about being hungry. My stomach was aching for food too and I could picture the sarnie in my bag. I left it there in fear that she'd ask for some and I was in no mood to share with a stranger!

I was soon aware that we had been at Salisbury station for ages and the tannoid voice told us there was a fault on the line meaning we were to travel slowly for the next few miles. This meant we were in danger of missing our connection at Westbury. Great. I was not prepared to wait another hour to get home and hoped that we'd pick up speed soon and make up for lost time. Wrong!! At the next station we were, again, waiting for ages and were told that something was hanging off of the train and was being looked at. So now I was not only worried about missing my connection but worried that we could potentially die getting there!!

As the train began pulling in to Westbury the woman next to us (who had by this point joined us in the worry of missing our train) exclaimed that the train opposite was our connection and hadn't left yet! We all ran to the door and took our 'ready to sprint' position once more but I'd heard the whistle blow and thought we had no chance. The doors opened and everyone ran to the train (it was one of those old fashioned trains with windows and non-automatic doors) yelling 'stop!!' 'let us on!!' to the bloke who resembled the fat controller. 'I can't I've started the train' he yelled out of the window . This confused me- surely he could just stop the train?! But he continued to yell the same thing and so, in a moment of disbelief, everyone started grabbing the train and refused to move. This angered the guard greatly but in protest nobody moved. I felt a sudden sense of pride and a rush of adrenaline as I realised that everyone was sticking together. The fat controller had no choice but to let us all on and there was a sense of unity amongst everyone as we gratefully climbed aboard. 'Good luck with the rest of your journey girls' the woman beamed and everyone looked extremely proud of themselves.

Me and my new found friend had bonded over our success and happily found our seats which had plug points!!! She soon tottered off to get some food and I ate my sarnies and started up the laptop. Finally all was good and I was on the final stretch of the journey. Nothing could go wrong now... surely?

Of course it would. We pulled up to Taunton and it was a little while before we all clocked on to the fact we'd been there for quite a while. In that time a massive crowd of drunk, balding, fat, loud mouthed blokes had stumbled down the train clearly on some sort of stag do. It was this that was the reason for our delay. A policeman soon walked down the platform and on to the train and escorted one of the fatties off. He cuffed the man and waited for his colleague to arrive. His shameful walk past everyone was amusing and there was a sense of wonderment amongst the train. 'What do you think he's done?' Well we were soon provided with the answer as the driver, in his strong south west accent explained that the drunk idiot had decided it was a good idea to flash at a child. I couldn't help finding it hilarious that the driver thought it appropriate to name and shame him.

After another phone call to my lift home to explain about yet another delay and we set off. Exeter was in my vision and I was so happy to collect up my belongings and get ready to leave this surreal journey. I said goodbye to my new friend but had no guilt about leaving her behind. As I stepped on to the platform a dog ran around my feet. A guard grabbed it and then a dodgy, angry looking bloke with a bigger dog ran up to her shouting abuse in her face about the fact that she'd touched his dog. 'My god what is going on today?!' I thought. With that the two dogs broke lose from them both and ran up the steps. I couldn't help but break out in to a run either as I thought this weird surreal journey had no end and was following me!! I had to get away from the station before anything else happened. As I ran I bumped in to some hippy who turned around and was clearly stoned off his face and in a bombed out tone asked 'hey, do you want a chewing guuum?' Ahhhhhhhhhhh I had to get away. As I ran through the barriers I broke out in to hysteric laughter and must have looked as mental as all the weirdos I'd encountered throughout my trip.

I ran up to my Dad and he looked at me quizzingly, wondering what the hell I was laughing about. 'Lets just get out of here Dad, I'll explain on the way home'.

Most definately the weirdest journey of my life... I don't think I have the energy to catch the return train.

Oh how I roared at 'Four Lions'

Yes a lame play on words but I don't claim to be a comedian so sssh.

Anyway, I have foolishly kept this to myself for far too long but I'm hoping by now you have learnt about the brilliance of satirical comedian Chris Morris' debut film 'Four Lions'. If you haven't, allow me to give you a short but sweet insight.

With terrorism being the pinnacle point of society's paranoia these days, Morris has been able to whip up a storm of a black comedy about this very subject.

The film follows four British jihadists who are constantly cocking up as they attempt to carry out their fantasy of being heroes for the Muslims...well sort of. Omar is the leader and thinks it is an honour to be chosen for a suicide mission. However he is often in despair as he tries to organise his team of 'goofs' to carry out his dream.

Waj, who is completely absent of a brain, will do as Omar tells him. In the end, however, this only leads to confusion! (You'll recognise the actor Kayvan Novak- the guy from 'fone/facejacker').

Barry is a white Islamic convert who doesn't have a clue what he is on about and lacks a fair amount of self awareness!!

Finally we have Faisal whose stupidity can come across as endearing as he attempts to train crows to fly bombs in to houses so that he doesn't have to commit suicide....his sick dad has started eating newspapers you see.

It does help if you watch some of Chris Morris' previous material as it gives you a good insight in to how that bloody brilliant brain of his works. Go watch 'Brass Eye' on 4od and you'll see what I mean.

'Four Lions' is yet another example of Morris' absence of fear over creating controversy and his observant nature of just how foolish our society is- nicely demonstrated with the police cocking up just as much as the others!

Overall a film of explosive stupidity which you'll find nicely entertaining and will, hopefully, lead you to love the legend that is Chris Morris.

The delights of the sexual health clinic

You know what really makes me laugh? That almost unbearable tension that presents itself in waiting rooms. To be specific, the waiting room in the sexual health clinic.

On my recent trip there, which I must state now was for my contraception top up, I bumped in to someone who I can't really count as a friend but more an associate. This associate has only ever talked to me during times of which I'm highly intoxicated!! So it was that awkward moment of establishing whether we remembered one another in our/my sobriety. However I went to say hello and he completely blanked me and avoided eye contact throughout the entire time I was in there.

I was, to say the least, quite infuriated by this and also slightly embarrassed as I thought maybe it was something I'd done in my drunken state the last time I'd seen him. But then, as I sat there and read my beloved Charlie Brooker article, I realised I was breathing in this weird air. There was a definite high dose of tension in the air and it was at that point that I realised HE was the embarrassed one. It's one thing to ask someone at the doctors whats up with them but in the sexual health clinic its the standard rule to avoid this question. So I have concluded that this chicken shit of a bloke probably had some kind of STD and wanted to pretend to be invisible so I would never tell anyone that I'd seen him there.

You see women have the upper hand in this situation. They can be in the sexual health clinic for a number of reasons. Going for their 6 monthly check up and stock up of the pill or other contraception, getting their smear test or finding out if they're pregnant as well as screening for those sexually transmitted nasties. However for blokes its much more limited, especially if you're of a certain age and look to be sexually experienced. This is when you are more than likely to be there for screening because you a) didn't use a johnny and now have penis rot or b) because you don't want to use a contraception anymore and want to know if you're all clear of aids, etc.

Due to how clearly uncomfortable this man seemed to look I would go with a) and also because this amuses me more.

Upon this realisation I sat there with a grin of satisfaction on my face and enjoyed watching him squirm in discomfort...although this could have been the STD playing up.

Log sheets for New Winchester Review feature filming!

This is a log for the first lot of filming that took place at the motorway service station.

Time	Description	Comment
TAPE 1:	Early morning image tree silhouette and cars moving on road	Not for use in final edit
0:00:00-0:00:17
0:00:17- 0:01:59:10	Camera adjustment and levelling in same area	Not for use in edit- delete
0:01:59:10- 0:23:57:17	Road and landscape silhouette with cars passing by (lights on) very dark sky	Potentially good to use for sped up section however fault due to us leaving filter on so appears very dark
0:23:57:18-0:24:49:07	Driving down rural road. Lots of trees and hedges alongside road. Not much traffic	Quite a jump in colour from previous shot ? sky appears much lighter due to white balance being set correctly.
0:24:49:08- 0:25:15:17	Side window view of trees and hedges	Not great quality
0:25:15:18-0:26:15:22	Driving down duel carriage way- lots of signs and cars	Quite a bit of dashboard in shot at times
0:26:15:23- 0:27:19:15	Driving along single road, lots of trees	Good shots of oncoming traffic, still with headlights on
0:27:19:16- 0:27:25:18	Side window shot of sign	Unclear and wobbly- not for use in edit
0:27:25:19- 0:28:23:00	Driving along motorway
0:28:23:01- 0:29:11:00	Driving along motorway- begins with shot of other side then moves to following cars in front.
0:29:11:01- 0:29:39:05	Another motorway shot- focused on other side of the road
00:29:39:06- 0:31:00:17	More motorway, starts with side view shot of trees and the slip road beside the motorway. Then goes on to focus on cars in front	Good open shot of the road with lots of cars. Will look good sped up.
0:31:00:18-0:31:35:00	Motorway, capturing signs marking distance to services	Potentially good intro shot? Although bit short
0:31:35:01- 0:32:14:59	Entering service station. Begins with straight view of road then turns to side view of car park as we pull in.	May be good intro shot but would cut out side view of car park. Not a clear view.
0:32:15:00- 0:33:54:14	View from car park looking out to motorway. Lots of cars. Also in shot the road entering the services and the under passage to other side. Trees in back ground.	Nice clear shot.
0:33:54:15- 0:34:03:07	Camera has been paused then jumps to same shot but bin liner has appeared in shot	Not for use in final edit.
0:34:03:08- 1:00:10:00 (end of tape)	Same shot of motorway. Lots of movement. Rain visible. Exhaust fumes rising.	Very good shot to use (sped up)
TAPE 2:	Setting up shot of car park	Not for use in final edit
0:00:00:00- 00:00:52:12
0:00:52:13- 0:45:40:00	Shot of car park. Garage in background along with trees. Lots of movement with cars coming and going.	Use for sped up part
0:45:40:01- end of tape.	Pan left and then still capture of the rest of car park. See a lot more people as well as cars.	Use for sped up part
TAPE 3:	Setting up shot on sliding doors- entrance to services	Not for use in final edit
0:00:00:00- 0:00:35:07
0:00:35:08-0:06:14:00	Low shot of sliding doors (entrance to services) with lots of people walking in and out	Might be good to use for slow motion part
0:06:14:01-0:07:05:10	Shot repositioning	Not for use in final edit
0:07:05:11- 0:55:58:00	Higher shot of sliding doors- people?s faces now visible. Lots of heavy rain!	Good for sped or slow motion part.
0:55:58:01- end of tape	Camera movement	Not for use in edit
TAPE 4:	Setting up shot of petrol station	Not for use in edit
0:00:00:00- 0:01:06:07
0:01:06:08- 0:35:23:00	Shot of petrol station.	Good shot for sped up- not as busy as other shots though!
0:35:23:01- 0:35:30:19	Moving of camera	Not for use in final edit
0:35:30:20-0:35:58:11	Pan of lorries parked alongside one another and then following lorry that leaves.
0:35:58:12- 0:36:25:03	Pan of car park to lorry entering services	Good broad shot
0:36:25:04- 0:37:04:59	Shot through car window (covered in rain) of car park as leaving.	Quite artistic looking so may be nice shot to use. Disregard last few seconds of shot where we drive over a pothole!
0:37:05:00-0:38:43:40	Shot of exit sign and then driving down the slip road to join back on to the motorway. Captured sign saying M27. Going under a few bridges.	Good shot- looks particularly good when going under the bridges.
0:38:43:41-0:38:52:10	Side window shot of motorway below as driving over bridge.	Poor quality shot- not for use in edit
0:38:52:11- 0:39:54:16	Shot of slip road as driving to rejoin other side of motorway. Driving along motorway, again some bridges.	Another good shot to consider using.
0:39:54:17- 0:41:24:03	More motorway ? shots of signs.	Not great quality- white balance is not set correctly. Beginning of shot is clearer
0:41:24:04- 0:43:04:10	Side window shot of trees as driving along motorway. Zoom in on signs saying Winchester. Zoomed in shot of road as driving and zoomed out shot as approaching roundabout.	Again not great quality due to white balance. The signs look good so may be useable for final edit.
0:43:04:11- 0:43:55:00	Begins with shot of building. Follows road in to Winchester.	Not of great quality- disregard.
0:43:55:01- end of tape	Opens with shot of bridge. Pans up to look at lights as driving under bridge. Follows road to junction in city centre

This is our log for our second day of filming which took place at the cinema.

TIME	DESCRIPTION	COMMENTS
HANDY CAM TAPE: 0:00:00:00- 0:00:18:10	Begins with shot of stock and then pans around the foyer
0:00:18:11- 0:00:35:01	Pan of bar and confectionary desk. Close up of sweets in jars
0:00:35:02- 0:01:03:56	Shot of staff entering staff room.
0:01:03:57- 0:01:10:50	Pan of books on shelf- the godfather, where the wild things are.
0:01:10:51- 0:02:01:00	Begins with zoomed in shot of loading trolley. Follows Jess adjusting trolley and then follows her behind counter. Focus then switches to Ben who is loading the dishwasher.
0:02:01:01- 0:02:15:15	Ab enters. Follows behind counter.
0:02:15:16- 0:02:57:12	Shot of Ben making coffee. Zoom in on membership sign and pan right to jars beside. Followed by quick zoom out.
0:02:57:13- 0:03:20:17	More of Ben making coffee. He then removes the wolf jumper! Focus remains on coffee machine where Ab is putting stock away.
0:03:20:18- 0:04:01:12	Zoom in on bottles that Ab is putting away. Zoom out as Ben enters shot. Zoom in again on coffee machine watching Ben make it.	Potential cut away?
0:04:01:13- 0:04:33:12	Pans left to Ab. Focus on popcorn machine and freezer full of ice-cream.
0:04:33:13- 0:04:56:12	Back to Ben making coffee (still!) Zoom in on mugs.
0:04:56:13- 0:06:25:03	Focus on popcorn machine making popcorn. Ab and Jess in shot. Zooms in to watch Jess continue to make popcorn.	Good shot to use. Sums up cinema!
0:06:25:04- 0:07:45:00	Pans to Ab filling up box with snacks. Then pans back to popcorn machine.
0:07:45:01- 0:08:38:05	Pan right to Ben filling jars. Pan left along jars. Follows Jess.
0:08:38:06- 0:09:39:04	Shot of popcorn machine in action again!	Another good shot.
0:09:39:05- 0:10:10:22	Shot of sign “screens 1 & 2” then pans down and zooms in on Audrey Hepburn poster.	Good shot
0:10:10:23- 0:13:05:13	Following Ab down the corridors to drop off stock. Continues in to theatre through to stock room behind it. Follows back through to watch him go down the corridor in to foyer behind door.	Bit dark at times so will have to cut this out but music in back ground sounds good. Overall a nice shot to use. Corridor shot looks good- natural.
0:13:05:14- 0:13:31:10	Wondering down the corridor towards foyer. Shot of “screen 1 & 2”.
0:13:31:11- 0:14:01:16	Follows the feet of customers.
0:14:01:17- 0:14:14:09	Shot of Ben serving customers	Good shot of steam coming out of coffee machine!
0:14:14:10- 0:14:21:00	Another shot of customers feet
0:14:21:01- 0:14:30:45	Shot of corridor
0:14:30:46- 0:14:48:20	Shot of customer going through the door down the corridor to screen.	Can see my reflection in the window!
0:14:48:21- 0:15:26:30	Zoom in on sweetie jars. Pans up to follow Ab and Jess. Jess is loading dishwasher and Ab is cleaning coffee machine.
0:15:26:31- 0:15:53:45	Ab and Jess dry containers.
0:15:53:46- 0:16:07:00	Jess and Ab behind the desk.
0:16:07:01- 0:16:41:45	Outside of the cinema. Looking over carpark entrance and pan left to door. Focus on box office and then enters through glass door.	Good cut away.
0:16:41:46- 0:16:56:50	Shot of cinema’s pamphlet on a table.
0:16:56:51- 0:17:08:45	Follows Alice and projectionist down the corridor to foyer
0:17:08:46- 0:17:21:40	Shot of behind the bar
0:17:21:41- 0:17:35:00	Shot of “Screen” sign
0:17:35:01- 0:18:45:00	Shot of caretaker sat calculating something. Zooms in on him writing. Zooms out again.
0:18:45:01- 0:19:45:09	Shots of behind the bar. Zoom in on bottles of alcohol. Manager and Jess in shot. Manager is tidying leaflets.
0:19:45:10- 0:20:14:45	Jess behind the bar sorting out letters for sign.
0:20:14:46- 0:20:54:17	Ben eating sandwich behind bar. Pans to Jess
0:20:54:18- 0:20:58:00	Back to Ben eating sandwich again. Pans over to Jess and Ab. Zoom in on Jess eating slices of apple.
TAPE 2: 0:00:00:00- 0:00:20:02	Jess and Ab drying containers and chatting.
0:00:20:03- 0:04:24:05	Ab makes a hot chocolate for customer. Goes out back to fetch milk. Ben enters shot. Jess is still drying up containers.
0:04:24:06-0:04:57:15	Ab pours chocolate balls in to a jar.
0:04:57:16- 0:07:03:59	Still shot of Jess and Ab working behind the bar.
0:07:04:00- 0:08:10:05	Camera moves to left of the bar. Shot of customers at the bar being served by Ab and Jess.
0:08:10:06- 0:08:52:20	Focus on Ab working behind bar. Zooms in.	Good cut away for when he talks to us about the job.
0:08:52:22- 0:09:31:00	More of Ab working behind bar. Ben in background wearing snack box.	Again another good cut away/filler.
0:09:31:01- 0:09:34:10	Ben walking off with snack box.
0:09:34:11- 0:11:26:09	More of Ab working behind the bar. Manager enters shot.
0:11:26:10- 0:11:45:13	Enter caretaker/plumber in to building. Manager meets and greets.
0:11:45:14- 0:12:27:09	Another bar shot. Same two women stood at the bar chatting up Ab. Zoom in on sweetie jars. Zooms out to manager and Ben in background.
0:12:27:10- 0:12:37:05	Shot of manager through door to bar.	Quite good sneaky looking shot.
0:12:37:06-0:12:52:01	Shot of ticket office.
0:12:52:02-0:13:29:00	Outside shot of cinema. Screen signs in neon lights and in metal. Shots of what’s on. Zoom in on “screen” signs.	Good fillers/cut away
0:13:29:01- 0:13:45:58	Shot of board saying what’s on. Zoomed in shot as well.
0:13:45:59-0:14:03:08	Back to shot of the building. Entering the building. Admission prices sign zoomed in on.
0:14:03:09- 0:14:15:18	Shot of manager in office.
0:14:15:19- 0:16:05:19	Back to the bar. Same women still talking to Ab. Zoom in on clock, out of focus then comes in to focus.	Good filler?
0:16:05:20- 0:16:39:04	Pan left of bar. Shot of door opening. A new customer enters. Shot of the bar again.
0:16:39:05- 0:22:01:15	Ab chats to us whilst clearing cups away. Zoom in on Ab whilst chatting on the phone. Ben enters shot. Ab hands paper to Ben. Jess is at the freezer loading up the icecream. Ben sits on desk playing with phone.
0:22:01:16- 0:27:00:11	Ab talking about job. “Do you ever get bored doing this job?”Ben chips in. Ab continues to chat about job. Goes outside of the bar and takes leaflets. Manager hands him contact cards. Goes back behind bar. End shot of Ben and Jess.
0:27:00:12- 0:27:29:12	Shot of caretaker on his ladder.
0:27:29:13- 0:27:51:21	Shot of behind bar again. Ab, Jess and Ben all in shot. Zooms in on Ab.
0:27:51:22- 0:30:20:00	Close shot of Ab looking at a piece of paper. All in shot. Ben appears to be begging Ab for something. Ben leans over the bar from the customer side. Jess is reading this piece of paper. Ab goes out with snack box round his neck. Follow him down the corridor and outside the theatre. Talking about what he will sell. Ends with him entering theatre.
0:30:20:01-0:30:45:25	Theatre	Too dark to use for final edit.
0:30:45:26- 0:31:24:17	Follow Ab back down the corridor from his selling back to the foyer.
0:31:24:18- 0:32:03:00	Back behind the bar. Ab gathers his things.
0:32:03:01- 0:32:34:17	Ab meets supervisor. He questions filming	Good moment!
0:32:34:18- 0:34:20:00	Projectionist- we follow down the corridor and up to projection room.	Good shot- although some darkness when going up the stairs.
0:34:20:01- 0:34:28:00	Projection machine close up	Good sound!
0:34:28:01- 0:36:43:03	Shot of computers used to control projection. Projectionist chatting about his job and training (reflecting). Pans around projection room.	Good chat.
0:36:43:04- end of tape.	Another close up and explanation of projection machine. Zoom in on mechanism and then pan up following film reel feeding along machine.

Will the 'naked rambler' do time forever?

According to the newspapers today the naked rambler, Stephen Gough, faces life in prison if he continues to appear nude in public.

The 50 year old is famous for his two "boots only" treks from John O'Groats to Land's End. During his first hike he was arrested 15 times and spent 140 nights in jail.

The famous naturist was yesterday found guilty of causing a breach of peace by walking naked after being released from Perth prison in December after finishing a 12 month sentence for the same offence.

He has been warned that he will be jailed every time he steps out of prison with no clothing on- which at the moment is one big vicious cycle. Thus posing the threat that he will remain in jail forever. An offer to send him home in exchange for him to put clothes on was presented to him but he has rejected it stating "this is about individual freedom".

But is it right to continue placing someone so adamant to walk around naked back in to prison when it will achieve nothing? There is no law against being nude in public in the UK and to continue putting someone who poses no real harm back in to prison is only costing the tax payer more money. So far placing Gough in prison has cost the taxpayer £200,000 and it is set to rise. Also it must surely be taking up a space that could be taken by someone who has committed a more serious crime?

I can't say that I would personally be offended if I was to see the naked rambler walking past me. But I suppose a person with children may think differently. But then what is it that they're really seeing? Just a naked man- surely something they would see or learn about in sex education?

Yes I can understand that breaking the law needs to result in punishment and if they let one person off then they open the flood gates to letting other people get away with things. But is nudity really such a crime when really it's just all about being natural? It's not as if he is flashing his sexual parts randomly at people or being perverted about it; its not anything sexual.

An extremely thought provoking debate between law, the ideals of a naturist and what's truly acceptable within our culture and society.

'Wanted'....or not

Somewhere between the snow and the over indulgence of chocolate during the Christmas holiday I got very bored and was somehow talked in to seeing a film I knew I already hated- 'Wanted'. OK so hatred is a pretty harsh word and there are most definitely worse films out but this one just seemed to irritate me so much that I feel extremely foolish for watching it a second time round!

Sure if you like the whole Hollywood bullshit narrative and characters then go right ahead and watch it but for me it all seemed so "samey" (can you tell I'm good at English?) and laughable.

We have the stereotypical wimpy guy character (played by James McAvoy) whose life amounts to nothing and then is changed in some dramatic way and he decides to grow a pair and become someone.

Then off course the sexy woman with attitude (played by Angelina Jolie who doesn't amount to much more than a skeleton in this one) with a stereotypical nick name such as "fox" who pulls these "I'm a hard ass bitch with a gun" faces about a million times throughout particularly when bending bullets. ha.

We have the classic older wise guy character who holds all the power and thus putting him in the easy position to screw everyone over in the end (played by Morgan Freeman).

There are also other samey characters along the way like the hard guy who likes to punch McAvoy's character in the face and calls this training and the Russian who likes vodka and explosives.

The main stupidity of the story lies in the idea of what drives this team of assassins. That is "the loom of fate". And from this Freeman's character can determine who is to be killed next just because "the loom of fate" dropped a stitch or two. There surely could have been a million other more believable and substantial methods that the writer could have chosen other than some sort of magical loom.

Of course lets not leave out the ridiculous idea that 'Fox' can drive a car with her legs whilst lying out on the bonnet shooting at the person behind and flip a car and land perfectly and drive off. Oh and as if bending bullets wasn't impressive enough she does it so well that she can kill everyone in a circle with a single bullet going through every one's skulls and finally in to her own! It's also worth noting that the bullet in the head is heavily focused on throughout the film and the makers have gone heavy on the CGI, forcing us to see every one's heads bursting open by each bullet with the splatter of blood, brains and bone. We get it- you know how to use a computer.

It isn't all bad and there are some watchable parts and twists and I'm sure Angelina showing her naked ass will keep a lot of male members engaged. But this is most definitely a film I will never watch again, no matter how boring the Christmas holidays are!

Law for Journalists Freedom of Information

The following notes have been taken from "McNae's Essential Law for Journalists" (20th Ed)

Freedom of Information Act (2000)

The Freedom of Information Act was a New Labour policy objective and came in to effect in 2005. This was the UK's first general right of access to information held by government departments and other public authorities in the UK. It makes it mandatory on a public authority to disclose whether or not it has the information being requested. However it isn't necessarily easy to use and a user of the Act must be prepared to argue for the 'public interest' justification for information to be shared.

The authorities must supply the information requested without any financial charge for finding and collating it; that is if meeting the request costs them no more than £600 (national government) or £450 (local councils & other types of authorities).

In total there are around 100,000 major and minor bodies in the public sector that are covered by the Act. However there are some that are exempt from the Act, meaning that they do not have to respond to a Freedom of Information request. These include the UK's security and intelligence agencies- MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. Courts and tribunals are also exempt.

So how does it work? Well a 'public authority' must respond to the request within 20 days of receiving it; supplying the information or explaining why it cannot be supplied.

Reasons why information will NOT be supplied:

• The public authority does not hold the information in which case this should be made clear
• The request would exceed the cost limits (see above)
  
• The information is exempt under the Act e.g. the information is held in confidence or concerns national security

The motive of the request, however, should not play a part in the authority's decision on whether is can provide the information or not.

Section 16 of the Act requires public authorities to give someone who has requested or is proposing to request information "advice and assistance so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so".

They should tell you before you make the request what information, of the type that you want, is available. They should also give you guidance to avoid your request breaching the cost limit for such information to be provided without charge.

Some exemptions are absolute. The public authority doesn't have to give a reason for not disclosing the information other than stating that it is exempt.

Some exemptions are qualified meaning the public authority must give reasons and have applied the 'public interest test' to justify its refusal to provide information.

Public Interest Factors:

• Furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of the day
• Promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public money
• Allowing individuals and companies to understand decisions made by public authorities affecting their lives
• Bringing to light information affecting public health and safety.
  

WINOL - our progress so far!

Wow, two weeks worth of bulletins have gone by already! Well I'm sure you can tell from the lack of updating my blog that I've been swept off my feet with work so allow me to explain whats been going on....

WINOL- bulletin number two.

They main thing that sticks in my memory from this bulletin is the fact that I had to stand in as director because Leanne was unfortunately struck down with the flu! I was asked to do so with only a short amount of time remaining before the bulletin was due to be recorded and I had to say I was very nervous! I'd previously been the director for our news bulletins in year two but we had the luxury of three weeks to work on these!!!

Luckily the bulletin went well with only a couple of slip ups. I was quite happy with my performance but I could have improved it by using some of my time to ask the news team to describe the stories to me so I knew what we were working with. I also need to learn not to panic at times but I thought I remained fairly cool in the live bulletin- especially when we had a baby babbling away in the gallery just behind me!!!!

As I said the broadcast went well with the stories showing clear improvements from last week. Everyone worked well as a team and we were all happy with the results.


We were lucky to have Andy Steggall of Sky Sports and ITV to come and be our guest editor. He offered us some really good professional advice such as the need for our links to be longer and being aware of moving the guest from the set when we were live. He was really positive about our bulletin and I think he gave a good boost to the team's moral!

During this week I also began working on the 'barker' - this is the banner at the top of our news page that draws people's attention to the features. More often than not magazines' and newspapers' barkers comply to the same model:

• Win
• Free
• Sex/Glamour

As long as the baker contains these words then it will be successful in catching people's attention and drawing them in to the content.

To make the barker Chris introduced me to 'Adobe Fireworks'- a programme similar to 'Photoshop'. It is very complex and requires a lot of patience to use. Because of this Chris did most of the work whilst I observed and made notes. My job was to establish with the Features Editor, Alice Rimes, what would be placed in the barker. It was also my job to find the photos and to make sure that they were legal to use. Using photos from places such as Wikipedia is safe as it has a Creative Commons licence. To find out more about Creative Commons visit: http://creativecommons.org/about/what-is-cc. We mostly used our own photos though.

To sum up I learnt a lot this week and was looking forward to the next week!

WINOL- bulletin number three.

This week there seemed to be a far more laid back and relaxed atmosphere within the news room and I have to say this was a bit unnerving. I wondered where our buzz had gone!

We did have a fair few technical difficulties this week which would inevitably make this a bit a bogus bulletin. First the tape deck in the studio decided to eat our tapes and refused to spit them back out without force and by this point the tapes were wrecked. This meant that any recording for our feature, sports and listings channels that usually happened on Tuesdays would have to wait until the following day. So I think some people felt at a bit of a loss that day and didn't have much to do.

In this time I did some further work on the barker. This time I used the previous one as a template and chose to only change a couple of the images. This still proved to be hard work as I had to, again select the correct images, cut them out, ensure the edges looked smooth and then add a shadow effect to the make them stand out from the page. This was the final result:

I'm very keen to continue working on this as I want to be able to perfect my skills on such a complex programme. I also want to learn how to use 'Flash' as this enables us to put the barker on to the web site so this is my aim for next week!

Anyway on to the day of broadcast. The tape deck was luckily fixed but this meant we had three items to film, edit and put up on the website before run throughs were due to begin for the bulletin. Luckily this happened and I have to say that there were clear improvements on people's delivery to camera. Glenn Hutt's listings piece was done in one shot this week as his diction and confidence has improved greatly!

This week Matt Clifford was using ENPS to construct the the script and running order. This is an advanced programme that many professionals use and it makes the job easier. However the final layout was new and there was an air of confusion amongst the team when these were landed in our laps 30 minutes before recording. Because of this there seemed to be a chunk missing on the auto prompt which lead to a mistake in our bulletin. Hopefully these problems won't happen next week and can be easily resolved!

As well as an issue with scripts and the auto prompt, there were technical difficulites with the microphone and the computer running the VTs.

To sum up it all seemed to go wrong even though most of it seemed to be out of our hands! This week's lesson: technology will always let you down, so be prepared!!!

Oh and just to add we were lucky to have another professional editor this week! Chris Ship, ITV's Political Correspondent, was a great help when it came to writing links and editing the script. He also gave some good advice to the presenter and it was great to have him about!