Something that has always bothered me is what will I be when I grow up? From the age of 5 I always said that I wanted to be a vet, but by the age of 16 I had discovered that I simply did not have the patience to really get to grips with chemistry and after one chemistry A level class I began searching for a new possible career. It was around this time, when I was moving onto A levels that I found I had a certain ability for writing, I enjoyed it and thought that I could quite happily make my living writing. I began to write for the newly formed school magazine, and began looking for journalism courses.
My idea was to have a degree in journalism and one day move onto novel writing. Since I first picked up 'Harry Potter' at the age of 8 I loved reading, before Harry I hated to read. I had always lagged behind my class mates simply because those 'Ben ate an apple' books just were not interesting.
Also, I have never had a formal careers meeting. The only thing I can remember that was remotely career orientated was a meeting in a tiny office with a man I've never met before when I was in year 10. The general gist of the conversation was 'what interests you?' to which I replied 'sports, going out and reading'. His response was 'well keep up the PE and English and possibly you'll find a career involving the two'. How useless was that interview then? I already knew that and didn't need to miss part of my PE lesson to find out that tiny bit of enlightenment.
Therefore it can be said that I am still unsure of where my future lies, but it will involve sports and writing.
Monday 8 December 2008
Sunday 7 December 2008
Computers. Why bother?
Why are computers so confusing? I left my laptop working perfectly well on Thursday and now I came back to uni and it's had a complete meltdown. People say women can be temperamental, but computers, and in particular my laptop, are far worse. Apparently my anti-virus software is out of date and some back up hasn't run.
So virus protection renewed and a few restarts later it appears to be happy, for now. But it almost certainly won't be for long. When will a computer be made that does not have hysterical fits each time it's turned on? Last weekend I turned it on to find that it no longer accepted my Internet connection because Microsoft expansion 3 or whatever it's called had changed my settings. Had it not been for the IT technician I probably still wouldn't know what was wrong and it probably would have resulted in a new laptop. Which brings me onto my next point, so many people just go out and buy a new computer at the first sign of a problem. Which I think could be the plan behind the utterly useless troubleshooter programmes which simply tell you 'oh yes that's broken' and give no way of fixing the problem.
My point behind this is go and make friends with someone who works with computers, that's what I did and I got mine fixed for free!
So virus protection renewed and a few restarts later it appears to be happy, for now. But it almost certainly won't be for long. When will a computer be made that does not have hysterical fits each time it's turned on? Last weekend I turned it on to find that it no longer accepted my Internet connection because Microsoft expansion 3 or whatever it's called had changed my settings. Had it not been for the IT technician I probably still wouldn't know what was wrong and it probably would have resulted in a new laptop. Which brings me onto my next point, so many people just go out and buy a new computer at the first sign of a problem. Which I think could be the plan behind the utterly useless troubleshooter programmes which simply tell you 'oh yes that's broken' and give no way of fixing the problem.
My point behind this is go and make friends with someone who works with computers, that's what I did and I got mine fixed for free!
Saturday 6 December 2008
Credit Crunch Christmas
Whilst the credit crunch is no matter to be ignored, there are some brighter sides to the unyielding down points the news insists on throwing in our faces every time we tune into the evening news.
VAT has come down by 2.5% this week and this means that everything has gone down in price, something my mum was quite pleased about when she excitedly informed me in Sainsbury that the chicken in jelly dog food had gone down in price by 5p. A mundane matter some may agree, but the saying is after all, 'look after the penies and the pounds will look after themselves'. Something that in these hard times everyone needs to remember.
Another happier side to the otherwise gloomy business of the credit crunch and the down turn in the economy is that christmas shopping has become alittle more affordable. Whilst people are having to spend carefully I was most pleased this weekend shopping in Torquay when I suggested to look in Woolworths to check the deals. Everything was half price, and I found many a good deal and completed a large portion of my christmas shopping. Image my delight then when I went to pay for presents and found that there had been further reductions, the DVD that i thought was a bargain at £8 had gone down to £4.20.
Therefore I say to you that even in these hard times remember that all is not bad, and with christmas around the corner each of us has something to look forward to. Even if it is spending time with that particularly annoying great aunt who still thinks you;re five.
VAT has come down by 2.5% this week and this means that everything has gone down in price, something my mum was quite pleased about when she excitedly informed me in Sainsbury that the chicken in jelly dog food had gone down in price by 5p. A mundane matter some may agree, but the saying is after all, 'look after the penies and the pounds will look after themselves'. Something that in these hard times everyone needs to remember.
Another happier side to the otherwise gloomy business of the credit crunch and the down turn in the economy is that christmas shopping has become alittle more affordable. Whilst people are having to spend carefully I was most pleased this weekend shopping in Torquay when I suggested to look in Woolworths to check the deals. Everything was half price, and I found many a good deal and completed a large portion of my christmas shopping. Image my delight then when I went to pay for presents and found that there had been further reductions, the DVD that i thought was a bargain at £8 had gone down to £4.20.
Therefore I say to you that even in these hard times remember that all is not bad, and with christmas around the corner each of us has something to look forward to. Even if it is spending time with that particularly annoying great aunt who still thinks you;re five.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Teen Pregnancy
The UK has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world, in fact, we are second only to the United States with 31 births per 1,000 for teens ages 15-19, whilst the US has 51 per 1,000. I have been aware of the fact that the UK has such a high teen pregnancy rate since my mum first had 'that' chat with me way back when boys were still an unknown oddity that shared the playground. However, until recent months I have never really had contact with teen mums, none of my friends have fallen pregnant and considering I have spent most of my teenage life in Torbay, (which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the South West, and in fact outside of London is the only place in the country to have pregnancy levels rise by nearly 16% between 1998-2008) this is quite surprising. The current statistics suggest that 44 girls in 1,000 in Torbay have been pregnant.
Yet in the last 6 months two of my friends have had babies, and a further two have told me that they are expecting, and although they are all over 18 it is still quite a shock to think that some of my peers are now parents. There are thousands of reports into the reasons for the UK's rising pregnancy levels in teens, and they hardly ever contain oppinions from teenagers.
Paignton Community School has come under the closest scrutiny over teen mums in recent years since a 13 year old became pregnant and was even thrown out of her sex ed class for interruptions. A recent report said that many 14 year old girls in Torbay thought having a baby was like getting a new handbag. Kizzy Neal is one such example, and her father has blamed the growing 'gang culture', saying all teenagers now drink, do drugs and have sex. But as a teen growing up in Torbay I cannot agree with this, yes in the winter there is very little to keep teens occupied, but we do not all resort to drink, drugs and sex thank-you. As for the comments that it is seen as fashionable to have a baby I do not agree with this either, sometimes it is a complete accident, and no contraception is 100% safe.
In my personal opinion the schools need to rethink their sexual education classes because that is where the true failing is occurring. My own school had an appalling sexual education class, the only thing I can remember is being told aged 14 that if I had unprotected sex I would get cervical cancer. Not really an adequate education in the country with the second highest teenage pregnancy in the world, would you agree?
Yet in the last 6 months two of my friends have had babies, and a further two have told me that they are expecting, and although they are all over 18 it is still quite a shock to think that some of my peers are now parents. There are thousands of reports into the reasons for the UK's rising pregnancy levels in teens, and they hardly ever contain oppinions from teenagers.
Paignton Community School has come under the closest scrutiny over teen mums in recent years since a 13 year old became pregnant and was even thrown out of her sex ed class for interruptions. A recent report said that many 14 year old girls in Torbay thought having a baby was like getting a new handbag. Kizzy Neal is one such example, and her father has blamed the growing 'gang culture', saying all teenagers now drink, do drugs and have sex. But as a teen growing up in Torbay I cannot agree with this, yes in the winter there is very little to keep teens occupied, but we do not all resort to drink, drugs and sex thank-you. As for the comments that it is seen as fashionable to have a baby I do not agree with this either, sometimes it is a complete accident, and no contraception is 100% safe.
In my personal opinion the schools need to rethink their sexual education classes because that is where the true failing is occurring. My own school had an appalling sexual education class, the only thing I can remember is being told aged 14 that if I had unprotected sex I would get cervical cancer. Not really an adequate education in the country with the second highest teenage pregnancy in the world, would you agree?
Tuesday 18 November 2008
Baby P
Those of you who regularly watch the news will have heard all about the horrific life and death of Baby P, who died on Aug 3 2007 after being toutured by his mother and her boyfriend. After watching the BBC Panorama last night I thought I'd find out more information about Baby P.
Baby P was born on March 1 2006, and concerns for his care were first raised at just 3 weeks old when he was treated for oral thrush by his GP. However, the first injuries reported came on October 13 2006 when he was visited by GP Dr J Ikwueke for 'bruising to the head and chest' after an 'accidental fall downstairs'. He was admitted to Whittington Hospital for bruising to the forehead, nose and shoulder on December 11 2006, and was released into the care of Angela Godfrey. Baby P was then examined and referred to the Child Abuse investigation team. The police then embarked on investigations into alleged abuse and arrested the mother on December 19th, but she was later released on bail and allowed to keep custody of Baby P, who underwent a number of X-rays on his leg. The next major incident reported was on April 5 2007 when Baby P was seen by the Gp for bruising to his face, which was caused by another child pushing him into the fireplace according to his mother, and P is admitted to North Middlesex hospital for bruising and swelling to his head. June 8, P is registered for neglect and returns to hospital again with an ear infection and head lice. Finally on August 1 P is seen by locum doctor Sabah Al Zayyat who recorded that P was 'quite miserable and crying' which did not allow a full examination, Dr Zayyat missed that Baby P had a broken spine. Two days later emergency services were called to the home of Baby P who was pronounced dead at 12:10 in hospital on August 3 2007.
The mother was then arrested at 13:45 for the death of her child. Last week her 32 year old boyfriend and their lodger Jason Owen 36 were convicted of causing or allowing the death of Baby P. The mother 27 had also admitted to a similar charge previously.
Social services clearly failed this baby, they were fully aware of his situation and there was reportedly a foster family set up to receive Baby P seven months before his death, so the question has to be raised, why was Baby P left with his mother?
Maria Ward was the social worker in charge of Baby P's case and she was dealing with 18 cases at the time of his death, although the Haringey council's limit is 12 cases per social worker. Her situation closely mirrors that of Lisa Arthurworrey, the social worker responsible for Victoria Climbe, the 8 year old killed in 2000, who had a case load of 19 cases. Maria Ward had suggested on a number of occasions that Baby P be removed from his mother's custody yet her superiors overruled her saying the baby was better with his mother. Yet with 9 visits to hospital, more than 78 dealings with authorities and Haringey council and more than 50 injuries to his body Baby P was not removed from his mother's care. Surely with this level of evidence for abuse, and being seen by 28 different social workers, doctors and police officers before his death someone should have taken action well before he tragically died?
Because of his death there is now an urgent inquiry into the running of Haringey social services, with Children's Secretary Ed Balls stating that 'where serious mistakes are made there must be accountability and I will not hesitate in responding to what went wrong'. Decisions will be made after the outcome of the interim report into Baby P's death on December 1 as to who could potentially be heald accountable for Baby P's death, or what action will be taken if any. Yet with all this, it has still taken the brutal suffering and death of a 17 month old baby to bring to light the shortfalls in the social services in this country. One can only hope that from this horrific ordeal there will be other children saved from the same fate.
Baby P was born on March 1 2006, and concerns for his care were first raised at just 3 weeks old when he was treated for oral thrush by his GP. However, the first injuries reported came on October 13 2006 when he was visited by GP Dr J Ikwueke for 'bruising to the head and chest' after an 'accidental fall downstairs'. He was admitted to Whittington Hospital for bruising to the forehead, nose and shoulder on December 11 2006, and was released into the care of Angela Godfrey. Baby P was then examined and referred to the Child Abuse investigation team. The police then embarked on investigations into alleged abuse and arrested the mother on December 19th, but she was later released on bail and allowed to keep custody of Baby P, who underwent a number of X-rays on his leg. The next major incident reported was on April 5 2007 when Baby P was seen by the Gp for bruising to his face, which was caused by another child pushing him into the fireplace according to his mother, and P is admitted to North Middlesex hospital for bruising and swelling to his head. June 8, P is registered for neglect and returns to hospital again with an ear infection and head lice. Finally on August 1 P is seen by locum doctor Sabah Al Zayyat who recorded that P was 'quite miserable and crying' which did not allow a full examination, Dr Zayyat missed that Baby P had a broken spine. Two days later emergency services were called to the home of Baby P who was pronounced dead at 12:10 in hospital on August 3 2007.
The mother was then arrested at 13:45 for the death of her child. Last week her 32 year old boyfriend and their lodger Jason Owen 36 were convicted of causing or allowing the death of Baby P. The mother 27 had also admitted to a similar charge previously.
Social services clearly failed this baby, they were fully aware of his situation and there was reportedly a foster family set up to receive Baby P seven months before his death, so the question has to be raised, why was Baby P left with his mother?
Maria Ward was the social worker in charge of Baby P's case and she was dealing with 18 cases at the time of his death, although the Haringey council's limit is 12 cases per social worker. Her situation closely mirrors that of Lisa Arthurworrey, the social worker responsible for Victoria Climbe, the 8 year old killed in 2000, who had a case load of 19 cases. Maria Ward had suggested on a number of occasions that Baby P be removed from his mother's custody yet her superiors overruled her saying the baby was better with his mother. Yet with 9 visits to hospital, more than 78 dealings with authorities and Haringey council and more than 50 injuries to his body Baby P was not removed from his mother's care. Surely with this level of evidence for abuse, and being seen by 28 different social workers, doctors and police officers before his death someone should have taken action well before he tragically died?
Because of his death there is now an urgent inquiry into the running of Haringey social services, with Children's Secretary Ed Balls stating that 'where serious mistakes are made there must be accountability and I will not hesitate in responding to what went wrong'. Decisions will be made after the outcome of the interim report into Baby P's death on December 1 as to who could potentially be heald accountable for Baby P's death, or what action will be taken if any. Yet with all this, it has still taken the brutal suffering and death of a 17 month old baby to bring to light the shortfalls in the social services in this country. One can only hope that from this horrific ordeal there will be other children saved from the same fate.
Tuesday 21 October 2008
An off hand comment
I was waiting for the bus the other day at the train station when a BMW drove up and a man got out of the car to obviously catch a train. This is by no means an unusual act, my attention was drawn after the man had let the car as the woman in the car then moved into the driver's seat, at this point the bus arrived and could not go any further because the car was parked right in front of it blocking the road. I wondered as to why she didn't simply move the car, when it became clear she was having trouble with the car. A man walked over calling her all names under the sun saying she couldn't see the bus and was she stupid? At which point the woman got out of the car showing that she could not move the seat and therefore obviously couldn't reach the peddles. Dutifully the man helped her to move the seat forward and all was sorted as she moved the car. During all this the man in the car had returned because of the commotion, and to my surprise as the other man walked towards the station and the original man in the car he said in front of everyone in the que, and i quote 'and then they let the f**kers vote' and even laughed. I was appauled by his comment, as was the woman standing next to me in the que and i dare say a few others. Yet no-one said anything to him and even the man who knew the woman did not defend her. He was quite obviously referring to when women achieved the right to vote in 1928 after 10 years of only women over the age of 30 who owned property could vote. From 1897 the National Union of Women's Suffrage founded by Millicent Fawcett campaigned for equal rights for women and the right to vote. The Suffregettes suffered years of hunger strikes and campaigning in order to gain the vote for women, and although some of their actions were violent they still achieved equal rigths eventually. Therefore the off hand comment from this man shocked me because it shows that even today some men and women do not view eachother as equals.
Thursday 9 October 2008
First Blog
Hi, this is my first ever blog so here it goes.
I'm making this blog to use as part of my course in Print Journalism, but at least it seems that doing work won't be tedious or boring.
This is my first year at university and so far things seem to be going ok, (something I'm quite pleased about). At first moving out of home appeared quite scary, but thinking about it now it's just an adventure and i get to meet lots of new people. I was born in Gloucester and moved to Devon when i was 12, if I'm honest i didn't thinkI'd come back to Gloucester, but the University and the course was so good that I changed my mind.
I have already had one article that I joint wrote with another student published in the University paper. Although it's nothing spectacular it was still quite exciting to see my name over an article in a paper, and hopefully it's a sign of future success in the print journalism industry!
Well that's all from me for now, leave a comment if you find anything interesting on my blog!
Katie
I'm making this blog to use as part of my course in Print Journalism, but at least it seems that doing work won't be tedious or boring.
This is my first year at university and so far things seem to be going ok, (something I'm quite pleased about). At first moving out of home appeared quite scary, but thinking about it now it's just an adventure and i get to meet lots of new people. I was born in Gloucester and moved to Devon when i was 12, if I'm honest i didn't thinkI'd come back to Gloucester, but the University and the course was so good that I changed my mind.
I have already had one article that I joint wrote with another student published in the University paper. Although it's nothing spectacular it was still quite exciting to see my name over an article in a paper, and hopefully it's a sign of future success in the print journalism industry!
Well that's all from me for now, leave a comment if you find anything interesting on my blog!
Katie
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