Turning the corner

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

“I know what is around the corner – I just don’t know where the corner is.” – Kevin Keegan (Former England manager)

SORRY Kevin, no-one knows what is around the corner, but the unexpected can happen so easily to derail things.  However, the second part of that quote can sometimes be said when you are looking for love.  However, this isn’t me pining for something special, this is turning around the corner and feeling positive about me again and that’s the first time I can say that about myself in a long time.

      I can’t quite believe it; it has been such a positive week but the trick worked.  As people who know me, follow the blog, I think the problems I’ve faced of late have been well-documented.  I’ve been a troubled soul before ‘production week,’ last week.  I returned feeling refreshed, with as much power from a standard Duracell battery and ready to take on everything again.  However, what was important was to bring my old self back and return to the caring, supportive, relaxed side that had worked so well in the final weeks of second year at University.  I feel that I have achieved this and I’m on the edge of continuing this momentum.

        Mondays can be such a long slog; but the 9-6 day (with a three hour gap in-between) is good practice for all trainee journalists.  Not only does it remind those who have undergone placement and faced this, it is what is to be expected at the minimum after graduation.  I came home feeling that everything went according to plan and that is the first Monday I’ve felt like that since my birthday over six weeks ago.  I got something out of all the timetabled lectures/sessions, was encouraged by progress made in a group project and understood how to reference a dissertation within your work.  Yep, it was all largely encouraging.  If there was a black mark, then it was confirmation of a choice of five topics for a 2,000 word feature; abortion, death penalty, the right to bear arms, freedom of expression and something else that I can’t remember!  Not a great choice, but as one of my close friends on the course Ellie said the other week, it is no good complaining about this in a proper job.  We all have strengths and weaknesses and sometimes you need to work on the weaknesses.  Excitement is not going to feature in this piece when I write it up, but I can stay encouraged by attempting something that might not only help me understand the law a bit more, but you never know what you might find out in your research.  Oh, I’m not writing about abortion or the death penalty, I do have my limits when it comes to this!

It certainly is and something I want to get used to

       The good vibe continued on Tuesday when I went in to have my first detailed meeting with my tutor on my dissertation.  For stating the obvious, I will not be revealing what I’m doing, but I had already written up my first chapter and felt ahead of the game.  There was a lot of red pen on the paperwork I sent in, which could be seen as a bad thing.  However, the feedback was very detailed, very constructive and I know what I can change and attempt to improve; e.g.; my exaggerated use of language.  Criticism can come in many forms and it is something I have struggled time and again to accept.  I’m one of those who would rather learn and improve, rather than someone come up to me and say; ‘Your work is rubbish, start again you imbecile!’  I still feel confident in meeting my dissertation targets and believe I’m well on track to succeed with one of the toughest challenges.

         It doesn’t end there; I’m now feeling like I’m contributing far more to the group project on Silverstone and motor racing too.  I’m helping out with two of the three tasks and only attempting to stay clear of the third task on the worry that a technical involvement (i.e. editing) will end up in me having to change the tougher individual project.  I feel everything is under control with this too and the good news is I can restart the production folder.  Okay, it’s not the most attractive piece, but for me, a crucial one.  For those who probably were ready to write me off and they may have had a point a fortnight ago, my message now is ‘Who’s laughing now!’  I’m not one to brag, never have been but I feel like I have proven myself and I can cope with third year.  Yes, it is a shame that it took seven weeks to get a grip of it, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.  While I am mentioning laughing, I love that song by Jessie J!

         Has there been any frustration this week, not personally anyways.  BlackBerry’s do seem to have a severe lack of application memory space and the bumbling Sepp Blatter still refuses to quit as FIFA president after a disgraceful comment he made about racism in football.  However, both events are out of my control, so I will not let these issues bother me.  On the charging side of things, I would like to know why the FA (Football Association) charged Luis Suarez 32 days after Liverpool played Manchester United in the Premiership.  Suarez is alleged to have said something to United defender Patrice Evra in the 1-1 draw last month at Anfield.  You would have thought that he would have been charged on the Monday after the game, not a month later.  However, it is the alleged bit that really strikes me and can be used so much in journalism.  ‘He allegedly said,’ or ‘I think this guy has no place in society’ allegedly – it is a word that is so often used to protect quotes and sources.  That’s the thing with this; we don’t know what Suarez said and that’s the same with John Terry in the QPR v Chelsea stormy encounter.  The British justice system has been questioned in the past, but I’m maintaining the belief that these two are innocent until proven guilty and they shouldn’t be trialled by media. 

          Finally, Christmas is not far away now and I can’t wait.  It is weird for me to feel like this, especially as it didn’t appeal so much a few years ago (2006, 2007 era).  Christmas is a time of year where you forget the bad times and remember the good moments, not just in the present, but the past year too.  It is a time for reflection, a time to be with family and the time to indulge in all that food, drink and TV.  In fact, the build-up is almost just as exciting as the day itself.  Let’s never forget the meaning of the festive season and for anyone who says; ‘It’s not Christmas yet,’ it's on TV now and here is my vindication that it is;

See you next time!

Home comforts help the growing distance concern

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

SOMETIMES, I do wish that my life was just a bit quieter, or if that can’t be the case, a week where relatively little happens in it.  I guess I’m in dreamland here! 

     Another week, another mixed bag but it did involve a trip back home for a couple of days to my homeland of Milton Keynes.  I couldn’t wait to get away from it all and it turned into a productive 48 hours.  Not only did I watch one of the classics in film; The Lion King, I felt I made significant progress in regards to my dissertation.  In fact, I’m technically 20 per cent through my 5,000 word quota, which is very satisfying.  It hasn’t been proof-read by anyone other than me, nor content has been checked by my supervised tutor yet, but to say substantial progress has been made is very true.  My target to have the dissertation nearly complete by the end of January is well within reach.

      Being at home for a couple of days rocked too.  I do like my independence, so my accommodation in Northampton works out well, but it is also nice to go home and be guaranteed a hot shower, not having to cook for just you, be certain of a decent internet connection and so on.  Home comforts will never go away from me and with the lack of activity around University so far this year; it looks like something I might be doing a bit more often as the year progresses.  Certainly it is something more to think about if I get more of my work done in this area.

       I had to getaway and at the right time too.  I had several run-ins with Uni course mates between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, all minor disagreements it has to be said but by the time Monday evening came around, I had enough.  It didn’t matter how I reacted, how I felt, what I decided to do, everything seemed to backfire on me and for no good reason.  If I’ve done something wrong, I will be the first one to hold my hands up and say sorry.  I don’t feel I have had to do that in the past seven days, yet can’t help but feel almost like public enemy no.1.  I think these incidents have highlighted a fact of life; I will probably feature next week in the Odd One Out round of Have I Got News for You?  I have very little in common with anyone on my course and it is beginning to show.  I still watch Neighbours, love Formula One and like playing computer games on my Xbox 360.  The majority prefer a meal at Nando’s, love Halloween and are big fans of The Only Way is Essex.  The latter pair is things I can’t stand and wish didn’t exist.  The gap is not narrowing; the distance is growing.  I hate distance between people, it is one of the worst things to happen in life, but I fear it is happening with pretty much everyone and I don’t like it.  I guess it’s a fact of life and sometimes, it’s better to know where you stand sooner rather than later down the line.  However, if it continues, I can’t help but feel that is this going to be a very long, torrid year.  I’ve already been called boring this year, but perhaps I’m more a freak of nature, lame and uncool than anything else.  However, whatever people think is their business, so I guess I'll just get on with it, keep my head down and wait to graduate.

     Regular readers will know that I was quite critical of the lecturers towards the end of last year and rightly so.  However, credit where it is due, they have supported everyone so far this time around.  Any questions have been answered properly via e-mail or in the next timetabled session and often, things have been made clearer after looking like a near impossible task.  I got another e-mail from the head of the course yesterday encouraging people to apply as this year’s student course rep, with the incentive being a free coffee.  Nice try, but I think I’ll give it a miss.  If you were offering a free Sky subscription, an Audi A4 or a holiday to Mexico, then that would be far more tempting to take on.  In a small team, I do feel I can lead a group forward, but I don’t think I would be cut out to take on the challenge of dealing with the problems/issues/enquiries of 30 students.  For me, it is more likely to provide more headaches than delight.  It might look good on a CV come the end of the year, but to me, feels more like a poisoned chalice.  However, good luck to whoever decides to take on the role.

BUSY: People queue in their hundreds to see the Olympic torch

     Today saw the Olympic torch arrive at the University of Northampton in an event put together very successfully by the University and the Student Union.  I went down for a couple of hours to see what was going on.  A very lengthy queue meant I wasn’t going to be able to have my photo taken with the torch, but everyone seemed very happy there today on such a beautiful, autumn afternoon.  Many youngsters could try out a whole range of sports, such as badminton, basketball, hockey and javelin.  I think we can safely say that Britain’s young talent continues to shine through and it makes you think just how close the 2012 Olympics are now.  In a little over nine months time, the biggest sporting event in the world heads to London and I hope everyone will get in the Olympic spirit, because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

      Once again, it has been a tough week in news.  There was the tragic accident in MotoGP in Malaysia last weekend that claimed the life of promising Italian rider Marco Simoncelli, followed by the earthquake in Turkey just hours later which has claimed hundreds of lives.  I didn’t feel miserable about these events, but they are a shock.  One of the well-respected students on the course, told me on Monday; ‘People die, get over it.’  I thought it was a barbaric and unnecessary comment and I was unimpressed, especially with all the tragedy around the world at the moment.  However, perhaps I have had carried too much emotional attraction and meaning to some of the issues in the world in recent weeks and that is something in journalism that you can’t have.  Yesterday, BBC journalist Sanjeev Shetty came into the University to talk to us and spoke about his decision to not show the Simoncelli accident on the rolling news channel when it came through on Sunday.  He highlighted the issue of not getting personally connected with the story, so that’s something I have now taken onboard, no matter how bad it is.  The guest lecture was really useful to me, as not only did it show the hard work I have to put in to get where I want to go, but Sanjeev shared some of his experiences with us and that was nice to hear.

TRIBUTES: For Nabila outside University, a touching memorial

      Finally, as I was leaving the Olympic torch event at Park Campus today, I walked past the lovely memorial that has been created for the late Leisure & Tourism student, Nabila Nanfuka.  Nabila was tragically crushed to death in the Lava: Ignite nightclub last Wednesday morning and the story has remained in the news all week, with the inquest into the death, plus news of the owners of the club going into administration.  Flowers and lighted candles were present and I did stop for a minute to pay my respects and look on.  Nabila had everything going for her and her dreams of a successful life have been cruelly taken away.  This is another reminder to those out there who seem to care more about Kitty Brucknell surviving in the X-Factor.  Get a grip; natural disasters have happened and another economic crisis is sweeping through Europe.  These stories are far more important than a stupid TV show. 

      I will leave you this week with the saying; “Never take anything for granted and don’t plan too far infront, because you just never know what is around the corner.”  Thank you and goodnight!

Welcome back!

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

DEEP: I feel like under one of these already!

IT HAS been a long summer, probably a bit too long – but the first week back at University was what I thought, a relaxing week back into the swing of things.  Ha!  Dream on.  Instead, I now have a pile of work that leaves me feeling like the celebrities in 71 Degrees North; buried underneath an avalanche!

     First day back and it was my 23^rd birthday.  The timing could have been a bit better, but at least I got to spend the day with my closest friends from my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  I got many happy returns from colleagues and some lovely cards from the really close friends that I have.  You know who you are, so I’m not going to mention you in person.  First day back began with a 9am lecture on radio.  I’m no fan of radio journalism and think it is quite out-of-date.  If I listen to radio, it’s for sports commentary on Five Live and sometimes will have it on before I go to sleep.  However, I don’t listen to it, their evening programmes are so bad it just helps me get to sleep quicker.  Radio journalism went out-of-date in around 1994 and I can’t help think that, especially when we live in the technological, social networking age of today.  However, it still might be interesting to find out a deeper background into the subject at least.  For the first hour, I sat on my own, just feeling slightly nervous.  I don’t know why; guess I just didn’t want to be the centre of attention.

     In the afternoon, we had our first group session for a very interesting project on motor racing.  People who know me will understand my strong passion for motor racing (see F1 and MotoGP reports), but I’m only into the racing side of things.  All the technical malarkey does not appeal to me and it is only F1 and MotoGP that I follow very closely.  I used to watch rallying, but got bored when the same guy kept winning every rally, have never been a big fan of sportscars or racing in America (Indy 500, CART etc) and as for national motorsport, what championships are they?  Our project is based on the final round of next weekend’s title decider at Silverstone for the British Touring Car Championship.  Five drivers can still mathematically claim the title and the BTCC is an okay racing series.  I watch a few rounds on TV, especially when nothing is on the box on a Sunday afternoon, but it isn’t something that has passion to me; just another racing championship.  The project involves a trip to the home of British motorsport on Friday and that does excite me, no matter what.  It will be an interesting day and an interesting project.  I already reckon that this year is going to be tough, no doubts.

     Thursday morning bought the sad news of Steve Jobs death.  The Apple figurehead (I will do a tribute on here in the next few days) has had a massive influence in the way we talk, communicate and appreciate the technological gadgets we have.  I’m not an Apple person; I don’t eat the fruit and have had regular problems with their software, especially on the iMac’s.  Nevertheless, I use iTunes on a regular basis to listen to my music and no-one can doubt the vision that Jobs had for Apple and the world.  His death is very sad and although I reckon the company will survive without too many issues, they will miss his leadership.  The world is a poorer place without him.

     As for my dissertation, (yep I have to do one of them this year), the early beginnings are looking good and I just wish I had more books I could buy.  I now have an official question title in place and I am probably less than a fortnight away from beginning to type out my first chapter.  Although I won’t reveal the topic on here, the clue is that it is to do with broadcast journalism.  Broadcast journalism is an area where I don’t like doing it, but I seem to end up with better results than the traditional strength I have; print journalism.  If that’s the case, it made my topic fairly easy and sensible to choose.  I have already had a positive meeting with the tutor I will be working closely with, so early signs suggest that although it will probably take me to the brink on more than one occasion, it is something I’m going to enjoy researching, without wanting to do something else.

     One of the presents I got for my birthday was F1 2011; the new racing game on the Xbox 360.  Actually, I’m finding it a real challenge to play, which is great for any racing simulation, as I normally find them too easy to play.  I have achieved a second place finish with Williams in the Barcelona event and have a habit of making great starts from solid grid positions, but it is very realistic.  The days of winning the championship in your first year with Virgin Racing are a distant thing of the past.

HAPPY: Posing with fellow blogger and close Uni friend, Farida

     My lengthy birthday celebrations came to a conclusion with another trip to the Balestra nightclub on Thursday in town.  More people came than I had been expecting and it was a great night, even if the music was a bit naff.  It was a lovely night and a great way to finish the week off with the majority of my closest buddies.  As much as I was hoping to make it a regular feature this year, the workload will determine that and if week one is anything to go by, it is more likely to be a monthly rather than a fortnightly basis.

     So, week one of my final year at University has finished and there is bound to be plenty of emotional rollercoaster’s along the way.  It is great to be back around people who mean a lot to me, but the gauntlet has already been thrown down, so I’d better start trying to dig myself out of this avalanche!

      Welcome back everyone!