Bye bye everybody...the final blog!

By Simon Wright (Blogger of HappyDude88)

SO, WE have reached the conclusion of this journey and after 22 months, it is ‘Time to Say Goodbye.’  Or is it, ‘The Final Countdown.’  Either way, each song is good.

When I began my blog, first on LiveJournal, before switching to BlogSpot in February 2010, I thought this might only last six weeks/two months before I got bored.  However, I haven’t and I have enjoyed the majority of the content I have uploaded on here, even if some blogs were far more difficult to write than others.

Before I begin, I have had some questions on why I am stopping now and not continuing.  Well, there is a combination of reasons behind my decision.  First of all, this was something I decided back at the end of June, even before I started my work placement in London with Runner’s World magazine.  I was happy with the decision I made back then and although, admittedly, I’ve had a few doubts in recent weeks, I have to stick to what I decided back then.  If I continued into 2012, I would have felt that I needed to do another year of blogging, not say six months.  I don’t think I would have the time to do that.  Also, I am aware that 2012 poses some significant and massive challenges ahead of me.  I have five months left of my journalism degree at the University of Northampton and need to put 100 per cent focus onto finishing off my dissertation and beginning my TV filming on technology for my Individual Practical Project.  Time will be of the essence and I’m afraid, I’m not going to be able to give the blog the time and dedication it would deserve.  Plus, it is best that I went out on a high, rather than a low and see my standards decrease.  Therefore, it is best that I ended things now, rather than let the site decline.

Of course, there are lots of people to thank for supporting the website, giving me constructive or sometimes, damming criticism.  However, I can’t thank you all personally.  You do know who you are, but I don’t want to send anyone to sleep!  But, I do want to thank some people especially, who have supported me, helped me out and always been there for me over the past two years.

First person I want to thank is my brother, Jason Wright.  Over the past two years, Jason has provided extra content for this website on the world of entertainment.  He has been my entertainment expert.  His witty contributions to The X-Factor, Dancing on Ice and many award ceremonies have certainly added a good vibe to the site.  Jason will go on to start his own entertainment site in the New Year and I urge you all to follow it when I get the link up.  I hope you have as much enjoyment on your own site J, as I did with this one.

Jason is not the only writer who has produced a blog on this site.  A friend of mine through the days at Milton Keynes College, Charlie Gardiner wrote an Avatar review for the site, Rochelle Lye did a blog on Doctor Who for me and Robert Jones contributed a 2010 FIFA World Cup preview with me last year.  I want to thank them for helping the blog in its early stages, before me and Jason took things on in its later life.  Also, thank you to the followers of this blog and again, you know who you are.

Another friend of mate gave me the inspiration to move to BlogSpot in the first place, who deserves a mention and that is Anthony Ashfield.  I was at Milton Keynes College with Anthony or ‘Fat Tony’ as he is better known to his close friends and he suggested I should look at BlogSpot, rather than stick with the less frequent LiveJournal blog.  It was a brilliant bit of advice and I haven’t looked back since, so thank you to Anthony for giving me the encouragement to go with the right blogging provider.

Then, there’s Farida Zeynalova, a very good friend of mine on the journalism course at the University of Northampton.  Farida has always drummed up support for the blog, through her fantastic Twitter account, even going on to say that I have a ‘a big and aspiring future.’  Thanks for your help Farida with this; it really did mean a lot. 

Two more friends of mine at the University, Ellie Birmingham and Tamika Short have always been there for me on the course and on the site too.  I know personal columns and viewpoints were a big plus point of mine and it was Tamika’s funny personal views on her site that gave me the pulling power to give this kind of blog a go.  So, she inspired me while Ellie has been a brilliant friend for me and I know she enjoyed reading my personal blogs especially.  Thank you to both of you too for your kind words of support over the past two years.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has done any kind of reading on the 660 blogs that have gone online.  Whether that was the personal blogs I did into my life, my obsession with Skins, the entertainment reviews from my brother, my regular reports on the 2010 and 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship and those major events in the news like the General Election, the Royal Wedding, the tsunami in Japan and the summer riots in the UK.

I knew this day was coming and I am feeling a bit emotional, but I have high hopes for my future.  In 2012, I want to show that to everyone and hope that this blog has given me the starting point to a better life.  I will still keep the site online, so if you want to check up on something then come onto this site, it won’t close.  I will also put together a University of Northampton 2011/12 page in due course, when I get more work back this year and who knows, I might pop up at some point in 2012 with a few special blogs.  However, regular updating is over now and I’m so pleased I’ve had the passion and commitment to contribute in recent years.  If you still want to get in touch with me, I am still available on Twitter at @HappyDude88.

So, that’s it folks.  There’s little else for me to say, except I wish everyone a safe and brilliant Christmas and a prosperous and exciting New Year.  It has been a pleasure to share my thoughts with you and after 660….that is it. 

Thank you again and goodbye!

HappyDude88

UTC partnership highlights University of Northampton's ambitions

By Simon Wright (University Q&A)

KNOWLEDGE: Expert tuition from engineers in top teams will benefit students

THE recent news of the partnership between Silverstone Circuits, the University of Northampton and Tresham College has not only highlighted the ambitions that the University of Northampton has for the future, but will give students new opportunities to learn from the experts.  The agreement will see a new University Technical College open up within the next two years, with as many as 580 students between the ages of 14-19 benefiting from the new options that will come from it.  Yesterday, I had the privilege to interview the vice-chancellor at the University of Northampton, Nick Petford who was very excited about the link-up and indicated that the future is very bright, not only for the people of Northamptonshire, but the options University Technical Colleges will bring in the future.

Simon: First question Nick, is how excited are you about the link-up between the University and Silverstone?

Nick Petford: I am very excited about it.  We’ve had good relations with Silverstone prior to the UTC announcement.  We’ve had people from fashion working down there, Science & Technology and students from the business school on events management courses but this is an opportunity to put it all together.  It will really make a different for the people of Northamptonshire and outside as well.  It won’t just be for Northampton, it’s going to be so successful that it will be a national project.

SW: For those unsure about the partnership, can you go into a bit more detail about the partnership within the three parties involved?

NP: As a University, we have four partner colleges who we work with on strategic stuff.  One of them is Tresham College, who are based up in Corby and we started discussions with Corby a couple of years ago about a project that might have ended up with a University in Corby.  That didn’t get very far due to funding but then the University Technical College came on the scene and because Tresham already do some teaching down at Silverstone around engineering.  So, it was a chance for us to come together and start to think about how we can develop a really exciting partnership between Silverstone, the University and Tresham around a 14-19 year old curriculum. 

SW: What is the planned date for opening this technical college?

NP: The planned date is 2012, but that’s what they (Central Government) want to happen.  Whether that will be possible will depend on getting planning permission, on how to start building it, so all of that has to happen and whether that timescale is feasible, I don’t know.  It might be 2013.

SW: What types of students are most likely to benefit from the link-up?

NP:  Well, these UTC’s are actually schools.  You start at 14 years old and you leave when you are 19, so it goes into the traditional A level territory.  So, they will have to teach part of the National Curriculum and it will be teachers, not so much University staff.  There will be standard GCSE’s, such as Maths and Science, but where we will be able to help is that through the maths curriculum and the science curriculum will be geared towards motorsports.  I think the great thing as a kid will be sitting there thinking why are we learning this and you might get someone from McLaren saying; ‘You’re learning this because this is how our car works,’ and you will need to learn the maths of engines and aerodynamics, the pressures and so on.  So, it’s a very exciting opportunity.  It won’t be for everyone, but if you are saying why you are bothering with this, well you’re bothering because it’s what an employer wants and that employer could be Red Bull.

SW: How many people will be allowed to train for these opportunities?

NP: There will be about 550 at Silverstone.  Whether it will be that number when it starts in 2012 or 2013, we don’t know.  It will depend on how we build it up, so it might be a smaller intake to start with, but ultimately when it is all up and running, I’d say 550, maybe as many as 580 students.

SW: What is the background of University Technical Colleges, as I know this is something that you and the University are keen on pushing forward?

NP: The background comes from Lord Baker (Kenneth Baker) who was a minister in the government a few years ago.  The whole philosophy behind them is to develop vocational learning and make it as excellent and as aspired as more traditional academic learning.  There is still the feeling that the traditional A level/GCSE standard is where the more attention is and where the kudos lies, whereas doing the BTEC/Vocational route is not quite seen in the same standard.  So this is an opportunity to make vocational education through UTC’s as well respected and well received as a more traditional academic route is seen today. 

SW: Final question, with the link-up in place, how big is this news and how does it state the University’s future ambitions for 2012 and beyond?

NP: That’s a really good question.  I think what is says is that it plays perfectly to the University’s ambition and strategy  about being a vocational University and takes employability amongst its students very seriously and it wants to be a very different University from more traditional institutions.  As I explained with the GCSE v Vocational route in schools, it’s similar in Universities across the UK.  Some Universities offer more standard, academic courses and others go down the vocational route and sometimes, there’s been a bit of an imbalance.  So, this give us a chance on the vocational side of things to really spread our wings and start to offer the life-changing opportunities which I think UTC’s can do.  It’s spreading our mission, speaks to what we do and what we are about and also offer a pipeline for kids to come through from UTC’s to University if that’s what they want to do once they finish their UTC studies.

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!

An odd and tricky week

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

I FEEL at the end of this week to be in a far more positive frame of mind about events, but even I have to admit, it has been an odd week for many of us.  It’s seen its fair share of sad events, which affected me and also brought tragedy on the University of Northampton.  I think this week has reminded everyone of the real perspectives in life because at the end of the day, no-one knows what is around the corner.

       Having believed that last week and the start of my third and final Uni year had been a blip extended into Monday.  It really shouldn’t have, but it did and again, I only have myself to blame.  I was buzzing last weekend, until I heard the tragic news of the crash in America that claimed the life of British racing driver Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas.  I didn’t take it well at all and seeing the accident really shook me up.  Throughout Monday, the crash video on YouTube kept replaying through my head and I lost my focus of the bigger picture, which was bad.  I’ve seen a tribute programme that Sky Sports did last night to the Brit, who won the prestigious Indy 500 event twice, which is a unique achievement.  He touched many people’s lives in motorsport and he will leave a legacy through that community and his many fans that have been saddened by his loss.  So, why did it affect me so much?  Basically, I’ve never witnessed death in motorsport, which as people who know me, is a passion of mine.  Throw in the fact that he was British and grew up in the tiny village of Emberton, within my hometown of Milton Keynes and that made me worse.  Now if that makes me an odd person; for me to love my hometown and British motorsport, then I’m sorry, but that’s who I am and whoever doesn’t like it, I don’t care.  In these instances, I’m a private person, couldn’t really share my thoughts on this sort of thing and that wasn’t a good thing.  As the week has gone on, I’ve felt better and more within myself, but I just didn’t feel like buzzing or smiling my face off on Monday.  I didn’t feel like it, no point faking it in my view.  In spite of that, I should have shown more motivation and belief in myself on Monday and had to have a serious think about myself that evening.  I wasn’t coming across well and it was time to refocus my energy and effort – no more excuses.

      For me, the rest of the week has ended up being far more positive.  A lot of my journalism course buddies are beginning to take stock of the fact that Twitter is turning into such a useful source for communication and keeping up-to-date with the news.  I got a BlackBerry last week (whilst all the signal problems were occurring) and can’t keep myself away from Twitter.  I will now aim to use this far more often than Facebook, especially for professional standards.  Note to self; no good moaning on Twitter now, just in case you get a famous journalist following you!  Maybe my tweet on Scottish poet Robert Browning in midweek wasn’t my smartest move, but there you go!

      I also feel that I made a significant breakthrough with my dissertation this week.  Although things had been going well, they had stalled in the past fortnight and I was in desperate need of gaining more research and academic references from books.  As a course, we have been strictly told to not rely on the internet, as it isn’t a preferable source.  The tutors are expecting between 10-15 books to be used in bibliographies come marking time and I only had six.  It wasn’t looking great, especially as books cost a load of money, which is always a commodity in this day and age.  I went to the Uni library in midweek and found far more useful information and books that I could have imagined.  Not only do I feel that I have saved a fair bit of money, which might have turned into a complete waste, but I feel that I have now made significant progress to begin typing up my first chapter next week, which is encouraging.

PARTNERSHIP: Me and Farida both know what it takes

      The post-group meeting from the Silverstone trip went fairly well too, despite my dismal mood on Monday.  Ideas have been drawn up for all three aspects that my group has to do now and I’d say we are in a strong position with at least two of the practical elements now.  The TV side of things isn’t looking fantastic as I write this, but that has the element to be changed, especially when you have the best journalist on the course that will always give 100 per cent and is working incredibly hard full stop.  No, I am not talking about myself here, I’m talking about Farida.  I don’t say much about friends on here, in case it embarrasses them, but this is what I will say about Farida.  She is committed to the cause, dedicated to her profession and has done so many work placements in the past two years; she has taken so much from them.  I’ve never seen anyone who I’ve gone through the education ladder as motivated and driven as her and I know that she is going places in journalism.  Plus, she is such a caring, trusting and respectful individual too.  In third year, I am slowly coming around to the belief like those Coca Cola adverts of ‘Eat football, sleep football, and drink Coca Cola!’  My motto for this is ‘Live journalism, breath journalism, succeeding at journalism!’  I know Farida is already doing this and I’m lucky to have met someone like her who you can have a laugh with and share information, but can motivate and drive anyone to do even more.  Oh and for all fellow journalists out there, follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/FaridaZeynalova, it’s a great feed for her emotions! 

      However, whilst some of us go from strength to strength, others have opportunities taken away from them.  I started this blog talking about an incident that affected me, so I’ll finish mentioning about the tragic events of the early hours of Wednesday morning.  I’m sure a lot of you have seen the news reports of the crush at the Lava: Ignite nightclub in Northampton which claimed the life of 22-year old student Nabila Nanfuka.  Nabila was a third year student at the University of Northampton, studying Leisure & Tourism.  I personally didn’t know her; I know some on our course did.  These sorts of incidents just show how life can be so precious to us and remind us of the cruel twists of fate that can just happen, when you don’t expect them to.  RIP Nabila and thoughts go out to her family and friends at what must be a very difficult time for them.  I know there was an emotional memorial service on one of the campuses yesterday and I do hope the University will do something to mark Nabila’s time of studying here.  She shouldn’t be forgotten by anyone who is currently studying at the University of Northampton.

      It’s been an odd week, full of ups and downs, satisfaction and vindication, fate and tragedy.  What will October’s final week bring; who’s to say, but hopefully a quieter week for everyone after this week’s dramas.  For me, this involves a flying visit home to Milton Keynes and I can’t wait!

Thank you for reading!

RIP Dan Wheldon and Nabila Nanfuka

How useful is Twitter?

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

SOCIAL networking has become a real force in our lives over the past five years.  In fact, it is difficult for many to imagine their lives without any force of connectively to the outside world, expressing your feelings worldwide.  However, some guy from the Netherlands doesn’t want to know if you are about to have a ham sandwich! 

     I, myself, had three social networking options, before deleting my MySpace account last summer.  I had only used it once after leaving college, which was the primary reason why I had one in the first place.  When I went to college in 2007, I was encouraged to join MySpace; just as the Facebook revolution was beginning (I had joined Facebook in July 2007.)  I wanted to convert everyone to the Facebook way of thinking and with mission accomplished at the end of my two years studying media production, I felt quite satisfied.  Despite the recent takeover by Justin Timberlake, don’t expect MySpace to be popular.  In fact, I’d rather read The Sun newspaper, and those who know me know how much I despise that newspaper.

      Facebook may have an integral part in how we go about life, though I’m not one of those who will meet someone new in a bar; then go ‘I’ll Facebook you!’  What is going on with today’s English language system when that is said.  The stupid people could think, ‘oh yay, my face will appear in a book!’  It’s a ridiculous term!  Plus, why do you need to poke people.  Who wants to do that?

     I used to really not get the point of Twitter, which is the other social network that really has taken off in the past four years.  Since its launch in 2006, it is gradually drawing alongside Facebook in popularity.  TV programmes and presenters certainly seem to prefer the ‘tweet’ indicator and understandable, when you have to round it off in 140 characters.  A Facebook status could simply turn into a lengthy, waffle essay.  I’d prefer to eat my Birds Eye Potato Waffles rather than read waffle, but I guess people have their differences of opinion.  I reluctantly joined Twitter as part of an assignment I had to do in my first year at the University of Northampton (2009/10).  I didn’t want to; in fact, I couldn’t see much point in it.  My first thought of Twitter was; “Another place to go and stalk those celebrities.”  Why don’t you get posters and lick them, at least you could kiss them, can’t really do that with a computer screen!  Actually, as it turns out, I’m finding Twitter to be such a useful source of information.

      Having used it sporadically to keep an eye on the 2010 General Election in this country, I have grown into using it every day, tweeting on a regular basis and moving my website updates from FB onto Twitter.  It might be a narrower audience, but more people might be more interested in what you are blogging about.  Some people on my University course are like me; they love using it.  Others don’t get the point of it and do not bother and some don’t tweet, but still find it very newsworthy at least.  I’d say at least 60 per cent of the 115 people I follow are news organisations, magazines or significant leading figures in journalism.  Of course, there is the odd celebrity you want to keep a check on; such as Jimmy Carr, Nicole Scherzinger, Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Jake Humphrey and Fearne Cotton, who are some of the people I follow.  Even I have 51 followers, including ITV Anglia the topical news show 10 O’clock Live and Nick Clegg!  That last one is embarrassing, so I save my Clegg opinions for the dartboard; to be released in some year around Christmas time. 

Twitter has become an invaluable source and gives you an interesting uptake in life, so for me, it’s valuable and very useful.  I predict its popularity will just continue to increase and as far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing.

Follow me at http://twitter.com/#!/HappyDude88

SOME TWEETS I HAVE PRODUCED IN THE LAST MONTH;

“why do people explode over X-Factor, it's just a TV show - nobody died....”

“is expecting a lot, but feels it will deliver very little.”

“a beer and MOTD. Good times!”

“actions speak louder than words.”

“oh dear, looks like he missed a 'Nando!' Don't mean the restaurant either lol!”

“and the worst miss in Prem history goes to Nando. El Nino shud hav scored with his eyes shut: at least he will hav somethin named for him.”

“thoughts are with the families of the miners who have lost their lives in Wales. Such a tragic story.”

“this is the point where I wished money grew on trees. . .”

“10 years on today from USA's darkest day. My thoughts are with the families who lost their loved ones on this poignant day. RIP”

Everyone makes mistakes

By Simon Wright (Personal Piece)

THE gun goes off twice to indicate a false start and shock sweeps through the world.  The commentators scream in disbelief, millions of television viewers around the globe are left stunned into silence and over 60,000 spectators in the Daegu stadium in South Korea can’t quite believe what they have just seen.  The unflappable, likeable, cool Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt has just false started by miles.  The men’s 100m, expected to be a case of how fast Bolt will run has just been blown wide open.  Under the new, tight IAAF regulations, Bolt is disqualified.  He rips his Jamaican shirt off his torso, probably thinking why did I do that?  This incident alone yesterday just shows the point that everyone makes mistakes.

     Some people in life will claim that they’ve done nothing wrong, have no regrets in life and think they are absolutely perfect.  Hello, wake up and smell the coffee!!  Everyone has made an error of judgement before, no matter how big or small it is.  It’s life, ‘Pobody’s Nerfect!’

    

Mistakes can vary in sizes and form.  Here is a list of several potential examples;

• Someone making a bad career choice.  For example, thinking you can be a top chef and wreck Jamie Olivier’s career, only to realise that you can’t even cook microwave pizza and would never succeed in running a top London restaurant.  Oops!
• A drunken one-night stand, which many have probably done over the years.  Yes, it probably feels great when you have consumed gallons of tasty alcohol, but the next morning, it is bound to be a massive regret.  Plus, if you are in a secure relationship, the consequences are likely to be far more severe.  What were you thinking!
• Deciding to install a popular computer programme to continue competing with the technological times.  Hours later, your laptop simply won’t load up and nothing is backed up either.  Oh why oh why did I do that, I’m an idiot!
• As a football manager, making a bold tactical gamble to win a game, which you end up losing.  Don’t rub your hair furiously like Arsene Wenger!  Be a man and own up to your mistakes via the press.  Real-life or on Football Manager.  Yes, I totally lost the plot there!
• Getting home from the supermarket, unpack your shopping and think, oh nuts, I forgot to buy the crucial ingredient for dinner tonight.  With no money left, that chicken curry isn’t going to taste right now.  Don’t bother with Come Dine with me then, unless you want to be embarrassed.
• Getting out of your car, and putting the wrong type of petrol in!  Ah damn it; I knew it should have been unleaded fuel, not stupid diesel!  Oh no, that Mercedes car is going to pay for my clumsiness. 

Okay, it’s time to open up my closet of some of the daft errors/mistakes I’ve made down the years.  Those who know me must think I’m just an accident waiting to happen.

• Live streaming on illegal websites.  I know it’s dodgy, but when you begin, you think; ‘Ah, no problem, life’s all good.’  Then, when you check your latest anti-virus scan (like I did in April this year) and locate 272 potential deadly viruses, you realise, I made things far too critical.  I’ve learnt my lesson from that, but unfortunately – my current laptop probably will never recover from its previous healthy state.
• Aged 11 on my first foreign holiday in Lanzarote.  It’s December 30 and I see a Virtual Striker football machine.  Time to see if I can play for Brazil haha!  I start walking towards the games room, without realising there are a pair of glass doors in the way.  Ouch! That hurt and it did!  I tried brandy to cure the pain moments later.  Well, it eased the pain but then, I threw up at breakfast the next morning.  One alcoholic drink I must stay away from in future.
• I got mediocre AS level results, and saw the opportunity to go on a BTEC National Diploma Media Production course at Milton Keynes College.  Rather than go for it, I dither about it and by the time I want to go there, all places on the year’s course has gone.  I had to stick it out for another year at Radcliffe Secondary School, in the sixth form!  Wasn’t my smartest move, but luckily, it all turned out good and if I had gone a year earlier, I won’t have met my amazing friends on my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  Remember to put your career choices first before friend preference everybody!
• Saying things in the heat of the moment, when you think; ‘I’m right and you’re wrong, shut the #### up, I’m talking sense!’  Moments later, you think; ‘Why did I say that?’ and are forced to make a grovelling apology to the friend/colleague you just insulted.  It has happened to me time and again and is probably the one mistake I constantly make.  Fortunately, after another unsavoury incident earlier this year, I have managed to control this issue far greater.

     Of course, when you make a mistake, you must learn from the error of your ways and not do it again.    Like I said, no-one is perfect, we’ve all slipped up and we just have to accept the mistakes we’ve made and learn from them.  If you do, we become better people.  As we’ve seen from Usain Bolt in the last 24 hours and my own collection, hold your hands up and come back stronger.  It makes you stronger people.

Consistency is the key

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

FIVE weeks into my extended summer holiday and I can’t say that it has been a bundle of fun.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to have time off as much as anyone, but it becomes very difficult to motivate yourself, especially when you don’t have an ambition/target to set yourself.  Nevertheless, I can fully now appreciate that after a tricky spring period of the year, summer has brought some lovely (and unpredictable weather!) and some summery results. 

     Yes, two weeks ago, I got the conformation of my grades for the second year of my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  On reflection, I really can’t complain, and although the overall module results could have been slightly better, I was thrilled with my consistency in the separate units that make up a module.  Nearly 80 per cent of all the units I did ended up coming back with B grades, which for the hard graft and effort I put in during the last academic year, is a thoroughly merited result. 

     Some grades really surprised me actually.  I got a B- on the Broadcast Portfolio segment of one of my workshop modules.  Honestly, I was expecting a D!  If anyone listened to my radio pieces (see University Northampton portfolio 2010/11), you could hear how rubbish they were.  Frankly, it was the standard I would expect from an average primary school child!  That’s how bad my radio was.  I do wonder how well I could have done, if I’d done the Sky Sports sexism row back in January for one of my radio pieces.  Ah well, hindsight is a wonderful thing in life, if we have access to it.  

Law is an essential part of journalism; but it is still so BORING!

     Of course, the highpoint was earning an A on my law and government exam.  I was gutted to only earn a C on my 1998 Human Rights Act essay.  Although it wasn’t the greatest essay I’d ever produced, I thought I might have received a bit of discretion for choosing something different to almost everybody else on my degree.  The standard choice of the others was the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  I went a different route and obviously, it didn’t go down well.  Sometimes, gambles don’t pay off, but this does prove I am a risk taker.  Do I regret going a different route?  No, I don’t.  I don’t understand the Freedom of Information Act 2000; it would leave my head spinning like the world globe!  It’s just too complex for a brain as small as mine and as people who know me can vouch to, if I had brains, I’d be lethally dangerous!  Was I hoping for a better result on the essay?  Absolutely I was, and it’s the last time I will believe that going down a different route to the norm will earn some form of creditability. 

     It meant come the exam, I needed a decent result to balance out the essay grade.  As I think I said before, I came out of the exam feeling confident that I had done really well.  However, I could never have imagined earning an A!  It’s the first ever time I’ve achieved the top grade in any kind of exam before (SAT’s, GCSE’s, A Levels) you name it.  I think I can safely say I finally managed to beat the brain freeze I used to suffer in exams, or the choking levels of not remembering your stuff.  Whilst I’m on choking levels, maybe we’ll get a British winner at Wimbledon (No, there’s more chance of me driving a car again, which isn’t likely!)  I didn’t revise as hard as last year, but came out with a better result by a million miles.  Obviously, my preparation was meticulous.  Trust me though; I have no secrets to giveaway!

     The disappointing side of the results was the dismal D+ on my TV Gold magazine, which significantly bought down my DTP overall grade to a C+.  I must admit to being a bit confused by this.  I did a good presentation, thought I stuck to a consistent balance between design and content, yet the result is baffling.  Okay, I did see some top-quality magazines (like Farida’s Milan travel magazine, which was a class above anything else, sorry everyone, that was the standard to beat!) and I knew mine was nowhere near her calibre as an example.  However, it wasn’t that bad and I enjoyed doing it too, despite the stress of printer’s pairs!  There’s only one option I can try now; weasel my way out of doing a magazine next year.  Unlikely, as I think the 32-page mag is one of the compulsory modules for my final year.  However, if there is a way around it, I have to take a different option.  I was heavily criticised for my 8-page magazine last year and now, the 12-page has clearly gone the same way!  So, little hope of a 32-page being successful then!  Probably more chance of me gambling £1 on the National Lottery!

I was happy that my consistency has improved

     Nevertheless, consistency was the key to my overall results and I generally can’t complain with them.  I can’t wait to see my journalism buddies again.  I miss them so much and a fancy dress birthday party for August has already been arranged, so it will be the perfect catch-up point. 

      One final thing to announce; I will NOT be updating this website with anymore blogs from Christmas onwards.  It was a tough decision to make, but 2012 promises so much and I know that I’m just not going to have the time to keep this website functioning any longer.  Nevertheless, I want to thank everyone for reading/liking/commenting on the hundreds of blogs I’ve produced and those of my entertainment expert, Jason Wright too.  I hope you continue to visit the website and enjoy it as much as possible between now and the middle of December, when this journey comes to its conclusion.  Thank you and look forward to seeing/hearing from you soon.

Deadlines, presentations and friendships - The final curtain

By Simon Wright (Personal Blog)

YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ A PARTY BROADCAST BY THE HAPPYDUDE88 PARTY!

SO, THAT is it.  It has been a powerful year and the recent events have proven to me that hope should be there for all of us.  What a year it has been, and it is scary to think that just one more remains before graduation.  For the final time for a while, I will reflect on events involving me from the week.

DONE: No need for any more of that constant stress!

     Monday was absolute madness, and I was the focus point, although not directly affecting me.  Although I had a couple of minor evaluations to type up, and one of those pain-staking, irritating Harvard bibliographies, Monday was deadline day as far as the rest of the journalism course was concerned.  Four key projects had to be handed in, and by the cut-off point of 7pm.  It was chaos in our journalism workroom.  Books, bits of paper, USB drives, and headphones – you name it, lying around in all directions.  I had to double-check and triple-check that I still had all of my equipment intact.  It felt like the last hours of the current football transfer window process and those final moments when managers are shaking hands on agreements to loan or buy players at the last minute.  I don’t think I was helping with my ‘24’ hour style timing countdown.  Probably should have just put the Countdown clock on repeat, because that’s how it felt like!  Thankfully, everyone beat the deadline and the relief was palpable in the SU bar afterwards.  The burden off many shoulders had just been lifted.  I was pleased to be there, and although I had done the more sensible thing of getting all my projects in and not doing a last-minute job, I couldn’t help but be there and try to offer my sensible advice and help to the best of my powerful abilities.  It did take it out on me by the end of the day.  I was exhausted, really hungry and wasn’t in the mood for celebration.  I can’t imagine how it would have been like for everyone else.  Thursday was a totally different story.

     It has just gone 10am on Thursday and all the tension of a hard year can be let out.  I exit the presentation room and do let out a ‘Fernando Alonso’ style of ‘COME ON, COME ON!’ as I realise quickly that my second year of journalism at the University of Northampton is over.  The year concluded with a magazine presentation infront of the usually, miserable lecturers – promoting my reasons for producing my 12-page TV Gold magazine.  Typically, the presentation times were changed at the last minute less than 24 hours earlier, but that was hardly surprising.  To be honest, having an organised slot is now more of a shock and I think most of us were just past the point of caring.  Luckily, I only had to whizz through a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation infront of one of the senior lecturers, rather than two and it made things far easier than they might have been.  Time to party!

PARTY: Celebrating the end with Rochelle, Emily and Stef

     In the evening, the journalism crew headed out into the town once again, for another wild and wacky night at the Balestra nightclub in Northampton.  We met up inside the club, having gone to various houses and bars in the build-up to the night.  Tom Campbell came in with a bottle of champagne, courtesy of us being on a special guest list.  There was a real cause of celebration within the crew.  As the bottle was passed around and we all took big gulps from the bubbly, you could feel the party mood everyone was in.  I must admit, it tasted good!  No more exams, no more presentations, no more deadlines, time to dance and enjoy!  It was so nice to see so many people make it, people who I don’t normally socialise with.  I was able to let my hair down (I don’t have much of that by the way), and not have a care in the world for where I would be in state of mind 24 hours later.  There was some wild dancing, to some cracking club tunes.  I think most will remember me for singing ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ and ‘Karma Chameleon,’ out loud.  I have one of the Lips singing games for the Xbox 360, so I am practicing, but let’s face it, I can’t sing!!  The majority of us belting out ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears summed up the fantastic atmosphere inside the club.  It was all over, and the journalism crew was going out on a high!  Hopefully, there will be more of this next year. 

     As the year has gone on, I feel we have bonded far closer as a group.  At the end of the day, we are in the same boat.  We are on the same degree, aiming for the same ambitions at the end of the three years.  We see each other on a daily basis, so what’s the point of not getting on.  I know that there have been some disagreements or personality clashes in the past, but for me, there has to be a real domestic to not get on or share some form of communication with anyone, however small that may be.  Even I have had to admit that I’ve made mistakes and not treated everyone totally fairly this year.  One of these people is the ‘Beautiful Birmingham,’ herself; Ellie.

     I first met Ellie on induction day in September 2009 and we have had a friendship built on a solid foundation, and have about as much drama as a month’s episodes of Casualty could contain!  Even then, having made the first public introduction, I never thought she would have made the significant impact she has on my life as a whole.  Throughout the first year, we spent so much time together, in fact, almost inseparable.  This year, things have been more awkward for us, for a variety of reasons.  I won’t go into all the details, because that is totally unfair, but I haven’t thought about her feelings at times, particularly at the start of 2011.  Mistakes were made, by both of us, but more so by me.  In March, I nearly lost her as a friend for good and it did drive me to the brink.  In life, you need to make a success of yourself and you are your own person, but there are people who do build your strengths up and make up the rest of your overall character.  Some friendships you just could say ‘Screw it, what’s the point anymore,’ but I’ve never felt that way about Ellie.  Together, we’ve always tried to sort things out and we’ve come out stronger for the experience.  Around Christmas time, she was the one person I could turn to when I had a relationship issue and she was so caring, sweet and amazing about the whole dilemma I had.  That’s a true friend for you, not one who just would say; ‘It’s your problem, deal with it!’  No friendship can be perfect, I don’t think it is feasibly possible, and everyone makes mistakes.  After all, that’s why they put erasers on pencils!  Nobody’s perfect, or ‘Pobody’s Nerfect’ as they’d say Down Under!  However, Ellie has such a big heart and always looks out for me, no matter how much trouble I might be in.  She has always been there for me, and I’m incredibly lucky to have her as a big part of the jigsaw puzzle that is my life.  After all, I have so much drama in my life; it won’t be long before I appear on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories haha!! 

     I can’t complain about how this year has gone, and the final curtain has come down.  No more journalism until October 3^rd, ironically my birthday. 

Have a great summer everyone, I will ultimately reflect on the year 2010/11 at the University of Northampton as ‘I did it My Way!’

THAT WAS A PARTY BROADCAST BY THE HAPPYDUDE88 PARTY!

Print, exam, Balestra - A top-notch week

PERSONAL PIECE (By Simon Wright)

ANOTHER week down and one of the best weeks I’ve had of the year so far.  Pressure released from some rather tight shoulders, things finally began to go my way and the spectacular journalism night out less than 24 hours ago has left me buzzing.

FINAL: The front cover of my 12-page magazine

     If you had read last week’s edition, then you will have understood the nightmare I had with Printers Pairs.  On Monday, I went to the library at the University of Northampton to print out my 12-page magazine, based on retro TV (see picture for front cover).  Typically for me, it didn’t run without its problems.  First, the magazine wouldn’t print out, because I was on another student’s username.  Then, my library password had expired, which meant I couldn’t get onto my log-in screen and set-up my Adobe PDF file for printing.  Eventually, I managed to print out three A3 copies, and by accident, one A4 colour booklet copy.  Looking at the final product, I am delighted with how it all came together in the end, after some trials and tribulations.  Of course, I needed some assistance, otherwise I would have been in a major panic and I’m lucky to have that this year, in the form of a strong and very close friendship with Tamika.

      As a group, I do think we all have a strong chemistry.  A lot of us have different interests; different hobbies and some have more eccentric lifestyles than others!  However, it all works out in the end.  What I do know this year is that without the presence of Tamika, I wouldn’t have been as motivated as I have been and maybe, I wouldn’t even be at the University.  Tamika has helped me massively though some very tough situations for me this year, both within University and outside Uni.  She has always been there for me and I am eternally grateful for that.  Without her care and support, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now.  Monday was another prime example of this.  I know many people who would have just walked away from me and left me to fight my own battles.  Tamika has never done that, and I’m so pleased she has always stuck by me, especially in some trying situations.  True, you do need to show some individual qualities, but to have a strong personality backbone; you need loving support from your friends.  I’m lucky, because I do have three or four very close friends on my course at Uni, as well as my loving family and the ‘Pubbage’ crew back in my hometown, Milton Keynes.  With her hard-working capabilities, together with always being there for support, advice and a good laugh too, Tamika’s friendship will be one of the most positive aspects I will lookback on during my second year at the University of Northampton.    

     Whilst I can never fault Tamika’s reliability as a friend, the lecturers continue to be a total liability.  I’m beginning to feel I should trust Ian Beale from EastEnders more than the useless lecturers.  I don’t want to be too hyper-critical if I can help it, but I am paying over £3,000 a year to attend my degree at the University of Northampton.  I expect top-quality teaching as a result and to say that I and the rest of my course are getting that would be one of the biggest porkies I’ve heard.  England has got more chance of winning the Football World Cup than we have of getting any decent communication.  This week’s episode saw the ridiculous decision taken to move the deadline for the Unique group magazine portfolios by a week, and let us know, two flipping days before it is meant to be handed into the Assignment Office!  The lecturers used the excuse that we all knew and it was made abundantly clear!  So, where’s the evidence?  No-one told me, and also, what is a Log Book?  I mean, they accuse some of us for slacking.  Well, don’t prove that by changing around deadlines without telling us then!  I don’t expect us to be spoon-fed.  After all, we are all grown-ups, but just a little bit of better communication wouldn’t go amiss.  No-one will break their leg if that happened.  It feels like Civil War is breaking out between Lecturers v Journalism Students.  It would be an interesting occasion for Big Fight Live!  Quick, I’d better telephone Rupert Murdoch; he might be able to back a blockbusting knockout victory for the students!  Sometimes, I feel more reliable than the lecturers and I’m not even teaching!  Maybe we should trust Wikipedia more than them.

     Thursday May 12, and its 9.30am.  I have just started my dreaded exam on law and government for journalists.  Then, I come across a term called TWOC!  I’ve have never even heard of that terminology, never!  If someone wants to let me know, send your answers via postcard!  Aside from that stupid term, I felt the two-hour exam went really quickly and went very well.  I got a C last year, from an exam that I thought was easy-peasy, chocolate-squeezy!  I actually thought the 2011 exam was easier still.  Exams have been the death of me in the past.  My brain always froze in an exam hall, and often would spoil a hard year’s work of effort.  Since I screwed up my GCSE’s in 2005, I have worked incredibly hard to sort these issues out and the results seem to be coming together now.  I’m glad I don’t have to do any next year (I hope!), and will always going in feeling butterflies.  However, I felt very confident of doing well and hopefully; the results will prove my confidence.  I’ve always gone into a hall with a bag of nerves, often been ill in the build-up to the exam, not eating much and struggling with irregular sleeping patterns.  Not so this time around, so it was a pleasant change.    

PARTY: With journalism buddies, Shamima, Tom and Richard

     To conclude this personal blog on a happy note and I went out last night into town to make my debut in the Balestra nightclub.  Since Balestra opened just before Christmas 2010, I’ve always been interested to go and experience it.  I’m not a clubbing person and never will be, especially after being attacked on the way home from a night out in Milton Keynes in July 2009.  However, I will bite the bullet and go out occasionally, with the plan to have some drinks, a mad dance, a real laugh and a memorable experience.  This certainly happened last night.  After some pre-drinks at Pennywhistle’s with two of my closest friends, Emily and Rochelle, plus a rather entertaining Jonathan (who I’ve never really seen eye-to-eye with), we headed down town to the club.  I was so thrilled to finally have a night out which saw the large proportion of journalism students out together, partying into the early hours of Friday morning.  It is something we haven’t done enough of and I think that made the experience even more enjoyable.  I have also managed to find a nightclub in Northampton that can match up to my favourite place, which is Oceania in Milton Keynes.  Like I said before, I’m not a regular clubber, but Oceania is the only experience when I’ve come out of a club and gone ‘Wow,’ before last night anyways.  To see people out, who I don’t normally socialise with made it more awesome too.  There were plenty of highlights along the way.  Seeing one of our journalism technicians outside Pennywhistle’s, as we disappeared into the town, Farida complaining that her feet were about to fall off and an Olly Murs lookalike trying to chat up Farida and Tamika in one of the nearby eating establishments after the nightclub experience and frankly, failing absolutely miserably!  Well, some guys just don’t know when to stop!  I got back to my place, exhausted at 3.45am, but having had one of the best nights for ages! 

    More partying next week hopefully, when Uni is wrapped up for another year!  I already know that despite my London work placement and Fuerteventura summer holiday with the family, I am really going to miss my journalism buddies over the lengthy summer break.  LET’S GO OUT ON A HIGH!

Pairs, servers and extensions - Another crazy week at the University of Northampton

I MUST admit, I had been spoilt by the amount of Bank Holidays that the country has had following Easter and the celebrations of the Royal Wedding.  The return to University on a full-time basis has seen a real mixed bag for me personally.  Although I was ecstatic to see some friendly faces again, after the time off – I feel mentally drained and exhausted at a tough week with frankly, little reward.

POINTLESS: Printers Pairs left me in a real dilly of a pickle!

     First of all, Printers Pairs!  As far as I am concerned, it is the most pointless, annoying and frustrating concept around, certainly in the layout of a magazine.  One of our modules has seen us design and produce a 12-page magazine on a topic of our choice.  I went down the route of a ‘retro’ TV magazine, and after getting all the content in and the layout organised, you would have thought that the Printers Pairs would have been the easiest concept since sliced bread was introduced!  How wrong was I!  The whole thing completely baffled me, and when things don’t go right for me, they simply don’t go right.  Seeing everyone else nail it together (not quite literally!) made it harder to swallow.  I went home from Uni last night a broken individual.  I won’t be ashamed in saying that I broke down in tears.  It dawned on me that if I didn’t sort out Printers Pairs, I would fail the module – simple as that.  What a shame that would have been after the hard work I’ve put in all year.  Somehow, I proved that miracles are possible and managed to sort it out last night, although it might have been a fluke.  Still, it’s done and as Farida would say ‘I got into a real pickle’ or Ellie saying as ever ‘Don’t worry about it’ or Emily telling me ‘DON’T PANIC! SIMON.’  It’s nice to still have the support of your fellow peers.  Talk about swallowing pride, glad I didn’t choke on my food regarding the matter!

USEFUL: Mojo the monkey could have been a better source of information!

     Next up, servers – and the grief they caused.  I’m starting to think that the lecturers have lost the plot!  They never seem to be in and for a lot of people; the lack of their availability has greatly frustrated them.  I can tell you, some choice language has been used, which shall not be repeated on here!  Let’s say; a trained chimpanzee could teach the journalism group better!  Where’s Mojo the monkey from The Simpsons when you need him!  The Student Share went down in our workroom on Wednesday afternoon and they said ‘Oh, it will be online tomorrow morning.’  In we come on Thursday and the server is still down and they say ‘Oh, it will definitely be back online tomorrow morning.’  Friday, and still no change in the situation.  Broken promises again, just ask Nick Clegg on the matter, he’s an expert in this category!  An offline server means that work can’t be worked on and if it isn’t backed up on a USB, then you are screwed!  To see people like Ellie, Shane, even Tamika panicking was not a sight I wanted to see.  True, I wasn’t affected by this, because I had everything backed up.  Nevertheless, the whole thing was a fiasco and bang out of order.  I mean, you can’t help it if technology epically fails, but to make a promise that simply won’t happen, especially in deadline city is a very dangerous game. 

     This now leads me onto my next topic of discussion, extensions.  At 4.30pm today, the news filtered through that an extension had been granted to all journalism students for their print and broadcast portfolios until May 16.  The news bought massive celebrations within the workroom; almost as great as winning the lottery!  The only one who wasn’t celebrating was me.  All of my work in these departments has been handed in.  Personally, although I totally agreed with an extension for at least two days of the original deadlines, due to the server chaos, a ten day stay of execution does feel a bit too long.  Not the fault of my fellow course mates, but once again – it is the lack of leadership around at the University.  Why so long?  I’ve worked to tight deadlines all year, and now feel like a bit of an idiot for having everything handed in so early.  Getting things wrapped up this week limited my chances of revising for my exam next week.  I can’t help but feel a bit ‘robbed.’ 

     To conclude, it has been another crazy week, but it still has some great moments to lookback on.  Wednesday afternoon saw cheesy 90s music such as S Club 7 and Steps played in the room and thanks to Farida and Shamina; the real dancing queens of the journalism course, MB5 turned into a temporary nightclub!  The journalism night out next week promises a lot of spectacular fireworks, plenty of drinking and daring dancing! 

Welcome to the University of Northampton journalism degree; a week full of pairs, servers and extensions haha!

You only live once!

SO THAT’S IT, the latest academic term at University is finished and Friday afternoon was the perfect reflection of the term; ‘You only live once!’

     I had personally worked so hard over the previous week to keep in control of the upcoming workload.  In fact, I look back at the week with a lot of pride and satisfaction.  Everything on my course from my perspective seems to be under control, which is a good feeling.  Although I can’t relax totally over the Easter holidays, I don’t have a load of unnecessary pressure underneath my shoulders.

     Last week, I proved that I don’t just talk and produce rubbish.  My group has put together an outstanding documentary for a module which requires journalists to explore more about film styles and techniques.  Our documentary was based on a common everyday problem wherever you go around the country, especially at colleges and Universities.  The University of Northampton was used as the prime example, and it does have; let’s say some situations that leave students incredibly frustrated.  We feel that a perfect counter-balance has been struck, highlighting a point which the University need to address, and promoting the student’s struggles and disapproval combined with how the new parking charges cope from an official viewpoint.  Major thanks have to go to the incredible Tamika, who had to put up with my obsessive ability at attempting to produce the perfect edit.  She has taken on a leading role in our production and I have been massively impressed by her dedication to the documentary.  Hopefully, we will get the final grade we deserve.  The final version can be seen on YouTube here: 

    The most boring piece of work was to produce the 1500 essay on a law that has affected working journalists since it came into force.  I know it is important to have supreme knowledge of these laws, especially if anyone wants to make it a success in the world of journalism.  Nevertheless, that still doesn’t hide the fact that studying these laws is extensively boring.  I hope no-one else mentions the 1998 Human Rights Act to me now, because I don’t want to know! 

REFRESHMENT: The perfect drink in the perfect weather, don't mind if I do!

     Friday afternoon bought absolutely gorgeous weather, which did make studying rather uncomfortable.  When I found out that some of my course mates had disappeared to the SU to sit in the sun and have some drinks, it made me jealous.  When I wrapped up at 3pm, I thought; ‘You only live once!’  I joined the party and it was great.  After such a hard-working week, which had seen me spend 21 hours of my own time in squeezing the best I could out of some tricky subjects, I took the approach that I needed some strong alcoholic drinks to wrap up a term that has provided success and traumas for me.  There are some wild characters on my course and others who are just pure sweet.  It was nice to spend to spend some time with my mates in a slightly different capacity to normal.  Farida was rebelling against her unfortunate run of bad luck, which has blighted the strong, hard-working abilities that she has traditionally shown.  She seemed excited to see anyone, bouncing down the road when she spotted Ellie.  Farida began to shout her name constantly when she approached us.  You could tell how excited she was.  The free spirit that Farida is means that life simply will never be dull!  We ended up chilling on one of the nearby fields in the fantastic weather.  Farida and another of my friends, Shamina ended up having a hilariously funny beer fight!  Together, these two individuals can be a very lethal double-act!  Friday felt like the perfect day!

     There’s no point holding back at all times.  Staying secure is important and taking risks all the time is a real gamble.  However, you don’t want to do one or the other.  Finding the right balance is the best input to life.  After all, ‘You only live once!’  Plus, you need to make the most of your opportunities offered to you, otherwise, where exactly are you going to go in life.