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Day: 7 November 2011

Making sense of unisex perfume

The purchase of perfume can be a tricky business, and the escalation of unisex perfume has created an even bigger offering to baffle our brains. Calvin Klein’s “CK One” is perhaps the most well known and popular. Estéee Lauder has also recently released “Wood Mystique”, a perfume consisting of pungent woody aromas that suit both sexes. According to fragrance expert Antoine Lie, it is these woody and earthy fragrances that are the key to a successful mixed-gender perfume because woman are more open to a masculine bouquet.

However, it all depends on your own personal choice of fragrance, and the key to the success of a unisex scent is balance. Although many women do wear men’s aftershave – Abercrombie and Fitch’s being a favourite – it is important to wear a fragrance that embodies yourself rather than your other half. Following the route of many celebrities, Taylor Swift has just introduced her first scent; yet, unlike her peers, her product isn’t strictly for men or women. However, the embellished lilac bottle suggests otherwise; I personally don’t see it being a big hit with the boys.

Another upcoming and less conventional unisex perfume comes courtesy of Asad Khan from Croydon, who has created a concoction from the spices used in Indian Cuisine, appropriately named “Tears on my Pilau”. This creation has been designed for charity and consists of chilli, cumin, ginger and cardamom – still, the question of the fragrance smelling aromatic still remains to be seen.

Now, is this craze a do or don’t? My own verdict is a positive one, fuelled by Coco Chanel herself, who commented that no woman should have to smell a particular way. So, experiment! Just be sure not to end up smelling like your local takeaway.

We Need to Talk About Kevin Review

Despite a nine year departure from directing and the added challenge of translating a highly provocative and daring source material, Lynne Ramsay has crafted a piece so isolated and claustrophobic it manages to boil the industrial wasteland of Eraserhead down into a dysfunctional family unit. As with her previous work it arrives fresh from Cannes with critical acclaim and, through daring to sidestep the written-letter style of its inspiration, will surely go down as one of the films of the year with a mesmerising central performance.

What is salvaged from the novel stylistically is the temporal distinction, which is crucial in maintaining the mood throughout the narrative. We observe a woman as scenes jump back and forth between the two most pivotal roles of her motherhood; the coming together of her family and the raising of her children, notably the titular Kevin, and reconciliation with herself after a terrible, life-changing incident has occurred. We begin with the mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton), dreaming of idyllic times in the La Tomatina and are slowly pulled into something resembling a bad dream through some fantastically lucid editing, such that even a slow drive down a street on Halloween becomes truly haunting.

At the heart of the film lies the relationship between mother and son, the scenes that set the basis for Kevin’s chilling actions in adolescence. Although criticisms can be levelled towards the portrayal of a younger Kevin, where certain scenes seemingly unfold as pastiches of the hell-child Damien, Ezra Miller is purely chilling as his teenage counterpart. Eva’s ambivalence towards parenthood is now realised as a game, where the motions of family life are undertaken artificially and mutual hatred flourishes. Although John C. Reilly’s role as the father is inspired, his ignorance of Kevin’s actions fuelling antagonism, Swinton is exceptional. She ultimately perpetuates the question that grips you: where does the responsibility lie? It is a case of nature versus nurture, where it is unclear if Kevin’s sociopathic tendencies were innate or born within Eva’s inefficiencies in raising him. This unknowing empowers the film, elevating a brutal character study into a truly chilling piece.

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly

 

5 Stars

Never Judge a Book by its Film Cover

With the arguable flop of One Day this summer (even if that was purely to do with the poor British accents) I began to question whether a film version of a book can really ever do the original book justice. Don’t get me wrong, I love films, and I have watched many films that have been based on books – I mean, they are practically begging to be turned into scripts. Arguably Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and all the comic book hero characters are substantial evidence that films can follow quite strictly to the characters and places within books and therefore can become resoundingly successful as films. But there’s something about the escapism books hold in terms of one’s imagination that disappears when the book becomes a film. Suddenly, characters don’t look the way you imagined and sometimes their attitude or overall manner isn’t how you read it whatsoever. Even more annoying is when bits of the book are changed all together or the ending is skewed for the Hollywood feel-good effect. A film can’t duplicate your personal impression of a book because the art form itself tends to push you in a certain direction, whereas books tend to allow more personal input and let you take from the story what you will. I’m not saying books should never become films, but they should be developed in a way which is sensitive to the readership and the book as a whole. There should be a push on taking inspiration from books rather than copying the story completely and then realising you cannot fit 350 pages of a book into a 2 hour film but attempting it anyway.

Movie Marathon

The first ever marathon was supposedly run by a Greek soldier bringing news of victory to the people of Athens from the battle of Marathon, after which he keeled over from exhaustion and died. Much like the first marathon, a movie marathon is also an endurance test, thwart with the dangers of running out of dip and not being able to find the DVD remote. In the modern Olympics, athletes are required to run 42.195 kilometres. But, for our chosen film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (extended editions, no cutting corners here); there’s an average run time of approximately 10hrs 54mins.

The scene was set, the table laden with chips, dips and enough fizzy pop to put us in direct competition with Paula Radcliffe. The duvets were on the sofa, the DVD in the player, all plans for the day had been cancelled and the ‘play feature’ option had been selected, it had begun. Quickly, the first topic of conversation arose; Frodo’s sexuality.  Questions were also asked about little boys hugging old men with promises of surprises, but it was agreed by all that Gandalf was pretty much God and therefore could have absolutely no ulterior perverted motives. The first movie progressed without much issue. As soon as the credits rolled, the rush to the toilets had begun and the group of previously innate students suddenly became akin to the orcs of Mordor, squabbling and fighting over who would get the first piss.

The second movie began in the early afternoon. Some of our group had been lost along the way (much like the fellowship itself) and provisions were running low by the time Gandalf reappeared. We took to rationing. 5 Pringles, a handful of Doritos and a glass of coke each was all that we had left. The trek to Mordor was going to be hard. We had barely gotten to the battle of Helm’s Deep when the decision had been made. We couldn’t go on like this, something had to be done. Half an hour later the movie had finished and there was a convenient knock at the door. The pizza had arrived!

The last movie began at around 5pm. Our sorry fellowship had been reduced to four, yet our spirits were kept high by 12 inches each of Meat Feast. By now we were all restless, mentally exhausted and ready to give in. But together we persevered, and before we knew it, Frodo was in Mordor. It felt like our whole lives had been leading up to this moment. The finish line was in sight and the Dark Lord nearly vanquished.  That’s when we remembered about the extra 20 minutes of hugging and laughter that occurs at the end.

11 hours ago we had set out from the shire, and since then we had come so far. Our marathon was over, and it was now time to keel over with exhaustion

Winter Preview

When your housemates wake up, you should probably soften the blow somehow. Make them all a cup of tea. Bacon sandwiches. Hand out paracetemol like you’re the GP at OP, and remind them all of just how great a time they had last night. You’re going to need them in a good mood before you tell them what you’ve done. That you’ve taken that advice the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave back in 2002 (remember? Back before they were wank?). This term: throw away your television. Watch films instead.

Out later this month is an interesting change of pace from Knocked Up star Seth Rogan, as he stars alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50, a comedy-drama about relationships, friendship and a young man who discovers he has cancer. It will face steep competition at the box office, though, from Moneyball, a baseball drama-comedy starring Seth’s oft-collaborator Jonah Hill alongside Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman. December sees the theatrical release of Junkhearts, which premiered at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, to wide critical acclaim, and tells the story of haunted ex-soldier Frank and off-the-rails single mother Christine. So who needs TV, with a winter of films like these?

Who Would Win…?

In the green and pleasant, mallorn strewn corner, we have Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, heir to The Throne of Gondor. In the brown and sandy, blood spattered corner, Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of The Armies of The North, General of The Felix Legions, blah blah blah. At first glance, Aragorn has a clear advantage; Anduril, besides being about three times the length of any roman gladius, has the added bonus of being able to summon an army of green undead guys capable of slaughtering everything in their path. So let’s say for the sake of balance that Aragorn’s already freed the dead dudes from their oath. One thing Maximus has on his side is speed and agility. We’ve seen his nifty footwork in the arena, dodging flails, tigers and even chariots in his quest to hack chunks off everything that breathes. Anduril is a heavy blade and too long to manoeuvre speedily in a one on one battle, so Maximus should find it easy to dodge round and get in some good, early hits. It’s a good thing, then, that Aragorn’s armoured up a bit more since he put aside the ranger. Maximus’ quick blows would simply glance off his brand new shiny breast plate, giving him time to swing round with his mighty sword (does that sound a little bit gay?) for a powerful counter-strike. Maximus is well trained however and could easily duck under a swipe from Aragorn’s hefty weapon (honestly, I’m not gay!) and try for another attack himself, this time for the back of the legs, where Aragorn’s greaves do not protect his delicate hamstrings. With a swift slice Aragorn goes down. Maximus stands in front of him, ready to deliver the final thrust (not gay!) Victory seems assured… when out of nowhere, Legolas and Gimli appear to save Aragorn’s skin. It always pays to have an elf and a dwarf to hand. An arrow to the chest and an axe to the face and Maximus skipping through Elysium. The End. …What?? I couldn’t let Gladiator win could I? It’s Russell Crowe for God’s sake!

Don’t watch that – watch This!

Say what you want about Manchester United, but they do have a history of amazing players. In the past two decades, by far the best and most baffling player to grace the Red Devil’s line up was Eric Cantona. Not just a great player, but also an amateur trumpet player and apparently a big fan of kickboxing. In Ken Loach’s 2009 film Looking for Eric, he trumps all these other achievements by becoming the spiritual guide to a fanatic fan who has lost his way.

Ken Loach is famous for his pioneering of social realism in British Cinema, and whilst the story is slightly different to his usual approach, the message remains the same. A Cantona-obsessed postie in Manchester is watching his life slipping into chaos. His kids are disobedient and are running with the wrong crowd, the love of his life is lost to him due to him being a short sighted tit earlier in life, and he can’t afford to see his beloved Manchester United due to the new ownership and the harsh economic climate of the present.

To get away from it all one day, he steals his son’s weed and puffs his day away. No sooner is he done than his idol and namesake Eric Cantona appears to him and begins turning his life around with his bizarre philosophy and stern French pouting. As per usual with Loach’s film, it’s not exactly a barrel of laughs all the way through, and watching it on a hangover/comedown may reduce you to a blob of emotional jelly at points, but the ending of the film will brighten up your day. Of course if you are a City fan then 116 minutes of undiluted devotion to United might be a bit much to handle.

Footloose Review

Footloose comes to us as the third film from Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan) and is as unnecessary and pointless a movie as you are ever likely to see. That doesn’t necessarily make it abysmal, it just means that whilst watching it I was confused as to why anyone thought that this film was the one that deserved a remake.

After five teenagers from a small Southern town die in a car crash after a night of dancing fuelled debauchery, Rev. Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) takes it upon himself to outlaw such sinful practices. This provides the backdrop for the arrival of big-city Boston boy Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald) whose outrageous hair and accent set him at odds with the town’s religious establishment. After several run-ins with the law of the town and with Moore’s wayward daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) he decides to take it upon himself to fight for the town’s collective right to party.

And apart from some minor changes that is pretty much the plot of the 1984 original as well. Even with all the clumsily forced Apple product placement the movie fails to feel modern or relevant in the slightest. The town that Ren finds himself in could exist anywhere between the 1960s and the present day. I don’t know, maybe all people from the South are all either hilarious rednecks or fiery conservatives but it certainly doesn’t make for convincing characters. Stereotypes abound with Ren’s dumb yet lovable friend Willard (Miles Teller), who seems to be the only young person in this small town who can’t dance and so comes of as some sort of cripple compared to the astounding athleticism displayed by everyone else, and Ariel’s boyfriend Chuck (Patrick John Flueger). All that you need to know about him is that he is a NASCAR-like racing driver called Chuck. You can pretty much fill in the blanks from there.

When the story actually does drag its sorry ass to the dancing scenes (of which there seem to be surprisingly few) they are, as dancing scenes go, fairly well done. Same goes for the preposterous bus racing scene or any scene where the rednecks try and start a fight. It’s just that when it’s all put together it doesn’t really amount to much. The worst thing that can be said about it is that it’s dull, and in a movie that’s all about the joys of having fun that’s not exactly a plus.

Director: Craig Brewer

Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid

 

2 stars

Review: Starter for Ten

Ah to be a fresher. Excited, ready to obtain all the knowledge possible and interact with like minded individuals. That’s what it’s like, isn’t it?

Starter for Ten is a novel published back in 2003 by David Nicholls about Brian Jackson and his first year at University during the 80’s. The title refers to the television programme, University Challenge (every University student’s ambition), the BBC quiz show where students answer questions on subjects like the 18th Century Literary movement, Viking mythology and what the common name for the narcotic analgesic is (It’s morphine, by the way).

The plot revolves around first year student Brian Jackson—navigating his way through a world of social mores, protests, parties and first love without a compass.

Reading this, various friends popped into mind from my first year and now second year also. I may have met a couple of guys very similar to the protagonist, but I have also certainly met a lot of the peripheral characters too.

Nicholls nails each University stereotype to a T; yet you don’t feel angry with him for placing you in such a pigeonholed ideal. Instead, you agree. Why yes, I am a little nerdy and openly enjoy my degree. Oh wait, or am I the one who sleeps in and thinks “shit! Overslept again” each morning?

It’s a coming of age novel that is sharply observant and witty.

Nicholls has managed to convey real warmth and character, and Brian comes across as an unselfconfident teenager, who is aware wholly when he’s saying or doing something stupid but just can’t seem to stop himself, like most.

Student Action

Volunteering is often seen as something for “do-gooders” or something that will “look good on your C.V.” While the latter is partly true, ask most people who do voluntary work about its benefits and they will express its true benefits.

Volunteering gives you the chance to use your own skills to help people and/or the community, whilst forming friendships with people you would not normally meet. These friendships can be lifelong and really enhance YOUR life as well as the lives of those you help.

 

Student Action is a great place to volunteer, as it is volunteering tailored to your needs.

 

You simply sign up to help out on one of our weekly projects as and when you want to. You don’t have to commit on a regular basis, so if you have a busy period, we won’t have any expectations of you. Our opportunities cover a wide spectrum of areas.
Outreach project

 

You can help learning disabled adults by taking them out and helping them to socialize and do things they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do (such as go bowling!). There are projects aimed at offering help, advice, food and drink to the many homeless people in Manchester, who often through no fault of their own, have been forgotten by society in general.

 

Halloween elderly party 2010

 

You can help local kids from homeless refuges giving them the opportunity to do “normal” kids activities, or help local elderly residents by spending time with them, helping them do their shopping or even throwing a party for them! With other opportunities available on environmental, refugee, after-school club, women’s’ refuge projects, the number of opportunities available is amazing.

 

Moreover, if we don’t do run a project that you feel there’s a need for, we’ll help you set one up. What more could you ask for!

 

To find out more and get involved head over to the Student Action website: www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/action/blog or e mail: [email protected]

 

 

Sense experience

I had always been pretty cynical about volunteering, having seen friends reluctantly sign up to read to the elderly or clean the local youth centre simply for something to put on their CV.

If I am totally honest I had much the same motives when I applied for my volunteer experience, that and the warm fuzzy feeling I might get from ‘doing something good’. However, my mixed motives proved to mean nothing compared to the lessons I learnt from my week’s volunteering.

In the summer of 2010, I went on a week long canal boating holiday with the deaf blind charity Sense. The three girls we were taking on the trip had varying degrees of sight and hearing impairments, from mild to severe.

Having never worked with handicapped young people before I was thrown in at the deep end. Everything seemed like a challenge; my greatest concern leading up to the trip was how I would introduce myself when the holiday-makers arrived. After all how do you make yourself known to somebody who can’t hear or see you properly?

Quickly I realised concerns like these were wasted, the three girls were incredibly forgiving of any mistakes you made or the moments of ignorance we showed. Ultimately I learnt on the job and relished in it, I picked up quite an extensive repertoire of Makaton sign language and even learnt how to steer a canal boat.

The rare times when you had five minutes to yourself you realised how truly remarkable the girls were. Their enthusiasm for all things canal boat-related was unwavering and the ways in which they adapted to deal with their unseen, but ever changing surroundings was extraordinary.

I would like to think we gave the girls a week to remember, while also (and perhaps most significantly) giving their parents a week of respite from the demanding full-time job of caring for a handicapped child.

Would I do it again? Yes! Sense is a fantastic charity that works tirelessly to provide these memorable holidays for unique individuals and give their families a much needed break.

Helping or hindering the homeless?

Last winter on a bitterly cold day in London, just settling down with a cup of tea, I was ambushed by my mother to do something good that evening. It’s always a bit awkward to say no to isn’t it?! Especially when I find out it’s helping at a homeless soup kitchen at my parents’ church.

Now I’m all for doing good but I’ve always had a bit of a thing about the homeless. It has been drilled into me by my nanny’s insistence, at the top of her voice, not to give that man on the tube anything, as he will only spend it on booze and fags.

Not wanting to seem cold-hearted I reluctantly agree to help out and at 5pm that evening find myself being shuffled in to prepare before our “customers” arrive.

My brother (damn him) quickly snapped up the kitchen job with all the elderly ladies, and endless food treats, whilst I was assigned to “mingle”.

Damn. I racked my social skills for any seasonal conversation starter “Isn’t the weather terrible?” no…. “What are you doing for Christmas?”, “Started your Christmas shopping yet?” Some how my standard chat didn’t quite seem appropriate. So I sat back and let them take the lead, and that they certainly did:  “What do you think about the architectural history of the church?” erm…

So I don’t know how I felt as I left the Church, had I done any good by just sitting and awkwardly trying to make conversation, or was it just another anecdote to recount to my friends about that one time I helped the homeless? I’m still unsure. In fact I’m unsure about volunteering in general, how much it helps others, or is it more popular for the self-gratification of volunteer?

One thing is for sure by getting involved in the project it tore down my stereotype of the homeless and layabout drunks and perhaps that is as important as anything in order to change public prejudices.

So whilst my verdict is still out on the impact of volunteering, I do know that if I was shivering in the December cold I would be pretty appreciative of the concept.

It’s a great opportunity to spend the night in the warmth, enjoy some hot food, oh, and get some much needed charge for your iPad as one man did. Only in Chelsea.

Tales of a soup kitchen volunteer

Taking food orders in a bustling room full of laughter and somewhat alcohol fuelled guys, accompanied by occasional discordant guitar strums, it can be easy to feel like a waitress at the SU bar rather than a volunteer at the local Soup Kitchen.

Every weekend around 70 homeless or underprivileged people arrive at a nearby Church with rumbling stomachs ready to be filled with sandwiches, cakes, and yep, you guessed it… soup.

It’s the social event of the week for many of them, the lively atmosphere enhanced by the many young volunteers who attend, keen to polish their UCAS applications or just there to learn a few card tricks from the experts.

Friendships often grow between the volunteers and the homeless. Charlie for example, who lives in our local park (and who we have previously discovered used to squat in our house before we bought it!), is always keen to know how I’m getting on at school and reminds me to ‘keep at it and work hard’.

But it’s not always easy. Crowd control skills are often needed to control drunken fights or loud complaints about the food. One mentally unstable man has even been banned for bringing in a knife, whilst one of our friendly regular’s kleptomania can be witnessed through the theft of the occasional kitchen spoon or handbag.

Many are so used to life on the streets that they even refuse council housing when offered. However it can be sad to see the few young faces amongst the others who attend, who can not be much older than 18 and are hard up for food often due to drug involvement.

Christmas time can also feel sombre. The time when most of us are writing our shopping lists can be when they feel the loneliest, so festivities such as carol singing are arranged.

Volunteering at a place like the Soup Kitchen opens your eyes to how different the lives of people who exist so close to us are. It is also a lot of fun, and can feel very rewarding. As many of them go back to their makeshift beds on park benches or church corridors, you exhaustedly return back to yours, with a few new card tricks up your sleeve.

Nightline

Why Volunteer? There must be a good reason why someone would choose to take time out of their busy schedules and hectic lives to work, free of charge. If you ask almost anyone nowadays they’ll have a list as long as their arm of the volunteering positions they’ve held and the hours they’ve selflessly put in for others. Is it just the benefit of a nicely padded CV?

The warm and fuzzies that come from helping others? Or perhaps it’s all the hours of bragging they, as members of the volunteering community, are entitled to. The answer, I suppose, is different for everyone and for me, if I’m honest, I think it’s some combination of the three.

I’ve tried volunteering in all different shapes and sizes, from daycare to old person’s homes, waitressing to soup kitchens and each has given me something different to take home.

This year I decided to volunteer for Nightline, which, as I’m sure you’ve all learnt from the back of your library cards or a toilet door, is a non-judgmental confidential listening and information service. Training is seven weeks long, with sessions twice weekly, teaching us how to approach all sorts of calls, from those who just want to chat to those focused on more serious issues.

There have been guest speakers from organizations such as Samaritans and Alcoholics Anonymous, who’ve come to talk to us trainees about the different issues that we, as members of a helpline service, may come into contact with.

Throughout the training, Nightline has attempted to equip us with the tools we need to listen to and provide support for people reaching out for help. So what have I gained from this years volunteering experience?

Well, it’s early days yet and training is still underway, but isn’t learning how to put aside our problems and be there to listen to and empathize with someone in need something we could all stand to learn a thing or two about, Nightline volunteer or not?

Nightline recruit again in February for more information about how to get involved e mail [email protected]

Anonymous

Voluntourism

For those of you who paid a substantial amount of money to work in a Cambodian orphanage, or paint a school inSouth Africaon your gap year this may be a hard pill to swallow.

Voluntourism is a developing craze that has worryingly experienced a meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade, and understandably so as more and more people are gaining access to a wealth of opportunities to ‘make a difference’ to the lives of those less privileged.

Although to some it may seem tempting to hand over hundreds, if not thousands of pounds to assist in an impoverished community, better your life experiences, and let’s be honest your CV, it is important to take a step back and consider how much good is actually going to come from your brief act of compassion.

Unfortunately it is often the case that those paying to help do more harm than good; the mundane labour is drawn out to fit into what ever time period has been paid for, and is often undertaken solely by unskilled volunteers.

Common sense should tell us that the building could be done in half the time and to a much higher spec by local craftsmen who would relish such an opportunity. Orphanages present an all together different sort of problem, volunteers are encouraged to form individual bonds with the children, before then deserting them a week or two later with the naïve assumption that they have had a positive impact on their lives.

Recent studies have revealed that most of the 12,000 children in Cambodia’s orphanages are, in fact, not orphans and are instead pawns in elaborate money making schemes designed to guilt trip volunteers into giving yet more money.

I am not in any way condemning the act of volunteering, and there are plenty of companies that are genuinely improving the lives of the people that they work with, all I would say is before you hand over your money do your homework, decide who is really benefitting from your charity, and be socially aware.

Your actions in fact could have a negative impact on the lives of those that you are trying to help.

Helping the homeless

St Mungo’s is a homeless persons charity based in London and the South East. The charity works towards combating the rise in homelessness and rehabilitating clients found on the streets, helping them to reintegrate with society and achieve independent living.

During the summer I volunteered at one of their initiatives, Bricks and Mortar, an education programme where the clients learn skills in construction work and graduate with an NVQ qualification.

The programme is set out in progressive stages, and the client must qualify to pass each stage. I volunteered for the day as an interviewer that would permit or restrict the client to reach the next stage.

As a volunteer, it’s always tricky knowing the line between being an extra pair of hands, and actually asserting your opinions in a contributory way. I’m not a shy person, but after I asked my first question, I felt myself blush. The client did not understand what I was asking, and I realised that neither did I.

Fortunately, like many of the clients, he began to talk about his life experiences, giving me the time to rephrase. I think it was at this point I realised, that in this particular field, there are no set rules. It was up to me to decide how best to relate to a client.

The entire experience was so surreal; there I was in this little room with two others, who were thankfully both well-trained workers in St Mungo’s, interviewing people who had experienced far more than I could imagine. I watched all four clients in their respective interviews subconsciously show me their thoughts through their body language.

There was one client I struggled with in particular, as when I asked him if he was managing any drugs or alcohol, he said he was not. I knew he was lying, and all I could think was how we were doing our best to be transparent with them, why couldn’t he meet us halfway?

I had to remember the very basic fact that many of the clients who are managing do not themselves see this as abnormal or wrong. It was one of those awkward moments where you realise that you have no idea about the guy your standing next to and their life experiences.

If I could, I would love to do it again. It’s not about that Samaritan feeling or ‘doing your bit’, but it’s about reminding yourself that you have a responsibility to ensure that no man is left to the mercy of the weather. The truth is, you never know when it could happen to you.

In Afric-aah

When you tell people you’ve volunteered on your gap year you can’t help but cringe at the thought that you’ve just become another stereotypical public school child who wanted to “find themselves.”

Well there we have it, I went to a public school and I worked for nothing for a month in Africa in the hope of “finding myself.” So as well as fitting into the stereotype of being a bicycle riding revolutionary student living in South Manchester I snuggly fit into the “gap yahhh” stereotype too. But to be honest, I don’t really give a shit. And here’s a few reasons why…

A month in French speaking Senegal working full time (for nothing) at a local radio station was by far one of the most eye opening, rewarding and magical times I have and ever will have the chance to experience.

I grabbed the metaphorical bull by its horns and lived in what can only be described as an upper class slum, ate goat meat which can only be compared to cardboard and took the bins out the way the locals do, which consisted of throwing my waste in the sea!

I make it sound like I’m ungrateful for my time spent in West Africa, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I fell in love with everything: the culture, my host family (I contemplated stealing one of the children and bringing her home to my mum as a present but then the concept of customs and laws came to mind), the music, the weather and even now when I think about the cockroaches a sense of warmth comes over me. I’m lying obviously – about the cockroaches, everything else is true.

Above all, volunteering abroad allowed me to experience something that was entirely out of my comfort zone that nobody or anything in the UK could have ever taught me. So the moral of the story is: I might not have “found myself” but I found a best mate and I had a bloody good time.

Changing the world; one kid at a time

Don’t just waste your gap year, they said, do something worthwhile. Go volunteering. Alright, I agreed. The website looks snazzy anyway.

Right, teaching or building. Or animal conservation. Teaching, I said, why not? Don’t want to take jobs away from the locals and that, and kids are more interesting than animals. Might even be a laugh.

So I put a massive pack on my back, got numerous injections and resolved to get as many piercings as possible. Such originality, I thought. No one’s ever done this before. Changing the world, one kid at a time. I’ll be like Rachel Weisz in the Constant Gardener. Except I won’t die.

Eventually, the time came, and I strolled into the room, with what I took to be a rough approximation of blasé self-confidence that didn’t quite successfully mask the knot of anxiety in my stomach.

There were a couple of problems that instantly presented themselves. There were only three students. Their ages ranged from around twenty-two to about thirty-eight, so you’d be hard pressed to call them ‘kids’. And one of them was unbelievably attractive.

I was introduced to the men first. This is Wit, they said. He works on a building site with Rang, his friend. They came from over an hour away for these free English lessons. Hullo, I said. And this is Lin, Rang’s sister. Lin smiled.

A pause. “Nice meet you,” she said. I coughed and shuffled my papers.

Then I began sort-of-teaching, for about an hour, with minimal success. Wit was having trouble with his pronunciation – I told him we’d work on it and moved on.

The next day, however, went considerably better. My lesson plan was a little more age-appropriate, we had five students this time, and crucially, Lin wasn’t there.

 

 

 

NHS- The shake up explained

“What is your opinion of the NHS reforms?” I asked one consultant from Manchester. The response was less than enthusiastic.

“It’ll be a shot to the head of the NHS.” The proposed Health and Social Care Bill 2011 has been dubbed the most radical plan in the history of the health service – and it certainly has proved controversial. It’s been labelled as both the end and the saviour of nationalised British health, but with all the mud slinging between politicians, unions and healthcare groups it’s tricky to know what all the fuss is about? Where do we, as present and future patients and potential employees of the nation’s largest employer, stand?

Perhaps it’s wise just to take a step back and look at how many people it’s going to affect. The University of Manchester is the largest face-to-face teaching university in the country, having over 3,200 current students on nursing, midwifery and medicine courses. Without taking into account psychologists, life scientists and every other student with ambitions of working in the healthcare system, it makes up fewer than 10 percent of our student population. The NHS employs over 1.4 million people- that’s more than 5 percent of UK’s working population. But most importantly, these are changes that affect almost all of us. No matter how strong we think or feel we are, one day we will probably need NHS treatment. As such an important feature in our lives, any change to the NHS needs to be understood and supported by the public. I’m going to explain the current structure, outline the why and how of the reforms and discuss the numerous views surrounding them.

Why are the reforms being proposed?

There’s no getting away from it; the world is in financial meltdown. With governments all over the world scrounging for pennies cuts are being made across the board and the NHS (although technically ‘ring fenced’) is undergoing readjustments to make it ‘more efficient and cost effective’. Essentially, the NHS is attempting to save £20 bn by 2014-2015, which kicks David Cameron’s electoral pledge “Cut the deficit not the NHS” into the dustbin. Considering this reform will be rolled out in 2013 at the earliest, you’re looking at a whopping £10 bn saving per year across the NHS. However, Cameron has promised that the actual money put in to the NHS will still rise year on year. Critics argue that this is a facade; that in reality he’ll be reducing the annual increase in the NHS budget. The extra money that is being put in each year will be swallowed up by rising inflation, meaning that the actual monetary value the NHS gets will decrease.

A quick look back at history has seen spending on the NHS triple since 1999 from £40 bn to over £120 bn. However, looking at figures relative to British GDP per capita we still put in less money per person than almost every other nation in Western Europe and North America. Despite this, all major political parties have described a need to curb the rising costs in the NHS whilst making it more efficient. The Health and Social Care Bill 2011 is the coalition government’s proposal to do this.

How is the NHS currently structured?


At the moment the Department of Health controls the NHS. The Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, is the head and reports to the Prime Minister. The Department of Health controls England’s 10 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), which oversee 152 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).The PCTs control local NHS activities. The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their local NHS services separately.

Primary Care Trusts control approximately 80 percent of the budget and are responsible for distributing the money to GPs and hospitals as well changing their services to suit the needs of their populations. So, if Manchester had an increase in patients with diabetes, then they would be expected to provide more services to support those with diabetes. The PCT would plan effectively how to use their budget to accommodate their new needs.

The role of the Strategic Health Authorities is to provide leadership in the area they serve by organising workforce development and ensuring PCTs are looking after the needs of their populations. Essentially, they are the overseeing body that will dictate the numbers of staff needed across the region in different areas. For example, if the North West were low on anaesthetists they would call on deaneries responsible for training them to increase the numbers they train so that the whole SHA can benefit. They also are responsible for finding specialist services for conditions that some PCTs can’t treat.

Currently there is a large emphasis on cooperation between PCTs to provide the best possible service for patients by taking a national, regional and local perspective on health.

What are the proposed reforms?

The NHS will undergo a radical pro-market shakeup with hospitals, private healthcare providers and family doctors competing for patients who will be able to choose their own treatment and care options.

They will do this by abolishing all PCTs and SHAs, therefore culling more than 24,000 management jobs. Budgets will be directly paid from Department of Health to newly formed GP consortiums, which will be groups of GPs responsible for a certain area. A National Health Commissioning Board will be set up to supervise the GP consortiums to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to.

The increase in competition will provide a change from a unilateral service to one with more ‘choice’. Say for instance someone went to his GP and was told he had a funny looking lump on his shoulder that the GP wanted to have a closer look at. The GP would then request an X-ray. At the moment the patient would go to a local hospital to have it done. If the reforms take affect the GP and patient would now have a choice between several providers. For this example we’ll say a Private Hospital is charging £60 and a local NHS hospital is charging £80. Most likely the GP will try and convince the patient to go to the cheaper one because he is mindful of his budget. If the patient doesn’t, he can then go and complain to the ‘Monitor’, who is there to ensure ‘patient choice’. The powers of the ‘Monitor’ haven’t been well defined so it is not known if they will actually be able to intervene effectively. This also raises questions over the effect it will have on doctor – patient relationships as the patient will know the doctor’s decision may be influenced by the budget the doctor himself set out. He could directly ask him,

“why haven’t you set enough aside for my X-ray?”

This increase in competition you might think could lead to a decrease in NHS patients going to NHS hospitals, causing the NHS to shrink. Well the government has a plan for that. There are already a number of hospitals that have ‘Foundation Trust’ status and the Government are pressing for more and more hospitals to convert into them. These ‘Foundation Trusts’ have several powers that enable them to chase private patients (those with individual health insurance) and therefore bolster their own revenue so that they are not solely dependent on the money given to them by the government for NHS patients, thus enabling NHS hospitals to challenge private healthcare providers. However, this has raised concerns that these ‘Foundation Trusts’ will lead a charge by the NHS for private patients causing a decrease in access to healthcare for NHS ones.

Who is against the reforms?

It all sounds rather good, with more choice for patients and reduced costs over the whole of the NHS. But the plans have drawn sharp criticism from many interest groups. UNISON, the biggest trade union in the UK with over 1.3 million members, said

“NHS patients will be the biggest losers if the Government pushes through its Health and Social Care Bill.”

More opposition comes from the Royal College of Nursing. With over 400,000 members, they took the unprecedented decision to vote 96 percent in favour of a no confidence vote in Andrew Lansley. You might think that the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), whose members will be handed increased power, would be happy but they have also expressed concerns with the changes,

“They [our members] worry about the financial pressures, and the competition culture of ‘Any Willing Provider’. They fear that these reforms could cause irreparable and irreversible damage to the NHS.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) who is to all intents and purposes a trade union for doctors working in the UK said;

“The BMA continues to call for the Bill to be withdrawn or, failing that, to be subject to further significant amendments.”

Finally, Ed Milliband, leader of the Labour party, went a step further and attacked the Prime Minister,

“It is an insult to the people who work in the health service, it is an insult to the people who use it and the Prime Minister should be ashamed of the way he is running the NHS, the proudest institution of Britain.”

It all sounds pretty fiery with anyone and everyone getting hot under the collar about it. So why are so many vehemently against the reform? The issues stem from several key areas.

The first being that GPs are now expected to become managers of their accounts whereas before much of the administration of the NHS was done by trained experts on PCT boards. Dr. Azeer, a GP of the Bury PCT, stated,

“I’ve had 15 years of clinical training, how am I expected to suddenly be an accountant as well?” A concern echoed by Conservative MP and GP, Sarah Wollaston, “It is one thing to rapidly dismantle the entire middle layer of NHS management but it is completely unrealistic to assume several hundred inexperienced commissioning (GP) consortia can take their place.”

Worries have also been raised that GPs will now have even less time with patients as they are forced to spend valuable time organising finances for their regions. Ironically, it is feared that GPs will resort to paying increased fees for managers that originally worked for PCTs absolving GPs of their new responsibilities and completely negating the desired effect. For students there may well be a reduction in training opportunities. Medical training is carried out entirely at NHS hospitals and under new proposals a lot of patients will now be going to Private Hospitals instead. Even Lord Nebbit, a Conservative pier in the House of Lords, has expressed concerns;

“It’s fine for the private sector, which doesn’t have responsibility for teaching and bringing on young surgeons, to take the straightforward and easy stuff. But that means the public sector is then left without the base of work to subsidise the more difficult surgery and the teaching of surgeons.”

With the abolition of the SHAs and PCTs there could be a lack of national oversight on health policy which will leave a fragmented NHS struggling to cope with the needs of patients on a national level as well as a local one. An example of this, is there being no government body to acknowledge the need for changing numbers of different types of doctors.

Regardless of these fears, a massive question remains that these changes may not actually see a decrease in costs in the NHS as the implementation of the reforms will cost over £2 billion in themselves and then the further re-organisation of the NHS could cause costs in the NHS to spiral out of control.

What next?

The reforms have passed through the House of Commons and are now in the House of Lords at a committee stage. This stage can take several months where infinite details are haggled over until a compromise is met before a final amendments stage. Groups such as the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and 38 Degrees have online petitions calling for the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 to be halted. Whether these reforms go through or not could be monumental for the NHS and as one of the future generations it is our responsibility to let our voices be heard. If I am to leave you with one final thought, it is to consider our trans-Atlantic cousins who, also struggling in a financial crisis, have given the go-ahead for a national health service of their own. Is this really the time to start unraveling ours?