Monday 22nd February, 2016

This week I went down to London for a day of lectures and activities related to marketing and PR. We had seen it through an email from school and after a little discussion I agreed it would be a good thing to do. After a 6 o’clock wakeup I made my way from Kennett to London Liverpool street and from there I conjured up my map reading skills to locate the Webber Shandwick building. My map reading skills had far outdone my expectations as I arrived with nearly 45 minutes until it was due start, I had allowed that time as I assumed that I would have got lost! However, soon others started to trickle in and I met two guys, Chris and Tom who were great company and so we chatted away until the start. I don’t know what I expected but as soon as the first speaker started talking I realised I was in for a treat. With an unbridled love and excitement for her work she talked of the delights of working in PR for Webber Shandwick. I hung to every word and almost immediately I realised that PR was something that I should look very deeply into. The next was an undergraduate who had only be working there for a few months. Not only did he share her enthusiasm but he also made the job seem accessible, he was only a couple of years older than me yet there he was talking about his experiences and so with a keen ear I noted all of what he had to say about his application process lest I could use some of it should I ever have the chance to apply to work in that company or one similar. The next speaker was yet another fountain of knowledge and experience however he was more Marketing based and I had definitely found PR to be more of my area. Just before lunch we had the opportunity, in small groups, to talk to professionals who were working in PR and Marketing. This was an amazing opportunity to be able to ask questions that were  in my head, for example, was a university degree necessary, what sort of qualities were looked for in an applicant, how did you fit in your family life with your work etc. The day ended with a talk on the possible Marketing qualities you could get to help you progress further in the area you were working in followed by a group activity were  we designed a promotion plan for a chosen company. Both of these were again more Marketing based but they were still very interesting and the activity was fun as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my day and thought that it was a very worthwhile thing to have done, I was left with not only new knowledge in the area of PR but also a new interest and desire for my possible future careers.

Sunday 29th November, 2015

This Saturday we had an away match at Berkhamstead. I'm in the 3rd team and annoyingly quite a few of the team were either away or injured, including our captain. Perhaps fortunately the 4th team match was cancelled and so we gained a few replacements from them. Although this provided us with the numbers we required it also further disrupted our well practised and familiar team. I had looked at the weather and one of the saving graces for this 2 and a bit hour journey with an unfamiliar team was that the weather was going to be better than it was at rugby and it seemed as if it wouldn't rain and the sky's would be clear... well It didn't rain but as we stepped of the bus onto the wet ground and mud splashed up onto our suits I feel we all expected what we were into. As the cutting wind caused our team to bow our heads whilst we forced our way through the chilling air towards the changing room we were certain it was going to be miserable. The match started out as even, I had the feeling that neither team wanted to be there and could not really commit to try and hurt each other! However as the game progressed it became obvious we were the stronger side but still no scores were placed on the board. At halftime we got a waking up from our coach and hit them hard at this start of the second half, scoring two tries and ensuring our lead. Lead in place we lay back and finished the game how we started it, carefully passing the bull from arms to arms as hands and fingers were completely useless! We made it back onto the coach and sat fairly silently, all looking forward to our warm shower and then a drink at the pub.

Sunday 22nd November,2015

I am in a band at school. There are four of us and all though we do love to play and we all love  music we have varying tastes and limited time to practice. We have done a few performances in our time but it has only ever been the one song. We always have to find a song that everyone accepts, one that has enough complicated guitar for John and enough outlandish drumming for Rob whilst having vocals that i can just about get away with! Two weeks ago Rob told us all that in three weeks time (but only two school weeks) we had been asked to play in a charity concert and to fill a 25 minute slot! There was great excitement and discussion as to whether we could do it but the overwhelming opinion was to accept the challenge. Fortunately as we were able to play six songs each member could chose their own song and then we would mutually agree on the last two. We had great diversity with the range being between Song 2 by blur and Pretty green by the jam! Practice started almost immediately and the progress over the next week or so was immense but still with just a few days before the concert we were not where we should have been. I also realised that although we nearly had it, i had been reading the lyrics on my phone the whole time and had not yet learnt them. I replayed the songs over and over with every opportunity and could just about get through one from start to finish in practice but I was sure that with the nerves on the actual night all lyrics would be chased out of my head. The Saturday came and we all went out for supper beforehand and had a few drinks to help steady our nerves. Eventually it was our slot and as we walked onto the stage the crowd erupted in cheers and shouted our names. This was an incredible lift for our confidence and we grew more and more comfortable, our opening song was view of an afternoon by The Arctic Monkeys and the lyrics flowed out of my mouth as if they had always been there. For all of the songs to come it was the same, occasionally I would repeat a verse by accident but no one noticed and it was a great success! I had a great time and as did the rest of the band, now we are just waiting for a next invitation…!

Sunday 15th November, 2015

This week globally has been a terrible and tragic week. The ISIS bombings in Paris have shaken the world and filled the news, the papers and our daily lives. The majority of my friends have altered their profile pictures on Facebook to have a French background supposedly to show that their thoughts are with the victims in France and their families and of those affected collaterally. At first I believed this to be slightly superficial as changing ones profile picture achieved nothing in the grand scheme of things other than possibly gaining the person more likes. However with more and more and more of my friends doing this, the mass scale of this subtle and small gesture has truly shown a solidarity that reflects true human acts of kindness and compassion. Solidarity has been shown all over the world in recent days for example the Saracens singing the French national anthem alongside Toulouse before their game on Saturday or even just the minutes silence demonstrated at school this morning. These small deeds were, I believe a perfect and powerful response to ISIS’ unhuman and disgusting acts demonstrating where the worlds loyalties lie and how they all stand in the situation.

Of course we could not stop there. The active bombing of a capital city is, by most interpretations a declaration of war, However, an immediate retaliation of bombs on the ISIS headquarters I believe is not only foolish but quite frankly immature. Remembrance Sunday brought me a reminder of what the outcome of war is, Death and an unsatisfactory peace. In these ‘civilised’ times I believe there must be a way to solve a dispute or even an unprovoked aggravator  without violence but with democracy and reasoning. I may myself be foolish and I may be immature but I believe that a constant peace will not happen until it is found through peaceful means.

Sunday 8th November 2015

On a few Saturday nights at school there is a bar. Bar is what some people at school spend their week looking forward too, planning outfits and buying cheap vodka to drink beforehand. It lasts from 9.30 to 11.00 and within the school rules you are allowed two beers. There is usually a DJ employed by the school to play some chart music that really, you wouldn’t even suffer the radio to listen to.  This Saturday was no different a bar themed with classic movies for each house, for example St. Tinian’s for one girls house another went as Mario Cart not that that is a movie… Anyway, this Saturday, now that I am 18, Ella and I and two other friends went out for supper. We went to the pub beforehand for a pint before getting to the restaurant, Café Vin Cinq, we went upstairs to the cocktail lounge and the girls had a cocktail whilst I had a cool Corona with a slice of lime. We were then showed our table which was by the window, ironically looking out towards the OBS. Although all we could see was the old school wall we knew that what was inside was the sweaty and tragic affair that is Bar. Whilst the people in there were attempting to get rowdy and mosh pit with disapproving teachers looking on we ordered a bottle of red and chose our main courses. The two girls ordered lamb ribs whilst Ella and I shared a steak (it was very expensive!) we had a thoroughly enjoyable supper in great company and managed to get back to house without falling into a bush or being pushed over!

Sunday 1st November, 2015

This half-term Ella and I decided to try something new. We are both similar in that we find being at school a struggle and relish our holidays yet we are always left with the feeling that the holidays are too short. Being but teenagers we succumb to the stereotype and are rarely caught out of bed before eleven o’clock however we thought of a brilliant way to nearly extend our half term and that was to wake up early! We started with our feet in the deep end as we agreed to join my older sister for a car boot sale that she was doing, arriving at six thirty in the morning!

             I had never been to a car boot sale before and I absolutely loved it. After arranging all of the bits and bobs that my hoarding sister had collected and had finally decided to let go of we sat and waited. People in all guises wandered over and started handling our goods before deliberately putting them down and moving on. Finally an elderly man with a very retro jacket and a green baseball cap asked me the price of an old unopened science experiment present I had been gifted. I brashly offered a price of around three pounds but rightly so the man shook his head in disgust and walked on. We learnt from our lesson and so when our next customer, an old lady with a fistful of pound coins asked how much the horse shaped post was we were quick to give a price as low as we dared. She handed over her 50p with a smile and we began to make headway with getting rid of all our clutter.

               That evening after a full afternoon of jobs at home and a long walk, Ella and I were talking and we agreed, that waking up early had almost turned the one day into two different ones and so throughout half-term we continued to rise with the sun and waste not the day.

Sunday 17th October, 2015

Recently at Rugby school we lost a great headmaster and a gained an unproven one. Understandably he made many changes in his first term. Things to help achieve his target which was to improve the academic prowess of its pupils and things to stake his claim over the new school. There was much annoyance  over many of these changes however most of this was merely just people finding excuses to dislike the new "imposter"! Yet there was one thing that seemed truly unnecessary and was extremely irritating. 

                Every year for as long as most people can remember there has been a push car race which consists of each house making a vehicle, selecting a driver, preferably someone light but experience is vital, a passenger, the smallest person in the house and finally a team of paired runners who have to run 400m each pushing the cart. It's always a great event and those members of the house who aren't directly involved all crowd together as supporters and the close is filled with the sound of house chants. 

        With the arrival of our new headmaster we noticed the absence of this event in our term calendars. Blatant unrest was displayed as pupils discussed their disappointment and annoyance and a year went  without a pushcart race. He protested that he hadn't banned it but no one really believed him. However he had clearly sensed the disappointment and this year the race was back on. As soon as we heard it was arrangements were made. A boy in my years father was a formula one car designer and so sneakily we chose him and a friend to make the cart! They made it on a leave out and with the close aid of ben's dad and the provision of materials, in particular aluminium frames which meant the cart was extremely light we felt confident that we were in good stead for the race. We had a boy in the year below who was previously a passenger but this year had his debut as a driver and one of the smallest f blockers (1st years) as our passenger. With a strong team of runners, including myself, we were sure we to have a good chance of winning! After some inspirational although comical speeches and enthusiastic chants and everyone running as hard as they could we were sure we must have won the race but our optimism was shattered as we discovered we had been pipped to the post by School House of all people. At least there is always next year... headmaster willing!