Scenes of a Charitable Nature

Only three months ago, sporadic violence broke out in towns and cities across the United Kingdom. Frighteningly, the majority of rioters – 51.8% to be precise - were below the age of 20. Although the original riots were caused by the death of Mark Duggan, there were several who tried to justify their actions for alternative reasons, from poor treatment by the police through to high levels of unemployment and government cuts. This may have painted a portrait of Britain in severe depression from the economic crisis but there are two sides to every story; and this is no different.

The British are a pro-active people and no sooner had the riots finished than hundreds of Facebook users and ‘Twitterers’ were on the streets of London and Liverpool, cleaning up the carnage that was left behind. The selfless actions of these 500 or so people, shows on a micro-scale just how much we as a country care about our communities, even in times of individual economic hardship. The last two weekends have given further evidence of this remarkable attitude, with Remembrance Sunday and Children In Need on Friday.

Americans are repeatedly cited for both their patriotism, and unwavering support of their military. I believe, in both respects, that the British people are extremely similar, but the cynical tabloid press can frame the debate to suggest that our society is on a largely negative plane. But this does not explain how or why the whole country, quite rightly, comes together to remember for one day to remember those who have given so much to protect us and our loved ones.

These emotions are evoked in us all on 11^th November, from sportsmen on the field right through to accountants in Croydon. Armistice Day is simply part of the heartbeat of Britain, and instils within us, an enduring reminder that we should have pride in our brave armed forces. I think it is comforting that whatever the future may hold, liberal or conservative, growth or recession, Edward or Jacob, red or black, deal or no deal (I promise I will stop now), charities continue to inspire us all, whatever walk of life.  

Children in Need and Comic Relief are unique projects. The figureheads put in a great deal of organisation at the top table to make sure that all sorts of grass roots projects can inject their passion and ingenuity, coalescing with charities overseas and here at home.  According to BBC Statistics, since the recession hit in 2008, fundraising totals for Children in Need have increased by two million pound in the average year. This is even more remarkable, given that a third of all fundraising comes from the nation’s purses and wallets.

This shows that even when we have felt the pinch in our everyday lives, and even when the charity single has destroyed a classic (if you haven’t heard it, don’t), the British public have continued to generously give, to those whose need is ultimately greater than our own, across the globe.

Overall, I wanted this post to serve as a notice that all in Britain is not as bad as it may seem in the Fleet Street newspapers.  We should take pride that even in times of trouble; our society is an extremely humbling and heartwarming place, if you should dig deep enough.

Love Chips x 

Twilight: Breaking Down...

Allow me, if you will, to transport you through the deep, dark pockets of bygone ages, retreating further into your own memories, all the way back to the year 2008. A year in which Barack Hussein Obama was elected the  44th President of the United States, the global financial crisis took a stranglehold and Team GB won a record 19 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics. Despite all of this happening, I will never forget this year for another reason. A bane of my life to this day. 2008 saw the initial release of the Twilight Saga films.

In case you don't know or haven't heard the story, and I will make this short, here is an overview of the key plotlines, at least in the author, Stephenie Meyer's mind. Average girl (Bella) meets 108-year-old vampire (Edward), who appears to still be a teenager. Average girl also develops strong friendship with tribal werewolf (Jacob). Bella has stronger feelings for Edward, but strings along Jacob for the ride. Both Edward and Jacob must protect her from the 'bad vampires' (as far as I understand, a 'bad vampire' is to a good vampire, what bad bacteria is to Yakult). And all the while, Bella is just trying to find herself (saving thousands on a gap yah).

However, I would like to confront some major problems with the story in general, as well as the cult status this film has inherited, starting with the main protagonist, though this is a generous use of the term.

I don't claim to be a talented linguist, - Bella literally means beautiful in Italian, not average - nor do I claim to be a feminist, as this would be deeply condescending, but the female lead, commencing in the first half an hour of the films, appears to need a male of differing species from then on in, switching her feelings interchangeably between Edward and Jacob, depending on the weather. For teenage girls watching the film, and idolising Bella, this is an extremely bad message. As we all know, standards set by fictional characters and their on-screen portrayals are out of reach to us mere mortals. Just look at the actor Colin Firth. I imagine even he suffers from the assumptions he is akin to his "delectable" (not my words) on-screen character Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, when he's chowing down on a less than flattering pasta dish or just hanging out watching the television au naturelle.

Moving on to Edward, the actor Robert Pattinson's poster appears on University and college bedroom walls across the planet. Though he may be attractive objectively, I believe that propaganda-wise, the character has played a blinder. As a vampire, Edward's natural instinct is to hunt for, and enjoy the sensations that blood provides; yet it is assumed by all those idealists out there that Eddie is in fact in love with Bella, making him seem romantic and to some extent, chivalrous. I can't help but think this more realistic angle would be all over the press, if Nosferatu (right) was the vampire in question.

Finally, none of the characters on screen (I can only assume in the books too) have any depth. From the first three films, there has been no development of them as people, just a badly researched back story which sort of links them together...sort of. All I know of Bella, Edward and Jacob, is that they are trapped in a complex love triangle; one is a vampire, one is a werewolf and the other can't smile, and the sooner the films have stopped being churned out, the sooner we can all go back to our daily lives, where smouldering teenage lads looking at you and sparkling in the sunshine, is just plain creepy.

I say bring on 2012, and the release date of Underworld: Awakening, so we can finally see some real frickin' vampires.

Love Chips x

Pop Will Eat Itself

Pop music. noun. music of general appeal to the masses, utilising relatively simple but catchy songs.

As a 90s kid, I grew up in an era which gave us the likes of - you will probably remember or, even still listen to them - Five, B*Witched, Steps, the Vengaboys, Aqua, S Club, 'N Sync, to name a few. Although, these individuals may not have been the most talented musicians in the World, they knew this and instead took it upon themselves to put on the "funnest show ever"!!! Their fans would adore them, cutting the lyrics out of Smash Hits magazine and singing in to the hairbrush in front of the mirror while the parents stood by, just calling it a 'phase'.

Fast forward to today. The music industry has exploded in size, with every potential new band having very little room for manoeuvre and those coming off the X Factor/Brit School conveyor belt monopolise the top ten. If you listen to those who really 'know' the business, nobody's "gonna make it" and those who do will inevitably sell out, appearing in the tabloid newspapers or pleading for iTunes downloads in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. So how have we got to this point in time?

I believe that popular artists and their followers take themselves far too seriously, creating a cult-esque feel encompassing everything that they do (I'm looking at you Jared Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars). Only today, a story in the Mail said that followers of Lady Gaga (or 'monsters' as is their preference.... yes, exactly my point) have been attacking British soul sensation Adele on the social-networking site Twitter, so that Lady Gaga can win more awards than her. These are no music lovers. If they cannot see that Adele is a remarkably talented lady, whose voice and personality are both wonderful, they are exactly as it says on the tin... monsters.

And just for an award? I remember times when so-called 'pretentious' frontmen such as Oasis' Liam Gallagher have thrown awards away, as they are not important in the grand scheme of things. The whole ceremony is a self-congratulatory handshake to the music industry, not the geniuses it is built upon.

Music has become obsessed with its business interests, getting away from the roots of why people love it. If it's not going to gain you 100,000 downloads on iTunes, it ain't worth a jot. This rubs salt in to the wound for those journeymen musicians who have been striving for a platform, year upon year. Ed Sheeran is a brilliant example. In 2009, Mr. Ed played 312 gigs in total. In the same period, R&B princess Beyonce played a measly 86 concerts, but shipped 7 million copies of her album, I Am...Sasha Fierce. Where is the justice?!?!

Until the artists themselves become more humble, the music industry will continue to rile us all up. They don't know how good they've got it up there in their ivory tower, nor will they, until they've toured Scream pubs from Leamington Spa to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Love Chips x

11-11-11

Today, the 11th of November 2011, is a historic day in all of our respective lifetimes. Although it is Armistice Day, which I will talk about in a moment, this date is the only double-figure palindromic since November 11th 1911, as you have probably worked out yourself, 100 years ago today. I am reliably informed, on that day, temperatures plunged across the United States, in some places by up to 60F. If that happened today in the United Kingdom, I'm pretty certain there would be a 'Day After Tomorrow'-esque story to tell, given the already freezing temperatures hitting our shores.

Though, it's not all doom and gloom, Gretna Green (the wedding hotspot on the England-Scotland border) is due to stage up to 50 weddings today, with brides I presume booking this date in months in advance so that their inattentive husbands may at least remember one anniversary in a year. Furthermore, the rockumentary band Spinal Tap could famously turn their guitar amplifiers up to volume 11 and consequently, an iPod app are launching a channel streaming the film 11 times just for Nigel Tufnel day - give that a watch if you haven't seen the film, it's brilliant!

Still, I think this next institution is my favourite... ever - the Corduroy Appreciation Club. On this date, they will hold a general meeting to celebrate the date that resembles the most middle-class of all fabrics. Can't help thinking "where was my invite?" - sounds like a really swanky shindig...or not. I imagine there are also some binary jokes that could be made, but I am far too simple for any of these to have any of the effect they would probably deserve.

However, we will never forget... Armistice Day. The one day a year, that all of us should forget the squabbles and small tribulations that may prove inconvenient in everyday life, simply to be humbled by the ultimate sacrifice thousands of servicemen and women paid in defence of our countries, our ancestors and us. Very few of us have any way of knowing what they must have been through during Wars overseas, so I and expect many of you will be observing a two minutes' silence at 11am today.

Our troops overseas are the real stars of Britain (as well as the police, firefighters and doctors) who all do their jobs, to keep us safe. Though we may not agree with the conflicts they engage in, nobody can deny them this one day a year.

Happy 11/11/11 :D

Love Chips x
PS. If you'd like any more information about military charities or would like to donate, please visit Help for Heroes or the Royal British Legion,

Olympic Tickets

In a week that saw the Eurozone crash and Frankie Cocozza kicked out of X Factor, for generally being an idiot, I have chosen - selfishly - to chat about something that has frequently frustrated me; namely, I have just seen the announcement of the locations for the football in the London 2012 Olympics.

I, like millions of other Britons, applied for tickets via the scandal that was the 2012 ballot scheme for Basketball, the 100m heats, cycling, the Opening Ceremony and Football. While I was aware that the chances of me getting anything worth seeing were slim at best, I thought Sebastian Coe might throw me a line, getting to see Team GB triumph in, what can only be described as a vibrant metropolis.... Coventry.

No luck, however, as their games are in Manchester, London and Cardiff.  You might say "fair enough, those cities are just as bustling and vast as the second biggest city in the Midlands", but I am wondering is it really worth it to go all the way to Coventry for what will be on all accounts, a disappointing 1-1 draw between Sweden and Columbia. In other words, who wants two tickets to the Olympic football?

While I'm on the subject of disappointment in football, I will touch upon the furore surrounding 'Poppy-gate'. FIFA were well within their rights to argue that England and Wales are not allowed to change their home strips for the matches coming upon in the next 6 days, given the regulations that were set out at the beginning of the season. Why, therefore, was David Cameron trying to weigh in to the argument when there are a lot more pressing matters at hand?... Starting with his Home Secretary would be my tip. RANT OVER.

Love Chips x

Welcome!

Hey everybody,

Stu here. Have just started a blog to get my thoughts down on paper, not that most of them are worth knowing or of vital importance to the human race, but just for a bit of fun. This blog, I hope, will just start a little debate among yourselves about anything and everything, from what's happened in the news that day to a funny video of a baby eating a lemon, from what albums I've been catching up on to how devastated I am with how my beloved Chelsea performed away at Stoke etc. Just bear with me for the first few posts though, trying to find a footing and improve my style of writing  in any which way. If you've got any comments or things you want me to talk about, just give me a bell and I shall... nothing's off limits. Apart from that, which you're thinking now, that's definitely off limits. Have a great day and remember....

Love Chips! :)