Male Alienation

Two species, one planet and a lifetime of confrontations-yet year after year we continue to fight through the wedding vows.

There’s a reason why they are called the opposite sex. They are mentally, physically and emotionally alien to the female and yet we put ourselves through the daily torture of thinking or more likely, hoping that the next one will be different- not the typical man and not gay either.

If women are not arguing with their partner, then they find comfort in spilling all to their girlfriends, which if nothing, actually extends the anguish. Between them they empty a fridge full of wine and anything else they can find to soothe themselves into a sweet blissfulness, whilst taking satisfaction in pinning their partners to the floor with brutal language and cruel remarks. Before you know it that becomes the monotony of a male, female relationship. Despite fooling yourself into thinking that, that will be the last time that your emotions will get the better of you, the last time that you put on those ‘rose tinted glasses’, you find yourself starring at yet another handsome number.

The relationship between a man and woman is a pendulum; swaying from love to hate, hate to love. Your heart is placed on a roller coaster and your head is buried ten feet under.

The male believes that everything can be put right with a bunch of flowers, which only ever come through the door when he finally realises that he’s done something wrong. The male is transformed- but only for as long as it takes to be forgiven. The arrogant, inconsiderate bastard with the emotions of a rock soon returns.

The two species speak different tongues. 1.The male refers to a relationship as ‘the time when me and that girl got together’. When a relationship ends the male will fester for months and a year done the line will make a drunken phone call declaring that he’s still in love. Whilst the female has already poured her heart out and moved on. The man, who prides himself on being the stronger sex, quickly contradicts his masculine bravado.

2. Women mature much faster than men. Most 17 year-old females can function as adults, whilst the male continues to trade football cards.
3. The male wears his head in his trousers, whilst the female places her head in her heart.
4. The male wouldn’t dare show his emotions for fear of appearing weak. It does not occur to them that the stronger person is that of who can show emotion.
5. Women splash out, whilst men cash in.

To find a similarity would be a far fleet. But for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health the two human forms continue to live life together and attempt to find the bond that makes the two halves, whole.

Justice for GBH victim

Sentenced to 16 months imprisonment after performing a vicious assault on a retired aircraft engineer.

Brett Griffith was arrested for the offence of Grievous Bodily Harm last May. At the police station he made an immediate guilty plea for the attack against Martin Muldorey. The 31 year-old admitted that whilst at a pub in Hamble near Southampton, he accidentally knocked into Mr Muldorey’s wife who had recently sustained an injury to her arm. As a result of this, Mr Muldorey confronted him. Brett claims that it was a particular remark, with reference to his father, which is a sensitive issue with the defendant that triggered his violent reaction.

Martin Muldorey received an extreme blow to his face, in which he suffered from a displaced cheekbone, a serious injury that required surgery. He described it as “an unbelievable pain” and is still recovering. It remains uncertain whether he will suffer any permanent damage, but it is possible that Mr Muldorey’s cheek could remain paralysed to some degree.

Judge Harrow determined the sentence at Bournemouth Crown Court, of which he will only serve half before being released on licence. Considerations were made with respect to the fact that Mr Griffith did not use a weapon of any sort when making his attack. He only made a single blow to Mr Muldorey and with no previous convictions of this kind, he was considered a to have a low risk of re-offending. Defence Barrister, Jonathon Simpson
suggested that a suspended sentence would be an adequate option, despite the guideline being an 18 month custodial sentence.

Judge Harrow made the final decision of a 16 month custodial sentence and claimed that “a suspended sentence was definitely not appropriate in these circumstances.”

Big Brother's little England

Perhaps Big brother is not just a reality TV show, littered with forgotten celebrities and star struck wannabe’s. Perhaps the show that is scrutinised and dismissed as simply ‘tack,’ holds more substance. Is it in fact, offering an eye opener of a future society or the society that we are already unconsciously living in?

The UK government are developing increasingly sophisticated gadgets to keep individuals under their surveillance. Big Brother techniques such as CCTV and recording equipment, our creeping into every aspect of our lives and Britain is in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society.

Civil liberties are fading as e-mail monitoring and computer tracking furthers the surveillance knot that we are trapping ourselves into. High Tech listening devices are also becoming a concern, as they continue to be placed in lamp posts, street furniture and offices.

There are more than four million CCTV Cameras in England, one for every 14 people. Big Brother is watching us and is not simply a channel four TV show. The cameras are not only pointing at the Big Brother house in Hertfordshire, it is not a unique experience for the chosen housemates. The cameras are pointing at everyone. Channel four is merely offering a slice of what England continues to become.

When you order a Chinese Takeaway, the immediate demand is a name and address. These details are not quickly disposed of after you have placed your order; they are innocently installed on a computer database. The next minute you receive a phone call from a kitchen installation company who announce your details before a word has even left your lips. Does this sound familiar? Your identity as you may like to think of it, is unique. It is the one thing that can separate you from the crowd. However, in a society that is slowly becoming suppressed under the force of an eye, perhaps this is a fading truth.

Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas predicts a “world in 2016 where technology is extensively used to track and record people’s movements and activities. He predicts shoppers will wear unique tags embedded in their clothes, which will be scanned as they enter any store and aerial “friendly flying eyes in the sky”. Privacy will become an unrecognised privilege and as George Orwell writes in his novel ‘nineteen eighty four’ “ all pleasures will be destroyed.”

Chemical Reactions

Four residents from Poole have been killed as a result of an explosion, which blasted chemical drums into the sky and sent them raining down on cars and homes.

An explosion at a chemical plant, has seen chemical drums travelling for miles in the sky and are causing concern across Poole.
Factory owner, Terry Verdon has described the incident as a “huge tragedy.” The fire has caused a lifetime of work to be destroyed within hours.

Founded in 1974, the factory has developed high standards of treatments for many life threatening illnesses and had just been given consent by the government, to produce a new life saving drug for children suffering with Leukaemia.

Having spent years perfecting the chemical concentrations, it was said that this drug would “cut victims of the illness by half.” Now it seems that this discovery will have to be put on hold, as Tony and his team attempt to put the pieces back together; something that could take up to five years.

This means that cancer patients will continue to suffer with the disease that kills 22,000 children a year in the UK alone.
Phil Dring, an emergency planning officer has called for 10,000 people to be evacuated from the surrounding area and Alder Road remains closed.

Residents who believed the fire was at Nelson Stanley’s scrap yard raised the alarm and after confusion, the emergency services located the Sigma at British Drug Houses.
Fire crew have been at the scene since 9.25am and there are now increasing health risks as the explosions have produced harmful acrid smoke. A Chief Fire Officer admitted that more crew are needed at the scene, as the blaze remains “out of control”.

Factory owner, Terry Verdon has described the incident as a “huge tragedy.” The fire has caused a lifetime of work to be destroyed within hours.

Founded in 1974, the factory has developed high standards of treatments for many life threatening illnesses and had just been given consent by the government, to produce a new life saving drug for children suffering with Leukaemia.

Having spent years perfecting the chemical concentrations, it was said that this drug would “cut victims of the illness by half.” Now it seems that this discovery will have to be put on hold, as Tony and his team attempt to put the pieces back together; something that could take up to five years.

This means that cancer patients will continue to suffer with the disease that kills 22,000 children a year in the UK alone

Victory nailed at last

After nearly four years, a woman has been arrested for spreading nails across a busy road.

The main Salisbury Road of the small village, in Christchurch has been awash with nails and screws, which have continued to cause danger and concern for residents and road users in the area.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, there was a ‘sigh of relief’ among residents, as Christchurch Police, who have been following the case since 2004, made a formal arrest.

Despite their best attempts, it has proved to be almost impossible to gain evidence of the middle aged woman’s dangerous antics and many have even stayed awake throughout the night to catch her in the act, to no avail.

For the proprietor of Winkton Auto Garage, it has been a benefit for business, claiming ‘one week we had about fifty cars bought in, all needing new tyres.’ He almost became embarrassed at the amount of cars bought to the garage and was concerned that ‘people may think that I’m the culprit of all this, due to the amount of trade that I’ve gained.’

The woman, who has been arrested after police performed an overnight watch on the house to finally gain sufficient evidence, spends most of her time alone. She rarely interacts with other residents of the village and on the occasion that she does, it is said that her only topic of conversation is the danger of the road.
It is not yet certain that she will face a prosecution, but police and residents wait in hope that her daily activity grinds to a halt. Close neighbour Mrs Seddington-Ford, 49, says ‘I have grown tired of collecting jars full of nails and having my car tyres continuingly replaced…it simply must stop!’

"A Nose for News"

Night News Editor of the Daily Star explains just what it takes to become a successful reporter.
You “must be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, you have to know that the snippet of conversation you overheard is newsworthy and be able to turn it into a story”.

Tom Savage began his career as a journalist at City University in London, where he earned a BA in Journalism.
By 2000 he was writing and editing for an advice Website on weekdays and sub-editing for the Sunday Times Sports section on Saturday’s.

After three years Tom joined the Daily Express trainee scheme and on day one, was lent to the Daily Star “for an initial three months, and never left”.

The thirty-one-year-old has learned that contacts are the key to becoming a good reporter “-lots of them- and ones who will talk to you. Just having their phone numbers isn’t enough”.
He believes that a good reporter is also “accurate in what they write and tenacious enough to be able to stick to their guns even when the whole world is telling them that they’re wrong.”

Speaking to a variety of people on a daily basis, communication skills are a must have quality for any reporter, the ability to talk easily “to the Prime Minister one day and to a single mum on a council estate the next”.

Having faced many challenges in his career, Tom has needed a thick skin; there is “no point doing the job if you take offence when people want to rip you to shreds”.
There are also times when he has had to leave his morals “at the door”, especially on tabloids, where the subject matter may “not always be palatable”. Tom’s development from student to professional news reporter has given him a number of journalistic qualities and having been at the Daily Star for five years he remains content in the job that has earned him around £35,000 a year.

It's funny, the things you remember"

Standing in his mother's flower trough, three year-old Ken Dennis posed for a photograph before his Aunt was due to leave a life in Middlesex, for a future in America.

The retired journalist, now 79 recalls his earliest memory and expresses his growth from flower trough to Fleet Street.
Stepping out of the photograph and into the ink, Press Association was where Ken Dennis took his first steps into the career that would mark a future of challenges and memorable experiences.

Now pointing the camera in the other direction, Ken could not have imagined the little boy that he was could become, one of the first men allowed to explore the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl, Russia in 1986.

The Financial Times and the Daily Mail are just two newspapers that Ken has worked for throughout his years as a journalist: photographs continuing to capture memorable events in both his life and others.

The protesting young boy, who found little satisfaction in posing in a flower trough, has certainly experienced more peculiar surroundings in life as a journalist. Instead of objecting he has come to embrace them.

Ken’s life has prospered throughout and a transformation has been made from the cheeky three year-old that he remembers to a man of wise words and immense character.

Taking pleasure in his retirement, Ken Dennis has had the chance to reflect on his past, now placing the photographs in their frames. Swapping print in the newspaper for prints in the sand and the walk up Fleet Street for strolls up the beach.