The only journo in the village...

Before I forget, I’ll tell you about my little journalistic adventure last Friday. During the first term, we have been learning how to construct professional articles in a News Writing module, run by the fantastic journalist Rachel Sharp. It has been my favourite part of the course as it gives you hands on experience of what it’s like to work in a newsroom to deadlines. I’ve picked up so much knowledge and tips from Rachel. I’m sad the module is over.

Last week, Rachel made it a live reporting day so everyone in my class had to pick a place name out of the hat and produce a decent sized (300-400) article by 4pm so we had six hours. You’d think it would’ve been easy. Yes, if I got Uxbridge or Hillingdon but I didn’t. My ‘patch’ was Harmondsworth, the only place I had never heard of. Turns out it’s a village in the middle of nowhere (or so it seems) and it’s a 20 minute bus ride from Brunel. Guess what? Nothing much happens. The first local I spoke to told me it was “boring” and I really struggled to find a story.

After what seemed like hours looking around the quite village and speaking to people who didn’t even live local so knew nothing, I spotted a poster about a historic barn, which needed donations to survive. I researched it briefly on my phone, took a picture and spoke to a local resident who answered some questions. There was a number on the poster so back at the Uni, I made the relevant calls which enabled me to write up a piece.

It was a stressful experience as I drew the short straw and couldn’t find a lead for ages but it taught me not to give up. I got there in the end.

I’ve got a News Writing exam in the morning so time for a little bit of last minute revision.

Bye for now!  

A little bit over the top...

I am sorry for yet another football related blog post but I think the evil and sadistic ones among you may enjoy hearing about my reaction to Arsenal going out of the Capital One Cup.

I had a feeling everything was going to go wrong all day but my mate reassured me Arsenal would thrash the league 2 side. I strongly disagreed. He wondered why I was getting agitated when we had not scored in the first 10 minutes. Then, I was proved right and Bradford scored. And it remained 1-0 until two minutes from time, Vermaelen popped up to rescue us. As Bradford were visibly tiring, I thought we’d steal the victory in extra time. Although we were awful again and it would’ve been daylight robbery, I somehow figure it was possible. I was so wrong.

Penalties is mainly luck but also about bottle, which Arsenal clearly lack that apart from Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain (no coincidence that they’re both English). Right, picture this. Hands covering my eyes as I can barely bring myself to watch. Bradford score 2. Arsenal miss 2. I let out a shriek of pain before sinking back in my chair. “Arsene, you’re going to get the tin tack”. I was so distraught that I was turning into a cockney. Szczesny saves 2 and Arsenal score 2. I let out a little smile. Another reprieve? Surely, our captain will tuck this away to make it 3-3. NO. We were out.

I didn’t make a sound this time. My face just dropped and I entered a new level of depression. I was just staring into space and the world stopped around me. My friends were speaking to me but I physically couldn’t open my mouth. My eyes were filling with water and I wanted to sob but had to hold it back to avoid embarrassment. You may think I was melodramatic and I should be used to it by now but the thing is, now I’ve got no hope to cling onto. Normally, the wheels come off in March but in December. It’s tragic. I haven’t got anything to look forward to.

Roll on next season and I dare say it but without Wenger.

Bye for now!

One Alan Davies!

Like I said yesterday, the Arsenal game weren’t the most exciting so it was down to fellow Gooner Alan Davies to cheer me up and make my weekend. I bought these tickets months ago. When I heard he was going on tour and stopping off at my local, I was straight up the Alban Arena to book my place. Now, you might think that my (not so) little brother and I are not really in his demographic. This is true, we did stick out like sore thumbs, but his weekly Arsenal podcast The Tuesday Club is hysterical and we’re huge fans. Also, I love QI so wanted to see him live.

It was worth the wait. You can tell when I really find something funny because I do a dolphin/seal noise and I done it a few times, to my brother’s disgust. It weren’t a traditional comedy gig, it was more him telling stories about his life, past and present. My favourite part of stand-up is when the comedian interacts with the crowd because the random, off the cuff nature always results in hilarity. However, I didn’t put my hand up and admit that I’m a student. Particularly as I’m studying Journalism, I knew I’d end up the butt of all jokes so I kept my nut down.

After the show, we got in the queue to meet him and get a programme signed. It’s something I need to work on for my career but when I meet famous people, I get star struck and talk utter rubbish. I’m a proper fan boy. I got to the front of the queue; pointed at my Arsenal shirt and said “better result today” How special needs was that? Not even “Hi, did you go to the match?” Then, I made myself look like an even bigger tool by saying “Nice podcast. Keep it up”. Finally, I went “brilliant show”. I panic around celebrities (or girls for that matter) and say things that make me look simple.

I come away feeling like an idiot but it gives me something to look back on and laugh at. It was a great night and I encourage anyone who missed him in St. Albans to go to his London show in February.

Bye for now!

[insert title here]

I know that as a journalist, I should be coming up with eye-catching headlines but I’m not sure what to call this post. It’s not about one subject. I just thought I’d share what I’ve been up to this weekend in case anyone is interested.

After coming home from Uni, I was off to the Emirates with my mum for the annual Disabled Supporters Christmas Party. This year, they told us there would be a surprise and I had heard that the team would be there. But they weren’t. Instead, Aaron Ramsey came for 5 minutes, answered a few questions before rushing off to get on the team coach to the hotel. Nice of him to give up his time unlike our other over-paid players but his brief appearance did aggravate me. He may as well have not turned up for one. And, where was the rest of the team? I’ll tell you where, hiding like the cowards they are. They are an embarrassment so can’t look the supporters in the eyes. Another grievance I had was that Gazidas normally stands up and talks his normal rubbish but he must’ve known Wheelchair Boy was gunning for him as he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he was there but didn’t come near me otherwise he would’ve felt my wrath.

Friday pretty much summed up the club at the moment. They are happy to take from the fans but daren’t give back.

I did manage to ask Ramsey a question about whether he gets annoyed playing out wide but of course he towed the party line saying that he favours a central role but will play anywhere for the boss. Predictable answer. But, what did I expect?

You may be thinking Arsenal won on Saturday so why the moaning. And yes, I was pleased with the result but the performance still ain’t there. Coming away from the ground, I weren’t buzzing at all. In fact, the Spurs game gave me more pleasure which is a sad state of affairs. Nonetheless, going into injury time 1-0 up and then losing 2-1 is comedy gold. That’s the good thing about football, however bad it gets or out of love you feel, something great happens to reignite your passion. Like Tottenham imploding or Stevie G scoring an own goal or Nasri sticking out his leg to lose his team the game. Love it!

I’ll tell you about last night when I saw Alan Davies doing stand-up in tomorrow’s blog but I’m off to bed.

Bye for now!

Westminster: Behind closed doors…

No, I’m not singing Peter Andre  (cringe I know that). I am merely referring to my time in Portcullis House. The general public can take tours of the House of Lords and the House of Commons when visiting Parliament but only special people can access the building where MP’s are based. So, I was privileged and honoured that St. Albans MP Anne Main invited me for two days work experience to get a feel of how British politics works and see if I still wanted to report the subject in the future.

Firstly, it wasn’t what I expected and I think quite a lot of people would be shocked.  That begs the question what exactly did I expect and I’m actually not sure but I just didn’t think it would be so busy. Most people are of the view that MP’s sit around and do nothing. While this may be true for some, the majority are very busy, rushing about from meeting to meeting. The most hectic part is when the bell goes off and the MP’s have eight minutes to get over to the House of Commons in order to vote.

Then, there’s Portcullis House itself. Inside, it’s actually quite modern and the glass roof and doors sort of give a James Bond MI6 feel. The offices are hidden behind wooden panels, which make the corridors look identical. It’s a bit like a maze. And to be fair, I was amazed how accessible the place was. Even the listed buildings had lifts in, albeit the old-fashioned ones but at least they had them.

On Monday, my day started by attending a conference between Bangladeshi leaders ahead of next years election. Anne was chairing the seminar with Lord Avebury so wanted me to watch and then write a report for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh as well as the Conservative Friends of Bangladesh. Although I was sleepy (hate getting up at 7 when you’re a student) and confused at times, it was very interesting as I learnt a lot about a country I knew nothing about.

After lunch, Anne was scheduled to meet members of the St. Albans Youth Council to discuss the issue of mental health. After reading the report they had compiled, I listened to the discussion and even found myself getting involved (it’s a subject that is close to my heart). Maybe it was a bit unprofessional to start giving my opinion on the matter but it helped me to get a rounded picture rather than an outsider just looking in.

I didn’t see much of Anne on Tuesday because she was busy meeting with constituents and there were a couple of votes in the Commons. Plus, I was quite busy having a tour of Westminster (I recommend it), writing up my articles and meeting Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson. It was great to meet one of my heroes and I am grateful she took the time to see me.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time and like to give a massive thank you to Anne Main for inviting me. Also, thanks to her team (that might not be the right term) who made me feel so welcome and put in a tremendous amount of work behind the scene.

Bye for now!

What was all the fuss about?

The moment that I found out Brunel was hosting controversial cleric Abu Usamah at-Thahabi, I knew that whatever was in my diary would be cancelled as I did not want to miss what could be potentially a real juicy story.  I was, as the kids say, buzzing with excitement as I thought it could be my first big scoop and the national news may even be interested. At the same time, I’d seen the Dispatches documentary so I was afraid that his strong views may cause a huge backlash.

But how wrong I was on both accounts.  On arrival, there was the Islamic Society waiting to enter the lecture theatre one side and the protesters (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender society) holding up posters kept behind crowd control barriers on the other.  There were also bouncers and even Community Police Officer’s so I thought things were about to get heated. They didn’t. When inside, the talk went smoothly and at-Thahabi did not say anything too contentious. The main subject was Aisba and her role in Islam.

As a human, I was happy that Abu Usamah at-Thahabi was able to deliver an informative speech and a silent protest occurred without trouble but as a journalist, it was a pretty boring evening. Sweets being given by ISOC as a peace gesture to those who were upset with at-Thahabi certainly created a surreal atmosphere and the whole evening didn’t live up to the billing.

The highlight of the night was probably when a girl interjected and then stormed out angrily, for reasons unknown to me. Or perhaps at the end when at-Thahabi strenuously denied making comments about homosexuals, even though he was caught on video. Type it in Google if you haven’t seen it.  Other search engines are available if you are boycotting the tax dodgers

I’ll tell you about my work experience tomorrow when I get back from Westminster. All I’ll say is it has been hectic today and I can’t wait to go back.

Bye for now!

Everything needs to change...

I'm not upset today. I'm just full of rage with an overwhelming desire to punch anyone from our board or a player, preferably Gervinho. In case you don't know, the famous old Arsenal FC lost 2-0 at home against Swansea City. We got dominated by a team who, just over 10 years ago, narrowly avoided relegation from the Football League. I'm not disrespecting the Swans who have been brilliant in their first two seasons in the Premier League and were rightly applauded off the pitch by the home support. Michael Laudrup's side definitely deserve the plaudits but Arsenal were abysmal and today is yet another dark day to be a fan. It is further evidence that the club I love is in dire straights.

Drastic changes need to be made and fast. I’m not talking about merely sacking Arsene Wenger and things will improve because that won’t be the case.  Arsenal need to make wholesale changes. First and foremost, the Board needs a shake-up. People have unrealistic dreams of Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho. They won’t come because they know that there hands will be tied behind their back. Nothing will change until the top is sorted and then you can work down with the coaching team but most importantly the players. Walcott has gone but Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Jenkinson and Gibbs can stay. The rest (sorry Per and Olivier) can leave. That’s what is needed. I don’t care if Jenkinson is not amazing. I just want passion.

I missed it (went to the wrong place) but I heard the Black Scarf Movement march was a success although nothing will happen as a result. All I can say is I hope the players and board alike are enjoying the pain they’re causing me.

Sorry if you have no interest in football whatsoever but it’s either me ranting on here or me head butting the wall.

I’m so glad the doctor gave me the all clear to drink alcohol…

Bye for now!