Taking 2 weeks out of University is usually frowned upon, but when you’re given the opportunity to undergo work experience at Heat magazine, there is no question about it. Oyster cards, stuffy underground trains and impatient commuters every morning are just some of the things that you learn to get used to when it means you’ll be spending your days amongst some of the best journalists in the business.
But when someone says work experience, there is that instant stereotype of tea-making, filing and arranging each and every piece of paper into alphabetical order. BORING! No-one wants to do that for two weeks – I’d rather be at Uni! But luckily for me, that wasn’t the case. Writing articles for the online magazine, transcribing interviews with some of my favourite reality TV stars and being inundated with freebies are just some of the tasks that confronted me on this placement.
Subway, anyone?
Sweet treats!
That aside, the extent to which PR companies go to promote their brands and products needs to be recognised. Treasure chests made from sweets, Pizza Hut Ninjas, Subways, donuts, cakes that are made to look like make-up brushes, and the list is never-ending! Its a case of forgetting all of your diet plans for the next two weeks, as the amount of food placed in front of you is enough to make you gain 3 stone!
The best thing about Heat, is their original, wacky and somewhat ridiculous ways in which they engage with their celebs and interviewees. Take 12 heart-shaped balloons, cut up 12 in-your-face questions and inflate the balloons with the questions inside. Take a wonder to find Nick Jonas and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for a perfect interview! – don’t forget a pin though, otherwise you may struggle to read the questions inside! And so it goes on; quizzing celebrities to discover how much they actually know (or don’t know) about the real world, trying to explain to the TOWIE cast how to play a REALLY SIMPLE game, or playing Snog Marry Avoid with an overly unexcited Lucy Watson. Inspiring!
Pudsey is showing his support for Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up to Cancer was a big campaign for everyone, but for Heat, they took raising awareness to a different level; dressing celebrity dogs in specially-made jackets and littering their photos over social networks. What a great way to support the cause! But hold up, for these celebrity dogs to have these jackets, it means that someone has got put their postman hat on! … And that was me. I took a trip to see Alan Carr, a trip to Ashleigh and Pudsey’s house, all in the name of charity. To say that the two weeks haven’t been an adventure would be the understatement of the year!
There is one thing, for me, that is the icing on the cake about the whole experience; the by-lines. To see your name underneath the headline for a story gives such a strong sense of achievement. From ‘Who wore it best?’ articles, to ‘The Vamps launching a new online game’, it is your name that is displayed to everyone. Everyone is going to know that you’ve written that. AMAZING!
So take a scroll through some of the ‘Who wore it best?’ articles I have written on the link below.
It’s that time of the week again where we recap last night’s antics of our favourite Londoners – and after last week, I think there a considerable number of questions that need to be answered!
The episode opens with our two orgy culprits as they coincidently (and awkwardly) bump into each other on the street. Alex makes it clear to Spenny that he is royally ‘cheesed off’ with the way in which this HUGE revelation has unveiled as it was discussed amongst the two of them that this would definitely be kept on the DL (down-low for those who are socially inadequate).
Our infamous orgy culprits
Meanwhile, the girls gather around Binky’s house to discuss the latest on the infamous cheating scandal. Rosie chooses to ignore all rules of social convention as she continues to wear a hat indoors, but nevertheless she is a Chelsea girl so one shall do what one chooses to. Binky apologies to Lucy for being so oblivious to the truth that she was being told, and even Louise pipes up with a ‘semi-grovel’. First time for everything.
We’ve all reached a point now where we bury our heads in our hands as soon as Sam comes on our screens. He meets with Riley for an oh-so-awkward catch up where he continues to explain his disgust with Spenny and how distraught he is that Christiana has chosen Spencer over him – funny that. Riley now knows the perfect way to remove Sam from any situations; by kindly dropping in that Stevie is coming to join them. Right on time, he strolls across the camera, and Sam takes the opportunity to swiftly leave the scene – nice work Riley.
Spencer continues to tackle the dating world in the opposite way to most, sleeping with them first, then taking them out for a romantic dinner. Christiana is his current victim, although not for much longer I would imagine after she kindly announces that she thought he was 30!
Spencer tackling the dating world backwards!
Now for a complete plot change, Stephanie and Louise are doing the usual thing that girls do, chatting over a drink or two. Stevie and Andy are spotted at the other side of the bar, wearing some slightly questionable Hawaiian garlands. They join the girls for a drink which turns into a highly flirtatious conversation between Steph and Stevie, with a ‘tour’ of London left on the cards. Stevie! What about Riley?!
Andy’s face says it all!
Lucy and Riley meet for a business/girl-to-girl chat which is rudely interrupted by Jamie. Much to Lucy’s disapproval, he continues to pest Riley and promises to call her later, even though he doesn’t have her number .. yet. Bless. You can’t blame the guy for trying! Stephanie joins this small intervention and drops the bombshell that she most definitely has a crush on Stevie. Jamie, in his current love situation, encourages her to push forward with Stevie. Smooth moves Jamie, he’ll do anything to worm his way in with Riley. Poor girl, she’s only been on the set 5 minutes.
In other news, Binky goes against the collective wisdom of the girls and meets up with Alex, carrying a large bunch of flowers in her hand. Its clear she has reached the point where enough is enough and she knows why she is here: to throw the flowers on Alex’s feet and to shoot down his grovelling by reminding him that he “should’ve thought about it before sticking your dick in other people.” Mytton’s crying, Binky’s crying but showing real girl power, she turns around and walks away. Go Binks!
Alex and Binky call it quits.. for now.
All aboard Stevie’s tour of London! This is a clear reminder as to why he is stars in a reality TV show rather than being a tour guide. A one stop tour, featuring a scenic rooftop, is the perfect spot for Stephanie to reveal her big ploy to get Stevie away from the usual crowd to spend a bit of ‘quality time’ together. Stevie reveals he is single (sounds like Stiley is off the cards then), and leans in for a cheeky smooch. Oh Stevie, we thought you were the good guy!
Stevie! You were meant to be the good guy!
Sam being the worst addition to MIC that we’ve had since forever is conveniently sat in perfect proximity to eavesdrop on Andy and Stevie’s conversation. Whilst explaining about the latest Stevie snog, Sam makes it his priority to inform Riley of what he has just heard. At Jamie’s previously planned picnic, Same takes the opportunity to tell Riley which leaves her looking ever so slightly disappointed. However, I’m sure she won’t be down for long if Jamie has anything to do with it! Isn’t that right Jamie? Oh yes, in fact, he’s asking her on a date as we speak. Maybe I should just write the script from now on?!
As most of us are likely to have seen by now, the new viral sensation that seems to have swarmed the timelines of our social media sites is the video portraying a message of negativity towards the use of mobile devices. ‘Look up’ it is called. So if you haven’t watched then give it a little look. Whilst the message behind it is perfectly legitimate and quite eye opening, the irony (which is also recognised) overpowers the original purpose of the video.
The clip shows the way we live our lives through the life of our mobile phones. The fact that we walk down the street, walk to work or to the shop with our heads embedded in the portable device held before us. It emphasises the number of new faces and potential friends that we are missing out on because of the numerous people we dismiss as we walk with our head down. It makes you realise that, in fact, you could have passed your future husband or wife but you would never know because you didn’t take the chance to look up. So when we think about the message that is being portrayed, maybe there is a need for this to be published. But through a video? Surely that flaws the argument before it’s even begun?
The truth is, the way our society works today, the majority of information, connections and entertainment comes through a form of social media. Therefore the need for constant access to a mobile phone or iPad is somewhat necessary. Times have moved on and the way in which we communicate is very different to what it used to be. The easiest, fastest and most effective way to reach the public is through the use of the internet. So for this reason, the idea of viral clips to present information is suitable for the society of today. However, the backlash has derived from the message that lays beneath the video.
So was it worth it? Well yes. The spreading of this video seems to be attached with messages and statuses shocked about how relatable and true this message is to them. Maybe it will make people walk with their head up rather than down, who knows. But one thing you can do whilst pondering upon this matter is to have watch of the video whilst you’re on your walk home from work or University. But remember to look up whilst you’re at it!
A day later than usual but unfortunately assignments have taken over my life this week. However, there is always time to squeeze in an episode of Made in Chelsea. And what an episode it was! After last week’s slight deflation, this week certainly made up for any lack of juiciness! It’s one of those where your jaw is permanently locked into a shocked position throughout the entire show.
So we start off on the night of Louise’s birthday party, of which she is late too. Her posh pals organised some kind of gig to celebrate her 24 years of life. It would seem that the attention was not so much on Louise though. Despite it being her birthday, Binky and Cheska are interrupted by a certain Spencer Matthews who attempts to ‘sashay’ his way over to speak to Binky. He is soon to realise that this was probably the worst decision he could have made after Binky lays into him about how he has been a bad friend and not stood by her through the whole Alex situation.
Sam tries, once again, to tell Stevie how it is “so hard” to see him with his ex-girlfriend, Riley. But this time, he wastes no time in telling Stevie how he is now also interested in another female (poor girl!), so Stevie definitely doesn’t have to worry about Sam Thompson trying to steal back his girl. As if that was ever going to happen anyway.
Spencer’s back in the bad books
Stevie couldn’t look more uninterested in what Sam is saying
On the topic of Riley, she continues to blossom as Lucy’s new intern to the point in which they discuss Jamie and Lucy’s first kiss which is conveniently interrupted by the stud himself. He graces the girls with his presence and a bag full of sweet treats and makes an unconcerted effort to snap up Riley as his new intern. I think the phrase “I will poach her. Like an egg,” was what he used to try and win himself a new companion. Nice work Jamie.
Now we know we can always count on Stephanie with her trademark introductory line, “Hey asshole”, when it comes to greeting Spencer. And this week she certainly didn’t let us down. Cutting back to Louise’s party, she continues to inform him of how she feels disgusted by his actions – to which he felt an appropriate reply would be to invite her to live back with him. This part has to make MIC history. Stephanie wastes no time in immediately turning her back and walking off in the opposite direction. No words were needed. The reaction on Spencer’s face was enough!
Yes, those are definitely real tears.
Lucy struggles to hold back her tears when discussing with Jamie how she feels the other girls are ganging up on her. Poor girl, she is only trying to do the best for Binky and she’s being targeted as the bad guy. But there’s no need to panic because Jamie is there with a shoulder to cry on. So much for these two hating each other?!
Meanwhile, much to everyone else’s horror, Binky and Alex are out on a date. He continues to grovel and asks what he can do to try and make it up to her. FOUR times he has cheated. That’s a lot of making up to do Mytton. It’s a good job you’re a Chelsea boy, eh! She begins revealing her list of ‘wants’, starting with presents, holidays, surprises. Wait a second Binks, have you not had enough surprises from Alex over the last few weeks?!
“I want presents, holidays and surprises”
Now it wouldn’t be a true episode of Chelsea without some form of awkward conversation/chat/dinner/date. This week we saw Sam and Spencer sitting, coincidently, around a table for 4 with just the 2 of them supposedly having a catch up. It takes a few minutes for Sam to reveal that he has in fact set up his very own double date with his new fancy girl and her friend. They arrive, both in pastels, with long blonde hair and Spencer already looks guilty. Has he slept with either of them? … Of course he has! We’re not really too sure which one as they both look the same, but nevertheless he has already had some fun with one of them. Sam, once again, is left crestfallen. Your time will come Sam, one day.
An overly awkward double date
An overly awkward double date
Stevie’s birthday is rapidly approaching and Andy, Lucy and Proudlock have obviously got a surprise up their sleeves. And whilst they are busy planning, Jamie meets with Alex to get the low-down on the latest with him and Binky. For once he gives some advice that we all agree with. That he should not get back with Binky as if any more indiscretions are revealed, it will destroy her. AGREED.
Binky later meets with Lucy for what soon turns into a mini showdown. She begins accusing Lucy of getting kicks out of her bad news, to which she replies with a killer line: “Are you afraid of me, or are you afraid of the truth?” Ooooo. This continues and Lucy is accused of being stuck-up and arrogant. Ouch. There’s no wonder that she releases another set of real, human tears. Twice in one episode? It must be serious.
“Are you afraid of me or are you afraid of the truth?”
I told you this was a juicy episode, and now is where it really starts to live up to its name.
SURPRISE! Stevie’s surprise party is in full swing, thanks to his nearest and dearest in Chelsea. Riley greets him with a handmade card (how sweet) and the cake has a full-blown photo of his baby face on it. Aww! One of the blonde bombshell’s (I couldn’t tell you which one) approaches Sam and Spencer in a rather ‘something huge is about to happen’ kind of way. And so it did. She kindly dropped the news that Spencer’s involvement with Christiana (the other blonde one) was in fact more recently than he thought. The other night to be exact. Straight after they’d been for their double date and Sam had explained his interest in her. UH OH SPENNY! Sam responded in the same way as most of the other girls did once they found out Spencer had cheated on them: drink in the face. Well done Sam. That was probably the best we’ve seen from you all series.
SURPRISE!
Did someone say orgy?
Pretty much straight after the drink-to-the-face scene, Spencer is seen chatting to Alex and Binky. Lucy, armed with Stephanie, Louise and Rosie, approaches the trio with a fairly unimpressed expression across her face. At this point, hearts are racing, palms are getting sweaty as Lucy is about to reveal the ultimate bombshell that Chelsea has seen in a while. Spencer and Alex have just awarded themselves as the biggest, cheating scumbags to ever walk through Chelsea. MASSIVE ORGY. Yes, that’s right. The news is broken that they had an orgy with several other girls on the week that Binky and Alex were on a break. WHAT?! With a little helpful prompting from Lucy, Binky is left to hear the devastating news of Mytton’s antics. He continues to protest that he can’t remember (haven’t heard that one before) but Binky rightly puts him in his place with the moment that we’ve all been waiting for. SLAP! You go girl!
They’ve got some living up to do in next week’s episode. Come on E4, don’t let us down!
Since being at Uni, online dating is something that has become more known in day-to-day life- but is it right?
Match.com, Tinder, Plenty of Fish (POF), eHarmony, we’ve all heard of at least one or two and each day, they are becoming more and more popular amongst students. In particular, Tinder and POF, as they are styled as more of a game than an official dating website. So I guess this raises the question, is it a game? Is finding love a game? For those of you that are less educated on this area of expertise, the art of Tinder is to swipe right if you like what you see, and if they’re a definite no-go, you swipe left and never have to see their sorry little face again. If you’re fortunate enough to get a match, then its your lucky day and you’re all set to live happily ever after. Simple right? For some maybe it is, but a fair few Tinder members have no serious intentions. So to put it bluntly, you’re playing a game with someone before you’re even in a relationship with them – there has to be something wrong here.
Is it just a game?
For some people, online dating is just a “numbers game” – the more matches you can get, the better you are. No, it’s more a case of the more your ego grows and the more single you become, because let’s face it, nobody wants to be with someone who’s overly arrogant and self-confident. What happened to quality over quantity? Have some dignity, you’re not going to get very far in the dating world if all you’re interested in is getting your points up.
Nevertheless, Tinder, along with a few other dating sites/apps are seen as a laugh to some people and argue that if you go in with no intentions, then nobody will get hurt and nothing will ever come of any ‘matches’. For students and other young people, less serious dating sites and apps are seen as a way of meeting new people and making new friends. In this instance, there is no harm in making new friends and wanting to meet people within the area that you live in. Thinking from another perspective, there is only so much that Tinder or Match.com can do, it’s also about your actions away from the screen and whether you are actually able to string a conversation together or whether actually you are the ultimate keyboard warrior of your era. Being aware of your own safety is a given but I won’t go into that (you come to Uni to get away from your parents, not to be constantly reminded to be safe and not talk to strangers!)
It’s free, so why not? Why pay for a site such as Match.com when you can amuse yourself on Tinder for free? Well, this in itself raises another imposing question. Why put a price on love? Why should you pay for some sites and not for others? Among students, being on a budget as it is, paying for online dating is a completely unheard of. Adults, however, are more inclined to pay for online dating as they believe they are ‘too old’ to find love ‘naturally’ (NOT my opinion). It is for this reason that I believe Tinder and POF are more common in the student lifestyle and not so much the others.
So, I know there will be a number of you reading this, shaking your head in disagreement with the underlying negativity that trails through this post, BUT this is definitely not the case. Being someone that, in the scheme of things, can be seen as fairly uneducated when it comes to online dating, I feel that it is a concept that poses many controversial questions that could be impossible to answer, but nevertheless, are interesting to pose in the first place.
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