Newquay's bad press

It is always sad when somebody young dies, as they have recently in Newquay as a result of too much alcohol and unawarenss of the how dangerous the cliff-tops are. However, it is unfair that Newquay is getting all of the blame for this accident, and many facts are not being reported.

Newquay is being portrayed in the press as a place where no clubs ask for ID and where drink is easy to get hold of. This is simply not true. Newquay has a very strict no ID no entry policy: if the clubs get caught letting underage people in then they are, potentially, out of business, which isn’t an option for a seasonal town.

Newquay’s off-licences also have a strict ID policy. In some of the shops the bottles of drinks are tagged so that if an underage person is caught with a drink it can be traced back to the store, or traced back to the person who bought it for them, using CCTV.

The police are constantly patrolling the town to try and stop underage drinking.

In my experience of working at a campsite that does accept 16 year-olds, the parents are often the ones that provide the drink. Of course this is not all parents, but a lot of them did. Some tragedies are going to occur when children are left to their own devices, especially with alcohol.

Possible solutions? Places in Newquay shouldn’t accept under 18s, as there isn’t anywhere for them to go in the town. Or if they do continue to accommodate under 18s then they should be made more aware of the fatal mix of darkness, the cliffs and alcohol. And finally, and most importantly, parents should try and take more responsibility.

Can’t eat, still haven’t slept, or stopped

So I am back from the ‘big smoke’, and I have had a weird stomach which won’t allow me to eat lots of food anymore else it goes into a complete spasm for about four hours. It could be a good thing I guess, as I can no longer over-eat. So, Now was a great experience for online stuff, key words and links for SEO (Search engine optimisation – I know what that stands for now, oh yes). Web writing is so different, well in this case (celebrity gossip), strict structure and very formulaic. I found it quite hard, but I imagine once you’ve done it twenty times it’s pretty easy – maybe - actually, don’t hold me to that!

I have been working since I got back with all my jobs needing me (Easter, Newqay, credit crunch = busy) and I have work to do, and a hen party to organise. Sigh, no rest for me, so so tired.

Now Online

Note: First week at Now online, and I am learning lots of new techy-stuff like content management systems and META key words. I never considered myself to be a techy person, but hey it helps today. I will probably do more writing next week hopefully.
I am enjoying the pace of London - even though 9-5 always makes me feel that I am just working all week, with no spare time - welcome to the really world!
The building is daunting it is huge, modern with 12 floors.
www.nowmagazine.co.uk

Credit Crunch Car Boot

It’s the credit crunch blah blah blah – it doesn’t actually make any difference to me as I am always skint. I decided to have a car boot today. Perfect timing I thought with the credit crunch in full swing people will buy loads of my clothes and other rubbish I don’t want anymore. I priced them really cheap, let people heckle them down even more, and I made - £6. After all the hours of pricing, finding everything, moving the boxes in, doing the car boot, £6! That’s less than a pound an hour for my hard work. I guess it’s so bad now that people can’t even afford to spend 50p on a few tops. How depressing.
A quick run down of the week. I was at Wed again Monday and Tuesday, and I went to a hair shoot, which was fun. I like that I got to do other stuff there too aside from writing. I have just been working really, writing a lot and re-editing my features. I am doing publicity for a website called Bloc http://www.bloc-online.com/, which will be good PR experience, as jobs for writers aren’t looking so good in these financial times…

Eating, working and doing a whole lot of not enough…

Started off the week with being in the office at Wed and on the Tuesday I went to this food shoot, which was very exciting as we got to eat the food after! It was a shame it had to be photographed first and therefore went cold, but great food nevertheless. I had a few starters and a whole desert by The Round Kitchen www.theroundkitchen.com – who do the best food if you are looking for some wedding caterers in Cornwall.

I’ve spent the rest of the week doing some work, but not enough of it – I have several features that I have to improve, but I haven’t got around to it. I spent most of yesterday wondering what I should write for an opinion feature, but I have now decided to write a piece on being frugal with fashion. I am glad I’ve decided now, as I was really stressing out about what to write about!

Today I went to Bodmin to write some stuff about the Bodmin gaol and Lanhydrock house for this Manifesta bid (a bid for a biennial European art festival and Cornwall is bidding for it to be hosted here). I took some photos and that, but I should have probably gone in the buildings, but I am too skint, and I have been there before. I keep volunteering myself for things that involve more and more work, as I promised myself that I would volunteer for lots of things on this MA!

Must go now – meant to be going to Watergate bay to listen to some Irish music! Should be doing work…

Quick update of work exp. etc

I have had a great week at Wed magazine (http://www.wedmagazine.co.uk/). I love that it isn’t a conventional wedding magazine and has a fun cover – instead of a cheesy bride on the front!
Absolutely knackered though (2hour round trip and Uni work to do on top!)! But, it’s worth it! I am there again on Monday and Tuesday. I am looking forward to Tuesday as I get to go to a food shoot, and eat the food after! Hope they have some good desserts!
It has been really good to get an overview of a whole magazine, as it is on a much smaller scale than any newspaper/magazine that I have been too before. It will be completely different to NOW at the end of the month.
It’s really helping me in my writing and making me think and know what to do for my MA project in the summer (I plan to launch my own magazine, or prepare to rather – it’s still a little sketchy). Anyway, this is a quick one! Bye

My Addiction to Sweets

I love sweets, and I have four fillings to prove it. I haven’t been to the dentist for a while (does that make me gross?) so I probably need a couple more. It isn’t just the taste that I love, but the childish excitement and childhood memories that come with sweets. I am still mourning the loss of Woolworths and the Pic ‘n’ Mix – every Saturday after ballet class I was at the Pic ‘n’ Mix as a child.

Today I went to a fantastic sweet shop called Mr Simms’ Olde Sweet Shoppe in Falmouth, where I and all the fellow Pic ‘n’ Mix mourners were. Even though this sweet shop is better than Pic ‘n’ Mix – better than any sweet shop that I could pick from my imagination even, that is how good Mr Simms’ Olde Sweet Shoppe is.

Hundreds of jars of traditional sweets, specialist sweets, favourites, Pic ‘n’ Mix – even better than Woolworths, trays of lollies, foot long marshmallow, popping candy, and a separate section for chocolate, but that section didn’t bring as much excitement as the sweet section. The shop was packed with excitement from children, but also adults seeing sweets that they hadn’t seen for years. I found some fish and chips, which are white chocolate shaped like fish and chips. The last time I saw them was in my local newsagents, which shut over a decade ago – 6p a portion they were. Sigh.

Children must have sweets, yes I have four fillings, yes they are bad for you, but the memories, the fun, and the excitement make it all worth it. Maybe I am addicted, but I don’t plan to recover.

www.mrsimmsoldesweetshoppe.com