#nicolehand

[bdnwriters]

Littering is a huge problem within today’s society. It’s no secret, and yet nothing seems to ever get done about it.

 Within Cleethorpes beach alone, over 1,000 pieces of litter was picked up within just a few hours.  From this amount of litter being thrown on the ground on the beach alone, it has a huge effect on the animals living in surrounding areas. Fish are just one example of this. 

Marine debris is the official term for litter and waste being dumped onto beaches, in the sea, in lakes and all places alike. From marine debris, both the environment and animals are affected. Things like cans, bottles and plastic bags can be thrown into lakes and rivers and end up being washed into the sea, eventually ending up on the beaches people walk on daily, which leads to an unpleasant time for beach animals who have to walk between the litter that has either been washed up with the sea or thrown onto the ground. It has been found that, from marine debris, more than 1 million birds and 100,100 marine animals either get tangled up in or ingest it, typically leading to the deaths of said animals. 

When it comes to litter affecting animals, it is not only restricted to the beach. There are many cases that happen daily with animals consuming or being harmed from litter. To research more into this, I visited the RSPCA website to read more into how litter can be damaging to them. On there, there was a full section based on these happenings. Mentioned in the part about litter, the RSPCA state that they get over 7000 phone calls each year regarding animals being affected by litter.  

It’s hugely important that young adults understand how litter can affect the environment and the nature we have here in Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Known for the seaside, it’s often that you find the sand and sea littered with cans and bottles, and this isn’t reflecting very well on the individuals living in Grimsby and Cleethorpes. It’s vital that we, as a society, understand exactly what we think harmless littering is doing to the environment and the animals living in it - especially before it’s too late. 

[bdnwriters]

Gary Williams - A Swinging Christmas

Music lovers of all ages all turned up on Sunday 30th November to enjoy a night of festive fun from locally born talent, Gary Williams. Packed into two hours of pure entertainment were light hearted anecdotes, well loved Christmas classics and even some all time greats.

Gary brought the showmanship from the West end from where he performed in ‘The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas’ taking on the role of Frank Sinatra. Following on from this, Williams travelled to many destinations across Europe with the show. His successful career has seen him travel all over the world, including places like Iceland, Hawaii and Tokyo.    

Upon arrival, the audience were handed lyric sheets that included songs from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to The twelve Days of Christmas, which Williams himself joked would involve his own choreography - standing and waving each and every time we sang about the 5 gold rings… which, incase you didn’t know already, appears in the song multiple times.

It’s easy to tell that Gary is a natural performer, the show was mesmerizing each and every second he was on stage. We each commented during the interval just how well the setlist flowed. Songs were split apart with humorous interludes - even at the end after the show we were left wanting more.  

From the moment Gary Williams stepped foot on stage joined by his three piece band the audience were enthralled right through to the end. Each and every one of the songs sung throughout the night were ones that we all loved to sing along to.

Gary even took the time to meet and greet the people who attended the concert signing the merchandise he had brought along with him, which gave the fitting end to a truly enjoyable night. Speaking to Williams after the show, he expressed his excitement on returning to Cleethorpes this coming May for his tribute to Frank Sinatra, which we for one will definitely not be missing.

[bdnwriters]

Elsham Easter

With Easter Monday fast approaching, where better to visit than Elsham Hall Gardens and Country Park? A fun, educational trip for all. Elsham provides an interactive day out for the whole family, whether you’re visiting for the newly born lambs or just a meander around the lake and walled garden.

Lambing Sundays have just passed and during our visit, the lambing shed was bursting with energy. Shepherd Warwick May enthused about the importance of lambing season and the way in which they, as an animal park, prepared for it. With over 500 ewes, it was necessary for preparations to begin months in advance, right from the October prior to manage the flock through the production cycle.

Lambing, however, isn’t as simple as it sounds. Warwick May described it as an ‘intensive time of year’. Organisation is important right from the start - one essential thing is that you know your sheep and understand the problems that could occur to avoid anything going wrong. Despite the tiring aspects of the job, Warwick put across how rewarding it was throughout the process.

While the lambs seem to be on everyone's minds this Easter, the animal farm and country park are simply unmissable. Talking to Pirjo Johnson, who plays a huge role in the success of Elsham Hall, she explained the way in which trips to Elsham and places alike were important to the younger generations. Having worked mainly on the animal farm for the past seven years, Pirjo spoke passionately about the importance of young children getting hands on experience with animals and learning more effectively outside of the classroom.

Elsham provide many different opportunities for the trip to be an educational one, like the trail centre located next to the walled garden, filled with both colouring activities and fun facts about nature. The adventure playground, however, is just across the lake, only adding to the amount of activities available to the children who visit.

While lambing Sundays have been and gone, there’s still much to look forward to. There’s a wide range of events happening throughout the year, including sheep shearing in May with Warwick, yet why not visit between the 5th and 12th of April for Easter Bunny Week? With all different types of exciting activities for the whole family, you can take part in competitive egg hunts and bunny naming competitions. Elsham Hall Gardens and Country Park is a fun day out for all ages, so why not make this Easter extra special?

[bdnwriters]

Elsham Hall

Summer is finally arriving. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. However, it’s not summer without family trips out, and Elsham Hall is the perfect place for it. 

I find that not many people truly know what kind of activities and opportunities are available to them within the local area. The response you’ll always get to the question of ‘What are you doing today?’ is ‘There’s nothing to do’. Of course - a huge percent of the time, it’s exaggeration. The truth is - Grimsby, Cleethorpes and the surrounding areas aren’t completely bereft of things to do.

Speaking to Pirjo Johnson, a worker at Elsham Farm since 2008, she enthused all about the advantages of both working at the animal park and having families visit for the day. As someone who works in all different areas - with the animals themselves, the shop, the offices, admissions - she now describes herself as ‘part of the furniture’. From living in Finland to working at Elsham, Pirjo explains how much she actually loves her job as we walk through the walled gardens.

‘The most interesting thing at Elsham is that they’re all completely different days. You never know in the morning when you come here that you’re going to be doing absolutely different.’ As we walked through the gardens, Pirjo stopped to feed the goats, and it was just as evident then as it had been before that she loved her job in the animal park. ‘I love being with the animals because it’s so relaxing. They’re always so happy to see you!’ she joked.  

One of the most important aspects of visiting places like Elsham, I think, is the educational value that really isn’t available anywhere else. Just a day trip to animal parks gives children that real hands-on experience, and honestly, it’s unbelievably beneficial. Asking Pirjo about the many school groups that visited, Pirjo mentioned how much she loved seeing the children's reactions to all the animals. ‘Towards the end of the afternoon, they start to get so tired and it’s lovely to see them actually outdoors enjoying themselves.’

It’s no surprise that in recent years, more and more children have become more obsessed with technology than going outdoors. Even from ages as young as six, children would rather use phones than go out and visit places like Elsham, and it’s a shame that in the end, they really don’t get those experiences. Asking Pirjo what she thought about it, she mentioned how children weren’t grasping onto the opportunities that are there for them. ‘They are a bit too far from nature, and this is the type of old fashioned, basic animal nature being outdoors because people spend too much time indoors’, she explained.

When I spoke to Pirjo, it was actually lambing season, the birthing of hundreds of lambs throughout Easter time. It’s huge everywhere - and usually incredibly busy. Pirjo, however, spoke of how much she loved that time of year, when Elsham farm was at it’s busiest. ‘There’s no need to even describe to people why they should come for Lambing Sundays’. she said. ‘Just because the lambs are so lovely, they’re like little wonders of nature. It’s not only for children, it’s the whole family.’

However, it’s not only lambing that gets people down there, it’s the little events they have throughout the whole year. Sheep shearing with their shepherd, Warwick May, children entertainers over the weekends, and their Easter weekend - the one in which fathers end up more competitive during the bunny hunt than the children do.

Summer is coming and Elsham Farm is ready for you. Why not take a family trip there?

[bdnwriters]

Power of the Internet

We always hear of things going ‘viral’. Things that catch the attention of many and get shared on to others. The case with Aydian Dowling is no different. After entering Men’s Health’s competition of finding someone to become their front page model, 27 year old Aydian Dowling created his profile and became a competitor in the running. A well known vlogger with almost 18,000 subscribers, Aydian is a well known trans activist and is hoping, along with many others, to become the first transgender model for Men’s Health fitness magazine.

Aydian’s entry page, which currently has over 42,000 votes, explains the journey he’s been on throughout the years to get to where he is now. ‘Although I may always have some kind of battle with my body, I continue to work everyday for a happy peace within.’ Aydian, in many instances after his profile going viral, has explained how shocked he is over the popularity he has experienced.

As a transgender male, Aydian himself has explained his desires to help others just like himself. With his very own clothing site, Point 5cc, Dowling gives money constantly to aid transgender individuals just like himself. This, however, is not the only work he does to help others. Point 5cc have their very own binder and bra donation programme. This means that, for people in the community that are in need, Point 5cc will give their binders and bras to the people who need them, no questions asked. This is one amazing organisation that they’re setting up. Transgender people can grow up in an unapproving home, and even an unapproving society, which means that these things could be hard for them to get hold of - meaning they are unable to fully be themselves.

Aydian Dowling, in many interviews he has done in the past, has explained how the community have given him so much - many people donating money to be able to get Aydian the appropriate surgery he both needed and wanted - and stated that he purely just wants to give back the amount of help and support he received just a few years prior.

Since Aydian’s profile got more viewers on the Internet, everyone has been talking about it. This  is just one way in which the Internet truly has the power to do good within society - and the world.

[bdnwriters]

A Movement is Building

Celebrities and well known people in mass media today are some of the most influential when it comes to the serious issues we face daily. You may deny it, but it’s true, and there are many, many examples of it happening in recent years. While we may complain about the amount of coverage they get, usually over the most trivial of things, there are definitely advantages when it comes to the serious stuff, and we’re not talking about finding out what they were wearing the week prior.

There are topics in the world that aren’t given the right amount of attention they need, some that are even seen as taboo subjects,  which leads to said topics being misunderstood a large percent of the time. Take actress Emma Watson as an example. She’s undoubtedly a hugely inspirational woman and has been for many people for a lengthy time. From when she first began her role in book and film series Harry Potter, fans have looked up to her. As she grew older and the series ended, nothing changed. In fact, the following grew bigger and Emma Watson took it as a chance to raise awareness for something she felt strongly about.

As a key member of the movement HeForShe, Emma has informed and helped many people along her journey. UN Women, a United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality, set about involving men of all ages in the plans to achieve women being equal to men. With Emma Watson’s support and involvement, HeForShe received huge amounts of praise and acknowledgement and helped people to understand feminism that little bit better. While some think feminism is a negative thing - it’s purely just something that aims for gender equality.

There are a huge number of cases where the celebrities and the media are able to bring issues to peoples’ attention. Michelle Obama, the First Lady of America, is a well-known activist for women's’ rights. As well as this, she also helps to enable children to get the best education opportunities possible. Within the society in which we live today - equal rights is one of the most important things to conquer. It’s often you hear of sexism towards women, even unequal pay, and this is something that needs to be stopped. Teaming up together is the start of something great  - a movement is truly building.

[bdnwriters]

Winter Olympics

This years Winter Olympics was officially closed recently by Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach during the exciting closing ceremony in Sochi.

The Winter Olympics were exciting right from beginning to end and I, myself, found I didn’t want them to finish at all.

Throughout the past two weeks many people across the nation have been huddled in front of their televisions, urging on our Great British athletes taking part in the games. While we may not have finished in the top ten, we managed to finish in a better position than anyone had first expected. While 4 medals may not seem like a large amount, it’s a big accomplishment.

There were many different sports included in the Olympics this year, such as Ice Hockey, Skiing and my own personal favourite, Curling. The most exciting and intriguing part about it was the fact that the sports included in the Olympics were ones you wouldn’t typically see on TV throughout the year and I think that’s why this year, a wider range of people were interested in watching.

The success of the Winter Olympics in Great Britain has since evolved into something much bigger. Young adults are becoming more and more interested in sports that were included, and it seems that in the next few years, we may be rewarded with even more Olympic-standard athletes. GB have much potential in the coming years to build up a stronger and larger team, resulting in more and more success over time. The Government are looking into funding for more sport facilities in hope that it’ll interest more people and result in an even better time for our athletes next time.

By Nicole Hand. 

[bdnwriters]

‘Always worth giving it a go and seeing where it’ll take you’ - Nick Triplow

Not so long ago, local and successful writer Nick Triplow visited Grimsby college to give a realistic albeit encouraging guest talk on his past experiences with writing and publishing.

His book ‘Franks Wild Years’ has been highly rated and recommended on each and every site I’ve visited, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to attend his speech.

From the very beginning, Triplow was immensely enthusiastic about new, young and aspiring writers coming into the scene. He was as encouraging as much as he was harshly honest, but he stressed the fact that in the real writing and publishing world, you have to be the best you can be to get the best you possibly can achieve.

One thing we were told about was the struggle he himself went through to get his book published. ‘You only get one shot at publishing, and as soon as you’ve tried it you’ll find it awfully difficult to do it again’ he said, and so went on to talk about drafts. Triplow stated just how important drafts were - even admitted he himself had done five drafts of his own book - and that you’ll not get anywhere if you just create a piece of writing and believe it is worthy of publishing straight away. It takes time and effort and you absolutely should not rush it.

The most inspiring part of the guest talk was the three questions. Nick Triplow believes there are three questions you should ask yourself when writing or even just thinking about writing: What do you want from it? What do you want it to do for you? How can you achieve it? I, personally, thought it may be one of the most interesting things that was said during that hour or so, mainly because since trying it out for myself, I’ve found that thinking about my writing before I even start has helped me out a great deal and has given me better results.

There were lots of important things Triplow went through, mainly giving advice that could lead to success in the industry.  Some of these were:  

the opening page. He stated that the opening page is one of the most important parts about a book. The first page is not only read by many book-lovers before purchasing, but also by publishers. If they don’t like the first few paragraphs, they aren’t going to bother reading the rest, and so that’s why it needs to be to a high standard

tell good stories to engage people. If your story isn’t a good one, it isn’t going to hook the readers. You want the reader to be gripped from the very start.

getting your work out there. He could not say more how important it was to get your work out in local magazines and online sites, or even places that aren’t so local. Keeping your work to yourself or a few family members isn’t going to bring success - courage and belief you’re good enough is. Let people get to know you and know your name.

don’t stop because of writers block - keep pushing. He gave a few tips, such as changing your way of writing. If you’re a lover of handwriting things, take a different perspective and choose to write on your computer instead and vice versa. Also, he gave a personal tip of his own. He said that when he has writers block, he chooses to listen to music and sometimes listen to the lyrics to give him ideas.

Nick Triplow’s whole speech ended on the note that writing is about choices and no one else can make those choices for you. You must think of the three important questions and keep going, because that is the only way you’re going to be the best. It definitely seems to have helped Triplow through the years - his book ‘Franks Wild Years’ is now published and out there, available to buy on Amazon with a 4.5 star rating.

By Nicole Hand