The Loft is a project which aims to bring a variety of topics which concern the younger generation to the forefront in a light hearted and interesting format. The various views, qualms and rants of our panel are both hilarious and intriguing exhibitions of the eclectic diversity of our generation. Welcome to our blog!!
Why do poor people stay poor? What is it that keeps them down and doesn't allow them to break into the safe havens of the middle class. Have a watch and give us your opinion.
Images, videos and stories are shared each day by thousands of people around the world regarding deprivation, sometimes the ones with more humour get the unfair advantage of becoming viral quicker. However the cycle of deprivation is a serious issue that can affect anyone and every generation. I donât feel itâs necessary to isolate any gender, sexuality or race when discussing this issue, because it will not raise the full awareness that it deserves and it certainly doesnât mean that it will be taken more seriously if I decide to label it according to one of these categories. The statistics are there, the facts are there, and so what can be done to stop this vicious cycle?
In the 1970s a theory was popularised to explain the persistence of poverty and other forms of socio-economic disadvantage through generations, the argument is that deprivation is the fault of the poor. Factors including low wages of unemployment, poor living conditions, ill health, poor education and poor skills are all linked together in this cycle and though one aspect may be stronger than the other by simply just having a âgood educationâ does not mean that the cycle will automatically be broken.
I believe that in the past governments (especially during Thatcherâs period) in the UK people who are financially unstable were able to create a small world that was all built and given from the hands of the state but yet could be taken away at any point and any moment in time. People are led to believe that once in this cycle there is no way out, which I believe is untrue however I do not have the formulae to get out but I believe that education is the first step, even if it does sound clichĂŠ to some. As we all know knowledge is power and can create wonderful and amazing opportunities but it all starts from within. Yes, I may be preaching and making this sound like a â10 ways to go from rags to richesâ campaigner but the severity of it is much serious than just education. I could list people that have come from working class backgrounds but that isnât a true representation of those who have come out of a deprived background and had to struggle â however the cycle of deprivation has advanced dramatically since the 1970s.
According to Barnadoâs official website there are currently 3.5 millions children living in poverty in the UK, which is 1/3 of all children. Poverty is deemed as being extremely poor and to have a lack of something essential. In the UK 63% of children living in poverty are in a family where someone works, which is where the cycle can often begin. Having a job is a good thing, for some people they take pride in what they do often because it means they are able to put food on the table for their families and for others its simply because they are working in and environment and at a place where they have always wished to be. For others working is a way of life, they are working to get by each day just to survive whether it is for their family or just themselves this is an example of living poverty as they arenât able to enjoy how hard theyâve worked each month and take a trip to Westfieldâs at the end of the month because bills need to be paid and food needs to be eaten. Itâs important to understand that just because someone has a job doesnât mean that we can automatically place them on a finical pedestal and assume we know what comes in and out of their bank accounts each month. Stereotypes will unfortunately always be in placed but itâs easy for people to cover up what they do not want the world to see.
Poor living conditions have a major impact on peopleâs health and lifestyle. Some people will find it hard to admit they live in unsuitable living conditions as they want to keep up with the lifestyle of others and people around them and if they have clean clothes on their back we assume that there is no way they could live in such conditions. Three year olds in households with incomes below about ÂŁ10,000 are 2.5 more likely to suffer chronic illness than children in households with incomes above ÂŁ52,000 and infant mortality is 10% higher for infants in the lower social group than the average. There have been numerous of spin off television shows where poor families around the UK are paraded around like guinea pigs and weâre showed how much they live off each week which can be as little as ÂŁ12 per day per person, but what is actually being done to stop these figures and stop the cycle.
âThe Government has a statutory requirement, enshrined in the Child Poverty Act 2010, to end child poverty by 2020. However it is predicated that by 2020/21 another 1 million children will be pushed into poverty as a result of the Coalition Governmentâs policiesâ â this statement speaks volumes within itself, with 5/6 years until the predicated end of poverty it is evident that this is just a myth to make people believe the cycle has been abdicated. The choices made by the coalition government with both David Cameron and Nick Clegg to share equal blame are having a direct impact of young people today and in the future, with housing in London at sky high prices its an unfortunate and sad reality that no matter how hard people from a lower class background work living conditions will never be on an equal level of what is deserved for a human being.
How many people do you know who can openly admit that they are poor or living in poverty? Think about the image you portray to yourself and the society you currently live in. If youâve worked your way from a working class background and youâre out of the cycle â congratulations but there is still a long way to go before the rest of the UK can celebrate this with you. Regardless of whether youâre religious or not, give to charity or not, make sure you find the time to always be appreciative in one way or another.
I never spent my childhood playing dress up with dolls and planning my wedding day however now Iâve reached my early twenties it seems a large proportion of conversations revolve around topics that always seem to end in marriage and the lifestyle it brings, but what does marriage actually mean?
 Marriage as an institution has changed dramatically since the days of Henry VIII â but it seems todayâs society is pretty conscious about the type of wedding they want before they even manage to find someone to share their special day with and exchange nuptials. The actual wedding day is fantasised over by women and men each screaming that theyâll only get married once (which I hope to be true because who really wants to go through divorce) yet nobody taking into deep thought and consideration that marriage is the legal binding between yourself and another person and choosing to join your lifestyles.
 I think marriages appear to be on the up due to popular television shows such as âDonât tell the brideâ which portrays a lifestyle that shows men in control over what is supposed to be a womanâs big day. Even through celebrity culture, marriages are seen as just another event but how much do you actually value the importance of marriage or is it just the idea of it that makes you want to be married?
 If youâre the type of person who likes to fantasize over other peoples relationships and is always thinking to yourself âI want a relationship likeâŚâ or âMe and my partner will/wonât do thatâŚâ before youâve even reached 6 months into a successful relationship, Iâm afraid to say that marriage shouldnât be crossing your mind more than every few months at the most. Iâm convinced that 2014 has made people fall in love with the idea of marriage before even having the chance to fully fall in love with the person in question because I can tell you for free if youâre going out looking for something will never resolve in what you want.
 The steps before marriage seem blurred to some people and definitely a more out-dated institution. Before you can even consider getting married there are basic steps that need to be taken such as: being comfortable and happy with yourself, getting to know someone is another key thing, as this is the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with, so you need to them almost inside and out. I believe there are several people in the world that are obsessed with the thought of getting married yet too scared to even open up and let someone in their world. Some people are single and not even willing to date anyone but due to pressures feel that marriage is the next step for them in life and it will be their turn next. Letâs also not forget the people who want to put a time scale on everything in life, believing that if they arenât married before 30 that life may actually crumble and they wonât find anyone. What is the rush? Please, tell me why itâs so important to be married as soon as possible. Iâm not sure the backgrounds of individuals who like to think like this but marriage should be taken more seriously. Unfortunately I think that 20-30 year olds in the 21st century are too focused on themselves and their careers to even risk getting married unless it will socially and financially benefit them.
 No matter what family background you come from you should never feel pressurised into getting married. It may be a big deal to you, and not to your parents (vice versa) however unless you are 100% confident and comfortable with a situation marriage should never be taken lightly as it will only end badly.
As a little girl when I thought about marriage, it was all fairy tale weddings with princes on horses and princesses in pretty white dresses, wearing sparkling tiaras and glass slippers. As I grew up my perception of marriage changed...first of all, I didn't exactly fit the disney princess model and the guys that I met were most certainly not prince charming. Most of them were frogs. The wake up call was alarming and I honestly donât think it has ever stopped shocking me how many frogs there are in relation to potential Prince Charmings.
The thing about marriage today is that it's so hard to even get to that point, and even then, it can be extremely hard to stay married. Relationships are difficult to navigate in this society where our culture has been crafted around the notion of everything and everyone being available at the click of a button. Nowadays, when it comes to romantic partners, choice is everywhere in way that makes marriage seem like a mythical unicorn, that thing you almost only ever hear about on TV, or twitter, or a strangers instagram. Unless youâre Nigerian or have a multitude of Nigerian friends. Nigerians love a wedding and Iâm quite sure there is at least one every week...but I DIGRESS.
My issue with the notion of marriage today is that people are so fickle. Everyone is treated as a disposable take away meal. ÂŁ3.95, eat it if you want but it's not the end of the world if you throw it away without a second thought. Stick it in the freezer if you like it will keep for three months, pull it out the next time youâre feeling lazy or forgot to go grocery shopping. What Iâm saying is, people donât seem to be in relationships for the long run anymore, instead they're out to sample every colour, shape, height and size. Have you around until something better comes along, try to combine the best of you with the best of someone else or expect you to be someone else entirely. Itâs not realistic. Everyone wants the one, and is on this search for bae, but not enough people want to put in the hard work, to graft, to build something meaningful from scratch and work equally as hard to maintain it.
No-one wants to be treated like a microwave meal, no-one wants to feel like theyâre worthless, or replaceable and so our generation seems to be full of well trained liars who say all the right things but have all the wrong intentions. They lie to themselves and to the person theyâre supposed to me seeing about what they want. It's exhausting. Weeding out the genuine love interests from the fake is simply exhausting. So when I think about marriage today, it's not whilst wearing rose coloured glasses. Itâs with the knowledge that it may never happen because either no-one meets my standards or the person that does isnât prepared to graft with me when the going gets rough. I'm also aware that if I do have the privilege of getting married to the love of my life, it may not be forever, because like things, people change too.
When I started dating I came across the true meaning of compromise. That thing people do to meet in the middle on things they don't exactly agree on. I also learned forgiveness, loving someone enough to let bygones be bygones when things go wrong. Most importantly, I also learned that love isn't enough. Even if you adore someone and they adore you, there could be fundamental differences between you that simply cannot be reconciled through time or conversation. Differences in life aspirations, political views, the perceptions of and relationship with money, children; important things that make up the central core of an individuals morals and principles, Â things I don't think anyone should have to compromise on in a relationship. Sometimes it turns out you're better off as friends, and other times better off not knowing them at all.
At the end of the day, deep down, I still want to marry my version of  prince charming and rule our own personal kingdom together. I still want the sparkling tiara (don't judge me) and the pretty white dress. I want to grow in love with someone, I want us to work through our differences, to learn compromise without having to sacrifice essential pieces of ourselves in the name of love, and I want us to learn how to love the worst parts of each other. I want to be his version of a princess and I want it to last forever.
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Following on from the recent âMan and His Emotionsâ series of articles, Calum and I decided to delve deeper into the subject to find out just what people thought about it. We conducted a two-pronge...
A very interesting exploration into masculinity and its link to emotions or the lack thereof by @marvinscorridor
Frank Rich:Â What would you do in Ferguson that a standard reporter wouldnât?
Chris Rock:Â Iâd do a special on race, but Iâd have no black people.
Frank Rich:Â Well, that would be much more revealing.
Chris Rock: Yes, that would be an event. Hereâs the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, itâs all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now theyâre not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.
Frank Rich:Â Right. Itâs ridiculous.
Chris Rock: So, to say Obama is progress is saying that heâs the first black person that is qualified to be president. Thatâs not black progress. Thatâs white progress. Thereâs been black people qualified to be president for hundreds of years. If you saw Tina Turner and Ike having a lovely breakfast over there, would you say their relationshipâs improved? Some people would. But a smart person would go, âOh, he stopped punching her in the face.â Itâs not up to her. Ike and Tina Turnerâs relationship has nothing to do with Tina Turner. Nothing. It just doesnât. The question is, you know, my kids are smart, educated, beautiful, polite children. There have been smart, educated, beautiful, polite black children for hundreds of years. The advantage that my children have is that my children are encountering the nicest white people that America has ever produced. Letâs hope America keeps producing nicer white people.
Frank Rich:Â Itâs about white people adjusting to a new reality?
Chris Rock:Owning their actions. Not even their actions. The actions of your dad. Yeah, itâs unfair that you can get judged by something you didnât do, but itâs also unfair that you can inherit money that you didnât work for.
Frank Rich: Would you seek out someone to interview who might not normally be sought out?
Chris Rock: I would get you to interview somebody, and I would put something in your ear, and Iâd ask the questions through you.
Frank Rich:Â Youâd have a white guy.
Chris Rock:Â And I would ask them questions that you would never come up with, and weâd have the most amazing interviews ever.
Frank Rich: And weâd be asking white people and black people?
Chris Rock:Â Just white people. We know how black people feel about Ferguson â outraged, upset, cheated by the system, all these things.
Frank Rich:Â So you think people can be lulled into saying the outrageous shit they really feel?
Chris Rock:Â Michael Moore has no problem getting it. Because he looks like them. But the problem is the press accepts racism. It has never dug into it.
Frank Rich: When Obama was running for president, a certain kind of white person would routinely tell reporters, âHeâs just not one of us.â Few reporters want to push that person to the wall and say, âWhat do you mean heâs not like you, unless youâre talking about the fact that heâs African-American?â Where else besides Ferguson would you hypothetically want to interview white people?
Chris Rock:Â Iâd love to do some liberal places, because you can be in the most liberal places and thereâs no black people.
Frank Rich:Â I assume one such place is Hollywood.
Chris Rock: I donât think Iâve had any meetings with black film execs. Maybe one. It is what it is. As I told Bill Murray, Lost in Translation is a black movie: Thatâs what it feels like to be black and rich. Not in the sense that people are being mean to you. Bill Murrayâs in Tokyo, and itâs just weird. He seems kind of isolated. Heâs always around Japanese people. Look at me right now.
Frank Rich: Weâre sitting on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park.
Chris Rock: And thereâs only really one black person here whoâs not working. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation is what Bryant Gumbel experiences every day. Or Al Roker. Rich black guys. Itâs a little off.
But the thing is, we treat racism in this country like itâs a style that America went through. Like flared legs and lava lamps. Oh, that crazy thing we did. We were hanging black people. We treat it like a fad instead of a disease that eradicates millions of people. Youâve got to get it at a lab, and study it, and see its origins, and see what itâs immune to and what breaks it down.
The Loft Season 2 Episode 1 - What does it mean to be black and British?
Have a look at the review of our first episode on Take Notice Magazine. Great way to kick off our second season.
A little bit about them -
Take Notice Magazine launched in the UK of 2013. It is the platform for your creativity.
The aim is for creative people to use Take Notice Magazine by submitting creative content, writing articles and spreading the word - in return we will be their clout. We will be your endorsement because the dedication you give to us demonstrates; the ability to work to deadlines, competency in researching as well as excellent written communication skills. Which are all qualities that employers desire.
After all the turmoil this week surrounding the injustices and racial black people experience all over the world we decided to sit down and discuss what it actually meant to be black and British. Does being black change the fact you're British or perhaps does it make it an oxymoron as black suggests African heritage or maybe black is simply a way to tell us apart from the more indigenous British. Have a watch, garner an opinion and comment to let us know what you think!
Just to clarify all urban myths and rumours, there isnât a manual on âhow to act blackâ, despite this Iâve been asked several times by mixed-race, Asian, white and even black people why I speak so âwhiteâ for a black person. My initial reaction is to laugh at such a stupid question. Until it registers deep inside my brain that apparently my skin tone and voice donât correspond with each other. As ignorant as these comments may be it clarifies the question what does it mean to be black British?
Iâve deliberated numerous amounts of times whether specifying my real ethnic nationality would make me an outcast for the job I was applying for, or whether the company wanted to hire me as their token black girl. Iâve always identified myself as Black British Caribbean female. Being black is as important to me as being British despite the history between the two clashing itâs no wonder why black people feel their voices are rarely heard. Itâs a catch 22 typical what came first the chicken or the egg question. Is it necessary for me to specify my skin tone when itâs apparent to anyone without visual impairments that I am a black person? On the other hand assuming Iâm British without speaking to me is equally of ignorance. My skin tone should not define my personality or characteristics. My skin tone doesnât take away my abilities and passions, the skills Iâve learnt through the same educational system as everyone else. What my skin tone does do is draw attention to the question of what does it mean to be black British.
I believe that Black history is bigger than any book or film that youâve probably read or watched. Iâve been grateful enough to be educated through my family and within formal institutions about black historical events including slavery, windrush and both British events that impact on who I am. I feel an enormous sense of responsibility to know about each part of my identity that ultimately makes me who I am. You wouldnât move to another country without doing your own research on its culture and history would you? There should never be a competition between your heritage and the country which you reside in although within todayâs society I can understand why people chose not to identity themselves as British through some of the negative connotations and the institutions who believe that to be British you need to fall under a certain visual calibre which can be argued by the likes of: Naomi Campbell, Lennie Henry and Dizzie Rascal. Theyâre just a few of Black British game changers who have stamped their mark throughout their home terriority within their fields and ultimately are inspirations for others. Would there success be any less great if they were any other ethnicity? That cannot be answered but more importantly it doesnât matter, they are black and they do represent Britain.
How you identify yourself is the way you wish to represent and sell yourself when meeting people. So if you ever feel like hiding parts of your identity just to fit into any part of society, think about how far it will get you and whether itâs worth the risk
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