10 Ways To... buy clothes for every season

I've always found trying to buy clothes for more than one season difficult, but if you know what to buy and what to wear it with, you're half way there! I've put together 10 essentials for your annual wardrobe which work no matter what the weather. 

1. Leggings- You seriously cannot go wrong with leggings, whatever the weather, they are a life saver... As long as they aren't see-through! They work best with long t-shirts or jumpers, and can be layered up or down depending on the weather. I buy them from primark for around £3 per pair.

2. Jeans- I would recommend light ones because they work better if it's hot out and they keep the outfit bright and colourful rather than just dark. In summer you can roll them up and pair with a t-shirt and for winter mix with jumpers or a coat and boots. These jeans are from Forever 21 for £7.99.

3. T-shirts- These are the best all season clothes, they mix with everything and of course they can be really cheap! Thy tend to be around £5 to £12 depending on where you shop. Wear them under jumpers in winter and just on their own in summer. 

4. Skirts- If you want something a bit more interesting in your wardrobe then skirts are perfect! If it's hot just pair with a t-shirt and if it's chilly out, wear tights and  layer up on jumpers. Mine is from H&M online for £6. 

5. Shorts- Basically the same concept as a skirt. 

6. Tights- They are multi-purpose. Under trousers in winter or with skirts/shorts on a cold summer day. Usually around £3-£4 for a pack of them in any supermarket. 

7. Cardigans- you can pick up cardigans for like £3.50 at primark and they are as good as any other. They can be used as layers or just to cover your arms in summer. 

8. Jumpers- I find zip-up hoodies are the best because you can layer them up in winter or leave them unzipped in summer. They can be anywhere from £6 to £20 but I find they are normally the same quality-wise, so the cheaper the better really. Buy one in a neutral colour so they mix with everything. 

9. Coats- A long coat to throw over anything when it gets cold is what you need to look for here. Go for standard  colours so it doesn't clash. Parka's are a good shout because they are fashionable, and are available in most places for a good price. I bought mine last year from Matalan for £35. 

10. Shoes- Trainers like vans or converse are good durable shoes for any season and I find that you can buy them new online (Ebay or Amazon) for almost £10 less than in shops. But if you want something more, go for boots like these ones from H&M (£24.99) for winter. 

10 Ways To... find sources

Ok so recently I've discovered that finding sources for school coursework, uni work or pretty much anything is impossible. Trapesing though books until your eyes hurt isn't the only way to find what you need. Using my extremely minimal experience in this I've tried to compile a list ways to help those who are struggling their way through mountainous piles of work. So, in no particular order, here 10 ways to find sources:

1. The library - I know, you've been told this by ten thousand people already, but it will help. You HAVE to use it right though. Walking in, and scanning the squat with no clue what you are looking for will serve NO purpose. The library will be organised into subjects of interests, so use this to your advantage and go in knowing what you want. Find the subject and the specific interest before you go diving into books head first. Or better yet, ask the Librarian where your field of interest can be found. Once you have found a selection, look at the contents and index to narrow your search, and see if the books are actually relevant or if the titles are WILDLY misleading. For example I was reading what I thought was the 'History of London' when in actuality it was based on migrating pigeon population. Ok, so now you have your books (possibly about 2-5 depending on how broad your search is), DO NOT read each and every page of these books, you will either die of boredom or old age. Scan the contents again and find chapters that are appropriate, or even better, if they have a references page, find the relevant ones and you have your sources, BOOM. (Obviously check they are legit and make sure they reference page numbers). Failing that, look at the index/ glossary and that should give you somewhere to start.

2. Talk to friends - First I would check they are reliable and/or have a similar aim/topic to you. They can recommend books, or if you are doing the same thing, share sources. Of course, you will still have to find some of your own sources otherwise your work will be dismissed for plagiarism.

3. Teachers/Lectures - Chances are they will know a lot more than you... That's why they are stood at the front. However you can't just directly ask for help, because they WILL say no. But instead ask for reading recommendations for your topic "just to get you started" or "to add a different perspective." Big words are bound to help you here.

4. Famous people's speeches - By famous, i don't mean Beyonće... unless that's what you're talking about? Anyway, what i mean is prominent historical figures, world leaders or pioneers in the area of work you are researching. You can use the internet to find these, just type in the name and what you're researching, even wikipedia is good because it has references at the bottom of the page that you can use to find where facts and sources actually come from.

5. Use others work - Like siblings, people who have done similar, pieces of work that the school/uni have kept as examples or find mark schemes for your work and the exemplar sources. Don't just copy it though, because again, plagiarism with screw you over. Use some of the sources that you can't find yourself and maybe get an idea of some of the books they've used. Just make sure you explain everything you've taken, by yourself.

6. University research websites - Regardless of whether you are in uni or not, the research they do there is great for finding sources. If you need detailed facts, historical reports and journals this is definitely where you should look. Just type in what you're looking for and uni websites are usually the first ones that come up.

7. Just Google quotes - Seriously if you've found a quote but have no idea where its from, just Google it and something will come up.
         
8. Google books - An extremely helpful Google resource which is EXCELLENT. Type in anything and a book will come up. If you find a book and want something specific, type it into the search box and it will highlight your search whenever it appears in the book. Sometimes school textbooks will come up but don't discount these because they tend to cite their sources quite well. 

9. Google Scholar - I'm not such a big fan of this one but it's great if you're not just looking for books. Court cases, laws, journals and stuff like that is where scholar really excels. It also have a citation importing feature... I don't know what that is but it's one of their main advertising points and it sounds kinda cool.

10. TV Documentaries - There is always something useful on TV. Lots of journalists, researchers and reporters make documentaries which are especially informative and beneficial to watch, because they are PACKED with great information.

Holiday- Waterside park, Paignton, Cornwall

9th August- 14th August 

The Lodge         

                                                                                    

 Day 1
Ok so today we had a nice morning in the pool, the sun was out and it was surprisingly warm for a day that was forecast a hurricane. When we got bored with swimming we came back to the lodge for lunch, and then decided to walk to Goodrington to make the most of the sun. We had a really cute walk along the sea wall and there was even a small local music festival which was really enjoyable with a nice ice cream on the seafront.

He's clearly never seen Titanic.

Day 2

Today we took a trip to Kent’s Cavern in Torquay; I was expecting a slightly complacent tour guide (because they always get bitchy with you when you ask them questions) and an extremely limited look at the caves because, well, you’re entering rock forms that could literally fall and crush you at any second. But to my surprise we saw some amazing parts of the caves and our tour guide was genuinely hilarious and managed to entertain both the children and adults with information about the caves and some well thought out cave puns.

Outside the caves there was a woodland trail, and in the interest of getting our money/ Tesco vouchers worth we decided to walk around it, despite the imminent danger of rain. Along the way there was one of those stocks things where you put your face and hands through the gaps and pretend you don’t realise you look like an idiot when everyone laughs at you… of course my dad took this as his calling and of course I had to take pictures.

Day 3

BEACH!!! Even though we are only a 5 minute walk to the nearest beach from the lodge, we decided to travel a little further afield to Bigbury-on-sea which is where we used to go to as kids. So half an hour later we got there but ended up just sat in the car for another 20 minutes, hiding from the rain. After it had cleared up just enough for us to be able to get out of the car without it looking like we had all just been swimming, we hauled all of our crap down the steps and set up our stuff by some rocks. Undeterred by the rain we had a couple of games of beach football, which went well, other than the fact I managed to splash wet sand EVERYWHERE. When everyone had finished their lunch and the rain had died down again, Karen and I walked up to the top of the cliff next to us. When the tide is out and the causeway disappears it becomes an island, but luckily for us the tide was still on its way out so there was no risk of becoming stranded. As soon as we got back to everyone else though, the heavens opened and it rained non-stop for half an hour, we all had to huddle up into the pop-up beach tent and wait for it to pass. However it was pretty funny because we spent most of our time trying to figure out who farted. The rain eventually settled and we all ran back to the car, where I attempted to change my jeans on the back seat… it was successful but I elbowed Jordi in the face.

 Day 4
Today we went to the BIG SHEEP!!! It was the best day of the holiday so far! I love it there so much because everything is exactly the same as it was when I went there when I was younger. Me, Dad and Jordi went to the outdoor laser tag area where we got ready for 30 minutes of running around emphatically trying to both hide from everyone and shoot everyone at the same time. After we picked up the biggest and heaviest guns we could find, we all sprinted off to find the best ‘sniper spot’. We clearly had no game plan because we all ran off in different directions and ended up alone and vulnerable to attack. So after about 5 minutes I had already lost my 10 lives. Luckily we paid for unlimited lives so I went to get more. I then returned to my hiding spot, which was a helicopter strategically placed on a huge rock right in the middle of the combat area… inconspicuous, I thought. Once I realised this wasn’t the best place to hide, I went to find allies! Upon my journey I somehow acquired the most annoying enemy (he looked about 7 years old) who made it his mission to make me constantly run out of lives before I could get anywhere. I would go back to the main entrance to get more lives, then turn around to run back, and before I’d even moved 5 paces he’d shoot me and I’d run out of lives again. This continued for about 10 minutes until I stopped and waited for him to get bored and run off again. I finally made my way back into the combat zone and found Jordi and Dad, so I could actually feel like I accomplished something, but after 5 minutes of feeling invincible, our 30 minutes were up… typical.
Later on we queued up for the swan paddle boats and started eating our lunch. As luck would have it, it started raining, but fortunately it wasn’t that heavy so we waited it out and by the time we got on our swan boats it was brightening up again! Jordi and I somehow managed to turn our peddle boat into a dodgem car, chasing Dad and Karen around the lake island while Martha laughed in hysterics sat in-between them in the boat. We eventually settled down and returned the boats to the dock, and spend the rest of the afternoon watching the famous Big Sheep ‘Sheep Show’ and spectating the sheep race, for which we won a prize for betting for the winner!
Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures while we were there because I was too busy learning about sheep.
However, later on that day we went out to Appledore to get fish and chips for tea and I took some pictures of the food advertising van and our surroundings, because it was so pretty.



Day 5

We cycled down to Brixham today, it’s a choice I regret because I didn’t realise how steep the hills were and the pain was excruciating. However it was fun when we got there, because we each bought a massive 3 scoop ice cream which was literally piled to the sky. It was delicious. We stayed in Brixham until it got dark because there was a firework show that evening.  Once it had started we all sat on the dock watching them, and I can honestly say it was one of the best firework displays I’ve ever seen. The bright colours reflected off of the water and it looked amazing! It was comparable to London at New Year’s Eve. Plus the moon looked really cool.

 Day 6
We set off early this morning to get to where we were going for when it opened. As we have a national trust membership we thought “why not use it while we can?” So on our last day we went to Colton Fishacre, which is a huge 1920/30s mansion and its surrounding gardens, which stretch for miles. It was absolutely beautiful, so I think pictures are the best way to describe it.

 

 

Deaf v.s. Blind

I was having a chat with some friends a while ago and we managed to stumble onto the discussion of whether you would rather be deaf or blind, which, is an unusually deep topic for my friends because our conversations at lunchtime normally consist of sassy comebacks and ‘good banter’.

Anyway, I took the conversation literally, and started imagining I was actually deaf or blind which really got thinking about my answer. After a lot of consideration, midnight thinking and asking my mother, I have come to the conclusion my answer would have to be blind.

Almost everyone disagreed with me, including my mother, which is understandable because there are a lot of benefits to having eyesight; walking in a straight line being one of them. Of course there are other benefits too like, seeing people you love, watching films, seeing people smile, making a cup of tea without pouring hot water on yourself and indefinitely causing 3rd degree burns, putting on makeup (accurately), and a lot of other things that people take for granted. But one of the most important things that I think about when imagining I was blind would be a loss of independence, because even though after time you would learn where things are in your house or you would have a stick or guide dog to be able to cross the street, there would still be a huge amount of things you could no longer do alone or do at all.

If there is one thing I’ve wanted to do my entire life, it would be travelling. For as long as I can remember (excuse the cliché) I’ve wanted to travel the world, to go everywhere, and see everything, which obviously is an issue if I can’t actually see. But as much as I want to see the world I’d much rather be able to just be there, as an experience, to me that’s far more important. I’d rather hear my friends describe the view to me, than be unable to communicate with them, because even though people can learn sign language, the inability to communicate fluently with everyone I know would kill me more than anything. Even speaking would be out of the question if you were deaf. I mean if you couldn’t hear anything a whole world of language would be lost to you. To be honest it would probably be a blessing for my friends and family because once I start talking I never shut up.

Music is another thing that is completely meaningless if you’re deaf. I love music and without it I would get extremely bored in every car journey, every long walk, every party, every moment spent alone working, every time on the bus when you’re trying your absolute hardest not to make eye contact with any weirdo’s entering the bus so they don’t sit next to you and seriously invade all of your personal space. I don’t know why but I quite like just listening to music alone, that’s pretty much what I’m doing right now while writing this. Being able to name my favourite song or band when people ask me and dancing to those songs is a pleasure I think too many people take for granted. Singing in the car is the highlight of my day sometimes and I am in no way willing to give that up.

I guess the reason so many people wouldn’t chose blind is a safety thing, because of course if you were blind your ability to see what was coming would not exist. This would undoubtedly cause problems if someone was running at you with a knife, but what are the chances of that happening? And if I’m honest even with eyesight I’d be useless in any confrontational situation like that anyway. Again, I can see why people would choose deaf over blind, but on a personal level, I just don’t agree.

To Young to Get Work Done?

I’m all for people doing what they want with their bodies, I’m just not sure if people are getting cosmetic surgery waaaaaayy too young.

I have very conflicting opinions on whether people should just be happy with what they have, or shape themselves to what they want to be, because I feel teenagers are under a lot of internal and external pressures to fit into certain borderlines within society. I’m speaking in purely cosmetic terms when I say surgery, I mean like nose jobs, boob jobs, face lifts and that sort of thing. I know a couple of people who want nose jobs, they are both 17, and I think it’s a terrible idea. When I talk to them about it, the conversation can go one of two ways… Sometimes, I channel my inner rebellious teen, who’s just like “yeah, do what you want, bro!” and sometimes, I’m that overbearing, protective parent who’s just screaming “THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES!”

Fair enough they are both perfectly capable of making big decisions about their lives, e.g. getting jobs, applying for universities, deciding what to do for the rest of their lives… but these are all decisions you are supposed to mess up. If anything, now is the time to fuck up, because people will just accept that you are young and therefore stupid. But then again these are all fuck ups you can recover from. Obviously, if the job goes THAT BADLY you can get corrective surgery, however, for a nose job, that’s an additional £3,000 on an already expensive £4,000 surgery. But why would you waste your money on something that’s a bad idea in the first place? There is a 50/50 chance that you’ll be pleased with the result and if I’m honest I just don’t think it’s worth it. Being pretty won’t fix your life; pretty people have problems too!

General rule of thumb is, learn to love yourself and accept your flaws. I guess if people feel like they need surgery to achieve this, then go for it, just make sure you do it FOR YOURSELF!