Dorset Fire Brigade offer advice to students

Dorset Fire and Rescue were on hand this week to offer advice to Bournemouth University students regarding fire safety.

The stand, which provided information ranging from smoke alarms to how to fireproof your home, were promoting free fire hazard inspections to students.

John Gaunt, Crew Manager of Dorchester fire station, stated: “We don’t get called to student houses very often but when we do it is normally very serious”.

He also highlighted the problems of some student housing with problems from estate agents.“We have come across places that haven’t had adequate safety checks. But we can inspect the premises and make appropriate recommendations”.

He added that the main reason for fires in student accommodation is the vast amount of equipment that students now own."If students attempt to cook after drinking too much then fires are going to happen, but if you take specific precautions then it could be the difference between life and death".

Caroline Atkins - Feature

Five years ago, Caroline Atkins set a world record opening partnership in international cricket and yet just three games later, she was dropped from the England set-up. Now, Atkins is back, and is out to prove that she belongs on the international stage.

"Only thirty seconds to go and the pain will be over", or at least that is what I tell myself as I carry out my pitiful attempt at a press up. It is University circuit training and by some cruel twist of fate, I’ve ended up with my least favourite exercise to round off the session. "Twenty seconds!" a voice cries from the background, as my aching muscles valiantly try to muster one last effort. "Its no good" I think to myself inches from collapsing, when I hear the same voice shouting the times say, "Keep going, you can do it". Alas although my mind wants to take heed of the voice’s advice, my body can’t take anymore and within the blink of eye I’m in a heap on the floor.

The voice is in fact that of Caroline Atkins, international cricketer and head of Strength Conditioning at Bournemouth Univeristy. But although she is a reliable leader at circuit training, trying to track the England international down proves to be a difficult task. "No-one knows where anyone is in this place", jokes a representative on reception. Thankfully, after much searching, I do eventually find her, albeit swamped by a group of rugby players. "It’s a tough job but I enjoy it, it provides balance in my life, and when that balance exists, that’s when the cricket starts to go well", she tells me. The right mix of work and cricket is certainly beginning to pay off, with Atkins holding down a regular test and one-day place since 2005. A major feat considering there her England career looked in jeopardy when she was dropped in both forms of the game in 2002.

Due to the busy nature of the department on a Tuesday (the day before all the sports teams compete) we’ve had to seek refuge in the cafeteria. But for Atkins it comes with the territory and how far Bournemouth has come in the time that’s she’s been there. "We’re starting to build a reputation now and it is exciting to be a part of". As she speaks there’s a sense of pride in her work, and enjoyment from the nature of her job. Success away from the cricket pitch it seems certainly appears to have brought success on it.

As is the case with any top-flight sporting career though, the path to that success is far from straightforward and Atkins is no exception. After enjoying unprecedented success at county level, Atkins was thrust into the limelight in 2001 making her test debut against Australia at the age of 21. And after setting a world record for an opening partnership with Aaran Brindle against India, things were looking promising for the future. But just three games later, in January 2002, Atkins found herself dropped from the England set-up and worse still came under heavy criticism from the media who accused her of not scoring quickly enough. "It was frustrating at the time as I was just starting to enjoy some success with England, and of course setting the world record goes down on a personal level as a career highlight. But I can accept it when someone doesn’t think I’m good enough. And if anything in the time I was out I became a stronger person and better cricketer because of it". From the way she reminisces on the decision, there’s not a hint of resentment present in her voice. Just that of optimism for the future, what’s done is done, and now its time to look forward.

During her three years out of the international scene, Atkins set about rebuilding her career and in early 2005 the breakthrough came in the form of a call up to the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) Young Cricketers scheme based at Lords. "I was at the home of cricket everyday, you can’t help but hit the ball then". Another key factor that came with her time at the MCC was rediscovering her passion for the sport. "I was enjoying it again. I was getting too caught up in worrying whether I was ever going to get another chance with England. Thankfully it did and it came at a time when I was getting better and better". Atkins was rewarded with a re-call for the tour to India in 2005, and hasn’t looked back since.

As Atkins strides off with the air of someone going places, no doubt with another crowd of sports students lurking around the corner, it is hard to bet against her achieving great things in the future. And with the small matter of defending the Ashes next year and competing in the 2009 World Cup, she has the ideal opportunity to show that she truly belongs on the international stage.

Croydon Harriers Promotional Video

In 2006, I put together this promotional video for my A-Level Media Studies project and also my athletics club Croydon Harriers.

It won an award for "Best Promotional Video" at the Wilson's 6th Form Media Oscars 06!



Grade: A

Subways Press Release (Fictional Story)

Urgent meetings are to be held between senior figures in Oxdown, in a bid to improve the subways at James Street.

Phillip Rush, Chairman of the Oxdown Chamber of Trade, confirmed it was looking to meet Oxdown Council and Police, to take "drastic action" to re-energise the subways.

He claimed that muggers, vandalism, litter, graffiti and beggars have tarnished the reputation of the subways and they are not prepared to let the situation further deteriorate. "We believe we have one of the best shopping centres in the region, and we want to encourage people to visit us, not to see them put off", Mr Rush stated.

The action comes just a week after an elderly man suffered a blow to the head, during a scuffle with a group of teenagers, in the James Street subways.

Although the man is making a good recovery and his head wound is not serious, its just one of a series of incidents that has given the subways a bad reputation.

The subways linking Oxdown Bus Station with the town market and shopping centre have now become a prime location for muggers to target passing shoppers.

Other proposals that the Chamber aims to bring forward are plans to re-decorate the subways with murals and reduce the amount of rubbish presently left there.

It is thought that the deteriorating state of the pedestrian links has led to many residents avoiding using the subways, which have been in place since 1995.

No Feeback As Of Yet

Animal Cruelty Case

A married couple has had their ban from owning pets reduced from 5 years to 2, after their appeal case at Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday.

Mr Recorder Fitton QC ruled that the behaviour of Mr and Mrs White, of Pine Road in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, ruled the ban was "appropriate but not for 5 years".

The case came to court after Neil and Selina White pleaded guilty, in January, to causing unnecessary harm to their pet cat Elliot, which was resultantly put down.

Concerned neighbours called the RSPCA, who discovered the Persian cat with a severe maggot infestation under its skin and faeces over its body.

The prosecutor, Barrister Richard Martin, quoted the RSPCA description of Elliot stating that "the maggots had eaten its back left leg".

The Whites were fined £500 each for their part but wanted to appeal against the ban imposed, which now leaves their other two cats to being re-homed.

The defence, Barrister Robert Griffiths argued that Elliot’s health had only deteriorated in the last few days of its life, in late August of last year.

Neighbour Lynn Riggs, has been the White’s neighbour for eight years, and said, when called to the stand, "They have always cared for Elliot and their pets".

Barrister Griffiths also told the court that the Whites had locked the Persian cat up in the house for 3 months in order to groom it.

But Elliot grew increasingly restless at this and it could have contributed to it failing to groom itself in the last few days of its life.

RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond, who found Elliot, said, "Putting any animal to sleep is distressing, but at least its not suffering any more".

No Feedback as of yet

Cargo Ship & Ferry Crash (Fictional Story)

A collision between a cargo ship and a ferry has left Poole Harbour in chaos this morning, with two people dead and a toxic chemical leaking into the sea.

The victims, a man and a woman, in their 70's, both jumped into the sea seconds before a passenger ferry hitting a cargo ship.

The pair are rumoured to be related, although their identities are yet to be confirmed by Dorset Coastguard.

The remaining 30 passengers on the ferry though are safe, although some are suffering from hypothermia and shock.

There had been some doubt over the number of passengers that were safe, due to the confusion in the safety checks, but all passengers are now accounted for.

The situation at the Harbour worsened as it became clear that the chemical Lindane was leaking into the sea.

The highly toxic chemical, which is a banned pesticide in 52 countries, began leaking from the "Taurus" cargo ship after the collision.

The area has now been cordened off so the environment agency can assess the chemical's potential threat to life.

Tolden Lee, an environment agency spokesman said "it's vital that we can fully investigate into what has happened".

The beach has been evacuated and will remain so for the next 12 hours, altough could re-open sooner if the investigation goes to plan.

The incident happened at 10:15am when Taurus, which was in the wrong sea lane at the time, resultantly crashed into the chain link ferry in its path.

Torbay Seaway, the company of the cargo ship that was on its maiden voyage, have now taken full responsibility for the incident.

The managing director, Bridget Verdon stated: "We are an inexperienced team, there's no point in pretending, we are sorry".

Despite the doubt that now surrounds the company's future, Mr Verdon was quick to state that there would be "no scapegoats".

He also defended the company boldly stating that we will take "full corporate resonsibility" and a full internal inquiry in the coming weeks will be launched.

Tracksuit Saga Continues

Bournemouth University has announced that their sports tracksuits will not be delivered this year, due to problems with their suppliers.

The news leaves many of the University’s athletes with no alternative but to compete without them.

It comes as a blow to Bournemouth who are striving to be one of the top 25 sports Universities in the UK, by June this year.

The University has had a meteoric rise up the sports rankings since 2003, gaining almost 100 places to their current position of 36th.

As a result of this, looking professional when competing has become an all-important ingredient of success.

But this aspect has been difficult to fulfil with suppliers Surridge continuously failing to meet growing demand.
Jason Atkins, Head of Performance Sports, at Bournemouth accepted that the "suppliers have let us and our athletes down".

The problem has been ongoing for several years.

Lucy Fogarty, a first team hockey player, has experienced the delays and also the implications upon the team.

"Half the girls missed the order deadline by a few days and because of that, half of us have a tracksuit and the others don’t".

But even then, the 18 year-old added that an error was made with their order.

"We didn’t get the right shade that we wanted, so our socks don’t match our tops and we are still waiting for the replacements".

The lack of delivery has had ripple effect on the other faculties in the University.

Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences student James Eccles was promised a free tracksuit with his course.

But with recent developments coming to a head, he feels pessimistic about his chances of this happening now.

"I haven’t been told anything about it since enrolling. We were told it would be a small compensation for the tuition fees, but it looks like that isn’t going to go through".

Mark: 70

Plane Crash (Fictional Story)

A plane crash has left two people dead and a third seriously injured after a charity parachute jump went horribly wrong.

A mechanical failure caused the plane to crash land on a military firing range in Bere Regis, Dorset, where the two fatalities were confirmed as the pilot and the parachute instructor.

The four remaining passengers aboard the plane, owned by Dorset Parachute club, jumped out just prior to impact.

Matthew McGrath, who was parachuting for Leukaemia Research, praised the pilot and instructor’s bravery "We owe our lives to those guys, we wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for them".
Laura Cameron, who was also jumping, fractured her leg from the crash, but Kate Tong, Debbie Smith and McGrath are all unharmed.

There had been growing anxiety for the four charity jumpers who leapt from the plane, a mere 500ft in the air, half of the emergency parachuting height.

Having survived that, they were feared dead after landing on the military shooting range, where there are potentially hundreds of unexploded mines.

They were later rescued when, after gaining refuge in the woods, the army discovered their whereabouts.

Roger Daltrey, Lt of the Royal Armoured Core battalion, emphasised the dangers from which the group escaped "There’s a reason why this is a no go area, we fire over 70, 000 tank shells every year and they can ricochet anywhere".

He added that the crash itself was "the worst I’ve ever seen. The plane has literally been atomised".

The private passenger CESSNA 337 plane crashed at 10:20am, a mere 20 minutes after it took off from a private airfield en route to the jump.

The crash comes as a shock to Dorset Parachuting club, who recently checked the aircraft to ensure it met safety standards.

Big Mac, as he’s known at the club, stated "We’ve recently had an overhaul of our aircraft, so for this to happen is deeply distressing".

The co-owner though was quick to decline the pilot and instructor were at fault adding, "I’ve lost two great friends. They would have done their best not to harm anyone".

Mark: 72 (1st)

Film Review: Casino Royale

Casino Royale (12A)
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench
**** (4 stars)

If we were to believe the pre-release criticism facing Daniel Craig’s selection as the new 007, Casino Royale could be the worst Bond film of the franchise; it couldn’t be further from the truth.

In this daring prequel, Campbell goes to the very heart of what makes James Bond the suave, womanising secret agent that we’ve all come to know.

It’s this analysis of characterisation that sets this film apart from its predecessors, but be warned this is not a traditional Bond film.

This is made explicit from the outset, as the silver tinted opening sequence reveals Bond brutally beating a Russian henchman, before drowning him; no Roger Moore quips here then.

There also isn’t room for Q and Moneypenny, but they aren’t essential for Campbell’s dark take on the secret agent’s beginnings.

James Bond has just been promoted to being a "00" and his mission is to prevent French banker "Le Chiffre" (Mads Mikkelson) from funding terrorists in Africa.

He must achieve this by stopping Le Chiffre winning a multi-million dollar poker tournament, by entering himself.

But with enemies trying to hunt him down, new love Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to look after and the government’s money at stake, will Bond succeed in saving the world?

It is Daniel Craig’s portrayal of James Bond that deserves the highest praise.

After being accused of being too "dead-pan" and even too "blonde", before filming had even begun, Craig has truly silenced his critiques akin to his AK47.

He displays a tough rugged character, relentlessly dispatching his enemies, but at the same time maintains the humour connected with the secret agent.

In one scene, when asked how he would like his Vodka Martini, Bond snaps "Does it look like I give a damn!" typifying his no nonsense character.

There’s also a treat for female viewers, as Campbell reverses the iconic Halle Berry scene from "Die Another Day", as Craig emerges from the sea wearing…very little.

The rougher 007 is well supported by new feisty Bond girl Eva Green who gets the difficult mix of sensitivity and headstrong independence off to a tee.

She portrays the character with such tenacity that separates her from the submissive female counterparts that have gone before her.

But reversing the franchise norm comes with big risks, and one downfall of this film is the (at times) incomprehensible plot.

It’s only a minor flaw though, in a film with spectacular stunts, fights and a truly remorseless villain in Mads Mikkelson that shocks the audience with ease.

By the time Daniel Craig closes the film on the classic line "The name’s Bond. James Bond", very few can argue against the fact that Bond is back with a bang.

Mark: 60 (2:1)

Opinion: The Loneliness of the Cross Country Runner

As I stand on top of a hill with 300 other students as mad as myself, I’m thrilled at the prospect of running 12km against the finest cross-country runners in Britain.

A daunting prospect for even the most seasoned of long distance runners, buteven more so considering I’m the only the student from my University here.

By the way, did I mention that there are a thousand sets of eyes watching us?

The maths of course speaks for itself. 15,000 students go to Bournemouth butthere’s only me running here.

I’m the first to admit I have no chance of winning this, but it would be nice to have a companion to share in my plight.

The situation I find myself in though, is not too far away from the problem facing the sport in the UK.

British distance running is in rapid decline and we are struggling to mix it with the world’s finest.

The problem is simple, there aren’t enough people competing in every event from the National championships to the Mickey Mouse open.

It’s hard to see why though. We live in a health conscious age and runningis surely a way to keep fit against life’s temptations.

Being honest though, jogging for fun is a far cry from this deadly serious, competitive event. The gun has already gone, and I’ve found myself at the back of the field, still on the up side, only 11 and a half kilometres to go…

Trident Vox Pop

By Luke Starre & Matthew Kiernan

The Labour party has announced potential plans for the £20bn renewal of Britain’s nuclear deterrent Trident.

Investment in the programme will be spread over the next 30 years and Tony Blair is eager to push the proposal through Parliament before he stands down in 2007.

But even given the state of the current world climate does the British public think the scheme is worth it?

"Depends on how much they’ve got in the budget," says Anthony Davis, a 27-year old graphic designer from Sutton Rd, Charminster.

"Is national security still that important? It’s debatable and it won’t make any difference to my life."

"We’ve already got some and if we needed to use them it would be a nuclear war and all countries would loose out," laughs Chris Cox, 20, a sports management student at Bournemouth University.

It’s a view reiterated by Sue Barrett from Stanfield Rd, Winton.
"If there’s going to be a nuclear explosion they’ll be mass death anyway, so what’ s the point?"

Should we be trying to get along instead of out doing each other then? 19-year-old Carl Arreghini thinks so.

"They’re effectively weapons of mass destruction," mused the Law student. "It would make me feel safer if no one had them rather than us having more then someone else."

"The more countries who have them the more likely they’ll be used," agrees Christine Howland of Cranmer Rd, Winton.

"Nuclear weapons do more damage than good", adds Tessa Gustafsen, a waitress from Copenhagen, Denmark. "Actually, I don’t think they do any good".

So is no one bothered about protection?

"It’ll come to a sad time if we need nuclear weapons to feel safe at night", says Tanya Davis, 28, from Charminster.

What about the costs?

"Money should be channelled into education and children", adds Ms Davis.

Liam Henderson from St. Luke’s Rd in Winton thinks ‘they’ll spend it on the military anyway, plus we can use the ones we have’.

"We shouldn’t spend it on a nuclear deterrent," says retired builder Roger Anderson. "Instead it should be used to help stop climate change."

It’s not an opinion shared by all though.

Jack Salisbury feels efforts need to be stepped up saying, "money should be spent on more aggressive tactics – not war however".

Peace keeping and negotiation are what the 19-year-old business student suggests.
So perhaps Andrew Wilson sums up the public consensus.

"I don’t like nuclear weapons anyway and I’d hope they’ll all disappear eventually," dreams the 38-year-old market trader from Lymington.

Mark: 60 (2:1)

What Makes A Good Reporter?

Lawrence Booth’s advice for being a good reporter is to be "structured", "show initiative" and "be dedicated".

The 31 year-old is more than qualified to comment; he currently edits the "Spin" cricket supplement for the Guardian.

According to Booth, these key traits to succeed in journalism are put to the test by the route you take into the industry.

"There are 2 main routes.

The work experience route and the Journalism course route".

It is indeed the former of these two paths, which Booth used to work in the field.

After graduating from Cambridge University, with a modern languages degree, Booth undertook a 3 month work placement at "Wisden Cricket Monthly" magazine.

It was this particular summer of 1998, where his outlook on writing changed forever. "I essentially got one to one tuition from the editor at the time.

He helped me to write engaging articles instead of essays".

This advice has stayed with Booth, throughout his career.

It is fitting then that with his new writing skills at the forefront of his thinking, Booth got his first big break.

With no one following on from him on work experience in the magazine, he was offered a part-time position; his dedication had paid off.

"It was only £500 a month, but we all have to start somewhere!"

What followed was the chance to work on the Wisden Website, as well as the "Wisden Almanack".

This continued until 2002, when he became freelance, which he has remained ever since.
In the present though it’s the Journalism course route that Booth recommends.

Partly due to job preparation, but also due to another key trait in being a good reporter; networking.

"Watch out for those who you think may be successful and try and stick with them!".

A hard work ethic, having a passion for writing and having an interest in you’re writing area, are all important then in the make-up of a good reporter.

Lawrence Booth is living proof.

Mark: 66 (2:1)

Interview: Alan Belshire

Mr Alan Belshire is someone I feel I’ve known all my life and yet a month a go we hadn’t met.

As we sat in his study, the 66-year-old gave an insight into his relaxed approach to life – "it’s important to laugh at yourself, otherwise what’s the point!"

It’s this fun loving character that’s led to a running joke in the house.

A storyteller at heart, Alan used to tell his children when younger, many tales about "Dogsbody Hollow".

The name derived from Alan’s imagination and also due to their home being situated on a hill.
When they grew up, they created a "Dogsbody Hollow" plaque, which takes pride and place in the porch – "I often find people staring at it bemusedly!"

It is with fondness that Alan speaks of his children and indeed he also fondly remembers his own childhood.

"It was the 4th year of the war", Belshire recalls, "and my Dad had to remove a wasp’s nest stuck in our car".

"My dad attached a hose pipe to the exhaust of our Austin, to drench them out!"
It goes without saying it was an extermination even the Daleks would have saluted.

"It was very impressive!" Alan adds amusedly.

For 35 years Belshire worked as a solicitor, running his own firm "Alan Belshire & Co." in Winton.

However, although he enjoyed it, it wasn’t always clear what would happen next.

"Once a month, I had to represent the local bad lads in prison.

But you had to be nice, otherwise you could be stuck in a cell with them, if the police forgot you were there!"

Alan’s family consists of 7 grandchildren as well as his 3 children (Carol, Katy and John).

It’s not always a good thing though – "It can cause a headache at Christmas!"

Now retired, Alan now shares time with his wife Wendy and also works for Victoria Park Methodist Church.

As pastoral secretary, one of the hardest tasks he finds is to stick to word limits writing church news articles.

I couldn’t agree more.

Mark: 67 (2:1)

Day In the Life of...Matthew Kiernan

In October, Matthew Kiernan will embark on a BA Honours degree in Multi-Media Journalism. In a bid to be financially prepared, the 18-year-old accepted a Customer Advisor role at a local school uniform outlet. A member of Croydon Harriers athletics club and Trinity (Oxley) Cricket Club, the budding athlete lives with his family in South London.

Dragging myself out of bed at 7am is the most difficult part of the day in my life. I’m not a morning person and soon find myself attempting to avoid attracting my family’s attention so I’m not forced to grunt at them.

The painful process of slowly coming round to reality is sped up somewhat though, whilst listening to the "Today" programme, on Radio 4, at breakfast time. It is all the more satisfying to hear hard-hitting journalism from John Humphreys to remind just exactly why I’ve woken up this morning. After all, I’d love to be in his position one day.

Still, that’s the long-term goal and any brief moments of solitude found in daydreaming are abruptly ended when I realise my short term objective is in jeopardy…getting to my Summer job on time.

My efforts to arrive punctually aren’t helped on a daily basis with the buses constantly running late. I made the decision not to learn to drive so I could save funds, so it’s my own fault. However with Sir Ken Livingston letting youngsters travel for free, it would be nice to think those who have to pay for it can get value for money. If you’ve ever heard the comedy adaptation of the song "London Underground", you can guess what I would like to tell Sir Ken to do with his Oyster card.

It all seems worthwhile though when I arrive at the shop (albeit after a slow and claustrophobic journey) as my colleagues are so kind and easy to get on with. When the shop opens at 9am, we receive our orders from our managers. It’s a hormonal affair in which a lot of power hunger comes to the fore, with the most effective way to combat the obsessive ordering being copious amounts of automatic nodding.

Once that specific hurdle is cleared, the second more daunting challenge is upon me. Tasks such as making stacking shirts, putting labels on packets and dusting blazers seem more entertaining than watching paint dry is a difficult one indeed. On the bright side though, things take a much-needed upturn when lunchtime arrives; but even then I cannot always be sure. Lunch can only be an hour of sheer bliss (in comparison to the shop floor) if I’ve managed to avoid the dreaded 12pm slot…the hour in which the managers eat. If I’ve been unlucky enough to receive that particular pleasure, then thoughts of sharp blades meeting my wrists quickly become predominant in my imagination.

Thankfully though, having such good friends to work with helps the time pass. Its amazing how close we’ve all become within just 3 months of working together; I feel like I’ve known them for 3 years. That is of course meant in a good way and I’m sure we’ll remain in contact for many years to come.

When the clock finally ticks down to the sacred 5:30pm (closing time), its time to recover from the monotony that is selling school uniform, and instead turn my attention to the other main interest of my life; athletics.

When I tell people I’m a long distance runner I often get an immediate reaction of shock, closely followed by the question of "Why?" My response is a simple one; I find it relaxing (at this point the person I’m speaking to will probably faint). It’s the physical and mental challenge of being able to compete for a sustained period of time that keeps me training. This ironically is the most popular reason why people don’t find distance running attractive.

Imagine my surprise then, when 8 of my fellow customer advisors came with me to the evening’s training session at the track. What began as an initial joke on my part to get one chap running for the first time in years, has turned into everyone else coming down for a run as well. They all enjoyed it (or at least I hope they did) and hopefully I’ll be able to encourage them to maintain their good work whilst at university.

Training ends at around 9pm and its often then a trip to the local pub for a cheeky beverage. Although the other guys indulge in various alcoholic concoctions, I always treat myself to a juicy J20. I’ve never drunk in my life, mainly due to the taste and due to the sick related after effects of being hammered that inevitably comes with it. However, despite the fact I don’t drink or smoke, I always make the effort to go out, otherwise I think you are not living life to the full.

I get in at 11ish, and normally eat something that my parents have kindly cooked for me, before hitting the hay at 12am, ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

"Despite the fact I don’t drink or smoke, I always make the effort to go out, otherwise I think you are not living life to the full"

Mark: 63 (2:1)