This month has definitely been more upbeat, dancy songs (sans the Lana Del Rey song) ranging from One Direction to The Cure, so y'know there's something there for everybody.
1. Drag Me Down - One Direction
I've been through quite the journey with One Direction in the past year - I've gone from disliking them intensely, to liking them ironically, to liking them ... not ironically.. and I have to be honest, I didn't think One Direction would be so good without Zayn Malik, but I think this song is really catchy and quite a bit of fun, and in all honesty, I've been listening to it a heck of a lot this month. 2. The Sun And The Rain - Madness
I've been listening to this song non-stop since hearing it on the credits on an episode of White Teeth. I already liked Madness quite a lot but I'm not sure if I had heard this song, but since hearing it I've been obsessed - so much so, that I tried to find the sheet music to play it on the piano (and I failed) and then I worked it out myself because I love it so much. I think the actual music is just so well arranged and it's such a fun one to sing along to. 3. Where's Me Jumper? - Sultans of Ping F.C
I first heard about this song because I was listening to Lily Allen's desert island discs episode on podcasts and I gave it a listen, and it's just the most random song. It's about anarchy and general political ideologies, but then it's literally about someone who's lost their jumper. It's such a fun song and it's been stuck in my head all month. 4. High By the Beach - Lana Del Rey
I'm so excited for Lana's new album - Lana has a special place in my heart, she's one of those artists who I can listen to any song and love it, so I've been loving the little snippets from her new albums that have been coming out. High By the Beach may not be the most interesting track lyrically but it's quite chilled and the video's pretty badass, I just think Lana has such as unique voice - almost hypnotic, so any song by her is a yes from me. 5. Why Can't I Be You? - The Cure
I feel like such a fake Morrissey fan when I listen to The Cure because of Robert Smith's and Morrissey's feud but I do love The Cure. I actually hadn't heard this song but I think I saw someone talk about it in a blog post and I decided to give it a listen, I love the instrumentation (as I think I've mentioned in other places, I looooooove a brass instrument and this has just that) and it's just really upbeat and fun. I personally think the upbeat songs by The Cure are their best ones, y'know like Boys Don't Cry, Friday I'm in Love, Just Like Heaven, Inbetween Days etc. and this is right up there with them - been listening to it a heck of a lot.
one.
After getting my results and finding out I'm getting into my first university choice in Brighton, me and my family decided to go away for a few days to check out the area a bit more and look at the accommodation sites (as they didn't come with me on the open day, although I ended up rejecting the accommodation I was offered) and I'm really looking forward to living there now, not that I wasn't before like I knew Brighton was a lovely place hence why it was my first choice but visiting it again knowing that I'm definitely going there sort of reinforced that. Also, there were quite a few record shops (#hipster) and a mahoosive guitar shop which me and my Dad spent a rather lengthy amount of time in.
two.
I went round to a friend's house to watch American Horror Story (although we watched one episode and then ended up watching Orange is the New Black because I still hadn't finished it, but I finished it now!!) and I established that I am crap with directions. Literally it took me an hour and a half bus journey to do a trip that should've been less than half that time, I knew I wasn't so good in directions on foot but I've honestly hit a new low . . . (Damon Albarn voice: this is a looooooooooow)
three.
I went to go see the Bad Education movie with a few friends and it was so funny, if you like the series you're going to love the movie and it's really nice way to end the series. We also went to Costa afterwards - I've gone vegan again so it took me a while to order (I had to go online and check what was vegan on the menu, yes I'm becoming the annoying vegan friend . . . )
four.
I was feeling really down so I decided to ignore my phone most of the day and play piano all day, I find it so therapeutic and ever since finishing grade 8 I've been majorly neglecting the piano, but it has such a positive effect on my mood I really should find more time for it - I feel like I'm being productive by learning new pieces and I just generally like playing the piano, so it's definitely one of my favourite forms of self care.
five.
I decided to watch Harold and Maude again as it's been a few years since I first watched it, and whilst I really enjoyed it the first time, I really really loved it the second time round. The whole film is about control and enjoying life, but not it's not at all cheesy like how you would expect a film which essentially expresses #YOLO to be. Definitely one of my favourite films and an exquisite, cult classic.
six.
I'm not sure if I've vocalised this many times but I am a massive Saved by the Bell fan. I used to watch it a lot when I was younger (I must've been really young and they must've been re-runs, but I do remember watching them with my older half-sister) and then I found them all online a while ago and watched the series a few times, then I was given the box set for Christmas one year and I return to them a couple of times a year and it's time - I've been speeding through it, I've watched quite a couple of series in a matter of days. I'm enjoying myself profusely, but it means Breaking Bad has taken a backseat once again.
seven.
I went to go visit my future home in Brighton and I'm looking forward to moving in now, it's nothing special like it is your average student house, but I really like Brighton and I think the change would be good for me.
eight.
I've become re-obsessed with Everybody Loves Raymond. This used to be one of my favourite shows when I was in primary school, right up there with Friends, because it used to be on about 7:30am and in primary school it didn't take so long to get ready in the morning so I had time to watch it, and I do actually own a series on DVD that I revisit quite a lot, but it had been a while I had watched it on TV and I've actually been recording them (TiVo wishlists are a Godsend), so I've been watching series 9 and it's become one of my favourite things to do everyday. Nothing better than starting your day with some porridge, a cup of tea, and a couple of episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond - I'm pretty certain I am Robert, like I'd love to think I'm Ray, but if I'm honest I'm Robert.
nine.
I got round to voting in the Labour Leadership election (as well as the one for mayor and a bunch of other ones that I didn't know I had to vote for) and I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I voted Jeremy Corbyn as leader - I've said it once and I'll say it again but Jeremy Corbyn has been the only thing keeping me optimistic regarding politics since the election, I'm really hoping he wins.
ten.
I went round to my friend Ma'Suma's house with Isabella for one last sleepover before we go off to University (well I don't really leave for another few weeks but Isabella leaves in a few days, she's a big leaver) which was cute. We watched a lot of Friends and A Hard Day's Night, if you haven't watched any of The Beatles' movies you really need to, even if you don't like The Beatles' music they're such funny boys with a dry sense of humour. I personally think Help! is their best film but I do love A Hard Day's Night, just avoid Magical Mystery Tour at all costs . . .
I feel like I've majorly been losing my blogging momentum, so this post is rather overdue, but this time we have a mix of animated films, comedy and a 90s classic . . .
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE (2015) ★★★★★
Shaun the Sheep is tired of the same mundane routine he has to go through everyday and he wants to take a day off, so Shaun and the other sheep form a plan to send the farmer to sleep so he can do this, but things go wrong and the farmer ends up in the big city with memory loss, so Shaun goes into the big city to save him but the other sheep follow him, and they have to try to get the farmer back whilst steering clear of the animal container.
I loved this film. I feel it's important to mention that Shaun the Sheep is a big deal in my house, my Mum and my brother love it and so we've ended up watching a lot of it and a lot of its spin-off Timmy Time (we have the whole Timmy Time box set and most of the Shaun the Sheep series on DVD, it's pretty deep) but we didn't get round to watching the film in the cinema, but then my brother got it for his birthday (his 15th birthday, I feel I should add) and we decided to watch it at long last. If you don't like Shaun the Sheep, you probably won't like this film, but I don't think I've come across a person who doesn't enjoy Shaun the Sheep. It's a lot of fun but there's the odd innuendo in there, and there was even a reference to Doge!! I'm being serious, there was comic sans and Doge references in one part of the film which made my lil heart beam with joy (I'm not sure if that's a thing, but if it is that's what it did). Even my Dad liked it and he's not so big on animated films, there were several laugh out loud moments and it's just a lot of fun - to summarise: it was very good.
PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997) ★★★★
Princess Mononoke is the story of a prince of a disappearing tribe called Ashitaka who's cursed by a boar, so he has to go travelling to the West to try and find a cure, in this world there is an ongoing conflict between the animal kingdom and the human race. He meets someone called San along the way who is a young woman (who grew up with wolves so she denies her own humanity) trying to protect the forest and the animals, and he also meets someone called Lady Eboshi who's trying to destroy the forest and the animals, and Ashitaka aims to resolve this conflict.
I've wanted to watch this film for quite a while given that I'm a massive Studio Ghibli film and this is one of their most popular films. It was definitely enjoyable and I thought San was a good character. Unfortunately, I watched the English dub of this because I recorded a bunch of the Studio Ghibli films during Ghibli season on e4 ages ago but they show the English dub 99% of the time. Don't get me wrong, this was a good dub (nowhere near as bad as the dub for Arrietty or Spirited Away, don't get me started on them) but I do just feel like English dubs ruin Japanese films. Probably not one of my favourite Ghibli films but it was enjoyable and I think it's one that would down well with a lot of people, and it's probably not as much as insane as Spirited Away (I love Spirited Away for its insanity but I know a lot of people just don't get it)
WHITE TEETH (2002) ★★★★
White Teeth is about different families growing up in England spanning from the 70s to the 90s, it focuses on different sectors of society in terms of race and religion. For example, you have Clara who's Jamaican and her Mother is a Jehovah's Witness, Archie and Samad were both in the army during World War II so they're old friends but Archie is British whereas Samad is a Bengalian Muslim, and these families all interlink and the story follows their children.
I quite liked the first few parts of this four parter, this was actually a series but Letterboxd counts it as a film on there hence why I'm including it, plus I did really enjoy it so I wanted to talk about it anyway. The first two parts were really good, I liked how they focused on Clara, Archie and Samad. I feel like when it became more focused on the children, it got a little bit mad and rushed. I liked the characterisation of the children, I liked Irie (purely because she reminded me of myself at times) and Millat was a good character although perhaps not a particularly nice one (I felt bad because he was really attractive but definitely not the type of guy I'd want to be with), and there's also a young James McAvoy in the children's episodes (very nice indeed). Also, in the first episode there's a young Russell Brand which is one of the reasons I wanted to watch this. This to me was a bit like Small Island meets Anita and Me, although I feel like Small Island covered each individual character story better whereas this one did rush it towards the end. I still really liked it though and I have recommended it to a bunch of my friends.
KICK-ASS (2010) ★★★★
Kick-Ass is the story of a stereotypical high school comic book nerd who wonders what would happen if a regular guy tried to become a superhero. He buys a costume and names himself Kick-Ass, but then he comes into contact with crime fighting duo Big Daddy and Hit Girl, and he gets involved with their dramas.
I really liked this film, it sort of made fun of the whole cliche superhero film (don't get me wrong, I love those but this made fun of the super unrealistic aspects of it and the cringey catchphrases). A favourite quote of mine from the film was 'with no power comes no responsibility'. I quite liked Aaron Johnson in this, partly because I used to have a major crush on him (okay, I still do, especially when I watch Nowhere Boy - Aaron Johnson playing John Lennon is a massive yes in my books). Something I simultaneously hated and loved was Nicholas Cage playing Big Daddy, as someone who's been on the internet for a long time I remember the Nicholas Cage meme and the second I saw him come on screen I literally started screaming (leaving my family in a bit of confusion) and the fact that he referred to himself as Big Daddy the whole time just made it worse. The acting in this film wasn't moving or epic or anything, and I'm not sure if that's because the actors were mediocre or if the people making the film made sure they acted that way to capture some of the mediocre, stereotypical acting you get in superhero films - either way, I quite liked it and I felt in mocked superhero films without being offensive necessarily. Something I need to point out - there is a fair bit of swearing and a hell of a lot of blood and violence and all that jazz, something I really wasn't expecting. That sort of thing doesn't bother me but I know it would bother a lot of people, it's sort of on the Sweeney Todd level of blood and violence so y'know beware. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I can imagine it being one I return to again.
SPICE WORLD (1997) ★★★
Spice World is a mockumentary about the Spice Girls who are enjoying fame but becoming dissatisfied with the burdens of it. Meanwhile, newspaper owner Kevin McMaxford is trying to ruin their career to get a good story. The film follows the Spice Girls and the filming of their documentary.
First of, I know I'm nearly 20 years too late for this film - in all fairness, the Spice Girls were a bit before my time given that they formed in the year I was born and whilst I love them, I never thought to watch this film until I found the full film on YouTube (I'm so darn thrifty). This was basically an updated version of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night which I love so I really enjoyed that, I do think A Hard Day's Night is better like I think the Spice Girls were a little bit unnatural on camera at times but it was a lot of fun and it has a great soundtrack, so it's a bit of fun but unless you like the Spice Girls I don't think you'd like this.
Okay, so results day for GCSEs is tomorrow and if you're waiting on results believe me I know how nerve wracking it can be - I got very little sleep on the 21st August 2013 and it was the same with my friends, we actually stayed up playing Would You Rather on a group chat on Whatsapp (highly recommend this if you want some top notch #bantz whilst you're waiting for results day to come). So, I thought I would do a post debunking some theories about A Levels and giving my tips and advice for anyone moving onto that portion of their lives.
Check the time stamp on that tweet - literally just about a week before my GCSE results!
BS THEORY #1: 'A Levels are easier than GCSEs because you're doing fewer subjects'
This theory is probably the one that irritates me and many other A Level students alike the most - this is utter nonsense. Sure, you're doing fewer subjects and I understand at GCSEs when you're studying like 10 subjects, the prospect of doing 3-5 sounds a lot easier, but A Levels are about 50 times harder than GCSEs. You have to learn a hell of a lot of extra detail, like you know at GCSEs when learning specific detail was something you did if you really wanted the A*? Yeah, at A Levels the specific detail is bare minimum like it'll probably bring you to a C at most so already you're having to put in a lot more effort to get a C.
BS THEORY #2: 'You'll be able to do all your work and revision in your free periods so you'll have a lot more free time'
Again, this isn't true because you get so much extra work at A Levels and there's so much content to revise, you're going to need free periods as well as time outside of school to do all the work you need to do. Don't get me wrong, you'll still have free time but you definitely won't have as free a schedule as you did at GCSEs.
BS THEORY #3: 'You have to do A Levels if you want to get into University'
I can't stress this enough, but if you don't feel like exams are your sort of thing, you do not have to do A Levels, you can do a BTEC and still get into University. There are certain courses at certain Universities that will only take A Levels and that's granted but for loads of courses they accept people with BTEC results and I know people who weren't so into exams but did amazingly on their BTEC and got unconditional offers from good Universities so please don't listen to all that crap about how A Levels are the only route into University and can we please stop with the whole 'BTECs are for stupid people' malarkey. Yes, I did A Levels but I know from other people that BTECs are still a heck of a lot of work, that's why you can get onto a University course with, for example, entry requirements of BBB at A Levels but DDM at BTEC - so if you don't feel exams are for you, please do consider a BTEC and don't let people put you off them because of the stereotypes around them, you know what kind of education is best suited for you I'm sure.
BS THEORY #4: 'You should do a Science subject because it looks good on your UCAS'
Okay, this is true in general like you should never do a subject based on the fact that it looks good on your UCAS, but I know in Science this is a particularly big problem and it's something that actually happened to me.
As you may know, I did Biology for As and hated it within the first couple of weeks. I did actually really like Biology at GCSE and our teachers made us think that the course we were doing was basically A Level (which was complete and utter rubbish anyway, we were doing Cambridge CIE iGCSE, which is done in public schools and is a heck of a lot harder than a regular GCSE) so I assumed I'd be fine at A Level, but I absolutely hated it and found no enjoyment in the course anymore, but I didn't even question dropping it before A2 because I thought that having a Science subject there would make my UCAS look better but it really wasn't worth the trouble. Firstly, I genuinely despised going into school on some days because I knew I'd have Biology (Thursdays especially because, whilst I had a half day, I had 4 periods of Biology) and this made me really down on those days. Secondly, I wouldn't concentrate much in lesson or I'd get lost because I didn't care about what we were learning and I didn't find it at all interesting for the most part (although, gonna give it some credit, I quite liked all the biology on food and diet like that was pretty interesting.) Thirdly, I basically scraped a pass in it so I barely got any UCAS points from it anyway plus Universities only look at 3 subjects generally and they pretty much disregard As entirely.
This brings me onto another point, never do a subject if you have the intention of dropping it. During the first few weeks of A Levels, I knew I either wanted to drop Biology or History but after those few weeks I was dead set on dropping Biology and I'm pretty certain it's that mentality that contributed to me not working as hard in it. Essentially what I'm trying to say is, do subjects that you love. Also, if you're only doing certain A Levels to get onto a certain Uni course and you hate those subjects, you probably won't like the Uni course so you may need to reconsider what you want to do. Furthermore, to do well in a subject you should have some sort of interest in it otherwise revision is going to be a complete task (I don't really think revision should be the most enjoyable of tasks, but if you're bored to tears revising it like I was learning about bonds and Alpha helixes and all that jazz, you're doing the wrong course).
BS THEORY #5: 'Once you've made your choices for A Levels, you're stuck with them'
There's a degree of truth in this in the sense that if you're a few months into the course, then it's probably not worth changing because you won't be able to catch up on a new course in time for the exam (the year goes by dangerously fast, be prepared) but if you change in the first few weeks, there'll probably still be places on other courses that you can change to or you can drop a subject if you're not liking it. I feel like you do get a feel for the course you're doing in the first few weeks of it, I know I definitely did (especially with Biology, but lets not go through that again) so if you don't like a course in the first few weeks, don't hesitate to ask your Head of Year about changing. They may not let you drop it in the first few weeks because it's possible after a first assessment sort of dealio you get a good grade so they can persuade you to stay on the course, but you may be able to change to a different course that you'll enjoy more.
That's all I really have to say, I hope any of you receiving GCSE results are happy with what you get, and I hope it's enough to do what you want to do next whether that be A Levels, BTEC or an Apprenticeship (I think there are more options too but these are the main ones that I'm aware of).
What are your tips for those who've just finished their GCSEs?
one.
I went round to my friend Tejal's house for a sleepover with Khushboo and Girthiga (I mention their names only because you may know them from the holiday vlogs I did) and we had a lot of fun, we watched the classic Brat Pack films (y'know The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, my faves) and played Never Have I Ever - for someone who's done very little in their life, I'm not sure how I finished my drink first. I discovered quite how unsociable I am, Tejal put on the TV for background noise but there was a thing on ITV about Queen's top 50 songs and how could I not pay attention? So for about 2 hours I didn't look or talk to any of them really (I disagreed with the order of practically everything except Bohemian Rhapsody, that had to be first like come on). The next day, Joey came round as well and we went out for a walk in the park (with the world's sh*ttest fountain) which was nice too as the weather was pretty darn great.
two.
I went out to play golf with a bunch of friends (not proper serious golf, but not mini golf, sort of an in between if you feel me) and it was a lot of fun! Got to admit I'm not great, but I came 3rd in the second game we played so not too shabby eh? It was basically lad central though so there was a lot of talk of banter, so much so that one of the people who worked there stood behind us and said '#banter' into his microphone which was a lil strange.
three.
I recently watched White Teeth with my parents and I really recommend it! It's a bit like Small Island meets Anita and Me, I thought the sections of society they focused on were really interesting and I really want to read the book now (especially as I'm sure they cut out a lot, as the ending of the series was a bit rushed although it was still overall really good)
four.
My hair life has changed all because of co-washing, which is essentially cutting out shampoo. My hair has never been in better condition and its curls/waves/kinky-shiznitz stay in for much longer - result!
five.
Tom Fletcher's videos with Buzz always make my day and he did one with Buzz singing - many cry.
six.
As a bit of a pre-results-day-out, me and my friends decided to abuse the Oyster Card system in London by taking random buses (free travel until next month) and just exploring wherever we ended up. We started off by heading to Highgate Cemetery to have a look at Karl Marx's tomb, perhaps a little bit of an odd choice for most 18 year olds but hey, me and my friends aren't orthodox - I found it quite strange that you had to pay to get in, essentially capitalising on a communist's grave? Then we went around the Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square sort of vicinity. I wholeheartedly recommend doing the whole random-bus-journey-dealio if you live in London (maybe not if you're a tourist, you may end up a bit lost and it may get a bit pricey), it's a lot of fun!
seven.
I actually got into my first choice of university (I did meet the requirements I'm just a little bit baffled, in all honesty I was expecting to fail) which means I'm moving to Brighton next month if all goes to plan - feel I should clarify, I'm not being a stereotypical YouTuber in moving there, that totally wasn't the reason I chose it (maybe just an influential factor . . . I joke I joke, but I'm looking forward to it!)
eight.
FKA Twigs brought out some new music on M3LL155X and I'm loving it, FKA Twigs has such a unique style of music and her new songs are just as good as her other ones - you'll probably like her if you're into ambient, alternative sort of music (she's just pretty rad okay)
nine.
I'm loving the return of Great British Bake Off, it's definitely been a television highlight!
ten.
I'm having a major Spice Girls moment, like don't get me wrong I've loved them for a long time (despite the fact they are a bit before my time given they started the year I was born) but I've been staying up every night binge watching Spice Girls documentaries, interviews and I even braved Spice World even though I had heard how bad it was (I know I know, how had I not seen it? And it was actually a lot better than I thought it would be!). I actually did a Buzzfeed Quiz to find out what Spice Girl I'd be and I got Ginger Spice, not sure whether I agree with that, but do the quiz and comment down below your result!
This is probably one of the first posts I've ever done on UK politics, I've spoken about topics of social justice before and I've mentioned my hatred for the government and how sad I was with the General Election results but this is the first whole post I am dedicating entirely to UK politics, and this post goes out to the lefties - so if you're a Tory, you might want to bugger off right about now, although if you're a Tory I don't see why you're following my blog in the first place . . .
As you will probably know, the Labour Leadership election is coming and votes need to be in by September 10th. Anyone can join the Labour Party in order to be eligible for this election, and if you're a true leftie, you really should consider it because Jeremy Corbyn could be Labour's last chance to win an election ever again. People are tired of Tory lite/austerity lite, hence why the Tories have essentially won the past two elections. If the results in Scotland from the last election show us anything, it's that people want an alternative to austerity and that's exactly what Jeremy Corbyn is offering as Labour leader.
So what is Jez offering*?
1. On the economy, he wants an end to austerity, higher taxes for the rich, and protection for people on welfare. An end to austerity means protection to the public services that ordinary people, at some point or another, will depend on. The existence of austerity perpetuates this war on the poor that maintains and strengthens the patriarchy, so considering Jez is the only realistic alternative to austerity we have in this political system, that alone was enough to convince me he was the way forward.
2. On foreign policy, Jez wants to secure peace in the middle east by talking instead of invading - an approach that should regain those who became disillusioned with Labour under Blair. He's also spoken out many times on the oppression of Palestinian people and Israel's violation of international war.
3. On the EU, Jez wants to stay in but have a reform as the EU is precious especially regarding trade amongst other benefits like protection of workers, more jobs being generated, freedom for citizens to work, travel or study in any other European country, low prices of goods, a louder voice for the UK, and it aids in the development of economically deprived countries. He also outrightly disagrees with TTIP, which if it went ahead could result in the privatisation of the NHS, lower the standards of regulations on food and environmental safety (which could be pretty dodgy to say the least), give a hell of a lot more power to bankers, as well as resulting in a lot of unemployment, and it would introduce Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) which essentially means unelected transnational corporations could dictate the policies of democratically elected governments - so if I were you, I would definitely want someone opposing TTIP to be representing the Labour Party.
4. On education, he wants a national education service, and state-funded academies and free schools would be returned to local authority control as these systems divide the unions. He also wants to scrap tuition fees and he plans to do this by increasing national insurance for those who earn over £50,000 and a higher corporation tax - I don't know about you, but free or at least cheaper university sounds pretty good to me (especially since the Tories are getting rid of maintenance grants)
5. On housing, Jez wants rent controls in places such as Central London to help families on benefits pay their rent because obviously it's a lot more expensive there.
6. On defence, unlike the government, less money would be spent and Trident would be scrapped, which is a controversial issue in itself but I personally think this is a good move as it's an unnecessary, expensive deterrent - building and operating a new generation of nuclear weapons will cost the UK £97 billion, and the weapons are far too powerful for their own good. In fact, every submarine in Britain's Trident fleet carries up to 48 nuclear warheads, each of which is eight times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima**.
7. On travel, Jez wants to renationalise the railways which has a multitude of benefits. It would mean rail fares would go down, standards for rail workers would improve, customer service would improve, trains would be more likely to be on time, and the trains would be more clean and comfortable. Furthermore, railways are a natural monopoly which is bad because this means they can set any price that they choose and if it's not nationalised then its main priority is going to be profit, so this means higher prices than necessary. Secondly, a monopoly means that the business has no obligation to provide good service so they can provide inferior service and charge a high price for it because there aren't really any major competitors. There are more reasons than this why monopolies are bad, but these reasons alone are enough to show that it's vital for this natural monopoly to be nationalised. Plus, the benefit of having a state-owned railway means that any surplus, any profit, can be reinvested back into other public services, so even if you don't use the railways that often, it's still beneficial to you to have nationalised rails because other public services can be funded from any profit.
8. On energy, again Jez says he wants to renationalise energy. The reasons for this are basically the same reasons aforementioned on why monopoly is pretty bad, but essentially it's good to have nationalised commodities because any profit can be reinvested into other public services which at the end of the day benefits everyone.
If you want to sign up to the Labour Party in order to be eligible to vote in the Leadership election, you have to sign up by the 12th August at 12pm - so basically, y'all gotta hurry the heck up if you want to vote in this because time is running out. You can sign up as a member, like me and my brother did, and for us, it only cost £1 a year because we fit into the aged 14-19 bracket, or, like my parents, you can sign up as a supporter which costs as little as a £3 one off payment. There are other options for membership but you'd have to have a click around and see which one you feel would suit you most (this doesn't take long at all!) If you're a true leftie and want to see a socialist gain power of a major party, in my opinion this is the best thing you could do so sign up as quickly as you can - #JezWeCan.
Are you a member of the Labour Party?
*The basic information for Corbyn's policies was found on the BBC website ** Source
Another month has rolled past and I've fallen in love with a whole new bunch of favourites. In this month's favourites video, I discuss 'the Kylie Jenner lip trend' and how I don't like the phrase anymore, strobing and how I don't like how strobing has become a 'thing', and how I'm grumpy and generally dislike most things . . . Enjoy!
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation (review here) | I've probably raved on about this enough on both here in the review and on my YouTube channel but this foundation is the closest match to my skin I've ever found in a foundation, it's a medium coverage so even if I am a bit paler or darker on a certain day (my skin colour fluctuates tremendously) it still blends in and looks really natural. It also gives a semi-dewy finish which I really like especially around this time of year, in terms of longevity it really stays put if you powder (which I always do anyway to be safe). I also think the shade range of this foundation is pretty fab at least in terms of darker skinned people, like my friend has very dark skin and even she found a match with this foundation which is something that doesn't happen much with cheaper foundations . . . Revlon Colourstay Concealer | Again, a base product with a pretty decent shade range. This concealer matches my skin very well, has a medium-high coverage, is creamy, and it's pretty easy to blend, so it ticks a bunch of boxes. I like to use a lighter concealer mixed with this one for under the eyes, but this is generally a safe one all around the face and one I think would work on all skin types. eBay Brush Set | I mentioned this in this haul and I've basically been using it every single day. It has pretty much every brush you might ever need and it was really cheap, plus when you whip this out in front of your friends that's a conversation starter right there. In all seriousness, when I was on holiday with my friends and when I've stayed round at friends' houses since, this brush roll never fails to spark a conversation. Maybelline ColourSensational Lipstick in Velvet Beige | As you may have picked up on, I am a big nudes girl when it comes to lipstick. It's funny because I never used to be, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time to wear lipstick unless it was like a red or a pink, but I'm a changed woman, and this is now my favourite nude lipstick. It's the perfect mix of pink and brown, it's very a much a MLCBB shade, it's comfortable to wear on the lips and I've been reaching for it practically every day. Primark Egg Makeup Sponge | When YouTubers and bloggers alike started mentioning makeup sponges that were over £10, I immediately thought it was a ridiculous concept. I didn't understand why someone would spend nearly £20 on a sponge on all things, but after seeing them being used so much, I really wanted to try one and when I saw one in Primark for £1.50, I knew that was my opportunity. Now I can say, this has revolutionised my life . . . or at least my makeup base life. It blends in concealer and foundation like a dream, a well blended dream. It really gives you a flawless but natural looking skin like finish. I've never used it dry because anyone who's ever used one will emphasize how it must be used damp, it takes a bit longer to dampen a sponge and the whole process takes a little bit longer but it's really worth it for that flawless finish. Primark Eyelash Curlers | Up until the beginning of this month, I was terrified of eyelash curlers - genuinely terrified. I still look at them and think they look like glamorised torture machines, but they seem to make such a difference when I'm watching makeup tutorials or even watching my friends use them, so I decided I wanted to try out a pair and I remembered someone saying the Primark ones were pretty good for the price, at £1 I could hardly say no, and I'm so glad I picked these up. Firstly, they're pink and white so even if you're not into the whole curling-your-lashes-with-a-torture-machine vibe, it'll look pretty bomb with the rest of your makeup. Jokes aside, these curl my lashes so well, and the handle-lever-mabobby is quite firm so you're not going to slam down on your eyelids and injure them (as my friend did and she decided to tell me this story seconds before I curled my lashes for the first time, thanks for that one Ma'Suma . . .) - basically, these are chip as chips (quite literally), they look super cute, and they do a pretty decent job. Primark Facial Brush | As you can probably tell, I'm having a bit of a moment with Primark's makeup utensils. I picked these all these bits up at the Aisle of Doom in the Primark in Westfield, and I knew that Primark did both a makeup sponge and the eyelash curlers but I had no idea they did a facial brush, something I had been quite interested in since seeing the electronic Clarisonic ones. This one is manual (which I'm not too bothered about at all), pink and white again (important to maintain the #aesthetic in all areas of beauty utensils) and only cost £1. It's made such a difference to my skin, my skin is noticeably softer, smoother and I feel like my skin tone is more even. I only use the more abrasive brush side if I'm exfoliating my skin post-shower-lemon-sugar-scrub-time or if I'm putting on makeup (which is only a couple of times a week at the moment because in the summer people cut me off hence I leave the house less, I joke I joke, but seriously I haven't left the house in days), then I use the rubbery side everyday because it doesn't massively exfoliate, and this has just really improved my skin and it only cost £1 (and I've been using it in conjunction with the next product I'm going to mention . . .)
Simple Facial Wash | I got this because my morning facial routine has been a little bit poor, like I used to use a facial soap and a moisturiser which is fine but now I've amped it up with this facial wash, the facial brush mentioned above, and a moisturiser. This facial wash, even without the facial brush, leaves my skin feeling so soft and smooth. It's not at all abrasive and I can imagine this would work on the most sensitive of skins, plus it only cost about £1.50 so it's not going to break the bank either. Rimmel Lipliner in Tiramisu | I think I first heard about this from velvetgh0st using it in a YouTube video and I really liked the look of it then but for some reason I didn't pick it up for ages, this is your standard brown/nude lip pencil. I really like Rimmel lip liners, I think they're creamy but not so creamy that you waste a ridiculous amount of the pencil in a short period of time, plus they're pretty cheap. I've been using this a lot with the Maybelline Lipstick I mentioned earlier but I just think this goes well with any nude sort of lipstick, and I've been wearing it every day I wear makeup. Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights | As I mentioned when I bought it, one of the reasons I bought this product was because The Smiths covered a song called Golden Lights and it's on their Louder Than Bombs album so I was interested just for that subtle reference (despite the fact, the song is not all that good . . .) but I love this highlighter so so much. I do have another Makeup Revolution Baked Highlighter in Pink Lights but as the name would suggest, it's very pink and icy and it just didn't look great on my skin tone or at least nowhere near as great as this one does. This one is more of a yellow toned highlighter and it is quite pigmented but if you're using the right brush (I've been using a fan brush as of late) you get the perfect amount of glow (and not in an icky sweaty way), plus this only cost about £3 which is a bargain. Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara | I feel like 2015 so far has definitely been all about the tinted brow gels but I am a bit late to jumping on the bandwagon, I wasn't sure whether a tinted brow gel would be for me because my brows are far from sparse and they're not at all light, but this is really good for a more natural brow look. I like to run this through my brows and then add a bit of shape with eyeshadow, then use a spoolie to blend it all together. This gel does not budge until you use a makeup remover to get rid of it, and the tint isn't super strong so it's actually quite hard to go overboard on it. The brush is a bit weird because it has big ball at the top of it which did make me mess up the first time I used it, but once you've adjusted to the shape of the wand it's really not an issue, and this has really sped up my morning brow routine. MUA Pro-Base Prime & Conceal in Peach | I don't know if you remember but in my older YouTube videos (now unlisted) I used to use orange lipstick to correct my dark circles, this method works, but for only £2 you can get a proper corrector from MUA to do the same thing and it works much better. This is creamy and really does the job well, it's made it so much easier to correct my awful dark circles.
one.
Diary of a Spendaholic/Miss Budget Beauty uploaded a video about her thoughts on PR samples and I wholeheartedly agree with her, I don't think there's anything wrong with where a product has come from as long you trust the blogger and also with sponsored posts, I don't think there's anything wrong with it as long as the blog doesn't become majority sponsored posts - just thought the video was worth a watch!!
two.
Think it's pretty safe to say that I've become nocturnal, seriously I'm falling asleep when the sun is up and the birds are chirping, and then not waking up until the afternoon - it might sound fun, but there's something about waking up in the afternoon that makes you feel like you're completely and utterly failing at life.
three.
I found this old video by The Amazing Atheist on YouTube on social anxiety and I think it's well worth a watch for someone who doesn't exactly understand what social anxiety entails, or if you're like me it's good to watch because it sort of tells you the feelings you're having aren't exactly true but not in an insulting way because it's coming from someone who's having that kind of experience.
four. Jess from Rather Strange Blog did a video where she essentially recreated the videos she used to film of herself when she was about 9 and she danced to a bunch of the songs that she liked, I really loved the video, I liked how carefree in it which nowadays in YouTubing isn't something you really see too often - I really like Jess's YouTube channel and blog so do give them both a subscribe and a follow!!
five.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm a bit of an enabler, I didn't realise it before because usually if I go shopping with my friends they ask me what the bloggers general feel is on a certain product and I don't think anything more of it, but I went out with my friend Tanya just to buy a few bits and we went into Boots, Superdrug and Wilkinsons and I just realised how much of an enabler I am. She didn't really intend to buy makeup and she spent a fair bit more than she intended to based on my recommendations, whoops . .
six.
It was my brother's 15th birthday (cray, like I still remember the day he was born, well I think I do . . maybe I'm just remembering the bits we have on the home videos of that day) and we had a quiet day in, and we watched the Shaun the Sheep Movie. You'll hear about this in my next 'What I've been watching' post but my family is big on Shaun the Sheep like obsessed, but we didn't get a chance to watch it in the cinema but he got the DVD for his birthday and we watched it and it was so so good. Even my Dad who's not big on animated films quite liked it. We also ordered Pizza Hut and watched a few episodes of Peep show in the evening (slight change from Shaun the Sheep) but if you remember a few months ago, I was majorly obsessed with Peep show so it was nice to revisit that!
seven.
I've become obsessed with the app Fallout Shelter, it's a game set in a post-apocalyptic world and you pick up dwellers from the outside and get them to work in the waterworks, electrics or on food and you basically have to get these people to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. It sounds really bad, but it's so addictive - seriously, download it, because it's free and you'll be addicted in seconds . . because addiction is fun.
eight.
I joined the Labour Party! It's actually a pretty big deal for me because I've been quite interested in politics for quite a long time and the last election was the first one I could vote in and I was really upset by the Tory win (I actually captured by sadness via vlog if you want to relive the crushing defeat), but ever since Jeremy Corbyn has come onto the scene I've really become a lot more optimistic about the future of the Labour Party and I know a lot of people have been joining just to vote for him in the Leadership election. The way I see it, it's vital for Labour to move to the left if they're ever to win another election - this whole 'red Tory' persona adopted under Blair isn't ever going to work for them because they can't beat the Tories at being right wing so Corbyn is what the Labour Party need if they're ever to win again, and I personally don't think I could stand another Tory government in 2020 and I wanted to do all I can to prevent that happening. There's still time to sign up if you want to vote in the Leadership election so I urge you to join if you don't want another Tory government, it's only cost me £1 a year so I can't see a reason not to join . . . unless you're a Tory, but in such case you've got much bigger issues (but let's not get into that . . .)
nine.
I ate a pizza paid for by Noel Clarke . . . I couldn't quite explain, but long story short I was visiting a family member in hospital and I was suddenly alerted to the fact that Noel Clarke visits a lot and he had paid for a pizza party there. Sadly, I didn't get to meet him which is a shame as Mickey Smith is probably my favourite character from Doctor Who but alas we didn't get to meet him.
ten. Hannah did a blog post on festival fashion and cultural appropriation which I feel is a subject a lot of people need to read up on. I feel like I'm fairly in the loop when it comes to cultural appropriation but I know a lot of people who aren't, so please give it a read if you're a bit unsure on what cultural appropriation is so you can avoid it.
