♫ One of my favourite songs right now: Jenny Lewis – Just One Of The Guys

The summer of B’s – Berlin & Budapest:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve visited two amazing European capital cities – Berlin and Budapest. Eastern Europe has become an area in which I’ve recently become very interested in and these two cities certainly gave me a glimpse into the history, politics and culture of the region.

BERLIN…

Berlin is very different from many other European capitals. There is no real centre because of its fragmentation in the post-war period and there is an absence of grandeur in the architecture that is so often present in many western European cities. There are lots of tower blocks, industrial buildings and of course a new wave of modern structures that dominate the city’s landscape. However, despite its somewhat “ugly” facade, Berlin is a city full of exciting surprises and huge potential. In many ways it reminded me of Glasgow (where I go to university) – both are stuck with the “ugly” label but they are some of the most culturally vibrant places in Europe.

Brandenburg Gate

My friend and I stayed in the Alexanderplatz area of Berlin which lives up to the label and is mainly composed of grey concrete block style buildings. Nevertheless, Alexanderplatz proved a relatively cheap and easy location from which to explore the rest of the city.

Having never visited Berlin before I was eager to tick off a lot of the main tourist attractions; the TV tower, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. As we were working in Berlin for two of the six days we were there, there was a lot to pack into a a very short time. However, a boat cruise down the River Spree allowed us to see most places in one journey.

As a history student I could not leave Berlin without visiting a museum. Berlin is a city that has managed to present its very troubled recent history in a very poignant and effective way. Unfortunately, because we had very little time we were only able to visit one of the museums.

We visited Topography des Terrors which is a museum that serves as a documentation centre for the central institutions  of Nazi persecution and terror. The site itself serves as the perfect place to uncover the dark secrets of the people who wielded this terror, as it was once the headquarters of the Nazi secret police – the SS.

Topography des Terrors – museum

The two main exhibits that make up the museum are well set out and free to access. One exhibit runs as a timeline along the wall outside the museum and explores the historical context behind the terror that was taking place. Inside are lots of photographs and documents relating to the lives of individuals who suffered at the hands of the SS and a closer looks at the seemingly normal lives many of the SS officers led.

One of the best parts about visiting Berlin is having a friend who lives there to show you around. I am lucky enough to have kept in touch with my German pen-friend – who I’ve been writing letters to since I was eight. She recently moved to Berlin to try and successfully audition her way into drama school and has been living and working in Berlin for almost a year. The area where she lives is a trendy, culturally diverse area of Berlin called Kreuzberg. Kreuzberg is rich in restaurants specialising in indian and turkish cuisine and has a number of very cool pubs and clubs.

Pub in Kreuzberg

My friend took us to one pub called ‘The Jungle Book’ – a really amazing little bar with trees growing inside it! We also watched the Germany vs Ghana game in another pub in Kreuzberg where the barman was so laid back and the furnishings so minimal that it felt like you were entering into someone’s living room. The food, drink,atmosphere of the area and the people made me fall a little bit love with Kreuzberg and left me wishing I lived there myself.

Berlin Wall

There is something really special about Berlin in that it has not grown too big for its boots. It still feels like a city a little unsure of itself (most likely because of its recent history) but it is also a city that is moving forward and excited about what the future holds for it. There is far less arrogance in what the city has to offer amongst the people living there in comparison to other European capitals. For that reason Berlin seems like a really interesting place to live because there are pockets of the city that are redeveloping and emerging at a very rapid and successful rate.

 BUDAPEST…

Budapest was a very different  trip for all sorts of reasons. The main one being that it was a group holiday. I stayed in two hostels in the city with three of my friends from school.

Budapest was our destination of choice for simple reasons; cheap flights, good weather and the promise of being the best European city to visit on a budget (according to the Daily Mail). Perfect for four students.

Before visiting I shamefully did very little research. One of my Hungarian friends at university had told me about some of the main attractions but aside from that I was pretty clueless on what the city had to offer. Thankfully, Budapest did not disappoint us.

The city is often referred to in travel guides and blogs as the “The Paris of the East” and the beautiful architecture certainly makes this a fitting description. Budapest lies on the River Danube and standing by the river or on one of the bridges gives the best perspective of where to go sightseeing. From the Pest side of the river (where we were staying) you can see a series of colossal landmarks that are scattered across the Buda side. These include the Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda Castle and Gellert Statue (see below for images).

Fisherman’s Bastion

Buda Castle

At Buda Castle

At Gellert Statue 

All we needed to do was spot the landmarks and then figure out how to get to them. The monuments and statues on the Buda side are surprisingly close together once you’ve survived the trek uphill to reach them. However, there are funiculars (cable cars) that take you up to the top in the space of a few minutes if you’re feeling a little breathless from all the walking and the heat! The Buda monuments could easily all be seen within the space of one day but given we had ten days in Budapest we decided to take a couple of days visiting them. This meant that we saw spectacular views both during the day and at sunset and fully appreciated the beauty and grandeur of the place.

During our stay in Budapest we split our time between two different hostels. The hostels are very cheap to stay in when compared with other European cities. Our second hostel only costing us £6 a night! The good thing about staying in two different hostels was that we saw two different sides of the city. Our first hostel was on one of the main streets but in quite a upmarket part of the city. Although, it was a little further from the main attractions it was conveniently close to the ruin bars and clubs – where Budapest’s vibrant nightlife is concentrated.

The ruin bars and clubs are now world-famous but they are a native creation of Budapest. After World War II many of Budapest’s buildings had been abandoned and quickly became rubble-filled shells of what they once were. Later on, as one tour-guide told us, people decided to turn them into galleries, late night cafes, bars and clubs. The ruin bars have developed from something created by locals for locals to become places ranked as some of the top nightlife spots in the world. My friends and I had great nights out there and met lots of people from all different countries. The main bars/clubs in the area are Szimpla (where we usually ended up each night), Instant and Grandio Bar. The nice thing about these places are that somehow the mismatched furniture, graffiti, art, plaster free walls and all variations of music make for a really relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Our evenings in Budapest were full of nightlife entertainment but our days were jam-packed with historical and cultural discoveries. One day we spent three hours in the Hungarian National Museum. A fascinating albeit tiring day of finally making up for my complete ignorance to historically significant events concerning Hungary, such as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the persecution suffered by Hungarian Jews in World War II. One of my friends and I also visited the Hungarian national graveyard which was in a particularly depressing and eerie part of the city. There were, what looked like, very recent memorials to those who lost their lives in 1956. However, we quickly left the graveyard after feeling we were being closely watched by a guard – probably wondering what two British girls could find remotely interesting about Hungarian graves.

A free Jewish History walking tour which we joined on one of our last days was particularly interesting. Our guide took us to the former Jewish quarter in Budapest and explained the dark and troubled history of the area. We visited two synagogues – one being the second largest in the world, after New York. However, the most poignant part of the tour was standing in a former Jewish ghetto which had now been turned into cheap apartments. Most of the people living there now, we were told, completely unaware of the torture that was once inflicted in the grounds where they are living. Across Budapest there are quite a few Holocaust memorials but the most touching one had to be the shoes on the Danube. In front of the magnificent parliament building lies a memorial to the Jewish citizens who stood naked on the banks of the ice-covered Danube in World War II and were shot by fascist militia.

Jewish WWII memorial – on the Danube

One of my favourite days during our time in Budapest was when we rented bikes. The bikes were relatively cheap to rent for the day and we planned to cycle to a market on the outskirts of the city. Perhaps, with a little more research and thought we would have realised that “vintage markets” in Budapest are not quite the same as British ones. When we finally reached the market it was in a rundown area and the items on sale looked more like car boot sale junk than what we were expecting. A few locals seemed curious as to why we had arrived but the main disappointment was that the market had just closed as we’d been locking up our bikes. Despite this, the bikes gave us the freedom to explore more of the city than we thought possible during a day. We visited Margaret Island – a place on the river full of parks and fountains before racing back to bike rental place to get our deposits back. Somehow, in our rush to get back we all lost each other and one of my friends spent about twenty minutes lost in the centre of Budapest trying to find the rest of us.

Finally, one of the highlights of our trip was the famous Szechenyi Bath Party. Although, we had all been unsure of whether it was worth the money and a bit of an overrated experience from what we’d heard but we decided to give it a try. Budapest is a city famous for its thermal baths and spas – which are a popular visit for tourists and locals during the day. However, one or two nights every month in summer the baths host “sparties” (essentially a nightclub in the baths) which have become a favourite with young  inter-railers. The bath party is unlike anything I’ve ever been to and for that reason it was worth it.

One thing we did struggle getting used to in Budapest was the money. Everything is pretty cheap but the Hungarian currency makes it seem like everything is very expensive – £1 = 398 Hungarian Forint. Therefore, having to pay for a bag of crisps with a 1000 note felt very strange. The language is also too difficult to try and understand or at the very least pronounce. I was told it’s the second hardest language to learn in Europe, after Finnish.

Budapest is a fantastic city to visit with a group of friends and I think we made the most of our time there. The city is somewhere that is becoming increasingly popular with tourists. At the moment it is peacefully free from constant huge crowds and flashing cameras that surround the main attractions in other European cities. However, I doubt that it can remain this way for much longer.

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Blackpool beach & promenade

Blackpool beach 11/06/14

Why Big Brother is still my guilty pleasure:

In 2010 when Channel 4 announced it was axing the reality show Big Brother from its schedule, my heart sank a little. I’d been watching Big Brother for as long as I could remember and despite how much it was slated by people, I couldn’t help but watch it.

So when Big Brother announced it was returning to Channel 5 I was unashamedly excited. The 15th series has just begun and it’s just as addictive and entertaining as ever.

I’m naturally a nosy person and for me Big Brother is an interesting insight into a world of personality clashes and non-stop drama. Human behaviour is put under the microscope in the Big Brother house and with a fun mix of people stuck in the same place for so long – arguments are guaranteed.

Big Brother has repeatedly been at the centre of media attention because of the controversies it has caused series after series. Some of the events that have taken place in the Big Brother house have been some of the biggest and most memorable of the past TV decade. Big Brother touches a nerve with some people when it exposes racism, bullying, sexism and homophobia so publicly. Therefore, people are willing to criticise and dismiss it as “trash TV” because it makes them feel uncomfortable. All those issues are problems in society, not just in Big Brother and they can’t simply be ignored. Big Brother should be credited for making people discuss these problems – even if it is in the most trivial context of gossip and entertainment.

Nothing is really off-limits in Big Brother and that is what makes it such good viewing. Already, in the few episodes of the new series that have aired there have been house divides over ‘laddism’ and the controversial power wielded by some housemates over others. However, there are two main things at stake in Big Brother – reputation and money. What makes the show so interesting is the extent people will go to, to protect themselves and not others and how far they will “game-play” to be the winner.

Big Brother is a social experiment at the same time as being a reality TV show but I’m not going to sing its praises for being such. Ultimately, I watch it for the same reasons most people probably watch reality TV – to get a glimpse into other people’s lives.

Coldplay at Radio 1’s Big Weekend – Glasgow

Lily Allen at Radio 1’s Big Weekend Glasgow

Lorde at Radio 1’s Big Weekend – Glasgow

Review: BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend Glasgow 2014

If you’re in the 15-25 age category and pay attention to social media and popular music – it was almost impossible to miss any mention of Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Glasgow, over the past few days.

As students living in Glasgow, my flatmate and I were lucky enough to wake up early one morning and bag ourselves some tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows. Our final term at university has been building up to what looked set to be an exciting post-exams celebration – we were not let down. Thankfully, the whole event turned out to be a great two days of live music, dancing, drinking and relaxing – albeit under a slightly overcast sky.

Friday night began with sets from BBC Radio 1 DJs and finished with music from Martin Garrix and Tiesto. George Square, in the city centre, proved the perfect space to host the night – creating a good street party buzz as we entered. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of this type of music so I was not expecting anything too special. However,  I was pleasantly surprised at how much the crowd’s energy rubbed off on me. They say there is no crowd quite like a Glasgow crowd – and Friday night definitely proved that! Towards the end of the night the Glasgow Chambers of Commerce building became the centre of an impressive light show and firework display to celebrate the kicking off of Big Weekend 2014.

However, after recovering from Friday night’s antics we then had all of Saturday ahead of us. Saturday was the day of big performers. Having arrived at midday I ended up having to buy a lanyard with the program attached so that we could work out who to see when and we didn’t miss anyone! The day started with One Direction and while they were the only band I heard booed all day I think a lot of people were secretly pleased that they were there. There was the main stage which had the big acts and a smaller tent for other performers called ‘In New Music We Trust.’  My flatmate and I split our time between both places and managed to see The Kooks and Lorde on the smaller stage and all the performers on the main stage, including; Bastille, Pharrell, Lily Allen, Ed Sheeran and finally the headline act – Coldplay.

As a big music fan I’m usually happy to listen to any style of music/performer. However, to many of my friend’s dismay I am not really a Coldplay fan and was pretty disappointed to see they were headlining. They were actually good live and I’m pretty content when I can listen to any live music I know the words to – so it was all good! Coldplay were also probably the best band of the day to end the night because of the songs they played like ‘Yellow’, ‘Fix You’ etc and, of course, their popularity helped. My favourite surprise performers of the day were Pharrell and Calvin Harris. With both artists I am familiar with their most famous songs but thought I would be left not knowing a lot of what they played – I was wrong. Pharrell did a brilliant and entertaining set of his best songs – including (much to my amusement!) – his version of Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl.’

Calvin Harris was another experience altogether. I’d been warned by one of my Scottish friends that a Calvin Harris crowd is crazy…she was right! The excitement building up to him coming on stage was clear from the increasing number of people pushing to the front barriers to see him. It really didn’t matter where you were in the crowd because the dancing and energy spread like a Mexican wave. Luckily for us it rained during his set so we weren’t completely overcome by dehydration from dancing non-stop.  He played all his classic songs and just when we thought we couldn’t jump up and down anymore – he’d play another favourite and the crowd were loving it!

In terms of the music I most liked my favourites of the day were Lily Allen and Jake Bugg. I’ve been a Lily Allen fan since I was about 12 and having seen her in concert before meant I was eagerly anticipating her comeback performance. She chose to play some old hits such as ‘Smile’ and ‘Not Fair’ but I was really impressed with the tracks from her new album ‘Sheezus’ – which, out of pure excitement, I proceeded to sing along to in a unintentional cockney accent. Jake Bugg could not really compete with the others for crowd entertainment value. However, having not really listened to him much before I really liked his songs and hearing his unique voice sing them live. I heard a girl next to me refer to him and his music as “boring” but I think it was more the fact that his music and style of performing would have suited the smaller stage and a more intimate crowd.

Big Weekend was over with in a flash but that is just testament to the fact that I enjoyed it so much. There were lots of other friends I knew who were attending and the collective excitement of everyone was what made the day. In order to try and get up close and see as many of the acts as possible I don’t think we really got a chance to properly eat and drink – let alone sit back and relax! When I think about everyone I saw over the Friday and Saturday I know how much it could have cost me going to a festival or paying for all the individual concerts and therefore Big Weekend is a real student budget life-saver!  The opportunity is unlikely to come around for me again but I was lucky enough that it all happened here in the first place. Overall, a great weekend and the perfect end to my second year at university. The only downside was that I missed out on Sunday tickets and didn’t get to see Paolo Nutini – but I’m not complaining…honest!

Community Journalism – What is it?

Community journalism is developing fast in an environment of  disappearing local newspapers and other media but what exactly is it?

Community journalism or hyper-local journalism is quickly becoming a popular and easily accessible source of news for people in different communities around the world. Instead of the traditional set-up of having trained journalists employed on local papers, the people in communities are becoming much more active in producing and distributing the news they want to hear in their area. This is mostly happening through blogs online and is thriving  in many small rural areas where close-knit communities lie. Where local newspapers are struggling to find the advertising that can support the production of printed news, some community journalism sites are being approached by local advertisers and are expanding rapidly.

Having worked on a local radio station for two weeks in summer I can see where local media is faltering. A large percentage of listeners are in the 60+ age bracket and attracting new and younger listeners is a difficult task. By only producing local radio/news for one section of the population there is no question that it is a struggle for such news outlets to survive. However, this is not to say that the rest of the population are not interested in local news. According to studies at Cardiff University, national surveys consistently show that the news most people want to hear about is local and therefore, the demand is there. The problem lies in how local news is presented and accessed by people of all ages in different regions – which determines its popularity. This, is perhaps where community journalism comes in. Community blogs are allowing community interaction and debate to take place on a small-scale but in a very different and interesting way to how many people have traditionally received local news.

The disappearing of local news outlets does not mean that people want local community news to disappear. Community journalism has the opportunity to voice the concerns and issues of those underrepresented and unaccounted for in national and global news. Therefore, the increase in community journalism simply demonstrates people’s desire for local news to be redefined and reshaped. Community journalism is allowing people to converge around local campaigns, interests and events which is not as easily provided for by traditional news platforms. The main reason for local news outlets existing is because they enable local democracy to take place and the right to local democracy is something that people do not want to die out.