Just a reminder. .
29 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
Just a reminder, now we’re all fancy post I post to jemcollins.wordpress.com
Hope to see you there!
MOVING . . . . AGAIN
14 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
In an effort to be slightly more professional now I’ve decided I’d like a career in this I’ve upped sticks and moved. . Again.
Come find me at www.jemcollins.wordpress.com
The four letter words that’s behind the class divide. . .
19 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Serious Shenanigans Tags: postaweek2011; postaweek; chavs; chav; owen; jones; class
So I may be a little behind the mark here but it wasn’t until yesterday that I sat down and realised; someone has actually written a book titled “Chavs – The Demonization of the Working Class”. By someone I mean Owen Jones, an ex-trade union parliamentary researcher, who’s never had a book published in his life or to be brutally honest really done anything of note. Maybe it’s the controversial nature of the word or the simple fact it merely mentions the word chav in the title of a serious book, either way Jone’s 304 page theory on how the use of the word chav is an integral reason behind our supposedly “broken Britain” has catapulted him into the centre of the public eye.
To me 304 pages seems an awful lot to write about one four letter word and I’d expect him, having evidently 
spent so much time on the project, to at least know what he’s yabbering on about, but from my sketchy understanding of the book, a few of his ideas seem to be fundamentally flawed. Firstly Jone’s main argument appears to be something based upon the idea of a class ridden, “broken” Britain. Jone’s draws garish contrasts, suggesting at one point that to say class does not matter in Britain is to say that sex does not matter in Saudi Arabia. Indeed what Jones’ appears to be alluding to is a Britain where class presents and obstacle to achieving your potential in life and entices discrimination and prejudice. I wear no rose-tinted glasses, I am aware that this kind of behaviour, though despicable occurs in Britain, however Jones’ misconception lies in the notion this is a uniquely British conundrum. Every nation throughout the planet comes equipped with its own hierarchy and social structures, and thus the problematic issue of class inequality. Class is a problem inherent in the idea of a hierarchical society itself, it can not be merely pinpointed to one nation, or indeed attributed to the use of one tiny four letter word.
Forgetting this momentarily, we see Owen Jones’ does seem to have a good grasp of the concept of “chav” culture. A person who acts disrespectfully to others, plays music unsociably loud on buses and is by common consensus a general pain in the rear. However, returning to the title of the book, Jones’ appears to be suggesting that the term chav is one interchangeable with that of the “working classes”. The meaning of words if anything, is most certainly not static, and whilst some may remember chav associated with the acronym “Council House and Violence”, it’s very improbable that this applies today. If we consider other words which have fallen at the wayside of our vocabulary, some of us may remember the idea of the “townies”, similarly promoting a generally distasteful lifestyle. So why did this word drop out of use? In contrast to chav the very word “townies” pinpointed such behaviour on a specific group of people, and perhaps for this reason, this stereotypical slur dropped out of use. Similarly today the term “chav” has evolved to be representative of a distasteful lifestyle, regardless of class or any other descriptive factor.
Thus, whilst presenting an informed and researched critique on the British class problem, Owen seems to forget several key facts. This is not merely a British problem and the word “chav” bears little or no relevance to the discrimination of the working classes.
Have you read the book? Do you use the word chav? Tell us your thoughts below. . .
Freedom is a curse. . .
21 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Life & Jazz, Moanings & Mishaps Tags: postaweek2011; postaweek; summer; exams; uni; univeristy; freedom
So it’s the long anticipated summer holidays, a glorious period without fear of any more exams, revising or in fact any academic related matter for a good three months. An exciting prospect perhaps, and one I’ve been praying to reach for a good two months, but quite frankly I’m at a complete loss of what to do. I sit down at my laptop and begin to type, before instantly feeling guilt-ridden that my head is not buried deep within a book or that I’m not surrounded in a sea of paper deep enough to swim in. I get home after work and sit on the sofa, I’m about to check what’s on the television, when an invisible force stops me and warning lights start to flash in my brain. It appears I’m programmed to revise.
I’ve been working on revoking these basic instincts however, in the glorious hope
of what my fellow companions describe as “doing nothing”. The illusive getting up at three and then doing nothing but lounge around, however my brain just doesn’t seem to compute this. Last week I cleaned my room, though quite an interesting expedition (I found a broomstick, a pair of trousers and a t-shirt which most definitely are not mine and a giant box full of shredded tissue paper, amongst other things), I haven’t cleaned my room for nigh on three years. I feel like something has gone horribly wrong.
Yesterday I went to college for three hours. I don’t even go to college anymore. Yet go I did, sitting in a lesson I had no need to go to, learning things I already knew and perhaps more importantly, had already sat the exam for. I sat in the library amongst the feverishly revising students I’ve left behind. Just casually eating a chocolate bar. I got home. I made a cake. I ate the cake and wondered, what is life when you don’t have a goal to work towards? Thus it was at this point, exactly two days into my glorious summer of freedom, that I opened my university reading list.
Offers Ahoy!
12 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Following my recent appoint at Next PLC as a blogger, I’ve since been lucky enough to be hired as a writer at online clothes guru site,
Offers Boutique.
I’m fully aware this blog seems to be descending to the realms of fashionista hell, but just in case you’re interested in keeping up my latest exploits you can visit my author’s page at http://www.offersboutique.co.uk/tag/jem-collins
You can view the first of what hopes to be many, this time on the wonders of denim shorts at http://www.offersboutique.co.uk/fashion/shorts/top-5-denim-shorts-2.html
Summer Delights at Next
08 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Next
Keep Updated with Jem’s Next Blogs at www.blog.next.co.uk/author/jemcollins !
This is categorically not a fashion blog, however as the latest addition to the blogging team at Next Online, it’s only fair to keep you updated on one’s progress.
My latest post, the aptly named Summer Delights, can now be found online at http://blog.next.co.uk/summer-delights-brights-and-lights/
There may even be a picture or two!
Summer is Upon Us. . (Perhaps)
05 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Written for the Bideford Buzz
It’s June, which means as you’re reading this we should all be basking in the heat of the summer sun . . . Or seeing as we all happen to live in the happy country ofBritain, probably not as the case may be. On a side note, it’s also the “eagerly awaited” exam season, which means both you and I will probably be tearing our hair out in a rigorous fashion as we sit exam after tireless exam. If you really do feel like you’re going to crash and burn in a manner worse than a comet on a collision course with earth, then you can always dig out our March Edition of buzz, which comes with several handy revision tips to see you through safely. A little is better than nothing after all!
But either way, the light at the end of the tunnel can clearly be seen (and I promise it’s not the man with the torch who is bringing more work), leading us to the most fantastic of all questions – what to do with that massive break? I can safely say one of the things I will most be looking forward to is not having to get up at stupid o’clock in the morning to go to college, but in all fairness if that was all I achieved this summer I’d probably be a little disappointed.
Summer is the ideal time to get done all the stuff you wanted to do, but college or school work just got in the way. You may have seen the film The Bucket List, (if you haven’t, you should . . . but maybe have the tissues at the ready) and now is the time to get your summer “bucket list” well underway. Basically the premise is a massive tick list of things you want to do this summer, and you tick them off as you do them and get a nice warm glow that you’re being productive and ticking off life goals. So get out your pen and paper (or perhaps your laptop or some other new fangled things) and lets make this summer the most productive one yet!
A Little Stuck for Ideas?
Think about all the stuff you’ve wanted to do this year. Have you wanted to go camping? Sleep under the stars? Or maybe you’re thinking in more practical terms – do you want to learn how to drive or read those books that you’ve never got round to reading? For the slightly younger members in our ranks your local library normally runs a summer reading scheme where you get to read whatever you want and rewarded with stickers and other lovely free stuff (I’ll do anything for freebies!).Go travel, earn a shedload of money with a summer job or use the time to get some work experience, learn to cook or play an instrument.
Whatever you put on your summer list make sure you do it! And keep us updated with your own wishlist goals by emailing me on bambipoppins@live.co.uk The most popular goals may just turn to some summer articles to help you on your way!
So Uhm, Clothes at Next?
02 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Next
So, it appears I’ve been drafted into the role of fashion writing. Now I can’t say I really saw it coming, though I’ve always wanted to get somewhere in Journalism, it’s fairly appropriate to say I care as much about keeping up with the latest fashion trend as my goldfish does. Trust me, he’s hip.
Either way following submission of sample piece after sample piece I’ve been accepted as a blogger at Next PLC’s online blogsite. Yes that’s right that is the international clothes company. Yes, I’m so ridiculously excited to be working there.
So as of now, you can keep up with all the latest clothes trends by going to my author page - www.blog.next.co.uk/author/jemcollins, where I shall be posting at least once a month my favourite attire as well as wearing it too!
You can check out my first post online right now at http://blog.next.co.uk/floral-fancies/ :)
Noel Edmonds is watching. . . No seriously.
29 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Life & Jazz, Moanings & Mishaps Tags: postaweek2011; exams; revision; invigilators; noel;
Last month it was sitting in the garden relaxing in the sunshine. This month hails the start of the dreaded exam season. It’s more than fair to say that this is most probably my least favourite time of year. The closer exams get, the more I seem to retreat into my hermit-like ways, shunning all forms of social contact in the hope of those elusive A grades. Yet whether it’s the looming examinations coming my way sending me senile, or I’m just genuinely a grumpy sod, I still seem to have still found a fair wodge of time in my day to internally debate the concept of the exam invigilator. . Well, in all fairness, I have been spending a long time near them. .
Ever since we used to have an invigilator that used to look like Noel Edmonds throughout my GCSE exams I’ve been a little curious as to the people who wonder up and down the halls whilst we furiously scribble for our 
lives. Where do they come from? Is Noel really just a bit hard up for cash, or is it just a freakishly good lookalike? And from my extensive stalking watching ( I sit a lot of exams. . . ) I’ve concluded examiners come in three distinctive types;
The “Friendly” Ones
Everyone’s favourite type of examiner, these people have clearly sat an exam or two in their time and understand the fact you’re cacking your pants about this. Distinctive from their eager rush to attend to you as you nervously put up your hand and the fact they smile at you every time there’s eye contact. The other day, whilst checking my copy of Digging to America for notes, one even attempted to strike up some meaningless chit-chat –
“So is this a good book then? Worth reading?”
“Well actually it’s a little bit pants to be honest. . Studying it is a nightmare. .”
“Oh. . Well I do try and read all the exam texts each year. . “
Okay so maybe I was a little bit of a kill-joy, but it was a stupendously bad book and the sentiment certainly didn’t go amiss.
The “Sloth” Ones
Every exam hall has one. It’s the guy in the corner who looks like he’s just dragged himself out of bed two minutes before the exam, and when he walks past you a pervading odour of something which is anything but pleasant miraculously appears. . In some exams a few years ago a guy actually had the nerve to wander around with a t-shirt proclaiming that “Cheater’s are winners”, and from experience I can tell you it’s an awkward moment when a phone goes off in the exam, only for us to realise that it’s belongs to the oblivious examiner sat at the front.
But it’s when they start thinking you really want to worry. A BBC report from a few years ago revealed what invigilators actually did with their time in exam halls, from the mundane act of counting bricks and ceiling tiles to they’re apparently also fans of running races around the room and working out formulae which depend on factors such as the number of red-heads in the room, those with glasses and those with “visible nits”. . . It really does bring a brand new light to the term of being watched. .
The “Hoity Toity” Ones
Some people really need to be taken down a peg or two. I know invigilator is quite a long word for a job title and perhaps a little inducive to being stuck up, but as much as you dress it up, you’re still just a person walking round a hall for a few hours in silence. Neither am I adverse to dressing smartly, but when a person can manage to turn “You have ten minutes” left into something along the lines of
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention to the clock. It has been gradually ticking down and as such, only 30 whole minutes remain in this examination. After those 30 minutes have expired, I shall ask you to stop writing. . ”
Questions need to be asked.
Thus, all that remains to be said it good luck to those of you sitting exams this season, and if you do come across any invigilator based anecdotes, do let us know!
Related Links
“If a learner says everything is okay, then they’re clearly lying” – Shaun Chowen NUS
14 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in Bideford Buzz, Serious Shenanigans Tags: conference, learner, NUS, postaweek2011, shaun
This blog was written for publication in the Bideford Buzz.
As I sit down to my first NUS National Conference at Newcastle-Gateshead, I’m the first to admit I have no idea what is going on. Being the local FE rep for my college is a fair wodge of a responsibility; here we vote upon who the next NUS President, the motions to be put into practice by the NUS in the following year and a whole host of other things vital to the running of the union, on behalf of the thousands of students I represent.
By the time I’d left after our epic three day stint, I’m still the first to admit I don’t really know all that much, I guess I’m what they’d describe as a “noob” to the world of National NUS Conferences, but I’ve certainly left with something. Though what that something is, is perhaps a little harder to define. As Shane Chowen, NUS Vice President for Further Education says “If a learner says everything is okay, then they’re clearly lying”, particularly in a current climate filled with worried of rising fees, education cuts and lack of support for students, learners have a lot to complain about.
There’s something about the hundreds of learners crammed into the conference hall, passionately debating issues integral to them, the raising of several hundred delegates in favour of a motion and a sound of the doors locking for count that exudes with a certain feeling, not only of unity but more importantly of a movement, power, and a real opportunity to make change. But don’t get me wrong, the NUS is not one single voiced movement harking along to the same old monotone tune. Within the presidential campaign itself we saw candidates for direct action, those against, likely labour future MPS, and even a self-confessed Tory. The NUS is not about conforming everyone’s thoughts to the same hymn sheet, it’s about embracing all approaches and reigns of thought, giving them all a platform to speak. As I wander round the various stalls and fringes I’m encouraged to develop and think about issues as diverse at the upcoming AV referendum to the banning of the full face veil in France. Yet ultimately NUS manages to unite all of these varying views and encompass them all under one common aim – to uphold the rights and views of our students.
Even aside from the massive hubbub of the national conference, the national headlines and front page news there’s also something for the every student. From there being the right change in the vending machines to the demo in London last November, NUS aims to support all students in campaigning and doing whatever they feel the voice of the students want.
So if you’re asking what I took from the conference, it’d have to be inspiration. The feeling that you can make a difference, can stand up and do whatever you want too. Whether you’re a student or not, whatever your views on politics and in whichever way you want too, you can make a stand and stand up for what you believe him, and you can make a difference.
