It’s my second day of fasting today and I want to wish all Muslims reading this – Ramadan Mubarak.
For all the non-Muslim readers; Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which all Muslims fast – from sunrise to sunset. As Ramadan is one of the five ‘pillars’ of Islam, those, who are physically able are required to fast each day for the entire month. Fasting helps teach Muslims self-discipline, self-restraint and generosity. It reminds them of the harsh reality of some poverty-stricken families around the world, who go through this on a daily basis. During Ramadan, Muslims say prayers from The Holy Book Qur’an and they have to refrain from distractions and negative habits.
I find the initial days of fasting hard, as it takes time getting used to the long hours; currently I’m fasting from 3:10am to 9:30pm. However, in the next few days I’ll try to update you all with an in-depth post on Ramadan. So until then!
As I stated in my previous post, I’m currently volunteering with the charity Crimestoppers, which is the UK’s only independent crime fighting charity and this year they are marking 25 years of fighting crime.
Working on an ad-hoc basis, I write media appeals to raise awareness of crime in the Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) area. Alongside this, a group of us are working on the Cycle Theft Campaign, in which we are trying to prevent cycles from being stolen.
There are two aspects to the campaign:
1) The prevention of cycle theft – what you can do to prevent cycle,
2) Encouraging the reporting of cycle theft: How to encourage people to report cycle theft.
The main message that needs to be put across is anonymity – that people can give information to Crimestoppers on cycle theft anonymously, and that there are two ways they can do this, one via the Crimestoppers website and two, ringing there 0800 number. People can also claim rewards, up to £1,000 if the information given leads to one or more people being arrested and charged.
So we had a meeting on July 5 and as the campaign is still in its planning stages, this will be a short update – don’t want you guys getting bored.
Overview:
Bicycle theft is seen as a common problem internationally. Generally it refers to the theft of the entire bike however, this can include component parts and accessories being stolen. Statistics in 2012, have shown that the cycle thefts in Peterborough peak between the months of July – Oct, where people are out and about. Research shows that offenders tend to target cycles in public settings; particularly schools, university campuses and transport hubs as they have a regular supply of unguarded bicycles.
My role:
My role in mainly dealing with the PR/media side of it such as writing press releases, news articles and features for the local newspaper and magazines. I can’t wait to get started!
Anyway I’ll update again on this as the campaign moves into its next phase, however at the moment it’s just getting in contact with the right people who can help get the message across.
Summer is finally here! But if the British weather is anything to go by, I’d enjoy it while it lasts!
I hope you’re all are fine and well! I am still alive and kicking and it’s nice to be back on the blogging scene. The reason I’ve been missing is that after writing a 10,000 word dissertation, I’ve lacked motivation to write anything at all and with uni ending I wanted to take a break which went on longer than I expected.
I had planned to write this post last week, however with me being on work experience at Rutland and Stamford Mercury newspaper it got delayed, anyway better late than never.
So now after four years of stressing out over exams and essays, I’ve completed uni and now I can finally say I’m a qualified journalist with Bachelor of Arts (Hons) with a 2:1 in Journalism.
Now that uni has end what’s next?
Rutland and Stamford Mercury Newspaper
In terms of work experience, as mentioned before I was at Rutland and Stamford Mercury newspaper last week where I had a great time, I remember arriving at the office feeling nervous and excited at the same time. However, the best thing was I wasn’t sitting there fiddling my thumbs for long – I was immediately given work, so in no time I was questioning people over the phone for quotes and comments. I even got a chance to interview people face-to-face regarding the National Care Home Open Day which was rather cool if I say so myself – I felt like a actual news reporter then. In the end, I was fortunate to write several articles even though only two made it into the actual newspaper – I believe it is the experience that counts.
While I was on work experience, I also received my result for my dissertation and it turned out I got 68%, which is a B. I admit I was a little disappointed at first because I was only two marks off a first and I had put so much hard work into it. This only lasted a few minutes because I was way too happy with finishing uni. YAY!!
The Job Hunt
To be honest, over the past few weeks I have been quite lost and alittle worried about the future, as the dreaded job search has begun and so has the process of staying up till 2AM to fill in endless applications, but I don’t mind it as I know it’ll be all worth it in end. While I have been job searching, some websites have been useful, some more than others – Twitter has been really useful for me and I totally recommend anyone on the job hunt to make use of it! Now my everyday routine includes looking for journalism jobs on the internet in either newspapers, magazines or online – I don’t want to be picky at the moment although I’m still trying to steer clear of some editorial assistant jobs as I have heard they’ll have you do all admin duties except writing. I’m still staying positive because it’s easy to give up when you get demotivated, say I can’t do it, I’ll never get a job in journalism – but you got to keep trying. That’s my motto anyway.
Crimestoppers
Crimestoppers
Moving on to a different note, I’m currently writing press releases for the charity Crimestoppers to raise awareness for specific crimes in the Cambridgeshire area which should help in getting people to report on crimes and in return catch more offenders. Apart from that, I’m going to be working on a Cycle Theft Campaign with them and other students – but that’s all I know at the moment, however I have a meeting on July 5 where everything should be explained. I think I’ll write another post about that.
Finally on a general note, I’m thinking about changing my blog title to make it more journalism orientated, currently it’s just faltering with History Starts Now so need a more permanent title. Any suggestions are welcome – so go on, leave a comment and I’ll meet you guys in my next post!
Happy Belated New Year everyone! So this is officially my first blog entry in 2013, 🙂 as for resolutions I have not kept any for this year – because to be honest I cannot keep them; I have tried and failed. Now for once trying something new!
Moving on, over the last few days a white blanket has covered England which has been playing on everyone’s mind and on the news quite alot; this has caused inconveniences for many people, through traffic and the transport. If you haven’t guessed already, it’s snow! Yes, it has snowed, the temperatures have dropped around most parts in the UK but I love it because I know it’ll be gone in a few days and won’t be seen again for a year or so. The best thing is that it’s my birthday on the 24th January, and usually it’s raining but not this year I’m happy to say, although slipping on the snow is not something I’m looking forward to. So thank god, Uni has not started yet.
Firstly, as it’s Christmas Day, I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas!
So what does Christmas mean to me; to be honest it’s just an average day for me and it doesn’t mean anything.
Christmas is not a Muslim holiday; however I admit I enjoy the festive period leading up to Christmas day, such as the Christmas lights being put up at the Cathedral Square, the Christmas movies on television and if by chance it snows (which happens every blue moon), I’ll enjoy playing snowball fights with my brothers and sisters.
The Christmas Lights at Cathedral Square, Peterborough
I know it’s a short entry but as I was not up to much today – thought I’ll write a little something for you guys!
Merry Christmas again and I hope you all enjoy yourselves. 🙂
On and off I tend to tune into various Indian shows, though a lot of the time I can expect to see the usual melodrama and over the top acting. A story which has no logic and the females actresses are continuously crying every episode.
But this idea of writing about widows came to me after I saw my younger sister watching a daily Indian drama called Na Bole Tum…Na Maine Kuch Kaha – which is translated into “Neither you spoke…nor did I say anything” in English. The show is based in the city of Indore (India). It is a love story about Mrs Megha Vyas – a single widowed mother (Akanksha Singh) with two kids, and how her life changes when she meets Mohan Bhatnagar – a bachelor (Kunal Karan Kapoor), in his early twenties who is a crime reporter in a leading newspaper.
So initially two points got me interested:
The guy was playing the character of a journalist, and
The woman being portrayed as strong even though she is a widow – this is rarely shown on Indian television.
After some research I discovered that India has been found to be the worst G20 country to be a woman, according to a new survey, polling 370 gender specialists by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The G20 (group of 20 countries) includes 19 country members and the European Union, it is the premier forum for international cooperation on the most important aspects of the international economic and financial agenda. Canada came in first with Britain coming in third in the top 19 economies of the world.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of the world’s leading provider of news and information and is committed to empowering people in need around the world. From all the different issues, I’ll be focusing more on widows.
The issue of widowhood is a sensitive one which I have not heard or seen being discussed much in the media. Living in the UK, generally the Asian society here is more open-minded than their counterparts in India meaning widows are able to live their lives more freely.
Widowhood is defined as the state or period of being a widow or widower. Losing a spouse is difficult for any individual whether you are the husband or wife, however mainly women are mostly effected. Losing her husband is devastating enough but compounded with cruelty and injustice; it is a life not worth living for some.
According to Hindu customs, widows have three options: to marry their husband’s younger brother; throw themselves on their dead husband’s funeral pyre; or lead a life of self-denial. Generally in India, the women are respected up until their husbands are alive, but when the husbands die they lose their social status and importance in their families. Some widows are then dictated what they can or cannot do. They are subjected to degrading ‘cleansing’ rituals; ejected from her home; her wealth taken by the deceased husband’s relatives; banned from wearing jewellery or coloured clothing; and left without any means of supporting herself or her children. Furthermore they are unable to work or remarry.
Widows in Vrindavan
Numerous homeless widows (both young and old) only hope is go to the city Vrindavan, India when they are abandoned or shunned by their society and families. Vrindavan is known as the place where all widows go to die. It is believed that death will bring them salvation. They live in ashrams (monasteries), awaiting their turn to die. Many young widows face a threat to their safety, due to sexual abuse and human trafficking. In the case of the show, Mrs Megha Vyas is shown to be working to help her family make ends meet and in this she is supported by her in-laws. This is something new as not many widows receive this sort of love and support from their family members.
Remarriage is still a no-no situation for widows in some places in India, this is another topic being tackled in the drama, Na Bole Tum…Na Maine Kuch Kaha (Neither you spoke…nor did I say anything). The current high point is where the female protagonist Megha has decided to get married again due to her in-laws wishes. Forgetting the fact that she in love with the male protagonist Mohan, the society she lives in will not accept a widow to marry a bachelor. Under the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act 1856, widows are legally permitted to remarry but not all agree with it. In many villages, some are not even given the option of remarriage.
In a study done on remarriages in 1991, stating that generally men had a higher probability of remarriage, according to a Demography journal (1991) published by JSTOR. Whilst females were found to have a lower probability of ever remarrying at all ages, and the probability of remarriage declined more substantially with increasing age. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that enables discovery, access, and preservation of scholarly content.
Today India is a country which is gaining influence at the global level due to its economic strength, however seeing the plight of widows will come as a eye-opener for many. The show Na Bole Tum…Na Maine Kuch Kaha (Neither you spoke…nor did I say anything) has become a hit amongst young and mature audiences and I would like to commend the makers of this show as they are bringing awareness to a issue which is still not considered a major problem in India.
It’s been quite some time since my last blog entry. I’m disappointed I haven’t been able to post regularly on this blog. Reason being my internet has been up and down lately due to some unknown factor, so I have my best detectives working on it! Yep, you heard right…Sherlock and Watson are now working for me.
Awaiting the results for any exam is torture but waiting for the shorthand exam result is much worse. I’m hoping they will be up on e-vision in a few weeks. Fingers crossed! I pass, though I feel I messed up the exam big time. Shorthand has always been tough for me and the exam has made me realise that I am not fast as I thought I was and this has effected my confidence in some way. The book which helped me through was Teeline for Journalists by Dawn Johnston although I have read great reviews on the book NCTJ Teeline Gold Standard for Journalists by Marie Cartwright. So will let everyone know how I did and hopefully won’t need to resit the dreaded exam in July!
I am currently working on a couple of ideas for my next pieces, alongside I’m also searching for a work placement for over summer. I have had some experience in working at a magazine before, which is why I’m still holding out for newspapers. It’s such a pity that The Evening Telegraph in Peterborough turned from a daily to a weekly newspaper, would’ve loved to have done some work experience there.
Anyways my new motto which I am following right now is: I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done.
Heidi Semple’s job demands that she spent a lot of her time on the phone or on her laptop typing away.
The 45-year-old Market Deeping resident is the Managing Director of Scene Marketing Ltd and founder of Scene Publications. She launched the Scene magazines in 2007 with just one Deeping-based magazine. Today she has added five successful titles to the Scene portfolio.
Heidi has accomplished quite a lot in a short amount of time. So for her, running a magazine is not difficult.
Her first job was working as a Pharmacist Assistant. She does not have a degree just the usual O-Levels.
Once she began her career in publishing, she became hooked,
“It just got into my blood really, because once you understand it; it is such a fast pace,” said Heidi. “Every day is different, you never know what you are going to be working on. It is being proactive, imaginative and I quite enjoy that.”
At Emap, she started at the bottom as a telesales person and came through the ranks. Over the years, she relished the changes. Heidi spoke about how frustrating it became working for a big company.
“It took ages for a decision to be made. We had a meeting about a meeting, back-to-back all day,” she said.
However with Emap being taken over by Bauer Media, she began looking at other options and working for herself sounded like a better idea.
She initially got the idea whilst working with a colleague who also embarked on doing something similar elsewhere.
“It was meeting and talking to people that I realised there was a huge need for community information,” she said. “Nobody knew what was going on in their community and I was able to deliver that kind of news with the Scene.”
So that is how the Scene magazine was born.
“Now I work harder than I did before that it doesn’t feel like work.”
Kimberley Evans, fellow colleague and Advertising Executive at Scene Publications agrees, “Heidi knows her stuff, she is very proactive and a very likeable person.”
With multi-media journalism coming in, Heidi said it hasn’t had much impact on the magazines they do.
“We have multi-media, we can view our magazines online, they are interactive and we have to go more and more down that route,” She said.
Her training from Emap comes into good use at Scene when dealing, managing people and deadlines.
Heidi said, “Emap were very good with their training and I took every opportunity I got. So in that sense I know how to deal with people and hopefully know how to get the best out of them.”
Heidi has a wide range of skills but would like to add more to her repertoire. She wants to experiment with having a magazine that would be placed on a newsstand and which is a paid for publication.
“I have worked on national magazines but only one element of it. So as much as I had editorial, marketing and even subscription experience to a degree, actual paid-for distribution I don’t have experience of,” she said.
Any advice?
“You got to be so imaginative and you have to be more creative as it is more accessible now.”
Najmah Writes 